Title:      Dr. Nikola Returns
Author:     Guy Boothby
* A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook *
eBook No.:  0601621.txt
Edition:    1
Language:   English
Character set encoding:     Latin-1(ISO-8859-1)--8 bit
Date first posted:          June 2006
Date most recently updated: June 2006

Project Gutenberg of Australia eBooks are created from printed editions
which are in the public domain in Australia, unless a copyright notice
is included. We do NOT keep any eBooks in compliance with a particular
paper edition.

Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this
file.

This eBook is made available at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg of Australia License which may be viewed online at
http://gutenberg.net.au/licence.html

To contact Project Gutenberg of Australia go to http://gutenberg.net.au




Dr. Nikola Returns
Guy Boothby


Introduction
Chapter I. How I Came To Meet Dr. Nikola
Chapter II. Nikola's Offer
Chapter III. Nikola's Scheme
Chapter IV. We Set Out For Tientsin
Chapter V. I Rescue A Young Lady
Chapter VI. On The Road To Pekin
Chapter VII. A Serious Time
Chapter VIII. How Prendergast Succeeded
Chapter IX. The Llamaserai
Chapter X. An Exciting Night In The
Llamaserai
Chapter XI. En Route To Thibet
Chapter XII. Through The Mountains
Chapter XIII. The Monastery
Chapter XIV. An Ordeal
Chapter XV. How Nikola Was Installed
Chapter XVI. A Terrible Experience
Chapter XVII. Conclusion




INTRODUCTION

My Dear William George Craigie--

I have no doubt as to your surprise at receiving this letter,
after so long and unjustifiable a period of silence, from one whom
you must have come to consider either a dead man or at least a
permanent refugee. When last we met it was on the deck of Tremorden's
yacht, in the harbour of Honolulu. I had been down to Kauai, I
remember, and the day following, you, you lucky dog, were going off
to England by the Royal Mail to be married to the girl of your heart.
Since then I have heard, quite by chance, that you have settled down
to a country life, as if to the manner born; that you take an
absorbing interest in mangel-wurzels, and, while you strike terror
into the hearts of poachers and other rustic evil-doers, have the
reputation of making your wife the very best of husbands.
Consequently you are to be envied and considered one of the happiest
of men.

While, however, things have been behaving thus prosperously with
you, I am afraid I cannot truthfully say that they have fared so well
with me. At the termination of our pleasant South Sea cruise, just
referred to, when our party dismembered itself in the Sandwich
Islands, I crossed to Sydney, passed up inside the Barrier Reef to
Cooktown, where I remained three months in order to try my luck upon
the Palmer Gold Fields. This proving unsatisfactory I returned to the
coast and continued my journey north to Thursday Island. From the
last-named little spot I visited New Guinea, gave it my patronage for
the better part of six months, and received in return a bad attack of
fever, after recovering from which I migrated to Borneo, to bring up
finally, as you will suppose, in my beloved China.

Do you remember how in the old days, when we both held positions
of more or less importance in Hong-Kong, you used to rally me about
my fondness for the Celestial character and my absurd liking for
going fantee into the queerest company and places? How little
did I imagine then to what straits that craze would ultimately
conduct me! But we never know what the future has in store for us, do
we? And perhaps it is as well.

You will observe, my dear Craigie, that it is the record of my
visit to China on this particular occasion that constitutes this
book; and you must also understand that it is because of our long
friendship for each other, and by reason of our queer researches into
the occult world together, that you find your name placed so
conspicuously upon the forefront of it.

A word now as to my present existence and abode. My location I
cannot reveal even to you. And believe me I make this reservation for
the strongest reasons. Suffice it that I own a farm, of close upon
five thousand acres, in a country such as would gladden your heart,
if matrimony and continued well-being have not spoilt your eyes for
richness of soil. It is shut in on all sides by precipitous mountain
ranges, on the western peaks of which at this moment, as I sit in my
verandah writing to you, a quantity of cloud, tinted a rose pink by
the setting sun, is gathering. A quieter spot, and one more remote
from the rush and bustle of civilization, it would be difficult to
find. Once every six months my stores are brought up to me on
mule-back by a trusted retainer who has never spoken a word of
English in his life, and once every six weeks I send to, and receive
from, my post office, four hundred miles distant, my mails. In the
intervals I imitate the patriarchal life and character; that is to
say, I hoe and reap my corn, live in harmony with my neighbour, who
is two hundred odd miles away, and, figuratively speaking, enjoy life
beneath my own vine and fig-tree.

Perhaps when the cool west wind blows in the long grass, the wild
duck whistle upon the lagoons, or a newspaper filled with gossip of
the outer world finds its way in to me, I am a little restless, but
at other times I can safely say I have few regrets. I have done with
the world, and to make my exile easier I have been permitted that
greatest of all blessings, a good wife. Who she is and how I won her
you will discover when you have perused this narrative, the compiling
of which has been my principal and, I might almost say, only
recreation all through our more than tedious winter. But now the snow
has departed, spring is upon us, clad in its mantle of luscious grass
and accompanied by the twitterings of birds and the music of
innumerable small waterfalls, and I am a new man. All nature is busy,
the swallows are working overtime beneath the eaves, and to-morrow,
in proof of my remembrance, this book goes off to you.

Whether I shall ever again see Dr. Nikola, the principal character
in it, is more than I can tell you. But I sincerely trust not. It is
for the sake of circumstances brought about by that extraordinary man
that I have doomed myself to perpetual exile; still I have no desire
that he should know of my sacrifice. Sometimes when I lie awake in
the quiet watches of the night I can hardly believe that the events
of the last two years are real. The horror of that time still presses
heavily upon me, and if I live to be a hundred I doubt if I shall
outgrow it. When I tell you that even the things, I mean the
mysteries and weird experiences, into which we thrust our impertinent
noses in bygone days were absolutely as nothing compared with those I
have passed through since in Nikola's company, you will at first feel
inclined to believe that I am romancing. But I know this, that by the
time you have got my curious story by heart all doubt on that score
will have been swept away.

One last entreaty. Having read this book, do not attempt to find
me, or to set my position right with the world. Take my word for it,
it is better as it is.

And now, without further preamble, let us come to the story
itself. God bless you, and give you every happiness. Speak kindly of
me to your wife, and believe me until death finishes my career, if it
does such a thing, which Dr. Nikola would have me doubt,

Your affectionate friend,

Wilfred Bruce.



CHAPTER I. How I Came To Meet Dr. Nikola

It was Saturday afternoon, about a quarter-past four o'clock if my
memory serves me, and the road, known as the Maloo, leading to the
Bubbling Well, that single breathing place of Shanghai, was crowded.
Fashionable barouches, C-spring buggies, spider-wheel dogcarts, to
say nothing of every species of 'rickshaw, bicycle, and pony, were
following each other in one long procession towards the Well. All the
European portion of Shanghai, and a considerable percentage of the
native, had turned out to witness the finish of the paper hunt,
which, though, not exciting in itself, was important as being the
only amusement the settlement boasted that afternoon. I had walked as
far as the Horse Bazaar myself, and had taken a 'rickshaw thence,
more from pride than because I could afford it. To tell the truth,
which will pop out sooner or later, however much I may try to prevent
it, I was keeping up appearances, and though I lay back in my vehicle
and smoked my cheroot with a princely air, I was painfully conscious
of the fact that when the ride should be paid for the exchequer would
scarcely survive the shock.

Since my arrival in Shanghai I had been more than usually
unfortunate. I had tried for every billet then vacant, from those
choice pickings at the top of the tree among the high gods, to the
secretaryship of a Eurasian hub of communistical tendencies located
somewhere on the confines of the native city, but always without
success. For the one I had not the necessary influence, for the other
I lacked that peculiar gift of obsequiousness which is so essential
to prosperity in that particular line of business.

In the meantime my expenditure was going remorselessly on, and I
very soon saw that unless something happened, and that quickly too, I
had every prospect of hiding myself deprived of my belongings,
sleeping on the Bund, and finally figuring in that Mixed Court in the
Magistrate's Yamen, which is so justly dreaded by every Englishman,
as the debtor of a Cochin China Jew. The position was not a cheerful
one, look at it in whatever light I would, but I had experienced it a
good many times before, and had always come out of it, if not with an
increased amount of self-respect, certainly without any very
great degree of personal embarrassment.

Arriving at the Well, I paid off my coolie and took up a position
near "the last jump," which I noticed was a prepared fence and ditch
of considerable awkwardness. I was only just in time, for a moment
later the horses came at it with a rush; some cleared it, some
refused it, while others, adopting a middle course, jumped on the top
of it, blundered over, and finally sent their riders spinning over
their heads into the mud at the feet of their fairest friends. It was
not exactly an aesthetic picture, but it was certainly a very amusing
one.

When the last horse, had landed, imagining the sport to be over
for the day, I was in the act of moving away when there was a shout
to stand clear, and wheeling round again, I was just in time to see a
last horseman come dashing at the fence. Though he rode with
considerable determination, and was evidently bent on putting a good
finish to his day's amusement, it was plain that his horse was not of
the same way of thinking, for, when he was distant about half a dozen
yards from the fence, he broke his stride, stuck his feet into the
mud, and endeavoured to come to a standstill. The result was not at
all what he expected; he slid towards the fence, received his rider's
quirt, viciously administered, round his flank, made up his
mind to jump too late, hit the top rail with his forehead, turned a
complete somersault, and landed with a crash at my feet. His rider
fell into the arms of the ditch, out of which I presently dragged
him. When I got him on the bank he did not look a pretty sight, but,
on the other hand, that did not prevent him from recognizing me.

"Wilfred Bruce, by all that's glorious!" he cried, at the same
time rising to his feet and mopping his streaming face with a very
muddy pocket-handkerchief. "This is a fortunate encounter, for do you
know, I spent two hours this morning looking for you?"

"I am very sorry you should have had so much trouble," I answered;
"but are you sure you are not hurt?"

"Not in the least," he answered, and when he had scraped off as
much mud as possible, turned to his horse, which had struggled to his
feet and was gazing stupidly about him.

"Let me first send this clumsy brute home," he said, "then I'll
find my cart, and if you'll permit me I'll take you back to town with
me."

We saw the horse led away, and, when we had discovered his
dog-cart among the crowd of vehicles waiting for their owners,
mounted to our seats and set off--after a few preliminary antics on
the part of the leader--on our return to the settlement.

Once comfortably on our way George Barkston, whom, I might mention
here, I had known for more than ten years, placed his whip in the
bucket and turned to me.

"Look here, Bruce," he said, flushing a little in anticipation of
what he was about to say, "I'm not going to mince matters with you,
so let us come straight to the point; we are old friends, and though
we've not seen as much of each other during this visit to Shanghai as
we used to do in the old days when you were deputy-commissioner of
whatever it was, and I was your graceless subordinate, I think I am
pretty well conversant with your present condition. I don't want you
to consider me impertinent, but I do want you to let me help
you if I can."

"That's very good of you," I answered, not without a little
tremor, however, as he shaved a well-built American buggy by a hair's
breadth. "To tell the honest truth, I want to get something to do
pretty badly. There's a serious deficit in the exchequer, my boy. And
though I'm a fairly old hand at the game of poverty, I've still a
sort of pride left, and I have no desire to figure in the Mixed Court
next Wednesday on a charge of inability to pay my landlord twenty
dollars for board and lodging."

"Of course you don't," said Barkston warmly; "and so, if you'll
let me help you, I've an idea that I can put you on to the right
track to something. The fact is, there was a chap in the smoking-room
at the club the other night with whom I got into conversation. He
interested me more than I can tell you, for he was one of the most
curious beings who, I should imagine, has ever visited the East. I
never saw such an odd-looking fellow in my life. Talk about
eyes--well, his were--augh! Why, he looked you through and through.
You know old Benwell, of the revenue-cutter Y-chang? Well,
while I was talking to this fellow, after a game of pool, in he
came.

"'Hallo! Barkston,' he said, as he brought up alongside the table,
'I thought you were shooting with Jimmy Woodrough up the river? I'm
glad to find you're not, for I----' He had got as far as this before
he became aware of my companion. Then his jaw dropped; he looked hard
at him, said something under his breath, and, shaking me by the hand,
made a feeble excuse, and fled the room. Not being able to make it
out at all, I went after him and found him looking for his hat in the
hall. 'Come, I say, Benwell, 'I cried;' what's up? What on earth
made you bolt like that? Have I offended you?' He led me on one
side, so that the servants should not hear, and having done so said
confidentially: 'Barkston, I am not a coward; in my time I've
tackled Europeans, Zulus, Somalis, Malays, Japanese, and Chinese, to
say nothing of Manilla and Solomon boys, and what's more, I don't
mind facing them all again; but when I find myself face to face with
Dr. Nikola, well, I tell you I don't think twice, I bolt! Take my tip
and do the same.' As he might just as well have talked to me in low
Dutch for all I should have understood, I tried to question him, but
I might have spared myself the trouble, for I could get nothing
satisfactory out of him. He simply shook me by the hand, told the boy
in the hall to call him a 'rickshaw, and as soon as it drew up at the
steps jumped into it and departed. When I got back to the
billiard-room Nikola was still there, practising losing hazards of
extraordinary difficulty.

