"He did," said the Mandarin quietly. "I may tell you Mr. Ainsleigh that I was completely in your father's confidence. He made a great deal of money out of the mine, and I arranged for it to be turned into safe investments through a third person whose name need not be mentioned. A large sum was placed out at interest and all these many years the interest has been accumulating. You will receive a handsome sum I assure you, Mr. Ainsleigh." "But," broke in Olivia perplexed. "Dr. Forge told my husband that the whole amount was eighteen thousand, of which ten thousand belonged to him and eight thousand to Rupert." "Dr. Forge places the money obtained from the mine at a low figure," said the Chinaman smiling, "what the amount is, I shall tell you later. Meanwhile I must explain the intrigue which led to your father's murder----" "Ah," Rupert leaped to his feet, "then he _was_ murdered." "He was--by the emissary of Hop Sing. Be calm, Mr. Ainsleigh, and be seated. Your father died quietly enough by strangulation----" "What. Was he killed in the same way as Miss Wharf?" Lo-Keong bowed his stately head, "Yes, and by the same person----" "Tung-yu," cried Olivia starting to her feet in her turn. "Exactly, Mrs. Ainsleigh. I know that Tung-yu strangled Mr. Markham Ainsleigh, and I believe that he strangled your aunt." Rupert sat down on the sofa and drew his wife down beside him. "But Tung-yu was the man who was to buy the fan----" "Quite so." Lo-Keong folded and unfolded the fan calmly. "You know of the god Kwang-ho." "Yes--but I can't understand----" "Naturally," the Marquis laughed quietly, "that is a thing beyond the comprehension of a Western barbarian--your pardon for so calling you, Kwang-ho," went on the Mandarin, "is an ancestor of mine who lived during the Ming dynasty. He was a sage, and very famous, so I took him as my private god." Olivia looked amazed and a little shocked. "A private god. I never knew that anyone could have a private god even in China," she said. "If you have read Roman history, Mrs. Ainsleigh, you will remember the Lares and Penates, which were something of the same kind. I was very unfortunate with the public gods of my country, so I chose Kwang-ho to be my genius--my destiny. I had an image made and offered him incense. It was, in fact what you might call ancestral worship; only I looked upon Kwang-ho as one who could control my destiny. I was right," said Lo-Keong emphatically, "for, from the moment I sacrificed to Kwang-ho, my fortunes changed." "In what way?" asked Rupert, wondering that a clever man like this should talk so superstitiously. "In every way. The priest of my new god Kwang-ho consulted the deity and ordered that I should leave the Boxers and attach myself to the party of the Empress Dowager, who was to be all powerful in the future. I think," added Lo-Keong smiling blandly, "that Kwang-ho was right in that. Who is so powerful as my august mistress."