At the conclusion of Benoni's narrative a silence ensued, lasting for nearly twenty minutes, broken only by a low sound suggestive of subdued whispering behind the grille. At length, however, even this ceased, and the silence became almost oppressive for the space of about another half-minute. Then it was broken by the voice that had before spoken, saying: "White strangers, say now by what names are ye known?" To which Grosvenor replied: "My name is Philip Eustace Meredith Grosvenor; and that of my friend is Richard Maitland." This statement was followed by another brief silence, when the unseen speaker said: "Philip Eustace Meredith Grosvenor and Richard Maitland," he boggled the names a little, especially those of Grosvenor, "ye have entered the country of the Izreelites uninvited, and without even asking permission to do so. Had ye sought permission before crossing our border, it would have been refused you, and ye would have been turned back and permitted to depart in peace. But to enter this land uninvited, and without obtaining permission, is against our law, and the punishment for the offence is the Slow Death!" Here the speaker made an impressive pause, as though to allow the statement to be thoroughly absorbed by the understanding of those most intimately concerned. Then he resumed: "But we learn from the officer Benoni, who brought you hither, that since entering our country ye have saved the lives of two men; and since men's lives are more valuable to the Izreelites than aught else, we have decided to mitigate your punishment to this extent: ye shall live, if ye will, upon condition that ye swear never to attempt to leave the country without the royal assent, and to devote yourselves henceforth to the service of Izreel in such manner as ye may be directed. Say now, therefore, will ye accept life, with the condition attached to the gift; or will ye go forth from hence to die the Slow Death?" This speech Grosvenor carefully translated to Dick, finishing up by asking: "What answer shall I give the Johnnie, Dick? On the one hand, I have no fancy for being marched out from here to die the Slow Death, whatever that may be--something pretty horrible, I have no doubt, by the sound of it--but, on the other hand, I have just as little inclination to bind myself to end my days here, among these chappies--eh, what?"