"No, I am not Ralph Bastin, but I am his representative. But——"
His voice grew hoarse with excitement, as he added, low and cautiously:
"What do you know about Ralph Bastin?"
She glanced frightenedly around, then with her finger raised, she whispered:
"The very air seems full of spies here, as it was at Babylon."
She leant towards him until her lips almost touched his ear, and whispered:
"Lucien Apleon, The Emperor, has decreed that Ralph Bastin is to be slain!"
"Tell me more, Rose, trust me absolutely, dear child!" His voice was very hoarse as he spoke.
"How do you know this?" he added. "But perhaps you had better tell me who and what you are, dear child!"
He leant to her that his voice might be a whisper only, for he realized her warning of a moment ago. "Do not fear, dear child, I shall hold as sacred as my faith in God, anything that you tell me!"