"Lucky for us," he said, "that you weren't what you said you were."
"Yes," said Asabri; "I should have potted the lot of you with one volley and reported at head-quarters that it had been necessary, owing to the stubborn resistance which you offered."
The three young men smiled sheepishly.
"I see that you are familiar with the ways of the police," said one of them.
"May I sit with you?" Asabri asked. "Thanks."
He sat in silence for a moment; and the three young men examined with great respect the man's splendid round head, and his face of a Roman emperor.
"Whose tomb is this?" he asked them.
"It is ours," said the one who had first smiled. "It used to hallow the remains of Attulius Cimber."
"Oho!" said Asabri. "Attulius Cimber, a direct ancestor of my friend and associate Sullandenti. And tell me how far is it to Rome?"
"A long way. You could not find the half of it to-night."