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When the Persian lit his lantern , the hole above them had already closed . On the floor at their feet lay a thin rope . The Persian picked it up and threw it away in horror . “ The Punjab lasso ! ” he whispered . “ This may be the rope that hanged Joseph Buquet . ” He moved the light over the walls . They saw the trunk of a tree with real - looking leaves , and its branches seemed to go up into the ceiling . But next to the branches there was nothing , only the light reflecting itself . Raoul put out his hand and touched cold glass . “ The wall is a mirror ! ” he said . “ Yes , ” said the Persian , and his voice was shaking . “ We have fallen into the torture chamber . ” XII . The Torture Chamber The room had six sides , and every wall was a mirror from the floor to the ceiling . In one corner stood a tree made of iron , with one iron branch . The Persian knew this room . He had seen a room exactly like it in the palace of Mazenderan , where Erik had built it for the cruel games of the little queen . Men who were locked in it were left alone with the iron tree and the rope , and in the end they used them . Suddenly they heard a door open and close in the next room , and then a man’s voice which the Persian knew only too well . “ You must choose ! The wedding mass or the requiem mass ! ” It was Erik . Raoul wanted to shout , but the Persian held his arm tightly , because it was clear that Erik did not know they were there . “ The requiem mass is not at all cheerful , ” the voice went on , “ but the wedding mass is magnificent , believe me ! I can’t go on living like a mole under the ground . My Don Juan Triumphant is finished , and now I want to live like other men , with a wife whom I can take out for a walk on Sundays . I have made a mask that makes me look like anybody , so nobody will even turn round in the street . If you loved me , I would be as gentle as a lamb . ” Then they heard him crying and repeating the same words again and again : “ You don’t love me ! You don’t love me ! ” Suddenly a bell rang somewhere in the house . “ Somebody is ringing ! ” said Erik in a loud , terrible voice . “ Wait for me here , while I go and tell the siren to open the door . ” As soon as his steps had gone away , Raoul began to call through the wall . “ Christine ! Christine ! It is I , Raoul ! ” At first she thought that she was dreaming . Then , in a few quick words , she told them that Erik had gone quite mad with love , and that he had given her until eleven o’clock the next evening to decide . If she agreed to marry him , everything would be well . If she refused , he would kill everybody , and himself too . “ If your answer is no , ” he had said , “ everybody will be dead and buried ! ”
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