"Although I am afraid I cannot enlighten you respecting the end
of the story," he said quietly, "perhaps I can carry it a step
further."
"Really, Doctor? What do you know about the matter?"
"I accidentally became implicated as follows," replied the
American: "I was, as you know, doing voluntary surgical work near
Singapore at the time, and one evening, presumably about the same
period of which Knox is speaking, I was returning from the
hospital at Katong, at which I acted sometimes as anaesthetist,
to my quarters in Singapore; just drifting along, leisurely by
the edge of the gardens admiring the beauty of the mangroves and
the deceitful peace of the Eastern night.
"The hour was fairly late and not a soul was about. Nothing
disturbed the silence except those vague sibilant sounds which
are so characteristic of the country. Presently, as I rambled on
with my thoughts wandering back to the dim ages, I literally fell
over a man who lay in the road.
"I was naturally startled, but I carried an electric pocket
torch, and by its light I discovered that the person over whom I
had fallen was a dignified-looking Chinaman, somewhat past middle
age. His clothes, which were of good quality, were covered with
dirt and blood, and he bore all the appearance of having recently
been engaged in a very tough struggle.
Pages:
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323