"Will you explain?"
"I see no reason why I should not. I chose the place as a temporary refuge from pursuit. Your illness marred my plans. The war continues to mar them."
"How?"
He smiled.
"The insect has curiosity, then? Schloss Szolnok has proved safe. I have no desire to take unnecessary risks."
"You were pursued?"
He nodded. "Yes. And I managed to get away—here, but the other end of this pass is now strongly guarded. I could have gone through when I first came, but you were very ill. You would probably have died if I had gone on. Now it is too late. You see," he said with a shrug, "I am quite cheerful about it."
She turned and examined him with an air of timidity.
"You mean that—that to save my life you—you have sacrificed all hope of winning through to Germany?"
"With you, yes—for the present," he smiled.