They emerged from their place of confinement gladly enough--for they had reached that stage of discomfort when one welcomes any change, even though there should be a possibility that it may prove to be for the worse--and were at once taken into custody by a handsomely attired officer in command of ten soldiers who, armed with short, broad-bladed spears, and each carrying a flaring torch, at once closed round them. The word to march was given, and the party moved away along the labyrinth of passages, turning hither and thither in the most bewildering fashion, until at length they reached a narrow flight of stone steps that wound upward, corkscrew fashion, until they emerged into another passage which, after a journey of some fifty yards, conducted them into a spacious and lofty hall lighted at either end by a large window glazed with what, from the cursory glance which they obtained of it, they judged to be talc, or some similar substance. A number of passages led out of this hall, and down one of them the party plunged, finally passing through a doorway into a spacious chamber, lighted, like the hall, by large windows glazed with the talc-like material already mentioned. There was a peculiarity about this chamber that at once attracted the attention of the two young Englishmen, and it was this: the wall opposite the door by which they had entered was divided horizontally into two unequal parts, the lower and smaller of the two being occupied by a grille of exquisitely fine carved work executed in a kind of Greek pattern, while the upper compartment was filled in with a window reaching right across from side to side of the chamber, that threw a strong light right down upon the precise spot where they were halted. As the two prisoners came to a standstill at the word of command of the officer in charge of the party, the soldiers formed themselves into a semicircle between their charges and the door, and grounded their spears with a clank upon the black marble pavement, while, although the room was apparently empty, save for themselves, the officer advanced and, raising his spear in salute, exclaimed in a loud voice, in the quasihebrew tongue which appeared to be the common language of the people: "Lords! the prisoners from afar are present." "It is well," replied a deep, solemn voice from behind the grille, and the two friends suddenly realised that they were about to be put upon their trial for the offence of intruding where they were not wanted. They both directed their gaze upon the grille with greatly enhanced interest, striving to obtain a glimpse of the person or persons behind it; but a space of at least twenty feet divided them from it, and at that distance the interstices were too small to afford the faintest glimpse of anyone on the other side. There was a pause of perhaps half a minute, then the voice that had last spoken said: