The tomb of Ts'in
It was the first coherent question she had put to him.
He shrugged his shoulders.
“That depends entirely upon the willingness of your friend to give me
what I wish,” he answered.
“You know you are committing a very grave crime,” she said, “and that
you will be punished for this?”
She saw a smile gather on the thin lips.
“I have a much more extensive knowledge of the criminal law of England
than you can be expected to have,” he said coolly. “I am well aware of
all the risks I take; but since I am prepared to take the additional,
and to you, perhaps, unthinkable, risk of losing my life, the minor
perils need not be counted.”
Without another word he left her. She waited until the sound of his
footsteps had died away; then she made a quick examination of the two
rooms.
From the sitting-room a door opened into a tiny bedroom. It was
scrupulously clean; the sheets were of the finest linen, pillow of
down, and what other furniture occupied the room was in good taste.
There was one small window, heavily barred, and screened from the
street by an opaque pane of toughened glass. She was to learn that
this looked upon a small wharf, and that no help might be expected
from that direction. There was a little window in the bathroom which
also looked out upon another corner of the wharf.
The sitting-room depended entirely upon artificial light. So she
thought until she looked up and saw a big skylight in the room.
She returned to the little bedroom and found, with considerable
satisfaction, that a much needed brush and comb had been provided. She
dressed her hair and washed her face in the little bathroom.
There was no question of sleeping that night. It encouraged her, and
removed some of her apprehension to find how thoroughly her abductor
had prepared for her arrival. There was a bookshelf, well stocked with
the latest novels, and if the selection had been a hasty one, it was
also a wise one.
She came back to the fire and drew up a chair, for she felt cold.
“What would be the end?” She shivered, and dare not supply an answer.
She got up and walked to the door and listened. There was no sound
outside. It came on to rain, and the pitter-patter of the drops as
they fell upon the tiled roof gave her a sense of companionship with
the outside world.
She wondered when her mother would discover her absence. She was
unlikely to make her discovery before nine o’clock in the morning.
What would she do? Would she call in the police? Would that
extraordinary man, Tillizinni, endeavour to fathom the mystery of her
disappearance? She prayed that he would. And Talham?
She found herself thinking more of Talham than she could have thought
possible. He liked her--she was sure of it. She was afraid that the
impecunious Captain of Irregular Horse was in love with her.
She shook her head a little impatiently at the thought. Why could not
the friendship exist about which the philosopher wrote? Why could not
a woman possess a man friend without the disagreeable element coming
into it?
Talham was responsible for her present plight; yet she did not blame
him, which was a curious circumstance for a woman untouched by love.
She was satisfied at least that of all the people who would be
affected by the news of her disappearance, he would feel his
responsibility most poignantly.
She walked up and down the little room. It must have been half an hour
after Soo departed that he came back again.
He opened the door quietly and stepped inside, locking it again after
him, and laid on the table a letter. It was typed, she noticed, and
was addressed to Captain Talham.
“You will sign this,” said Soo briefly. He read it over. It was short
and to the point. It ran:
“Dear Captain Talham,--I am at present in the hands of some people
who desire you to restore the jade bracelet, which, as you know, you
took from me.
“Unless you do this within forty-eight hours either I shall be killed
or worse will happen to me. I implore you, therefore, to hand the
bracelet to a messenger who will meet you to-night at six o’clock in
Whitcombe Court, Coventry Street.”
She read the letter through, and looked up at the man.
“What guarantee have I,” she asked, “if I sign this letter, and if
Captain Talham is in a position to restore the bracelet, that you will
keep your part of the bargain, and will release me?”
“You have no guarantee at all,” he said coolly, “except my word. But I
am in this position, that you must accept my word without any proof of
my bona-fides.”
She hesitated before she took the fountain-pen which he offered her.
She read the letter through again.
There was no harm in signing it. She would be no better off by
refusing, and she might easily be worse. She was cool-headed now.
She signed her name at the foot of the sheet, and handed it to him.
He took it from her with a little bow.
“Perhaps you would like to write some letters,” he said. “You will
find paper in the drawer of the table, and if by any chance you have
any correspondence you would like to clear off in this uncomfortable
period of waiting, this will be an excellent opportunity.”
His tone was polite, he was not even mildly sarcastic. He wished to
convey to her the fact that her detention was a temporary business, a
regrettable expedient which need occasion her no alarm.
“Suppose Captain Talham refuses to give this up,” she said, “as he may
very well do; or suppose he has parted with it and is not in a
position to hand it to you, what happens to me?”
She asked the question calmly, and the man shrugged his shoulders.
“I will accept no excuses,” he said. “Whatever happens, subsequent to
his refusal, will be most regrettable.” With which sinister remark he
left her.
She stood near the door. She thought she heard voices outside. Quick
voices speaking in low tones excitedly, and she wondered who was the
masked man’s companion.
She was soon to learn, for the door opened, and Soo came in, followed
by four Chinamen.
