"
"You arrived just at the right moment," I said, "and I really cannot
express how grateful I am to you for your help."
"Oh," he said, "you were quite safe. It was just that touch of temper
that saved you; but I was hard by all the time, to see that things did
not go too far."
"May I ask," I said, "exactly what they could have done to me, and what
their real power is?"
"They have none at all," he said. "They could not really have done
anything to you, except imprison you. What helps them is not their own
power, which is nothing, but the terror of their victims. If you had not
been frightened when you were first attacked, they could not have
overpowered you. It is all a kind of playacting, which they perform with
remarkable skill. The Court was really an admirable piece of drama--they
have a great gift for representation."
"Do you mean to say," I said, "that they were actually aware that they
had no sort of power to inflict any injury upon me?"
"They could have made it very disagreeable for you," he said, "if they
had frightened you, and kept you frightened. As long as that lasted,
you would have been extremely uncomfortable.
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