"'I've an opinion I've seen your friend before,' he said, as I sat
down to watch him. 'He is Benwell of the Y-chang, and if I
mistake not Benwell of the Y-chang remembers me.'

"'He seems to know you,' I said with a laugh.

"'Yes,' Nikola continued after a little pause; 'I have had the
pleasure of being in Mr. Benwell's company once before. It was in
Haiphong.' Then with peculiar emphasis: I don't know what he thinks
of the place, of course, but somehow I have an idea your friend will
not willingly go near Haiphong again.' After he had said this he
remained silent for a little while, then he took a letter from his
pocket, read it carefully, examined the envelope, and having made up
his mind on a certain point turned to me again.

"'I want to ask you a question,' he said, putting the cue he had
been using back into the rack. 'You know a person named Bruce, don't
you? a man who used to be in the Civil Service, and who has the
reputation of being able to disguise himself so like a Chinaman that
even Li Chang Tung would not know him for a European?'

"'I do,' I answered; 'he is an old friend of mine; and what is
more, he is in Shanghai at the present moment. It was only this
morning I heard of him.'

"'Bring him to me,' said Nikola quickly. 'I am told he wants a
billet, and if he sees me before twelve to-morrow night I think I can
put him in the way of obtaining a good one. Now there you are,
Bruce, my boy. I have done my best for you."

"And I am sincerely grateful to you," I answered. "But who is this
man Nikola, and what sort of a billet do you think he can find me?"

"Who he is I can no more tell you than I can fly. But if he is
not the first cousin of the Old Gentleman himself, well, all I can
say is, I'm no hand at finding relationships."

"I am afraid that doesn't tell me very much," I answered. "What's
he like to look at?"

"Well, in appearance he might be described as tall, though you
must not run away with the idea that he's what you would call a big
man. On the contrary, he is most slenderly built. Anything like the
symmetry of his figure, however, I don't remember to have met with
before. His face is clean shaven, and is always deadly pale, a sort
of toad-skin pallor, that strikes you directly when you see him and
the remembrance of which never leaves you again. His eyes and hair
are as black as night, and he is as neat and natty as a new pin. When
he is watching you he seems to be looking through the back of your
head into the wall behind, and when he speaks you've just got to pay
attention, whether you want to or not. All things considered, the
less I see of him the better I shall like him."

"You don't give me a very encouraging report of my new employer.
What on earth can he want with me?"

"He's Apollyon himself," laughed Barkston, "and wants a maitre
d'hotel. I suppose he imagines you'll suit."

By this time we had left the Maloo and were entering the town.

"Where shall I find this extraordinary man?" I asked, as we drew
near the place where I intended to alight.

"We'll drive to the club and see if he's there," said Barkston,
whipping up his horses. "But, putting all joking aside, he really
seemed most anxious to find you, and as he knew I was going to look
for you I don't doubt that he will have left some message for one of
us there."

Having reached the Wanderers' Club, which is too well known to
need any description here, Barkston went inside, leaving me to look
after the horses. Five minutes later he emerged again, carrying a
letter in his hand.

"Nikola was here until ten minutes ago," he said, with a
disappointed expression upon his handsome face; "unfortunately he's
gone home now, but has left this note for me. If I find you he begs
that I will send you on to his bungalow without delay. I have
discovered that it is Fere's old place in the French Concession, Rue
de la Fayette; you know it, the third house on the right hand side,
just past where that renegade French marquis shot his wife. If you
would care about it I'll give you a note to him, and you can dine,
think it over quietly, and then take it on yourself this evening or
not, as pleases you best."

"That would be the better plan," I said. "I should like to have a
little time to collect my thoughts before seeing him."

Thereupon Barkston went back into the building, and when he
returned, which was in something under a quarter of an hour, he
brought the letter he had promised me in his hand. He jumped up and
took the reins, the Chinese groom sprang out of the way, and we were
off.

"Can I drive you round to where you are staying?" he asked.

"I don't think you can," I answered, "and for reasons which would
be sure to commend themselves to you if I were to tell them. But I am
very much obliged to you all the same. As to Nikola, I'll think the
whole matter carefully out this evening, and, if I approve, after
dinner I'll walk over and present this letter personally."

I thereupon descended from the dogcart at the corner of the road,
and having again thanked my friend for the kindness he had shown me,
bade him good-bye and took myself off.

Reaching the Bund I sat myself down on a seat beneath a tree and
dispassionately reviewed the situation. All things considered it was
a pretty complicated one. Though I had not revealed as much to
Barkston, who had derived such happiness from his position of guide,
philosopher, and friend, this was not the first time I had heard of
Nikola. Such a strange personality as his could not expect to go
unremarked in a gossip-loving community such as the East, and all
sorts of stories had accordingly been circulated concerning him.
Though I knew my fellow-man too well to place credence in half of
what I had heard, it was impossible for me to prevent myself from
feeling a considerable amount of curiosity about the man.

Leaving the Bund I returned to my lodgings, had my tea, and about
eight o'clock donned my hat again and set off in the direction of the
French Concession. It was not a pleasant night, being unusually dark
and inclined towards showery. The wind blew in fitful gusts, and
drove the dust like hail against one's face. Though I stood a good
chance of obtaining what I wanted so much--employment, I cannot
affirm with any degree of truth that I felt easy in my mind. Was I
not seeking to become connected with a man who was almost universally
feared, and whose reputation was not such as would make most people
desire a closer acquaintance with him? This thought in itself was not
of a reassuring nature. But in the face of my poverty I could not
afford to be too squeamish. So leaving the Rue de la Paix on my left
hand I turned into the Rue de la Fayette, where Nikola's bungalow was
situated, and having picked it out from its fellows, made my way
towards it.

The compound and the house itself were in total darkness, but
after I had twice knocked at the door a light came slowly down the
passage towards me. The door was opened, and a China boy stood before
me holding a candle in his hand.

"Does Dr. Nikola live here?" I inquired, in very much the same
tone as our boyhood's hero, Jack of Beanstalk climbing fame, might
have used when he asked to be admitted to the residence of the giant
Fee-fo-fum. The boy nodded, whereupon I handed him my letter, and
ordered him to convey it to his master without delay. With such
celerity did he accomplish his mission that in less than two minutes
he had returned and was beckoning me to follow him. Accordingly I
accompanied him down the passage towards a small room on the left
hand side. When I had entered it the door was immediately closed
behind me. There was no one in the apartment, and I was thus
permitted an opportunity of examining it to my satisfaction, and
drawing my own conclusions before Dr Nikola should enter.

As I have said, it was not large, nor was its furniture, with a
few exceptions, in any way extraordinary. The greater part of it was
of the usual bungalow type, neither better nor worse. On the left
hand as one entered was a window, which I observed was heavily barred
and shuttered; between that and the door stood a tall bookshelf,
filled with works, standard and otherwise, on almost every
conceivable subject, from the elementary principles of Bimetallism to
abstract Confucianism. A thick matting covered the floor and a heavy
curtain sheltered a doorway on the side opposite to that by which I
had entered. On the walls were several fine engravings, but I noticed
that they were all based on uncommon subjects, such as the visit of
Saul to the Witch of Endor, a performance of the magicians before
Pharaoh, and the converting of the dry bones into men in the desert.
A clock ticked on the bookcase, but with that exception there was
nothing to disturb the silence of the room.

I suppose I must have waited fully five minutes before my ears
caught the sound of a soft footstep in an adjoining apartment, then
the second door opened, the curtain which covered it was drawn slowly
aside, and a man, who could have been none other than Dr. Nikola,
made his appearance. His description was exactly what Barkston had
given me, even to the peculiar eyes and, what proved to be an apt
illustration, the white toad-coloured skin. He was attired in
faultless evening dress, and its deep black harmonized well with his
dark eyes and hair. What his age might have been I could not possibly
tell, but I afterwards discovered that he was barely thirty-eight. He
crossed the room to where I stood, holding out his hand as he did so
and saying--

"Mr. Wilfred Bruce?"

"That is my name," I answered, "and I believe you are Dr. Nikola?"

"Exactly," he said, "I am Dr. Nikola; and now that we know each
other, shall we proceed to business?"

As he spoke he moved with that peculiar grace which always
characterized him across to the door by which he had entered, and
having opened it, signed to me to pass through. I did so, and found
myself in another large room, possibly forty feet long by twenty
wide. Ac the further end was a lofty window, containing some good
stained glass; the walls were hung with Japanese tapestry, and were
ornamented with swords, battle-axes, two or three specimens of Rajput
armour, books galore, and a quantity of exceedingly valuable china.
The apartment was lit by three hanging lamps of rare workmanship and
design, while scattered about the room were numberless cushioned
chairs and divans, beside one of which I noticed a beautifully inlaid
huqa of a certain shape and make that I had never before seen out of
Istamboul.

"Pray sit down," said Dr. Nikola, and as he spoke he signed me to
a chair at the further end. I seated myself and wondered what would
come next.

"This is not your first visit to China, I am given to understand,"
he continued, as he seated himself in a chair opposite mine, and
regarded me steadfastly with his extraordinary eyes.

"It is not," I answered. "I am an old resident in the East, and I
think I may say I know China as well as any living Englishman."

"Quite so. You were present at the meeting at Quong Sha's house in
the Wanhsien on the 23rd August, 1907, if I remember aright, and you
assisted Mah Poo to evade capture by the mandarins the week
following."

"How on earth did you know that?" I asked, my surprise quite
getting the better of me, for I had always been convinced that no
other soul, save the man himself, was aware of my participation in
that affair.

"One becomes aware of many strange things in the East," said
Nikola, hugging his knee and looking at me over the top of it, "and
yet that little circumstance I have just referred to is apt to teach
one how much one might know, and how small after all our knowledge is
of each other's lives. One could almost expect as much from brute
beasts."

"I am afraid I don't quite follow you," I said simply.

"Don't you?" he answered. "And yet it is very simple after all.
Let me give you a practical illustration of my meaning. If you see
anything in it other than I intend, the blame must be upon your own
head."

Upon a table close to his chair lay a large sheet of white paper.
This he placed upon the floor. He then took a stick of charcoal in
his hand and presently uttered a long and very peculiar whistle. Next
moment, without any warning, an enormous cat, black as his master's
coat, leapt down from somewhere on to the floor, and stood swishing
his tail before us.

"There are some people in the world," said Nikola calmly, at the
same time stroking the great beast's soft back, "who would endeavour
to convince you that this cat is my familiar spirit, and that, with
his assistance, I work all sorts of extraordinary magic. You, of
course, would not be so silly as to believe such idle tales. But to
bear out what I was saying just now let us try an experiment with his
assistance. It is just possible I may be able to tell you something
more of your life."

Here he stooped and wrote a number of figures up to ten with the
charcoal upon the paper, duplicating them in a line below. He then
took the cat upon his knee, stroked it carefully, and finally
whispered something in its ear. Instantly the brute sprang down,
placed its right fore-paw on one of the numerals of the top row,
while, whether by chance or magic I cannot say, it performed a
similar action with its left on the row below.

"Twenty-four," said Nikola, with one of his peculiar smiles.

Then taking the piece of charcoal once more in his hand, and
turning the paper over, he wrote upon it the names of the different
months of the year. Placing it on the floor he again said something
to the cat, who this time stood upon June. The alphabet followed, and
letter by letter the uncanny beast spelt out "Apia."

"On the 24th June," said Nikola, "of a year undetermined you were
in Apia. Let us see if we can discover the year."

Again he wrote the numerals up to ten, and immediately the cat,
with fiendish precision, worked out 1895.

"Is that correct?" asked this extraordinary person when the brute
had finished its performance.

It was quite correct, and I told him so.

"I'm glad of that. And now do you want to know any more?" he
asked. "If you wish it I might perhaps be able to tell you your
business there."

I did not want to know. And I can only ask you to believe that I
had very good reasons for not doing so. Nikola laughed softly, and
pressed the tips of his long white fingers together as he looked at
me.

"Now tell me truthfully what you think of my cat?" said he.

"One might be excused if one endowed him with Satanic attributes,"
I answered.

"And yet, though you think it so wonderful, it is only because I
have subjected him to a curious form of education. There is a power
latent in animals, and particularly in cats, which few of us suspect.
And if animals have this power, how much more may men be expected to
possess it. Do you know, Mr. Bruce, I should be very interested to
find out exactly how far you think the human intelligence can go;
that is to say, how far you think it can penetrate into the regions
of what is generally called the occult?"

"Again I must make the excuse," I said, "that I do not follow
you."

"Well, then, let me place it before you in a rather simpler form.
If I may put it so bluntly, where should you be inclined to say this
world begins and ends?"

"I should say," I replied--this time without hesitation--"that it
begins with birth and ends with death."

"And after death?"

"Well, what happens then is a question of theology, and one for
the parsons to decide."

"You have no individual opinion?"

"I have the remnants of what I learned as a boy."

"I see; in that case you believe that as soon as the breath has
forsaken this mortal body a certain indescribable part of us, which
for the sake of argument we will denominate soul, leaves this mundane
sphere and enters upon a new existence in one or other of two places?"

"That is certainly what I was taught," I answered.

"Quite so; that was the teaching you received in the parish of High
Walcombe, Somersetshire, and might be taken as a very good type of what
your class thinks throughout the world, from the Archbishop of
Canterbury down to the farm labourer's child who walks three miles every
seventh day to attend Sunday school. But in that self-same village, if I
remember rightly, there was a little man of portly build whose adherents
numbered precisely forty-five souls; he was called Father O'Rorke, and I
have not the slightest doubt, if you had asked him, he would have given
you quite a different account of what becomes of that soul, or essence,
if we may so call it, after it has left this mortal body. Tobias
Smallcombe, who preaches in a spasmodic, windy way on the green to a
congregation made up of a few enthusiasts, a dozen small boys, and a
handful of donkeys and goats, will give you yet another, and so on
through numberless varieties of creeds to the end of the chapter. Each
will claim the privilege of being right, and each will want you to
believe exactly as he does. But at the same time we must remember,
provided we would be quite fair, that there are not wanting scientists,
admittedly the cleverest men of the day, who assert that, while all our
friends are agreed that there is a life after death--a spirit world, in
fact--they are all wrong. If you will allow me to give you my own idea
of what you think, I should say that your opinion is, that when you've
done with the solid flesh that makes up Wilfred Bruce it doesn't much
matter what happens. But let us suppose that Wilfred Bruce, or his mind,
shall we say?--that part of him at any rate which is anxious, which
thinks and which suffers--is destined to exist afterwards through
endless aeons, a prey to continual remorse for all misdeeds: how would
he regard death then?"

"But before you can expect an answer to that question it is
necessary that you should prove that he does so continue to exist," I
said.

"That's exactly what I desire and intend to do," said Nikola,
"and it is to that end I have sought you out, and we are arguing in
this fashion now. Is your time very fully occupied at present?"

I smiled.

"I quite understand," he said. "Well, I have got a proposition to
make to you, if you will listen to me. Years ago and quite by chance,
when the subject we are now discussing, and in which I am more
interested than you can imagine, was first brought properly under my
notice, I fell into the company of a most extraordinary man. He was
originally an Oxford don, but for some reason he went wrong, and was
afterwards shot by Balmaceda at Santiago during the Chilian war.
Among other places, he had lived for many years in North-Western
China. He possessed one of the queerest personalities, but he told me
some wonderful things, and what was more to the point, he backed them
with proofs. You would probably have called them clever conjuring
tricks. So did I then, but I don't now. Nor do I think will you when
I have done with you. It was from that man and an old Buddhist
priest, with whom I spent some time in Ceylon, that I learnt the tiny
fact which put me on the trail of what I am now following up. I have
tracked it clue by clue, carefully and laboriously, with varying
success for eight long years, and at last I am in the position to say
that I believe I have my thumb upon the key-note. If I can press it
down and obtain the result I want, I can put myself in possession of
information the magnitude of which the world--I mean the European
world, of course--has not the slightest conception. I am a courageous
man, but I will confess that the prospect of what I am about to
attempt almost frightens me. It is neither more nor less than
to penetrate, with the help of certain Chinese secret societies, into
the most extraordinary seat of learning that you or any other men
ever heard of, and when there to beg, borrow, or steal the marvellous
secrets they possess. I cannot go alone, for a hundred reasons,
therefore I must find a man to accompany me; that man must be one in
a thousand, and he must also necessarily be a consummate Chinese
scholar. He must be plucky beyond the average, he must be capable of
disguising himself so that his nationality shall never for a moment
be suspected, and he must go fully convinced in his own mind that he
will never return. If he is prepared to undertake so much I am
prepared to be generous. I will pay him £5,000 down before we
start and £5,000 when we return, if return we do. What do you
say to that?"

I didn't know what to say. The magnitude of the proposal, to leave
the value of the honorarium out of the question, completely staggered
me. I wanted money more than I had ever done in my life before, and
this was a sum beyond even my wildest dreams; I also had no objection
to adventure, but at the same time I must confess this seemed too
foolhardy an undertaking altogether.

"What can I say?" I answered. "It's such an extraordinary
proposition."

"So it is," he said. "But as I take it, we are both extraordinary
men. Had you been one of life's rank and file I should not be
discussing it with you now. I would think twice before I refused if I
were you; Shanghai is such an unpleasant place to get into trouble
in, and besides that, you know, next Wednesday will see the end of
your money, even if you do sell your watch and chain, as you proposed
to yourself to-night."

He said this with such an air of innocence that for the moment it
did not strike me to wonder how he had become acquainted with the
state of my finances.

"Come," he said, "you had better say yes."

"I should like a little more time to think it over," I answered.
"I cannot pledge myself to so much without giving it thorough
consideration. Even if it were not folly on my part it would scarcely
be fair to you."

"Very good then. Go home and think about it. Come and see me
to-morrow night at this time and let me have your decision. In the
meantime if I were you I would say nothing about our conversation to
any one."

I assured him I would not, and then he rose, and I understood that
our interview was at an end. I followed him into the hall, the black
cat marching sedately at our heels. In the verandah he stopped and
held out his hand, saying with an indescribable sweetness of
tone--

"I hope, Mr. Bruce, you will believe that I am most anxious for
your companionship. I don't flatter you, I simply state the truth
when I affirm that you are the only man in China whose co-operation I
would ask. Now good-night. I hope you will come to me with a
favourable answer to-morrow."

As he spoke, and as if to emphasize his request, the black cat,
which up to that time had been standing beside him, now came over and
began to rub its head, accompanying its action with a soft, purring
noise, against my leg.

"I will let you know without fail by this time tomorrow evening,"
I said. "Good-night."



CHAPTER II. Nikola's Offer

After I had bidden Dr. Nikola good-night in the verandah of his
house, I consulted my watch, and discovering that it was not yet
eleven o'clock, set off for a long walk through the city in order to
consider my position. There were many things to be reckoned for and
against his offer. To begin with, as a point in its favour, I
remembered the fact that I was alone in the world. My father and
mother had been dead some years, and as I was their only child, I had
neither brother nor sister dependent upon my exertions, or to mourn
my loss if by ill-chance anything desperate should befall me. In the
second place, I had been a traveller in strange lands from my youth
up, and was therefore the more accustomed to hard living]. This will
be better understood when I say that I had run away from home at the
age of fifteen to go to sea; had spent three years in the roughest
life before the mast any man could dream of or desire; had got
through another five, scarcely less savage, as an Australian bushman
on the borders of the Great Desert; another two in a detachment of
the Cape Mounted Police; I had also held a fair appointment in
Hong-Kong, and had drifted in and out of many other employments,
good, bad, and indifferent. I was thirty-five years of age, had
never, with the exception of my attack of fever in New Guinea, known
what it was to be really sick or sorry, and, if the information is of
any use to the world, weighed thirteen stone, stood close upon six
feet in my stockings, had grey eyes and dark-brown hair, and, if you
will not deem me conceited for saying so, had the reputation of being
passably good-looking.

My position at that moment, financially and otherwise, was
certainly precarious in the extreme. It was true, if I looked long
enough I might find something to do, but, on the other hand, it was
equally probable that I should not, for, as I knew to my cost, there
were dozens of men in Shanghai at that moment, also on the look-out
for employment, who would snap up anything that offered at a moment's
notice. Only that morning I had been assured by a well-known
merchant, upon whom I had waited in the hope of obtaining a
cashiership he had vacant in his office, that he could have filled it
a hundred times over before my arrival. This being so, I told myself
that I had no right to neglect any opportunity which might come in my
way of bettering my position. I therefore resolved not to reject
Nikola's offer without the most careful consideration. Unfortunately,
a love of adventure formed an integral part of my constitution, and
when a temptation, such as the present, offered it was difficult for
me to resist it. Indeed, this particular form of adventure appealed
to me with a voice of more than usual strength. What was still more
to the point, Nikola was such a born leader of men that the
mysterious fascination of his manner seemed to compel me to give him
my co-operation, whether I would or would not. That the enterprise
was one involving the chance of death was its most unpleasant
feature; but still, I told myself, I had to die some time or other,
while if my luck held good, and I came out of it alive, £10,000
would render me independent for the rest of my existence. As the
thought of this large sum came into my mind, the sinister form of my
half-caste landlord rose before my mind's eye, and the memory of his
ill-written and worse-spelled account, which I should certainly
receive upon the morrow, chilled me like a cold douche. Yes, my mind
was made up, I would go; and having come to this decision, I
went home.

But when I woke next morning Prudence sat by my bedside. My dreams
had not been good ones. I had seen myself poisoned in Chinese
monasteries, dismembered by almond-eyed headsmen before city gates,
and tortured in a thousand terrible ways and places. Though these
nightmares were only the natural outcome of my anxiety, yet I could
not disabuse my mind of the knowledge that every one was within the
sphere of probability. Directly I should have changed into Celestial
dress, stained my face and sewn on my pigtail, I would be a Chinaman
pure and simple, amenable to Chinese laws and liable to Chinese
penalties. Then there was another point to be considered. What sort
of travelling companion would Nikola prove? Would I be able to trust
him in moments of danger and difficulty? Would he stand by me as one
comrade should by another? And if by any chance we should get into a
scrape and there should be an opportunity of escape for one only,
would Nikola, by virtue of being my employer, seize that chance and
leave me to brave the upshot, whatever it might be? In that case my
£5,000 in the Shanghai Bank and the £5,000 which was to
be paid to me on my return would be little less useful than a
worn-out tobacco pouch. And this suggested to my mind another
question: Was Nikola sufficiently rich to be able to pay
£10,000 to a man to accompany him on such a harebrained errand?
These were all matters of importance, and they were also questions
that had to be satisfactorily answered before I could come to any
real decision. Though Barkston had informed me that Nikola was so
well known throughout the East, though Benwell, of the Chinese
Revenue Service, had shown himself so frightened when he had met him
face to face in the club, and though I, myself, had heard all sorts
of queer stories about him in Saigon and the Manillas, they were none
of them sufficiently definite to be any guarantee to me of his
monetary stability. To set my mind at rest, I determined to make
inquiries about Nikola from some unbiassed person. But who was that
person to be? I reviewed all my acquaintances in turn, but without
pitching upon any who would be at all likely to be able to help me in
my dilemma. Then, while I was dressing, I remembered a man, a
merchant, owning one of the largest hongs along the Bund, who
was supposed to know more about people in general, and queer folk in
particular, than any man in China.

I ate my breakfast, such as it was, received my account from my
landlord with the lordly air of one who has £10,000 reposing at
his banker's, lit an excellent cigar in the verandah and then
sauntered down town.

Arriving at the Bund, I walked along until I discovered my
friend's office. It overlooked the river, and was as fine a building
as any in Shanghai. In the main hall I had the good fortune to
discover the merchant's chief comprador, who, having learned
that his master was disengaged, conducted me forthwith to his
presence.

Alexander McAndrew hailed from north of the Tweed--this fact the
least observant would have noticed before he had been five minutes in
his company. His father had been a night watchman at one of the
Glasgow banks, and his own early youth was spent as a ragged,
barefooted boy in the streets of that extraordinary city. Of his
humble origin McAndrew, however, was prouder than any De la Zouch
could have been of friendship with the Conqueror; indeed, he was
wont, when he entertained friends at his princely bungalow in the
English Concession, to recall and dwell with delight upon the sordid
circumstances that brought about the happy chance which, one biting
winter's morning, led him to seek fame and fortune in the East.

"Why, Mr. Bruce," he cried, rising from his chair and shaking me
warmly by the hand, "this is a most unexpected pleasure! How long
have you been in Shanghai?"

"Longer than I care to remember," I answered, taking the seat he
offered me.

"And all that time you have never once been to see me. That's
hardly fair treatment of an old friend, is it?"

"I must ask your pardon for my remissness," I said, "but somehow
things have not gone well with me in Shanghai this time, and so I've
not been to see anybody. You observe that I am candid with you."

"I am sorry to hear that you are in trouble," he said. "I don't
want to appear impertinent, but if I can be of any service to you I
sincerely hope you will command me."

"Thank you," I answered. "I have already determined to do so.
Indeed, it is to consult you that I have taken the liberty of calling
upon you now."

"I am glad of that. Upon what subject do you want my advice?"

"Well, to begin with, let me tell you that I have been offered a
billet which is to bring me in £10,000."

"Why, I thought you said things were not prospering with you?"
cried my friend. "This doesn't look as if there is much wrong. What
is the billet?"

"That, I am sorry to say, I am not at liberty to reveal to any
one."

"Then in what way can I be of use to you?"

"First, I want to know if you can give me any information about my
employer?"

"Tell me his name and I'll see what I can do," the merchant
answered, not without a show of pride. "I think I know nine out of
every ten men of any importance in the East."

"Well," I said, "this man's name is Nikola."

