oscow at midnight.

I clutched at my watch, and drew it forth. The hands marked the time
as 9.25. Apparently I had not been unconscious for more than a few
seconds.

My second glance assured me that my clothes were not disarranged. My
shirt-front, concealing the Czar's autograph letter, was exactly as
when I sat down to the table.

Only after satisfying myself on these two points did I begin to take
in the rest of my surroundings.

I was resting on a couch against the wall in the room where we had
dined. My host, the head of the Manchuria Syndicate, was standing
beside me, watching my recovery with a friendly and relieved
expression, as though honestly glad to see me myself again. A
servant, holding in his hand a bottle which appeared to contain sal
volatile, was looking on from the foot of the bed, in an attitude of
sympathetic attention. The other guests had left the room, and the
state of the table, covered with half-filled glasses and hastily
thrown down napkins, made it evident that they had cleared out of the
way to give me a chance to come to.

The cold air blowing over my forehead told me that a window had been
opened. A Russian January is not favorable to much ventilation. As a
rule the houses of the well-to-do are provided with double windows,
which are kept hermetically sealed while the rooms are in use. The
fact that the dining-room was still warm was sufficient proof that
the window could not have been opened for more than the briefest
time.

It was a singular thing that, in spite of these assurances that my
swoon had been an affair of moments only, I was seized by an
overmastering desire to get away from the house immediately.

I heard M. Petrovitch exclaim--

"Thank Heaven--you are better! I began to be afraid that your seizure
was going to last. I must go and reassure my guests. The Grand Duke
will be delighted to hear your are recovering. He was most distressed
at the attack."

I sat upright with an effort, and staggered to my feet.

"I am ashamed to have given you so much trouble," I said. "I can't
remember ever fainting like this before. Please make my excuses to
his imperial highness and the rest of the company."

"But what are you doing?" cried M. Petrovitch in dismay. "You must
not attempt to move yet."

"I shall be better in bed," I answered in a voice which I purposely
strove to render as faint as possible. "If you will excuse me, I will
go straight to my hotel."

The promoter'