Lester Leith eyed the Chinese girl thoughtfully. Her skin was smooth as old ivory. The eyes were slightly slanted. She was in her late twenties, and her voice had that delicacy of expression which is indicative of a race which must have vocal cords so finely trained, and an ear so delicately receptive, as to distinguish any one of the eight tones in which a syllable of the Chinese language may be spoken.
She said, very casually, “There are not a great number of Chinese girls in this country who know both the Chinese written and spoken language, have first-hand experience with their native land, and possess a degree from a Western university.”
“I daresay that is right.”
Her eyes glittered in a swift survey of his face, but her face remained blank. “One might almost have thought,” she said, “that the advertisement was intended to single me out.”
Leith said, “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but anyone who did possess the rather unusual combination of qualifications could be pardoned for thinking so.”
“Then you pardon me?”
“Yes.”
There was the ghost of a twinkle in her eyes as she said, “Then I think so.”
Leith laughed. “All right,” he said. “Miss Foy, I acknowledge the guilt. To be perfectly frank with you, I read in the newspaper account of the theft of that necklace that you had been dismissed because of a violation of instructions.”
“My dismissal,” she said, “was unjust.”
“What happened?”
“My employer suggested that because he was desirous of purchasing the necklace, and because Mr. Shogiro would be suspicious if one of my race was a guest at the dinner, that it would be well to absent myself, not only from the dinner, but from the house.”
“You failed to do so?”
“I did exactly as he requested. Unfortunately, however, I discovered that I had lost some very valuable jade which my mother had given me. It was a pendant, and evidently the supporting ring had almost worn through. The pendant had caught on something, and all that was left was the chain.”
“So you returned to the house?” Lester Leith asked.
“I did. I tried to return in such a way that no one would notice. But I failed.”
“Did you find the jade?”
“Yes. It had caught on one of the drapes in my bedroom and had dropped to the floor.”
“What sort of chap is Sansone?” Leith asked.
She said, very calmly, “I’m afraid I do not understand. Is it not the purpose to ask the former employer concerning the character of the employee, rather than to to ask the employee about the character of her former employer?”
Leith said, “Doubtless that is the custom, but I asked the question for a very particular purpose.”
“He is a gentleman,” Mah Foy said.
Leith drummed with the tips of his fingers on the table. “If perhaps he had thought that a theft would occur while Shogiro was at his house, and wished to protect you, he might have been been shrewd and considerate enough to suggest that you arrange a perfect alibi for yourself.”
He saw quick flashing interest in her eyes.
“But how could he have anticipated that a theft would occur while Shogiro was under his roof?”
Lester Leith brushed the question aside. “That, of course, is something for the police to consider. It is just a thought.”
“Are you then a detective?”
“Heaven forbid!”
“And do you actually have need for a secretary, Mr. Leith, or did you wish to interrogate me?”
“Both,” Leith said. “If you would like the job, you’re hired. The salary is six hundred a month. You will have your traveling expenses taken care of, and, if necessary, we can consider a reasonable wardrobe a part of your traveling expenses.”
“You intend to travel?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask where?”
“To the Hawaiian Islands.”
She raised her eyebrows. “To Honolulu?”
“Yes.”
“That will be delightful,” she said. “I am considered an expert typist. I can take rapid dictation in shorthand, and I feel certain that I could do your work. When do you wish me to start?”
“At once.”
“You mean now — this instant?”
“Yes.”
She said, “Very well. May I see the typewriter please?”
Leith said, “There won’t be any typing for the present, Miss Foy.”
“What is it you wish me to do?”
“Wait here for my return.”
“So I may make appointments?”
“Yes,” Leith said, getting to his feet. “I have a valet who should be back at any moment. His name is Beaver. I call him Scuttle. He has been with me for some time, and I have the greatest confidence in his loyalty and integrity.”
“But one should expect that of all employees.”
“Exactly,” Leith said, “but I can double it in the case of Scuttle. I have absolutely no secrets from him.”
“That is very nice.”
Leith said, “He will probably ask you questions about what you are doing here and what was said in this interview.”
She said, “My race considers that it is the province of the servant to work, of the master to ask questions.”
“Well, Scuttle has his own ideas,” Leith said, with something of a twinkle in his eyes, “and I would be particularly happy if you would answer all his questions quite truthfully, because, you see, if you didn’t, he might think I had cautioned you not to, and I wouldn’t want to hurt him for the world.”
“Very well,” she said.
“And,” Leith said, “I really feel, Miss Foy, that you shouldn’t hold any grudge against Mr. Sansone. It may well have been that he asked you to leave for your own protection. As I get the story from the newspapers, Mr. Shogiro called on him the day before the dinner at which the necklace was stolen. At that time, Sansone inspected the necklace. The next evening Shogiro came to dinner and brought the necklace with him. It was in a carved ivory jewel case which Shogiro carried in the inside pocket of his coat. After dinner, at the request of Mr. Sansone, he produced the necklace so that Mr. Sansone’s guests could see it. At that time, the necklace was found to be an imitation. The assumption, of course, is that a substitution had been made sometime during the evening. But isn’t it quite possible that Mr. Sansone had perhaps recognized the necklace as an imitation when he first saw it?”
“In that case, why did he not tell Mr. Shogiro?”
“Because,” Leith said, “he wasn’t certain. You’ll note that the dinner was for men only — men who knew something about pearls and about China. In fact, I believe it was one of the guests who observed that the pearls were imitation.”
“So I understand,” she said.
Leith abruptly got to his feet. “That,” he said, “is all, Miss Foy. You are hired. Your salary starts at once. If anyone should appear and ask for me, I have gone out and will return in an hour.”
Leith opened the door of his apartment and stood to one side. A taxi driver, loaded with parcels, staggered into the room.
“Where do you want these put, boss?”
“Any place,” Leith said. “My man will put them away. Here, Scuttle, give a hand.”
The undercover man, who had been engaged in low-voiced conversation with Mah Foy, jumped forward to help the cab driver.
Leith said, “There’s more in the cab, Scuttle. If you will go back with the driver, you can bring the other parcels up.”
When the valet and the cab driver had gone, Mah Foy said, in her musical voice, “May I assist you in opening the packages and putting them away, Mr. Leith?”
“Not yet,” Leith said. “We’ll await Scuttle’s return. Scuttle will be interested to know what’s in the packages. He’s very curious, in case you hadn’t noticed.”