Accordingly, I wasted no time, but descended the stairs, keeping a sharp look-out over the banisters as I did so. I had reached the next floor in safety and was preparing to descend to that below, when the sound of a door being closed in the basement caused me to hesitate. It was followed by a man's laugh, and a moment later, some one, who I could not see, began to ascend the stairs. In another second he would have turned the corner and have seen me. I can assure you it was one of the most anxious moments of my life. To go on was impossible; to go back more dangerous still. I had only two seconds' grace in which to act, but which door should I choose? Having selected that immediately opposite me, I softly turned the handle and entered the room--to make a discovery which for a moment deprived me not only of the power of locomotion, but even of thought. My readers will appreciate this when I say that, standing beside the fireplace, with one elbow resting on the mantel-piece, and a cigarette between his lips, _was no less a person than Conrad Reiffenburg_; while seated in a comfortable chair, her dainty feet resting on the brass fender before her, was his cousin, _the Countess de Venetza_! "So you have managed to escape from your room, have you?" said Conrad with the utmost coolness, and without any apparent surprise. "I wonder how you did that?" "You here?" I said, addressing the Countess, and disregarding him altogether. "What on earth does this mean? Have I gone mad?" She was quite equal to the emergency. There was not a tremor in her voice when she replied. "Not at all mad, my dear Sir George. It simply means that you have to thank me for saving you from a terrible death. Quite by chance I became aware that there was an anarchist plot in preparation against yourself and certain other members of your Government. To have revealed my knowledge to the Authorities would have been to implicate several of my dear, but misguided, friends, while to have appealed to them for mercy would have been as useless as it would have been dangerous. I therefore took what I deemed the next best course, and removed you out of the reach of harm." "Can this be true?" I asked, for the whole thing seemed too wildly improbable. "You surely would not doubt the Countess's word," Conrad put in. I paid no attention to him, however. "But if there was a plot against me, why did you not warn me?" I continued. "I could then have taken steps to insure my own safety." "Impossible," she replied. "You would have communicated with the Police at once. No, the only thing was to act as we did, and I think, since you are still alive, that you have every reason to be thankful that we adopted such prompt measures."