"Is he any connexion of hers?" asked the knight, sharply.
"None whatever," returned Judith, with a significant smile. "But he may possibly be so."
"I thought as much," muttered the knight.
"He never shall recover," said Judith, halting, and speaking in a low tone, "if you make it worth my while."
"You read my wishes," replied Parravicin, in a sombre tone. "Take this purse, and free me from him."
"He will never more cross your path," replied Judith, eagerly grasping the reward.
"Enough!" exclaimed Parravicin. "What has passed between us must be secret."
"As the grave which shall soon close over the victim," she rejoined.
Parravicin shuddered, and hurried away, while Judith returned at a slow pace, and chinking the purse as she went to the vault.
She had scarcely passed through the door, when Nizza Macascree appeared from behind one of the massive pillars. "This dreadful crime must be prevented," she cried—"but how? If I run to give the alarm, it may be executed, and no one will believe me. I will try to prevent it myself."