"All!"
"Yes—all that passed in Louga. Dear Natalie has never had a secret from me."
"And you forgive me?" said Balgonie earnestly.
"I do—but on this condition."
"Oh name it, Basil!"
"That if you do not join us, you will, at least, not actively oppose our scheme."
"I scarcely know what it is."
"Know this then," replied the other emphatically, yet softly, "that on its success depends the success of your love; for if it fails, then all our lives are lost!"
"You say that you love my cousin Natalie?" said young Usakoff, in a somewhat loftier tone.
"With all my heart—with all my soul, I do!" replied Balgonie, pressing a hand of Natalie between his own.