by Sax Rohmer
Almost, I ceased to breathe.
“What I have to say must be said briefly; it is for you to employ it to good purpose. Your Western world is locked in a stupid clash of arms. You have created a situation resembling those traffic blocks which once were a feature of London. The shadow of Russia, that deformed colossus, frightens the children of Europe, none more so than the deluded Germans; but since one cannot wield the sword at the same time as one guides the ploughshare, nations far distant tremble for their trade. This is where East meets West. The more equally the scales be weighted, the more certainly a decimal of a gramme added to one of them must tip it.”
The voice ceased; I feared that that which I most particularly wanted to hear was to be denied to me, but:
“I hold such a decimal of a gramme in my hand,” the cold guttural voice continued. “That dangerous meddler, Sir Lionel Barton, dreamed of outwitting me. He failed. Mention to him that Haiti, and not Panama, is the home of The Snapping Fingers. He captured Peko, the marmoset who shares all my secrets, including that of longevity. You are unaware of the fact, but I have twice attempted to recover him, and twice have been unsuccessful. In holding Peko I confess that you hold my heartstrings. In the wooden base upon which the head of Ica is mounted, you will find a small phial containing a heavy liquid resembling Chartreuse. Press the red indicator twice, when you have found it.”
Without hesitation (I wondered if anyone had ever disobeyed Dr. Fu-Manchu) I removed the shrivelled head, the base of which I found to be fixed in two grooves so that it could be pulled out from the box. I inverted it and saw that there was a sliding lid. Inside the cavity lay a phial and a tiny tortoiseshell snuff-box packed in cotton wool.
I reclosed this strange casket, replaced the head and followed instructions.
“You have in your hand,” the imperious voice responded, “that which means the life not merely of an animal. One minim, no more, is to be added to one gill of fresh goat’s milk. This must be given to the marmoset at once. Afterwards, the milk once daily, with the liqueur only on every third day. An added fragment of the powder in the snuff-box will induce him to eat any suitable food. Press the red indicator once if you understand; otherwise, twice.”
When I had signified that I understood:
“See that Peko lives,” the distant voice went on. “I am prepared to exchange Ardatha for Peko—when I have recovered Ardatha. There is a schism in our ancient ranks; a usurper seeks to be President, one who believes that the Nazi blunderers who have recently approached me can be used to our advantage. Here, in acting for yourself you act also for me. There is a creature called Lou Cabot who has joined my enemies. So far, he has escaped me. He is hiding in Colon. Ardatha is with him. You have Sir Denis and the Zone Police; I have my own methods. Seek for this reptile. If you should chance to kill him it would save me trouble.”
Again the voice ceased. I was in a state of intense nervous tension, but at last;
“Find Cabot,” the voice added, now faintly and from far away. “Delay may be dangerous… Take care of Peko… I will restore…”
The voice ceased entirely.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CONCERNING LOU CABOT
“It will be interesting to learn,” said Nayland Smith, “whether the Zone Police, Dr. Fu-Manchu or a jealous woman first discovers the whereabouts of this man Lou Cabot. However well hidden he may be, I may add that I do not envy Lou Cabot.”
The hour grew late, and with every moment that passed my impatience grew hotter. Somewhere, perhaps within call of the balcony outside our windows, Ardatha was imprisoned at the mercy of the sallow-faced, sleek-eyed scoundrel who had tracked me in Panama! Smith relighted his pipe, shooting a quick glance in my direction.
“I do not necessarily believe the woman Flammario,” he added, puffing vigorously.
“What could her object be?”
“Assuming it to be revenge—and your description depicts a woman whom it would be unwise to offend—it does not necessarily follow that her construction of the situation is the correct one. What I find hard to believe is this: that a member of the Si-Fan, presumably a senior official and therefore one well acquainted with their methods and efficiency, should, for a mere infatuation, invite the terrible penalties which must follow.”
“I see your point,” I replied miserably; “but if there is any truth at all in Flammario’s story what other explanation can there be?”
