THEGIRL 
 
 FROM 
 NIPPON ; 
 
 i 
 
 GARLTON 
 DAWE 

 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON
 
 THE GIRL 
 FROM NIPPON 
 
 BY 
 
 CARLTON DAWE 
 
 Author of " The Crackswoman," " The Black Spider," 
 "A Bride of Japan," etc. 
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED 
 LONDON, MELBOURNE AND TORONTO 
 1915
 
 PK 
 
 THE GIRL FROM 
 NIPPON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TT was a rather curious patchwork of a room 
 into which Sir Basil Everard was shown by 
 the small, soft-footed Japanese servant, a 
 room in which East and West strove incongruously 
 to blend. Here and there an Oriental vase stood 
 cheek by jowl with a glaring exposition of cheap 
 Western art, which seemed to struggle blatantly 
 for domination, while the quaintly-designed kake- 
 mono, delicately finished, betraying in grey monotone 
 the everlasting snow-capped summit of the incom- 
 parable Fuji, appeared as though supplicating its 
 immediate neighbour for gracious permission to 
 breathe. A large satsuma bowl, negligently and 
 yet artistically filled with sprays of apple-blossom, 
 stood on a table in the middle of the room. Another 
 bowl, but of bronze, rested on a small round table 
 
 5 
 
 1822548
 
 6 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 in the window. This also was filled with beautiful 
 pink and white blossoms. 
 
 As Sir Basil looked about him his lips twitched 
 curiously, and an angry frown deepened the line 
 between his eyebrows. This suggestion of the 
 Far East did not appeal to him. Since returning 
 to England, and, incidentally, succeeding to certain 
 properties, which carried with them no uncertain 
 position in the social world, he had no wish to be 
 reminded of wild days spent among the wilder 
 heathen. He was not a particularly pleasant- 
 looking man, his narrow cold blue eyes and heavy 
 jaw being such as to render him, on occasion, almost 
 repellent ; and just then this suggestion of the 
 Orient threw him in a mood by no means amiable. 
 
 However, he was given but slight opportunity to 
 indulge in murmurings or complaints, for presently 
 the door by which he had entered was quietly 
 opened, so quietly, indeed, that he gave a sudden 
 start as he turned round, and a woman entered, 
 a strange, almost timid, look on her face. 
 
 A remarkable apparition this, and as such seemed 
 greatly to startle the man. She was dressed in a 
 kimono of pale blue silk edged with a delicate shade 
 of coral pink. Round her waist was the obi, or 
 sash, of the same delicate pink shade, hunched in a 
 huge bow at the back in the Japanese manner 
 and on her feet were the tabi, or socks, which are
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 7 
 
 worn in the house. In her glossy black hair was set 
 a sprig of apple-blossom, and though the hah- itself 
 was abundant, it was not pounded out in the 
 approved native manner, but seemed as though 
 the East and the West here also struggled for 
 dominance. 
 
 And yet more marvellously striking than figure 
 or hair was the extraordinary, the singularly weird 
 beauty of this woman. Her face was white, almost 
 unnaturally so, and betrayed no suspicion of colour, 
 save hi the lips, and they were almost outrageously 
 red by comparison. The mouth pouted slightly with 
 that supercilious curl which one will frequently see 
 on the lips of a woman of Mongol blood. It might 
 express much affection or much hate. 
 
 But perhaps the most wonderful feature of this 
 astounding apparition was her eyes. They were 
 blue, of that intense blue-grey colour which one 
 sees in the skies on a summer day, and though 
 large, and deeply expressive, were set in a slant. 
 That this setting was Asiatic no one could doubt 
 for a moment, though how an Asiatic came to 
 possess eyes of a colour so distinctly European was 
 a problem which might puzzle the uninitiated. 
 
 Recovering the momentary loss of his self- 
 possession Sir Basil Everard bowed gravely, she 
 replying in the native manner, her hands on her 
 knees.
 
 8 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " O Iris-san ! " he said. 
 
 " On the contrary," she answered gravely. " In 
 this country I am an English girl, and I take my 
 father's name of May ford. O Iris-san was left 
 behind at Kobe, with the other things that do 
 not count in the West. You have not forgotten 
 Kobe ? " she asked in rather a plaintive tone. 
 
 She spoke the purest English, with just a sus- 
 picion of that throaty intonation which seems 
 peculiar to the East. The Eurasian has it always, 
 and even the white child seems to acquire it from 
 the native servant. 
 
 No, he had not forgotten Kobe, and if one might 
 guess from the expression of his face the memory of 
 that far-off town was not of the pleasantest. 
 
 " There are some things one never forgets," he 
 said with purposeful ambiguity. 
 
 " Yet you forgot to return as you promised." 
 
 He looked at her as if to catch the reproach in her 
 eyes, in her face, for no suspicion of it could he 
 detect in the tone. Yet gazing on her he might 
 have been gazing on a carven image of Buddha, so 
 impassive and unemotional did she seem. What- 
 ever her thoughts, whatever her emotions, no 
 suggestion of them was allowed to come to the 
 surface. She might have been a cold, uninterested 
 stranger who questioned him for the sake of making 
 conversation.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 9 
 
 " I meant to then," he stammered. 
 
 " So I believed. Will you be pleased to take 
 a seat ? " 
 
 " Thanks ; but I'm afraid I must be running 
 away presently." 
 
 " I understand." 
 
 " You see, it's like this, O Iris-san 
 
 " Miss Mayford, if you do not mind," she corrected. 
 
 " But Miss Mayford would not dress like a 
 Japanese." 
 
 " I thought you would like it," she said simply. 
 
 " Out there it was charming. In your uncle's 
 orchard you were like the flower-goddess, O Iris-san 
 I beg your pardon but here in dull, prosaic 
 England it seems just a little unusual. By the way, 
 how is Dr. Mohri ? " 
 
 " My honourable uncle is very well, and wishes 
 kindly to be remembered." 
 
 " Clever little fellow," he mused. 
 
 ' You thought so when he loosened the grip 
 that death had about your throat." 
 
 ' Yes, that was a near thing," admitted the man. 
 ' You also were kind to me then, O Iris-san. No, 
 please don't get angry. You were O Iris-san to 
 me then, and as O Iris-san I always think of you." 
 ' Then you had not forgotten ? " 
 
 " No, I had not forgotten ; but I thought it 
 better you understand? "
 
 lo THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Perfectly. It was I who was foolish. I forgot 
 that I am neither one thing nor the other, neither 
 Japanese nor English, but just a half-breed what 
 you call a mongrel," she added in a dull monotony 
 of scorn " despised of all." 
 
 ' You are a very beautiful woman," he said. 
 
 For a moment her eyes narrowed until they 
 resembled nothing so much as two long blue slits, 
 but beyond that she betrayed no expression of 
 emotion. 
 
 " With the defects of both races and the merits 
 of neither ? " she protested. " I did not know 
 this once," she continued in the same expressionless 
 tone. " Indeed, I rather prided myself on the 
 English blood that was in me, and looked upon 
 this as my country ; but I find that here I am 
 an alien, and the worst of aliens an Asiatic. It 
 was not wise of us to leave Nippon. There, at any 
 rate, I was respected as the niece of the famous 
 Dr. Mohri." 
 
 " You must always be respected," he said, 
 " wherever you go." 
 
 " It is your honourable condescension that would 
 flatter." 
 
 " On the contrary, I mean every word of it. Have 
 I not always been frank with you ? " 
 
 " Very." 
 
 " Then let me continue to be frank. I am sure
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. n 
 
 we will understand each other better, honour each 
 other the more. Out there, in Kobe, things were 
 different. I was really most grateful to your uncle 
 and you, and when I left my heart was full of 
 gratitude, and still is ; but once more among my 
 own people I realised that it would be a great mis- 
 take to lead you into a marriage from which you 
 could not hope to extract any sort of happiness. 
 We are not of the same race, O Iris-san. The 
 East and the West can never assimilate : much 
 misery must result from such an alliance." 
 
 " I had not thought that I was wholly of the 
 East." 
 
 " There might be more hope if you were." 
 
 " Of what ? " 
 
 " An understanding." 
 
 " But do we not thoroughly understand each 
 other already ? What was possible over there in 
 Kobe is quite impossible here in England. It is a 
 very simple proposition one which any child 
 might understand. And I am no longer a child. 
 You would be ashamed of a wife with Asiatic blood 
 in her ? The problem of race cannot be overcome 
 by thinking of it; no, nor heroically defying it. 
 I am one of inferior blood, despite my English 
 father. This my uncle told me, but I would not 
 listen to his wisdom. Sometimes I think he does 
 not love the white races, though he reads their
 
 12 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 books, studies their science, and borrows their 
 wisdom." 
 
 He remembered that strange little Dr. Mohri, 
 with his wizened, beardless face and his horrible 
 black slits of eyes. Even though he owed his life 
 to him, his gratitude was not wholly free of a certain 
 sense of loathing. 
 
 " I am sorry," he began lamely. 
 
 " But there is no occasion to be. My obstinacy 
 and ignorance are entirely to blame. And the 
 matter is of no importance. Once I might have 
 thought that I was not so inferior to you, but I 
 now see the folly and the shame of it, and, believe 
 me, I am truly repentant." 
 
 But neither in tone nor manner could he trace 
 any sign of repentance. Coldly she spoke, coldly she 
 regarded him, her face masked in an impenetrable 
 Oriental calm. Without emotion she spoke : there 
 was not even the remotest suggestion of the slighted 
 woman. He might have been a cipher for all 
 heed she paid to him, a puff of wind that for a 
 moment blew across her eyes. 
 
 " Among your own people," he began, stung to 
 retort by her unassailable indifference. 
 
 " My own people ! Who are they ? I have no 
 people. I am neither of the East nor the West : 
 there is no place for me in the world. Out there it 
 was different. I did dream that I was an English
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 13 
 
 girl, and that one day I should come to England 
 and take my place among my own kin : and this 
 in spite of the fact that among the white people my 
 father was said to have disgraced himself and his 
 race by marrying my mother." 
 
 " Then he did marry her ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes." Still no sign of anger or resent- 
 ment. " He was one of those men, it seems, 
 who honourably do foolish things. For such men 
 there is no place in this world, nor for their 
 children." 
 
 " It was a mistake for you to come to England, 
 O Iris-san." 
 
