He lay down to sleep that night beset by doubts. If he told the Belphins about the conspiracy, he would be betraying Corisande. As a matter of fact, he now remembered, he _had_ already told them about the conspiracy and they hadn't believed him. But supposing he could _convince_ them, how could he give Corisande up to them? True, it was the right thing to do--but, for the first time in his life, he could not bring himself to do what he knew to be right. He was weak, weak--and weakness was sinful. His old Belphin teacher had taught him that, too. As Ludovick writhed restlessly upon his bed, he became aware that someone had come into his chamber. "Ludovick," a soft, beloved voice whispered, "I have come to ask your help...." It was so dark, he could not see her; he knew where she was only by the glitter of the jewel on her neck-chain as it arced through the blackness. "Corisande...." he breathed. "Ludovick...." she sighed. Now that the amenities were over, she resumed, "Against my will, I have been involved in the family plot. My uncle has invented a secret weapon which he believes will counteract the power of the barriers." "But I thought you devised it!" "So it _was_ you in the courtyard. Well, what happened was I wanted to gain time, so I said I had a secret weapon of my own invention which I had not perfected, but which would cost considerably less than my uncle's model. We have to watch the budget, you know, because we can hardly expect the Belphins to supply the components for this job. Anyhow, I thought that, while my folks were waiting for me to finish it, you would have a chance to warn the Belphins." "Corisande," he murmured, "you are as noble and clever as you are beautiful." * * * * * Then he caught the full import of her remarks. "_Me!_ But they won't pay any attention to me!" "How do you know?" When he remained silent, she said, "I suppose you've already tried to warn them about us." "I--I said _you_ had nothing to do with the plot." "That was good of you." She continued in a warmer tone: "How many Belphins did you warn, then?" "Just one. When you tell one something, you tell them all. You know that. Everyone knows that." "That's just theory," she said. "It's never been proven. All we do know is that they have some sort of central clearing house of information, presumably The Belphin of Belphins. But we don't know that they are incapable of thinking or acting individually. We don't really know much about them at all; they're very secretive." "Aloof," he corrected her, "as befits a ruling race. But always affable." "You must warn as many Belphins as you can." "And if none listens to me?" "Then," she said dramatically, "you must approach The Belphin of Belphins himself." "But no human being has ever come near him!" he said plaintively. "You know that all those who have tried perished. And that can't be a rumor, because your grandfather said----"