"I told you so," replied Old King Brady. "Well, well! These Chinese make quick work. And such is the fate of our informer!" CHAPTER VIII. A PRISONER IN THE SECRET DENS OF PELL STREET. If Harry was not hung there in that shaft, where then was he? This must now be explained. There were two secret panels in that room, as Alice had suggested. Harry got into the other one. They caught him suddenly from behind. The Chinamen, we mean. He did not see them; he did not hear them. The first he knew a hand was clapped over his mouth and some fearful thing clutched his throat. It was nothing less than a big pair of nippers which seemed to have been constructed for that very purpose, so well did they suit it. Harry thought he was a goner. He could not cry out at first on account of the hand. The next instant the nippers had him--he could not even turn. He was dragged backward and knew that he was going through a secret panel near the chimney breast. Two Chinamen had him captured. Behind the panel was a shallow space, but it was wide enough for them to stand three abreast. This trap had been most cleverly constructed. One of the Chinks pulled a handle and the floor began to descend. Half strangled, Harry almost lost consciousness, and his head fell forward. Evidently his tormentors did not intend to go but just so far for immediately the pressure was relaxed. For a moment things seemed dim and misty. When Young King Brady recovered himself he was standing in an underground passage leaning against the wall. Three Chinamen were with him now. In the third, who held a revolver, Harry recognized a man whom he knew. It was one Joe Ding, a notorious highbinder. Only a few months before the Bradys had captured him in connection with a tong shooting affray. As there did not seem to be much evidence to connect the man with the affair, he had been set free, and that at Harry's suggestion. Joe Ding knew this, and he had expressed the greatest gratitude at the time. It was something of a relief to recognize him now, nevertheless it is never safe to trust a highbinder, for murder and robbery is their trade. "So it's you, Brady," said Joe Ding, who, although now in Chinese dress, did not usually appear so, and what is more he spoke as good English as one could wish. "Joe Ding!" gasped Harry. "Yes, as you see. What are you doing here?" "Why do you ask me that question--you who captured me?" "I didn't capture you, Brady. It was my friends here." "But why?" "Oh, they want to ask you a few questions, and as they don't speak English, I must do the asking." "Hurry up, then. Can't those infernal nippers be taken off my neck?" Joe Ding seemed to think so, for he now removed them. "You are trying to find money sunk in the sand, you and Old King Brady, aren't you?" he demanded. "Who told you that?" asked Harry. "Do you deny it?" "I have said what I have to say."