round, made a few strides towards the
staircase, and then catching sight of Cuthbert, stopped short, and
seized Kay by the arm.

"Fool!" he cried, in a low, hissing tone, "what possessed you to
bring him here? We are undone!"

"Nay, but he knows; he is one of us."

"He is not; it is a lie! If he said so, he is a foul spy!"

And then striding up to Cuthbert with eyes that gleamed
murderously, he looked into the youth's face, and suddenly the fury
died out of his own.

"Why, it is Cuthbert Trevlyn! Good luck to you, good youth! I had
feared I know not what. But thou art stanch and true; thou art a
chip of the old block. If it had to be some one, better thee than
any other. Boy, thou hast seen a sight tonight that must have
awakened thy curiosity. Swear to secrecy--swear to reveal
nothing--and I will tell thee all."

"Nay, tell me nothing," answered Cuthbert firmly; "I love not
mysteries. I would fain forget all I have heard and seen. Let me
tell thee of Father Urban--let me give thee his letters; but tell
me naught in return. I will not know--I will not."

Cuthbert spoke with sudden vehemence. He and Catesby were mounting
the stairs together. As they reached the dim vestibule above,
Catesby took him by the arm and looked him searchingly in the face,
as he said:

"Maybe thou art in the right. It may be better so. But thou must
swear one thing ere thou goest hence, and that is--to reveal to no
living soul what thou hast seen this night. Know, boy, that if thou
wilt not swear this--"

But Cuthbert shook himself free, and looked proudly at his
interlocutor.

"Nay, threaten me not, good Master Catesby, else I may be moved to
defy thee and thy power. For the goodwill I bear thee, and for that
I loathe and abhor those craven souls who will betray their fellow
men to prison and death, I will give thee my word of honour to hold
sacred all that I have seen and heard in this house this night. I
know not what it means, nor do I desire to know. Be it for good or
be it for ill, it is thy secret, not mine, and with me it is safe.
But I will not be threatened nor coerced--no, not by any man. What
I will not give for friendship and brotherly love, no man shall
wrest from me through fear."

Catesby looked at the lad with his flashing eyes and proudly-held
head, and a smile illuminated his features. Whether or not his
companions would have been satisfied with this pledge, he himself
was content, and with a kindly grip of th