and with an exclamation of surprise, hastened toward it and closed
it. Then he rapped twice on the door of what was apparently the
drawing-room. There was no reply to his knock, and he tapped again,
and then, timidly, and cringing subserviently, opened the door and
stepped inside. He withdrew himself at once and stared stupidly at
me, shaking his head.

"'She is not there,' he said. He stood for a moment, gazing blankly
through the open door, and then hastened toward the dining-room. The
solitary candle which still burned there seemed to assure him that
the room also was empty. He came back and bowed me toward the
drawing-room. 'She is above,' he said; 'I will inform the Princess of
the Excellency's presence.'

"Before I could stop him, he had turned and was running up the
staircase, leaving me alone at the open door of the drawing-room. I
decided that the adventure had gone quite far enough, and if I had
been able to explain to the Russian that I had lost my way in the
fog, and only wanted to get back into the street again, I would have
left the house on the instant.

"Of course, when I first rang the bell of the house I had no other
expectation than that it would be answered by a parlor-maid who would
direct me on my way. I certainly could not then foresee that I would
disturb a Russian princess in her boudoir, or that I might be thrown
out by her athletic bodyguard. Still, I thought I ought not now to
leave the house without making some apology, and, if the worst should
come, I could show my card. They could hardly believe that a member
of an Embassy had any designs upon the hat-rack.