“One which occurred to me immediately,” snapped Smith. “You had it from Fu-Manchu himself. In one respect the Doctor stands unique amongst all the villains I have known; he never lies. Civil war has broken out in the ancient order of the Si-Fan: the man Cabot has joined the rebels. This, Flammario told you. I assume that Cabot is acting under the orders of the opposition leader.”
“You mean that his interest in Ardatha is not personal, as Flammario thinks?”
“I mean just that. She, as a woman, would naturally think otherwise. Ardatha is in some way useful to the rebel members, and so they are endeavouring to smuggle her away. This is not the first time, Kerrigan, that strife has broken out in the Council of Seven. The last rebel who endeavoured to assume control of that vast organization—”
He ceased speaking and began to pace up and down restlessly.
“Yes?” I prompted.
“A train of thought, Kerrigan—possibly an inspiration.”
He was still promenading, plunged in a brown study, when the door opened and Barton came in.
“Fu-Manchu is undeniably a wizard physician,” Sir Lionel declared. “Treatment prescribed seems to have taken years off that beastly little marmoset. It is now as full of fight as a bulldog.”
“I am glad,” I said, and spoke with sincerity. “I was afraid we were going to lose the thing.”
“Any more messages from the Talking Head?” he inquired in his loud, facetious way.
“No.” Smith suddenly emerged from some maze of speculation in which he had been lost. “We have tried pressing the red control, and as you see the door of the box is open.”
“I am prepared to believe that it is a receiving-set and not some kind of hypnotic machine,” growled Barton, “when I have actually heard it for myself. It isn’t connected up in any way: it’s just an empty box—except, of course, for the shrivelled head.”
“No doubt I should be as sceptical as you,” Smith admitted, “if I had not had previous experience of this amazing apparatus. The head, of course, has nothing to do with the matter. Fu-Manchu lacks a true sense of humour; but he has a strong sense of the baroque. Some time when you are in London and have an hour to spare, I must take you along to Scotland Yard Museum. One of these receivers is there. European experts have overhauled the mechanism and have unanimously declared it to be without equipment for receiving and transmitting sound waves—yet it did, as Kerrigan can testify. My dear Barton, Dr. Fu-Manchu is many generations ahead of others in nearly all the sciences. I have never been able to make you understand that he has at his disposal many first class brains other than his own.”
“The facts of that zombie business are not too clear to me, either,” I confessed.
“If, as I suspect,” said Smith rapidly, “Haiti or its neighbourhood prove to be the Doctor’s new headquarters, it is possible, Kerrigan, that you may learn more of this matter in the near future.”
His gaze became abstracted again.
“What were you thinking about, Smith,” I asked eagerly, “with regard to the internal troubles of the Si-Fan?”
“I was thinking,” he replied, and spoke with unwonted slowness, “of the woman feared by the whole of the Negro population of Haiti, the woman known as Queen Mamaloi.”
“There has been a thorough check-up on this man Cabot,” said Beecher of the Zone Police. Captain Jacob Beecher was tall, had a square frame and a square face. He looked efficiently dangerous. “We have a considerable dossier Cabot already. In fact, at one time there was a movement to throw him out of the area.”
&nb
sp; “What for?” asked Smith.
“Well, in that gin cellar of his he’s sitting pretty to pick up information, and it was thought—but it couldn’t be proved—that he was Fifth Column man for one of the dictator teams. Personally, I still think he is. He has a lot of money and substantial interests around Panama; but although The Passion Fruit Tree is a dividend-maker, I don’t believe all his money comes from there.”
“Where does this bird roost?” asked Barton.
“Well, sir, he has Ritzy quarters right on the premises, and I guess the villa where Flammario lives (she’s his partner) is Lou’s property, anyway.”
“But,” I asked, “where is he now? Have you any information on that point?”
