'If we succeed there will be no fighting,' replied the girl. She stepped quickly across the room to a door, which she opened, revealing a large closet. 'Here, Nur An,' she said, 'is where you must remain until we return. There is no reason why anyone should open this door, and in so far as I know, it never has been opened since I have occupied these quarters, except by me.'
'I do not like the idea of hiding,' said Nur An with a grimace, 'but- I have had to do many things recently that I did not like,' and without more words he crossed the apartment and entered the closet. Their eyes met for an instant before Phao closed the door, and I read in the depth of both that which made me wonder, remembering as I did the story that Nur An had told me of the other woman whom Tul Axtar had stolen from him. But such matters were no concern of mine, nor had they any bearing upon the business at hand.
'Here is my plan, warrior,' said Phao as she returned to my side. 'When you entered this apartment you came saying that you were looking for the prisoner, Tavia. Although she was not here, I believed you. We will go, therefore, to Yo Seno, the keeper of the keys, and you will tell him the same story that you have been sent to fetch the prisoner, Tavia. If Yo Seno believes you, all will be well, for he will go himself and release the prisoner, turning her over to you.'
'And if he does not believe me?' I asked.
'He is a beast,' she said, 'who is better dead than alive. Therefore you will know what to do.'
'I understand,' I said. 'Lead the way.'
The office of Yo Seno, the keeper of the keys, was upon the fourth level of the palace, almost directly above the quarters of the infant prince. At the doorway Phao halted, and drawing my ear down to her lips, whispered her final instructions. 'I shall enter first,' she said, 'upon some trivial errand. A moment later you may enter, but pay no attention to me. It must not appear that we have come together.'
'I understand,' I said, and walked a few paces along the corridor so that I should not be in sight when the door opened. She told me afterward that she asked Yo Seno to have a new key made for one of the numerous doors in the apartment of the little prince.
I waited but a moment, and then I, too, entered the apartment. It was a gloomy room without windows. Upon its walls hung keys of every imaginable size and shape. Behind a large desk sat a coarse-looking man, who looked up quickly and scowled at the interruption as I entered.
'Well?' he demanded.
'I have come for the woman, Tavia,' I said, 'the prisoner from Jahar.'
'Who sent you? What do you want of her?' he demanded.
'I have orders to bring her to Haj Osis,' I replied.
He looked at me suspiciously. 'You bring a written order?' he asked.
'Of course not,' I replied, 'it is not necessary. She is not to be taken out of the palace; merely from one apartment to another.'
'I must have a written order,' he snapped.
'Haj Osis will not be pleased,' I said, 'when he learns that you have refused to obey his command.'
'I am not refusing,' said Yo Seno. 'Do not dare to say that I refuse. I cannot turn a prisoner over without a written order. Show me your authority and I will give you the keys.'
I saw that the plan had failed; other measures must be taken. I whipped out my long sword. 'Here is my authority!' I exclaimed, leaping toward him.
With an oath he drew his own sword, but instead of facing me with it he stepped quickly back, the desk still between us and, turning, struck a copper gong heavily with the flat of his blade.
As I rushed toward him I heard the sound of hurrying feet and the clank of metal from an adjoining room. Yo Seno, still backing away, sneered sardonically, and then the lights went out and the windowless room was plunged into darkness. Soft fingers grasped my left hand and a low voice whispered in my ear, 'Come with me.'
Quickly I was drawn to one side and through a narrow aperture just as a door upon the opposite side of the chamber was flung open, revealing the forms of half a dozen warriors silhouetted against the light from the room behind them. Then the door closed directly in front of my face and I was again in utter darkness, but Phao's fingers still grasped my hand.
'Silence!' a soft voice whispered.
From beyond the panels I heard angry and excited voices. Above the others one voice rose in tones of authority. 'What is wrong here?'
There were muttered exclamations and curses as men bumped against pieces of furniture and ran into one another.
'Give us a light,' cried a voice, and a moment later, 'That is better.'
'Where is Yo Seno? Oh, there you are, you fat rascal. What is amiss?'
'By Issus! he is gone.' The voice was that of Yo Seno.
'Who is gone?' demanded the other voice. 'Why did you summon us?'
'I was attacked by a warrior,' explained Yo Seno, 'who came demanding the key to the apartment where Haj Osis keeps the daughter of--' I could not hear the rest of the sentence.
'Well, where is the man?' demanded the other.
'He is gone-and the key, too. The key is gone,' Yo Seno's voice rose almost to a wail.
'Quick, then, to the apartment where the girl is kept,' cried first speaker, doubtless the officer of the guard, and almost at once I heard them hasten from the apartment.
The girl at my side moved a little and I heard a low laugh. 'They will not find the key,' she said.
'Why?' I asked.
'Because I have it,' she replied.
'Little good it will do us,' I said ruefully. 'They will keep the door well guarded now and we cannot use the key.'
Phao laughed again. 'We do not need the key,' she said. 'I took it to throw them off the track. They will watch the door while we enter elsewhere.'
'I do not understand,' I said.
'This corridor leads between the partitions to the room where the prisoner is kept. I know that because, when I was a prisoner in that room, Yo Seno came thus to visit me. He is a beast. I hope he has not visited this girl-I hope it for your sake, if you love her.'
'I do not love her,' I said. 'She is only a friend.' But I scarcely knew what I was saying, the words seemed to come mechanically for I was in the grip of such an emotion as I never before had experienced or endured. It had seized me the instant that Phao had suggested that Yo Seno might have visited Tavia through this secret corridor. I experienced a sensation that was almost akin to a convulsion-a sensation that left me a changed man. Before, I could have killed Yo Seno with my sword and been glad; now I wanted to tear him to pieces; I wanted to mutilate him and make him suffer. Never before in my life had I experienced such a bestial desire. It was hideous, and yet I gloated in its possession.
'What is the matter?' exclaimed Phao. 'I thought I felt you tremble then.'
'I trembled,' I said.
'For what?' she asked.
'For Yo Seno,' I replied, 'but let us hasten. If this corridor leads to the apartment where Tavia is in prison, I cannot reach her too soon, for when Haj Osis learns that the key has been stolen he will have her removed to another prison.'
'He will not learn it if Yo Seno and the padwar of the guard can prevent,' said Phao, 'for if this reached the ears of Haj Osis it might easily cost them both their lives. They will wait for you to come that they may kill you and get the key, but they will wait outside the prison door and you will not come that way.'
As she spoke she started to walk along the narrow, dark corridor, leading me by the hand behind her. It was slow work for Phao had to grope her way slowly because the corridor turned sharply at right angles as it followed the partitions of the apartments between which it passed, and there were numerous stairways that led up over doorways and finally a ladder to the level above.
Presently she halted. 'We are there,' she whispered, 'but we must listen first to make sure that no one has entered the apartment with the prisoner.'
I could see absolutely nothing in the darkness, and how Phao knew that she had reached her destination, I
