had been whispered in his ear,
then decided not to, although he couldn't have explained why.

The car roared into life. Keaton-Yeats spun the wheel and they raced up
the street, the buildings magnifying the sound of their passing into
thunder. Not until they were on the main street was there quiet enough
for conversation, then Zircon demanded, "Would you mind giving us an
explanation? Naturally, we're interested."

"Rather!" Keaton-Yeats said. "I met Brant and Scott this afternoon when
they inquired from me the way to a Golden Mouse. I'd never heard of the
creature, as I told them, and they rejected my offer of some other sort
of animal. Haw! But after they had gone, I made inquiries. I learned
that this Golden Mouse was a dive of the most unsavory character."

He steered around a group of rickshaws and Rick clutched the back of the
front seat. He was having a fine case of jitters, because the Englishman
was driving on what appeared to Rick to be the wrong side of the road.
Even when he realized that left-hand driving was the rule in Hong Kong,
dodging cars on the wrong side left him rattled!

"I worried a bit," Keaton-Yeats went on. "Even made a phone call or two.
Discovered Brant and Scott were registered at the Peninsular Hotel. But
by the time I phoned there, they had gone out. Having no engagements, I
decided to look up this Golden Mouse place and at least add another soul
to the party for safety's sake, so to speak. However, I never got in,
for just as I turned into the proper alley, after a bit of searching,
this Eurasian chap jumped on my running board. He asked did I care to
help out three Americans who were in trouble. I assured him that it
would be a pleasure, but I was already committed to two Americans, in a
manner of speaking. He demanded names. I gave him the two I knew. He
said you were mixed up in this affair in which he was taking a hand. I
told him to get aboard and he did so. We tore around odd streets for
some time. My nose is insulted from the things I've smelled tonight, I
assure you. We were about to throw in our cards, then, as luck would
have it, we spotted three rickshaw coolies, and blessed if they didn't
turn out to be yours. We sped down that Blind Fisherman Street just in
time to hear the most infernal commotion out in the bay. The rest you
know."

There was no adequate way of thanking Keaton-Yeats. Without his kindly
interest in two strangers, they would doubtless have lost their liv