"Nikola!" he cried in complete astonishment, wheeling round to
face me. "What possible business can you have with Nikola that is to
bring you in £10,000?"

"Business of the very utmost importance," I answered, "involving
almost life and death. But it is evident you know him?"

In reply the old man leant over the table and sank his voice
almost to a whisper.

"Bruce," he said, "I know more of that man than I dare tell you,
and if you will take my advice you will back out while you have time.
If you can't, why, be more than careful what arrangements you make
with him."

"You frighten me," I said, more impressed by his earnestness than
I cared to own. "Is he not good for the money, then?"

"Oh, as for the money, I don't doubt that he could pay it a dozen
times over if he wanted to," the worthy merchant replied. "In point
of fact, between ourselves, he has the power to draw upon me up to
the extent of £50,000."

"He's a rich man, then?"

"Immensely!"

"But where on earth does his money come from?"

"Ah! that's a good deal more than I can tell you," he replied.
"But wherever he gets it, take my advice and think twice before you
put yourself into his power. Personally, and I can say it with truth,
I don't fear many men, but I do fear Nikola, and that I'm not
the only man in the world who does I will prove to you by this
letter."

As he spoke he opened a drawer in his writing-table and took out a
couple of sheets of notepaper. Spreading them upon the table before
him, he smoothed the page and began to read.

"This letter, you must understand," he said, "is from the late
Colonial Secretary of New South Wales, the Hon. Sylvester Wetherell,
a personal friend of mine. I will skip the commencement, which is
mainly private, and come to the main issue. He says:

"'... Since I wrote to you in June last, from London, I have been
passing through a time of terrible trouble. As I told you in a letter
some years ago, I was brought, quite against my will, into dealings
with a most peculiar person named Nikola. Some few years since I
defended a man known as China Pete, in our Central Criminal Court,
against a charge of murder, and, what was more, got him off. When he
died, being unable to pay me, he made me a present of all he had to
leave, a peculiar little stick, covered with carved Chinese
characters, about which he told me a mad rigmarole, but which has
since nearly proved my undoing. For some inscrutable reason this man
Nikola wanted to obtain possession of this stick, and because I
refused to let him have it has subjected me to such continuous
persecution these few years past as to nearly drive me into a lunatic
asylum. Every method that a man could possibly adopt or a demoniacal
brain invent to compel me to surrender the curio he tried. You will
gather something of what I mean when I tell you that my house was
twice broken into by Chinese burglars, that I was garrotted within a
hundred yards of my own front door, that my wife and daughter were
intimidated by innumerable threatening letters, and that I was at
length brought to such a pitch of nervousness that after my wife died
I fled to England to escape him. Nikola followed me, drew into the
plot he was weaving about me the Duke of Glenbarth, his son, the
Marquis of Beckenham, Sir Richard Hatteras, who has since married my
daughter, our late Governor, the Earl of Amberley, and at least a
dozen other persons. Through his agency Beckenham and Hatteras were
decoyed into a house in Port Said and locked up for three weeks,
while a spurious nobleman was sent on in his lordship's place to
Sydney to become acquainted with my daughter, and finally to solicit
her hand in marriage. Fortunately, however, Sir Richard Hatteras and
his friend managed to make their escape from custody in time to
follow the scoundrels to Sydney, and to warn me of the plot that was
hatching against me. The result was disastrous. Foiled in his
endeavours to revenge himself upon me by marrying my daughter to an
impostor, Nikola had the audacity to abduct my girl from a ball at
Government House and to convey her on a yacht to an island in the
South Pacific, whence a month later we rescued her. Whether we should
have been permitted to do so if the stick referred to, which was
demanded as ransom, had not fallen, quite by chance, into Nikola's
possession, I cannot say. But the stick did become his property,
and now we are free. Since then my daughter has married Sir
Richard Hatteras, and at the present moment they are living on his
estate in England. I expect you will be wondering why I have not
prosecuted this man Nikola, but to tell you the honest truth,
McAndrew, I have such a wholesome dread of him that since I have got
my girl back, and have only lost the curio, which has always been a
trouble to me, I am quite content to say no more about the matter.
Besides, I must confess, he has worked with such devilish cunning
that, trained in the law as I am, I cannot see that we should stand
any chance of bringing him to book.'"

"Now, Bruce, that you have heard the letter, what do you think of
Dr. Nikola?"

"It puts rather a different complexion on affairs, doesn't it?" I
said. "But still, if Nikola will play fair by me, £10,000 is
£10,000. I've been twenty years in this world trying to make
money, and this is the sum total of my wealth."

As I spoke I took out of my pocket all the money I had in the
world, which comprised half a dozen coins, amounting in English to a
total of 6s. 10d. I turned to the merchant.

"I don't know what you will think, but my own opinion is that
Nikola's character will have to be a very outrageous one to outweigh
10,000 golden sovereigns."

"I am afraid you are a little bit reckless, aren't you, Bruce?"
said the cautious McAndrew. "If you will take my advice I should say
try for something else, and what is more, I'll help you to do so.
There is a billet now open in my old friend Webster's office, the
salary is a good one and the duties are light. When I saw him this
morning it was still unfilled. Why not try for it? If you like I'll
give you a letter of introduction to him, and will tell him at the
same time that I shall consider it a personal favour if he will take
you into his employ."

"I'm sure I'm very much obliged to you," I answered warmly. "Yes,
I think I will try for it before I give Nikola a reply. May I have
the letter now?"

"With pleasure," he said. "I will write it at once."

Thereupon he dipped his pen in the ink and composed the epistle.
When it was written and I had taken it, I thanked him warmly for his
kindness, and bade him good-bye.

Mr. Webster's hong was at the far end of the Bund, and was
another fine building. As soon as I had gained admittance I inquired
for the merchant, and after a brief wait was conducted to his office.
He proved to be Mr. McAndrew's opposite in every way. He was tall,
portly, and intensely solemn. He seldom laughed, and when he did his
mirth was hard and cheerless like his own exterior. He read my letter
carefully, and then said--

"I am exceedingly sorry, Mr. Bruce, that you should have had all
this trouble. I should have been only too glad for my friend
McAndrew's sake to have taken you into my employ; unfortunately,
however, the position in question was filled less than an hour
ago."

"I regret to hear that," I said, with a little sigh of
disappointment. "I really am most unfortunate; this makes the
thirteenth post I have tried for, as you see, unsuccessfully, since I
arrived in Shanghai."

"Your luck does not seem propitious," was the reply. "But if you
would like to put your applications up to an even number I will place
you in the way of another. I understand that the Red and Yellow
Funnel Steamer Company have a vacancy in their office, and if you
would care to come along with me at once I'll take you up and
introduce you to the manager myself. In that case he will probably do
all he can for you."

I thanked him for his courtesy, and when he had donned his
topee we accordingly set off for the office in question. But
another disappointment was in store for me. As in Mr. Webster's own
case the vacant post had just been filled, and when we passed out of
the manager's sanctum into the main office the newly-appointed clerk
was already seated upon his high stool making entries in a
ledger.

On leaving the building I bade my companion good-bye on the
pavement, and then with a heavy heart returned to my abode. I had not
been there ten minutes before my landlord entered the room, and
without preface, and with the smallest modicum of civility, requested
that I would make it convenient to discharge my account that very
day. As I was quite unable to comply with his request, I was
compelled to tell him so, and when he left the room there was a
decidedly unpleasant coolness between us. For some considerable time
after I was alone again. I sat wrapped in anxious thought. What was I
to do? Every walk of life seemed closed against me; my very living
was in jeopardy; and though, if I remained in Shanghai, I might hear
of other billets, still I had no sort of guarantee that I should be
any more successful in obtaining one of them than I had hitherto
been. In the meantime I had to live, and what was more, to pay my
bill. I could not go away and leave things to take care of
themselves, for the reason that I had not the necessary capital for
travelling, while if I remained and did not pay, I should find myself
in the Mixed Court before many days were over.

Such being the desperate condition of my affairs, to accept Dr.
Nikola's offer was the only thing open to me. But I was not going to
do so without driving a bargain. If he would deposit, as he said,
£5,000 to my credit in the bank I should not only be saved, but
I should then have a substantial guarantee of his solvency. If not,
well, I had better bring matters to a climax at once. Leaving the
house I returned to the Bund, and seating myself in a shady spot
carefully reviewed the whole matter. By the time darkness fell my
mind was made up--I would go to Nikola.

Exactly at eight o'clock I reached his house and rang the bell. In
answer to my peal the native boy, the same who had admitted me on the
previous occasion, opened the door and informed me that his master
was at home and expecting me. Having entered I was conducted to the
apartment in which I had waited for him on the preceding evening.
Again for nearly five minutes I was left to myself and my own
thoughts, then the door opened and Dr. Nikola walked into the
room.

"Good evening, Mr. Bruce," he said. "You are very punctual, and
that is not only a pleasant trait in your character, but it is also a
good omen, I hope. Shall we go into the next room? We can talk better
there."

I followed him into the adjoining apartment, and at his invitation
seated myself in the chair I had occupied on the previous night. We
had not been there half a minute before the black cat made his
appearance, and recognizing me as an old friend rubbed his head
against my leg.

"You see even the cat is anxious to conciliate you," said Nikola,
with a queer little smile. "I don't suppose there are five other men
in the world with whom he would be as friendly as that on so short an
acquaintance. Now let me hear your decision. Will you come with me,
or have you resolved to decline my offer?"

"Under certain conditions I have made up my mind to accompany
you," I said. "But I think it only fair to tell you that those
conditions are rather stringent."

"Let me hear them," said Nikola, with that gracious affability he
could sometimes assume. "Even if they are overpowering, I think it
will go hard with me if I cannot effect some sort of a compromise
with you."

"Well, to begin with," I answered, "I shall require you to pay
into a bank here the sum of £5,000. If you will do that, and
will give me a bill at a year for the rest of the money, I'm your
man, and you may count upon my doing everything in my power to serve
you."

"My dear fellow, is that all?" said Nikola quickly. "I will make
it £10,000 with pleasure to secure your co-operation. I had no
idea it would be the money that would stop you. Excuse me one
moment."

He rose from his chair and went across to a table at the other end
of the room. Having seated himself he wrote for two or three moments;
then returning handed me a small slip of paper, which I discovered
was a cheque for £10,000.

"There is your money," he said. "You can present it as soon as
you like, and the bank will cash it on sight. I think that should
satisfy you as to the genuineness of my motives. Now I suppose you
are prepared to throw in your lot with me?"

"Wait one moment," I said. "That is not all. You have treated me
very generously, and it is only fair that I should behave in a
similar manner to you."

"Thank you," answered Nikola. "What is it you have to say to me
now?"

"Do you know a man named Wetherell?"

"Perfectly," replied Nikola. "He was Colonial Secretary of New
South Wales until about six months ago. I have very good reasons for
knowing him. I had the honour of abducting his daughter in Sydney,
and I imprisoned his son-in-law in Port Said. Of course I know him.
You see I am also candid with you."

"Vastly. But pardon the expression, was it altogether a nice
transaction?"

"It all depends upon what you consider a nice transaction,"
he said. "To you, for instance, who have your own notions of what is
right and what is wrong, it might seem a little peculiar. I am in a
different case, however. Whatever I do I consider right. What you
might do, in nine cases out of ten, I should consider wrong. Whether I
might have saved himself all trouble by selling me the stick which
China Pete gave him, and about which he wrote to McAndrew, who read
the letter to you this morning!"

"How do you know he did?"

"How do I know anything?" inquired Nikola, with an airy wave of
his hand. "He did read it, and if you will look at me fixedly
for a moment I will tell you the exact purport of the rest of your
conversation."

"I don't know that it is necessary," I replied.

"Nor do I," said Nikola quietly, and then lit a cigarette. "Are
you satisfied with my explanation?"

"Was it an explanation?" I asked.

Nikola only answered with a smile, and lifted the cat on to his
knee. He stroked its fur with his long white fingers, at the same
time looking at me from under his half-closed eyelids.

"Do you know, I like you," he said after a while. "There's
something so confoundedly matter-of-fact about you. You give me the
impression every time you begin to speak that you are going to say
something out of the common."

"Thank you."

"I was going to add that the rest of your sentence invariably
shatters that impression."

"You evidently have a very poor impression of my cleverness."

"Not at all. I am the one who has to say the smart things; you
will have to do them. It is an equal distribution of labour. Now, are
we going together or are we not?"

"Yes, I will go with you," I answered.

"I am delighted," said Nikola, holding out his hand. "Let us
shake hands on it."

We shook hands, and as we did so he looked me fairly in the
face.

"Let me tell you once and for all," he said, "if you play fair by
me I will stand by you, come what may; but if you shirk one atom of
your responsibility--well, you will only have yourself to blame for
what happens. That's a fair warning, isn't it?"

"Perfectly," I answered. "Now may I know something of the scheme
itself, and when you propose to start?"



