| Show G Y i r y s t R ROHMER h MER COPYRIGHT By SAX ROHMER SERVICE CHAPTER V Continued V-Continued Continued 7 7 The woman pouted I can cau never Mo lo as I like she exclaimed Since you brought me from China I have never P. known any happiness What I have ilive ve you come to tell me Is It that I must embark upon a ship stifle In a train or be sick In an airplane airplane airplane air air- plane Something I see In your youre e eyes es Yuan luan lice Hee See watched her smil smil- In ing There Is Indeed a further Journey journe journey Jour jour- ne ney which you must take little one he lie said Bald but surely you TOU welcome It or or are arc you so happy In the house home of ot Pasha that you regret to q Cleave leave Cairo I have small love for she replied and less for Cairo We Weare Weare Weare are going then to Arabia There at least I have my comforts comforts my my servants In the morning Orange Blossom Blos Blos- som He walked slowly towards her You have until the dawn of off tomorrow In which to talk to me t P f tr i be bewitch me with your beauty beauty beauty beau beau- ty ty and make me more completely your slave Dimly the note of or a gong sounded sound sound- ed In some place below Go now to your room said Yuan Hee See This Is Ig who has hns arrived I shall be detained perhaps for tor an hour I In a small square room on the ground floor o of the house furnished furnished fur fur- very simply as an nn once office As As- Pasha sat waiting To the gang gan assembled In the Restaurant Suleiman Bey In Paris Parts he was known as ns the Chief but here he was an nn Egyptian gentleman of established position Nevertheless he lw watched the door of ot the room with a certain nervousness not strictly In keeping with Moslem fa ta Yuan flee Hee See stood framed In Inthe inthe the the he open doorway looking at the p his closed Egyptian eyes nearly You are an hour late What Is the explanation It Is simple was the reply The pilot made a forced landing but a hood good one V We were ten miles from which I think explains my tny delay It explains It It- It the reedy voice conceded on ceded I accept this tion I would would add that If It such BUch accidents accidents ac ac- ac- ac occur to others of ot our company com com- company pany disaster lies before us like a agul gulf gul which no man can pass I have no fears the Egyptian f t assured him Here Is the roll ron I Ican Ican can ean tell you where every man of or orthe the company Is at the present moment mo mo- ment went mentOr Or should be Some are out of or reach I admit but with the others we can get In touch If you desire It ft It I du 3 not desire It You are sible He lie raised a n plump hand the pointed Index finger curled I Ido Ido Ido do not wish to see your report Tell me that there has been no bItch hitch Xo No hitch Very good I am perhaps foolIsh foolish fool tool ish but In London everything went wrong Since this Is our biggest venture I thou thought ht that the auguries were unfavorable Across the coarse but handsome features of or the Egyptian a momentary momentary momentary mo mo- cloud passed Its passage Instantly detected by those nearly closed dosed eyes of ot Yuan Hee See You also have been disturbed W v The voice volee was very soft but bt Incredibly Incredibly In In- credibly high No no no Excellency t forced a smile One of the men rather alarmed me on the night we met In Paris It was the Scotsman He must be watched No Xo not I distrust him only when he Is sober Also I have arranged to replace him It If necessary tJ sary But Kid Brown exchanged ed words with a n stranger downstairs In the restaurant He went down with Franz Harto Hartog our second engineer engineer en en- whom he had thrashed for fora foro a o breach of ord orders rs And this stranger except for Cor some Russian Idiots was the only person In the I restaurant Too late he reported the matter to me admitting that h he may mav have been Indiscreet There There was a momentary silence then Repeat to me said Yuan lice Ilee See In the mans man's own words exactly exact ly Iy what ho he reported to you Including III tug ing his description of or this tIlls stranger Those desperately drab streets which lead from the docks at Mir Mar to the more habitable quarters quarters quarters of ot the city were several se Inches deep In an unpleasant kind of ot lI light bt jellow ellow mud Simply too unbelievably pigsty Tileen declared as the tax taxi floun- floun I derv den i 1 and thumped through the morass And Im I'm real sorry I started rather mean of you EIleen Eileen Elleen Ei El- leen said Jack Rattray the first officer smiling his slow smile Dont you ou think so so doctor Doctor patted Eileen's Elleen's arm soothingly lyA ly At A least Mss Miss Kearney he said It makes a n small change chang We shall not be ashore again ng-aln until we reach rench Port Said Yes And what does It matter this Oils mud and the gray sky Ha 1 Presently we shall be convivial with a little cocktail cocktail ha tan La And It makes maltes a n small change Eileen turned to him and laughed The outstanding characteristic of or orthe the Austrian doctor as she had discovered din dis covered during their short acquaintance acquaint acquaint- ance was his astonishing quality of ot soothing They presently reached a hotel turned Into the little lounge