Part 39 (1/2)

”To humour him I guessed five pounds. He laughed with scorn.

”'Five pounds! O ye G.o.ds! Why, as a bit of stick it's not worth five pence, but for what it really is there is not money enough in the world to purchase it. If I could get about again I would make myself the richest and most powerful man on earth with it. If you could only guess one particle of the dangers I've been through to get it you would die of astonishment. And the irony of it all is that now I've got it I can't make use of it. On six different occasions the priests of the Llamaserai in Peking have tried to murder me to get hold of it. I brought it down from the centre of China disguised as a wandering beggar. That business connected with the murder of the Chinaman on board the s.h.i.+p, against which you defended me, was on account of it. And now I lie here dying like a dog, with the key to over ten millions in my hand. Nikola has tried for five years to obtain it, without success however. He little dreams I've got it after all. If he did I'd be a dead man by now.'

”'Who is this Nikola then?' I asked.

”'Dr. Nikola? Well, he's Nikola, and that's all I can tell you. If you're a wise man you'll want to know no more. Ask the Chinese mothers nursing their almond-eyed sp.a.w.n in Peking who he is; ask the j.a.panese, ask the Malays, the Hindoos, the Burmese, the coal porters in Port Said, the Buddhist priests of Ceylon; ask the King of Corea, the men up in Thibet, the Spanish priests in Manilla, or the Sultan of Borneo, the ministers of Siam, or the French in Saigon--they'll all know Dr. Nikola and his cat, and, take my word, they fear him.'

”I looked at the little stick in my hand and wondered if the man had gone mad.

”'What do you wish me to do with this?' I asked.

”'Take it away with you,' he answered, 'and guard it like your life, and when you have occasion, use it. Remember you have in your hand what will raise a million men and the equivalent of over ten mil----'

”At this point a violent fit of coughing seized him and nearly tore him to pieces. I lifted him up a little in the bed, but before I could take my hands away a stream of blood had gushed from his lips. Like a flash of thought I ran to the door to call the girl, the boy on the stairs re-echoed my shout, and in less time than it takes to tell the woman was in the room. But we were too late--_China Pete was dead_.

”After giving her all the money I had about me to pay for the funeral, I bade her good-bye, and with the little stick in my pocket returned to my home. Once there I sat myself down in my study, took my legacy out of my pocket and carefully examined it. As to its peculiar power and value, as described to me by the dead man, I hardly knew what to think. My own private opinion was that China Pete was not sane at the time he told me.

And yet, how was I to account for the affray with the Chinaman on the boat, and the evident desire the Celestials in Sydney had to obtain information concerning it? After half an hour's consideration of it I locked it up in a drawer of my safe and went upstairs to bed.

”Next day China Pete was buried, and by the end of the month I had well-nigh forgotten that he had ever existed, and had hardly thought of his queer little gift, which still reposed in the upper drawer of my safe. But I was to hear more of it later on.

”One night, about a month after my coming into possession of the stick, my wife and I entertained a few friends at dinner.

”As the clock struck eleven I said good-night to the last of my guests upon the door-step. The carriage had not gone fifty yards down the street before a hansom drew up before my door and a man dressed in a heavy cloak jumped out. Bidding the driver wait for him he ran up my steps.

”'Mr. Wetherell, I believe?' he said. I nodded and wished him 'good-evening,' at the same time asking his business.

”'I will tell you with pleasure,' he answered, 'if you will permit me five minutes alone with you. It is most important, and as I leave Sydney early to-morrow morning you will see that there is not much time to spare.'

”I led the way into the house and to my study, which was in the rear, overlooking the garden. Once there I bade him be seated, taking up my position at my desk.

”Then, in the light of the lamp, I became aware of the extraordinary personality of my visitor. He looked at me very searchingly for a moment and then said: 'My business will surprise you a little I expect, Mr.

Wetherell. First, if you will allow me I will tell you something about myself and then ask you a question. You must understand that I am pretty well known as an Eastern traveller; from Port Said to the Kuriles there is hardly a place with which I am not acquainted. I have a hobby. I am a collector of Eastern curios, but there is one thing I have never been able to obtain.'

”'And that is?'

”'A Chinese executioner's symbol of office.'

”'But how can I help you in that direction?' I asked, completely mystified.

”'By selling me one that has lately come into your possession,' he said.

'It is a little black stick, about three inches long and covered with Chinese characters. I happened to hear, quite by chance, that you had one in your possession, and I have taken a journey of some thousands of miles to endeavour to purchase it from you.'

”I went across to the safe, unlocked it, and took out the little stick China Pete had given me. When I turned round I almost dropped it with surprise as I saw the look of eagerness that rose in my visitor's face.

But he pulled himself together and said, as calmly as he had yet addressed me:

”'That is the very thing. If you will allow me to purchase it, it will complete my collection. What value do you place upon it?'

”'I have no sort of notion of its worth,' I answered, putting it down on the table and looking at it. Then in a flash a thought came into my brain, and I was about to speak when he addressed me again.

”'Of course my reason for wis.h.i.+ng to buy it is rather a hare-brained one, but if you care to let me have it I will give you fifty pounds for it with pleasure.'