I was, perhaps, more unmanned than he, and could make no reply.
Then there was a movement in the throng surrounding us, and the old man of the sunbursts appeared before the throne, and, after dropping on his knees and rising again, indicated us with his long finger, and, as was plain, made some serious accusation. The face turned upon us again with a longer gaze than usual, and we literally shrank from it. Then its owner rose from his seat, towering up, it seemed, to a height of full seven feet, shot his hand out with a gesture of condemnation, and instantly sat down again and averted his countenance. There seemed to have been a world of meaning in this brief act to those who could comprehend it. We were seized, even more roughly than before, and dragged from the chamber, and at the end of a few minutes found ourselves thrown into a dungeon, where there was not the slightest glimmer of light, and the door was locked upon us.
It was a long time before either of us summoned up the courage to speak.
At length I said faintly:
"Jack, I'm afraid it's all over with us. We must have done something terrible, though I cannot imagine what it was."
But Jack, after his manner, was already recovering his spirits, and he replied stoutly:
"Nonsense, Peter, we're all right, as Edmund says. Wait till he comes and he'll fix it."
"But how can he know what has happened? And what could he do if he did?
More likely they will all be condemned along with us."
Jack felt around in the dark and got me by the hand, giving it a hearty pressure.
"Remember Ala," he said. "She's our friend, or Edmund's, and they'll bring us out of this. You want to brace up."
"Remember Ingra!" I responded with a shiver, and I could feel Jack start at the words.