SOME thirty minutes later, a shadowy form approached the front door of Prince Zuvor’s residence. The shape was invisible in the darkness. It seemed to melt against the shadow of the door; then the door opened slowly and closed again.
The hallway was dark within. Persons on the street could not have seen the strange action of the door.
Shortly after that, Ivan Shiskin was attracted by a light in the front room on the second floor. He came in softly; as he did, the curtains parted at the side of the room, and Prince Zuvor appeared.
“Master!” exclaimed Ivan, in Russian. “I did not hear you enter the house.”
“I came in quietly, little one,” was the reply in Russian.
“I did not expect you to-night, master. You said that you would not return until to-morrow.”
“What instructions did I give you?”
“You said this, master. When he who carries the sign of the Seventh Circle comes at eight o’clock — “
“To-morrow night.”
“Yes, master. To-morrow night. You said that I shall tell him, ‘My master will be here soon.’ Then you said that I should tell him to wait in this room.”