OCR Text |
Show THE FU MANCHU STORIES Sgjjgj REDMOAT NrlGHT fe on Redmoa I glanced f on he v, niou a he noc urne n 3 e and green w ch a be ea. h n e To he wes of he s rubber wl h 3 b oken canop of em and be ond the copper bee h wh h marked t e center of 1 s mazes a gap offered a g impse of he W a e ne where t wept o er a broad Fa b d ca s floa ed over the water T ese wit t e wh pe of Reaves a one c a med the ear Idea u a peace, and the mus c of an Ena sh sun mer even ng bu to my eyes every shadow ho d ng fantas ic terro s o m ea s e ery sound a s g nal of dread For the deathful hand of Fu Manchu was st e ched 0 er Red moat, a any hou to loose s range or ental horrors upon Its Inma es We aaid aj and ra th. jo nlng me at the window we had dared to hope h m dead bu we know now that lie li es Tne Re J D E ham coughed ner vous j and I turned eaning my elbow upon the tab e and s ud ed the pa of express on upon the ref ned sens tlve face of he ergvman You th nk I ac ed r g t y n send ng for ou M Sm th "Nayland So ith smoked furious Mr E tham he rep ed ou see In me a man grop ng n the dark I an toda no nearer o the cone us on of mj m ss on nan upon hat day when I eft Mandate You offer me a c ew I am here Tour affa r I be eve, stands thus ser es of attempted burg ar es, or somet ng of t e k nd as alarmed jour household Tes er da returning ere from London w th your daughter you were both drugged In some w a and occupy ing a com partment o ou se es ou both sept our daughter awoke and saw some one e se n he arr age a e faced man who he d a ca e of Ins ru ments n h is hands Yes I was of course unab e o enter n o par cu ars o er the e e phone The man was s and ng b one of the windows D rect he observed that n y dau0h er wsb awake he s epped t toward he What d d he do w th he case in h s m hands 1 ; She d d no not e o d d no men ' tion ha n0 no ced In fact as was natural she was so frightened that she reea Is noth ng more beyond the fact ha t she stro e to arouse me v thout sue i ceedin0" fe t hands g asp her shoulders and swooned But omeone used the emergency cord , r and s opped the tra n r L Greba has no ecollec on of ha ng i & done so L Hm Of course n ye ow faced , man was on the ra n When d d ou glfr I was aroused by the guard but on y : WtR when he had repea edlv shaken me fefgfr lpon eachlng Grea Yarmouth you BttEit Immedla e ca ed up Scotland Yard? KflE, Toa acted erv wisely r How ong EmW yere ou n China Kfr Mr El ham s sta e of surprise was a fly jnost com cal I flSv f T s perhaps not strap e that you I Hi isfeoujd be aware of my res dence In 1 K.tuna Mr Sm th he a d but my j lKa E? ha ing ment oned t ma) seem so fl&hg faet b h s sens tlve face flushed j HrCi palpable embarrassment I left China .vender what I may term an ep scopal figJjrlOud I have ived n retirement ever Br&fcce Unw ttlrgly I soenny declare o Eljfrofa, Mr Sm th unw tt ng y I s rred up HpvertaiTi deep seated prejud ces In my en HKSeavors to do my duty my duty I BKhiik you asked me how ong I was In flU hina? I was there from 1896 unt 1 1900 BH&Jpfnr years- Hfle'J T recall the circums ances Mr E t Hfsaar a d Smith with an odd note in voce I ha e been endeavoring to flBg -think where I had come across the name mWfc nd a moment ago I remembered I am PBTty- pappy to have met you sir The clergyman blushed again like a fffifc jHrl and si ghtly n lined h s head w th ; BP, Its scantv fa r ha r JfHr. Has Redmoat as ts name imp es a a jndat around it I was unable to see In , afc the dusk It rema ns Pedmoa a corruption of 1 B to jnd moat was former y a pnory d s i T established by the e ghth Henry in lo36 t H s pedant c manner was quaint at times 4 is But the moat s no Ion er flooded in fact we grow cabbages n part of it If :i you refer to the strategic st ength of the J , place he am ed but his manner was K t embarrassed again it s one derable I Bave barbed wire fenc ng and other