uessing methinks
very wide of the mark. I pray you proceed. You vastly interest me. We
left then six men in the cathedral after watch-night service plotting
for the welfare of Holland and the established Faith."

"Their lives, sir," resumed Beresteyn more calmly, "depend on the
inviolability of their secret. You are good at guessing--will you guess
what would happen to those six men if their conversation last night had
been overheard and their secret betrayed."

"The scaffold," said Diogenes laconically.

"And torture."

"Of course. Holland always has taken the lead in civilization of late."

"Torture and death, sir," reiterated Beresteyn vehemently. "There are
six men in this city to-day whose lives are at the mercy of one woman."

"Oho! 'twas a woman then who surprised those six men in their endeavour
to do good to Holland and to uphold the Faith."

"Rightly spoken, sir! To do good to Holland and to uphold the Faith!
those are the two motives which guide six ardent patriots in their
present actions and cause them to risk their lives and more, that they
may bring about the sublime end. A woman has surprised their secret, a
woman pure and good as the stars but a woman for all that, weak in
matters of sentiment and like to be swayed by a mistaken sense of what
she would call her duty. A woman now, sir, holds the future happiness of
Holland, the triumph of Faith and the lives of six stalwart patriots in
the hollow of her hand."

"And 'tis with the lives of six stalwart patriots that we are most
concerned at the moment, are we not?" asked Diogenes blandly.

"Put it as you will, sir. I cannot expect you--a stranger--to take the
welfare of Holland and of her Faith so earnestly as we Dutchmen do. Our
present concern is with the woman."

"Is she young?"

"Yes."

"Pretty?"

"What matter?"

"I don't know. The fact might influence mine actions. For of course you
wish to put the woman out of the way."

"Only for a time and from my soul I wish her no harm. I only want to
place her out of the reach of doing us all a grievous wrong. Already she
has half threatened to speak of it all to my father. The idea of it is
unthinkable. I want her out of the way for a few days, not more than ten
days at most. I want her taken out of Haarlem, to a place of safety
which I will point out to you anon, and under the care of faithful
dependents who would see that not a hair on her head be injured. You
see, sir, that what I would