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Page 20
"You mean that you can no longer rely upon me?"
I said angrily.
Smith grasped my hand, and met my rather frigid stare with a look
of real concern on his gaunt, bronzed face.
"My dear old chap," he answered, "that was really unkind.
You know that I meant something totally different."
"It's all right, Smith;" I said, immediately ashamed of my choler, and wrung
his hand heartily. "I can pretend to smoke opium as well as another.
I shall be going, too, Inspector."
As a result of this little passage of words, some twenty minutes
later two dangerous-looking seafaring ruffians entered a waiting cab,
accompanied by Inspector Weymouth, and were driven off into
the wilderness of London's night. In this theatrical business
there was, to my mind, something ridiculous--almost childish--
and I could have laughed heartily had it not been that grim
tragedy lurked so near to farce.
The mere recollection that somewhere at our journey's end Fu-Manchu
awaited us was sufficient to sober my reflections--Fu-Manchu, who,
with all the powers represented by Nayland Smith pitted against him,
pursued his dark schemes triumphantly, and lurked in hiding within
this very area which was so sedulously patrolled--Fu-Manchu, whom
I had never seen, but whose name stood for horrors indefinable!
Perhaps I was destined to meet the terrible Chinese doctor to-night.
I ceased to pursue a train of thought which promised to lead to morbid depths,
and directed my attention to what Smith was saying.
"We will drop down from Wapping and reconnoiter, as you say the place
is close to the riverside. Then you can put us ashore somewhere below.
Ryman can keep the launch close to the back of the premises, and your fellows
will be hanging about near the front, near enough to hear the whistle."
"Yes," assented Weymouth; "I've arranged for that.
If you are suspected, you shall give the alarm?"
"I don't know," said Smith thoughtfully. "Even in that event
I might wait awhile."
"Don't wait too long," advised the Inspector. "We shouldn't be
much wiser if your next appearance was on the end of a grapnel,
somewhere down Greenwich Reach, with half your fingers missing."
The cab pulled up outside the river police depot, and Smith and I
entered without delay, four shabby-looking fellows who had been
seated in the office springing up to salute the Inspector,
who followed us in.
"Guthrie and Lisle," he said briskly, "get along and find a dark corner
which commands the door of Singapore Charlie's off the old Highway.
You look the dirtiest of the troupe, Guthrie; you might drop asleep
on the pavement, and Lisle can argue with you about getting home.
Don't move till you hear the whistle inside or have my orders,
and note everybody that goes in and comes out. You other two belong
to this division?"
The C.I.D. men having departed, the remaining pair saluted again.
"Well, you're on special duty to-night. You've been prompt,
but don't stick your chests out so much. Do you know of a back
way to Shen-Yan's?"
The men looked at one another, and both shook their heads.
"There's an empty shop nearly opposite, sir," replied one of them.
"I know a broken window at the back where we could climb in.
Then we could get through to the front and watch from there."
"Good!" cried the Inspector. "See you are not spotted, though; and if you
hear the whistle, don't mind doing a bit of damage, but be inside Shen-Yan's
like lightning. Otherwise, wait for orders."
Inspector Ryman came in, glancing at the clock.
"Launch is waiting," he said.
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