ar rangeraents You see It Is a one spot be added apologetlcallv And now if you w II excuse me we w 1 resume these fc grewsome inquiries after the more pleas ant affa rs of dinner He left us 'Who s our host I asked, as he doo , closed t Smith sm led You are wonder ng what caused the episcopal cloud he suggested Well the deep seated prejudices which our rev erend friend st rred up c Imlnated In the Boxer risings Good heavens Sm th I said for I could not reoon r- the diffident person amy of the lerg man wl h the memories wl ich those words awakened He ev dentl sho d be on our dan er list m f end cont nued qui k y Trat h-e has so comp ete y effaced Mmse f of recent years that I th nk, t p obable that someone else has only just recalled his oxis ence to ml d T Rev J D El tham my dear Petr e thoug he may be a poor I and at sav ng souls at any r? e as ea ed a sco e of C rist an worn e f om leath and wo e J r V ham 1 began Is Pa wn Dan apred Sm th the ? ght ng M ss ona h man who with a ga son of a oz pp es and a Ce 1 man do o h d osp a a Nan Ynng ag ns 0 B xe s Tha n w o the Re J D ha n Bu w ia is u o o o fin ou s ke p g ask ?om ng wh h as ma n an bj f rt e to oung n Re noa Hd ft T D F ham as a m a e of s ange lo ngs fe s 00 1 o h a u nhs b ar 1 (I d po hfrgae a and t n n pon h -nan p affo m n na on M tV a a n w onDb o nknon d w a a n ct m a ad om S m on h ay am a a n (C on p P h n Th an a n n n s a P on ft a g w n s d o v. om ho a a ort o a n an po x a s d. k n h h n t a n a h a P o U an rr a h n n V. OR a . w n x n m a on a Vn fl H ' O v, I w n r k st F Ct V. D n wa beh nd The more vu nerable spots are connected at n ght with these be s he sa d t iumphantly Any at empt o sea e he barbed w re or to force ete gate woud se two or mo e of ese ng ng A stray cow a sed one fa se a arm he added and a ca e ess rook h ew us n o a pe fee pan c on ano her 0 cas 00 He was so bo h so nervous y b sk and acu e sens tlve that t was d f cu t to see n h m he hero of the Nan Yang hospita I could on y suppose that! e had ea ed e Boxers ra d n the 1 sa ne p nt whe e n 1 e n et wou d be I trespassers w th n he p ec ne 3 of Red moat I had been an escapade of wh ch e was af erv, ard as a med as fa nt y e was ashamed of h s for fi at ons But ep ed Smith it was not he is t of he burg ar which promp ed hese elabo a e precaut ons M E tham couched nenous I am awa e he sa d hat a na n oked offtia ad I must be pe e frank w th jou M Sm th. It was he bu gar who was respons b e for m con tlnu ng he v re fence a a ound he grounds but the e ec r cal cont anee fo owed ate as a esu of severs d s urbed ng s My sen ants g ew uneasy abou some one who came the said af er dusk "o one cou d describe t s nocturna vis or but cer any we found traces I mus adm t hat Then I recel ed what I may term a warn n Mv pos ton s a pecu ar one a pecu ar one ly daughte 00 saw th s prow ng pe son o er by the Roman cas rum and described h ra as a e ow man It was the lnc dent In the tra n fol ow ng closely upon this o her w h h ed me to speak to the po Ice ttle as 1 des red to cou t pub clt Na and SVn th wa ked o a w ndow and ooked across t e s op ng awn to where the shadows of the shrubbery ay A dog was how ng d smal v somewhe e Your defenses are not mpregnab e afte al then he Jerked On our wa up th s even ng Mr Denby was telling us of the death of h s co e a few n gh s ago The c e gyman s face clouded Tl at certa n y was alarm ng he con fessed I had been in London for a few da s and du ing my absence e non came down bringing the dog w h hm On the n ght of h s arri a it an bark ng nto the sh ubbe y yonder and dd o come out. He went to look for w h a antern and found t ying an ong he bushes quite dead The poor ea u e had been dreadfu y beaten abou the head The gates we e ocked Denbj n e rup ed and no one cou d ha e got ou of the grounds w thout a ladder and some one to a s st him But there was