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"There will call upon you to-night, at a quarter to eight

o'clock," it said, "a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a

matter of the very deepest moment. Your recent services to one of

the royal houses of Europe have shown that you are one who may

safely be trusted with matters which are of an importance which

can hardly be exaggerated. This account of you we have from all

quarters received. Be in your chamber then at that hour, and do

not take it amiss if your visitor wear a mask."

"This is indeed a mystery," I remarked. "What do you imagine that

it means?"

"I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorise before

one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit

theories, instead of theories to suit facts. But the note itself.

What do you deduce from it?"

I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was

written.