him.

Came presently movements in the room beyond, and the voice of her
father:

"We shall be securest from intrusion here. It is my daughter's
room. If you will give me leave, I will go down again to admit
our other friends."

Those other friends, as Don Rodrigo gathered, continued to arrive
for the next half-hour, until in the end there must have been
some twenty of them assembled in that chamber. The mutter of
voices had steadily increased, but so confused that no more than
odd words, affording no clue to the reason of this gathering, had
reached the hidden couple.

And then quite suddenly a silence fell, and on that silence beat
the sharp, clear voice of Diego de Susan addressing them.

"My friends," he said, "I have called you hither that we may
concert measures for the protection of ourselves and all New-
Christians in Seville from the fresh peril by which we are
menaced. The edict of the inquisitors reveals how much we have to
fear. You may gather from it that the court of the Holy Office is
hardly likely to deal in justice, and that the most innocent may
find himself at any moment exposed to its cruel mercies.
Therefore it is for us now to consider how to protect ourselves
and our property from the unscrupulous activities of this
tribunal. You are the principal New Christian citizens of
Seville; you are wealthy, not only in property, but also in the