on the right of the door and sat down at ata ata ata a table Good Lord l I said Eileen Theres ul that t ghastly woman woman with with the chief I INear INear Near a pillar leaning very close together across a small table were the chief engineer of the W Wallaroo and a big dark woman apparently caste halt handsome In her way but of ot a generously curving figure not strictly fashionable Good old Corky said Jack Rat Rat- tray Hes a fast worker Hes He's well away with the lion tamer Look who's here I Eileen ex ex- ex- ex claimed Doctor and Jack Rattray stared across the lounge Their popular fellow traveler Mr Durham Durham Durham Dur Dur- ham was crossing to them Ha Hal I cried Doctor It ItIs ItIs ItIs Is our Mr Durham He Is leaving us us yes yes Yes Rattray confirmed I should like to have a final word with him before I go back to the ship He never Ter even said good good-by to tome tome tome me Eileen complained But Durham had j Joined them now Doctor and Mr Rattray he said I hope you jOU will take a stirrup cup presently Miss Kearney Kearney lt If I your friends can spare you for tor a moment moment moment-I I have a private message for you ou But I shant detain you more than two minutes They left the house and walked upstairs to where upon a seat In Inan Inan Inan an alcove outside the dining room a man was waiting A soft brown brownhat brownhat brownhat hat and a white raincoat lay beside him Oh 1 Eileen gasped and clutched Durhams Durham's arm Her face grew suddenly suddenly suddenly sud sud- denly pale Then this pallor was swept b by a swift color Dawson Halg Haig stood up I haven't frightened you OU Eileen I couldn't think of any other way When Mr Franz lIar Hartog tog came on onboard onboard onboard board the Wallaroo at Marseilles to take posse possession lon of ot his cabin on D deck both berths In to which had i been reserved In London through h ha a partly open door across the narrow narrow narrow nar nar- row alleyway way Dawson Halg Haig was watching He saw th the tall blond German whom with bloody mouth be he had seen coming coining down the stairs of ot the Ule Restaurant Suleiman Be Bey I 1 Unseen Dawson Ual Haig left his hiding hid bid In ing place and went up to the captains captain's cap cap- tams tain's room Captain Peterson was seated at nt his desk which was littered littered littered lit lit- with papers He nc was badly worried about this voyage oage The gold old was a u big bib responsibility In the first place and now to his other troubles troubles troubles trou trou- bles had been added this sudden appearance of an official from Scotland Scotland Scotland Scot Scot- land Yard I was right captain said Dawson Dawson Dawson Daw Daw- son Halg Its my man 1 I IThe The captain smiled resignedly Its a complete muddle to me Inspector Inspector In In- he confessed Whatever Is It all abo about t If It this fellow Is a why dont don't you arrest him I shall be glad to be rid of ot him Thank Than you ou said Halg It Isn't so simple as that But heres here's the position rou roughly Yo You have five passengers on board the Wallaroo whom I suspect with good reason of ot being members of a dangerous International gang Holy smoke I 1 What's afoot Inspector In If I knew w that sir I should know what Im I'm here to find Ond out Certain C evidence was s 's reply came Into our possession In London Lon ion don which seemed to point to the fact that members of a gang of dope dealers denIers receivers of ot stolen property proper t ty and ther other undesirable trades were sailing In your ship The exact ex ex- exact act number of Ute the rooms occupied by them were discovered discovered- Got those numbers I am alm almost st certain I have My list however was made from memory mem mem- ory But Dut In a n certain Paris cafe which wo we believe to be a meeting place of these people I recently had a sight of a certain man Today Today Today To To- day he has Joined the Wallaroo as asa asa a n passenger er HIs Ills room booked In Lon London on Is one of ot those which I have on the list I I think Its It's safe to presume captain that the other four suspects should be he watched I entirely a agree ree with you tor The French authorities have Just notified me Halg Haig went on that three other men men nil all they could trace who trace who were present at atthe atthe atthe the restaurant I have mentioned have all aU set out by different routes for the Near East Looks like a general assembly at some spot unknown Its It's my Job to find that spot captain because If It I do find It I expect to meet there the man who murdered Detective Sergeant Norwich In LImehouse the night before before before be be- fore the Wallaroo sailed As a result of this conversation con a new passenger Joined the ship ship ship- only a few minutes before she left Marseilles a certain Mr Smith who wore tinted spectacles He was allotted n a seat at the doctors doctor's t table ble next to the distinguished Austrian scientist Doctor On the following morning one of or orthe the Chinese passengers Mr Len Chow of New York went to the pursers purser's office He Ho had a serious complaint to lodge While he had been absent In the bathroom some someone someone someone one rifled his cabin cabla Can you give a aa list of ot the missIng missing missing miss miss- ing articles asked Mr