, turning to Ah Cum.

"Precisely. The chair is in the veranda. I will take her back. But
of course the money will not be refunded.

"Then take her back," said the manager. "You knew better than to
bring her here under the circumstances."

"Well," said Ah Cum, amiably, "when I argued against the venture,
he threatened to go wandering about alone, I was most concerned in
bringing him back unhurt."

He then spoke authoritatively to the girl. He appeared to thunder
dire happenings if she did not obey him without further ado. He
picked up the broken fiddle and beckoned. The sing-song girl rose
and meekly pattered out of the office into the night.

Ruth crossed over to the dramatist of this tragicomedy and put a
hand on his shoulder.

"I understand," she said. Her faith in human beings revived. "You
tried to do something that was fine, and ... and civilization would
not let you."

Spurlock turned his dull eyes and tried to focus hers. Suddenly he
burst into wild laughter; but equally as suddenly something
strangled the sound in his throat. He reached out a hand gropingly,
sagged, and toppled out of the chair to the floor, where he lay
very still.

CHAPTER VII

The astonishing collapse of Spurlock created a tableau of short
duration. Then the hotel manager struck his palms together sharply,
and two Chinese "boys" came pattering in from the dining room. With
a gesture which was without any kind of emotional expression, the
manager indicated the silent crumpled figure on the floor and gave
the room number. The Chinamen raised the limp body and carried it
to the hall staircase, up which they mounted laboriously.

"A doctor at once!" cried Ruth excitedly.

"A doctor? What he needs is a good jolt of aromatic spirits of
ammonia. I can get that at the bar," the manager said, curtly. He
was not particularly grateful for the present situation.

"I warn you, if you do not send for a doctor immediately, you will
have cause to regret it," Ruth declared vigorously. "Something more
than whisky did that. Why did you let him have it?"

"Let him have it? I can't stand at the elbow of any of the guests
and regulate his or her actions. So long as a man behaves himself,
I can't refuse him liquor. But I'll call a doctor, since you order
it. You'll be wasting his time. It is a plain case of alcoholic
stupor. I've seen many cases like it."

He summoned another "boy" and rumbled some Cantonese. Immediately
the "boy" went for