Adventure, July 1, 1928 — page 188: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

18% upper part of the man’s: body protruded, stiff and horrid, from the side of the bungalow from under the eaves of the attap roof, at the point where the canvas ceiling of the front room ended at the veranda. That he was dead. there could be no doubt, for the moonlight was full upon his pale, gleaming body. Though the greater part of his arms were visible, these appeared to be pinned to his sides in the sharp angle formed by the beam that supported the roof and the outer rafter that continued over the veranda. His head had fallen downward and was turned a little to the right, which made it appear as if he was endeavoring to look round the corner into the veranda itself. Cartwright was the first to find his voice. “What do you make of that?” he asked. “It’s Liu Tang all right.” “And he’s’ dead,” said Headley. “There’s only one way to answer that question, Charles, and that’s to get him down.” They had some difficulty in doing this, and it was a job none too pleasant. John Eade, standing upon the top rail that in- closed the veranda, was able to push the body’ away from Him, until it was no longer wedged in the acute angle formed by the rafter and the beam. Cart- wright in the meantime had climbed out of the little window at the end of the sitting-room; and standing upon the sill of this, he was able to grasp the body with one hand and jerk it clear of the attap roof. It came away with several dried nipa leaves of which the thatch was com- posed, as well as with a portion of the canvas. ceiling that must have been rotten with damp. It fell with a dull thud upon the close cut grass of the little lawn. Headley had pretty thoroughly examined the body with the help of his electric torch by the time that his two com- panions joined him; and he had found in one of Liu Tang’s clenched fists Charles Cartwright’s razor. “No signs of violence here,” he re- marked. ‘‘There’s rigor mortis and he’s CHARLES GILSON stone cold. He must have been dead some time. By gad, Charles,” he sud- denly exclaimed, “you haven’t got a wildcat in your bungalow by any chance, have you?” “No,” said Cartwright. ‘“There’s one next door though. Beverley says it keeps him awake half the night tearing up and down the canvas ceiling after the rats and lizards.” “Yes,” said Headley thoughtfully. “That’s just it, Beverley’s rats have all migrated to you. And you’ve got a worse lodger up there in that roof than a wild- cat. A snake, and a venomous one, too.” Cartwright whistled. “You're right,” said he. ‘‘That’s what got him. But when did this happen?” “Must have been in the earlier part of the night,” said Eade. ‘You remember Pai told Madame Seala that she would find you with your throat cut?” “Do you mean he was in the roof all th time?” : “Sure,” said Eade. “Your boy, Ah Yen, told us that he found Pai standing on the veranda with his body all twisted round, looking as if he’d seen a ghost. Well, I guess he went up there after you’d gone, to see what he could find out, and he got the shock of his life. Liu Tang saw him and spoke to him. Somewhere at the back of the veranda there must be a gap between the roof and the wall.” “There is,” said Charles. “I see what you mean. Pai got his orders from Liu Tang, who sent him down the river to Scala. Directly he found Madame Scala on board the Chauve-Souris, of course, Liu Tang must have guessed that Scala -himself wouldn’t be far behind.” “That’s about it,” said Eade. - “And the fellow lay up here determined to do his job properly with your own razor be- fore he joined Scala. He played his cards uncommonly well, too; for if madame had found us both with our throats cut, there’s very little doubt that by now she would be well on her way back to Singan. You’ll remember we went out of the bungalow in a pretty great hurry, and we naturally never looked back.” comnicloooks.com