“No, sir. We know he went to New York beginning of last week, and there’s some evidence that he came back two or three days ago. But he hasn’t been seen in The Passion Fruit or in any of his usual haunts. One thing is fairly certain: his girl friend has soured on him.”
“You are sure of this?” snapped Smith.
“Certain. Some of my boys who keep an eye on the place—it’s right enough in its way, but at times they’ve sailed pretty close to the rocks—report that there’s another dame in the case. Flammario is out for murder.” He looked about with his cold, unwinking eyes. “I may add, gentlemen, that although we have never had that pretty on the books, it’s known that she doesn’t stick at trifles.”
“Is the man an American Citizen?” I asked.
“Yes, they are both Americans by adoption. Makes it kind of difficult, you see. But whatever the truth may be about Cabot, I have always held that the woman has nothing to do with his political work—if he is really engaged on political work.”
“Have you ever heard of a society known as the Si-Fan?” asked Smith.
“Sure. One of the Chinese Tongs, isn’t it? When I was in the Philippines I came across them once in a while, but, except maybe in the Chinese quarter, I don’t think they figure in the Canal Zone.”
“Indeed!” murmured Smith. “But I assume you have had no occasion to pursue such an inquiry?”
“None whatever—how would I? It isn’t the Chinese we worry about around here…”
“Nor is the Si-Fan exclusively Chinese,” said Smith. “But since you can give me no information on this point, we will not pursue it. Let us make our plans for the evening.”
“My plans are made,” said Barton. “We’ve been taking chances here. What about the charts? The steel box is in the hotel safe. What about damned monkey? One of us has always got to be in this apartment until we leave. I don’t like missing the fun—but I’ll stay on guard tonight.”
“As you wish, Barton,” said Smith. “I entirely agree with you. And now Captain Beecher, the position is this: we have to find Lou Cabot, and this woman Flammario has undertaken to tell us tonight where he is hiding.”
“If anyone can find out, she can,” murmured the police officer. “The Passion Fruit scouts know every sewer in the town.”
“Very well. Mr. Kerrigan and I propose to go along there immediately. Is the place a restaurant, a cabaret or a club?”
“All three,” was the reply, “and plenty expensive. There’s a cover charge of five dollars a head, paid as you go in, whether you want supper or not. If you like, I’ll come along with you. But I rather thought of standing by, with a few of the boys, in case any quick action should be called for.”
“That would be best,” said Smith. “Merely give me full particulars regarding the place, and be somewhere within sight of the entrance if I should want you.”
“All ready,” said Police Captain Beecher. “As the idea is to get in touch with Flammario I suggest, when you go in, that you sit at a table outside the bar—the balcony, see. Don’t go down on to the dance floor. The bar opens right out of the lobby. If you want to leave in a hurry, that’s the best place. One of my boys who knows you by sight will be right outside. Maybe I’ll come, too.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
THE PASSION FRUIT TREE
I cannot vouch for the accuracy of my notes regarding The Passion Fruit Tree. The bare idea of Ardatha being in the power of the man Lou Cabot, of whose private life I had heard much before our arrival, had made me long to have my fingers around his throat. The primary appeal of the resort was to tourists. That puritan spirit which governs the Canal Zone disapproved of the impression which might be carried away by visitors to The Passion Fruit, which twice had been closed and twice reopened again under ostensibly new management.
It did not present a dazzling façade to the world; merely a shadowy doorway above which in illuminated letters appeared the words “The Passion Fruit Tree”. A cloudless sky thickly studded with stars dimmed the glamour of the appeal. It was a hot, still night, and a murderous pulse was beating in my temples.
On entering I discovered the lobby to be painted with murals representing jungle scenes, and from a reception office trellised with flowering vines a shrewd-looking old coloured woman peered out. A powerful mulatto in uniform was in attendance, and everywhere one saw pictures of Flammario. We paid the extortionate entrance fee and walked through to the bar. The strains of a dance band reached my ears, and now I saw that one side of the bar opened upon a balcony which overlooked the dance-floor.
