“What is the service?” I asked.
“It is not at all difficult, and you will run no risk,” he replied. He took from an ancient oak coffer a small sealed packet, and added, “We desire this taken to Briançon; will you undertake to do so?”
“What am I to do with it?” I asked.
“The thing is simple enough. You will leave here and go to Lanslebourg, thence to Briançon. Arrived there, you will remain at the Couronne d’Or, and wear this peace of edelweiss in your coat. On the day after to-morrow, a lady will call upon you and ask for the packet, as promised. She will give her name as Madame Trois Etoiles, and will give you a receipt for the packet. This you will send to Giovanni Oldrini at the Poste Restante at Bardonnechia. There the matter will end.”
“If she does not call?”
“Then you must advertise to find her, announcing that you particularly desire an interview. Of course your undertaking will be binding, and you will preserve the secret of the existence of this place under penalty of death. Do you agree?”
I glanced round the weird cavern. The last straw of my self-possession was broken, and I was prepared to promise anything in order to escape.
“Agree, signore,” urged Giovanni anxiously. “There will be no risk, no inconvenience, I assure you.”
“Very well,” I said at last; “if you stipulate this as the price of my ransom, I suppose I am compelled to submit.”
“You will swear to preserve our secret; to tell no living soul where you obtained the packet, and to deliver it without fail and with the seals intact?” the elder man asked, handing me a carved ivory crucifix.