; "we may meet some nasty customers about here."

It was not quite dark, for the atmosphere had that luminous kind of
haze so observable in Australian twilights, and this weird light was
just sufficient to make the darkness visible. Kilsip and the barrister
kept for safety in the middle of the alley, so that no one could spring
upon them unaware, and they could see sometimes on the one side, a man
cowering back into the black shadow, or on the other, a woman with
disordered hair and bare bosom, leaning out of a window trying to get a
breath of fresh air. There were also some children playing in the
dried-up gutter, and their shrill young voices came echoing strangely
through the gloom, mingling with a bacchanalian sort of song, sung by a
man, as he slouched along unsteadily over the rough stones. Now and
then a mild-looking string of Chinamen stole along, clad in their
dull-hued blue blouses, either chattering shrilly, like a lot of
parrots, or moving silently down the alley with a stolid Oriental
apathy on their yellow faces. Here and there came a stream of warm
light through an open door, and within, the Mongolians were gathered
round the gambling-tables, playing fan-tan, or leaving the seductions
of their favourite pastime, to glide soft-footed to the many
cook-shops, where enticing-looking fowls and turkeys already cooked
were awaiting purchasers. Kilsip turning to the left, led the barrister
down another and still narrower lane, the darkness and gloom of which
made the lawyer shudder, as he wondered how human beings could live in
such murky places.

At last, to Calton's relief, for he felt somewhat bewildered by the
darkness and narrowness of the lanes through which he had been taken,
the detective stopped before a door, which he opened, and stepping
inside, beckoned to the barrister to follow. Calton did so, and found
himself in a low, dark, ill-smelling passage. At the end a faint light
glimmered. Kilsip caught his companion by the arm and guided him
carefully along the passage. There was much need of this caution, for
Calton could feel that the rotten boards were full of holes, into which
one or the other of his feet kept slipping from time to time, while he
could hear the rats squeaking and scampering away on all sides. Just as
they got to the end of this tunnel, for it could be called nothing
else, the light suddenly went out, and they were left in complete
darkness.

"Light that," cried the detective in a