"It has all the appearance of waiting for a passenger who is supposedly within one of the adjacent houses, has it not?"
"It certainly has," I replied, smiling.
"My love, I recognize that karetta, and the man in charge of it. It belongs to—never mind whom. That does not matter. But the man incased in fur, who seems to be the driver, is a nihilist; within the enclosure, there is certainly one, and possibly there are two more men. Each of them has sworn to take your life at the cost of his own, if need be. They will wait there until you leave me. Then they will do their work. Do you still doubt that you have been sentenced to death?"
"I have not doubted it, sweetheart."
"But do you doubt their ability to carry out the decree?"
"I do."
"Ah, Dubravnik, you little know the men with whom we have to deal."
How sweet it was to hear her include herself with me, against them. "They are like bloodhounds on a trail. They never leave it, nor tire. They are indefatigable. When one falls, another takes his place. They number thousands, and you are one."
"WE are one," I corrected her, smiling. "I do not doubt their intentions, but I have not lived till now, and found you, to be killed by the nihilists."
She gazed at me a moment in silence, and then, slowly, she added: