secret chamber? It is likely that he told the father of old Luigi to guard it carefully.”

“And does the editor himself hint at the automata’s having any significance?” I asked, alarmed.

“Luckily not. He dismisses the whole subject 100as a myth, a mere superstition of the middle ages.”

100

“All the same,” I said, “if we could get hold of a copy of that monograph we might have a hint or two.”

“Very true,” quietly answered the dealer. “That is why you are going to St. Petersburg. The monograph is in the Imperial Library. There is only one copy known to be extant, our editor assures me. Useful man, our editor.”

“Very,” and I laughed shortly. “But what if the duke gets wind of this precious legend, and feels curious enough to try his hand at solving the riddle? If, for instance, he asks Mrs. Gordon for his clock again, we shall have a rival contestant for honors in mysteries.”

“That is why we have no time to lose. Ah, the shutters of the clock-maker are down. At last we can examine your clock, and we shall be lucky if he hasn’t ruined it,” grumbled St. Hilary. He lifted the awning of the Arcade, and we stepped out into the glare of the Piazza.

Marruchi met me with apologies. No; he had not attempted to repair the clock. He had not even taken it to pieces. The mechanism was too intricate. In fact, he knew of but one clock-maker in the world to whom it might safely be entrusted.

101“And he lives at Amsterdam,” concluded St. Hilary complacently. “And now, perhaps, you understand, Hume, why it is necessary for one of us to go to Amsterdam?”

101

I hesitated. I remembered how he had attempted to obtain possession of the clock by subterfuge. How could I be sure that his sending me off to St. Petersburg was not a ruse to get me conveniently out of the way? Meanwhile he would have the clock, and when he had mastered its secret, he could return it to me with the assurance that it was but a myth after all. “Why should I not go to Amsterdam, and you to St. Petersburg?” That was the question that I might very pertinently have asked him. But I did not. I had promised to trust him. I trusted him now.

“Can you catch the afternoon express, Hume? 

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