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Page 40
The nature of the fluid which could produce such mental symptoms
was a mystery--a mystery which defied Western science:
one of the many strange secrets of Dr. Fu-Manchu.
CHAPTER X
SINCE Nayland Smith's return from Burma I had rarely taken up a paper
without coming upon evidences of that seething which had cast up
Dr. Fu-Manchu. Whether, hitherto, such items had escaped my attention
or had seemed to demand no particular notice, or whether they now became
increasingly numerous, I was unable to determine.
One evening, some little time after our sojourn in Norfolk,
in glancing through a number of papers which I had brought in with me,
I chanced upon no fewer than four items of news bearing more or less
directly upon the grim business which engaged my friend and I.
No white man, I honestly believe, appreciates the unemotional cruelty
of the Chinese. Throughout the time that Dr. Fu-Manchu remained in England,
the press preserved a uniform silence upon the subject of his existence.
This was due to Nayland Smith. But, as a result, I feel assured
that my account of the Chinaman's deeds will, in many quarters,
meet with an incredulous reception.
I had been at work, earlier in the evening, upon the opening
chapters of this chronicle, and I had realized how difficult
it would be for my reader, amid secure and cozy surroundings,
to credit any human being with a callous villainy great enough
to conceive and to put into execution such a death pest
as that directed against Sir Crichton Davey.
One would expect God's worst man to shrink from employing--
against however vile an enemy--such an instrument as the Zayat Kiss.
So thinking, my eye was caught by the following:--
EXPRESS CORRESPONDENT
NEW YORK.
"Secret service men of the United States Government are searching
the South Sea Islands for a certain Hawaiian from the island
of Maui, who, it is believed, has been selling poisonous scorpions
to Chinese in Honolulu anxious to get rid of their children.
"Infanticide, by scorpion and otherwise, among the Chinese,
has increased so terribly that the authorities have started
a searching inquiry, which has led to the hunt for the scorpion
dealer of Maui.
"Practically all the babies that die mysteriously are unwanted girls,
and in nearly every case the parents promptly ascribe the death to the bite
of a scorpion, and are ready to produce some more or less poisonous insect
in support of the statement.
"The authorities have no doubt that infanticide by scorpion
bite is a growing practice, and orders have been given to hunt
down the scorpion dealer at any cost."
Is it any matter for wonder that such a people had produced a
Fu-Manchu? I pasted the cutting into a scrap-book, determined that,
if I lived to publish my account of those days, I would quote it
therein as casting a sidelight upon Chinese character.
A Reuter message to The Globe and a paragraph in The
Star also furnished work for my scissors. Here were evidences
of the deep-seated unrest, the secret turmoil, which manifested
itself so far from its center as peaceful England in the person
of the sinister Doctor.
"HONG KONG, Friday.
"Li Hon Hung, the Chinaman who fired at the Governor yesterday,
was charged before the magistrate with shooting at him with
intent to kill, which is equivalent to attempted murder.
The prisoner, who was not defended, pleaded guilty.
The Assistant Crown Solicitor, who prosecuted, asked for a remand
until Monday, which was granted.
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