Having entered cautiously, he closed the door behind him; then stood listening in the darkness. The room was quiet. From the wine rooms beyond he heard singing and laughter. “Iss eenypoty in here?” he asked, in a hoarse whisper. He got no satisfaction from this; so concluded to risk a match. When it flared up and he looked about by its light he saw the outlines of a very small square room, which was empty. The only door was the one by which he had come in, and there were no windows. The woman was not there. The only thing which drew his attention as being out of the ordinary was a piece of wood, or board, braced below the ceiling, which seemed likely to fall if touched or jarred. “Vale, I am oop a sdump!” he concluded, staring round in disappointment. “She vos broughdt in here, budt she iss not bresent. Vot is der explanadions?” He turned to the door, intending to leave the room. As he did so he felt the floor begin to sink under him, carrying him downward. He jumped for the door; but he could not get out now, even when he tried to open it, for the descent of the platform was so swift that by the time he had the door opened a blank wall was passing apparently upward before his face. He could not see it clearly, because of the darkness; but he felt the wall sliding upward, when he touched it with his fingers. “I am going indo der cellar uff dhis estaplishmendt! Maybe der voman vent der same vay. Yaw! I pedt you I am guessing righdt. Now, uff----” The sinking floor stopped with a bump that brought the baron to his knees. He heard the piece of timber which he had seen over him scuttling down, and threw up his arm to ward it off; failing to do so, it rapped him on the head, knocking him heavily to the floor. The door opened; and the baron, dazed and bewildered, was seized by strong arms and dragged out, not knowing at the moment what was happening to him. When he came back to something like clearness of thought a dim light was shining before him, and by it a man was sitting. The man was Gopher Gabe, and the light was from a candle stuck on top of a box. The place seemed to be a cellar, and had the odor of one. The baron’s first effort was to brush away cobwebs that seemed to obscure his vision. In trying it, he made the discovery that he was tied up, hand and foot. He was dizzy and half blind. “Vale,” he said, “how iss dhis?” His voice sounded strange to him, and far off. “You know where you are?” came in answer. “I seem to be in der cellar. Who ar-re you, eenyhow? Somedings seems to pe fluddering pefore mine eyes, so dot I do not see so blain as I wouldt like.” “How did you get in here?” “Idt iss der kvestion I am vandting to ask uff you.” “Do you know who I am?” The baron leaned forward and stared. “Iss dare somedings pefore mine eyes? I am in sooch a bevildermendt dot I ton’dt know nottings blainly.”