Adventure, June 1911 — page 186: what you’re looking at

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

372 strongly toward a prisoner in this court as the person guilty of Mr. Ashton’s death. | Your answer to my question may confirm or disprove his guilt. I direct you to answer my question at once! Whom did you see upon the porch roof?” Miss Temple looked despairingly about her, rose with a ghastly look from her chair, and, facing the Magistrate, said: “‘It—it— oh, my God—it was my father!” Then collapsed limply against the rail. Major Temple rose from his seat and stood white and trembling. ‘“ Muriel!” he cried, in a voice filled with incredulous .amazement and horror which rang through- out the whole room. I sprang forward with outstretched arms, but Inspector Burns was before me. He placed Miss Temple tenderly in her chair. She was unconscious. CHAPTER XV _ THE VENGEANCE OF BUDDHA es Miss Temple launched her terri- ble and unwilling accusation against her father and was carried unconscious from the room, I realized that I was, to all intents and purposes, a free man. Miss Temple, it is true, had testified that the win- dow was closed, but she could not know whether it was bolted, or whether Ashton had opened it later to secure fresh air during the night. It seemed probable that he had, but how to account for its subsequent re- bolting from the inside I could not imagine, unless Major Temple had done it, unknown to me, when we first entered the room. I looked to see all these matters cleared up when he was placed upon the stand, and I was not surprised to see one of the officers approach the figure sitting bowed and silent among the buzzing spectators and, laying. his hand upon his shoulder, bend down and — whisper a few low words into his ear. He arose and was about to accompany the off- © cer to the dock, when there was a murmur of - voices -about the door and I saw Sergeant McQuade enter with the ugly figure of Li Min beside him, followed by the interpreter; while Inspector Burns stepped quickly to the Magistrate’s desk and said a few hur- ried words to him in a low voice. The Magistrate, apparently very much surprised, turned to the court-room, rapped loudly for order and motioned to the officer Adventure in charge of Major Temple to release him. Sergeant McQuade, meanwhile, with his prisoner, had advanced to the dock, and without: further ceremony I saw the court attendants administer the oath, the import of this being explained to the Chinaman by the interpreter. IT LEARNED afterward that Li - Min, upon his first appearance as a witness, had been under the im- pression that he was being tried for his attempt to steal my satchel, and as he did not then know that his compatriots in Lon- don had secured the emerald, feared to make disclosures, Learning from the interpreter during the noon-hour that the Emerald Buddha had been secured by his friends in London, he was at last persuaded to tell his story. ed It. seems that Li Min, like many of his countrymen, was under suspicion through association with the reform movement, and, knowing the enmity of the Dow- ager Empress and her advisors toward this movement, had come to Hong Kong with the intention of leaving the country. His engagement as a servant by Major Temple enabled him to leave China without being under any suspicions as to his motives for doing so. It was during the voyage to Eng- land, and his subsequent stay in Major Temple’s service, that he first learned the. story of the Emerald .Buddha, piece by piece, and of Ashton’s: determination +9 secure the sacred relic. His réligious feélings: were outraged and he promptly. sent*word to the followers of Buddha in Ping Yang. But ‘when the word’ at last reached them, Ashton had already escaped with the. jewel. The priest set out at once for London with two of his followers, making such speed that they arrived in London some weeks before ' Ashton’s coming. Li Min was to notify them as soon.as Ashton arrived and it would then be Li _Min’s part to admit his confederates to the house and with their assistance steal the jewel and make away with it. - His trip to Exeter had been for this purpose, but owing to the furious storm the night of Ashton’s arrival, he decided to wait till morning: He had overheard the’ quarrel, feared Ash- ton might leave with the jewel, and passed an uneasy night. He arose about four o’clock and crept silently through the hallway to Ashton’s Go 0)(0)) AMG <SEiGO