“But within it is nothing of that greatest of all, that which can make powerless all the evil others, that which we call⁠—love,” she ended softly.

“I’d like to be the one to put a little more fear in the beast,” whispered Larry to me, grimly in our own English. The three weird heads bent, ever so slightly⁠—and I gasped, and Larry grew a little white as Lakla nodded⁠—

“They say, Larry,” she said, “that there you touch one side of the heart of the matter⁠—for it is through the way of fear the Silent Ones hope to strike at the very life of the Shining One!”

The visage Larry turned to me was eloquent of wonder; and mine reflected it⁠—for what really were this Three to whom our minds were but open pages, so easily read? Not long could we conjecture; Lakla broke the little silence.