no s gn of a ng thing about. Edwards and 1 searched every come How long has t at other dog taken 0 howl ng inquired Smith On s nee Rex s death said Denby qu ck It s n mas iff explained the c ergy man and he s confined in the yard He s ne er aJ owed on th s s de of the house Nay land Sm th wandered aim ess about the library I am sorrv to have to press you M E tham he said but what was t e natu e of the wa ning to which you e ferred and from whom d d it come Mr El ham hesitated for a long me I ha e been o unfortuna e he sa d at last in my pre ous efforts hat I feel assured of your hostl e critic sm when I te 1 vou hat I am con temp at ng an mmed a e eturn to Ho Nan Sm th jumped ound upon him as though moved b a spring Then you are go ng back to Nan Ya ng he cried Now I understand Wiy ha e you not tod me before Tha is the key for which I have vainly been seek ng lour troubles da e from t e t me of your dec s on to return Yes I mut admit t confessed the c ergyman d ff dently And vour warning came from China'' It did From a Ch naman From the Mandarin Yen Sun YaL Yen Sun Ya My good sir He warned you to abandon your visit And you reject his ad ice Listen to me Smith was intense exc ted now his eyes biigh his ean figure curiously strung up a ert The Mandarin Yen Sun Yat is one of the se en I do not fol ow vou Mr Sm h No sir China today s no he Ch na of 98 It s a huge secret machine and Ho Nan s one of ts mos mportant whee s But if as I unde stand hs official s a friend of yours be le e me he has sa ed our fe You would be a dead man now if t we e not for you friend in China My dear s you must accept h s counsel Then for the fi s me since I had made 1 s acquaintance Parson Dan showed the surface of he Pev J D EH ham No sir rep led the clergyman and the change in his oi e was s artl ng 1 am ca ed to Nan Yang Only One ma deter my going The adm xture of deep sp ritual rever en e with intense truculence In his voice was diss milar from anything I ever had hea d Then only One can pro ect you cried Sm th for by Heaven no man w 1 be ab e o do so Your presence n Ho Nan can do no possible good a present It nust do harm Your experlen e In 1900 si ould be fresh n your memory Hard words M Sm th The class of miss onary work which ou favo sir is njurious to ntematlonaj peace At the present moment Ho Nan s a bar e of gunpowder you would be he Ighted match I do not wil ngly s and between any man and what he oos"s o ons der his duty but I Insist hd yo abandon your visit to the n te or of Ch na You ns st M Smith As your gues I regret the nccosH ty Of rem nding you that I hold authority to enforce t Dertby fidgeted uneasily T o one of he on prsd on was g ow ng ha sh and he a m sphe e of the b a y po en o s w th b ew ng sto ms T e p was a sh s ent interval rh 9 w d. I hdd f arei and fv pd sa d hp e gyman T s was n aso fo no srpk ng off a p o on The phan om 1 ow Pe sa d Na anrl m h oda ma e a ?p de hp f y s of p wph n wo d T Y ow P M n f 1 4 h I Y a A s a o hW ak hp. p ff g a k o nqu n s V rh fen w fa k an r w cm d n n ah . Ag hh npk I Y a a k S HH fl kp T w c h m h n n k Hga n w T h n f pw e Yo a en w, "? i n ft a p H m onr 1 H f ma whm a w s a k s n f. h ah v, n a n a an M u n b u w n w Na Hf s 8 Ha a if K H h n v. a. t a e are fools' Loose the dog If anything human links there he will lead us to it oc agona apartment, and reba EI than stood befo e me the and el ght caress ng he of ur es of he a e and gleam ng he mesne o he brown a When she had ans e J s que on she hes j ed n p S" o fus on e are anxious o know v. a alarmed you Mas EH ham She b her p and g an ed with appre ens on oward the window I a n a most afra d to te I father shp began rap d He w 11 h nk ne mag nat e u you ha e been so kind It was wo gree e ps Oh Dr Petr e They looked p a me fro n t e steps ead ng o he awn And hey shone I ke t e eyes of a ca The wo ds HI ed me strangely A e you sure 1 waa no a at M s El ham The e es we e too large Dr Pet e T ere was someth ng eadfu m s dreadf he apppa an e 1 fee foo a and s y fo ha ng a nted wire n two days Bite nunpense s te ng upon ne I s ppose Fa he thinks she was be o nlng c armlngly confident al as a wo nun of en w I wit a tactfu physl Ian that shut up 1 ere we are safe f om wha eer threatens us 1 noted w h once n a repetU on of hp nervous s udder B stn e o et rn someone e se has bpen n Redmoa Whatever do you mean Mas FI tham Oh I don q 1 p k ow w ia 1 do mean D P e W a does n mean prn n has wen cxpa k o me t int son e wf I C nama k seek ng the fe of M Na and Sm h Bu f t e namp man wan s o k 1 n father why as r no one h I an af h J o z fi ne Of o rse 1 m s I u e ma n he oin He ave kl led ho u e eas y hp n g someone was fa h s oon n Is room cou 1 ot s epp and 1 eard so p h ng mo ng M oon a the npx on kn kp a nn wok Tap Tes kh hi wa e w ng ok friK o an on t, t n nn ag p H a h p a Mb n do ion k n s pa w a o a a ti & h o v. v. k o n c v gi-H w cy t k h k x on " K a k v, e. V. w h a n n P w r a k k k H u K M El an o e al ed fron be ow Dr Pe r e sa d he g r qu ckly a lo o ink he wan to do to n I ep si kne tha o h nk o e i ha I ha e o d o Vo I do ahsu e you here some e e Ke noa on p h ng t at o and goes n sp e of fit e s for .aUons aeia knows hes Lis en o I n He rags a h s cha n so hat 1 wonJer he does no break it As we passed downs ars the how rjg of he naf ff and the lan c ank of he g en nt, h as he e weigh of go- on soun led eerl j h o gh e ouse I sa n m h room ha ,h for some ne e pa ng p fl k sn ok ng a a kl g I? ha has nf entia Ch nese friends esa d bu hp dare not ha e h m n Nan Yang at prese He knows he onr as he Known No f o k he nu spe h ngs II s prp a t ons he e ta e afflcd e e I h nk Tl e attem n he train P n h o an an et o waste no oppor ni Bu wh e F tham was absent ( e as gett ng h n outf in lxndon by the ay ey have been fixing some second s r ng to her fid le here In cam no opportunity offered before he returned , he provided for retting at hm here B how Smith That s the myster B t he dead og I the s r be y la s g f cant 'Do vo t I k some en asnry of Fu Man h s a a ua nslde Rednoa It s Imposaib e Petr e ou are hlnk ng f se ret passages and so forth T ere are none E tham has meas red up e e v fo t of e place T ere isn t a a hole ef nac ounted for and as for a tunne under he most he honse s am so a solid ass f Roma ma sonn a forme cam of Hal ana t me I a e aeen a erv od pan of the Ro nd Moa P or a as ea ed There ts no en an e nd no ex hh e by tt e steps So ow waa the dog k pd I kn ked o ny p pe on a 1 ar of ho g ate n e h ek of It here I Upaaan o k of I e R g ea er n n o a d a man non n m P n e k h k a a he n h M h p k np a fd K a 6 P nan a s u g an w k g P s on n o ri h n T K p K Oft n k o s fl f K ft H ff n a P" I h 1 ft m k ft n n p n wk nn v. n rf n h ft n 1, ftHH K tt ft ft With a hoa se bay he took that de s e eap and I heard h s heavy body all aga ns be wooden wall There fo owed a s range guttural cry and the g owl ng of the dog d ed away at the 1 ea of the house He was out But ha guttu a no e had not come f on the , h oat of a dog Of what was he in pu su I A wh ch po nt hs mys e ious quarry! en ered he shrubbery I do not know I on know t ta I saw abso u ely noth ng Caesars the shape was streaked os he awn and t e great creatu e we rash ng in o the undergrowth The a fa n sound above and to my gh od me t at I was not the on y specta or of t e scene I leaned further f om he w ndow I Ua you M ss E tham? I asked D D Pe e she said I am so glad o are awake Can we do nothing u Caesa w be k lied V a see v at he went after V s e ca ed ba k and drew her ea sharp y Fo a strange figure went rac ng across he grass It was tha of a man in a otue dress ng gown who held a lantern h gh before h m and a revo ve n h s ight hand Co nciden y w th my recogni Ion of M Eltham he leaped plung ng n 0 the shrubbery in the wake of the dog Bu he n ght he d yet ano her surpr se for Nayland Sm th a voice came Come back Come back, E tham T ran ou in o the passage and down stal s The front door was open A ter b e onfuct waged in the shrubbery be ween he mastiff and something e 6e Passing round to the lawn I met Smith full dressed He had Just dropped from a fl s floor w ndow The man is mad he snapped Ca he know what lurks there? He should no ha e gone alone Together we ran toward the danc ng gh of Eltham a lan era The sounds of onfllc ceased suddenly Stumb ng o er at mps and lashed by low sweep ng ran es we strugg ed forward to where he lergyman kne t among the bushes He glanced up with tears in h s eyes as as re ealed by the dim 1 ght. Look he cried The body of the dog lay at his feet. I was p tiable to think that the fear ess brute shou d have met h a death in a fashion and when I bent and ex an ned h m I was g ad to find traces of rag m out He Is not dead I W nd hurry rapped Smith peering 0 h m ght and left &o we three hurr ed from that a nted place dragging the dog ltb us e were not mo ested No sound d s bed he now perfect stillness B the lawn edge we came upon ha f dressed and almost imme d i Edwa ds the gardener also ap oea ed The whi e faces of the house' se an b showed at one w ndow and M ss .am a ed to me from the 00m 5 e dead No I replied on v stunned e axrled the dog around to the ard and I examined his head It had een s ruck by some hea y blunt In rument but the skull was not broken s hard to k 11 a mastiff. V, I ou attend to him doctor sked h, tham We must see that" the ain oes not escape H s ace was grim and set. This as a d fferent man from the diffident ergyman we knew thiB was Parson I an again 1 ac epted the care of the canine pa lent and Eltham with the others went off for more lights to search the shrub bery As I waa washing a -bad wound between the mastiff s ears M ss Eltham joined me It was the sound of her oice I think rather than my more sd entlric ml stra on wh ch recalled Caesar to life For as she entered his tall wagged feebly and a moment ater he strugg ed o his feet one of which was njured , , , Having pro Ided for his immediate needs I left him n charge of his young mistress and Joined the search party They had entered the shrubbery from four po nts and drawn blank There Is absolutely nothing there, and no one can possibly have left the grounds said Kit ham axnaxedly We stood on he lawn looking at one another Nayland Smith angry but houghtful tugging at the lobe of his lef ear as was hla habit in momenta of perplexity , .With the first coming of ght El tham Smith and I tested the electrical ontrt ances from every point. They were in perfect order It became more and more lncomprehens ble how anyone could ha e entered and Quitted Redmoat during the night The barbed wire fenc ng was ntact and bore no signs or ha ng een tampered with Sm th and I undertook an exhaustive examination of the shrubbery At the spot where we had found the dog some ft e paces to the west of the copper beech the grass and weeds were trampled and the surrounding laurels and rhododendrons bore evidence of a struggle but no human footprint could be round tJt r,,i. The ground Is dry said- Smith. We cannot expect much In my opinion I said someone 1 tried to get at Caesar his presence Is dangeorus And In his rage he broke l0le think so too agreed Smith But why did this person make for here? And how laving mastered the dog get out of Redmoat? I an open to admit the possibility of someone s getting in during the day whl e the gates are open and hMlng until dusk But how in the name of all that s wonderful does he get out? He must possess tie attrl butea of a bird I tl ought of Greba E tham s state ments ren Ind ng my friend of 1 er de s rlptlon of t e tl Ing w el a) e had see passi g Into this strangely haunted ThaVJIne of