"The matter upon which I desire to see His Excellency is of a purely private and confidential nature," I said, for used as I was to the ways of foreign officialdom, I spoke with the same firm courtesy as himself.
"I am very sorry, m'sieur, but I fear it will be necessary in that case for you to write to His Excellency, and mark your letter 'personal.' It will then go into the Governor-General's own hands."
"What I have to say cannot be committed to writing," was my reply. "I must see Baron Oberg upon a matter which affects him personally, and which admits of no delay."
He glanced at me quickly, and then in a low voice inquired —
"Is it in regard to a — well, a conspiracy?"
His question instantly suggested to me a ruse, and I replied in the affirmative.
"Then you can place the facts before me without the slightest hesitation," he said, going to the door and slipping the bolt into its socket. Anything spoken into my ear is as though it were spoken into that of His Excellency himself."
"I much regret, M'sieur the Colonel, that I must see the Baron in person."
"Has the plot assassination as its object — or revolt?" he asked pointedly.
"That I will explain to the Baron only."
"But I tell you he will not see you. We have so many persons here with secret information concerning Finnish conspiracies against our Russian
