The narrator tells us that he received an invitation to a professor's house late last fall. The professor is the "most read mystery novelist" of all time. The narrator is surprised that the professor would even think of inviting him to his house, since he's not a fan of the professor. He's also surprised because the professor only runs a bus once a day, which means that the narrator doesn't have a signal to go to the house. He leaves the house immediately, but the narrator is lucky enough to run into the butler. The butler tells the narrator that the house is so big that even a ghost wouldn't venture in there. He gives the narrator a key to his room and tells him to get ready for dinner.