CHAPTER III. Nikola's Scheme

"By all means," said Dr. Nikola, settling himself down comfortably
in his chair and lighting a cigarette. "As you have thrown in your
lot with me it is only right I should give you the information
you seek. I need not ask you to keep what I tell you to yourself.
Your own common-sense will commend that course to you. It is also
just possible you may think I over-estimate the importance of my
subject, but let me say this, if once it became known to certain folk
in this town that I have obtained possession of that stick mentioned
in Wetherell's letter, my life, even in Shanghai, would not be worth
five minutes' purchase. Let me briefly review the circumstances of
the case connected with this mysterious society. Remember I have gone
into the matter most thoroughly. It is not the hobby of an hour, nor
the amusement of an idle moment, but the object of research and the
concentrated study of a lifetime. To obtain certain information of
which I stood in need, I have tracked people all over the world. When
I began my preparations for inducing Wetherell to relinquish
possession of what I wanted, I had followed a man as far as Cuyaba,
on the Bolivian frontier of Brazil. During the earlier part of his
career this person had been a merchant buying gold-leaf in Western
China, and in this capacity he chanced to hear a curious story
connected with the doings of a certain sect, whose monastery is in
the mountains on the way up to Thibet. It cost me six months'
continuous travel and nearly a thousand pounds in hard cash to find
that man, and when I did his story did not exceed a dozen sentences;
in other words, I paid him fully £10 per word for a bit
of information that you would not, in all probability, have given him
tenpence for. But I knew its value. I followed another man as far as
Monte Video for the description of an obscure Chinese village;
another to the Gold Coast for the name of a certain Buddhist priest,
and a Russian Jew as far as Nijni Novgorod for a symbol he wore upon
his watch-chain, and of the value of which he had not the slightest
conception. The information I thus obtained personally I added to the
store I had gathered by correspondence, and having accumulated it all
I drafted a complete history of my researches up to that time. When
that was done I think I may say without boasting that, with the
exception of three men--who, by the way, are not at liberty to
divulge anything, and who, I doubt very much, are even aware that a
world exists at all beyond their own monastery walls--I know at least
six times as much about the society in question as any man living.
Now, having prefaced my remarks in this fashion, let me give you a
complete summary of the case. As far as I can gather, in or about the
year 288 b.c., in fact at the time that Devenipiatissa was planting
the sacred Bo tree at Anuradhapura, in Ceylon, three priests, noted
for their extreme piety, and for the extent of their scientific
researches, migrated from what is now the island of Ceylon, across to
the mainland of Asia. Having passed through the country at present
called Burmah, and after innumerable vicissitudes and constant
necessary changes of quarters, they brought up in the centre of the
country we now call Thibet. Here two of the original trio died, while
the remaining one and his new confreres built themselves a monastery,
set to work to gather about them a number of peculiar devotees, and
to continue their researches. Though the utmost secrecy was observed,
within a few years the fame of their doings had spread itself abroad.
That this was so we know, for we find constant mention made of them
by numerous Chinese historians. One I will quote you."

Dr. Nikola rose from his chair and crossed the room to an old
cabinet standing against the further wall. From this he took a large
book, looking suspiciously like a scrap-album, in which were pasted
innumerable cuttings and manuscripts. He brought it across to his
chair and sat down again. Then, having turned the leaves and found
what he wanted, he prepared to read.

"It may interest you to know," he said, looking up at me before he
began, "that the paragraph I am about to read to you, which was
translated from the original with the utmost care by myself, was
written the same year and month that William the Conqueror landed in
England. It runs as follows:--

"'And of this vast sect, and of the peculiar powers with which
they are invested, it is with some diffidence that I speak. It is
affirmed by those credulous in such matters that their skill in
healing is greater than that of all other living men, also that their
power in witchcraft surpasses that of any others the world has known.
It is said, moreover, that they possess the power of restoring the
dead to life, and of prolonging beyond the ordinary span the days of
man. But of these things I can only write to you as they have been
told to me.'"

Dr. Nikola turned to another page.

"After skipping five hundred years," he said, "we find further
mention made of them; this time the writer is Feng Lao Lan, a
well-known Chinese historian who flourished about the year 1500. He
describes them as making themselves a source of trouble to the
kingdom in general. From being a collection of a few simple monks,
installed in a lonely monastery in the centre of Thibet, they have
now become one of the largest secret societies in the East, though
the mystic powers supposed to be held by them are still limited to
the three headmen, or principal brothers. Towards the end of the
sixteenth century it is certain that they exercised such a formidable
influence in political affairs as to warrant the Government in
issuing orders for their extermination. Indeed, I am inclined to
believe that the all-powerful Triad Society, with its motto, 'Hoan
Cheng Hok Beng,' which, as you know, exercised such an enormous
influence in China until quite recently, was only an offshoot of the
society which I am so eager to explore. That the sect does
possess the scientific and occult knowledge that has been attributed
to it for over two thousand years I feel convinced, and if there is
any power which can assist me in penetrating their secrets I intend
to employ it. In our own and other countries which we are accustomed
to call 'civilized' it has long been the habit to ridicule any
belief in what cannot be readily seen and understood by the least
educated. To the average Englishman there is no occult world. But see
what a contradictory creature he is when all is said and done. For if
he be devout, he tells you that he firmly believes that when the body
dies the soul goes to Heaven, which is equivalent to Olympus,
Elysium, Arcadia, Garden of Hesperides, Valhalla, Walhalla, Paradise,
or Nirvana, as the case may be. He has no notion, or rather, I think,
he will not be able to give you any description, of what sort of
place his Heaven is likely to be. He has all sorts of vague ideas
about it, but though it is part of his religion to believe beyond
question that there is such a place, it is all wrapped in shadow of
more or less impenetrable depth. To sum it all up, he believes that,
while, in his opinion, such a thing as--shall we say Theosophy?--is
arrant nonsense, and unworthy of a thought, the vital essence of man
has a second and greater being after death. In other words, to put my
meaning a little more plainly, it is pretty certain that if you were
to laugh at him, as he laughs at the Theosophist and Spiritualist, he
would consider that he had very good grounds to consider his
intelligence insulted. And yet he himself is simply a contradiction
contradicted. You may wonder towards what all this rigmarole is
leading. But if I were to describe to you the curious things I have
myself seen in different parts of the East, and the extraordinary
information I have collected first hand from others, I venture to
think you would believe me either a wizard myself or an absurdly
credulous person. I tell you, Bruce, I have witnessed things that
would seem to upset every known law of nature. Though there was
occasionally trickery in the performance I am convinced in the
majority of cases the phenomena were genuine. And that brings us to
another stumbling-block--the meaning of the expression, 'trickery.'
What I should probably call 'trick' you would, in nine cases out of
ten, consider blackest magic. But enough talking. Let me give you an
illustration of my meaning."

As he spoke he went across to a sideboard and from it he took an
ordinary glass tumbler and a carafe of water, which he placed upon
the table at his elbow. Then seating himself again in his chair he
filled the glass to overflowing. I watched him carefully, wondering
what was coming next.

"Examine the glass for yourself," he said. "You observe that it
is quite full of water. I want you to be very sure of that."

I examined the glass and discovered that it was so full that it
would be impossible to move it without spilling some of its contents.
Having done so I told him that I was convinced it was fully
charged.

"Very well," he said; "in that case I will give you an example of
what I might call 'Mind versus Matter.' That glass is quite
full, as you have seen for yourself; now watch me."

From a tray by his side he took a match, lit a wax candle, and
when the flame had burnt up well, held it above the water so that one
drop of wax might fall into the liquid.

"Now," he said, "I want you to watch that wax intently from where
you are while I count twenty."

I did as he ordered me, keeping my eyes firmly fixed upon the
little globule floating on the surface of the water. Then as I
looked, slowly, and to the accompaniment of Nikola's monotonous
counting, the water sank lower and lower, until the tumbler was
completely empty.

"Get up and look for yourself, but don't touch the glass," said my
host. "Be perfectly sure, however, that it is empty, for I shall
require your affidavit upon that point directly."

I examined the glass most carefully, and stated that, to the best
of my belief, there was not a drop of water in it.

"Very well," said Nikola. "Now be so good as to sit down and
watch it once more."

This time he counted backwards, and as he did so the water rose
again in the glass until it was full to overflowing, and still the
wax was floating on the surface.

For a moment we were both silent. Then Nikola poured the water
back into the jug, and having done so handed the glass to me.

"Examine it carefully," he said, "or you may imagine it has been
made by a London conjuring firm on purpose for the trick. Convince
yourself of this, and when you have made sure give me your
explanation of the mystery."

I examined the glass with the most searching scrutiny, but no sign
of any preparation or mechanism could I discover.

"I cannot understand it at all," I said; "and I'm sure I can give
you no explanation."

"And yet you are not thoroughly convinced in your mind that I have
not performed a clever conjuring trick, such as you might see at
Maskelyne and Devant's. Let me give you two more examples before I
finish. Look me intently in the face until that clock on the
mantelpiece, which is now standing at twenty-eight minutes past nine,
shall strike the half-hour."

I did as I was ordered, and anything like the concentrated
intensify of his gaze I never remember to have experienced before. I
have often heard men say that when persons gifted with the mesmeric
power have looked at them (some women have this power too) they have
felt as if they had no backs to their heads. In this case I can only
say that I not only felt as if I had no back to my head, but as if I
had no head at all.

The two minutes seemed like two hours, then the clock struck, and
Nikola said:

"Pull up your left shirt cuff, and examine your arm."

I did as he ordered me, and there in red spots I saw an exact
reproduction of my own signature. As I looked at it it faded away
again, until, in about half a minute from my first seeing it, it was
quite gone.

"That is what I call a trick; in other words, it is neither more
nor less than hypnotism. But you will wonder why I have put myself to
so much trouble. In the first place the water did not go out of the
glass, as you supposed, but remained exactly as when you first saw
it. I simply willed that you should imagine it did go, and your
imagination complied with the demand made upon it. In the last
experiment you had a second proof of the first subject. Of course
both are very easily explained, even by one who has dabbled in the
occult as little as yourself. But though you call it hypnotism in
this airy fashion, can you give me an explanation of what you mean by
that ambiguous term?"

"Simply that your mind," I answered, "is stronger than mine, and
for this reason is able to dominate it.''

"That is the popular theory, I grant you," he answered; "but it
is hardly a correct one, I fancy. Even if it were stronger, how could
it be possible for me to transmit thoughts which are in my brain to
yours?"

"That I cannot attempt in any way to explain," I answered. "But
isn't it classified under the general head of thought transference?"

"Precisely--I am prepared to admit so much; but your description,
hypnotism, though as involved, is quite as correct a term. But let me
tell you that both these illustrations were given to lead up to
another, which will bring us nearer than we have yet come to the
conclusion I am endeavouring to arrive at. Try and give me your
complete attention again; above all, watch my finger."

As he spoke he began to wave his first finger in the air. It moved
this way and that, describing figures of eight, and I followed each
movement so carefully with my eyes that presently a small blue flame
seemed to flicker at the end of it. Then, after perhaps a minute, I
saw, or thought I saw, what might have been a tiny cloud settling in
the further corner of the room. It was near the floor when I first
noticed it, then it rose to about the height of a yard, and came
slowly across the apartment towards me. Little by little it increased
in size. Then it assumed definite proportions, became taller, until I
thought I detected the outline of a human figure. This resemblance
rapidly increased, until I could definitely distinguish the head and
body of a man. He was tall and well-proportioned; his head was thrown
back, and his eyes met mine with an eager, though somewhat strained,
glance. Every detail was perfect, even to a ring upon his little
finger; indeed, if I had met the man in the street next day I am
certain I should have known him again. A strange orange-coloured
light almost enveloped him, but in less than a minute he had become
merged in the cloud once more; this gradually fell back into the
corner, grew smaller and smaller, and finally disappeared altogether.
I gave a little shiver, as if I were waking from some unpleasant
dream, and turned to Nikola, who was watching me with half-closed
eyes.

After I had quite recovered my wits, he took an album from the
table and handed it to me.

"See if you can find in that book," he said, "the photograph of
the man whose image you have just seen."

I unfastened the clasp, and turned the pages eagerly. Near the
middle I discovered an exact reproduction of the vision I had seen.
The figure and face, the very attitude and expression, were the same
in every particular, and even the ring I had noticed was upon the
little finger. I was completely nonplussed.

"What do you think of my experiment?" asked Nikola.

"It was most wonderful and most mysterious," I said.

"But how do you account for it?" he asked.

"I can't account for it at all," I answered. "I can only suppose,
since you owned to it before, that it must also have been
hypnotism."

