"Then, if you think it useless to deal with me in such fashion, why enter upon talk of it?" demanded Mr. Haydon. "Oh," said the half-caste, "such a thing may be useful yet. If you were careless about torture applied to yourself, you might see it in another light when brought to bear on someone to whom you were attached?" Mr. Haydon gave a scornful laugh. "And where will you find such a person in this den of thieves?" he asked, drily. Upon this reply, Saya Chone and U Saw burst into a great shout of mocking laughter. They rolled to and fro in their mirth, and the room rang again with their hideous merriment. Mr. Haydon looked from one to the other, his brow knitted in puzzled wonder. But behind the curtain Jack's heart had sunk very low indeed, and a light of terror had come into his eyes. Now he saw at a flash why the half-caste had carried him off, and pursued him so closely and fiercely, yet without doing him the least harm. It had puzzled Jack a score of times why Saya Chone had not killed him, and so put an end to any further trouble, but now he saw the whole plan only too clearly. By this time the Ruby King knew the character of Thomas Haydon, and had learned that neither threats nor force had power to sway him from his duty in order to save himself. But what if his only son, his boy Jack, was exposed to a like danger: would that not break down his iron resolution? The terror which had come into Jack's eyes was not for himself, not for an instant. But he saw at once what the arch-rogues meant to do, to put pressure upon his father through him. And Jack felt sick at heart to think that he had won the thing he had longed for, that he had gained his father's side, and yet he came only as an added difficulty to a cruel situation. "You have a son, I think, Mr. Haydon?" began Saya Chone again, in his purring tones. "How do you know that?" replied Thomas Haydon. "Oh, we know many things," replied the half-caste lightly. "We have even heard of your only son, Jack Haydon." Mr. Haydon made no reply. "You would, I suppose, be very unwilling to see any harm happen to him?" "Thank God!" cried Thomas Haydon fervently, "that, at any rate, is far beyond your power. He is safe at home in England." Again the mocking laughter burst out in redoubled volume until the rafters rang again. The Ruby King and Saya Chone enjoyed their mirth to the full, then the half-caste sprang to his feet, and pointed with glittering eyes and laughing face to the soft white muslin veil. "Look there! Thomas Haydon," he cried, "look there!" CHAPTER XXXI. FATHER AND SON. Mr. Haydon turned his calm, steady eyes on the filmy curtain, but he could see nothing. Then, as he gazed quietly at it, U Saw raised his hand, and a deep booming note resounded from the gong. The full, musical trembling of the note still rang through the room when an unseen hand drew back the curtain, and the light of the lamps fell full upon Jack.