“It’s not possible, is it?”

“I don’t know if it is possible or not; but there are ways and ways of carrying people off; and M. le Comte Philippe has never, as far as I know, had anything to do with witchcraft.”

“Your arguments are convincing, sir, and I am a fool!⁠ ⁠… Oh, let us make haste! I place myself entirely in your hands!⁠ ⁠… How should I not believe you, when you are the only one to believe me⁠ ⁠… when you are the only one not to smile when Erik’s name is mentioned?”

And the young man impetuously seized the Persian’s hands. They were ice-cold.

“Silence!” said the Persian, stopping and listening to the distant sounds of the theater. “We must not mention that name here. Let us say ‘he’ and ‘him;’ then there will be less danger of attracting his attention.”

“Do you think he is near us?”