‘I wish we were well out of it,’ said I despondently, as I wiped my brow. All was quiet. Watkins appeared with bread, cheese and wine. ‘Your lordship would not wish to use the cow at luncheon?’ he asked, as he passed me on his way to the hall. ‘Certainly not, Watkins,’ I answered, smiling. ‘We must save the cow.’ ‘There is still a goat, but she is a poor thin creature, my lord.’ ‘We shall come to her in time, Watkins,’ said I. But if I were depressed, the other three were very merry over their meal. Danger was an idea which found no hospitality in Denny’s brain; Hogvardt was as cool a hand as the world held; Watkins could not believe that Providence would deal unkindly with a man of my rank. They toasted our recent success, and listened with engrossed interest to my account of the secret of the Stefanopouloi. Phroso sat a little apart, saying nothing, but at last I turned to her and asked, ‘Where does the passage lead to?’ She answered readily enough; the secret was out through Constantine’s fault, not hers, and the seal was removed from her lips. ‘If you follow it to the end, it comes out in a little cave in the rocks on the seashore, near the creek where the Cypriote fishermen come.’ ‘Ah,’ I cried, ‘it might help us to get there!’ She shook her head, answering: ‘Constantine is sure to have that end strongly guarded now, because he knows that you have the secret.’ ‘We might force our way.’ ‘There is no room for more than one man to go at a time; and besides--’ she paused. ‘Well, what besides?’ I asked. ‘It would be certain death to try to go in the face of an enemy’ she answered. Denny broke in at this point. ‘By the way, what of the fellow you shot? Are we going to leave him there, or must we get him up?’ Spiro had been in my mind; and now I said to Phroso: ‘What did they do with the body of Stefan Stefanopoulos? There was not time for them to have taken it to the end of the way, was there?’ ‘No, they didn’t take it to the end of the way,’ said she. ‘I will show you if you like. Bring a torch; you must keep behind me, and right in the middle of the path.’ I accepted her invitation eagerly, telling Denny to keep guard. He was very anxious to accompany us, but another and more serious attack might be in store, and I would not trust the house to Hogvardt and Watkins alone. So I took a lantern in lieu of a torch and prepared to follow. At the last moment Hogvardt thrust into my hand one of his lances. ‘It will very likely be useful,’ said he. ‘A thing like that is always useful.’ I would not disappoint him, and I took the lance. Phroso signed to me to give her the lantern and preceded me down the flight of stairs. ‘We shall be in earshot of the hall?’ I asked. ‘Yes, for as far as we are going,’ she answered, and she led the way into the passage. I prayed her to let me go first, for it was just possible that some of Constantine’s ruffians might still be there.