wo men
would have changed their minds about the day, after midnight, when I had
parted from them. They had mentioned refusing one or two invitations,
and there was really so little to do by way of amusement out of one's
own house, or somebody else's, on Christmas Day. Somehow, too, I felt
impressed that the man was lying. He had perhaps been told to say that
his master and guest were away in case of an intrusion, which they might
have had reason to fear; but this could hardly stand with me.

The fellow's smug face changed instantly.

"Oh, I see, sir, you are the gentleman Mr. Wildred was expecting.
He--they--it is possible they will be in quite shortly. Perhaps you will
walk into the room."

"The room," and with such a queer little emphasis on the former word,
sounded rather odd. It was but a trifling peculiarity of expression,
however, and I did not think much of it as I followed the butler along
the hall, passing through a door, before which he swept the curtain
aside with a flourish, and so into a passage which evidently led towards
the new wing. We went on for some distance, and presently arrived at a
closed door, which the butler threw open for me. "It is here that my
master requested you should wait, sir," he said.

I walked in, and he left me, shutting the door. It then struck me that I
had neither given him my name nor mentioned the mass of smoke and sparks
which I had seen vomited from the tower. I sprang to the door again,
meaning to call after the man a word of warning in regard to the fire,
but he was already out of sight. He could not have gone back the way
that he had come, or I should certainly have seen him walking down the
dimly-lighted passage, there being no door save that at the extreme end,
which he would not yet have had time to reach. I did not see how he
could have disappeared so suddenly, but returning whence I had come, I
looked about in vain for a bell.

I was sure now that this room must be situated in that part of the new
wing which adjoined the tower. In glancing at the house from outside, I
had fancied that the square, squat wall must be that of a studio, as
there were no windows, but a high, domed skylight on top. Now I saw that
though the outer building was square, the room within was octagon in
shape. It was, perhaps, a studio, as I had fancied, but there was
something of the free-and-easy negligence of an Oriental smoking-room
about it.

The walls were hung with embroidered Indi