speculation soon takes us out of our depth Petrle he said Let us stick to vhat we an under a and and that may help s to a clearer Idea of what at present Is neon prel en a ble My v ew of the ase to date stands thus ( TC t am 1 a ng rash decided o ret rn to t e i terior of C ina is wn nM b an offl lat wlose friendship p as von in some way to stay In P H rf k ow h b orflcta for one of the r 1 o p represen ed n Kng and hv Man h 1 Seve a a e p s of we ow o o ge a 1- an n e farael pes abvb s r ous lofe ses n a p nr a n n fa 1 o e M ps t nn s rt stas e for o f esh ne room off e a en pt he c fa a ott ng o e nson n a 4 D ng E an p abaen e fron p n e epa o a ar na n n n T pi en 0 T e dp f i b e c h gs h a d n nd s e M ss m 1 t h nns cs n d see b s a R fo n ft doe f p a 0 s ase on ocnlpp p J H epa n I e as e a ,1 eo e o g a iss o am a if p nsp lo a p n8 nd o e got rd of na a e (. n o a M sb an s t a e n a e ond rom I even sHkr n a h bout 0 ft n F no eon p aps F p s " To f a s 1 hop n a ad a rt p n n d q bi o o gp n rt h o M o. b rntw d h ke an s n n H h k o d p 1 1 np wh ppla p o n p a h rt rt n n k R ast night I th nk he sa d And is 0 ce had awe n it That day dragged s ow y on A pa t of us scoured the nelghbo hood for tra es of strangers examin ng eve y foo of e Poman ru n hard by but a n May not my p esence he e nduce Fu Manchu to abandon s p ans I as ed m h I th nk no he rep ed Tou see un ess we can prevail upon him E tham sa s in a fortn gh So the doc or as no time o waste Furthermore I ha e an Idea hat h s arrangemen s are of such a charac e that hey roust go foward He m ght turn as de of ou se to assass nate me f oppo tun y arose , Bu we know from expe ence t at he pe m ts noth hg to in erfe e with s schemes The c max of he ex raord nary bus ness was eached ery qu k and he e ! in ha quie Norfok home we found our j se ves at andg ps wl h one of he m s ! ter ous horro s which characterized t e ope at ons of D Fu Manchu I was upon us befo e we ea zed it T e e s no n c den a mus c to the dramas of rea 1 fe As we sat on t e e errace n the creep ng tw ight I em e ruber thinking how the peace of the scene gave the ie to my fea s that we borde ed upon tragic things Then Caesar who had been a doc e pat ent a day began how ng aga n and I saw Greba EI ham shudder I caught Q,Tn th s eye and was about to propose our retl ement indoors when the ; party broke up in a more turbu ent fash Ion I suppose t was he presence of the girl which prompted Denby to the rash act a des re to personally dlstingu sh hlmse f But, as I reca ed af erward his gaze had rare y left the shrubbery since dusk, ea e to seek her face and now he eaped widly to h s feet overturn ng h s cha r and dashed acroes the grass to the trees Dd you see It he yelled Dd you see it' He evidently carr ed a re o er For from the edge of the shrubbery a shot sounded and In the flash we saw Denby w th the weapon ra sed Greba Go In and fasten the win dows cr ed Eltham Mr Smith w 11 vou enter the bushes from the west' Dr 1 Petne East Edwards Edwards and he was off across the lawn with the nervous act v tv of a cat. As I made off n an oppos te direct on I hea d the gardener s voice fom the low er gate and I saw Eltham s plan It was to surround tne shrubbery Two more shots and two flashes from the dense heart of g eenwood Then a I oud cry I thought from Denby and a j second muffled one 1 Following silence only broken by the I I bowling of the mastiff i 1 sprinted through the rose garden j leaped heed es y o er a bed of geranium and heliotrope and plun ed in. among the bushes and under the elms Away on ' he eft I hea d Edwa ds shouting and 1 .El hams answer ng o ce Denby I cried and yet louder Den ! by ! But the silence fel again. 