ange. "The rate
today is six and a fraction to one," he explained.

Rick and Scotty added their thanks to Zircon's. The Chinese bowed. "A
pleasure to have been of even such small service." He smiled and
continued on his way.

"The Chinese are without a doubt the most polite of all the Eastern
peoples," Zircon said. He pushed a Hong Kong dollar through the ticket
window, got three tickets and some change in return. They pushed through
the gate and walked across the dock to the ferry.

As they did so, Rick got his first look at Hong Kong. He stared, amazed,
his mental image of an oriental city vanishing like a burst bubble.

Across the bay, a green mountain stretched like a jagged knife-edge
against the sky line. Here and there, far above the bay, were white
blocks, like granite chips, marking houses. Lower down, the city of
Victoria began. It was like marble slabs piled in an orderly array,
thinning out toward the upper side of the mountain. Down at sea level,
the buildings were thickly clustered. But they were modern buildings,
not a trace of the oriental in them.

Between the ferry and Hong Kong, the bay was crowded with water traffic.
Junks with gay sails sped noiselessly between puffing little tugs. Great
deep-water freighters were anchored, lighters at their sides taking off
cargo. Slightly to one side, the sleek line of a British cruiser was
visible, and beyond it a trio of lean, wolfish destroyers.

The ferry moved away from the pier and picked up speed. Rick and Scotty
watched the colorful panorama of vessels. Hong Kong was beautiful, Rick
thought. And it was clean, though cities of the Orient were
traditionally dirty.

Nor was his first impression changed when they reached the opposite
shore. The ferry landed them before tall, concrete buildings that shaded
clean streets. A block away they stopped to watch a three-story trolley
pass by.

"Good gosh, a skyscraper on wheels," Scotty exclaimed.

And that was just the impression it gave.

Zircon stopped to ask directions of a passing Englishman, then told the
boys, "The American Consulate is only a block away. Suppose we change
some money, then pay the consul a visit."

Rick thought quickly. "We'll need money, but why do all of us have to go
see the consul? We could split up. Scotty and I could start locating the
Golden Mouse while you're talking to him."

"He probably knows all about it," Zircon pointed out. "It must be a
prominent landmark, although