"If you knew, why didn't you act at once?" said the Countess.
"I knew the nature of the hiding-place, but not the spot on which it stood. This information was supplied by the gold medal. Three hours after my arrival at the ruins I knew all about it."
Marco Dario repeated several times.
"In robore fortuna.... In robore fortuna...."
And the others also pronounced the three words, as if they were a cabalistic formula, the mere utterance of which is sufficient to produce marvelous results.
"Dario," she said, "you know Latin? And you, Errington? And you, Webster?"
"Well enough," said Dario, "to make out the sense of those three words—there's nothing tricky about them. Fortuna means the fortune...."
"In this case the diamonds," said she.
"That's right," said Dario; and he continued his translation: "The diamonds are ... in robore...."
"In the firm heart," said Errington, laughing.