Evening star., 1913-12-07

Ac.ord,neI.. / followed Nes mouth up
stairs and was admitted By his vie to
neat little bedroom. where the griei-stricken
woman lay, wanly pathetic sight
did you administer the sleeping drausnt.
as drectedo'' / asked.
Mrs James Weymouth nodded. She was
4 kindly looking woman. with the same dread
haunting her hazel eyes as thal "hieii i1i Aeu
~ her husbands blue ones.
The patient was sleeping souidly Some
whispered instructions gave 10 the faitnfoi
nurse and descended to the sitting foosil- L
was warm night, and Weymouth sat d.
the open window smoking. The dim iSne
from the lamp on the table lent him an almos-
startling likeness to his brother, and fo- a
moment stood at the foot Of the stars.
scarce able to trust my reason. Ihen he
armed his face fully toward me, and the liia-
sion was lost
Do you think she is likely to wake
1octor?' he asked,
Il think not | replied.
Nayland Smith stood upon the rug before
the hearth, swinging from one foot to the
other in his nervously restless way. The
room was foggy with the fumes o. TOBACCO
for he too, was smoking. At intervals OF
some five to ten minutes, his blackened briar
(Which I never knew him to clean or scrape)
would go out. ! think Smith used more
matches
met and he invariably carried three boxes IN
various pockets of his garments.
The tobacco habit is infectious. and seat
ing myself in an armchair, lighted a cigar
,;te For this dreary vigil ! had come pre-
pared with a bundle of rough notes, writing
oock and a fountain pen- l settled down to
rork upon my record of the Fu-Manchu case
Silence fell upon Maple Cottage. Save Tor
i.e shuddering sigh which whispered through
he overhanging cedars and Smiths eternal
match striking. nothing was there to disturb
me in my task. Yet l could make little
progress. Between my mind and the chapter
Upon which / was at work certain sentence
,ersistently intruded itself. 1t was as though
an unseen hand held the written page closely
before my eyes. This was the sentences:
Imagine a person, tall, lean and feline.
h!gh-shouldered with brow like Shake
speare and face like Satan, close-shaven
skull and long, magnetic eyes OF the true
cat-Sreen investing him with all the cruel
cunning Of entire eastern race. accumu-
IA ted in one giant intellect"
Doctor Fu-Manchu. Fu-Manchu as Smith
had described him to me on that night which
now seemed so remotely distant-the night
upon which had learned of the existence OF
the wonderful and evil being born of that
secret quickening which stirred in the womb
OF the yellow races!
AS Smith, for the ninth or tenth time.
knocked out his pipe on a bar Of the CRATE.
the cuckoo clock in the kitchen proclaimed
the hour.
Two" said James Weymouth.
abandoned my task, replacing notes and
writing block in the bag that l had with
Weymouth adjusted the lamp. which
had begun to smoke.
I tiptoed to the stairs and stepping softly,
ascended to the sick room. All was quiet.
and Mrs. Weymouth whispered to me that
ne patient still slept soundiy. I returned to
md Nayland Smith pacing about the room
n that state of suppressed excitement
habitual with him in the approach Of any
rrisis. At quarter past two the breeze
dropped entirely. and a stiffness reigned all
about such as could not have supposed
possible near to the ever-throbbing heart
OF the great metropolis Plainly could hear
Weymouth's heavy breathing. He sat at the
window and looked out into the black shad
ows under the cedars. Smith ceased his pac-
ing and stood again on the rug very STILL He
was listening; l doubt not we were all
listening.
Some faint sound broke the impressive
stiffness coming from the direction of the vii
lage street 1t was vague. indefinite. dis
turbance. brief, and upon it ensued a silence
more marked than ever. Some minutes