"Exactly," said Nikola. "But you will see in this case that,
without any disc or passes, I not only produced the wish that you
should see what I was thinking of, but also the exact expression worn
by the person in the photograph. The test was successful in every
way. And yet, how did I transfer the image that was in my mind to the
retina of your eyes? You were positively certain you saw the water
decrease in the glass just now; you would have pledged your word of
honour that you saw your name printed upon your arm; and under other
circumstances you would, in all probability, have ridiculed any
assertion on my part that you did not see the vision of the man whose
photograph is in that book. Very good. That much decided, do you feel
equal to doubting that, though not present in the room, I could wake
you in the night, and make you see the image of some friend, whom you
knew to be long dead, standing by your bedside. Shall I make myself
float in mid-air? Shall I transport you out of this room, and take
you to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean? Shall I lift you up into
heaven, or conduct you to the uttermost parts of hell? You have only
to say what you desire to see and I will show it to you as surely and
as perfectly as you saw those other things. But remember, all I have
done is only what I call trickery, for it was done by hypnotism,
which is to my mind, though you think it so mysterious, neither more
nor less than making people believe what you will by the peculiar
power of your own mind. But answer me this: If hypnotism is only the
very smallest beginning of the knowledge possessed by the sect I am
trying to discover, what must their greatest secret be? Believe me
when I tell you that what I have shown you this evening is as a
molehill to a mountain compared with what you will learn if we can
only penetrate into that place of which I have told you. I pledge you
my word on it. Now answer me this question: Is it worth trying for,
or not?"

"It is worth it," I cried enthusiastically. "I will go with you,
and I will give you my best service; if you will play fair by me, I
will do the same by you. But there is one further question I must ask
you: Has that stick you obtained from Mr. Wetherell anything at all
to do with the work in hand?"

"More than anything," he answered. "It is the key to everything.
Originally, you must understand, there were only three of these
sticks in existence. One belongs, or rather did belong, to
each of the three heads of the sect. In pursuit of some particular
information one of the trio left the monastery, and came out into the
world. He died in a mysterious manner, and the stick fell into the
possession of the abbot of the Yung Ho Kung, in Pekin, from whom it
was stolen by an Englishman in my employ, known as China Pete, who
risked his life, disguised as a Thibetan monk, to get it. Having
stolen it, he eluded me, and fled to Australia, not knowing the real
value of his treasure. The society became cognizant of its loss, and
sent men after him. In attempting to obtain possession of it one of
the Chinamen was killed off the coast of Queensland, and China Pete
was arrested in Sydney on a charge of having murdered him. Wetherell
defended him, and got him off; and, not being able to pay for his
services, the latter made him a present of the stick. A month later I
reached Sydney in search of it, but the Chinese were there before me.
We both tried to obtain possession of it, but, owing to Wetherell's
obstinacy, neither of us was successful. I offered Wetherell his own
price for it; he refused to give it up. I pleaded with him, argued,
entreated, but in vain. Then I set myself to get it from him at any
hazard. How I succeeded you know. All that occurred six months ago.
As soon as it was in my possession I returned here with the intention
of penetrating into the interior, and endeavouring to find out what I
so much wanted to know."

"And where is the stick now?" I asked.

"In my own keeping," he answered. "If you would care to see it, I
shall have very much pleasure in showing it to you."

"I should like to see it immensely," I answered.

With that he left the room, to return in about five minutes. Then,
seating himself before me, he took from his pocket a small case, out
of which he drew a tiny stick, at most not more than three inches
long. It was a commonplace little affair, a deep black in colour, and
covered with Chinese hieroglyphics in dead gold. A piece of frayed
gold ribbon, much tarnished, and showing evident signs of having
passed through many hands, was attached to it at one end.

He handed it to me, and I examined it carefully.

"But if this stick were originally stolen," I said, "you will
surely not be so imprudent as to place yourself in the power of the
society with it in your possession? It would mean certain death."

"If it were all plain sailing, and there were no risk to be run, I doubt
very much if I should pay you £10,000 for the benefit of your company,"
he answered. "It is because there is a great risk, and because I must
have assistance, though I am extremely doubtful whether we shall ever
come out of it alive, that I am taking you with me. I intend to discover
their secret if possible, and I also intend that this stick, which
undoubtedly is the key of the outer gate, so to speak, shall help me in
my endeavours. If you are afraid to accompany me, having heard all, I
will allow you to forego your promise and turn back while there is
time."

"I have not the slightest intention of turning back," I answered.
"I don't know that I am a braver man than most, but if you are
willing to go on I am ready to accompany you."

"And so you shall, and there's my hand on it," he cried, giving me
his hand as he spoke.

"Now tell me what you intend to do," I said. "How do you mean to
begin?"

"Well, in the first place," said Nikola, "I shall wait here until
the arrival of a certain man from Pekin. He is one of the lay
brethren of the society who has fallen under my influence, and as
soon as he puts in an appearance and I have got his information we
shall disguise ourselves, myself as an official of one of the coast
provinces, you as my secretary, and together we shall set out for the
capital. Arriving there we will penetrate the Llama-serai, the most
anti-European monastery in all China, and, by some means or another,
extract from the chief priest sufficient information to take the next
step upon our journey. After that we shall proceed as circumstances
dictate."

"And when do you intend that we shall start?"

"As soon as the man arrives, perhaps to-night, probably to-morrow
morning."

"And as to our disguises?"

"I have in my possession everything we can possibly need."

"In that case I suppose there is nothing to be done until the
messenger arrives?"

"Nothing, I think."

"Then if you will allow me I will wish you good-bye and be off to
bed. In case I do not hear from you tonight, at what hour would you
like me to call tomorrow?"

"I will let you know before breakfast-time without fail. You are
not afraid, are you?"

"Not in the least," I answered.

"And you'll say nothing to anybody, even under compulsion, as to
our mission?"

"I have given you my promise," I answered, and rose from my
seat.

Once more I followed him down the main passage of the bungalow
into the front verandah. Arriving there we shook hands and I went
down the steps into the street.

As I turned the corner and made my way in the direction of the
road leading to the English Concession, I saw a man, without doubt a
Chinaman, rise from a corner and follow me. For nearly a quarter of a
mile he remained about a hundred yards behind me, then he was joined
by a second, who presently left his companion at a cross street and
continued the march. Whether their espionage was only accidental, or
whether I was really the object of their attention, I was for some
time at a loss to conjecture, but when I saw the second give place to
a third, and the third begin to decrease the distance that separated
us, I must own I was not altogether comfortable in my mind. Arriving
at a more crowded thoroughfare I hastened my steps, and having
proceeded about fifty yards along it, dodged down a side lane. This
lane conveyed me into another, which eventually brought me out within
half a dozen paces of the house I wanted.

That the occupants of the dwelling had not yet retired to bed was
evident from the lights I could see moving about inside. In response
to my knock some one left the room upon the right hand of the passage
and came towards the door where I waited. When he had opened it I
discovered that it was Mr. McAndrew himself.

"Why, Bruce!" he cried in surprise, as soon as he discovered who
his visitor was. "You've chosen a pretty late hour for calling; but
never mind, come along in; I am glad to see you." As he spoke he led
me into the room from which he had just emerged. It was his
dining-room, and was furnished in a ponderous, but luxurious,
fashion. In a chair beside the long table--for Mr. McAndrew has a
large family, and twelve sat down to the morning and evening
meal--was seated a tiny grey-haired lady, his wife, while opposite
her, engaged upon some fancy work, was a pretty girl of sixteen, his
youngest daughter and pet, as I remembered. That the lateness of my
visit also occasioned them some surprise I could see by their faces;
but after a few commonplace remarks they bade me good-night and went
out of the room, leaving me alone with the head of the house.

"I suppose you have some very good reason for this visit, or you
wouldn't be here," the latter said, as he handed me a box of cigars.
"Have you heard of a new billet, or has your innocent friend Nikola
commenced to blackmail you?"

"Neither of these things has happened," I answered with a laugh."

"But as I am in all probability leaving Shanghai to-morrow
morning before banking hours, I have come to see if I may so far tax
your kindness as to ask you to take charge of a cheque for me." I
thereupon produced Nikola's draft and handed it to him. He took it,
glanced at it, looked up at me, returned his eyes to it once more,
and then whistled.

"This looks like business," he said.

"Doesn't it," I answered. "I can hardly believe that I am worth
£10,000."

"You are to be congratulated. And now what do you want me to do
with it?" inquired McAndrew, turning the paper over and over in his
hand as if it were some uncanny talisman which might suddenly catch
him up and convert him into a camel or an octopus before he could
look round.

"I want you to keep it for me if you will," I answered "To put it
on deposit in your bank if you have no objection. I am going away,
certainly for six months, possibly for a year, and when I return to
Shanghai I will come and claim it. That's if I do return."

"And if not?"

"In that case I will leave it all to you. In the meantime I want
you to advance me £20 if you will; you can repay
yourself out of the amount. Do you mind doing it?"

"Not in the very least," he answered; "but we had better have it
all in writing, so that there may be no mistake."

He thereupon produced from a drawer in a side table a sheet of
notepaper. Having written a few lines on it he gave it to me to sign,
at the same time calling in one of his sons to witness my signature.
This formality completed he handed me £20 in notes and English
gold, and our business was concluded. I rose to go.

"Bruce," said the old gentleman in his usual kindly fashion,
putting his hand upon my shoulder as he spoke, "I don't know what
you are up to, and I don't suppose it will do for me to inquire, but
I am aware that you have been in pretty straitened circumstances
lately, and I am afraid you are embarking on some foolishness or
other now. For Heaven's sake weigh carefully the pros and cons before
you commit yourself. Remember always that one moment's folly may
wreck your whole after-life."

"You need have no fear on that score," I answered. "I am going
into this business with my eyes open. All the same I am obliged to
you for your warning and for what you have done for me. Good-night
and good-bye."

I shook hands with him, and then passing into the verandah left
the bungalow.

I was not fifty yards from the gate when a noise behind me induced
me to look round. A man had been sitting in the shadow on the other
side of the road. He had risen now and was beginning to follow me.
That it was the same individual who had accompanied me to McAndrew's
house I had not the slightest doubt. I turned to my right hand down a
side street in order to see if he would pursue me; he also turned. I
doubled again; he did the same. I proceeded across a piece of open
ground instead of keeping on in the straight line I had hitherto been
following; he imitated my example. This espionage was growing
alarming, so I quickened my pace, and having found a side street with
a high fence on one side, followed the palisading along till I came
to the gate. Through this I dashed, and as soon as I was in, stooped
down in the shadow. Half a minute later I heard the man coming along
on the other side. When he could no longer see me ahead of him he
came to a halt within half a dozen paces of where I crouched. Then
having made up his mind that I must have crossed the road and gone
down a dark lane opposite, he too crossed, and in a few seconds was
out of sight.

As soon as I had convinced myself that I had got rid of him I
passed out into the street again and made my way as quickly as
possible back to my abode.

But I was not to lose my mysterious pursuer after all, for just as
I was entering my own compound he put in an appearance. Seeing that I
had the advantage I ran up the steps of the verandah and went inside.
From a window I watched him come up the street and stand looking
about him. Then he returned by the way he had come, and, for the time
being, that was the last I saw of him. In less than a quarter of an
hour I was in bed and asleep, dreaming of Nikola, and imagining that
I was being turned into an elephant by his uncanny powers.

How long I remained snoozing I cannot say, but I was suddenly
awakened by the feeling that somebody was in my room. Nor was I
mistaken. A man was sitting by my bedside, and in the dim moonlight I
could see that he was a Chinaman.

"What are you doing here?" I cried, sitting up in bed.

"Be silent!" my visitor whispered in Chinese. "If you speak it
will cost you your life."

Without another word I thrust my hand under the pillow intending
to produce the revolver I had placed there when I went to bed. But it
was gone. Whether my visitor had stolen it or I had imagined that I
had put it there and forgotten to do so, it was beyond my powers to
tell. At any rate the weapon, upon which it would seem my life
depended, was gone.

"What is your business with me?" I asked, resolved to bring my
visitor to his bearings without loss of time.

"Not so loud," he answered. "I am sent by Dr. Nikola to request
your honourable presence. He desires that you will come to him
without a moment's delay."

"But I've only just left him," I said. "Why does he send for me
again?"

"I cannot say, but it is possible that something important has
occurred," was the man's answer. "He bade me tell you to come at
once."

With that I got up and dressed myself as quickly as possible. It
was evident that the expected messenger from Pekin had arrived, and
in that case we should probably be setting off for the capital before
morning. At any rate I did not waste a moment, and as soon as I was
ready went out into the verandah, where the man who had come to fetch
me was sitting. He led me across the compound into the street and
pointed to a chair which with its bearers was in waiting for me.

"Your friend is in a hurry," said the man who had called me, by
way of explanation, "and he bade me not lose a moment."

"In that case you may go along as hard as you like," I answered;
"I am quite ready."

I took my place in the chair, which was immediately lifted by the
bearers, and within a minute of my leaving the house we were
proceeding down the street at a comparatively fast pace. At that hour
the town was very quiet; indeed, with the exception of an occasional
Sikh policeman and a belated 'rickshaw coolie or two, we met no one.
At the end of a quarter of an hour it was evident that we had arrived
at our destination, for the chair came to a standstill and the
bearers set me down. I sprang out and looked about me. To my
surprise, however, it was not the house I expected to see that I
found before me. We had pulled up at the entrance to a much larger
bungalow, standing in a compound of fair size. While I waited my
messenger went into the house, to presently return with the
information that, if I would be pleased to follow him, Dr. Nikola
would see me at once.