 " So I begin to realise. You wish I had not, eh ? 
 But why let my presence disconcert you ? I be- 
 lieved in your kisses and your words : I see now 
 that you did not mean them. Well, perhaps I shall 
 not die of grief. It was very sweet to dream, and 
 if the dreaming ends in nothing well, is not that 
 the way of all dreams ? 1 have been rightly served 
 for my pride. I thought I was an English girl, 
 and would not look at the natives, whom you call 
 ' my people.' I find that English girls are not so 
 proud here in England. Your pride of race is a sham, 
 Sir Basil Everard, your pretensions hypocrisy, for 
 you cannot make your own women conform to 
 your own laws. Truly your notions of race, and the 
 pride of race, are much beyond my conception. I
 
 14 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 suppose they are pegs to hang your moral cloaks 
 upon when the occasion suits ? " 
 
 She hit him hard in that cold, passionless way 
 of hers, and his rather ponderous jaw projected 
 aggressively towards her. Argument, entreaty, 
 supplication, were little likely to affect the imper- 
 turbability of this amaring product of the East and 
 West. If she felt, she betrayed no sign of feeling : 
 emotion was dead, or more probably had never 
 existed. And yet odd memories floated in 
 memories of Dr. Mohri's garden, and the sun above 
 the Kobe hills. 
 
 " These things come of their own accord." he said 
 sententiously. " and are beyond our power to regulate. 
 Out there all things were possible; here we are 
 ruled by convention and must obey its laws." 
 
 ' I beg of you honourably not to apologise. As 
 it was with yon, so it is with me. In Kobe yon 
 were one of the few ; here you are but one of the 
 many. The glamour has faded. Your greatness 
 has vanished in the greater glory of more important 
 personages. The mistake was mine, but I bear it 
 tranquilly." 
 
 " I was afraid you might have thought difleienlly. 
 This philosophic attitude conies as a great relief." 
 
 " You forget that I have been educated in the 
 school of Dr. Mohri, who is renowned for his phflo- 
 sophic outlook on life. Being a student of the
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 15 
 
 philosophy of every nation, he has learnt the worth- 
 lessness of them all. Yet out of their futilities he 
 has founded a system which may one day startle 
 the world." 
 
 " And you are his disciple ? I congratulate both 
 master and scholar. It is well known that all 
 wisdom came from the East." 
 
 " It still comes," she said. 
 
 In. spite of himself he was not a little impressed 
 by this interview and the manner of this strange 
 girl. At least he had expected tears, and, behold ! 
 this woman regarded him with a calm which brought 
 the mysterious East, with all its terrific brooding, 
 palpably before his eyes. What was he to make of 
 it, of her, of that sense of the unforeseen which, like 
 an intangible shadow, hovered in the distance ? Had 
 he been a man of sentiment he might have ex- 
 perienced weird sensations as he looked at this girl 
 with her white face, her red lips, and her slanting, 
 blue eyes ; might almost have regarded her as the 
 reincarnation of some long-dead goddess of Asia, 
 and bowed as one does to the mystery of the un- 
 known. But being what he was, he congratulated 
 himself on thus satisfactorily solving a somewhat 
 intricate problem. 
 
 When he had received the letter informing him 
 that Dr. Mohri and his niece had taken a little 
 house near Richmond for the summer months, and
 
 16 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 that they would esteem it a great honour if he 
 would condescend to call on them, his sensations were 
 none of the pleasantest ; for he had striven with 
 all the assiduity of a determined mind to forget both 
 Dr. Mohri and his niece. Indeed, he had striven, 
 and had more or less succeeded, 'in forgetting many 
 things which irked him to remember. But out 
 there hi the Far East that had happened which it 
 was not easy to forget ; and if the truth must be 
 told, he both hated and feared this same Dr. Mohri, 
 with his inscrutable smile and his beady little eyes 
 with their lizard-like lids. 
 
 At first he would not go. That he had not re- 
 turned to fulfil his promise ought surely to convince 
 them that he wished the past to be forgotten. Why 
 would not these people understand ? Marry a half- 
 breed ! As well go and blow his brains out. And 
 yet he knew he would go that he must, because 
 that little man with the lizard eyes was expecting 
 him. But he was in no mood for feminine tantrums 
 or Oriental pretensions. Had he been met with 
 recrimination he would have known how to defend 
 his conduct, would have brazened out the broken 
 promise and justified himself with vigour ; but to 
 be met with the unpenetrable calm of indifference 
 this was something he had not bargained for, 
 something which lessened his pride and secretly set 
 him seething.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 17 
 
 " I hope you will have a pleasant stay in England," 
 he ventured at last. " When do you think of 
 returning to Japan ? " 
 
 " That is for my uncle to say. At present he is 
 seriously investigating certain Western phenomena 
 which takes up much of his valuable time." 
 
 ' You will kindly remember me to him, and 
 express my regret at having called when he was 
 from home." 
 
 " No doubt he will give you an opportunity of 
 personally expressing that regret." 
 
 " Then he is not from home ? " 
 
 " Oh, no ; he is here now." 
 
 Instinctively he turned and beheld a small, black- 
 coated figure standing in the doorway, blinking at 
 him with strange, inhuman eyes ; and though he 
 resented the sensation, he knew that this apparition 
 had startled him horribly.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MOHRI ! " he stammered. 
 The little man bowed still lower, and 
 then looked up over his large, steel - rimmed 
 spectacles. 
 
 " I have the honour to greet your excellency," 
 he said in admirable English, and in a low, smooth 
 tone in which the other distinguished the accentu- 
 ated accent of the girl. 
 
 " This is indeed a great pleasure," said Sir Basil 
 perfunctorily. 
 
 " The pleasure is mine once more to behold your 
 illustrious countenance. Will you honourably please 
 to be seated ? " 
 
 " I was just going," said the baronet. 
 " Indeed ! Then doubly am I to be commiser- 
 ated." 
 
 The tone, the manner, brought back vivid pictures 
 of other days and other lands. The unctuous 
 hypocrisy of the yellow man swept over him with 
 sickening effect. That attitude of humility, that 
 
 18
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 19 
 
 4 
 
 offensive courtesy how he hated it all ! Boldly he 
 stared into the ugly little face, into those strange, 
 flickering eyes, to see what he could read there. 
 But that impassive countenance baffled him. He 
 might as well have studied a bundle of old parchment. 
 
 Swiftly, and in a low tone, the girl spoke in 
 Japanese, and though Sir Basil strained his ears, 
 he caught only the one word, kekkon (marriage) ; 
 he guessed the gist of her speech from that. The 
 doctor bowed gravely, listening in an attitude of 
 the utmost deference, but without exhibiting the 
 faintest sign of interest or emotion. Then he 
 answered in that soft, oily tone of his, and held 
 wide the door for her to pass through. She bowed 
 gravely to their honourable guest, then with equal 
 gravity to her weird relative, and without another 
 word left the room. Softly the little doctor closed 
 the door after her, so softly, indeed, that the very 
 absence of noise jarred the tense nerves of Sir Basil. 
 
 " My niece has informed me that there has been 
 some slight misunderstanding," cooed the doctor 
 in that throaty, sing-song tone of his, blinking up 
 at the Englishman through his big, round glasses. 
 
 " Did you think it was to be avoided ? " asked 
 the other sharply. 
 
 " Never for a moment," replied the doctor 
 promptly. " Indeed, I have never failed to realise 
 the possibility of such an ending, and consequently
 
 20 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 I have always striven to prepare her for some such 
 contingency." 
 
 " You are a wise man, Dr. Mohri : you see that 
 the thing would be impossible ? " 
 
 " Quite. I am not one of those who believe that 
 the East and the West can ever assimilate satis- 
 factorily. You, too, have fully realised that truth 
 since your return to your own people ? " 
 
 " More than I ever thought I should. Of course 
 you know that I have the greatest respect 
 
 " Undoubtedly," replied the little man, curbing 
 the other's eagerness to explain. " Yet women are 
 not so easily impressed by the commonsense of 
 things, and it would distress me exceedingly if my 
 niece were to take this matter seriously to heart." 
 
 " Oh," laughed the other, " I don't think you need 
 let the thought of that occasion you any great 
 concern. What your niece lacks in experience she 
 makes up for by her singular quality of self-possession. 
 In spite of the white blood in her veins she is a 
 thorough Asiatic, and as such impervious alike to 
 triumph or defeat." 
 
 " You think so ? " The little voice tinkled in 
 the most remarkable manner : a wheedling, coaxing 
 tinkle of a voice that might have emanated from the 
 striking of an antique bronze which had been 
 hidden away for centuries in a Shinto temple. 
 " Perhaps you are right. The East has not yet
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 21 
 
 learnt to question the profoundity of the West. 
 It is quite possible that my niece possesses that 
 singular quality with which you credit her. Cer- 
 tainly I have sought to instil in her the supreme 
 virtues of her ancestors. But in these days, when 
 the East and the West seem to become inextricably 
 mixed, it is difficult to know exactly what a woman 
 really thinks. You must bear with us, Sir Basil, 
 and attribute our many shortcomings, not to vicious 
 obstinacy, but to inherent misfortune." 
 
 " I am glad to see you grasp so clearly the 
 difficulties of the situation." 
 
 " Oh, yes, I grasp them with the greatest of ease. 
 They are a problem quite simple of solution if one 
 only approaches them in the correct manner. In 
 Kobe you asked me for the hand of my niece, and 
 I said she shall please herself, though I would rather 
 you both waited. Then came the sudden news of 
 your accession to fortune. They said that you were 
 wanted in England ; that it would be better if you 
 were to return at once. I think you agreed with 
 me then that when I counselled waiting I was 
 very wise ? " 
 
 " You were." 
 
 Sir Basil looked sharply into the impassive face 
 as if he would read the thought that lay behind 
 these words ; but beyond the blinking of the soul- 
 less eyes he could detect no sign which might suggest
 
 22 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 a deeper motive. In all he said this little man was 
 evidently sincere, and his guest began to feel the 
 ground grow firmer beneath his feet. What, after 
 all, had he to dread ? With true oriental fatalism 
 these people accepted the inevitable without demur, 
 bowed to the will of the gods, and were content. 
 
 " Perhaps she suffered a little : it is possible. 
 Women are scantily endowed with a philosophic 
 outlook on life. Nor do they properly understand 
 this pride of race which plays so important a part 
 in the destiny of nations. We who have read and 
 thought deeply make many allowances for the 
 incertitude of fate ; but mankind, broadly speaking, 
 ignores circumstance and judges only by result." 
 
 The little eyes blinked up curiously. " Yes, 
 yes," muttered Sir Basil ; but he was not sure that 
 he saw the drift of these remarks, nor was he sure 
 that even the orator was not a victim to his own 
 love of voluble expression. Vanity, he knew, 
 assailed us in many singular forms, and these newly- 
 wise Japanese were obsessed by the thought of their 
 own importance. Personally he resented that air 
 of detached superiority which he seemed to trace 
 in the manner of the little doctor. These mystical 
 airs of wisdom assumed by the East had as much 
 foundation in reality as any other shadowy super- 
 stition, and this impassive baboon was as great a 
 fraud as the rest of his mystical brethren.
 
