lighted room with two villainous-looking desperadoes bending
over him with weapons plainly displayed. He found himself in a
low-ceilinged, box-like, little room lighted by a flaring gas jet, with
two astonished-looking Chinese gazing at him with slant eyes that seemed
to be almost popping from their heads. They were jabbering their
outlandish tongue up and down the singsong scale as if here before them,
sitting on the floor, were a new species of being, newly discovered and
strange beyond imagination. Teeny-bits did not know what to make of
them; he blinked his eyes and remained sitting there, wondering what
would happen next. Both of the Chinese seemed to be asking him questions
and they were pointing at him in a way that brought the thought to
Teeny-bits that they were both insane. Then he suddenly realized what
was the cause of their excitement--one of them came closer and pointed
down at his shoulder--at the terra-cotta colored mark which had excited
comment at Ridgley School because it so strikingly resembled a
dagger-like knife with a tapering blade and a thin handle.

"What's the idea of all this business?" demanded Teeny-bits.

The Oriental who stood beside him bent down and touched the mark as if
trying to discover if it were real. He called out something to his
companion and a flow of words passed between them.

Teeny-bits stood up stiffly and began to pull on his torn sweater, while
the two Chinese watched him with fascinated eyes.

"Why did you bring me here?" he demanded. "Are you _crazy_, or what _is_
the matter with you?"

The two Chinese blinked at him vacantly; either they did not understand
English or pretended not to. Suddenly one of them got down on his knees
and began a queer song-like jabbering in which his companion joined.

Teeny-bits did not wait to listen, but began to move toward the door; he
expected the men to jump in front of him and bar the way, but neither of
them stirred until he was actually stepping out of the room. Teeny-bits
ran stiffly down a dimly lighted flight of steps, then down another
flight and out into a dark alleyway. Behind him he could hear the soft
pattering of feet; the two Chinese were not far in the rear. Determined
to waste no time in escaping, he dashed down the alley and came into a
dark street; he ran faster and faster as the stiffness in his legs
lessened, turning into one street after another, and he did not stop
until he was breathing hard and had left the