“Save her from what?” asked Ralph who naturally did not wish to reveal anything about the rescue of Josephine. “I believed, as did the rest of your confederates, that you had condemned her to confinement in an English mad-house. So I went away when they did. I hurried to Etretat. I hired a boat and rowed about waiting for the English yacht of which you had spoken, intending to frighten the captain into releasing the unfortunate woman. It was a vain attempt and cost her her life. The English yacht never came. It was only later that I understood the dastardly trick you had played and was able to reconstitute the actual crime, in all its horror, the descent of the priest’s staircase, the scuttled boat, and the drowning.” Listening in obvious terror, the three men had drawn their chairs closer together. De Bennetot quietly pushed aside the table which was between him and Ralph. Ralph observed the distorted features of Godfrey d’Etigues and the snarl that bared his teeth. Beaumagnan had but to give the signal, and he would have drawn his revolver and blown the imprudent young man’s brains out. But it was this very imprudence, quite inexplicable, that stayed Beaumagnan. With a terrible air he said: “I repeat, monsieur, that you had no right to act as you have done and meddle with things that don’t concern you. But I refuse to lie and deny the facts. Only ... only I ask myself, since you have surprised such a secret, how you dare come here and provoke us. It’s madness!” “Why so, monsieur?” said Ralph simply. “Because your life is in our hands.” Ralph shrugged his shoulders and said: “My life isn’t in the slightest danger.” “Nevertheless there are three of us and not at all in the mood to disregard a matter which so closely touches our security.” “I run no more risk among you three than if it was your interest to act as my defenders,” said Ralph calmly. “Are you absolutely certain of that?” “Absolutely, since you didn’t kill me the moment you heard my story.” “And if I did decide to kill you?” “An hour later you would all three be arrested.” “Nonsense!” “It is as I have the honor of telling you. It’s a quarter past four. One of my friends is walking up and down in front of the Prefecture of Police. It’s a quarter past four. If I haven’t rejoined him by a quarter to five, he informs the chief commissioner of your crime.” “Stuff and nonsense!” cried Beaumagnan, who appeared to recover confidence. “I am a well-known man. As soon as he mentions my name, they’ll laugh at him!” “They’ll listen to him.” “In the meanwhile,” said Beaumagnan, turning to Godfrey d’Etigues. The order for the execution was on the point of being given. Ralph experienced the joy of genuine peril. In a few seconds the act, the execution of which he had retarded by his extraordinary coolness, would be committed. “There’s one more thing I should like to say,” he said quietly.