“Tonight, Loy Ming called me, to tell me of the evil that Doctor Tam had done. She asked me to serve her uncle, Shan Kwan. When you were brought here prisoners, I called Loy Ming. She told your story to her uncle. He is concerned because of your plight.”
This time Noy Dow made a longer pause; Harry decided to speak.
“THE mandarin wants to aid us?” he questioned.
“He does,” nodded Noy Dow, while Loy Ming, understanding English, added her affirmation. “Though he knows not who you are, he favors your cause because he knows that Doctor Tam is evil. Shan Kwan wishes that you be brought to his presence.”
“As prisoners?” questioned Cliff, abruptly.
“As guests,” replied Noy Dow, emphatically. “To talk with him; yet without obligation. To tell him only those facts which you feel free to state. He promises that if you come to him, you will be allowed to leave whenever you may wish. He desires only that you do the courtesy of speaking with him, in his own abode.”
Cliff looked at Harry, who nodded.
“Sounds fair enough,” said Harry, “Much better than this present set-up.”
“Suits me,” returned Cliff. “I’d rather be some place where we’re invited than remain here.”
“All right, Noy Dow,” decided Harry. “Cut us loose. We’ll make the journey.”
Noy Dow shook his head; his lips trembled, troubled.
“It is not so easy as that,” he declared. “To serve Shan Kwan best, I must remain with Doctor Tam. Therefore, I must arrange to have Doctor Tam believe that you escaped without my knowledge. He must think that through some scheming of your own, you left this prison.
“There is a guard who must be passed. The one who dwells in the tea shop through which you were brought here. You must be carried by him. That can not be arranged until morning. However, your place of waiting shall be changed.
“You will dwell in tea boxes in the storeroom. In the morning, at an early hour, men will come to take away a shipment. They will arrive long before those who are the actual purchasers of the tea. Thus shall you both be carried to the residence of Shan Kwan.”
Noy Dow paused; Harry was about to put a question when Loy Ming spoke a reminder in Chinese. Noy Dow nodded as he heard the girl’s words. He translated her expression.
“Shan Kwan has promised that you will be his guests,” he explained, “but he must have assurance that you come to him. He can assume no risk until then; nor can I. Therefore, you must sleep while time passes between now and morning.”
Loy Ming produced two tiny bottles and handed them to Noy Dow. Cliff darted a look at Harry, who frowned, doubtfully.
Seeing their expressions, Noy Dow stood by to let the prisoners talk between themselves.
“Dope,” suggested Cliff, indicating the bottles with his head. “What about it, Harry? What is your feeling?”
“It’s not poison,” returned Harry, managing a shrug of his shoulders. “If these friends of ours want to do away with us, they wouldn’t have to talk us into it.”
“I agree with you,” said Cliff, with a smile. “Well, Harry there’s merit in the suggestion. We can’t ask these people to let us loose. They would have no guarantee against our making a break for it.”
“And we can’t sleep while we’re tied up like this, Cliff. Those green bottles don’t look so bad.”
“You have my promise,” asserted Noy Dow, “my word that these draughts will be harmless. I would be glad to trust you, gentlemen; but remember, time passes slowly within the confines of a tea box.
“Should you stir about within the chests; should you sleep and mumble the guard outside might hear. Sometimes when midnight comes, he retires within the storeroom and sleeps there, behind a locked door. He will be close at hand, perhaps awake to hear any disturbing sound.”
“You are talking sensibly, Noy Dow,” decided Harry, with an approving nod. “I’ll take my medicine. Are you ready for your dose?”
The question was put to Cliff, who nodded. Noy Dow gave one bottle to Loy Ming. Simultaneously both uncorked the greenish phials. Noy Dow approached and placed a bottle to Cliff’s lips. Loy Ming did the same with Harry. Both men drank together.
THE effect of the concoction was immediate. Cliff looked at Harry and blinked in exhilaration. The liquid did not burn, nor was its taste unpleasant; but it brought a stimulation that gave each man a feeling that he could break the thongs that held him. Instinctively, they struggled; but the bonds held.
A minute went by; the effect of the stimulant passed. Cliff sagged back, exhausted; Harry did the same. Both felt a slight dizziness; Noy Dow observed it and approached. He drew a large-bladed pocketknife and cut the thongs that held the ankles of the prisoners.
Noy Dow and Loy Ming helped the men to their feet. Cliff managed to steady and find his balance. Harry nearly toppled, but Noy Dow gripped him until his dizziness ended. He put a question:
“How do you feel now?”
“Pretty tired,” acknowledged Cliff. “That stuff hits quickly. I’m getting groggy already!”
“Sleepy,” added Harry. “All that strength is fading.”
“We must hurry.” Quickly, Noy Dow cut the wrist bonds and gave the prisoners full release. “Follow Loy Ming. Keep steady.”
The girl had opened the door. She was blinking a flashlight, leading the way along a passage. Cliff came to motion; the activity roused him somewhat and he followed. Harry came close behind him, while Noy Dow extinguished the light of the prison room and brought up the rear of the procession.
Loy Ming reached the open panel of Doctor Tam’s office. She stepped through and waited until Harry and Cliff arrived. Both were moving steadily, but their steps were slow and deliberate. A feeling of sleepiness was becoming paramount with the released prisoners.
Noy Dow arrived and nodded as he noted the increasing stupor of The Shadow’s agents. Loy Ming opened the door beyond and led the way down stairs. Gripping the rail, Cliff and Harry followed with careful, slow-moving steps. Thus they arrived, Noy Dow behind them, in the storeroom behind the tea shop.
Both were wavering. Noy Dow hurried silently to a pair of large, square tea chests. He opened the lids and gripped Harry, who was the closer of the pair.
Managing a high step Harry entered the box; then sank wearily to the bottom. He relaxed without a sigh, shifting comfortably with arms and legs limp.
Noy Dow and Loy Ming guided Cliff into the second chest. Their combined efforts were necessary to help him settle silently. Noy Dow carefully closed the lids and padlocked them. He gave the keys to Loy Ming. He pointed to tiny air-holes drilled in the sides of the cubical boxes. These were scarcely noticeable; but they provided sufficient air for the men within.
SILENTLY, Noy Dow motioned to the stairs. Loy Ming ascended; from the third floor, the pair went down to the second. But this time, they chose the way to the restaurant. In Chinese, Noy Dow told the girl to make her departure; then he added:
“I shall call Fong, to tell him that he must guard this entrance to the Hunan Cafe, while I remain within the office. He will never know that you came here and departed, Loy Ming.”
Noy Dow opened the panel so that the girl could go out through the cafe.
In the dim light Loy Ming paused and sighed. Noy Dow embraced the Chinese girl and gave her a farewell kiss. When she had gone past the panel, he closed the barrier; then delivered a sigh of his own.
Noy Dow, the secretary of Doctor Tam, was in love with Loy Ming, the niece of Shan Kwan. Through knowledge of that fact, the mandarin had offset the craft of the wary physician. Wisely had Shan Kwan spoken when he had told Yat Soon that he held the key through which Doctor Roy Tam could be reached!