Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-12-01

Nayland Smith stared at him hxedly.
"a water rat? Now that you come to
| mention 1t, l perceive a certain resem-
| blance-yes But'-he had been wearing
| a silk scarf about his throat and now he
unwrapped it-"did you ever see water
rat that could make marks like these?"
Weymouth started to his feet with some
muttercd exclamation
What is this?" he cried. when did
1t happen, and how?
In his own terse fashion. Nayland Smith
related the happenings OF the night At
the conclusion of the story:
by heavenw whispered Weymouth
the thing on the roof-the coughing thing
that goes on all fours, seen by Burke.
MY own idea exactly!" cried Smith.
"Fu-Manchu," l said eNcitedy. has
brought some new, some dreadful crea-
ture from Burma "
mo, Petrie," snapped Smith, turning
upon me suddenly. mot from Burma
from Abyssinia."
Within my view, from the corner of
the room where l sat in deepest shadow,
through the partly opened window ut
was screwed, like our own were rows
of glass houses cleaning i'm the noon
light, and. beyond them, orderly ranks
OF Hover beds extending into blue haze
OF distance. BY reason of the moons
position, no light entered the room, but
my eyes, from long watching, were grown
familiar with the darkness, and I could
see Burke quite clearly as he lay I'm the
bed between my post and the window. [
seemed to be back again in those days
OF the troubled past when first Nayland
Smith and had come to grips with the
servants of DIR. Fu-Manchu. more
peaceful scene than this flower planted
corner of Essex 1t would be difficult to
imagine; but, either because of my knowl-
edge that its peace was chimercal, or
because of that outfung consciousness of
danger which, actually, or in my imagi-
nation preceded the coming Of the
Chinamans agents, to my seeming the
silence throbbed electrically and the night
was laden with stily omens.
Already cramped by my journey in the
market cart, | found it difficult to re-
main very long in any one position.
What information had Burke to sell? He
had refused, for some reason, to discuss
the matter of that evening. and now en-
acting the part allotted him by Nayiand
Smith, he feigned sleep consistently. al
though at intervals he would whisper to
me his doubts and fears.
All the chances were in our favor to-
night for while / could not doubt that
DIR. Fu-Manchu was set upon the removal
of the eX-ofiicer of New York police,
neither could / doubt that our presence
at the farm was unknown to the agents
of the Chinaman. According to Burke
constant attempts had been made to
achieve Fu-Manchu's purpose, and had
only been frustrated by his CBurkes)
wakefulness There was every prob
ability that another attempt would be
made tonight.
Any one who has been forced by cir
cumstance to undertake such vigil as
this will be familiar with the marked
changes corresponding with phases of
the earths movement which take place |
in the atmosphere Mt midnight at two |
o'clock. and again at four o'clock. Dur
ing those four hours falls n period |
wherein all life is at its lowest ebb, and |
every physician is aware that there is |
n greater likelihood of n patients pass
ing between midnight and four a. m. than |
at any other period during the cycle of
the hours.
Tonight | became specially aware of |
this lowering of vitality, and now with
the night at that darkest phase which |
precedes the dawn, an indescribable .
dread, such as l had known before in my
dealings with the Chinaman assailed me
when | was least prepared to combat 1t.
The stiffness was intense. Then: Here .
1t is!'' whispered Burke from the bed
The chill at the very centre of my
being, which but corresponded with the
chill of all surrounding nature at that
hour, became intensified, keener, at the
whispered words.
| rose stealthily out of my chair, and
from my nest of shadows watched
watched intently, the bright obong of
the window.
Without the slightest heraldng sound
4 black silhouette crept up against the
pane the silhouette of a small.
head, a doglike head, deep set
n square shoulders Malignant eyes
)eered intently in. Higher it rose-that
wicked head-against the window then
,rouched down on the sill and became less
sharply defined as the creature stoopcd