Subdued lighting prevailed throughout, as did the jungle scheme of decoration. I was dimly aware of the presence of people at tables on the balcony, but Smith and I alone sat at the bar over which a coloured attendant presided. When he had ordered drinks:
“I am naturally suspicious,” said Smith in a low voice, “when we are dealing with the Si-Fan. Even now I am not satisfied that this may not be a trap of some kind.”
“But, Smith, no attempt is likely to be made here!”
“I was thinking more particularly of Barton and of Ardatha.”
Our drinks were served, he paid the man, and the latter walked to a chair at one end of the bar.
“Regarding Barton, I see what you mean. It might be an elaborate plan to split up the party?”
Smith nodded.
“But,” he added, “Barton is an old campaigner and as we know, very well capable of taking care of himself. Furthermore, although I have not notified him of the fact, there is a police officer on duty outside our apartment tonight.”
“But Ardatha?”
“I am disposed to think”—he spoke in a very low voice—“that she is actually in Colon. All this may be a red herring designed to get us out of the way whilst she is smuggled elsewhere. But in the circumstances we can do nothing but wait for some sign from this woman Flammario.”
“I still believe,” said I, “that she is sincere.”
“Possibly,” Smith replied. “At least in her passionate hatred of Cabot. Let us hope so.” He glanced at his watch. “Three minutes to midnight. Suppose we go in and survey the scene.”
We went out on to the balcony, a place heavy with tobacco smoke and a reek of stale perfume. There were three men at an end table and two women at another. The women were obviously dancing partners. They were smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee: after a momentary professional glance in our direction, they resumed a bored conversation. The men, I thought, looked harmless enough; probably passengers from a ship passing through the Canal, out visiting the high spots of Colon. We looked down at the dancing-floor.
An orchestra concealed under the balcony was serving out swing music, pianissimo and at a very slow tempo. Only three pairs were dancing, and these also bore unmistakable evidence of being passengers ashore for the night. There were supper tables set along a sort of arcade on the left of the floor, but not more than half were occupied. Except for the persistent jungle note, it was a scene which had its duplicate in almost any city in the world. A hot irritation possessed me.
“Smith,” I said, “this somnolent booze-shop is going to get on my nerves. Whenever I think what we are up against—of the fate of Ardatha—this awful inactivity drives me mad.”
“The calm before
the storm,” he answered, in a low voice. “Observe the two men at a supper table right at the other end; the table with the extinguished lamp.”
I looked in the direction indicated. Two stocky Asiatics, whose evening clothes could not disguise their tremendously powerful torsos, were seated there. Slit-like eyes betrayed no indication of where or at whom they were looking. But although individually I had never seen the men before, they were of a type with which I had become painfully familiar in the past.
“Good God, Smith!” I exclaimed. “Surely a pair of Fu-Manchu’s thugs.”
“Certainly.”
“Then you were right—it is a trap. They are waiting for us!”
“Somehow, I don’t think so,” he replied. “I regard their presence as distinctly encouraging. In my opinion they are waiting for Lou Cabot. Our night will not be a dull one, Kerrigan.”
* * *
The band ceased, the dancers returned to their places.
All the lights went out and then a drum began to beat with all the rhythm of a darabukkeh. A lime, directed through a trap in the roof, shone across the empty floor and upon the figure of Flammario.
Her costume did not interfere in any way with appreciation of her beauty, and as she stood there for a moment motionless, none could have denied that the gods had endowed her with a splendid form. Her brilliant eyes were raised to the balcony, and although I doubted if she could see because of the beam of light, I was convinced that she was looking for us.
To the drum beat was added a monotonous reed melody, and Flammario began to dance. It was one of those African dances which, for my part, I regard as definitely unpleasant, but judging from the rapt silence of a now invisible audience I may have been in the minority. She moved languorously along the edge of the arcade where the supper tables were set, until at last she was directly beneath us. There for a moment she paused, raised her eyes, and: