I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which
it waswritten.
"The man who wrote it was presumably well to do," I remarked,endeavouring to imitate my companion's processes. "Such papercould not be bought under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarlystrong and stiff."
"Peculiar--that is the very word," said Holmes. "It is not anEnglish paper at all. Hold it up to the light."
I did so, and saw a large "E" with a small "g," a "P," and alarge "G" with a small "t" woven into the texture of the paper.
"What do you make of that?" asked Holmes.
"The name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather."
"Not at all. The 'G' with the small 't' stands for'Gesellschaft,' which is the German for 'Company.' It is acustomary contraction like our 'Co.' 'P,' of course, stands for'Papier.' Now for the 'Eg.' Let us glance at our ContinentalGazetteer." He took down a heavy brown volume from his shelves."Eglow, Eglonitz--here we are, Egria. It is in a German-speakingcountry--in Bohemia, not far from Carlsbad. 'Remarkable as beingthe scene of the death of Wallenstein, and for its numerousglass-factories and paper-mills.' Ha, ha, my boy, what do youmake of that?" His eyes sparkled, and he sent up a great bluetriumphant cloud from his cigarette.
"The paper was made in Bohemia," I said.
"Precisely. And the man who wrote the note is a German. Do younote the peculiar construction of the sentence--'This account ofyou we have from all quarters received.' A Frenchman or Russiancould not have written that. It is the German who is souncourteous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore, to discoverwhat is wanted by this German who writes upon Bohemian paper andprefers wearing a mask to showing his face. And here he comes, ifI am not mistaken, to resolve all our doubts."
As he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses' hoofs andgrating wheels against the curb, followed by a sharp pull at thebell. Holmes whistled.
"A pair, by the sound," said he. "Yes," he continued, glancingout of the window. "A nice little brougham and a pair ofbeauties. A hundred and fifty guineas apiece. There's money inthis case, Watson, if there is nothing else."
"I think that I had better go, Holmes."
"Not a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without myBoswell. And this promises to be interesting. It would be a pityto miss it."
"But your client--"
"Never mind him. I may want your help, and so may he. Here hecomes. Sit down in that armchair, Doctor, and give us your bestattention."
A slow and heavy step, which had been heard upon the stairs andin the passage, paused immediately outside the door. Then therewas a loud and authoritative tap.
"Come in!" said Holmes.
A man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet sixinches in height, with the chest and limbs of a Hercules. Hisdress was rich with a richness which would, in England, be lookedupon as akin to bad taste. Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashedacross the sleeves and fronts of his double-breasted coat, whilethe deep blue cloak which was thrown over his shoulders was linedwith flame-coloured silk and secured at the neck with a broochwhich consisted of a single flaming beryl. Boots which extendedhalfway up his calves, and which were trimmed at the tops withrich brown fur, completed the impression of barbaric opulencewhich was suggested by his whole appearance. He carried abroad-brimmed hat in his hand, while he wore across the upperpart of his face, extending down past the cheekbones, a blackvizard mask, which he had apparently adjusted that very moment,for his hand was still raised to it as he entered. From the lowerpart of the face he appeared to be a man of strong character,with a thick, hanging lip, and a long, straight chin suggestiveof resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy.
"You had my note?" he asked with a deep harsh voice and astrongly marked German accent. "I told you that I would call." Helooked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which toaddress.
"Pray take a seat," said Holmes. "This is my friend andcolleague, Dr. Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help mein my cases. Whom have I the honour to address?"
"You may address me as the Count Von Kramm, a Bohemian nobleman.I understand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man of honourand discretion, whom I may trust with a matter of the mostextreme importance. If not, I should much prefer to communicatewith you alone."
I rose to go, but Holmes caught me by the wrist and pushed meback into my chair. "It is both, or none," said he. "You may saybefore this gentleman anything which you may say to me."
The Count shrugged his broad shoulders. "Then I must begin," saidhe, "by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; atthe end of that time the matter will be of no importance. Atpresent it is not too much to say that it is of such weight itmay have an influence upon European history."
"I promise," said Holmes.
"And I."
"You will excuse this mask," continued our strange visitor. "Theaugust person who employs me wishes his agent to be unknown toyou, and I may confess at once that the title by which I havejust called myself is not exactly my own."
"I was aware of it," said Holmes dryly.
"The circumstances are of great delicacy, and every precautionhas to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immensescandal and seriously compromise one of the reigning families ofEurope. To speak plainly, the matter implicates the great Houseof Ormstein, hereditary kings of Bohemia."
"I was also aware of that," murmured Holmes, settling himselfdown in his armchair and closing his eyes.