"Ah!" cried Max, "but certainly I am not! Do not misunderstand me. This group with which we are dealing3 is shown to be not of a national but of an international character. The same applied4 to the organisation5 of 'Mr. King.' But a Chinaman directed the one, and I begin to suspect that a Chinaman directs the other. No, I speak of no ridiculous 'Yellow Peril,' my friends. John Chinaman, as I have known him, is the whitest man breathing; but can you not imagine"—he dropped his voice again in that impressive way which was yet so truly Gallic—"can you not imagine a kind of Oriental society which like a great, a formidable serpent, lies hidden somewhere below that deceptive6 jungle of the East? These are troubled times. It is a wise state to-day that knows its own leaders. Can you not imagine a dreadful sudden menace, not of men and guns but of brains and capital?"
"You mean," said Dunbar slowly, "that 'The Scorpion7' may be getting people out of the way who might interfere8 with this rising or invasion or whatever it is?"
"Just as 'Mr. King' accumulated material for it," interjected the Assistant Commissioner9. "It is a bold conception, M. Max, and it raises the case out of the ordinary category and invests it with enormous international importance."
All were silent for a time, Stuart, Dunbar and the Commissioner watching the famous Frenchman as he sat there, arrayed in the latest fashion of Saville Row, yet Gallic to his finger-tips and in every gesture. It was almost impossible at times to credit the fact that a Parisian was speaking, for the English of Gaston Max was flawless except that he spoke10 with a faint American accent. Then, suddenly, a gesture, an expletive, would betray the Frenchman.
But such betrayals never escaped him when, in one of his inimitable disguises, he penetrated11 to the purlieu of Whitechapel, to the dens12 of Limehouse. Then he was the perfect Hooligan, as, mingling13 with the dangerous thieves of Paris, he was the perfect Apache. It was an innate14 gift of mimicry15 which had made him the greatest investigator16 of his day. He could have studied Chinese social life for six months and thereupon have become a mandarin17 whom his own servants would never have suspected to be a "foreign barbarian18." It was pure genius, as opposed to the brilliant efficiency of Dunbar.
But in the heart of the latter, as he studied Gaston Max and realized the gulf19 that separated them, there was nothing but generous admiration20 of a master; yet Dunbar was no novice21, for by a process of fine deductive reasoning he had come to the conclusion, as has appeared, that Gaston Max had been masquerading as a cabman and that the sealed letter left with Dr. Stuart had been left as a lure22. By one of those tricks of fate which sometimes perfect the plans of men but more often destroy them, the body of "Le Balafre" had been so disfigured during the time that it had been buffeted23 about in the Thames that it was utterly24 unrecognizable and indescribable. But even the disk had not deceived Dunbar. He had seen in it another ruse25 of his brilliant confrere, and his orders to the keeper of the mortuary to admit no one without a written permit had been dictated26 by the conviction that Max wished the body to be mistaken for his own. In Inspector27 Dunbar, Gaston Max immediately had recognized an able colleague as Mrs. M'Gregor had recognized "a grand figure of a man."
The Assistant Commissioner broke the silence.
"There have been other cases," he said reflectively, "now that one considers the matter, which seemed to point to the existence of such a group or society as you indicate, M. Max, notably29 one with which, if I remember rightly, Inspector"—turning his dark eyes towards Dunbar—"Inspector Weymouth, late of this Branch, was associated?"
"Quite right, sir. It was his big case, and it got him a fine billet as Superintendent30 in Cairo if you remember?"
"Yes," mused31 the Assistant Commissioner—"he transferred to Egypt—a very good appointment, as you say. That, again, was before my term of office, but there were a number of very ghastly crimes connected with the case and it was more or less definitely established, I believe, that some extensive secret society did actually exist throughout the East, governed, I fancy, by a Chinaman."
"And from China," added Dunbar.
"Yes, yes, from China as you say, Inspector." He turned to Gaston Max. "Can it really be, M. Max, that we have to deal with an upcrop of some deeply-seated evil which resides in the Far East? Are all these cases, not the work of individual criminal but manifestations32 of a more sinister33, a darker force?"
Gaston Max met his glance and Max's mouth grew very grim.
"I honestly believe so." he answered. "I have believed it for nearly two years—ever since the Grand Duke died. And now, you said, I remember, that you had made a note the nature of which you would communicate."
"Yes," replied the Assistant Commissioner—"a small point, but one which may be worthy34 of attention. This ray, Dr. Stuart, which played such havoc35 in your study—do you know of anything approaching to it in more recent scientific devices?"
"Well," said Stuart, "it my be no more than a development of one of several systems, notably of that of the late Henrik Ericksen upon which he was at work at the time of his death."
"Exactly." The Assistant Commissioner smiled in his most
Mephistophelean manner. "Of the late Henrik Ericksen, as you say."
He said no more for a moment and sat smoking and looking from face to face. Then:
"That is the subject of my note, gentlemen," he added. "The other minutiae36 are of no immediate28 importance."
"Non d'un p'tit bonhomme!" whispered Gaston Max. "I see! You think that Ericksen had completed his experiments before he died, but that he never lived to give them to the world?"
The Assistant Commissioner waved one hand in the air so that he discoloration of the first and second fingers was very noticeable.
"It is for you to ascertain37 these points, M. Max," he said—"I only suggest. But I begin to share your belief that a series of daring and unusual assassinations38 has been taking place under the eyes of the police authorities of Europe. It can only be poison—an unknown poison, perhaps. We shall be empowered to exhume39 the body of the late Sir Frank Narcombe in a few days' time, I hope. His case puzzles me hopelessly. What obstacle did a surgeon offer to this hypothetical Eastern movement? On the other hand, what can have been filched40 from him before his death? The death of an inventor, a statesman, a soldier, can be variously explained by your 'Yellow' hypothesis, M. Max, but what of the death of a surgeon?"
"We have learned a little," he said, "and guessed a lot. Let us hope to guess more—and learn everything!"
"May I suggest," added Dunbar, "that we hear Sowerby's report, sir?"
Sowerby."
A moment later Sergeant Sowerby entered, his face very red and his hair bristling45 more persistently46 than usual.
"Anything to report, Sowerby?" asked Dunbar.
"Yes, Inspector," replied Sowerby, in his Police Court manner;—he faced the Assistant Commissioner, "with your permission, sir."
He took out a note-book which appeared to be the twin of Dunbar's and consulted it, assuming an expression of profound reflection.
"In the first place, sir," he began, never raising his eyes from the page, "I have traced the cab sold on the hire-purchase system to a certain Charles Mallett…"
"Ha, ha!" laughed Max breezily—"he calls me a hammer! It is not Mallett, Sergeant Sowerby—you have got too many l's in that name; it is Malet and is called like one from the Malay States!"
"Oh," commented Sowerby, glancing up—"indeed. Very good, sir. The owner claims the balance of purchase money!"
Every one laughed at that, even the satanic Assistant Commissioner.
"Pay your debts, M. Max," he said. "You will bring the Service de
Surete into bad repute! Carry on, Sergeant."
"This cab," continued Sowerby, when Dunbar interrupted him.
"Cut out the part about the cab, Sowerby," he said. "We've found that out from M. Max. Have you anything to report about the yellow car?"
"Yes," replied Sowerby, unperturbed, and turning over to the next page. "It was hired form Messrs. Wickers' garage, at Canning Town, by the week. The lady who hired it was a Miss Dorian, a French lady. She gave no reference, except that of the Savoy Hotel, where she was stopping. She paid a big deposit and had her own chauffeur47, a colored man of some kind.
"Is it still in use by her?" snapped Dunbar eagerly.
"No, Inspector. She claimed her deposit this morning and said she was leaving London."
"The cheque?" cried Dunbar.
"Was cashed half an hour later."
"At what bank?"
"London County & Birmingham, Canning Town. Her own account at a Strand48 bank was closed yesterday. The details all concern milliners, jewellers, hotels and so forth49. There's nothing there. I've been to the Savoy, of course."
"Yes!"
"A lady named Dorian has had rooms there for six weeks, has dined there on several occasions, but was more often away than in the hotel."
"Visitors?"
"Never had any."
"She used to dine alone, then?"
"Always."
"In the public dining-room?"
"No. In her own room."
"Has she left now?" asked Dunbar.
"She left a week ago."
Sowerby closed his note-book and returned it to his pocket.
"Is that all you have to report, Sergeant?" asked the Assistant
Commissioner.
"That's all, sir."
"Very good."
"Now, sir," said Dunbar, "I've got Inspector Kelly here. He looks after the Chinese quarter. Shall I call him?"
"Yes, Inspector."
Presently there entered a burly Irishman, bluff52 and good-humoured, a very typical example of the intelligent superior police officer, looking keenly around him.
"Ah, Inspector," the Assistant Commissioner greeted him—"we want your assistance in a little matter concerning the Chinese residential53 quarter. You know this district?"
"Certainly, sir. I know it very well."
"On this map"—the Assistant Commissioner laid a discoloured forefinger54 upon the map of London—"you will perceive that we have drawn55 a circle."
"Yes, sir."
"Within that circle, which is no larger in circumference57 that a shilling as you observe, lies a house used by a certain group of people. It has been suggested to me that these people may be Chinese or associates of Chinese."
"Well, sir," said Inspector Kelly, smiling broadly, "considering the patch inside the circle I think it more than likely! Seventy-five or it may be eighty per cent of the rooms and cellars and attics58 in those three streets are occupied by Chinese."
"For your guidance, Inspector, we believe these people to be a dangerous gang of international criminals. Do you know of any particular house, or houses, likely to be used as a meeting-place by such a gang?"
