As a man of some experience in such matters, I fully3 recognized its improbability, but beyond relating the circumstances leading up to my possession of the pigtail and the events which had ensued, I could do no more in the matter. The weird4 relic5 had not been found on the dead woman, nor in the cab.
Now the unsavoury business was finished, and I walked along Bow Street, racking my mind for the master-key to this mystery in which I was become enmeshed. How I longed to rush off to Harley's rooms in Chancery Lane and to tell him the whole story! But my friend was a thousand miles away—and I had to see the thing out alone.
That the pigtail was some sacred relic stolen from a Chinese temple and sought for by its fanatical custodians6 was a theory which persistently7 intruded8 itself. But I could find no place in that hypothesis for the beautiful Jewess; and that she was intimately concerned I did not doubt. A cool survey of the facts rendered it fairly evident that it was she and none other who had stolen the pigtail from my rooms. Some third party—possibly the “yellow man” of whom she had spoken—had in turn stolen it from her, strangling her in the process.
The police theory of the murder (and I was prepared to accept it) was that the assassin had been crouching9 in hiding behind or beside the cab—or even within the dark interior. He had leaped in and attacked the woman at the moment that the taxi-man had started his engine; if already inside, the deed had proven even easier. Then, during some block in the traffic, he had slipped out unseen, leaving the body of the victim to be discovered when the cab pulled up at the hotel.
I knew of only one place in London where I might hope to obtain useful information, and for that place I was making now. It was Malay Jack's, whence I had been bound on the previous night when my strange meeting with the seaman10 who then possessed11 the pigtail had led to a change of plan. The scum of the Asiatic population always come at one time or another to Jack's, and I hoped by dint12 of a little patience to achieve what the police had now apparently13 despaired of achieving—the discovery of the assassin.
Having called at my chambers14 to obtain my revolver, I mounted an eastward-bound motor-bus. The night, as I have already stated, was exceptionally dark. There was no moon, and heavy clouds were spread over the sky; so that the deserted15 East End streets presented a sufficiently16 uninviting aspect, but one with which I was by no means unfamiliar17 and which certainly in no way daunted18 me.
Changing at Paul Harley's Chinatown base in Wade19 Street, I turned my steps in the same direction as upon the preceding night; but if my own will played no part in the matter, then decidedly Providence20 truly guided me. Poetic21 justice is rare enough in real life, yet I was destined22 to-night to witness swift retribution overtaking a malefactor23.
The by-ways which I had trodden were utterly24 deserted; I was far from the lighted high road, and the only signs of human activity that reached me came from the adjacent river; therefore, when presently an outcry arose from somewhere on my left, for a moment I really believed that my imagination was vividly25 reproducing the episode of the night before!
A furious scuffle—between a European and an Asiatic—was in progress not twenty yards away!
Realizing that such was indeed the case, and that I was not the victim of hallucination, I advanced slowly in the direction of the sounds, but my footsteps reechoed hollowly from wall to wall of the narrow passage-way, and my coming brought the conflict to a sudden and dramatic termination.
“Thought I wouldn't know yer ugly face, did yer?” yelled a familiar voice. “No good squealin'—I got yer! I'd bust26 you up if I could!” (a sound of furious blows and inarticulate chattering) “but it ain't 'umanly possible to kill a Chink———”
I hurried forward toward the spot where two dim figures were locked in deadly conflict.
One of the figures collapsed28 in a heap upon the ground. The other made off at a lumbering29 gait along a second and even narrower passage branching at right angles from that in which the scuffle had taken place.
The clatter30 of the heavy sea-boots died away in the distance. I stood beside the fallen man, looking keenly about to right and left; for an impression was strong upon me that another than I had been witness of the scene—that a shadowy form had slunk back furtively31 at my approach. But the night gave up no sound in confirmation32 of this, and I could detect no sign of any lurker33.
I stooped over the Chinaman (for a Chinaman it was) who lay at my feet, and directed the ray of my pocket-lamp upon his yellow and contorted countenance34. I suppressed a cry of surprise and horror.
Despite the human impossibility referred to by the missing fireman, this particular Chinaman had joined the shades of his ancestors. I think that final blow, which had felled him, had brought his shaven skull35 in such violent contact with the wall that he had died of the thundering concussion36 set up.