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 23 
 
 Nevertheless he could not rid himself of the 
 thought that in the brain of this man was much 
 more than his tongue expressed. Personally he 
 would have expressed more than was in his brain, 
 which is the way of the choleric European ; and 
 that was the wide gulf which separated the two men. 
 Only hi this instance he thought it better to restrain 
 his natural ardour, and, though the thought annoyed 
 him immeasurably, he was effectively conscious of 
 the fact that there might be wisdom in the face 
 of discretion. 
 
 And yet, wise as he wished to be, he strongly 
 resented this sense of insecurity which dominated 
 him against his will. Why should he pay such 
 deference to this ridiculous little person ? Why 
 should that soft-spoken, impassive, presumptuous 
 piece of parchment have the power to make him 
 feel so absurdly ill at ease ? And O Iris-san, or, 
 as she would have it, Miss Mayford, she also had 
 stung him with her indifference, made him feel that 
 the loss of him was a matter of the minutest concern. 
 Miss Mayford ! A . rather unpleasant smile played 
 round his lips as he showed his teeth. 
 
 " I'm afraid I offended your niece," he said, " by 
 calling her O Iris-san ; but of course you realise 
 that to me she must always be O Iris-san." 
 
 " Quite so. Always O Iris-san out there in 
 Nippon, where her English name might cause
 
 24 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 confusion ; but here, in her own country, she is her 
 father's daughter." 
 
 " Her own country ! " 
 
 " Is not the father's country also the country of 
 the child ? " 
 
 " Perhaps you are right. But then you are 
 always right, my wise doctor." 
 
 The little man shook his head, smiling in a manner 
 of which Sir Basil was not altogether enamoured. 
 That smile was the one thing about this diminutive 
 Asiatic which left an uneasy doubt in the more 
 robust mind of the other. Anger, facial or 
 expletive, came well within the scope of a none 
 too subtle intelligence ; but this evasive quality 
 of the alien mind left a singular sense of in- 
 security. 
 
 " Not always, I fear. Sometimes the profoundest 
 calculations of wisdom are destroyed by the antics 
 of a fool. We think, conceive, build, and in a 
 moment is destroyed that which has taken us years 
 to erect. This is the action of blind, fortuitous 
 chance, which no reason or foresight can combat. 
 But I see these speculations do not appeal to you ; 
 and really, why should any man weary himself, or 
 others, with such ? The world is really a very 
 pleasant place if we have the instinct to make it so. 
 That is why the rich man troubles himself not at 
 all with abstract propositions. He has what he
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 25 
 
 wants : what has thought to give him more ? 
 Even thought is vanity." 
 
 Sir Basil was startled not a little to hear this 
 heathen quote the Hebrew seer, though for the life 
 of him he could not see why he should be, since 
 it was known that even the devil could quote 
 scripture. Always had this little person been more 
 or less of a mystery to him. Out there he had heard 
 strange rumours of Dr. Mohri, rumours which had 
 not redounded to the credit of that mysterious 
 individual. Among the more ignorant it 'was 
 whispered that he had dealings with evil spirits ; that 
 even his ability to restore the almost dead had been 
 bought at a price which one day he would have to 
 pay the powers of darkness. It was even whispered 
 that he made bargains on a death-bed. But, then, 
 rumour was busy with the origin of his fortune, the 
 acquisition of which had not unnaturally caused 
 much envy. It is true he had paid little heed to 
 these things, while his personal knowledge of the 
 doctor had been meagre in the extreme ; but, now, 
 brought seriously in contact with him, he vaguely 
 realised that he was dealing with a personality 
 which might cause him infinite questionings. 
 
 He was, however, relieved to find that Dr. Mohri 
 made so little of this broken engagement, though 
 the knowledge was not conducive to an excess of 
 vanity. His natural inclination was to talk, to
 
 26 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 explain, to defend the attitude he had assumed. 
 But saner thoughts prevailed. If they were pre- 
 pared to make little of the affair, why should he 
 insist on making much of it ? And if he had let 
 loose his tongue, spoken the words that were in his 
 heart, he might easily have grown offensive. It 
 was true O Iris-san was a unique creature, and out 
 there she had seemed very desirable ; but here, as 
 a wife, she was frankly impossible. Not alone was 
 there the stigma of the half-breed ; but her ways 
 were not the ways of his people, and through her 
 he saw a life of continuous dread. 
 
 As he prepared to depart Dr. Mohri offered him 
 a whisky and soda, and nothing loth he accepted. 
 With his own hands the doctor poured out the 
 liquor, Sir Basil signifying when he was to stop. 
 Then the little man helped himself weakly, and 
 they pledged each other. 
 
 " To ten thousand years of happiness," said the 
 doctor. 
 
 " The same to you." 
 
 Both men drank, looking across the top of their 
 glasses. Sir Basil Everard thought those little 
 lizard eyes behind the big spectacles gleamed for a 
 moment with an unnatural brilliance : but when 
 he looked again it was to encounter the inscrutable 
 smile of the unchanging East.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 TT was with no eager step that Kenneth Everard 
 went to pay the long-deferred call on his 
 cousin, Sir Basil. It is true the two saw little 
 of each other, and that little had not proved 
 conducive to closer intimacy ; but Kenneth, as the 
 heir-presumptive, demanded certain recognition, 
 and this Sir Basil grudgingly bestowed on him. 
 Apart from that, there would have been no regret 
 on either side had they never met again. 
 
 This elder cousin had always been something of a 
 mystery to Kenneth. Rumour spoke of him as a 
 wild, uncertain man, a wanderer over the face of 
 the globe ; now working in odd places and at odd 
 tasks, and now being lost to sight for a year or 
 two on end. Even when the sudden death of old 
 Sir Gregory left the title vacant, it was months 
 before the whereabouts of the wanderer was dis- 
 covered. In the meantime there was talk of pre- 
 supposing his death ; Kenneth was even urged to 
 take the matter to the courts, but this he sturdily 
 
 27
 
 28 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 refused to do. While not ignoring the change 
 that it would make in his life, he did not know that 
 he was greatly desirous of it. It certainly would lift 
 the briefless barrister out of the slough in which he 
 had struggled for so many years ; but, in the mean- 
 time, what if the wanderer were to turn up and claim 
 his own ? No, on second thoughts, he would not touch 
 the thing unless he was sure of it. Then one day the 
 news came : Basil Everard had been found in Japan. 
 
 As Kenneth mounted in the lift to the third 
 floor to the suite occupied by Sir Basil in Bucking- 
 ham Gate he had a presentiment that this would 
 be the last time he would have the honour of calling 
 on his cousin, and of a truth he experienced no 
 sense of regret at the thought. The few interviews 
 that had passed between them had never been of a 
 truly amicable nature, though each had assumed an 
 air of friendliness for the sake of appearances. Sir 
 Basil had just returned from his visit to Richmond, 
 and when Kenneth entered the little drawing-room he 
 was greeted somewhat querulously by the baronet, 
 who stared at him with lack-lustre eyes and a general 
 appearance of lassitude which could not be ignored. 
 
 " Not well ? " asked the younger man, after the 
 conventional salutations had been somewhat per- 
 functorily gone through. 
 
 " What makes you ask that ? " inquired the 
 other suspiciously.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 29 
 
 " Sorry. I thought you looked a bit off colour." 
 
 " Never better in my life." 
 
 " Glad to hear it." 
 
 The elder man looked as though he doubted this. 
 Then he waved his cousin to a chair and dropped 
 rather listlessly on to the sofa. 
 
 " I suppose it was a great blow to you, eh ? 
 he asked suddenly. 
 
 " What ? " 
 
 " My returning to life, as it were." 
 
 " On the contrary. Why should it be ? " 
 
 " It did you out of a bit." 
 
 " I never let trifles like that worry me." 
 
 " Yet it seems you were rather eager to pre- 
 suppose my death." 
 
 " Whoever said that told you an infernal lie," 
 replied the younger man hotly. 
 
 " Then there was no talk of it ? " 
 
 " There may have been talk, but it was not mine. I 
 knew, of course, what would happen supposing you to 
 be dead : but I had no wish to hear of your death." 
 
 " Really ! " 
 
 " My dear fellow, if you think I am envious of you, 
 you labour under a very great delusion. To be quite 
 frank with you, Basil, I see nothing in you to envy." 
 
 " Perhaps it's just as well. I am going to marry 
 next month." 
 
 " Congratulations. Do I know the lady ? "
 
 30 THE GIRL .FROM NIPPON. 
 
 Sir Basil looked in vain for some sign of anger 
 or annoyance ; but the open countenance of the 
 younger man remained unruffled. With frank 
 clear eyes he returned the other's searching stare. 
 The baronet smiled rather grimly to himself. 
 
 ': I think not. However, it's quite immaterial. 
 I merely wanted to tell you of the proposed change 
 in my life, and of the improbability of your ever 
 benefiting ' ' 
 
 " My dear fellow, please don't be a cad. Remember 
 you represent an ancient and rather decent family." 
 
 " That cut me adrift to go to the devil as best 
 I pleased. I like your decent family, your smug 
 hypocrisy. What are you a lawyer, aren't you ? " 
 
 " Hoping to be." 
 
 " Pretty sort of business, that, for a decent man. 
 I hate lawyers." 
 
 " Not, I believe, without reason." 
 
 " So you've heard of that, too, have you ? " 
 
 " I have also heard that it was the cause of your 
 going abroad." 
 
 An angry flush swept over Sir Basil's face. 
 
 " And hoped it would keep me there ? Well 
 it was all a faked-up lie." 
 
 " Awfully glad to hear it. But, my dear fellow 
 what on earth has happened to put you in this 
 intractable mood ? I assure you that I see nothing 
 but the humorous side of your opinion of me."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 31 
 
 * 
 
 ' Yet my coming to life again has done you out 
 of everything." 
 
 " On the contrary, it has left me what you seem 
 to have lost." 
 
 " Oh ! " 
 
 " A certain amount of self-respect. I can't 
 think what possesses you to imagine that I am 
 filled with envy and hatred. You enjoy no more 
 than what is legally yours what you have a right 
 to enjoy. I never expected to take your place, 
 and, believe me, I have no wish to. On the 
 whole, I think I would rather be myself than you. 
 If you take my advice, you'll call in a doctor." 
 
 " Why should I ? " 
 
 " Because you look very like a sick man." 
 
 " Then there is still the hope ? " 
 
 " Look here, I've had enough of this." For the 
 first time Kenneth looked like losing his temper. 
 '* You're not a nice person, Basil, and I don't think 
 your enforced stay abroad has done you much 
 good. But I didn't come here to be insulted by 
 you, and if you've forgotten entirely how to be 
 agreeable, I'll clear out." 
 
 The baronet turned a curiously listless gaze on 
 his cousin, and for a moment his dulled glance 
 brightened, but not with amiability. He was 
 mentally contrasting his present unaccountable 
 lassitude with the robust and extremely health}-
 
 32 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 young man who sat watching with an amused 
 expression of tolerance on his handsome face. 
 
 " As a matter of fact," he admitted grudgingly, 
 " I am feeling a bit played out at the moment. No, 
 nothing to raise your hopes. I'm sorry, but I'm 
 afraid you mustn't build on it." 
 
 " Tell me," said the other quietly ; " were you 
 always this sort of unspeakable person ? " 
 
 " I have always had unbounded faith in the 
 limitation of human virtues." 
 
 " You must have had a rotten time." 
 
 " Well, I'm going to make up for it now. I shall 
 marry, settle down, rear children, and become as 
 big a hypocrite as the rest of you." 
 
 " I don't envy her, old chap. Don't you think 
 some one ought to warn her of the fate in store ? " 
 
 " I daresay you would have no objection to under- 
 taking so delicate a mission ? But I don't think I'll 
 trouble you, friend Kenneth. I appreciate too keenly 
 the ardour of such an undertaking. But I can tell you 
 what you might do. I have a most uncommon thirst 
 on me. You'll find whisky and a siphon on that little 
 table over in the corner. If you wouldn't mind." 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 Kenneth walked over to the table, mixed a drink 
 for his cousin, and one for himself. 
 
 " Hurry tip ! " growled the man on the sofa. 
 
 Smilingly Kenneth returned and handed him
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 33 
 
 the drink. Sir Basil seized it and drank it like a 
 man who was dying of thirst. 
 
 " Can't understand it," he said, looking up. 
 " Was never so dry in all my life. That's better," he 
 smiled as the drink began to take effect. " Blessed 
 be the man who invented whisky and soda." 
 
 Kenneth nodded, finished his drink, and returned 
 both glasses to the table. A silver cigarette-box was 
 also lying close at hand, and, opening this, he took one 
 out and lit it. Then he faced his cousin once more. 
 " Having finished this affectionate interview," he 
 said with a smile, " nothing remains for me but to 
 wish you every happiness in your new venture. 
 And, please, don't distress further that cousinly 
 mind of yours with thoughts of me and my dis- 
 appointed hopes. Try to take a saner view of life ; 
 don't imagine that everybody is sick with envy of 
 you and your unmerited good fortune, and then, 
 perhaps, you'll manage to squeeze something 
 pleasant out of life after all." He held out his 
 hand in friendship, but the other looked up at him 
 with a drawn and haggard face. " Good lord, 
 what's the matter ? " he cried in real alarm. 
 
 Sir Basil glared at him without speaking. Then 
 of a sudden his face contorted with pain, and great 
 glistening drops of sweat were plainly discernible 
 on his forehead. 
 
 " I don't know . . . sudden spasm," he gasped. 
 
 c
 
 34 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " There it is again." He doubled his knees up almost 
 to his chin, while his body contracted with pain. But 
 the paroxysm seemed to pass almost as quickly as it 
 came, and presently he lay back with a sigh of relief. 
 
 " I'd better ring for your man ? " 
 
 " Do, please." 
 
 The man, a pale-faced, heavy-browed person with 
 the true, obsequious air of his class, entered in answer 
 to the bell, and to him Kenneth confided his master. 
 
 " Is there anything I can do for you ? " asked 
 Kenneth. " Shall I ring up your doctor ? " 
 
 " No, thanks. I'm all right now." 
 
 The heir-presumptive, guessing such would be 
 received with an ill-grace, forbore to express 
 sympathy in any marked degree, and presently took 
 his leave, his cousin nodding a curt dismissal. But 
 not many minutes had passed before the paroxysm 
 came [again. The struggle was short, but violent, 
 and left the victim pallid and panting for breath. 
 
 " What's the matter, sir ? " asked the startled 
 servant, whose face had grown as white as that of 
 his master. 
 
 " Seems to me like poison," muttered the master, 
 feebly. " Must be : nothing else could stab like this." 
 
 " Had I better not call up the doctor ? " 
 
 " I think so." 
 
 While the man was at the telephone, Sir Basil lay 
 in the acutest dread of a recurrence. He breathed
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 35 
 
 in a most alarming manner, from time to time 
 passing the back of his hand across his forehead. 
 
 " Sandiland ! " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 The man hastened to his side, his eyes staring 
 with terror, his fingers trembling. 
 
 " I believe I'm going to die." 
 
 " Impossible, Sir Basil. Perhaps a pain 
 
 " I tell you I'm poisoned. Nothing but poison 
 could torture me like this." 
 
 " But, sir, how can that be ? Who would 
 
 His master hesitated for a moment. Then he said 
 with marked emphasis : 
 
 " The one who has everything to gain by my 
 death." 
 
 " You mean Mr. Kenneth, sir ? " 
 
 He nodded. " If if I should go before the 
 doctor comes, tell them what I have told you and 
 have those glasses on the table thoroughly 
 examined. He brought me a drink in one of them : 
 mixed it, you understand. . . . Oh, my God, it's 
 coming it's coming ! " 
 
 The horror in his face deepened. Then he stuffed 
 a corner of the cushion in his mouth and bit at it 
 like a mad dog. Sandiland looked on, wringing his 
 hands in impotent despair. 
 
 When the doctor entered a few minutes later, his 
 patient was beyond all hope of recovery.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 'T~" V HE tragically sudden death of Sir Basil 
 Everard, coupled with the inquest which 
 immediately followed, caused something of a 
 sensation in town. To Kenneth it all passed 
 like a horrid nightmare. The post-mortem had 
 proved the presence of an irritant poison, though as 
 to its precise nature the analysts could not speak 
 with any decided authority. The fact, however, 
 remained that Sir Basil had been poisoned, and 
 the question now to be decided was who had 
 administered it ? 
 
 Kenneth listened in horror to the damning story 
 told by the man Sandiland. Questioned and cross- 
 questioned in a dozen different ways, his evidence 
 remained unshaken. Undoubtedly Sir Basil had 
 accused his cousin of poisoning him : they were 
 almost the very last words he had uttered. When 
 the seriousness of this statement was gravely pointed 
 out to him, the certain pains and penalties of perjury 
 insisted on, he still retained his calm, obsequious 
 
 36
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 37 
 
 demeanour. He spoke the truth : he had no 
 reason for speaking other than the truth. On the 
 one or two occasions he had met him, Mr. Kenneth 
 Everard had always been extremely civil. It is 
 true Sir Basil did not seem to care much for his 
 cousin : from what his master had told him there 
 was no love lost between the two ; but beyond 
 this he knew nothing. Yet when he returned to 
 his seat, there were those in that court who 
 believed that he had put the rope round Kenneth 
 Everard's neck. 
 
 Recalled, Kenneth told the story over again, 
 but this time in greater detail. He frankly admitted 
 that his cousin and he were not on the best of 
 terms ; they rarely met, and when they did, they 
 almost invariably quarrelled, Sir Basil expressing a 
 singular antipathy towards his relative, for what 
 reason he could offer no explanation that was 
 likely to seem reasonable. Sir Basil laboured under 
 the delusion that the witness was envious of him : 
 that he, the witness, resented the other's good 
 fortune, and so forth, whereas he had always tried 
 to laugh his cousin out of this unamiable attitude. 
 
 He then explained how he mixed the drinks, 
 how Sir Basil complained of an excessive thirst, 
 and how he had found him looking, as he thought, 
 a very sick man. 
 
 " I understand," said the coroner, " that you are
 
 38 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 the nearest relative of the deceased on the male 
 side ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And that consequently you succeed to the title 
 and estates ? " 
 
 " That is so. But I wish to protest here and now 
 that until this matter is thoroughly cleared up I 
 will have nothing to do with either." 
 
 " Was your cousin a rich man ? " 
 
 " Not that I know of. In fact, I know very 
 little about his affairs : and I may add that the 
 succession seemed so far away from me that I 
 never really seriously considered it. From my 
 earliest recollection I never believed that one day 
 I should become the head of the family." 
 
 " It is an old title ? " 
 
 " Dates from the seventeenth century. Once it 
 carried considerable estates with it hi Sussex ; but, 
 like many old families, its importance has gradually 
 diminished." 
 
 " Your cousin was a great traveller ? " 
 
 " Yes : he had lived in the East for some con- 
 siderable time." 
 
 " In the East, eh ? Do you know anything of 
 his life there ? " 
 
 " Nothing. He never made me his confidant." 
 
 " Never hinted at a possible enemy ? " 
 
 " Never. You must understand that we were
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 39 
 
 never sufficiently intimate for him to take me into 
 his confidence. Indeed, my last visit was only the 
 third fourth tune I had seen him since his 
 return from Japan." 
 
 " Japan ! Of course, you know nothing of his life 
 there ? " 
 
 " Absolutely nothing." 
 
 " It is possible that he may have made enemies ? " 
 
 " Possible, of course ; but of that I know nothing." 
 
 " You have no theory to suggest the cause of 
 death ? " 
 
 " Except by misadventure." 
 
 " You do not think he committed suicide ? " 
 
 " He never struck me as a man of that sort. 
 Besides, he informed me that he was about to 
 marry, and I know he was proud of his title, and 
 quite hopeful of his future prospects." 
 
 " Then in your opinion that entirely destroys the 
 theory of suicide ? " 
 
 " Entirely." 
 
 " Now you have heard this accusation made to 
 his man Sandiland ? Do you believe he made it ? " 
 
 " I regret to say I do. It struck me that Sandiland 
 was speaking the truth." 
 
 " You have no suggestion to offer as to the meaning 
 of this very serious accusation ? " 
 
 " None whatever, except, as I have already said, 
 he seemed obsessed with the idea that I was envious
 
 40 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 of him, and wished to take his place. Growing 
 worse after he had drunk the whisky and soda, he 
 may have suddenly conceived the mad thought that 
 I had poisoned him. Assuming the analysis to be 
 correct that he was poisoned I should like to ask 
 the analyst if, in his opinion, the poison was one 
 likely to act so precipitately ? " 
 
 All eyes were turned to the chemist a venerable 
 grey-beard with a benevolent, bald skull, who looked 
 up through his glasses and answered promptly : 
 
 " As I have already stated, my analysis proves the 
 presence of a foreign substance ; but, speaking with 
 some latitude, I am decidedly of the opinion that the 
 irritant would not have acted so precipitately." 
 
