Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 3 — page 34: what you’re looking at

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

316 gard to his race, and subtly impressing upon them his education and standing. He was a research chemist, and the bare fact that he made no pretension to being a Christian convert was enough to vouch strongly for him. Men instinctively respect other men . ‘who have the strength of their convictions. .Half an hour passed. The bell jangied. “ Tf you will allow me,” said John Duck, “I will speak to him myself. Otherwise, he ‘might be suspicious.” | Since there was nothing else to be done, the captain assented. John Duck went to the old-fashioned speaking-tube that con- nected with the entrance below, and spoke © rapidly in Mandarin. He turned, smiling. “He is coming right up. May I suggest that he will be armed?” “You leave him to us!’ said the officer eagerly, stationing himself beside the door. Two minutes later, there was a knock. John Duck opened the door. Into the room stepped a yellow man whom Thornton ‘judged to be of the coolie class, cheaply dressed, his features high-boned and imper- turbable, quite ignorant. The captain had him by the wrists as he entered. ““You're under arrest for the murder of -;Tan Tock! Frisk him, Thornton.” Helpiess in that iron grip, the coolie could ‘not resist. His eyes went to the face of John Duck, who smiled and nodded. He ' said nothing. From his clothes, Thornton took a pistol, also a large and keen knife. The cafstain ironed his man and dropped him into a chair. “Now,” he said, *‘ d’you want to talk?” John Duck interposed, apologetically. He came forward with a small box open in his hand, and showed this box to the pris- oner. He spoke for a moment rapidiy; ‘both the words and the inflection were in- comprehensible to Thornton. Lui- Yen Yuan nodded. “He will tell everything, for he is badly in need of the drug,” he said. “‘ But he knows no English—” “Tell him to speak Cantonese, and to speak slowly,” said Thornton. This was done. The prisoner, his eye fastened on the box in the hand of John Duck, obeyed. standing over him, Digitized yGOo ogle ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, . “We knew that Tan Tock was coming here,” he said. ‘ We followed him and caught him in the street below. It was nearly two in the morning. I held bim while Hip Sing cut at his throat, then I cut also. We took his money and. left him. ” “* Straight enough, ”” said Thornton, turn- ing. “‘ Cap’n, go down and use my tele- phone. Get Hip Sing at once. Bring the wagon here, with an interpreter, and get the story all over again. No dope until the interpreter also gets the story, John Duck! That 11 ‘make sure of everything.” Fifteen minutes later the prisoner once again recited his confession. He seemed. to have gone utterly and absolutely to pieces. It was a somewhat unusual case, but the opium explained his talking so freely. He even went to the extent of signing a confes- sion in full. Then, and not until then, John Duck gave him the little box of =~ pellets. Before the wagon left a telephone mes- sage came saying that Hip Smg had been arrested, and protested his entire innocence. But the story that Hip Sing told made no difference whatever. When the~police had departed Thornton turned to John Duck. “I regret our suspicions of you,” he said. ‘“‘ But there is one thing—” and he went on to tell of the red drip. When he had fin- ished, John Duck beckoned him into the laboratory, smiling. —““T have been engaged on work relating to dyes,” he said, and went to the oriel windows. “In order to get rid of unneces- sary fluids, which might injure the heuse pipang, I constructed this outlet.” He lifted a small trap in the flooring by the windows, and showed a pipe which led down and out. ‘“ Anything put through this pipe,” he ex- plained, “ will pass outside to the ground. Last night I fad been working on a red dye. What you saw was not blood, but an aniline fluid.”’ | Thornton went down-stairs, wondering at the workings of destiny. Two weeks later John Dack gave up his lease and disappeared from sight. Withm anotber moath Lui Yuan and Hip Sing r eo Ola ile LUNGS OLLKC TOORS, (to)