"But that he cannot do as to that mask he owes all his power."
"Well, you are a comical wench—to be enamoured of a man whose face you have never seen!"
"I recognize him by his voice, by the beating of his heart."
"Well, if I were a girl and had a lover, I would insist on seeing his face. He should not come to me in a mask anyhow."
"He cannot put off his mask, I tell you. His oath forbids him to. The moment he removes his mask from his face his power is gone, and neither the devil nor the good angels will obey him any longer."
"That is true," returned the old man solemnly. "When he likes he can make himself invisible. I know it. He has always escaped pursuit even when the whole country was out after him, and when they thought they had him fast he always disappeared in the earth or in the air. Yet, for all that, if I were his love, see his face I would."
"He told me I should die of fright if I beheld it."
"Then I would die of fright—but I would see it."
"His eyes are very fine,—they glow like coals."
"Like coals? Perhaps he is the Dracu[16] himself. Have you ever tried to make him kiss the amulet on which is the image of St. George and the Dragon?"