"That was good, brother," he said.

"What happened then?" asked Ivan, while Warren pressed closer.

"Why, we hunted all day," said the soldier, "but of course we couldn't
find them. Why should we?"

"Why not?" asked Ivan.

"Why not?" repeated the soldier. "Why, those were not human beings at
all. The old man was too silly for a real man, the girl was too
beautiful. Human beings do not disappear from a guarded room with four
stone walls about it."

The man lowered his voice, and spoke in a whisper. "They were devils,
of course," he said.

The boys were silent.

"Of course," said the soldier, "Captain Handel would not believe
anything so simple. He would not believe they were gone, so tonight he
fixed them. It is all over now, and I wish I could go get some
supper."

"What did he do?" asked Ivan, trying to keep the anxiety out of his
voice.

"He dynamited the room," said the soldier calmly. "That part of the
palace is in ruins. The stones fell like rain. No human being could
have lived in it.