l see if there's any sign of him
in the court below."

"Oh, don't leave me! For heaven's sake don't leave me alone!"

She clutched my arm in the darkness.

"Have no fear; I merely propose to look out from this window."

Suiting the action to the word, I peered down into the court below. It
was quite deserted. The night was a very dark one, and there were many
patches of shadow in which a man might have lain concealed.

"I can see no one," I said, speaking as confidently as possible, and
relighting the lamp, "if I call a cab for you and see you safely into
it, you will have nothing to fear, I think."

"I have a cab waiting," she replied, and lowering the veil she stood up
to go.

"Kindly allow me to see you to it. I am sorry you have been subjected to
this annoyance, especially as you have not attained the object of your
visit."

"Thank you so much for your kindness; there must be some mistake about
the address, of course."

She clung to my arm very tightly as we descended the stairs, and often
glanced back over her shoulder affrightedly, as we crossed the court.
There was not a sign of anyone about, however, and I could not make
up my mind whether the story of the yellow man was a delusion or a
fabrication. I inclined to the latter theory, but the object of such a
deception was more difficult to determine.

Sure enough, a taxicab was waiting at the entrance to the court; and my
visitor, having seated herself within, extended her hand to me, and even
through the thick veil I could detect her brilliant smile.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Knox," she said, "and a thousand apologies. I am
sincerely sorry to have given you all this trouble."

The cab drove off. For a moment I stood looking after it, in a state of
dreamy incertitude, then turned and slowly retraced my steps. Reopening
the door of my chambers with my key, I returned to my study and sat down
at the table to endeavour to arrange the facts of what I recognized to
be a really amazing episode. The adventure, trifling though it seemed,
undoubtedly held some hidden significance that at present was not
apparent to me. In accordance with the excellent custom of my friend,
Paul Harley, I prepared to make notes of the occurrence while the facts
were still fresh in my memory. At the moment that I was about to begin,
I made an astounding discovery.

Although I had been absent only a few minutes, and had locked my door
behind me, the pigtail was gone!

I sat qu