"Remember the harm that befell Reginald Thorne."
"What?" I cried in alarm. "Death?"
"Yes," he answered solemnly, "death."
I stood before him for a moment breathless.
"Then, to put it plainly," I said, in an uneven voice, "I am threatened with death should I marry Benjamin Keppel?"
"Even to become betrothed to him would be fatal," he answered.
"And by whom am I thus threatened?"
"That is a question I cannot answer. I am here merely to warn you, not to give explanations."
"But the person who takes such an extraordinary interest in my private affairs must have some motive for this threat?"
"Of course."