“Get your coat on!” he said roughly. “We have got to get out of here
at once.”
“What is the matter?” she asked.
“Get your coat on!” he said, ignoring her question. “I haven’t a
moment to spare.”
All his polish had dropped away.
She had known him for a Chinaman despite his mask, and she knew there
was nothing to be gained by opposing one of the race which places
women on the level of domestic animals. She went into the bedroom and
put on her cloak, again pinned on her hat, and came out to where the
men were waiting.
They were talking eagerly together in Chinese.
“I am going to take you for a little journey by water,” said Soo.
He extinguished the light in the room, and led the way noiselessly
across the empty warehouse to a big door which led out on to the
wharf. It was a sliding door, which moved noiselessly upon its greased
guides.
Soo stepped out first, and the girl followed. Ahead of her she saw a
patch of untidy wharf and the dull gleam of water. He piloted her to
the edge of the wharf and peered down into the canal; but there was no
sign of a boat.
He turned and hissed a savage enquiry to one of his companions.
The girl’s heart beat high, instinct told her that help was on the
way, and the absence of the boat was at least a respite.
“Quick!” said Soo. “Come!”
He caught her by the arm, and she half ran and half walked back to the
building, through the barn-like warehouse, and to the door through
which they had first entered.
“Remember,” he said, “that any sound you make will bring upon you
consequences which you will have very little time for regretting.”
He pulled back the bolt, and the door swung open noiselessly. He had
his hand upon the girl’s arm, and his foot was raised to step across
the threshold when a flood of white light struck him, and he staggered
back.
“Put up your hands!” said a voice.
It was the voice of Tillizinni.
CHAPTER XI.
CAPTAIN TALHAM’S PROGRESS.
For a second only Soo stood. He saw the gleam of two pistol barrels
directed at his breast, and then with a sudden jerk of his arm, he
brought the girl into the line of fire.
A second later, he was running with all speed across the building and
through the gate.
He heard fleet footsteps coming after him, and looking over his
shoulder he saw the tall form of Talham silhouetted in the doorway of
the warehouse. He could have shot him then, and was tempted to take
the risk, but thought better of it. A shot would arouse the
neighbourhood, would set whistles blowing, and might perhaps dissipate
his last chance of escape.
He could trust his men to preserve his secret. He sped without
hesitation to the end of the wharf. The boat was still away. He
understood now why it had not put in an appearance. He heard a whistle
blow, and cursed himself for his failure to make use of an opportunity
of killing Talham which the gods had put into his hands.
The place was surrounded--he guessed that. He guessed it just as soon
as he understood the significance of the boat’s absence. There was no
time to hesitate, without a pause he leapt from the edge of the wharf
into the dark and noisome waters of the canal. He came to the surface
for a moment to breathe, and cast his eyes back to the bank.
Innumerable beams of light were searching the water. The police had
recently been equipped with a new truncheon torch.
He could swim under water like a fish, and he did not come up again
until the black hulk of a moored barge offered protection from the
prying eyes of the police.
“He’s gone, I’m afraid!” said Tillizinni with an expression of
vexation. “I’d like to have seen his face.”
“But didn’t you see it?” asked Talham in astonishment.
“I saw an ingenious mask,” said the other.
“I thought it was curious,” said Talham, “that a European could run as
that man ran. He had that curious sideways waddle which only the
Chinks have.”
They were talking in the little warehouse, half filled with police
now, and bright with light. Four Chinamen sat on the ground handcuffed
together and philosophical.
“I could have wished to capture the car,” said Tillizinni. “I might
then have found its owner. Yet”--he turned a dazzling smile upon the
girl--“we have succeeded in doing what we set out to accomplish.”
She looked very white and shaky, and Talham was no less pale.
“I am grateful this has turned out so well for me,” she said softly.
Tillizinni explained how they had taken the wrong road, and how by
great good fortune they had come upon the car they were chasing drawn
up at a coffee stall, where the chauffeur was taking an early morning
breakfast. They had got back to Tower Bridge, and picked up the trail
with no difficulty, save that none had seen the car turn into the
little street which runs by the side of the canal. Here, however, the
two men had to do some quick guessing, and once in the little _cul de
sac_, the hiding place had easily been located.
Exactly how, he did not explain, but two hours later he was comparing
the cigarette end which he had picked up outside of the warehouse with
one Talham had found in Mr. de Costa’s study.
“I don’t know whether this is enough to issue a warrant on,” he said.
“It would be quite sufficient for the detective in fiction”--he
smiled--“but unfortunately police magistrates have little imagination
and no romance, and require something more substantial in the shape of
evidence than the characteristics of Chinese tobacco.”
* * * * *
An ordinary man would have waited a day or two before he attempted to
renew acquaintance with a woman whose charms had created so profound
an impression upon him, and moreover, who had been responsible for so
much mental suffering on the part of the woman whom he loved. But