ched me, and I know that he had received many offers for it, all
of which he had rejected. It was whispered that Kwen Lung was rich,
that he was a great man among the Chinese, and even that some kind of
religious ceremony periodically took place in his house. Now, as I stood
staring at the famous idol, I saw something which made me stare harder
than ever.

The place was lighted by a hanging lamp from which depended bits of
coloured paper and several gilded silk tassels; but dim as the light was
it could not conceal those tell-tale stains.

There was blood on the feet of the golden idol!

All this I detected at a glance, but ere I had time to speak:

"You can't tell me that tale, Ma!" cried Harley. "I believe 'e was
smokin' in 'ere when we knocked."

The woman shrugged her fat shoulders.

"No, hab," she repeated. "You two johnnies clear out. Let me sleep."

But as I turned to her, beneath the nonchalant manner I could detect a
great uneasiness; and in her dark eyes there was fear. That Harley also
had seen the bloodstains I was well aware, and I did not doubt that
furthermore he had noted the fact that the only mat which the room
boasted had been placed before the joss--doubtless to hide other stains
upon the boards.

As we stood so I presently became aware of a current of air passing
across the room in the direction of the open door. It came from a window
before which a tawdry red curtain had been draped. Either the window
behind the curtain was wide open, which is alien to Chinese habits,
or it was shattered. While I was wondering if Harley intended to
investigate further:

"Come on, Jim!" he cried boisterously, and clapped me on the shoulder;
"the old fox don't want to be disturbed."

He turned to the woman:

"Tell him when he wakes up, Ma," he said, "that if ever my pal Jim wants
a pipe he's to 'ave one. Savvy? Jim's square."

"Savvy," replied the woman, and she was wholly unable to conceal her
relief. "You clear out now, and I tell Kwen Lung when he come in."

"Righto, Ma!" said Harley. "Kiss 'im on both cheeks for me, an' tell 'im
I'll be 'ome again in a month."

Grasping me by the arm he lurched up the steps, and the two of us
presently found ourselves out in the street again. In the growing
light the squalor of the district was more evident than ever, but the
comparative freshness of the air was welcome after the reek of that room
in which the golden idol sat leering, with blood at his feet.

"