.. and had seen the flecks at the roots of
his dyed hair, blanched by the terrors of that vigil--of that watching,
from moment to moment, for the second coming of Ho-Pin.
Yes, the morning had dawned, and with it a faint courage. He had shaved
and prepared himself for his singular duties, and Said had brought
him his breakfast as usual. The day had passed uneventfully, and once,
meeting Ho-Pin, he had found himself greeted with the same mirthless
smile but with no menace. Perhaps they had believed his story, or had
disbelieved it but realized that he was too closely bound to them to be
dangerous.
Then his mind had reverted to the conversation overheard in the
music-hall. Should he seek to curry favor with his employers by
acquainting them with the fact that, contrary to Gianapolis' assertion,
an important clue had fallen into the hands of the police? Did they
know this already? So profound was his belief in the omniscience of
the invisible Mr. King that he could not believe that Power ignorant of
anything appertaining to himself.
Yet it was possible that those in the catacombs were unaware how
Scotland Yard, night and day, quested for Mr. King. The papers made no
mention of it; but then the papers made no mention of another fact--the
absence of Mrs.
Pages:
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358