The house was in total darkness and as silent as the grave. I
passed into the main hall, and was about to proceed down it towards a
door at the further end, when I was, without warning, caught by the
back of the neck, a gag of some sort was placed in my mouth, and my
hands were securely fastened behind me. Next moment I was lifted into
the air and borne into a room whence a bright light suddenly streamed
forth. Here three Chinamen were seated, clad in heavy figured silk,
and wearing enormous tortoiseshell spectacles upon their noses. They
received me with a grunt of welcome, and bade my captors remove the
gag from my mouth. This done the elder of the trio said quietly--but
it seemed to me somewhat inconsequently:

"We hope that your honourable self is enjoying good health?"

I answered, with as much calmness as I could possibly assume at so
short a notice, that, "For such an utterly insignificant personage I
was in the enjoyment of the best of health." Whereupon I was
requested to say how it came about that I was now in China, and what
my business there might be. When I had answered this the man on the
right leant a little forward and said:

"You are not telling us the honourable truth. What business have
you with Dr. Nikola?"

I summoned all my wits to my assistance.

"Who is Dr. Nikola?" I asked.

"The person whom you have visited two nights in succession," said
the man who had first spoken. "Tell us what mischief you and he are
hatching together."

Seeing that it would be useless attempting to deny my association
with Nikola I insinuated that we were interested in the purchase of
Chinese silk together, but this assertion was received with a
scornful grunt of disapproval.

"We must have the truth," said the man in the biggest
spectacles.

"I can tell you no more," I answered.

"In that case we have no option," he said, "but to extract the
information by other means."

With that he made a sign to one of the attendants, who immediately
left the room, to return a few moments later with a roll of chain,
and some oddly-shaped wooden bars. A heavy sweat rose upon my
forehead. I had seen a good deal of Chinese torture in my time, and
now it looked as if I were about to have a taste of it.

"What do you know of Dr. Nikola?" repeated the man who had first
spoken, and who was evidently the principal of the trio.

"I have already told you," I repeated, this time with unusual
emphasis.

Again he asked the same question without change of tone.

But I only repeated my previous answer.

"For the last time, what do you know of Dr. Nikola?"

"I have told you," I answered, my heart sinking like lead.
Thereupon he raised his hand a little and made a sign to the men near
the door. Instantly I was caught and thrown on my back upon the
floor. Before I could expostulate or struggle a curious wooden collar
was clasped round my neck, and a screw was turned in it until another
revolution would have choked me. Once more I heard the old man say
monotonously.

"What do you know of Dr. Nikola?"

I tried to repeat my former assertion, but owing to the tightness
of the collar I found a difficulty in speaking. Then the man in the
centre rose and came over to where I lay; instantly the collar was
relaxed, my arms were released, and a voice said:

"Get up, Mr. Bruce. You need have no further fear; we shall not
hurt you."

It was Dr. Nikola!



CHAPTER IV. We Set Out For Tientsin

I could scarcely believe the evidence of my senses. Nikola's
disguise was so perfect that it would have required almost superhuman
cleverness to penetrate it. In every particular he was a true
Celestial. His accent was without a flaw, his deportment exactly what
that of a Chinaman of high rank would be, while his general demeanour
and manner of sustaining his assumed character could not have been
found fault with by the most fastidious critic. I felt that if he
could so easily hoodwink me there could be little doubt that he would
pass muster under less exacting scrutiny. So as soon as I was
released I sprang to my feet and warmly congratulated him, not a
little relieved, you may be sure, to find that I was with friends,
and was not to be tortured, as I had at first supposed.

"You must forgive the rough treatment to which you have been
subjected," said Nikola. "But I wanted to test you very thoroughly.
Now what do you think of my disguise?"

"It is perfect," I answered. "Considering your decided
personality, I had no idea it could possibly be so good. But where
are we?"

"In a bungalow I have taken for the time being," he replied. "And
now let us get to business. The man whom you saw on my right was
Laohwan, the messenger whom I told you I expected from Pekin. He
arrived half an hour after you had left me this evening, gave me the
information I wanted, and now I am ready to start as soon as you
are."

"Let me go home and put one or two things together," I answered,
"and then I'm your man."

"Certainly," said Nikola. "One of my servants shall accompany you
to carry your bag, and to bring you back here as soon as your work is
completed."

With that I set off for my abode, followed by one of Nikola's
boys. When we reached it I left him to wait for me outside, and let
myself into my bedroom by the window. Having lit a candle, I hastened
to put together the few little odds and ends I wished to take with me
on my journey. This finished I locked my trunks, wrote a letter to my
landlord, enclosing the amount I owed him, and then another to
Barkston, asking him to be good enough to send for, and take charge
of my trunks until I returned from a trip into the interior. This
done I passed out of the house again, joined the boy who was waiting
for me at the gate, and returned to the bungalow in which I had been
so surprised by Nikola an hour or so before. It was long after
midnight by the time I reached it, but I had no thought of fatigue.
The excitement of our departure prevented my thinking of aught else.
We were plunging into an unknown life bristling with dangers, and
though I did not share Nikola's belief as to the result we should
achieve, I had the certain knowledge that I should be well repaid for
the risk I ran.

When I entered the house I found my employer awaiting my coming in
the room where I had been hoaxed that evening. He was still in
Chinese dress, and once again as I looked at him I felt it difficult
to believe that this portly, sedate-looking Chinaman could be the
slim European known to the world as Dr. Nikola.

"You have not been long, Mr. Bruce," he said, "and I am glad of
it. Now if you will accompany me to the next room I will introduce
you to your things. I have purchased for you everything that you can
possibly require, and as I am well acquainted with your power of
disguise, I have no fear at all as to the result."

On reaching the adjoining room I divested myself of my European
habiliments, and set to work to don those which were spread out for
my inspection. Then with some mixture from a bottle which I found
upon the table, I stained my face, neck, and arms, after which my
pigtail, which was made on a cleverly contrived scalp wig, was
attached, and a large pair of tortoiseshell glasses of a similar
pattern to those worn by Nikola, were placed upon my nose. My feet
were encased in sandals, a stiff round hat of the ordinary Chinese
pattern was placed upon my head, and this, taken with my
thickly-padded robe of yellow silk, gave me a most dignified
appearance.

When Nikola returned to the room he examined me carefully, and
expressed himself as highly pleased with the result; indeed, when we
greeted each other in the Chinese fashion and language he would have
been a sharp man who could have detected that we were not what we
pretended to be.

"Now," said Nikola, "if you are ready we will test the efficiency
of our disguises. In half an hour's time there is a meeting at the
house of a man named Lo Ting. The folk we shall meet there are
members of a secret society aiming at the overthrow of the Manchu
dynasty. Laohwan has gone on ahead, and, being a member of the
society, will report to them the arrival of two distinguished
merchants from the interior, who are also members. I have got the
passwords, and I know the general idea of their aims, so, with your
permission, we will set off at once. When we get there I will explain
my intentions more fully."

"But you are surely not going to attend a meeting of a secret
society to-night?" I said, astonished at the coolness with which he
proposed to run such a risk. "Wouldn't it be wiser to wait until we
are a little more accustomed to our dresses?"

"By no means," answered Nikola. "I consider this will be a very
good test. If we are detected by the folk we shall see to-night we
shall know where the fault lies, and we can remedy it before it is
too late. Besides, there is to be a man present who knows something
of the inner working of the society, and from him I hope to derive
some important information to help us on our way. Come along."

He passed into the passage and led the way through the house out
into the compound, where we found a couple of chairs, with their
attendant coolies, awaiting us. We stepped into them, and were
presently being borne in a sedate fashion down the street.

In something under twenty minutes our bearers stopped and set us
down again; we alighted, and after the coolies had disappeared Nikola
whispered that the password was "Liberty," and that as one said it
it was necessary to place the fingers of the right hand in the palm
of the left. If I should be asked any questions I was to trust to my
mother wit to answer them satisfactorily.

We approached the door, which was at the end of a small alley, and
when we reached it I noticed that Nikola rapped upon it twice with a
large ring he wore upon the first finger of his right hand. In answer
a small and peculiar sort of grille was opened, and a voice within
said in Chinese:

"Who is it that disturbs honest people at this unseemly hour?"

"Two merchants from Szechuen who have come to Shanghai in search
of liberty," said my companion, holding up his hands in the manner
described above.

Immediately the door was opened and I followed Nikola into the
house. The passage was in darkness and terribly close. As soon as we
had entered, the front gate was shut behind us, and we were told to
walk straight forward. A moment later another door at the further end
opened, and a bright light streamed forth. Our conductor signed to us
to enter, and assuming an air of humility, and folding our hands in
the prescribed fashion before us, we passed into a large apartment in
which were seated possibly twenty men. Without addressing a word to
one of them we crossed and took up our positions on a sort of divan
at the further end. Pipes were handed to us, and for what must have
been nearly five minutes we continued solemnly to puff out smoke,
without a word being uttered in the room. If I were to say that I
felt at my ease during this long silence it would hardly be the
truth; but I flatter myself that, whatever my feelings may have been,
I did not permit a sign of my embarrassment to escape me. Then an
elderly Chinaman, who sat a little to our right, and who was, without
doubt, the chief person present, turned to Nikola and questioned him
as to his visit to Shanghai. Nikola answered slowly and gravely,
after the Celestial fashion, deprecating any idea of personal
advantage, and asserting that it was only to have the honour of
saying he had been in Shanghai that he had come at all. When he had
finished, the same question was addressed to me. I answered in
similar terms, and then another silence fell upon us all. Indeed, it
was not until we had been in the room nearly half an hour that any
attempt at business was made. Then such a flow of gabble ensued that
I could scarcely make head or tail of what I heard. Nikola was to the
fore throughout. He invented plots for the overthrowing of dynasties,
each of which had a peculiar merit of its own; he theoretically
assassinated at least a dozen persons in high places, and, what was
more, disposed of their bodies afterwards. To my thinking he
out-heroded Herod in his zeal. One thing, however, was quite certain,
before he had been an hour in the place he was at the head of
affairs, and, had he so desired, could have obtained just what he
wanted from those present. I did my best to second his efforts, but
my co-operation was quite unnecessary. Three o'clock had passed
before the meeting broke up. Then one by one the members left the
room, until only Laohwan, the old man who had first addressed us,
Nikola and myself remained in occupation.

Then little by little, with infinite tact, Nikola led the
conversation round into the channel he wanted. How he had learnt that
the old man knew anything at all of the matter was more than I could
understand. But that he did know something, and that, with a little
persuasion, he might be induced to give us the benefit of his
knowledge, soon became evident.

"But these things are not for every one," he said, after a brief
recital of the tales he had heard. "If my honourable friend will be
guided by one who has had experience, he will not seek to penetrate
further."

"The sea of knowledge is for all who desire to swim in it,"
answered Nikola, puffing solemnly at his pipe. "I have heard these
things before, and I would convince myself of their truth. Can you
help me to such inquiries? I ask in the name of the Light of
Heaven."

As he spoke he took from a pocket under his upper coat the small
stick he had obtained from Wetherell. The old man no sooner saw it
than his whole demeanour changed; he knelt humbly at Nikola's feet
and implored his pardon.

"If my lord had spoken before," he said tremblingly, "I would
have answered truthfully. All that I have is my lord's, and I will
withhold nothing from him."

"I want nothing," said Nikola, "save what has been arranged. That
I must have at once."

"My lord shall be obeyed," said the old man.

"It is well," Nikola answered. "Let there be no delay, and permit
no word to pass your lips. Send it to this address, so that I may
receive it at once."

He handed the other a card and then rose to go; five minutes later
we were back in our respective chairs being borne down the street
again. When we reached the house from which we had started Nikola
called me into the room where I had dressed.

"You have had an opportunity now of seeing the power of that
stick," he said. "It was Laohwan who discovered that the man was a
member of the society. All that talk of overthrowing the Manchu
dynasty was simply balderdash, partly real, but in a greater measure
meant to deceive. Now if all goes well the old fellow will open the
first gate to us, and then we shall be able to go ahead. Let us
change our clothes and get back to my own house. If I mistake not we
shall have to be off up the coast before breakfast-time."

With that we set to work, and as soon as we were dressed in
European habiliments, left the house and returned to the bungalow
where I had first called upon Nikola. By this time day was breaking,
and already a stir of life was discernible in the streets. Making our
way into the house we proceeded direct to Nikola's study, where his
servants had prepared a meal for us. We sat down to it, and were in
the act of falling to work upon a cold pie, when a boy entered with
the announcement that a Chinaman was in the hall and desired to speak
with us. It was Laohwan.

"Well," said Nikola, "what message does the old man send?"

In reply Loahwan, who I soon found was not prodigal of speech,
took from his sleeve a slip of paper on which were some words written
in Chinese characters. Nikola glanced at them, and when he had
mastered their purport handed it across the table to me. The message
was as follows:

"In the house of Quong Sha, in the Street of a Hundred
Tribulations, Tientsin."

That was all.

Nikola turned to Laohwan.

"At what time does the North China boat sail?" he asked.

