voice. But he only
whispered:

"Hush! Excellency! Remain patient, and you shall see the young
Englishwoman."

So I sat in the boat, while he allowed it to drift with the current,
steering it with the great heavy oars. The river suddenly narrowed
again, with high pines on either bank, a silent, lonesome reach, perhaps
indeed one of the loneliest spots in all Europe. Once the dismal howl of
a wolf sounded close to where we passed, but my guide made no remark.

After nearly a mile, the stream again opened out into a broad lake
where, in the distance, I saw rising sheer and high from the water, a
long square building of three stories, with a tall round tower at one
corner--an old medieval castle it seemed to be. From one of the small
windows of the tower, as we came into view of it, a light was shining
upon the water, and my guide seeing it, grunted in satisfaction. It had
undoubtedly been placed there as signal.

With great caution he approached the place, keeping in the deep shadow
of the bank until we came exactly opposite the flanking-tower. In the
lighted window I distinctly saw a dark figure of someone appear for a
moment, and then my guide struck a match and held it in his fingers
until it was wholly consumed.

Almost instantly the light was extinguished, and then, after waiting
five minutes or so, he pulled straight across the lake to the high, dark
tower that descended into the water. The place was as grim and silent as
any I had ever seen, an impregnable stronghold of the days before siege
guns were invented, the fortress of some feudal prince or count who had
probably held the surrounding country in thraldom.

I put my hand against the black, slimy wall to prevent the boat bumping,
and then distinguished just beyond me a small wooden ledge and
half-a-dozen steps which led up to a low arched door. The latter had
opened noiselessly, and the dark figure of a woman stood peering forth.

My guide uttered some reassuring word in Finnish in a low half-whisper,
and then slowly pushed the boat along to the ledge, saying:

"Your high nobility may disembark. There is at present no danger."

I rose, gripped a big rusty chain to steady myself, and climbed into the
narrow doorway in the ponderous wall, where I found myself in the
darkness beside the female who had apparently been expecting our arrival
and watching our signal.

Without a word she led me through a short passage, and then, striking a
match, lit a big