ul woman, lying at full length upon the
floor, her arms flung out on either side of her, and her white face and
shoulders gleaming dully in the unsteady light of the candle. Around her
throat was a great chain of diamonds, and the light played upon these
and made them flash and blaze in tiny flames. But the woman who wore
them was dead, and I was so certain as to how she had died that without
an instant's hesitation I dropped on my knees beside her and placed
my hands above her heart. My fingers again touched the thin slit of a
wound. I had no doubt in my mind but that this was the Russian princess,
and when I lowered the candle to her face I was assured that this
was so. Her features showed the finest lines of both the Slav and the
Jewess; the eyes were black, the hair blue-black and wonderfully heavy,
and her skin, even in death, was rich in color. She was a surpassingly
beautiful woman.

[Illustration: 07 At my feet was the body of a beautiful woman]

"I rose and tried to light another candle with the one I held, but
I found that my hand was so unsteady that I could not keep the wicks
together. It was my intention to again search for this strange dagger
which had been used to kill both the English boy and the beautiful
princess, but before I could light the second candle I heard footsteps
descending the stairs, and the Russian servant appeared in the doorway.

"My face was in darkness, or I am sure that at the sight of it he would
have taken alarm, for at that moment I was not sure but that this man
himself was the murderer. His own face was plainly visible to me in the
light from the hall, and I could see that it wore an expression of dull
bewilderment. I stepped quickly toward him and took a firm hold upon his
wrist.

"'She is not there,' he said. 'The Princess has gone. They have all
gone.'

"'Who have gone?' I demanded. 'Who else has been here?'

"'The two Englishmen,' he said.

"'What two Englishmen?' I demanded. 'What are their names?'

"The man now saw by my manner that some question of great moment hung
upon his answer, and he began to protest that he did not know the names
of the visitors and that until that evening he had never seen them.

"I guessed that it was my tone which frightened him, so I took my hand
off his wrist and spoke less eagerly.

"'How long have they been here?' I asked, 'and when did they go?'

"He pointed behind him toward the drawing-room.

"'One sat there with the Princes