Free The Return of Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer Page A

door
to no one—no one. Explain who I am—"
    "But if it is the inspector?—"
    "I said, open the door to no one!" snapped Smith.
    "Burke, stand exactly where you are! Carter, you can speak to
whoever knocks, through the letter-box. Petrie, don't move for your
life! It may be here, in the hallway!—"

Chapter 9 THE CLIMBER
    Our search of the house of Abel Slattin ceased only with the
coming of the dawn, and yielded nothing but disappointment. Failure
followed upon failure; for, in the gray light of the morning, our
own quest concluded, Inspector Weymouth returned to report that the
girl, Karamaneh, had thrown him off the scent.
    Again he stood before me, the big, burly friend of old and
dreadful days, a little grayer above the temples, which I set down
for a record of former horrors, but deliberate, stoical, thorough,
as ever. His blue eyes melted in the old generous way as he saw me,
and he gripped my hand in greeting.
    "Once again," he said, "your dark-eyed friend has been too
clever for me, Doctor. But the track as far as I could follow,
leads to the old spot. In fact,"—he turned to Smith, who,
grim-faced and haggard, looked thoroughly ill in that gray light—"I
believe Fu-Manchu's lair is somewhere near the former opium-den of
Shen-Yan—'Singapore Charlie.'"
    Smith nodded.
    "We will turn our attention in that direction," he replied, "at
a very early date."
    Inspector Weymouth looked down at the body of Abel Slattin.
    "How was it done?" he asked softly.
    "Clumsily for Fu-Manchu," I replied. "A snake was introduced
into the house by some means—"
    "By Karamaneh!" rapped Smith.
    "Very possibly by Karamaneh," I continued firmly. "The thing has
escaped us."
    "My own idea," said Smith, "is that it was concealed about his
clothing. When he fell by the open door it glided out of the house.
We must have the garden searched thoroughly by daylight."
    "He"—Weymouth glanced at that which lay upon the floor—"must be
moved; but otherwise we can leave the place untouched, clear out
the servants, and lock the house up."
    "I have already given orders to that effect," answered Smith. He
spoke wearily and with a note of conscious defeat in his voice.
"Nothing has been disturbed;"—he swept his arm around
comprehensively—"papers and so forth you can examine at
leisure."
    Presently we quitted that house upon which the fateful Chinaman
had set his seal, as the suburb was awakening to a new day. The
clank of milk-cans was my final impression of the avenue to which a
dreadful minister of death had come at the bidding of the death
lord. We left Inspector Weymouth in charge and returned to my
rooms, scarcely exchanging a word upon the way.
    Nayland Smith, ignoring my entreaties, composed himself for
slumber in the white cane chair in my study. About noon he retired
to the bathroom, and returning, made a pretense of breakfast; then
resumed his seat in the cane armchair. Carter reported in the
afternoon, but his report was merely formal. Returning from my
round of professional visits at half past five, I found Nayland
Smith in the same position; and so the day waned into evening, and
dusk fell uneventfully.
    In the corner of the big room by the empty fireplace, Nayland
Smith lay, with his long, lean frame extended in the white cane
chair. A tumbler, from which two straws protruded, stood by his
right elbow, and a perfect continent of tobacco smoke lay between
us, wafted toward the door by the draught from an open window. He
had littered the hearth with matches and tobacco ash, being the
most untidy smoker I have ever met; and save for his frequent
rapping-out of his pipe bowl and perpetual striking of matches, he
had shown no sign of activity for the past hour. Collarless and
wearing an old tweed jacket, he had spent the evening, as he had
spent the day, in the cane chair, only quitting it for some ten
minutes, or less, to toy with dinner.
    My several attempts at conversation had elicited nothing but
growls; therefore, as dusk descended,