Evening Star Newspaper, August 1, 1937, Page 80

lliustrated by Jules Gotlieb CONCLUSION APTAIN WONG's Luger with its seven unfired bullets went skittering across the clay floor. Alred Long leaped over his prostrate body, plunged between two -spokes of the wheel and knocked the coolies right and left. Quickly he slashed the three thongs and Di-Di crashed down on all fours. Red sprang through the wheel, seized him by the collar and dragged him to his feet. Wong was already rising; Fu-Ming, Feng, Wah Ling and the two coolies, recovering, had started to close in. Red pointed at the door with his open knife. “Wo chiu yao ch’u ch’u!"’ he yelled. It was as though he had exploded a bomb. Amazement at hearing idiomatic Mandarin pour from his lips arrested every Chinaman in the room except Yin-Tsao-Feng. The old man’s reaction was exactly the opposite; he made a quick sweeping movement of his whole torso that brought him face to face with Long. “Quiet, my son,” he said in a tone of crush- ing authority. “‘I promise the others shall go — all of them save you and the mongrel you hold. You two shall settle this matter with Yin-Tsao-Feng alone.” His small head swiv- eled on his shoulders and darted toward Wong with the movement of a striking serperit. “Captain Wong, you heard? Clear the room!” Wong sprang forward with feverish agility, herding all before him so brusquely they choked the door. Aldyreff half carried Mrs. Bynne, jabbing his free elbow furiously into interfering Chinamen. The coolies crawled on hands and knees, scuttling like rats. Wong and his three satellites almost tumbled over them in their haste to obey Yin's angry command. The door shut behind them. Red, breathing hard and still holding Di-Di suspended like a sack, glared at Yin. Unnoticed, Tracy lay on the floor close to the wall behind the China- man, her bare head a spot of golden light within a tumbled heap of fur. “My son,” said Yin softly, “let us reason together. We are caught in a storm, you and THIS WEEK 1. We live within a storm, and storms threaten beyond the reach of our mortal eyes. The great man who is dead died but a single death. 1f the manner of his dying remains unsolved, ten thousand deaths may be heaped upon the one. I am convinced the cur you hold com- mitted the murder, but my personal convic- tion or yours or that of any other man cannot help China. Let us speak of China. Tell me, you who learned Mandarin at some Chinese breast, what would you do for China?”’ A vision of his childhood flooded Long’s eyes, purging them of anger. In his ears was the low laughter of Ah-Neur, the only mother he had ever known, and the shrill cries of Jing-La and Ah-Ching taunting him to come and play. Again, as in that faraway day in New York, he saw Hu-Lah, the eternal clown, trip Ji-Fah-Ling and send his whining water buckets splashing down the garden hill. In his nostrils the honeyed odor of locust trees in bloom fused into the memory of his father, pacing beneath them, uttering his reiterating dictum that all blood is red. White man, Indian, black man, yellow man — “Honorable sir,” said Long, ‘“you who know all things before they are told, it is true I was nursed at a Chinese breast. I came to help a great man on a noble mission, destined in our hopes to save millions of Chinese lives. Now the end and the method are tragically changed, but my debt remains. What can I do for China?” Yin-Tsao-Feng fumbled within his robes of heavy silk, drew out a gleaming bracelet and motioned downward with his fan. “Come hither,”” he said, ‘‘and bring the man who calls himself Di-Di with you.” Red and Di-Di stood before him. He called upon Red to ex- tend his left hand and Di-Di his rignt, close together. Quickly the thin steel bracelet came into play and the next instant their two wrists were handcuffed together. “You fought for his life,” resumed Yin. DI-DI WAS ON HIS FEET; THERE WAS A MOVEMENT AND RED'S FULL LENGTH SHOT OUT IN MID-AIR “Now take it; I give it into your keeping. If the Russian, Aldyreff, killed the great engineer, it is disastrous for China. If his wife or the young lady lying on the floor behind me killed him, it is less than nothing. That I know who killed him is also nothing. Only the proof mat- ters. Repay your debt to China, my son; bring me the proof.” Tracy raised her head, then drew into a sitting posture. She stared at the spectacle of Red manacled to Di-Di but her face remained blank, as though more than blood had been drained from her cheeks. She struggled to her feet, her eyes traveling slowly from Red’s handcuffed wrist to his face. “Tracy!” he cried. “You're all right?” “Yes,”” she answered apathetically. “Why shouldn’t I be?” Yin addressed her. “Miss Lloyd, you were Major Bynne’s secretary?” “Yes. Sometimes he flattered me by calling me his assistant.” ““You are trustworthy?’ asked Yin. “I am,” said Tracy simply. “] believe you,” said Yin. He beckoned with his fan and she stepped toward him. ‘I believe you so completely that I confide this key to your keeping. You still have a mission, one for which China is willing to pay and pay well.” “What is it?"”" asked Tracy, her fingers closing tightly on the small key. “It is to follow these two,” said Yin. “Should our energetic young friend succeed in the duty I have assigned him, you are to notify Captain Wong, and when he has secured the person of the prisoner, you are then em- powered to free Mr. Long — on no account before. Will you undertake the task?” “I will,” said Tracy. . Yin called. The door opened and his stew- ard entered. A few minutes later Long, with the limping Di-Di leaning heavily on him and followed by Tracy, issued into the walled street outside the compound. Only the three pullers they had previously employed re- mained and now dashed forward. Red found Magazine Section RALLBLOOD 15 REDY Concluding a new serial of love and intrigue in the Far East by GEORGE AGNEW CHAMBERLAIN Author of “All The King's Horses,’’ "’Marriage for Revenve,’’ “’Catuca,’’ *’Terror,”’ Etc. himself face to face with a serious dilemma. What enemy of romance and decency had invented the narrow single ricksha? Either he and Di-Di would have to ride with linked arms outstretched, proclaiming the shame of one of them to the whole world, or he would have to take the Jap in his lap. He ordered the top put up on his own vehicle, climbed in and dragged Di-Di in against his knees. Pre- occupation with his own discomfort had pre- vented his paying attention to Tracy; now he called out to her. “Everything all right, Tracy?” *“Quite all right,”’ she answered in a cglor- less tone. ““What's the matter?”’ “Nothing. Where are we going?”’ Long frowned. “To the hotel, I suppose. Where else is there to go?”’ Immediately his attention left her and fastened on the boy between his knees. ‘‘Say, Di-Di, you're a Jap, aren’t you?'’ Di-Di made no answer; he appeared not to have heard. Red shook him and repeated the question. Still no answer. He knocked up the boy’s chin and stared into the puttylike mass of his un- readable face. ‘‘Listen, you little worm! Do you think that wheel was torture? Answer me or I'll tear off your eyelids with my finger- nails.” Di-Di’s small eyes blinked and something approaching a smile drew his lips; the man who had saved him couldn’t frighten him. Red gave up in despair. Approaching the hotel he ordered the rickshas to the servants’ entrance, helped Di- Di to his feet and half carried him up the back stairs. To his surprise he found the door to the suite still unlocked and the sitting room vacant. He paused to glance curiously into the adjoining bedroom. It also was unoccupied; apparently Mrs. Bynne and Aldyreff had gone elsewhere. Still dragging Di-Di with him he returned to the main door, locked it and went to toss the key on the table ‘in front of - Tracy. “With that, instead of the one in your pocket, don’t you think it’s safe enough to turn me loose?”’ She looked at him in surprise. “No.” “Why not?”’ “‘Because I gave my word.”’ “But I'm offering you another key,” said Long, his cheeks flushing. ‘“Listen, Tracy; we’ve both got a job to do and I could handle my half a lot better if I were free. Can’t you see that?”’ *“It doesn’t matter whether I see it or not,” said Tracy coldly. “I made a promise and I'll keep it.” “What’s come over you?”’ exploded Red. “Didn’t I do the best I knew? Could I have acted any differently?”’ “I’m sure I don’t know,” said Tracy, ‘‘since I wasn'’t there.” “You weren’t there!” cried Red, bewil- dered. “Naturally!” said Tracy, sudden color ris- ing to her own cheeks. ‘“‘Apparently you and Mrs. Bynne didn’t care what a servant saw, but you’'d hardly have — "’ ‘“That!” interrupted Red with such genuine astonishment it wiped out all need for argu- ment. ‘“You don’t think I wanted to kiss her, do you?”’ Then his blank expression under- went an odd transformation. ‘‘Say, Tracy, I'm glad I did it and glad you found out. I thought it was merely reflection of the after- glow outdoors.” “What are you talking about?”’ “You. No man ever looked at anything lovelier than your face the way it is now. Give me that key; I need it worse than ever.” (Continved on page 10)