He had scarcely got into his own room and shut the door when he heard the click of the lock on Posser’s door and smiled his approval. It was at a quarter to two when he went to bed and at half-past seven the maid brought him a cup of coffee and some biscuits. He drank his coffee and rose, slipped into his dressing-gown and went over to Posser’s room anxious to know what was the result of the night’s work. He tapped at the door. There was no answer. He tapped again. There was still no answer. He tried the handle, remembering at the same time that Herr Posser had locked the door. He was a little surprised to find that the door yielded. The room was in semi-darkness, the blinds were still drawn and he walked to the window and let the blinds up with a crash. What he saw, or rather what he did not see, struck him with amazement. The bed had not been slept in. All the drawing material had been cleared. Posser’s trunks were still in the position where he had left them, but there was no sign of Posser. He went back to his room and rang the bell. The night porter was summoned, but neither he nor any of the servants had seen Posser, who from that moment vanished from the earth as completely as though the ground had opened and swallowed him, and not only vanished but had taken with him whatever drawings he had made. In his perturbation Klein went to the room of Mister Haynes, who was still in bed and sleeping soundly. “Get up!” said Klein testily; “have you seen Mr.----my secretary?” Mister Haynes sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “What’s the time?” he asked. “Confound it,” said Klein angrily, “what does it matter what the time is? Have you seen my friend?” “Why should I have seen your friend?” growled Haynes. “What has happened to him?” “He has disappeared,” said Klein. “Gone out for a walk, I expect; it is a beautiful morning.” “On the contrary, it is raining and blowing,” said Klein angrily; “why should he go out on a morning like this?” Haynes rose and dressed himself leisurely, spending an unconscionable time in the bathroom for a man whom I never suspected of washing, and turned up at breakfast, wholly unconcerned in his callous English fashion as to what had happened to poor Posser. Klein, who was all nerves, could eat nothing. He had questioned everybody in the hotel, but nobody had heard a sound in the night and the night-porter supplemented his previous statement, declaring that it was impossible for Posser to leave the house except with his knowledge. Klein was not satisfied and made an examination of the outside of the hotel, hoping to pick up some trace of his comrade. Outside Posser’s window he made a discovery. A line of bushes grew within a foot of the house-wall, and beneath Posser’s window these had been broken as though by some heavy body having jumped or fallen upon them. Moreover, he discovered a small pair of dividers which he recognized as Posser’s.