There was a solemn silence after this. Then Brooke leaned back and gave a heavy sigh.
"I feel a little shaky still," said he.
"Let me support you," said Talbot, with feverish eagerness. "You must be weak still—very weak. You must not exert yourself too much."
She held out her arms as though to raise him up; but Brooke drew back.
"No, no," he murmured, in a faint voice; "it's no matter—no matter at all."
Talbot looked down and said nothing.
"I don't know what happened," said Brooke. "Where is everybody? And Lopez—why did you tell him he was free? Was he a prisoner? And how? Tell me all about it."
Upon this Talbot narrated as briefly as possible the circumstances of the recent struggle.
"Where is everybody now?" asked Brooke.
"I don't know. It is enough for me that you are here, and alive and safe."