 " In other words, it may have been administered 
 an hour two hours or even longer, before taking 
 effect ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 The coroner summed up ; the jury returned a 
 verdict of " wilful murder against some person or 
 persons unknown," and Kenneth Everard left the 
 court with his particular chum, Jeffrey Colburne, 
 who, like himself, was an aspirant for forensic honours. 
 Hailing a taxi, they drove at once to King's Bench 
 Walk, where they shared chambers together, and 
 various hopes. Little was said during the journey, 
 neither being in the cue for talk, their minds too 
 greatly preoccupied with the ordeal through which
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 41 
 
 they had passed. Kenneth was still quivering with 
 suppressed excitement, and though to all appear- 
 ances he smoked a cigarette with much of his 
 ordinary sang-froid, his brain still hummed with the 
 awful accusation that had been levelled at him. 
 Colburne, though for an hour or so he had been 
 trembling at the mental picture of his friend with 
 a rope round his neck, was also too greatly relieved 
 for words. Not until they reached their chambers 
 did the awful restraint disappear. Then Jeffrey 
 Colburne poured forth his gratitude in an unre- 
 strained torrent of congratulation. 
 But Kenneth was supernaturally grave. 
 " You don't realise, old boy," he said, " that I 
 was not completely exonerated. ' Person or persons 
 unknown.' Am I one of those persons ? You, of 
 course, know ; but what of the others the world at 
 large ? This dying man accuses me of having mur- 
 dered him. Fling mud enough and some of it sticks." 
 " But, my dear Ken, nobody who knows 
 you 
 
 " But what of those who don't know me ? Of 
 those who think they know me ? Man has a pre- 
 dilection for thinking evil of his fellow-man, and 
 ever so many coats of whitewash won't hide certain 
 stains. In spite of my practical acquittal of this 
 charge, there are still many who will wonder. I 
 cannot rest under such a stigma."
 
 42 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " But there is no stigma. Why, there wasn't even 
 evidence enough to go to a jury. Nobody will 
 believe for one moment that you could have done 
 such an incredible thing." 
 
 " Still," said the other doggedly, " I must clear 
 this matter up." 
 
 " If there is anything to be cleared up, you must 
 trust the police to do it. Their solution of the 
 mystery will prove your justification." 
 
 " But suppose they should fail to solve it, am I 
 to go through life as the man against whom the 
 charge of murder was not proven ? And such a 
 murder, for my own selfish ends ? Every door 
 would be shut against me, every honest man would 
 turn his back on me as I approached. And there is 
 Evelyn. How can I ask her to be the wife of a man 
 over whose head hangs such a cloud of suspicion ? " 
 
 " If she is what I take her for, there will be no 
 difficulty in that quarter." 
 
 " Even if there were not, how could I possibly 
 expect her to marry me in the circumstances ? " 
 
 " If she believes in you 
 
 " That's not enough. I refuse to be taken on 
 trust. There must be no doubt of my innocence, 
 you understand, not the remotest suspicion. That 
 anyone should think I could be capable of such 
 a crime is intolerable. I can't sit down under it, 
 old man, and I don't intend to."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 43 
 
 " By all means let it be cleared up, if possible. 
 At any rate, give the authorities a chance before you 
 imagine the worst." 
 
 " Somehow I am inclined to think that the 
 authorities will be of little service to me here. By 
 the way, did you notice that she wasn't in court ? " 
 
 Colburne had noticed it made a mental note 
 of it, in fact and was not greatly impressed in 
 her favour. 
 
 " An extremely delicate matter," he hinted. 
 
 " Quite so." But there was a suggestion of 
 bitterness in the reply which did not escape the 
 
 acute ear of his friend. 
 
 ***** 
 
 At her home in St. John's Wood, Evelyn Brereton 
 greeted him with a curiously inquisitive " Well ? " 
 
 " As you observe, I am still free," he replied with 
 a restrained laugh. 
 
 " What happened ? " 
 
 " Wilful murder against some person or persons 
 unknown." 
 
 " You ran it pretty close," she said. 
 
 " I did." 
 
 She was a tall, slim, and rather handsome girl, 
 with light brown hair showing here and there tints 
 of a decidedly reddish hue. Her eyes were large, 
 but of too pale a blue, her eyebrows and eyelashes 
 of the same indeterminate colour as the hair. Her
 
 44 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 complexion was rather pale, with that yellow tinge 
 in it so often found among red-headed people. It 
 suggested freckles under sunburn. Her mouth was 
 well-cut, her teeth perfect. 
 
 It did not seem to him that this greeting 
 was particularly warm or spontaneous. True, she 
 was never what might be called a demonstrative 
 girl, and though at times he may have regretted 
 this, at others he rather admired her perfect self- 
 control. This, however, was not one of those latter 
 occasions. Just then his heart was hankering for 
 a little touch of that womanly sympathy which to 
 a man in trouble is more precious than rubies. 
 
 Presently she asked : " What are you going 
 to do ? " 
 
 " Naturally, I don't intend to sit down under it." 
 
 " I don't see how you can. Father agrees with 
 me, too." Father was a big City solicitor who 
 was supposed to hold half the secrets of London's 
 great financiers. 
 
 " I think you are both quite right, and of course 
 I shall use my utmost endeavour to clear up the 
 mystery. But in the meantime " 
 
 " Yes ? " She put the word eagerly. He looked 
 hard at her, unable for the moment to frame the 
 thought that was running through her mind. 
 
 " Well, you see, it places us in a rather awkward 
 predicament." She nodded encouragement. " I
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 45 
 
 know, of course, that you couldn't for one moment 
 imagine me capable of such a crime." 
 
 " It's ridiculous ! " she said. 
 
 " At the same time, I have been openly accused 
 of it, and I must leave no stone unturned to prove 
 my innocence beyond the shadow of a doubt." 
 
 Again she nodded, as though in complete accord 
 with him. 
 
 " I quite agree with you, Kenneth, and so does 
 father." 
 
 " Does he ? " He was not sure that he felt 
 flattered by father's acquiescence. As he still con- 
 tinued to look hard at her, she laughingly asked 
 him what he wanted. 
 
 " I want you to help me out," he said. 
 
 " By refusing to go farther with this engagement 
 of ours until 
 
 " Until I have proved beyond a doubt that I am 
 in no way implicated in this awful business." 
 
 " Do you think that will be so hard, Sir Kenneth ? ' ' 
 
 " That's another point, Evelyn. I have decided 
 not to use the title or estates such as they are 
 until this mystery is cleared up." 
 
 Her mouth dropped. " Isn't that rather absurd ?" 
 
 " I don't think so. At any rate, I have decided 
 not to give people the chance to talk." 
 
 " I call it absurd," repeated the girl ; " but of 
 course you must please yourself."
 
 46 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " I rather hoped you would see the wisdom of it." 
 
 " I suppose I see the wisdom well enough, though 
 I'm not sure that such quixotry appeals to my 
 grosser sense." 
 
 " But you wouldn't have me step into the shoes 
 of the man whom some people think I have 
 murdered ? " 
 
 " I fail to see how you are going to please 
 everybody." 
 
 " I can at least show the world that I am not 
 anxious to assume the privileges the law confers 
 on me." 
 
 " Will the world credit you with such transcendent 
 virtue ? " 
 
 " You mean it may be regarded as a pose ? " 
 
 "It's not improbable." 
 
 " Then it is our duty to show the world that it 
 misjudges us." 
 
 " Our duty ? " 
 
 " You do not suggest that this is not the better 
 course ? " 
 
 " On the contrary, my dear Kenneth, I think it 
 is decidedly heroic." 
 
 For a moment he was at a loss to answer her 
 bewilderment, doubt, a complexity of unpleasant 
 emotions seeming to confuse the plain issue. She, 
 as if there was no need of further argument, walked 
 across to the window and looked out into the garden
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 47 
 
 with simulated interest. Then of a sudden a 
 momentary indignation eclipsed all other feelings, and 
 he turned as if to remonstrate with her, when the 
 door opened and a servant entered showing in the 
 most singularly attractive girl he had ever set eyes on. 
 
 Evelyn turned to the new-comer, and greeted her 
 with an eagerness which Kenneth thought quite 
 foreign to her nature. 
 
 " Then you have come," she said. " How nice 
 of you ! " 
 
 " Not at all. You know I promised." 
 
 " But you are always so busy." 
 
 " Not always." 
 
 Yet even as she spoke, her singular, slanting eyes 
 were turned on the young man who stood waiting 
 for the introduction. 
 
 " Mr. Kenneth Everard. Kenneth, this is Miss 
 Mayford." 
 
 Kenneth bowed gravely, and then held out his hand. 
 Miss Mayford also bowed, hesitated, and then let her 
 hand sink limply into his. Noticing her hesitation, he 
 wondered if it was owing to a certain happening. Was 
 this a warning of what he might expect in the future ? 
 
 Iris Mayford in her European clothes of the 
 latest cut was a decidedly different person from 
 the O Iris-san of the kimono. In fact, to the 
 unsophisticated she conveyed no suggestion of the 
 East, though the red lips, the pale face, and the
 
 48 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 peculiar slant of the blue eyes made her a personage 
 whom one would look at with wonder and indecision. 
 In such a manner was Kenneth Everard regarding 
 her now, and though he saw that there was something 
 foreign about her, he could not for the life of him 
 fix the nationality. And that uncertainty which 
 he was experiencing added a decided piquancy to 
 her personality. At first he thought her curiously 
 attractive, then curiosity gradually merged itself 
 in unbounded admiration. This girl was unique, 
 unusual : like nothing he had ever imagined of 
 woman in his most fantastic dreams. 
 
 At first Miss Mayford was rather reserved. An im- 
 passivity, unobtrusive and yet pronounced, seemed to 
 encompass her. She was cold, calm, inscrutable : her 
 eyes baffled him. But over the tea-cups she thawed, 
 the natural woman seeming to assert herself. 
 
 Though strongly averse to discussing his own 
 private affairs, he realised that they were no longer 
 private, and he wondered if her knowledge of him, 
 or her suspected knowledge, was the cause of that 
 half-hesitancy, that apparent coldness. 
 
 " I ought to tell you, Miss Mayford," he began, 
 laughing constrainedly, " that you are now taking 
 tea with a very dangerous suspect." 
 
 " I imagined so. Then you are the Kenneth 
 Everard ' she stopped, looking at him in a 
 manner he failed entirely to comprehend.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 49 
 
 " Who has been accused of murdering his own 
 cousin." 
 
