ng the gateway of which Simon had spoken,
or in identifying the window beneath which he had picked up the velvet
knot. An alley opening almost opposite, I took advantage of this to
examine the house at my leisure, and remarked at once, that whereas the
lower window was guarded only by strong shutters, now open, that in the
story above was heavily barred. Naturally I concentrated my attention
on the latter. The house, an old building of stone, seemed sufficiently
reputable, nor could I discern anything about it which would have
aroused my distrust had the knot been found elsewhere. It bore the arms
of a religious brotherhood, and had probably at one time formed the
principal entrance to the hospital, which still stood behind it, but it
had now come, as I judged, to be used as a dwelling of the better class.
Whether the two floors were separately inhabited or not I failed to
decide.

After watching it for some time without seeing anyone pass in or out, or
anything occurring to enlighten me one way or the other, I resolved to
venture in, the street being quiet and the house giving no sign of being
strongly garrisoned. The entrance lay under the archway, through a door
on the right side. I judged from what I saw that the porter was probably
absent, busying himself with his gossips in matters of State.

And this proved to be the case, for when I had made the passage of the
street with success, and slipped quietly in through the half-open door,
I found only his staff and charcoal-pan there to represent him. A single
look satisfied me on that point; forthwith, without hesitation, I
turned to the stairs and began to mount, assured that if I would effect
anything single-handed I must trust to audacity and surprise rather than
to caution or forethought.

The staircase was poorly lighted by loopholes looking towards the rear,
but it was clean and well-kept. Silence, broken only by the sound of my
footsteps, prevailed throughout the house, and all seemed so regular
and decent and orderly that the higher I rose the lower fell my hopes
of success. Still, I held resolutely on until I reached the second floor
and stood before a closed door. The moment had come to put all to the
touch. I listened for a few seconds but hearing nothing, cautiously
lifted the latch. Somewhat to my surprise the door yielded to my hand,
and I entered.

A high settle stood inside, interrupting my view of the room, which
seemed to be spacious and full of r