Kneeling there and looking into his upturned eyes, I became aware that my position was not an enviable one, particularly since I felt little disposed to set the law on the track of the real culprit. For this man who now lay dead at my feet was doubtless one of the pair who had attempted the life of the fireman of the Jupiter.
That my seafaring acquaintance had designed to kill the Chinaman I did not believe, despite his stormy words: the death had been an accident, and (perhaps my morality was over-broad) I considered the assault to have been justified37.
Now my ideas led me further yet. The dead Chinaman wore a rough blue coat, and gingerly, for I found the contact repulsive38, I inserted my hand into the inside pocket. Immediately my fingers closed upon a familiar object—and I stood up, whistling slightly, and dangling39 in my left hand the missing pigtail!
Beyond doubt Justice had guided the seaman's blows. This was the man who had murdered my dark-eyed visitor!
I stood perfectly40 still, directing the little white ray of my flashlight upon the pigtail in my hand. I realized that my position, difficult before, now was become impossible; the possession of the pigtail compromised me hopelessly. What should I do?
“My God!” I said aloud, “what does it all mean?”
“It means,” said a gruff voice, “that it was lucky I was following you and saw what happened!”
I whirled about, my heart leaping wildly. Detective-Sergeant Durham was standing41 watching me, a grim smile upon his face!
I laughed rather shakily.
“Lucky indeed!” I said. “Thank God you're here. This pigtail is a nightmare which threatens to drive me mad!”
The detective advanced and knelt beside the crumpled-up figure on the ground. He examined it briefly42, and then stood up.
“The fact that he had the missing pigtail in his pocket,” he said, “is proof enough to my mind that he did the murder.”
“And to mine.”
“There's another point,” he added, “which throws a lot of light on the matter. You and Mr. Harley were out of town at the time of the Huang Chow case; but the Chief and I outlined it, you remember, one night in Mr. Harley's rooms?”
“I remember it perfectly; the giant spider in the coffin———”
“Yes; and a certain Ah Fu, confidential43 servant of the old man, who used to buy the birds the thing fed on. Well, Mr. Knox, Huang Chow was the biggest dealer44 in illicit45 stuff in all the East End—and this battered46 thing at our feet is—Ah Fu!”
“Huang Chow's servant?”
“Exactly!”
I stared, uncomprehendingly, and:
“In what way does this throw light on the matter?” I asked.
Durham—a very intelligent young officer—smiled significantly.
“I begin to see light!” he declared. “The gentleman who made off just as I arrived on the scene probably had a private quarrel with the Chinaman and was otherwise not concerned in any way.”
“I am disposed to agree with you,” I said guardedly.
“Of course, you've no idea of his identity?”
“I'm afraid not.”
“We may find him,” mused47 the officer, glancing at me shrewdly, “by applying at the offices of the Planet Line, but I rather doubt it. Also I rather doubt if we'll look very far. He's saved us a lot of trouble, but”—peering about in the shadowy corners which abounded—“didn't I see somebody else lurking48 around here?”
“I'm almost certain there was someone else!” I cried. “In fact, I could all but swear to it.”
“H'm!” said the detective. “He's not here now. Might I trouble you to walk along to Limehouse Police Station for the ambulance? I'd better stay here.”
I agreed at once, and started off.
Thus a second time my plans were interrupted, for my expedition that night ultimately led me to Bow Street, whence, after certain formalities had been observed, I departed for my chambers, the mysterious pigtail in my pocket. Failing the presence of Durham, the pigtail must have been retained as evidence, but:
“We shall know where to find it if it's wanted, Mr. Knox,” said the Yard man, “and I can trust you to look after your own property.”
The clock of St. Paul's was chiming the hour of two when I locked the door of my chambers and prepared to turn in. The clangour of the final strokes yet vibrated through the night's silence when someone set my own door bell loudly ringing.
A Chinaman stood outside upon the mat!
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1
sparsity
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| n.稀少 | |
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sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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custodians
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| n.看守人，保管人( custodian的名词复数 ) | |
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persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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8
intruded
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| n.侵入的，推进的v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的过去式和过去分词 )；把…强加于 | |
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crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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15
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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daunted
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| 使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wade
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| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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malefactor
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| n.罪犯 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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32
confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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lurker
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| n.诱鱼灯船，划艇 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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concussion
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| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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39
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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43
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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44
dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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illicit
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| adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的 | |
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46
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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47
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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48
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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49
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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50
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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