explanation, but its significance is singular. It is said to be
one of the devices whereby the Hashishin warn those whom they have
marked down for destruction, and is called, in the East, "The
Scimitar of Hassan."

The Hashishin were the members of a Moslem secret society, founded
in 1090 by one Hassan of Khorassan. There is a persistent tradition
in parts of the Orient that this sect still flourishes in Assyria,
under the rule of a certain Hassan of Aleppo, the Sheikh-al-jebal,
or supreme lord of the Hashishin. My careful inquiries, however,
at the time that I was preparing matter for my "Assyrian Mythology,"
failed to discover any trace of such a person or such a group.

I accordingly assumed Hassan to be a myth--a first cousin to the
ginn. I was wrong. He exists. And by my supremely rash act I
have incurred his vengeance, for Hassan of Aleppo is the
self-appointed guardian of the traditions and relics of Mohammed.
And I have Stolen one of the holy slippers of the Prophet!

He, with some of his servants, has followed me from Mecca to
England. My precautions have enabled me to retain the relic, but
you have seen what fate befell all those others who even touched
the receptacle containing it.

If I fall a victim to the Hashishin, I am uncertain how you, as my
confidant, will fare. Therefore I have locked the slipper in my
safe and to you entrust the key. I append particulars of the lock
combination; but I warn you--do not open the safe. If their
wrath be visited upon you, your possession of the key may prove a
safeguard.