But every attempt which was made to raise the flagged trap-door, which undoubtedly existed, was frustrated. I employed in this task one Hermann Swartz, or, to give him his English name, Herbert Black, a very skilled member of my staff who was also, curiously enough, a stone mason. Finding their efforts unavailing, the party made their way back to London and reported to me. “I can tell you this, Herr Heine,” said Swartz, with that profound earnestness which is the charm of the German working man who has no peer in the world, “that if you let me bring my tools I will guarantee to open that trap to-night, but I feel in this that I cannot assume responsibility unless I am directed by a superior officer, and I suggest that you should come with us.” “My dear good Swartz,” said I testily, “why should I go with you? You must understand that it is very necessary that I should not be identified with any such enterprise as this, that I am the brains of a great movement and that upon my safety depends, perhaps, the ever-to-be desired security of the Fatherland.” Whereupon Swartz (and I regret to have to report this, and have already notified Berlin of the occurrence) refused to go except under my leadership. Having made a most exhaustive inquiry of all the circumstances, and having discovered that there was very little danger of my detection, I agreed, and at three o’clock in the morning, behold me crawling stealthily through a square hole in the banqueting hall of Leatham Priory. One dim electric light burned in the roof, giving the gaunt apartment an air of size and mystery. Save along the centre, it was uncarpeted. The smouldering ashes of a fire still burnt in the big grate and from somewhere a great clock ticked solemnly. The room was almost innocent of furniture. There was a long, an interminably long table set upon the parallelogram of carpet and against this were pushed about twenty chairs. There were three or four suits of armour, two big pieces of tapestry covering the principal walls, a black oak buffet or sideboard, half a dozen easy-chairs about the fire-place and, so far as I could see, nothing else. There were four doors leading from the room, two at each end, and I gathered that those flanking the sideboard would lead to the kitchens and servants’ apartments, and that the two doors facing them, which were beautifully carved, and one of which was half hidden by a portière, would lead to the wing in which Lord Leatham and his guests were asleep. I had pulled on felt slippers over my boots and made my quiet way to the door which was covered by the portière. My objective you may easily guess. These high nobilities who were visiting Lord Leatham were members of a Conference, that Conference would be held possibly in one of the great saloons and the portfolios containing the notes of the meeting would be found in the high-born lord’s study or office.