He sat frowning for a minute, as if uncertain how to begin. Finally he introduced himself as William Cowath. I gave him my name and still he hesitated. At length he took a swallow of brandy and then looked straight at me. "I am," he stated, "the Factor at Chilton Castle." I surveyed him with surprise and renewed interest. "What an agreeable coincidence!" I exclaimed. "Then perhaps tomorrow you could arrange for me to have a look at the castle?" He seemed scarcely to hear me. "Yes, yes, of course," he replied absently. Puzzled and a bit irritated by his air of detachment, I remained silent. He took a deep breath and then spoke rapidly, running some of his words together. "Robert Chilton-Payne, the Twelfth Earl of Chilton, was buried in the family vaults one week ago. Frederick, the young heir and now Thirteenth Earl, came of age just three days ago. Tonight it is imperative that he be conducted to the secret chamber!" I gaped at him in incredulous amazement. For a moment I had an idea that he had somehow heard of my interest in Chilton Castle and was merely "pulling my leg" for amusement in the belief that I was the greenest of gullible tourists. But there could be no mistaking his deadly seriousness. There was not the faintest suspicion of humor in his eyes. I groped for words. "It seems so strange--so unbelievable! Just before you arrived, I had been thinking about the various legends connected with the secret room." His cold eyes held my own. "It is not legend that confronts us; it is fact." A thrill of fear and excitement ran through me. "You are going there--tonight?" He nodded. "Tonight. Myself, the young Earl--and one other." I stared at him. "Ordinarily," he continued, "the Earl himself would accompany us. That is the custom. But he is dead. Shortly before he passed away, he instructed me to select someone to go with the young Earl and myself. That person must be male--and preferably of the blood." I took a deep drink of ale and said not a word. He continued. "Besides the young Earl, there is no one at the Castle save his elderly mother, Lady Beatrice Chilton, and an ailing aunt." "Who could the Earl have had in mind?" I inquired cautiously. The Factor frowned. "There are some distant male cousins residing in the country. I have an idea he thought at least one of them might appear for the obsequies. But not one of them did." "That was most unfortunate!" I observed. "Extremely unfortunate. And I am therefore asking you, as one of the blood, to accompany the young Earl and myself to the secret room tonight!" I gulped like a bumpkin. Lightning flashed against the windows and I could hear rain swishing along the stones outside. When feathers of ice stopped fluttering in my stomach, I managed a reply. "But I--that is--my relationship is so very remote! I am "of the blood" only by courtesy, you might say! The strain in me is so very diluted!"