1 Dusk was upon Redmoat now but from : sitting in the twilight my eyes had grown ; accus omed to g 00m and I could see fa r 1 I ly well what ay before me Not daring to think what might lurk above below i around me I pressed on Into the m dst i of the thicket. ernon came Eltham s olee from one side Bear more to the right, Edwards I beard Nayland Smith cry directly ahead of me "With an eerie and ndescrlbable sensa tlon of impend ng disaster upon me I thrust my way through to a gray pa eh 1 which marked a break n the elm oot. j At the foot of the copper bee h I a most ; fell over Eltham, Then Smith p unged ! into view Lastly Edward the gardener , rounded a b g rhododendron and com pie ed the party We stood nulte still for a raoraen A faint breeze whispered through the beech leaves. Where is he I cannot remember who pu It n o words I was too dazed with amazen en to notice. Then Eltham besan shout ng ernon ernon Vernon His voice pitched higher upon each epe tltlotL There was someth ng horrible about that vain calling unde he wh b perlng beech with shrubs banked abou , us cloaking God alone could know what From the back of the house came Caesar s faint reply Quick Ugh s rapped Smith E en lamp you ha e , Off we went, dodging laurels and pri els and poured out onto the lawn a d sordered ; company Eltham s face was death pa e and his jaw was Bet He met m eye God forgi e me he sa d T could do murder tonight He was a man composed of strange per pie titles I It seemed an age before the lights were j found But at last we re tun ed o the i bushes real y after a ery brief dela and ten minutes sufficed us to explore he en , ire shrubber for It was not ex ens e , We found his revolver but the e was no i one there nothi g When we al stood stain on the lawn I thought that I had never seen mlth so laggard What In Heavens name can we do' he muttered What does it mean He expected no answer for there was j none to offer one : Search E e ywlere said Fltham hoarsely , . . . He ran off tnto the rose garden and be gan beating a bo t among the flowers like a madman muttering " ernon er non For close upon an hour we all searched We searched e ery square -ard I thl k. within tl e wire fen Ing and found no trace. Miss EUha si pped o t n the 'confusion and Jo ned the rest of I n that frartic hunt Some of the se ants assisted too It was a group terrified and a estr ken whi came toge her again o e te ra e One and t en anot e wo d gi e p until onl Eltham and s hweremss g Then they came ba toge 1 er from e an Ini g the s epa to the lo e ga e F an dropped o to a -u c seal a d sank h s head n his hand N a. land Sn 1th pa ed ani do ke a ne y aged animal Minpp ng 3 co togetl er and tugging at I s ear Fosseesed b some s dden idea or pressed to action by s n uo I t o guts, he sna en a a o n a d b rode s e on os t e r ass a 1 o e s r be o no 1 fo o ed 1 I s a fs a n k g rp se an o ' . M u pr sed h mse f and I or u X. H For rlsrh a ma g n he ripped aSl H Vhad falln ove od of Denbr W T Denbv h adV oeen t e e a few .mo .M ments befo e and ho h arre to MM now v e da ed o o ec ure M E ham jo ned us e ed one sh r dry M sob and d opp upo h k e s Then Mt we were arry n Denbv acK to tne -m sr" ith le masff o ng a marcha M ""lad hm on he s ass -"ere It soped doxfn from he erra e .M m thshi.?a face was err ble . B"t"51 e stark ho or of e h k s li a that w h eonce ed ea e had savejM Denby Twis n ffdden to El ham hdT oa ed n a c a o b e o d e rie? M W e a e oo s , Ioose he aog S Bu he o -1 I re an m Sm th c apped h s hands o er m mo tt. m I know e s c PP ed he h perd jlj But fa ng human urks there the H dogwl ead us to t fa n a s th.re he 'm i f fly Wh d d we not th nk of It m fo e' Foo s foo s He raised his W W again Keep Mm on leash Edwardsr He will lead us S The scheme succeeded Edwards barely had started on h s er H rand when be s began ringing Ins de the BJ house . , s VP Wa t snapped Eltham and rushed In A moment ater he was out again h s ejes g earning madly Abai e the moat he panted And we were off en masse round tne edge or thej y '""was dark