Inspector Kelly scratched his close-cropped head.
"A woman was murdered just there, sir," he said, taking up a pen from the table and touching59 a point near the corner of Three Colt Street, "about a twelve-month ago. We traced the man—a Chinese sailor—to a house lying just about here." Again he touched the map. "It's a sort of little junk-shop with a ramshackle house attached, all cellars and rabbit-hutches, as you might say, overhanging a disused cutting which is filled at high tide. Opium60 is to be had there and card-playing goes on, and I won't swear that you couldn't get liquor. But it's well conducted as such dives go."
"Why is it not closed?" inquired the Assistant Commissioner, seizing an opportunity to air his departmental ignorance.
"Well, sir," replied Inspector Kelly, his eyes twinkling—"if we shut up all these places we should never know where to look for some of our regular customers! As I mentioned, we found the wanted Chinaman, three parts drunk, in one of the rooms."
"It's a sort of lodging-house, then?"
"Exactly. There's a moderately big room just behind the shop, principally used by opium-smokers, and a whole nest of smaller rooms above and below. Mind you, sir, I don't say this is the place you're looking for, but it's the most likely inside your circle."
"Who is the proprietor61?"
"A retired Chinese sailor called Ah-Fang-Fu, but better known as
'Pidgin.' His establishment is called locally 'The Pidgin House.'"
"Ah." The Commissioner lighted a cigarette. "And you know of no other house which might be selected for such a purpose as I have mentioned?"
"I can't say I do, sir. I know pretty well all the business affairs of that neighbourhood, and none of the houses inside your circle have changed hands during the past twelve months. Between ourselves, sir, nearly all the property in the district belongs to Ah-Fang-Fu, and anything that goes on in Chinatown he knows about!"
"Ah, I see. Then in any event he is the man we want to watch?"
"Well, sir, you ought to keep an eye on his visitors, I should say."
"I am obliged to you, Inspector," said the courteous62 Assistant Commissioner, "for your very exact information. If necessary I shall communicate with you again. Good-day."
"Good-day, sir," replied the Inspector. "Good-day, gentlemen."
He went out.
Gaston Max, who had diplomatically remained in the background throughout this interview, now spoke.
"Pardieu! but I have been thinking," he said. "Although 'The Scorpion,' as I hope, believes that that troublesome Charles Malet is dead, he may also wonder if Scotland Yard has secured from Dr. Stuart's fire any fragments of the information sealed in the envelope! What does it mean, this releasing of the yellow car, closing of the bank account and departure from the Savoy?"
"It means flight!" cried Dunbar, jumping violently to his feet. "By gad63, sir!" he turned to the Assistant Commissioner—"the birds may have flown already!"
The Assistant Commissioner leaned back in his chair.
"I have sufficient confidence in M. Max," he said, "to believe that, having taken the responsibility of permitting this dangerous group to learn that they were under surveillance, he has good reason to suppose that they have not slipped through our fingers."
Gaston Max bowed.
"It is true," he replied, and from his pocket he took a slip of flimsy paper. "This code message reached me as I was about to leave my hotel. The quadroon, Miguel, left Paris last night and arrived in London this morning——"
"He was followed?" cried Dunbar.
"But certainly. He was followed to Limehouse, and he was definitely seen to enter the establishment described to us by Inspector Kelly!"
"Gad!" said Dunbar—"then someone is still there?"
"Someone, as you say, is still there," replied Max. "But everything points to the imminent64 departure of this someone. Will you see to it, Inspector, that not a rat—pardieu not a little mouse—is allowed to slip out of our red circle to-day. For to-night we shall pay a friendly visit to the house of Ah-Fang-Fu, and I should wish all the company to be present."
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1
defunct
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| adj.死亡的；已倒闭的 | |
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bogey
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| n.令人谈之变色之物；妖怪，幽灵 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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deceptive
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| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
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scorpion
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| n.蝎子，心黑的人，蝎子鞭 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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11
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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dens
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| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
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mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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innate
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| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
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mimicry
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| n.（生物）拟态，模仿 | |
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investigator
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| n.研究者，调查者，审查者 | |
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Mandarin
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| n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的 | |
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barbarian
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| n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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novice
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| adj.新手的，生手的 | |
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lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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buffeted
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| 反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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ruse
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| n.诡计，计策；诡计 | |
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dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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notably
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| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
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superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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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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manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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minutiae
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| n.微小的细节，细枝末节；（常复数）细节，小事( minutia的名词复数 ) | |
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ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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assassinations
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| n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 ) | |
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exhume
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| v.掘出，挖掘 | |
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filched
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| v.偷（尤指小的或不贵重的物品）( filch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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49
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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51
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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52
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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53
residential
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| adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的 | |
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forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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55
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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57
circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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58
attics
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| n. 阁楼 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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60
opium
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| n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的 | |
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61
proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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62
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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gad
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| n.闲逛；v.闲逛 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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