Dope

  CHAPTER XXXIII. CHINESE MAGIC

  Detective-Sergeant Coombes and three assistants watched the house of SinSin Wa, and any one of the three would have been prepared to swear "onthe Book" that Sin Sin Wa was sleeping. But he who watches a Chinamanwatches an illusionist. He must approach his task in the spirit of apsychical inquirer who seeks to trap a bogus medium. The great RobertHoudin, one of the master wizards of modern times, quitted Petrogradby two gates at the same hour according to credible witnesses; buthis performance sinks into insignificance beside that of a Chinesepredecessor who flourished under one of the Ming emperors. The palaceof this potentate was approached by gates, each having twelve locks, andeach being watched by twelve guards. Nevertheless a distinguished memberof the wizard family not only gained access to the imperial presencebut also departed again unseen by any of the guards, and leaving all thegates locked behind him! If Detective-Sergeant Coombes had known thisstory he might not have experienced such complete confidence.

  That door of Sin Sin Wa's establishment which gave upon a littlebackyard was oiled both lock and hinge so that it opened noiselessly.Like a shadow, like a ghost, Sin Sin Wa crept forth, closing the doorbehind him. He carried a sort of canvas kit-bag, so that one observinghim might have concluded that he was "moving."

  Resting his bag against the end wall, he climbed up by means of holes inthe neglected brickwork until he could peer over the top. A faint smellof tobacco smoke greeted him: a detective was standing in the lanebelow. Soundlessly, Sin Sin Wa descended again. Raising his bag helifted it lovingly until it rested upright upon the top of the walland against the side of the house. The night was dark and still. Onlya confused beating sound on the Surrey bank rose above the murmur ofsleeping London.

  From the rubbish amid which he stood, Sin Sin Wa selected a piece ofrusty barrel-hoop. Cautiously he mounted upon a wooden structure builtagainst the end wall and raised himself upright, surveying the prospect.Then he hurled the fragment of iron far along the lane, so that itbounded upon a strip of corrugated roofing in a yard twice removed fromhis own, and fell clattering among a neighbor's rubbish.

  A short exclamation came from the detective in the lane. He could beheard walking swiftly away in the direction of the disturbance. And erehe had gone six paces, Sin Sin Wa was bending like an inverted U overthe wall and was lowering his precious bag to the ground. Like a cat hesprang across and dropped noiselessly beside it.

  "Hello! Who's there?" cried the detective, standing by the wall of thehouse which Sin Sin Wa had selected as a target.

  Sin Sin Wa, bag in hand, trotted, soft of foot, across the lane and intothe shadow of the dock-building. By the time that the C.I.D. man haddecided to climb up and investigate the mysterious noise, Sin Sin Wa wason the other side of the canal and rapping gently upon the door of SamTuk's hairdressing establishment.

  The door was opened so quickly as to suggest that someone had beenposted there for the purpose. Sin Sin Wa entered and the door was closedagain.

  "Light, Ah Fung," he said in Chinese. "What news?"

  The boy who had admitted him took a lamp from under a sort of roughcounter and turned to Sin Sin Wa.

  "George came with the boat, master, but I signalled to him that the redpoliceman and the agent who has hired the end room were watching."

  "They are gone?"

  "They gather men at the head depot and are searching house from house.She who sleeps below awoke and cried out. They heard her cry."

  "George waits?"

  "He waits, master. He will wait long if the gain is great."

  "Good."

  Sin Sin Wa shuffled across to the cellar stairs, followed by Ah Fungwith the lamp. He descended, and, brushing away the carefully spreadcoal dust, inserted the piece of bent wire into the crevice and raisedthe secret trap. Bearing his bag upon his shoulder he went down into thetunnel.

  "Reclose the door, Ah Fung," he said softly; "and be watchful."

  As the boy replaced the stone trap, Sin Sin Wa struck a match. Then,having the lighted match held in one hand and carrying the bag in theother, he crept along the low passage to the door of the cache. Droppingthe smouldering match-end, he opened the door and entered that secretwarehouse for which so many people were seeking.

  Seated in a cane chair by the oil-stove was the shrivelled figure ofSam Tuk, his bald head lolling sideways so that his big horn-rimmedspectacles resembled a figure 8. On the counter was set a ship'slantern. As Sin Sin Wa came in Sam Tuk slowly raised his head.

  No greetings were exchanged, but Sin Sin Wa untied the neck of hiskit-bag and drew out a large wicker cage. Thereupon: "Hello! hello!"remarked the occupant drowsily. "Number one p'lice chop lo! Sin SinWa--Sin Sin...."

  "Come, my Tling-a-Ling," crooned Sin Sin Wa.

  He opened the front of the cage and out stepped the raven onto hiswrist. Sin Sin Wa raised his arm and Tling-a-Ling settled himselfcontentedly upon his master's shoulder.

  Placing the empty cage on the counter. Sin Sin Wa plunged his hand downinto the bag and drew out the gleaming wooden joss. This he set besidethe cage. With never a glance at the mummy figure of Sam Tuk, he walkedaround the counter, raven on shoulder, and grasping the end of the ladenshelves, he pulled the last section smoothly to the left, showing thatit was attached to a sliding door. The establishments of Sin Sin Wa wereas full of surprises as a Sicilian trinketbox.

