tone, "for the unpleasant task of telling you is not left for me. Have
you any thing to say before--"

"No."

"All that I would say," remarked young Jack, "that since they mean
assassinating us, I hope that they will do their work cleanly, and not
put us to the torture."

"At the worst," added his companion, "we shall not give them the
satisfaction of seeing us beg and pray for mercy."

"It would be useless."

"We know it."

"And so shall not give them the chance of saying that two Englishmen
showed the white feather."

"Bravely spoken," said the girl, "but the night is growing old, and so
listen to what I have to say."

And then she made a communication which considerably startled them.

At first they listened as though in a dream, for they could not believe
in the reality of what she said, but they were not sorry to believe in
its truth.

The nature of this communication will appear later on.