He was in the east wing of the castle, a part to which the visitors did not penetrate, for to do so it was necessary to cross the kitchen. Before the closed door he paused, held his breath, and placed his hand instinctively upon his heart, as though to still its beating. He dared not advance farther. Who, he wondered, was his visitor? Could it be that the blow which he had expected for so long had at length fallen? CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. INTRODUCES AN INTERESTING PERSON. He hesitated for a moment; then, setting his jaws hard in sudden resolution, he turned the door-handle and entered. Within, the long, low-ceilinged room was furnished as a kind of office. From an arm-chair near the fireless grate rose the spare figure of a grey-haired, grey-eyed, haggard-faced man of a type which might be described as shabby-genteel, a man who had without doubt seen better days. His features were refined, but his cheeks were sunken until the bones of the face showed plainly beneath the skin, and his hair and moustache, though grey, had prematurely lost their original colour. His tall, slim figure was straight, and he bowed to Chisholm with the easy manner of a gentleman. His overcoat of shabby grey Irish frieze was open, displaying a coat and vest much the worse for wear, while his up-turned trousers were sodden by the melting snow. "I understand that you wish, to see me," Chisholm began, glancing at the fellow keenly, and not half liking his appearance. "This is a rather unusual hour for a visit, is it not?" "Yes," the man replied. "For the lateness of the hour I must apologise, but my trains did not fit, and I was compelled to walk from Shrewsbury." He spoke in a refined voice, and his bearing was not that of a person who intended to ask assistance. Dudley possessed a quick insight into character, and could sum up a man as sharply and correctly as a lawyer with a wide experience of criminals. "And what may your business be with me?" asked the master of Wroxeter. The man glanced suspiciously at the door by which Dudley had entered, and asked: "Are we alone? Do you think there can possibly be any eavesdroppers?" "Certainly not. But I cannot understand why your business should be of such a purely private character. You are entirely unknown to me, and I understand that you refused to give a card." He uttered the last words with a slight touch of sarcasm, for the man's appearance was not such as would warrant the casual observer in believing him to be possessed of that mark of gentility. "Of course I am unknown to you, Mr. Chisholm. But although unknown to you in person, I am probably known to you by name." As he spoke, he selected from his rather shabby pocket-book a folded paper, which he handed to Dudley. "This credential will, I think, satisfy you."