"I have lost my reading glasses," he said.
"Can't we find them for you?" asked Modjeska politely. She started to look on the rugs.
"They are not here," said the Professor. "I heard the ease fall out of my pocket when we were coming through the passage."
"Then we will get them," said Modjeska. "It will only take a minute.
Would you like to come with me, Evelyn?"
"Yes, I would!" said Evelyn, who was nervous and wanted to do something.
"Hurry!" said the Princess. "I know it is absolutely safe, but I can't bear one of you out of my sight for a moment."
The passage was very cold and damp, and the girls each put on a heavy, dark cloak. They threaded their way through the rooms that lay between the living-room and the passage, and went up the narrow hallway with the flashlight illuminating the stone floor. The case was found at last and they were turning to go back, when the sound of an explosion reached their ears and a dim light appeared at the end of the corridor. For a moment the girls stood motionless; then they turned, and ran swiftly down the twisted way to the sliding stone, and found themselves once more in the room they had left, but it was in darkness.
The electric lights were out and the little flashlights made but a dim illumination in the room.
The men had returned, and all stood staring as the two girls raced into the room and told their story.
"I think they are dynamiting the dining-room to find the prisoners. We must leave now," cried Ignace. "No one knows how they may guard the grounds. They are bound to find their victims."