Then speaking in a low voice, lest the queen should hear and be distressed, he went on: "You must prepare it, you know.

Bring it here in a shell; only a few officials need see the face." Sapt rose to his feet and stood facing Mr.Rassendyll.
"The plan's a pretty one, but it breaks down at one point," said he in a strange voice, even harsher than his was wont to be.

I was on fire with excitement, for I would have staked my life now that he had some strange tidings for us.

"There is no body," said he.
Even Mr.Rassendyll's composure gave way.

He sprang forward, catching Sapt by the arm.
"No body?
What do you mean ?" he exclaimed.
Sapt cast another glance at James, and then began in an even, mechanical voice, as though he were reading a lesson he had learnt, or playing a part that habit made familiar: "That poor fellow Herbert carelessly left a candle burning where the oil and the wood were kept," he said.