 " I read all about it in the paper as I came along. 
 And did you murder him ? " So ingenuously was the 
 question put that he could not refrain from smiling. 
 
 " Good heavens, no ! " 
 
 " Then you were not enemies ? ' 
 
 " Of course not not real enemies. And even if 
 we were, that would be no excuse for murder." 
 
 " The best of excuses, I should say. If one does 
 not kill an enemy, then whom is one to kill ? " 
 
 " Quite so," he laughed. " It does seem reason- 
 able ; only we are not a reasonable nation. Have you 
 forgotten that we were taught to love our enemies ? " 
 
 " But you go to war, and then you kill your 
 enemies ? " 
 
 " That's so. I suppose we obtain a special 
 dispensation." 
 
 " You Christians are a strange, illogical people, 
 professing to live by holy precept, and yet out- 
 raging your professions at every turn." 
 
 " We Christians ? " he asked inquiringly. 
 
 " I am a Japanese," she said quietly, " and con- 
 sequently a heathen." 
 
 " A Japanese you ? " Incredulously he pointed 
 the question. 
 
 " Worse," she answered with one of those rare 
 smiles which from time to time illumined her face. 
 
 D
 
 50 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " I am not even a Japanese : I am a half-breed. 
 My father married a native. I was born at Kobe." 
 
 " How very curious," he said. 
 
 " What is ? " she asked sharply. 
 
 " My cousin, the man who has just died, was in 
 Japan in Kobe when the news came that he had 
 succeeded to the title." 
 
 " There are many Europeans in Kobe." 
 
 " I suppose so. I wonder if you ever met him 
 out there ? " 
 
 " We never associated with foreigners. My uncle 
 is a very studious man, a great doctor of medicine 
 and philosophy. He knows all the wisdom of the 
 East and the West." 
 
 She said this with such an air of unconscious 
 finality as to leave him positively groping for a 
 reply. That she had this absolute childlike faith 
 in the knowledge of her uncle he did not doubt for 
 an instant. She made the assertion in a manner 
 so entirely ingenuous that he could pursue no other 
 course than accept it with the same sincerity in 
 which it was given. 
 
 " Perhaps I may one day have the honour of 
 meeting your uncle ? " 
 
 " My uncle is always delighted to meet men who 
 are studious in the pursuit of knowledge." 
 
 He felt he might take this as a compliment or 
 otherwise. There certainly was nothing in her
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 51 
 
 grave demeanour to suggest that she did not class 
 him with the most worthy. 
 
 " And I shall be delighted to meet him. You do 
 not think this unfortunate happening 
 
 "Is it really unfortunate ? " she interrupted. 
 " You get rid of a very detestable personage, and at 
 once succeed to the only virtues he ever possessed. 
 I think you are to be congratulated." 
 
 "Virtues?" questioned Evelyn. "What an 
 extraordinary creature you are." 
 
 " Could I be other than what I am, being what 
 I am ? " 
 
 " I don't see why you should be," said Kenneth 
 gallantly. 
 
 The strange blue eyes regarded him for a moment 
 with singular concentration. Evelyn smiled : she 
 was not jealous, but she thought this rather bold 
 of her fiance. 
 
 " You see, I have so much to learn concerning 
 these conventions of yours," explained Iris, " and 
 so many of them, if you will pardon me, seem so 
 little worth learning. Now to me it would seem 
 somewhat hypocritical to complain of a sudden 
 accession of good-fortune. Yet because you have 
 succeeded to the virtues of your cousin, you still 
 find fault with providence." 
 
 " Not of what I succeed to, but to the manner of 
 my succeeding."
 
 52 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " He even refuses to make use of those virtues," 
 protested Evelyn, " until he has* completely cleared 
 himself of all suspicion." 
 
 " And suppose you never clear yourself ? " asked 
 Miss May ford. 
 
 " Then I shall never accept the position." 
 
 " What do you think of that for a case of sheer 
 downright obstinacy ? " cried Evelyn in a tone 
 charged with the utmost disgust. 
 
 Iris Mayford watched without speaking, those 
 strange eyes of hers narrowing until they looked 
 almost like blue slits. 
 
 " I don't profess to understand," she answered 
 quietly ; " which shows you how wide and deep 
 is the gulf that separates the East from the West." 
 
 " But I cannot think of you as being of the East," 
 he said. " You are no more Eastern than we are." 
 
 " Then you do not notice the differenge ? " she 
 asked with a strange smile. 
 
 " I assure you not at all." 
 
 " Then it must be all inside." 
 
 " In that case I fail to see the necessity for 
 comment." 
 
 " Perhaps the comment will come later." 
 
 Again she smiled enigmatically ; but he only 
 noticed the splendid curve of the mouth, and the 
 row of gleaming teeth behind the full red lips.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 / "T" V HE longer he watched her the more it seemed 
 that she exhaled a certain subtle essence of 
 the Orient. At one moment she suggested the 
 knowledge and the calm of the Sphinx, or perhaps 
 it was the brooding, inscrutable face of a Buddha 
 hidden away in the vast recesses of a gloomy forest : 
 the next she was the very embodiment of sensuous 
 grace and ease, the stormy world that went howling 
 by not worth the trouble of opening those red lips to 
 comment upon. What did such things matter to 
 one who had entered the calm of the higher atmo- 
 spheres ? He was not particularly well acquainted 
 with the Buddhist faith, but vague thoughts of 
 Nirvana and of the vast solitudes void of the breath 
 of desire stole insiduously through his brain as he 
 watched her. Then as she spoke, flouting conven- 
 tion, trampling on our dear conceits, propounding a 
 philosophy frankly heathen, he descended from the 
 higher altitudes of pure thought and somewhat 
 reluctantly admitted that the savage was not very 
 far removed from the sage. For the life of him 
 
 53
 
 54 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 he could not comprehend whether it was her moral 
 or her intellectual outlook that was stunted. She 
 was not sufficiently Eastern for him to attribute all 
 to her nationality : indeed, he might even have for- 
 gotten that nationality had she not so strenuously 
 insisted on it. It was as though she would leave no 
 loophole for a second mistake ; and though she did 
 not insist on proclaiming the inferiority of her race, 
 she let it clearly be seen that such a thought was 
 in her mind. 
 
 When she at length arose and began to draw on 
 her gloves, he also declared that it was time he 
 was going ; and as Evelyn suggested neither by look 
 nor by word that she wished him to remain, he forth- 
 with offered to escort Miss Mayford to a taxi. She 
 protested against the trouble, to which he refused 
 to listen. She made no more ado about the matter, 
 but allowed him to accompany her into the street. 
 
 " Where ? " he asked, as he stood by the open cab. 
 
 " I was to call at Cumberland Place, but I'm 
 afraid I'm rather late. It doesn't in the least 
 matter," she added quickly. " My uncle will 
 probably pick me up in the Park." 
 
 " May I go so far with you ? " 
 
 " By all means. Perhaps I can drop you at 
 your house." 
 
 " That would be going out of the way. I have 
 chambers in the Temple."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 55 
 
 " So," she said, when they were seated and the 
 taxi was whirling along the Wellington Road, 
 " you follow the law ? " 
 
 " For my sins." 
 
 " My father often spoke of the Temple. He, too, 
 had chambers there. In those days he 'was a man 
 of ambition." 
 
 " We all are more or less," he laughed ; " but 
 few of our hopes materialise." 
 
 " In King's Bench Walk," she said. " There is 
 such a place ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I live there. I may even occupy your 
 father's rooms." 
 
 " That would be very strange." 
 
 For a while she sat gazing silently out through the 
 window, and he knew as well as though she had told 
 him that her mind was already back in that far-off 
 country, and that she was thinking of the once 
 ambitious man who had drifted Eastward never 
 to return. 
 
 They alighted from the cab at the Marble Arch 
 and entered the Park, which, the afternoon being 
 fine, was crowded with pedestrians and motor-cars ; 
 and as they walked along Kenneth Everard noticed 
 the many admiring glances which followed his 
 companion. He, too, was conscious of being proud 
 to be seen in the company of this remarkably attrac- 
 tive girl, who walked with the high assurance of
 
 56 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 one who is conscious of being not quite as those 
 about her. 
 
 Opposite Stanhope Gate they sat back among 
 the pretty women who made a living lovely garden 
 of the greensward ; and she was generous in her 
 praise of the delicate beauty of Englishwomen, 
 especially of those in the possession of bronze-red 
 hair and the superb pink and white complexion that 
 so often accompanied it. And while he admitted 
 the loveliness, the thought also ran through his 
 mind that there were other forms of beauty equally 
 adorable. Just then he was wondering if anything 
 could be more perfect than the sheen of her thick 
 black, sweet-smelling hair. 
 
 " I wish I was English," she said suddenly. 
 
 " But you are." 
 
 " Ah, no ! I thought so out there, but here I 
 know different. I am not at all like these girls 
 either in thought or appearance." 
 
 " Is that any particular disadvantage ? " 
 
 " I think so. Don't you find my sentiments 
 rather alarming ? " 
 
 " I think there is a lot of truth in them," he 
 answered tactfully. 
 
 " That is my misfortune." 
 
 A few seats away from them a man was reading 
 a late edition of one of the evening papers, and 
 Everard's quick eye caught the leaded heading.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 57 
 
 " What do you suppose that man is reading ? " 
 he asked suddenly. 
 
 " I know." 
 
 " I wonder what he would think if he knew who 
 was sitting so close to him ? Aren't you rather 
 afraid of me ? " 
 
 " I ? " The question seemed to surprise her. 
 ' That is where I differ so greatly from all these 
 good folks. Tell me, do Christians willingly let 
 their enemies triumph over them ? " 
 
 " Not willingly," he admitted. " We are at con- 
 stant strife one with the other, each trying to get the 
 better of the other, dealing honestly with our brother 
 only when we believe such to be the best policy." 
 
 " So that, you see, your Christianity is really not 
 so very superior to our heathenism." 
 
 " But your father was a Christian ? " 
 
 " I am not certain ; and he died so long ago. 
 You think me strange, eh ? You wonder what 
 I really am ? " 
 
 " I shall find out." 
 
 " Please don't : don't even try. The East, like 
 the West, has its destiny. Some day they may 
 clash. That day may be nearer than we imagine. 
 We must obtain full recognition of our merits from 
 Europe, and the only way to do it is to kill you." 
 
 " Come," he laughed, " that seems a very drastic 
 measure. I should have thought the better way
 
 53 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 would be to win by the triumph of intellect and 
 moral merit." 
 
