"
"Then," I said, "I suppose your engagement of to-day was a meeting of
this society?"
"Yes," he answered, "a meeting of the Chamber to which I and the elder
members of my household, including my son and his wife, belong."
"But," I said, "if you are more powerful than the rulers of your
people, what need of such careful secrecy?"
"You will understand the reason," he answered, "when you learn the
nature of our powers. Hundreds among millions, we are no match for the
fighting force of our unbelieving countrymen. Our safety lies in the
terror inspired by a tradition, verified by repeated and invariable
experience, that no one who injures one of us but has reason to rue
it, that no mortal enemy of _the Star_ has ever escaped signal
punishment, more terrible for the mystery attending it. Were we known,
were our organisation avowed, we might be hunted down and
exterminated, and should certainly suffer frightful havoc, even if in
the end we were able to frighten or overcome our enemies. But if you
are disposed to accept my offer--and enrolment among us gives you at
once your natural place in this planet and your best security against
the enmity you have incurred and will incur here--I should prefer to
make the rest of the explanation that must precede your admission in
presence of my family.
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