  The double purpose of the timbering which had been added to this oldstorage vault was now revealed. It not only served to enlarge thestore-room, but also shut off from view a second portion of the cellar,smaller than the first, and containing appointments which indicated thatit was sometimes inhabited.

  There was an oil-stove in the room, which, like that adjoining it,was evidently unprovided with any proper means of ventilation. Apaper-shaded lamp hung from the low roof. The floor was coveredwith matting, and there were arm-chairs, a divan and other itemsof furniture, which had been removed from Mrs. Sin's sanctum in thedismantled House of a Hundred Raptures. In a recess a bed was placed,and as Sin Sin Wa came in Mrs. Sin was standing by the bed looking downat a woman who lay there.

  Mrs. Sin wore her kimona of embroidered green silk and made astriking picture in that sordid setting. Her black hair she had dyed afashionable shade of red. She glanced rapidly across her shoulder at SinSin Wa--a glance of contempt with which was mingled faint distrust.

  "So," she said, in Chinese, "you have come at last." Sin Sin Wa smiled."They watched the old fox," he replied. "But their eyes were as the eyesof the mole."

  Still aside, contemptuously, the woman regarded him, and:

  "Suppose they are keener than you think?" she said. "Are you sure youhave not led them--here?"

  "The snail may not pursue the hawk," murmured Sin Sin Wa; "nor the eyeof the bat follow his flight."

  "Smartest leg," remarked the raven.

  "Yes, yes, my little friend," crooned Sin Sin Wa, "very soon now youshall see the paddy-fields of Ho-Nan and watch the great Yellow Riversweeping eastward to the sea."

  "Pah!" said Mrs. Sin. "Much--very much--you care about the paddy-fieldsof Ho-Nan, and little, oh, very little, about the dollars and thetraffic! You have my papers?"

  "All are complete. With those dollars for which I care not, a man mightbuy the world--if he had but enough of the dollars. You are well knownin Poplar as 'Mrs. Jacobs,' and your identity is easily established--as'Mrs. Jacobs.' You join the Mahratta at the Albert Dock. I have boughtyou a post as stewardess."

  Mrs. Sin tossed her head. "And Juan?"

  "What can they prove against your Juan if you are missing?"

  Mrs. Sin nodded towards the bed.

  With slow and shuffling steps Sin Sin Wa approached. He continuedto smile, but his glittering eye held even less of mirth than usual.Tucking his hands into his sleeves, he stood and looked down--at RitaIrvin.

  Her face had acquired a waxen quality, but some of her delicate coloringstill lingered, lending her a ghastly and mask-like aspect. Her nostrilsand lips were blanched
, however, and possessed a curiously pinchedappearance. It was impossible to detect the fact that she breathed, andher long lashes lay motionless upon her cheeks.

  Sin Sin Wa studied her silently for some time, then:

  "Yes," he murmured, "she is beautiful. But women are like adder's eggs.He is a fool who warms them in his bosom." He turned his slow regardupon Mrs. Sin. "You have stained your hair to look even as hers. It wasdiscreet, my wife. But one is beautiful and many-shadowed like a coppervase, and the other is like a winter sunset on the poppy-fields. Youremind me of the angry red policeman, and I tremble."

  "Tremble as much as you like," said Mrs. Sin scornfully, "butdo something, think; don't leave everything to me. She screamedtonight--and someone heard her. They are searching the river bank fromdoor to door."

  "Lo!" murmured Sin Sin Wa, "even this I had learned, nor failed to heedthe beating of a distant drum. And why did she scream?"

  "I was--keeping her asleep; and the prick of the needle woke her."

  "Tchee, tchee," crooned Sin Sin Wa, his voice sinking lower and lowerand his eye nearly closing. "But still she lives--and is beautiful."

  "Beautiful!" mocked Mrs. Sin. "A doll-woman, bloodless and nerveless!"

  "So--so. Yet she, so bloodless and nerveless, unmasked the secret ofKazmah, and she, so bloodless and nerveless, struck down--"

  Mrs. Sin ground her teeth together audibly.

  "Yes, yes!" she said in sibilant Chinese. "She is a robber, a thief, amurderess." She bent over the unconscious woman, her jewel-laden fingerscrooked and menacing. "With my bare hands I would strangle her, but--"

  "There must be no marks of violence when she is found in the river.Tchee, chee--it is a pity."

  "Number one p'lice chop, lo!" croaked the raven, following this remarkwith the police-whistle imitation.

  Mrs. Sin turned and stared fiercely at the one-eyed bird.

  "Why do you bring that evil, croaking thing here?" she demanded. "Havewe not enough risks?"

  Sin Sin Wa smiled patiently.

  "Too many," he murmured. "For failure is nothing but the taking ofseven risks when six were enough. Come--let us settle our affairs. The'Jacobs' account is closed, but it is only a question of hours or daysbefore the police learn that the wharf as well as the house belongs tosomeone of that name. We have drawn our last dollar from the traffic, mywife. Our stock we are resigned to lose. So let us settle our affairs."

  "Smartest--smartest," croaked Tling-a-Ling, and rattled ghostlycastanets.