was
immensely impressed. The servants were all Japanese, but their livery
and manners were faultless. He made his way into the hall and followed
the butler up the broad stairs.

"My master," the latter explained, "will receive you very shortly. He is
but partly dressed at present."

Dr. Spencer Whiles came of a family of successful tradespeople, and he
was not used to such quiet magnificence as was everywhere displayed.
Yet, with it all, there seemed to him to be an air of gloom about the
place, something almost mysterious in the silence of the thick carpets,
the subdued voices, and the absence of maidservants. The house itself
was apparently an old one. He noticed that the doors were very heavy and
thick, the corridors roomy, the absence of light almost remarkable. The
apartment into which he was shown, however, came as a pleasant surprise.
It was small, but delightfully furnished in the most modern fashion. Its
only drawback was that it looked out upon a blank wall.

"My master will come to you in a few minutes," the butler announced.
"What refreshments may I have the honor of serving?"

Dr. Whiles waved aside the invitation,--he would at any rate remain
professional. The man withdrew, and almost immediately afterwards Prince
Maiyo entered the room. The doctor rose to his feet with a little thrill
of excitement. The Prince held out his hand.

"I am very pleased to see you again, doctor," he said. "You looked
after me so well last time that I was afraid I should have no excuse for
sending for you."

"I am glad to find that you are not suffering," the doctor answered. "I
understood from your servant that you were feeling a good deal of pain
in the side."

"It troubles me at times," the Prince admitted, drawing a chair up
towards his visitor,--"just sufficiently, perhaps, to give me the excuse
of seeking a little conversation with you. You must let me offer you
something after your ride."

"You are very good," the doctor answered. "Perhaps I had better examine
you first."

The Prince rang the bell and waved aside the suggestion.

"That," he said, "can wait. In my country, you know, we do not consider
that a guest is properly treated unless he partakes of our hospitality
the moment he crosses the threshold. The whiskey and soda water," he
ordered of the butler who appeared at the door. "We will talk of my
ailments," the Prince continued, "in a moment or two. Tell me what
you thought of that marvellous restaur