Winter the purser Mr Len Chow his spectacled face unemotional replied that none were missing Then what's the row row about The Thc thief must be apprehended He has rifled my papers papers They are of or great personal value But ut no value alue to anyone else No Are any missing No There was silence for some mo mo- ments I Ill make Inquiries Mr rr Len Chow naturally said Winter butas but butas as you say he has stolen nothing I i really dont don't know how we are goIng goIng going go- go Ing to Identify this person Do you I cannot say But I must be protected protected pro pro- from such visits Ill see what can be done At about which time Dawson THE STORY FROM THE BEGINNING Matt Kearney I young American living In London says Bays good by to his sister Eileen on board the tho Wallaroo The ship Is convoying conveying In Ingold Ingold ingold gold to Australia On his way home Kearney meets Inspector Dawson Halg Haig of ot Scotland Yard very much In love with Eileen Hal Halg Haig Is on the trail of ot opium which he Is convinced Is concealed In Jo Lungs Lung's warehouse Called to other duty Halg Haig delegates Kearney with Detective Norwich to visit the place and find out what he can While In the warehouse Kearney picks up and carries away a notebook which he turns over to Halg Haig Yuan Lice S See e leader of ot a n band of ot International thieves Is at Jo Lungs Lung's Discovering Discovering Discovering Dis Dis- covering the tho loss of ot his bis notebook he sends two of ot his followers after atter Norwich Norwich Norwich Nor Nor- and Kearney one ono of whom he realizes must have picked It up Halg Haig HaigIs Is puzzled over cryptic notes In the book referring to the Wallaroo Soon after atter leaving Kearney Norwich Is murdered but Kearney Is not overtaken While Halg Haig Is poring over over over- tho the book boole a monstrous creature enters seizes It and escapes Halg Haig with his cabin door locked was rapidly making pencil notes while his memory served him He had been unable to complete his Investigation investigation In In- owing to the unexpected ed movements In the cabin which Immediately faced that of Mr Len Ien Chow He lie much regretted the disorder disorder disorder dis dis- order In which he had been compelled com corn pelted to leave the latter's apartment apartment apart apart- ment It had been this or discovery however howe BrIen Briefly he had learned that Mr rr Chow according to his passport was I an American citizen and that he i could have been In England only a week or possibly less at nt the time that the Wallaroo sailed He found a receipted bill from the Grand Hotel Hotel Hotel Ho Ho- tel Birmingham It was sufficient to convince Halg Haig that Mr Chow had been engaged eng upon the frustrated dope smuggling enterprise had probably been responsible for safe delivery In Sydney Sydne to which port apparently he was booked Halg Haig presently presented himself In the captains captain's cabin There he remained for a whole hour busily transcribing from the borrowed Marconi Mar Mar- coni coal books a number of Incoming messages es and outgoing messages es received received received re re- or dispatched by the suspected suspect suspect- ed five fi While some of or the messages mes roes sages seemed Innocent enough others notably those sent by Doctor Doctor Doc Doc- tor Oester quite obviously were compiled In some sort of code Haig went to his cabin and settled settled set set- down before the little table to see what he could make out of ot this new material The half caste woman known as MIss MIsa Ednam and supposed to be a u n vaudeville artist Mr Ir I Len n Chow and Doctor were the suspects whose names appeared In the Marconi Mar coni cons books Studying a list of or telegraphic addresses addresses ad ad- dr dresses es which the captain had borrowed bor rowed from the wireless room Halg Haig discovered that Mr Ir Chows Chow's first two messages had been addressed sed to Causeway lond London Excellent he m murmured red nag ung Causeway lY London was the telegraphic telegraphic tel tel- address of oC Jo Lungs Lung's establishment establishment establishment In LImehouse The messa messages es themselves es were simple enough They rhey were these One Arranged to transfer or signed Chow Your friend Is on board signed Chow clear enough Hal Halg Haig mused He Hc Is Informing friend Po- Po lodos lodes that he has arran arranged ed to cancel can canS c cel 1 from Port Said to Sydney and Is leaving leaving- at the former He ne later sends the Information that there Is Isa Isa isa a friend on board m mooning meaning Durham Durham Durham Dur Dur- ham of course Durham thought he was spotted He was vas quite right Then In order of date was an Incoming Incoming incoming In In- coming message which read Meurice Paris sixteen to eighteen eight eight- een signed Pascal Mr Len Chows Chow's third message addressed addressed addressed ad ad- dressed to Pascal hotel Paris read Your friend leaving us at Marseilles Marseilles Mar Mar- seilles semes signed Chow At which moment ca came e the sound of ot a a loud rap on the the cabin door Dawson Hal Halg Haig hastily adjusted his tinted glasses u ur r 0 it l j 6 t i lI v i I l lr I It I I r r rI I r Through a Partly Open Door Across the Narrow Alleyway Dawson Halg Haig Was Watching Eileen Kearney |
