Page:Guy Boothby--A Bid for Fortune.djvu/282

272 power of Chinkies hereabouts all the evenin'. And 'arf an hour ago there was a gent in a cloak.'

"Without waiting to hear any more, the woman entered the house, and I followed close at her heels. The adventure was clearly coming to a head now.

"When the door had been closed behind us the boy appeared at the top of a flight of stairs that confronted us, with a lighted candle. We accordingly ascended to him, and having done so made our way towards a door at the end of the villainously dirty landing. At intervals I could hear a sound of coughing coming from within. My companion, however, bade me stop while she went herself into the room ahead, shutting the door after her. I was left alone with the boy, who immediately took me under his protection, and for my undivided benefit performed a series of highly meritorious acrobatic performances upon the feeble banisters, to his own danger but apparent satisfaction. Suddenly, just as he was about to commence what promised to be the most successful item of his repertoire, he paused, lay flat on his stomach upon the floor, and craned his head over the side, where once banisters had been, and gazed into the half dark well below. All was quiet as the grave. Then, without warning, an almond-eyed, pigtailed head appeared on the stairs and looked upwards. Before I could ejaculate the youth had divested himself of his one slipper, taken it in his right hand, leaned over a bit further, and struck the ascending Celestial a severe blow on the mouth with the heel of it. There was the noise of a hasty descent and the banging of the street door, then all was still again and the youngster turned to me.

"'That was Ah Chong,' he said confidentially. 'He's the sixth Chinkie I've landed like that since dark,' etc.

"This important piece of information he closed with