above tie moat, but not so dark as to pre ent our seeing a narrow adder of thin bamboo jo nts and BlDc cord hanging by wo hooks from the top of the twelve foot w re fence There was no sound He s out screamed E tham. Down the steps m I We all ran our best and swiftest out X ' E tham ou ran us Like a fury be tore at bo ts and bars and 1 ke a fury sprang out nto the road Stra ght and white It showed to the acc tvitv bv th Eoman ruin But no vlng thing moved upon lt-The lt-The distant baying of the dog was borr to our ears. j Cu se It he s crippled hissed Sm th. TVithout him as wel pursue a shadow " A few hours later the shrubbery yield ed up its secret a simple enougn one. A b g cask sunk n a p t, with a laurel shrub cunn ngly affixed to its movable 1 d wh ch was further tiisguised w1i tufta of grass A s ender bamboo Join rod la near the fence It had a hook on the top and ras evidently used for at tach ng the ladder It was the end of th s ladder which Miss Eltham saw sa d Smith, as ha tra led t beh nd h m into the shrub be when she interrupted him in ber father s room. He and whoever he had with him doubt ess slipped n during the dart me w h le Elthain was absent in London, b nging the prepared cask and al neces sarj implemen s with them. The con cealed themse ves somewhere probablv n the sh ubbeo and during the night made the cache The excavated erth would be disposed of on the flower be4 the dummy bush they probably had ready You see, the problem of getting in was ne er a big one But owing to the defenses t was Imposs ble (while Eltham was n resi dence at an rate) to get out after dark For Fu Manchu s purposes tl en a work ing oase ns de Redinoat was essential. His servant for he needed assistance t must hare been In hiding somewhere out sde. Heaven knows where During the da thej could come or go by the gates, as we ha e alreadv noted Tou h nk t was the doctor himself""" It seems possible Who else has eyes 1 ke Jie e es Miss Eltham saw from lie ndow lat nighf There remains to tell the nature of the outrage whe-eby Ft Mancl u bad planned o pre r E tliam s lea -ing E ganc! I Ch na. Th.s e learned from Denbj? Fo Denb was not dead 1 was easj to d nne that he had stum blei upon the fiendish isitor at the very en ran e to his burrow had been ctnnned, (judging fro-n the evidence with a sand ! ba and Ira. ed 'om into the cachf o w h rf mu t "la e la n in such da- i gerous provim t a o eider detet of the du m bu"i possible In re-novtns h T e qu kest expedient, then aJ , been o rag h n beneath. ne 1 search of he shrubberv was cone uded his bod had been brought to the edge ot ' the bushe and la d where we found t Whs 1 fe had been spared I car not conjee ure but pro sion had been made 1 against s re -o e ns: consdo ttnes and e eal n ne e e o he shrubber "t r ru-e of relea ni, he n aUff a one hid e n na l the i t of the unoMicr g est wl h n Redrria Denb mal a e oow re er and e en whe -on -a esren -onsdousl add ed not one fa o thos we ulrca had r o e ed for he reason hat t b nemorv S had comp e el ef h m Tnta. in m op n on as hose of h several spe clal sts o s l as d ie not tfca i .i? ne ead lat 3 ,he pre once. ! slight!) eo and t the rlat o the J first cer ur e of tlie spine a V minute pun n e undo Medly -aused b '. a hypode n c s ri-uo Tr- unronsc o -e-1 poor De b5 fur i- the last ink la , e Jia for undnubtedl h n an of his opera o Fu Man hu ha I oeslgned ' to efface fron El han s nlnd his plans of re ur Ho a , The n uro of be ftuii hlch could produce 1 en al s nnpto-ns was a n s er m -ter wl I h teflcd western If t " ,onf. of Ih IU,n "transe ecrets or D Fl Ml h Ho a Ha e abanloned telt KLTHAM 1 n 1 e abo e which appeared n x o a -oi n fa dalfe paper a fe a af o o o n In Norfolk, a id a d Jour w be le Smith' plate on b enk a h c 5 t a sal o Kltbam s sake and for ' s wa -onment "Bat tt i na K no er o t f o Fu Ala Delia i a ed l ' retrtbiittoa |