Victor made a sound of gratification. Shaik Tsin enquired briefly:
“It is accomplished, then?”
Victor nodded. “She yielded more quickly than I had hoped—worn out emotionally, of course.”
“She sleeps—”
“In hypnosis, in absolute suspense of every faculty and function save those concerned solely with the maintenance of existence—in a state, that is, comparable only to the pre-natal life of a child.”
“It is most interesting,” Shaik Tsin admitted. “But what is the use? That is what interests me.”
“Wait and see.”
Bending close to the girl, Victor called in a strong voice of command: “Sofia! Sofia! It is I, Prince Victor, your father. Waken and attend!”
A slight spasm shook the slender body, the lips parted, respiration became hurried and broken, the long lashes fluttered on the cheeks.
“Do you hear me? I, Victor, command you: Waken and attend!”