 " Theoretically, yes ; you Europeans pay homage to 
 such, but in reality you only admire the power of 
 arms. Might is right with you, and through might 
 only can we gain your respect. Fear and courtesy go 
 hand in hand." 
 
 " I dare say you are right : though at the same 
 time I can't allow you to insist on this difference 
 between us. You are no more Asiatic than I am." 
 
 " Look at my eyes," she said. 
 
 " I have looked at them." 
 
 " True Mongol. Did such a slant ever come out 
 of Europe ? " 
 
 He was looking at them even as she spoke, their 
 intense blue, deeper than the skies of summer, 
 and in their depths as mysteriously profound. 
 A compliment sprang to his lips, but realising that 
 she was serious in her protestation he refrained, 
 knowing such would not be acceptable. 
 
 At the same moment she half rose from her seat, and 
 he saw she was gazing anxiously towards the roadway. 
 
 " There's my uncle," she said ; " there in that green 
 car. " He saw the green car plainly enough, but as it had 
 already passed he could not distinguish its occupants. 
 " They will return presently. Let us walk by the rails." 
 
 When the car came round again she waved to its 
 occupants, two Japanese, and as it drew hi against
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 59 
 
 the kerb he saw that one of them was a particularly 
 ugly little fellow, inclined to be fat, with a hairless, 
 pockmarked face. Both wore spectacles. 
 
 She greeted them in Japanese, they gravely saluting. 
 What was said Kenneth, of course, could not under- 
 stand ; but he noticed that the thinner man of the 
 two looked at him stolidly with blinking lids. 
 
 " My uncle, Dr. Mohri," she said, indicating the 
 man with the blinking lids. " Let me also present 
 Mr. Takemoto." He thought she pronounced his 
 own name in rather a singular manner. 
 
 Dr. Mohri was gravely attentive, endeavouring 
 to make conversation with well-bred courtesy ; 
 but Mr. Takemoto, whose appearance was most 
 unattractive, had eyes for no one but the girl. 
 And what curious, repellent little slits of eyes they 
 were. Black, soulless, emotionless, they resembled 
 nothing so much as dull black beads encompassed 
 by layers of puffy eyelid. Kenneth saw now the 
 difference between East and West, understood more 
 clearly the girl's attitude as he heard her patter in 
 the native tongue to the little pockmarked image. 
 
 " I am delighted to meet you," said Dr. Mohri, in 
 that soft, wheedling tone of his. " I hope I may 
 have the honour of your further acquaintance." 
 
 " Indeed, I sincerely hope so." 
 
 Then this was the great Dr. Mohri, the extra- 
 ordinary person whom Iris Mayford had described
 
 60 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 as the repository of all knowledge. And she was this 
 quaint little creature's niece ! A curious sense of dis- 
 illusionment swept over him. Alone she suggested 
 the subtle mysteries of the East, imagination ran riot 
 in fantastic grooves when thinking of her, but in the 
 presence of these two solemn, ugly little men the en- 
 chantment seemed to vanish as if by stroke of magic. 
 
 She entered the car, Mr. Takemoto rising and 
 bowing her to his seat. Something she said to 
 her uncle in the native tongue, his answer being a 
 grave inclination of the head. Then Kenneth shook 
 hands with both uncle and niece, but for the life of 
 him he could not do more than bow to Mr. Takemoto, 
 who did not seem at all distressed by the omission. 
 Indeed, he had scarcely opened his mouth during 
 the whole of the time, but sat there, his beady little 
 eyes riveted on the girl. 
 
 Dr. Mohri handed Kenneth his card. 
 
 " I am afraid it is a long way to ask you to come," 
 he said ; " but if you are ever in Richmond I hope 
 you will do us the honour of calling." 
 
 " I frequently visit Richmond," was the strictly 
 unveracious reply, " and shall be delighted to call." 
 
 After depositing the silent Takemoto at his hotel 
 in Kensington, uncle and niece continued the 
 journey in silence. 
 
 " Oji-san " (uncle), she said at last. 
 
 " My 'flower ? "
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 61 
 
 " Is it not wonderful ! " 
 
 " I have read the paper." 
 
 " Ah, yes, but think the cousin of him who 
 was. Is it not amazing ? " 
 
 " Where did you meet him, O Iris-san ? " 
 
 " At the house of Miss Brereton. He is to marry 
 her." 
 
 " Does that concern thee ? " The little eyes 
 blinked curiously. 
 
 " Nay, why should it ? But think : the cousin 
 of him ! " 
 
 " Another wolf in the path." 
 
 " The wolf that crosses thy path, oji-san, had 
 better beware." 
 
 The little man made no reply : indeed, for any 
 sign betrayed by him he may not even have heard 
 her. Nor did the girl turn his way, but like him 
 stared straight ahead, apparently absorbed by the 
 panorama of the streets, or her own thoughts. 
 Yet she did not doubt that behind that impassive 
 exterior the brain was working as acutely as ever. 
 
 " Open as a book," he said, without looking at her. 
 
 " I think so." 
 
 " His eyes were turned on thee, little one." 
 
 She tossed her head. " They know not what to 
 make of me. Am I so strange a monster ? " 
 
 " He has suggested it ? " 
 
 " No."
 
 62 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Takemoto San." 
 
 " I hate him ! " 
 
 " He has been pleased to suggest an honourable 
 alliance." 
 
 " What, that baboon ! I sicken at the sight of 
 him." 
 
 " True, he is not shaped like a god, but he has 
 many yen." 
 
 " I would rather go to my mother," she said, 
 " your honourable sister." 
 
 " One of our blood." 
 
 " Of our blood ! " 
 
 " Is it not so ? " 
 
 " Nay, it is not so. I am an Englishwoman. 
 I do not understand you, oji-san. Sometimes I 
 wonder what you would make of me." 
 
 " And I, too, in that sex of thine find my greatest 
 problem. Of us and yet not of us, I know not 
 where I am with thee. The philosophies of Europe 
 were easier understood than thou." 
 
 " I am a woman, oji-san. You could not read 
 a woman were you to live for ever." 
 
 With a grave shake of his head the little man 
 acknowledged the profoundity of this remark. As 
 the car sped over Barnes Common he was still 
 thinking, nor did he speak again until they were 
 whirling along the uplands of Richmond Park. But 
 she seemed instinctively to follow his train of thought.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 63 
 
 " He knows ? " 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 " You wish that he should know ? " 
 
 " Not yet. But he declares that he will not rest 
 until he has unravelled the mystery of his cousin's 
 death. You did not offer to speak ? " 
 
 " Why should I ? What is it to us ? This man 
 died ; he was worthless ; the world is well rid of him." 
 
 " He died most strangely, oji-san." 
 
 " The world is full of strange deaths. We have no 
 time to count them." 
 
 " Nor the inclination ? " 
 
 He stared steadily ahead apparently gazing into 
 space. 
 
 " Have you ? " 
 
 " Am I not your niece, and in our hearts do we 
 not hate these people with their assumption of 
 superiority ? " 
 
 ' That superiority wanes, my child. They taught 
 us the use of modern arms, and Russia can com- 
 plete the story. There is still a little to learn, but 
 our time is coming. Meanwhile, we shall continue 
 to suck their brains and borrow their money. A 
 patriotic people these, who build ships for us that 
 we may use against them, who lend us money to buy 
 arms with which to kill them." 
 
 Something approaching a smile crossed his face, 
 to be lost immediately in his innumerable wrinkles.
 
 64 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Sometimes I think you hate them very much. 1 ' 
 
 " Sometimes," he answered, as if addressing the 
 air, " I fear you do not profit greatly by my 
 teaching." 
 
 " Oh, yes, I hate them," she said, " because they 
 despise me." 
 
 " So, they despise you, little one ? Well, we 
 may yet make them learn to fear us. The people 
 of this teeming city," he said, waving his hand 
 back towards London, " what are they but an 
 undisciplined rabble, one minute shrieking with 
 joy over a petty triumph, and the next plunged 
 in the depths of despair over a petty reverse ? 
 Their men dance like actors and their women bare 
 their bodies like the girls of the yoshiwara. The 
 Russians took Petersburg and Moscow with them 
 into Manchuria and they remain there." 
 
 She knew that deep in his heart an intense hatred 
 of the white races smouldered sullenly ; that it was 
 a national hatred which one day would burst into 
 an all-devouring flame. And though over and 
 over again she too told herself that she also hated 
 the European, she knew that there were forces 
 struggling against that hatred with which it was most 
 difficult to cope.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 T T 71TH the singular impassivity of his race 
 Yoji Takemoto stared into the blinking 
 eyes of Dr. Mohri, though for aught he found 
 there contributory to his wishes he might as well 
 have watched one of the inscrutable idols of his 
 native land. The little doctor winked and blinked, 
 and winked and blinked again with as much expres- 
 sion as a bubble on a silent stream. Nor was Take- 
 moto either surprised or annoyed at this, for it 
 was not the nature of these men to indulge their 
 feelings in outward ebullition. Under a serene 
 and grave aspect many of them pretended to a wis- 
 dom they did not possess : it was what the European 
 calls the Oriental calm, a calm often engendered by 
 the fact that there was nothing to ruffle, though the 
 case of these two men did not come under this cate- 
 gory. No living soul had been able to penetrate 
 the secret grooves and windings of Hiro Mohri 's 
 mind, and if it rested with him no living soul 
 ever should. 
 
 65 E
 
 66 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " It is like this, Mohri-san," the pockmarked one 
 was saying, " I have no wish to remain longer in the 
 West, where many things both confuse and irritate 
 my mind. These people our allies are a frivolous 
 and ill-assorted race who pass their days in idleness 
 and then- nights in dissipation. A people so void of 
 intellectual resource as to grow frenzied over a horse- 
 race is not the people whom one can take seriously. 
 I think, when the time comes, they will fall into our 
 lap like over-ripe apples. Meanwhile, I return to 
 Nippon, never again to leave it, and I would take 
 with me as my wife O Iris-san." 
 
 His listener blinked, blinked, but said never a 
 word. Yet behind those large steel-rimmed spec- 
 tacles the little beady eyes were watching with a 
 peculiarly penetrating glow. 
 
 " I have the temerity to propose myself for the 
 hand of your honourable niece, Mohri-san," con- 
 tinued the pockmarked one with a gravity befitting 
 so momentous an occasion, " and with your august 
 permission I am anxious to have the ceremony 
 performed with as little delay as possible." 
 
 " And in return ? " asked the doctor. 
 
