“By all means, old fellow,” my brother answered.  “To tell you the truth, I think you are better here than at the Milan.  You can have the rooms you had the other night.”

I had had a tiring day, and I dropped off to sleep almost as soon as my head touched the pillow.  I was awakened by the sound of the telephone bell close to my head.  I had no idea as to the time, but from the silence everywhere I judged that I had been asleep for several hours.  I took up the receiver and held it to my ear.

“Hullo!” I exclaimed.

“Is that Captain Rotherby?” a familiar voice asked.

“Yes!” I said.  “That’s Ashley, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir!” the man answered.  “I am on night duty here.  Will you excuse my asking you, sir, if you have lent your room to any one?”

“Certainly not!” I replied.  “Why?”

“It’s a very odd thing, sir,” he continued.  “A person arrived here with a small bag a little time ago and presented your card,—­said that you had given him permission to sleep in your room.  I let him go up, but I didn’t feel altogether comfortable about it, so I took the liberty of ringing up Claridge’s to see if you were there.  I thought that as you were here this evening, you would have told us if you had proposed lending it.”

“You are quite right, Ashley,” I declared.  “I have lent the room to no one.  You had better go and see who it is at once.  Shall I come round?”

“I will ring you up again, sir,” the man answered, “as soon as I have been upstairs.”

“By the bye,” I asked, “he didn’t look like a Frenchman, did he?”

“I could not say so,” Ashley replied.  “I will ring you up in a few minutes.  I shall go up and inquire into this myself.”

I sat on the edge of the bed, waiting.  In less than ten minutes the telephone bell rang again.  Once more I heard Ashley’s voice.

“I am ringing up from your sitting-room, sir,” he said.  “There is no one here at all, but the room has been opened.  So far as I can see, nothing has been taken, but a bottle of chloroform has been dropped and broken upon the floor in your bedroom, and I have a strong idea that some one left the room by the other door as I entered the sitting-room.”

“I’ll come along at once, Ashley,” I said,—­“that is, as soon as I can get dressed.”

“I was wondering, sir,” was the quiet reply, “whether I would advise you to do so.  I did not like the look of the man who came, and I am afraid he was not up to any good here.  He is somewhere in the hotel now.”

“You say that nothing has been disturbed?” I asked.

“Nothing at all, sir.  It wasn’t for robbery he came!”

“I think I can guess what he wanted, Ashley,” said I.  “Perhaps you are right.  I won’t come round till the morning.”

“If anything fresh happens, sir, I will let you know,” the man said.  “Good night, sir!”

“Good night, Ashley!” I answered.