"At half-past six," answered Laohwan promptly.

Nikola looked at his watch, thought for a moment, and then
said:

"Go on ahead. Book your passage and get aboard as soon as you can;
we will join her later. But remember: until we get to Tientsin you
must act as if you have never set eyes on either of us before."

Laohwan bowed and left the room.

"At this point," said Nikola, pouring himself out a cup of black
coffee, "the real adventure commences. It is a quarter to five now;
we will take it easy for half an hour and then set off to the harbour
and get aboard."

Accordingly, as soon as we had finished our meal, we seated
ourselves in lounge chairs and lit cigars. For half an hour we
discussed the events of the evening, speculated as to the future,
and, exactly as the clock struck a quarter-past five, rose to our
feet again. Nikola rang a bell and his principal boy entered.

"I am going away," said Nikola. "I don't know when I shall be
back. It may be a week, it may be a year. In the meantime you will
take care of this house; you will not let one thing be stolen; and if
when I come back I find a window broken or as much as a pin missing
I'll saddle you with ten million devils. Mr. McAndrew will pay your
wages and look after you. If you want anything go to him. Do you
understand?"

The boy nodded.

"That will do," said Nikola. "You can go."

As the servant left the room my curious friend gave a strange
whistle. Next moment the black cat came trotting in, sprang on her
master's knee and crawled up onto his shoulder. Nikola looked at me
and smiled.

"He will not forget me if I am away five years," he said. "What
wife would be so constant?"

I laughed; the idea of Nikola and matrimony somehow did not
harmonize very well. He lifted the cat down and placed him on the
table.

"Apollyon," said he, with the only touch of regret I saw him show
throughout the trip, "we have to part for a year. Good-bye, old cat,
good-bye."

Then having stroked the animal gently once or twice he turned
briskly to me.

"Come along," he said; "let us be off. Time presses."

The cat sat on the table watching him and appearing to understand
every word he uttered. Nikola stroked its fur for the last time, and
then walked out of the room. I followed at his heels and together we
passed into the compound. By this time the streets were crowded. A
new day had begun in Shanghai, and we had no difficulty in obtaining
'rickshaws.

"The Vectis Queen," said Nikola, as soon as we were seated.
The coolies immediately started off at a run, and in something under
a quarter of an hour we had reached the wharf side of the Hwang-Pu
River. The boat we were in search of lay well out in the stream, and
for this reason it was necessary that we should charter a sampan to
reach her.

Arriving on board we interviewed the purser, and, after we had
paid our fares, were conducted to our cabins. The Vectis
Queen, as all the East knows, is not a large steamer, and her
accommodation is, well, to say the least of it, limited. But at this
particular time of year there were not a great many people
travelling, consequently we were not overcrowded. As soon as I had
arranged my baggage, I left my cabin and went on deck. Small is the
world! Hardly had I stepped out of the companion-ladder before I was
accosted by a man with whom I had been well acquainted on the
Australian coastal service, but whom I thought at the other end of
the earth.

"Why, Wilfred Bruce!" he cried. "Who'd have thought of seeing
you here!"

"Jim Downing!" I cried, not best pleased, as you may suppose, at
seeing him. "How long have you been in China?"

"Getting on for a year," he answered, "I came up with one of our
boats, had a row with the skipper, and left her in Hong-Kong. After
that I joined this line. But though I don't think much of the
Chinkies, I am fairly well satisfied. You're looking pretty well, old
man; but it seems to me you've got precious sunburnt since I saw you
last."

"It's the effect of too much rice," I said with a smile.

He laughed with the spontaneous gaiety of a man who is ready to be
amused by anything, however simple, and then we walked up the deck
together. As we turned to retrace our steps, Nikola emerged from the
companion-hatch and joined us. I introduced Downing to him, and in
five minutes you would have supposed them friends of years' standing.
Before they had been together a quarter of an hour Nikola had given
him a prescription for prickly-heat, from which irritation Downing
suffered considerably, and as soon as this proved successful, the
young man's gratitude and admiration were boundless. By
breakfast-time we were well down the river, and by midday Shanghai
lay far behind us.

Throughout the voyage Nikola was in his best spirits; he joined in
all the amusements, organized innumerable sports and games, and was
indefatigable in his exertions to amuse. And while I am on this
subject, let me say that there was one thing which struck me as being
even more remarkable than anything else in the character of this
extraordinary man, and that was his extreme fondness for children.
There was one little boy in particular on board, a wee toddler
scarcely four years old, with whom Nikola soon established himself on
terms of intimacy; he would play with him for hours at a stretch,
never tiring, and never for one moment allowing his attention to
wander from the matter in hand. I must own that when I saw them
amusing themselves together under the lee of one of the boats on the
promenade deck, on the hatchways, or beneath the awning aft, I could
scarcely believe my eyes. I had to ask myself if this man, whose
entire interest seemed to be centred on paper boats, and pigs cut out
of orange peel, could be the same Nikola from whom Wetherell,
ex-Colonial Secretary of New South Wales, had fled in London as from
a pestilence, and at the sight of whom Benwell, of the Chinese
Revenue Service, had excused himself, and rushed out of the club in
Shanghai. That, however, was just Nikola's character. If he were
making a paper boat, cutting a pig out of orange peel, weaving a plot
round a politician, or endeavouring to steal the secret of an
all-powerful society, he would give the matter in hand his whole
attention, make himself master of every detail, and never leave it
till he had achieved his object, or had satisfied himself that it was
useless for him to work at it any longer. In the latter case he would
drop it without a second thought.

Throughout the voyage Laohwan, though we saw him repeatedly, did
not for a moment allow it to be supposed that he knew us. He was
located on the forward deck, and, as far as we could gather, spent
his whole time playing fan-tan with half-a-dozen compatriots
on the cover of the forehatch.

The voyage up the coast was not an exciting one, but at last, at
sunset one evening, we reached Tientsin, which, as all the world
knows, is a treaty port located at the confluence of the Yu-Ho, or
Grand Canal, with the river Pei-Ho. As soon as we came alongside the
jetty, we collected our baggage and went ashore. Here another thing
struck me. Nikola seemed to be as well known in this place as he was
in Shanghai, and as soon as we arrived on the Bund called 'rickshaws,
and the coolies conveyed us, without asking a question, to the
residence of a certain Mr. Williams in the European Concession.

This proved to be a house of modest size, built in the fashion
usual in that part of the East. As we alighted from our 'rickshaws, a
tall, elderly man, with a distinctly handsome cast of countenance,
came into the verandah to welcome us. Seeing Nikola, he for a moment
appeared to be overcome with surprise.

"Can it be possible that I see Dr. Nikola?" he cried.

"It is not only possible, but quite certain that you do," said
Nikola, who signed to the coolie to lift his bag out, and then went
up the steps. "It is two years since I had the pleasure of seeing
you, Mr. Williams, and now I look at you you don't seem to have
changed much since we taught Mah Feng that lesson in Seoul."

"You have not forgotten that business then, Dr. Nikola?"

"No more than Mah P'eng had when I saw him last in Singapore," my
companion answered with a short laugh.

"And what can I do for you now?"

"I want you to let us tax your hospitality for a few hours," said
Nikola. "This is my friend, Mr. Bruce, with whom I am engaged on an
important piece of work."

"I am delighted to make your acquaintance, sir," said Mr.
Williams, and having shaken hands with me he escorted us into the
house.

Ten minutes later we were quite at home in his residence, and were
waiting, myself impatiently, for a communication from Laohwan. And here
I must pay another tribute to Nikola's powers of self-concentration.
Anxious as the time was, peculiar as was our position, he did not waste
a moment in idle conjecture, but taking from his travelling bag an
abstruse work on chemistry, which was his invariable companion, settled
himself down to a study of it; even when the messenger did come he did
not stop at once, but continued the calculations upon which he was
engaged until they were finished, when he directed Laohwan to inform him
as to the progress he had made.

"Your arrival," said the latter, "is expected, and though I have
not been to the place, I have learned that preparations are being
made for your reception."

"In that case you had better purchase ponies and have the men in
readiness, for in all probability we shall leave for Pekin to-morrow
morning."

"At what time will your Excellency visit the house?" asked
Laohwan.

"Some time between half-past ten and eleven this evening,"
answered Nikola; and thereupon our trusty retainer left us.

At seven o'clock our evening meal was served, After it was
finished I smoked a pipe in the verandah while Nikola went into a
neighbouring room for half an hour's earnest conversation with our
host. When he returned he informed me that it was time for us to
dress, and thereupon we went to our respective rooms and attired
ourselves in our Chinese costumes. Having done this we let ourselves
out by a side door and set off for the native city. It was fully
half-past ten before we reached it, but for an infinity of reasons we
preferred to allow those who were expecting us to wait rather than we
should betray any appearance of hurry.

Any one who has had experience of Tientsin will bear me out when I
say that of all the dirty and pestilential holes this earth of ours
possesses, there are very few to equal it, and scarcely one that can
surpass it. Narrow, irregular streets, but little wider than an
average country lane in England, run in and out, and twist and twine
in every conceivable direction. Overhead the second stories of the
houses, decorated with sign-boards, streamers and flags, almost touch
each other, so that even in the middle of the day a peculiar, dim,
religious light prevails. At night, as may be supposed, it is pitch
dark. And both by day and night it smells abominably.

Arriving at the end of the street to which we had been directed,
we left our conveyances, and proceeded for the remainder of the
distance on foot. Halfway down this particular thoroughfare--which
was a little wider, and certainly a degree more respectable than its
neighbours--we were met by Loahwan, who conducted us to the house of
which we were in search.

In outward appearance it was not unlike its fellows, was one story
high, had large overhanging eaves, a sort of trellis-shielded
verandah, and a low, arched doorway. Upon this last our Chinese
companion thumped with his fist, and at the third repetition the door
was opened. Laohwan said something in a low voice to the janitor, who
thereupon admitted us.

"There is but one sun," said the guardian of the gate humbly.

"But there be many stars," said Nikola; whereupon the man led us
as far as the second door in the passage. Arriving at this he
muttered a few words. It was instantly opened, and we stepped inside
to find another man waiting for us, holding a queer-shaped lamp in
his hand. Without questioning us he intimated that we should follow
him, which we did, down a long passage, to bring up finally at a
curtained archway. Drawing the curtain aside, he bade us pass
through, and then redrew it after us.

On the other side of the arch we found ourselves in a large room,
the floor, walls, and ceiling of which were made of some dark wood,
probably teak. It was unfurnished save for a few scrolled banners
suspended at regular intervals upon the walls, and a few cushions in
a corner. When we entered it was untenanted, but we had not long to
wait before our solitude was interrupted. I had turned to speak to
Nikola, who was examining a banner on the left wall, when suddenly a
quiet footfall behind me attracted my attention. I wheeled quickly
round to find myself confronted by a Chinaman whose age could
scarcely have been less than eighty years. His face was wrinkled like
a sun-dried crab-apple, his hair was almost white, and he walked with
a stick. One thing struck me as particularly curious about his
appearance. Though the house in which we found ourselves was by no
means a small one, though it showed every sign of care, and in places
even betokened the possession of considerable wealth on the part of
its owner, this old man, who was undoubtedly the principal personage
in it, was clad in garments that evidenced the deepest poverty. When
he reached Nikola, whom he seemed to consider, as indeed did every
one else, the chief of our party, he bowed low before him, and after
the invariable compliments had been exchanged, said:

"Your Excellency has been anxiously expected. All the arrangements
for your progress onward have been made this week past."

"I was detained in Tsan-Chu," said Nikola. "Now tell me what has
been done?"

"News has been sent on to Pekin," said the old man, "and the
chief priest will await you in the Llamaserai. I can tell you no
more."

"I am satisfied. And now let us know what has been said about my
coming."

"It is said that they who have chosen have chosen wisely."

"That is good," said Nikola. "Now leave us; I am tired and would
be alone. I shall remain the night in this house and go onwards at
daybreak to-morrow morning. See that I am not disturbed."

The old man assured Nikola that his wishes should be respected,
and having done so left the room. After he had gone Nikola drew me to
the further end of the apartment and whispered hurriedly:

"I see it all now. Luck is playing into our hands. If I can only
get hold of the two men I want to carry this business through, I'll
have the society's secret or die in the attempt. Listen to me. When
we arrived to-night I learnt from Williams, who knows almost as much
of the under life of China as I do myself, that what I suspected has
already taken place. In other words, after this long interval, there
has been an election to fill the place of the man whom China Pete
killed in the Llamaserai to obtain possession of that stick. The man
chosen is the chief priest of the Llama temple of Hankow, a most
religious and extraordinary person. He is expected in Pekin either
this week or next. Misled by Laohwan, these people have mistaken me
for him, and I mean that they shall continue in their error. If they
find that we are hoodwinking them we are dead men that instant, but
if they don't and we can keep this other man out of the way, we stand
an excellent chance of getting from them all we want to know. It is a
tremendous risk, but as it is an opportunity that might never come
again, we must make the most of it. Now attend carefully to me. It
would never do for me to leave this place to-night, but it is m