"Who is this woman?" cried Manlius, springing from his chair.
"This woman is my daughter," gasped Mesembrius.
"Glyceria?"
"Abraxas!" The old man fairly shouted the word used to ward off evil, and shuddered with loathing as he heard the name. Manlius drew the ring from his finger and went to the window, beneath which flowed the Tiber. Mesembrius guessed his intention.
"Don't throw it into the water! A fish might swallow it, the fishermen catch it, and it would again see the light of day. It will poison the Tiber, and whoever drinks from it will go mad. Keep it. I have an idea, on account of which you must wear this ring. You said you had done so until now for my sake."
"I kept it to save you, if need be."
"I thank you, Sinister. So you love me and my daughter. I thank you again and again; we will be grateful. In return, I will give my age, she her youth. We have always held you dear, always regarded you as one of our family. If you wish to guard us from peril—keep this ring—go with it where you are led—seek her who sent it—and kill her."
"Mesembrius! She is your daughter."
"If the basilisk is the child of the bird in whose nest it was hatched."
"But she desires to shield you from some unknown danger."