Fredegonde seized him by the arm.
"Come with me," she cried. "If they find you here, they'll kill you."
Dick hesitated only a moment, then followed the girl as she dashed for another door on the same side of the laboratory as that by which Von Kettler and his men had fled. They dashed down the staircase, and a corridor disclosed itself at the bottom. The girl stopped.
"There is a private way—the Emperor's," she panted. "He had it constructed—in case of necessity. I got the keys. I was planning—something desperate—to stop these murders; I didn't know what."
Dick seized her by the arm. "What keys?" he demanded. "The key to the place where President Hargreaves is?"
"Yes, but—"
"We must get him. Where is he?"
"In a cell beneath the throne room. That's overhead. But they'll catch us—"
"Which is the key?" asked Dick.
The girl produced three or four keys, fumbled with them, handed one to Dick. "This way!" she cried.