divided portières of an adjoining chamber! There sat the man whose
nod shook the earth!... Behind a heavy, old-fashioned desk, in a
dim light, apparently absorbed in writing, sat a deeply tanned,
lean-faced, blue-gray-eyed counterpart of Frederick the Great,--the
very embodiment of Majesty!... Eyes that blazed in their defiant
depths with a steady and consuming fire--the kind of eyes that seem to
defy the world.... I stood there fully five minutes before I heard the
sharp, high-pitched voice pierce through the portière saying: 'Adell,
I will see the C----'... I was conducted to within six feet of the man
at the desk and in the same shrill voice asked how familiar I was with
Russia, with Turkestan, India, and the Far East.... My answers seemed
to convince my questioner.... Handing me a note he said: 'No one
besides ourselves is to know that you are to undertake the mission
outlined in that note.' Then he sat forward abruptly, his elbows
resting on the desk, his head between his hands, his eyes fixed on
space.... I began to study the note.... I was dumfounded!... I had
thought all along that this man was the mortal enemy of the persons
this note commanded me to rescue from danger.... I could not
understand HOW there could be the slightest co-operation between this
man and the other great ones of the earth that note commanded me to
call upon for assistance in case I should need it. It was utterly
incomprehensible! Yet THERE were the directions in plain black and
white.... And I could not ask a solitary question!... In the same
shrill voice the man asked: 'Have you memorized it?' I had! It was
burned into my very soul. I could not forget a syllable of it!...
Without another word he took the note, struck a match and watched it
curl into shapeless ashes.... Then making a quick gesture he plunged
into the documents before him.... I backed away until the door closed
and shut out the sight of the lonely figure enveloped in a green
light, his face illuminated against the shadowy background of