"otherwise the empress would not have ventured to send me a direct
message. I did not lend her a book, and you know we agreed with the
ladies of our party to communicate direct news to each other only in
cases of pressing necessity. Let us see now what it is."

He hastily tore open the sealed package and drew from it a small
prayer-book bound in black velvet. While he was turning over the
leaves with a smile, a small piece of paper fluttered from between
the gilt-edged leaves and dropped to the floor.

"That is it," said John, smiling, picking up the paper, and fixing
his eyes on it. "There is nothing on it," he then exclaimed,
contemplating both sides of the paper. "There is not a word on it.
It is only a book-mark, that is all. But, perhaps, something is
written in the book, or there may be another paper."

"No, your imperial highness," whispered Nugent, stepping back a few
paces from the door. "The Princess Lichtenstein whispered to me
yesterday, at the court concert, that she had obtained an excellent
way of sending a written message to her friends and allies, and
that, if we received a piece of white paper from the ladies of our
party, we had better preserve it and read it afterward near the
fireplace."

"Ah, sympathetic ink," exclaimed John; "well, we will see."

He hastily approached the fireplace, where a bright fire was
burning, and held the piece of paper close to the flames.
Immediately a number of black dots and lines appeared on the paper;
these dots and lines assumed gradually the shape of finely-written