Detective and mystery stories; Drug traffic -- Fiction
The result of the night’s traffic, then, spelled failure for British
justice, the S.S. _Mahratta_ sailed one stewardess short of her
complement; but among the Chinese crew of another steamer Eastward
bound was one, Chung Chow, formerly known as Sin Sin Wa. And sometimes
in the night watches there arose before him the picture of a black bird
resting upon the knees of an aged Chinaman. Beyond these figures dimly
he perceived the paddy-fields of Ho-Nan and the sweeping valley of the
Yellow River, where the opium poppy grows.
It was about an hour before the sailing of the ship which numbered
Chung Chow among the yellow members of its crew that Seton Pasha
returned once more to the deserted wharf whereon he had found Mrs.
Monte Irvin’s spaniel. Afterwards, in the light of ascertained facts,
he condemned himself for a stupidity passing the ordinary. For while he
had conducted a careful search of the wharf and adjoining premises,
convinced that there was a cellar of some kind below, he had omitted to
look for a water-gate to this hypothetical cache.
Perhaps his self-condemnation was deserved, but in justice to the agent
selected by Lord Wrexborough, it should be added that Chief Inspector
Kerry had no more idea of the existence of such an entrance, and exit,
than had Seton Pasha.
Leaving the dog at Leman Street then, and learning that there was no
news of the missing Chief Inspector, Seton had set out once more. He
had been informed of the mysterious signals flashed from side to side
of the Lower Pool, and was hourly expecting a report to the effect that
Sin Sin Wa had been apprehended in the act of escaping. That Sin Sin Wa
had dropped into the turgid tide from his underground hiding-place, and
pushing his property—which was floatable—before him, encased in a
waterproof bag, had swum out and clung to the stern of George Martin’s
boat as it passed close to the empty wharf, neither Seton Pasha nor any
other man knew—except George Martin and Sin Sin Wa.
At a suitably dark spot the Chinaman had boarded the little craft, not
without difficulty, for his wounded shoulder pained him, and had
changed his sodden attire for a dry outfit which awaited him in the
locker at the stern of the skiff. The cunning of the Chinese has the
simplicity of true genius.
Not two paces had Seton taken on to the mystifying wharf when:
“Sam Tûk barber! Entrance in cellar!” rapped a ghostly, muffled voice
from beneath his feet. “Sam Tûk barber! Entrance in cellar!”
Seton Pasha stood still, temporarily bereft of speech. Then, “_Kerry!_”
he cried. “Kerry! Where are you?”
But apparently his voice failed to reach the invisible speaker, for:
“Sam Tûk barber! Entrance in cellar!” repeated the voice.
Seton Pasha wasted no more time. He ran out into the narrow street. A
man was on duty there.
“Call assistance!” ordered Seton briskly, “Send four men to join me at
the barber’s shop called Sam Tûk’s! You know it?”
“Yes, sir; I searched it with Chief Inspector Kerry.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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