Hi Wing Ho
only escaped from the establishment of Cohenberg by dint of
sandbagging the moneylender, and quitted the town by a boat which
left the same night. On the voyage he was indiscreet enough to
take the diamond from its hiding-place and surreptitiously to
examine it. Another member of the Chinese crew, one Li Ping--
otherwise Ah Fu, the accredited agent of old Huang Chow!--was
secretly watching our friend, and, knowing that he possessed this
valuable jewel, he also learned where he kept it hidden. At Suez
Ah Fu attacked Hi Wing Ho and secured possession of the diamond.
It was to secure possession of the diamond that Ah Fu had gone
out East. I don't doubt it. He employed Hi Wing Ho--and Hi Wing
Ho tried to double on him!
"We are indebted to you, Mr. Knox, for some of the data upon
which we have reconstructed the foregoing and also for the next
link in the narrative. A fireman ashore from the Jupiter
intruded upon the scene at Suez and deprived Ah Fu of the fruits
of his labours. Hi Wing Ho seems to have been badly damaged in
the scuffle, but Ah Fu, the more wily of the two, evidently
followed the fireman, and, deserting from his own ship, signed on
with the Jupiter."
While this story was enlightening in some respects, it was
mystifying in others.
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