The ladies acknowledged his salutation solemnly, Yolanda sitting back in her crimson chair, while Maria Lalena shivered in excitement. A wise, wise, woman and an over-eager frightened child. There was just the shadow of satisfaction on Count Visichich’s face as the girl spoke. He was ready enough for anything she might have to say. I felt sorry for her. She was frightened, but she didn’t yet know what a bad corner she was in, or that we were in it, too. We had delivered our message at last, and were probably worse off than ever. There wasn’t a chance that we would be allowed to leave the Palace without being re-arrested under any one of a half dozen possible charges. And neither of the two women who were supposed to be the rulers of the country would be able to help us. I tried hard to plan something, but my brain was a blank.
“Count Visichich,” said Maria Lalena, “I want to know a lot of things, if you please. The first of them is, what, exactly is the nature of the relationship between your family and Prince Conrad?” Yolanda shivered perceptibly.
Count Visichich answered suavely, surely, with just a touch of irony in his pleasant voice, “Prince Conrad is a member of the Royal Family, a cousin of your Majesty’s, and as such he ’as always found me a loyal subject, a friend, if I may be allowed the term.”
“And what,” she pursued, relentlessly, “is your relation, then, to the Black Ghost of the Pass?”
“We are good Catholics,” the Count answered, with the trace of a smile, “and as such we pray daily to the Saints, but ’ave no traffic with the restless ghosts of dead men, even though they may ’ave been ’eroes and patriots in life.”
Yolanda looked up as though she were amused. Maria Lalena spoke quickly, “I did not mean the ghost of a dead hero or patriot,” she answered, “but the masked man who plays the part of the Black Ghost. Who is he? Do you serve him or us?”
Count Visichich looked surprised. He did it excellently. “Is someone masquerading as the Black Ghost?” he asked.
“The Black Ghost imprisoned these gentlemen,” Maria Lalena was growing more and more nervous, “and when they escaped from him you imprisoned them at Visichich Manor. Why—”
“Ah,” Count Visichich looked as though he understood everything at last. “I think these gentlemen will tell you quite willingly that my son and I discovered them walking on the road that leads to our ’ome. It was late at night, and they ’ad only a mysterious story to tell about a car that they ’ad abandoned somewhere be’ind us. There was no car be’ind us because we ’ad just come over that road, and must ’ave seen it. We took the very natural precaution of insisting that they accept our hospitality for the night. We gave them every comfort and treated them as guests. They will surely acknowledge this.”
“Oh, quite,” John said. “You were delightful. We did not deserve nearly such charming entertainment as we received, and we were almost as disreputable looking tramps as we are now.”