“The Key of the Temple of Heaven!” murmured a lady standing immediately behind Madame de Medici. “And what is the Key of the Temple of Heaven?”
The Colonel, having unlocked the safe, straightened himself, and while everyone was waiting to see what he had to show, began to speak again pompously:
“The Temple of Heaven stands in the outer or Chinese City of Pekin, and is fabulously wealthy. No European, I can swear, had ever entered its secret chambers until last year. One of its most famous treasures was this Key. It was used only to open the special entrance reserved for the Emperor when he came to worship after his succession to the throne—that was, of course, before China became a Republic. The Key is studded almost all over with precious stones. Last year a certain naval man—I'll not mention his name—discovered the secret of its hiding-place. How he came by that knowledge does not matter at present. One very dark night he crept up to the temple. He found the Keeper of the Key—a Buddhist priest—to be sleeping, and he succeeded, therefore, in gaining access and becoming possessed of the Key.”
A chorus of excited exclamations greeted this dramatic point of the story.
“The object of this outrage,” continued the Colonel, “for an outrage I cannot deny it to have been, was not a romantic one. The poor chap wanted money, and he thought he could sell the Key to one of the native jewellers. But he was mistaken. He got back safely, and secretly offered it in various directions. No one would touch the thing; moreover, although of great value, the stones were very far from flawless, and not really worth the risks which he had run to secure them. Don't misunderstand me; the Key would fetch a big sum, but not a fortune.”
“Yes?” said Madame de Medici, smiling, for the Colonel paused.
“He packed it up and addressed it to me, together with a letter. The price that he asked was quite a moderate one, and when the Key arrived in England I dispatched a check immediately. It never reached him.”
“Why?” cried many whom this strange story had profoundly interested.
“He was found dead at the back of the native cantonments, with a knife in his heart!”
“Oh!” exclaimed Lady Dascot. “How positively ghastly! I don't think I want to see the dreadful thing!”