The door was closed behind them, but the listeners could hear them repairing the damage that Selim had done to the fuse. Led by Selim, the four made a rush for the door leading into the château. They threw it open and passed through, flying as if for their lives. No one could tell how soon an explosion might bring disaster to the region; they put distance between them and the powder keg. Selim paused long enough to drop the bolts and turn the great key with the lever. At the second turn in the narrow corridor, he overtook Chase and the scurrying women. "Is there nothing to be done?" cried the Princess. "Can we not prevent the explosion? They will cut off our means of escape in that--" "I know too much about gunpowder, Princess," said Chase drily, "to fool with it. It's like a mule. It kicks hard. 'Gad, it was hard to stand there and hear those brutes planning it all and not be able to stop them." The Princess was once more at his side; he had clasped her arm to lead her securely in the wake of Neenah's electric lantern. She came to a sudden stop. "And pray, Mr. Chase," she said sharply, as if the thought occurred to her for the first time, "why _didn't_ you stop them? You had the advantage. You and Selim could have surprised them--you could have taken them without a struggle!" He laughed softly, deprecatingly, not a little impressed by the justice of her criticism. "No doubt you consider me a coward," he said ruefully. "You know that I do not," she protested. "I--I can't understand your motive, that is all." "You forget that I am the representative of these very men. I am the trusted agent of Sir John Brodney, who has refused to supplant me with another. All this may sound ridiculous to you, when you take my anomalous position into account. I can't very well represent Sir John and at the same time make prisoners or corpses of his clients, even though I am being shielded by their legal foes. I don't mean to say that I condone the attempt Von Blitz is making to rob his fellow-workmen of this hidden plate and the plunder in the bank. They are traitors to their friends and I shall turn them over sooner or later to the people they are looting. I'll not have Von Blitz saying, even to himself, that I have not only stolen his wives but have also cast him into the hands of his philistines. It may sound quixotic to you, but I think that Lord Deppingham and Mr. Browne will understand my attitude." "But Von Blitz has sworn to kill you," she expostulated with some heat. "You are wasting your integrity, I must say, Mr. Chase." "Would you have me shoot him from ambush?" he demanded. "Not at all. You could have taken him captive and held him safe until the time comes for you to leave the island." "He would not have been my captive in any event. I could do no more than deliver him into the hands of his enemies. Would that be fair?" "But he is a thief!"