 Takemoto at once enumerated the advantages of 
 such an alliance, his references to moneys, gifts, 
 and so forth, being on a prodigal scale. These prac- 
 tical details the two discussed for a considerable 
 period, seeming to see nothing derogatory to the
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 67 
 
 philosophic attitude in the driving of a hard bargain. 
 And Dr. Mohri, fully aware of the fact that he held 
 the good Takemoto in the hollow of his hand, did 
 not forget to press those sinuous fingers. 
 
 " It is my wish," he said, " that my niece should 
 -marry one of her own race, and I doubt that my 
 choice could fall on one more worthy. Yet j^ou 
 realise, Takemoto-san, that she is not wholly of our 
 race, and that she is imbued with certain Western 
 principles which do not meet with my approval. 
 Nevertheless, she shall be yours in due course, though, 
 as you are aware, some little time must elapse before 
 I can finish my work and we are ready to depart." 
 
 Takemoto bowed gravely, though as he lowered 
 his lids a momentary flash of triumph illumined his 
 eyes. Apparently, Dr. Mohri saw nothing objec- 
 tionable in the pitted face, the thick mouth, or the 
 generally contemptible appearance of his worthy 
 friend. Nor in his mind had he a doubt that this 
 grotesque person would one day possess the radiant 
 Iris-san. In their native land the women had little 
 to say in these matters, realising that the choice 
 of her parents or guardians must necessarily prove to 
 her advantage. 
 
 " And this Englishman ? " asked Takemoto, after 
 all preliminaries had been satisfactorily adjusted. 
 
 " There are so many," replied the doctor, but 
 without the shadow of frivolity.
 
 68 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " He is here again ? " 
 
 " At this moment I believe they take tea in the 
 garden." 
 
 " Is that correct, Mohri-san ? " 
 
 " Perfectly. He is a relation of my old Kobe 
 acquaintance, Sir Basil Everard." 
 
 " Who died so suddenly ? " 
 
 " Alas, yes ! these misfortunes happen. When 
 I last saw him he was in the flush of health and 
 pride, even as you are now, Takemoto-san." 
 
 Takemoto-san did not seem to appreciate this 
 personal parallel. Inquiringly, he looked up from 
 under his puffy lids. 
 
 " They say there was a mystery ? " 
 
 " Is not death itself the crowning mystery of all ? " 
 
 " But this might have been explained. It was 
 suggested that the man whom Iris-san at present 
 entertains was the murderer." 
 
 " And what of murder ? It is but another form 
 of death the death that comes to all. These Euro- 
 peans place so great a value on life that they are 
 positively afraid to die, and it seems to me that 
 you unconsciously imbibe some of their strange 
 notions. What is one to think of a people who 
 consider suicide a crime, and punish the hero who 
 would perform the honourable kari-kari ? " 
 
 " Yet I think it scarcely wise that this man " 
 
 " This man has his destiny like the rest of us.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 69 
 
 If he is here, it is for certain reasons, though the 
 wish of my niece is not one of them. No doubt she, 
 too, has her reasons. Being a woman they are sure 
 to be wrong. Yet, in many instances, woman is 
 the finest instrument ever given to man for the 
 achievement of his purpose." 
 
 " I did not know you had so high an opinion of 
 the sex." 
 
 " Herein we may learn something from the 
 Western enfranchisement of woman. These people 
 use their women in many ways : we only in one way. 
 They give them glory and worship it. There is 
 nothing a man will so sincerely worship as his own 
 creation." 
 
 " You speak in riddles." 
 
 " Rather do I fail to catch the approbation of 
 your august intelligence." 
 
 " Yet I fail to see " 
 
 " All in good time, my friend. There is much 
 profit to be gained from intercourse with these 
 people. Nippon, thanks to their guidance, has 
 emerged from the slough of ages and now ranks 
 as a foremost Power. Here be much wisdom, 
 Takemoto-san, foolishly and prodigally scattered, 
 and we mendicants of the East, we pick up the 
 crumbs by the wayside. Many crumbs go to the 
 making of a loaf. With the loaf in our hand we 
 eat largely."
 
 70 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 Meanwhile, beneath the shade of a red and white 
 striped umbrella of gigantic proportions, Kenneth 
 Everard drank tea from little egg-shell cups without 
 handles and looked into Iris Mayford's eyes, the 
 most wonderful eyes he had ever seen. Quick had he 
 been to take advantage of Dr. Mohri's invitation to 
 visit them at their temporary home near Richmond. 
 And a quaint house it was, almost on the confines 
 of Ham Common, stowed away by itself behind a 
 high wall overgrown by evergreens. Though the 
 front of the house gave almost immediately on to 
 the gate, there was an extensive walled garden at 
 the back which it was quite impossible to overlook. 
 Entrance was effected to the house through a porch 
 supported by Corinthian columns, and over the 
 columns and the porch ramblers spread themselves as 
 if in sheer wantonness. Above the porch a large semi- 
 circular window bulged rather prominently. That, 
 she explained, was her uncle's study or laboratory. 
 
 " But I understood he was a doctor of philosophy, 
 not a chemist," said the young man. 
 
 " He is everything, that uncle of mine, and is 
 at present working on an invention which he says 
 will startle the world." 
 
 Everard nodded without smiling.' He had heard 
 of those inventors, the people who were always going 
 to startle the world. They were as plentiful as the 
 hopes^of youth.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 71 
 
 " I suppose he maintains the greatest secrecy 
 over it ? " 
 
 " Naturally." 
 
 " I hope he'll let me know when he intends to 
 float the company. I may be useful to him." 
 
 A soft-footed Japanese servant came to remove 
 the tea-things. Everard lit a cigarette as he and 
 the girl strolled slowly towards the bottom of the 
 garden. He was not slow to note that this portion 
 of the grounds had been sadly neglected ; indeed, it 
 looked as though a gardener had never been near 
 the place for weeks. And this surprised him con- 
 siderably, as he was under the impression that the 
 Japanese had considerable reputation as expert 
 horticulturists. 
 
 " Isn't it disgraceful," she protested ; " but my 
 uncle will not have the place touched." 
 
 " Perhaps the philosophic mind soars above 
 the trivialities of gardening." 
 
 " On the contrary," she answered. " Our place 
 at Kobe is beautiful." 
 
 " But then, you are here for so short a time," 
 he offered by way of explanation. 
 
 " I suppose that is the reason. But I never 
 come down here : I think it detestable." 
 
 A few sheds or outhouses were built against the 
 wall at the extreme end of the garden, and in one 
 of these, in a sort of improvised chicken-run, they
 
 72 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 saw half a dozen gaunt fowls. The girl was evidently 
 surprised. 
 
 " I did not know these were here," she said. 
 
 " Then this is not your hobby ? " 
 
 " No. I wonder when they arrived ? This is 
 very curious." 
 
 But something still more curious was to happen 
 a few paces further on. Here in a house, divided by 
 wire partitions, were two dogs : one, a powerful 
 Airedale, the other a fox-terrier. Yet, as the girl 
 and the man approached, the two creatures cringed 
 away to the extremity of their kennels, and looked 
 up with eyes that plainly bespoke the most abject 
 terror. 
 
 " Well, this is strange," she said. " I wonder 
 why I was not told." 
 
 " Perhaps your uncle forgot : or perhaps they 
 have only just arrived." 
 
 " But, why are they shut up like this ; and why 
 are they so frightened ? " 
 
 That he could not say ; but frightened, and 
 most horribly frightened, too, they were beyond a 
 doubt, for when she approached still closer to the 
 terrier's cage and began speaking to him in soft, 
 cajoling accents, the little fellow shook like a leaf 
 and looked up at her with eyes that were full of 
 terror. With the great Airedale it was the same, 
 a powerful, sinewy-looking fellow who ought never
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 73 
 
 to have known the suspicion of fear. And yet he, 
 too, shook as with an ague when Everard peered 
 in at him, turning his beautiful brown eyes up to 
 the man with a most pathetic appeal. 
 
 " What can be the matter with them ? " asked 
 the girl. She had expended all the soft expletives 
 she knew in her endeavour to coax the pretty little 
 terrier to her ; but he only tried to get the further 
 away, his eyes almost bolting from his head with 
 fright. 
 
 " Are they mad or only stupid ? " she asked at 
 length. 
 
 " Mad with terror, I should say." 
 
 " Then you think they have been ill-treated ? " 
 
 " I am sure of it." 
 
 " I wonder by whom ? Surely no one but a brute 
 would treat a dog unkindly ? " 
 
 " I am afraid there are brutes who even treat 
 their own flesh and blood unkindly. You did not 
 know these dogs were here ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 He could see that she was greatly puzzled over 
 the matter : indeed, she made no pretence of hiding 
 her astonishment, but kept looking from him to the 
 dogs with eyes in which the element of speculation 
 was most pronounced. Then she called to the 
 Airedale in a voice which might have banished terror 
 from the most nervous of children, or of dogs, but
 
 74 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 the big fellow only trembled the more, crouching 
 before her in the most abject terror, his beautiful 
 brown eyes mutely appealing for mercy. 
 
 " I don't understand it," she said at last. Nor 
 did he, only he saw quite plainly that in some way 
 or other the animals had been subjected to gross 
 cruelty. 
 
 As they slowly returned to the more cultivated 
 part of the garden he, looking up at the window 
 above the porch, caught a glimpse of the little 
 doctor, who was peering down at them from his 
 study. A curious, shuddering conjecture swept 
 through him, and instinctively his eyes sought 
 those of the girl. She, too, had seen that face at the 
 window, and he knew that it awoke certain thoughts 
 which she deemed it not wise to express in words.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " TT is in this fashion, Iris-san," said the little 
 ** doctor, blinking up at his niece like a yellow 
 toad : " Yoji Takemoto is one in whom I 
 have every confidence. I think he may go far in 
 the social upheaval of our times, being a man of 
 character, resource, and great fortune. With us, as 
 with these Western peoples, the dog of unrest is let 
 loose. The old order changes : it must change. 
 That which once stirred the people to reverence 
 now evokes nothing but ridicule. We cannot absorb 
 the progressive science of the West without borrow- 
 ing much of its socialism. That power and know- 
 ledge which we have applied so successfully in war 
 must, in the natural order of things, be turned 
 against ourselves. What satisfied the generations of 
 long ago leaves the new order seething with dis- 
 content. With the few prevailing over the many 
 we live like an armed camp that is in momentary 
 expectation of a surprise." 
 " But," said she, wondering what all this had to 
 
 75
 
 76 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 do with Takemoto, " the few have always pre- 
 vailed over the many, and always will." 
 
 " In a way, yes ; but there is a distinction. In 
 most instances the few seize the power and hold it ; 
 in other cases that power is given the few by the 
 many to hold as a sacred trust." 
 
 " Is that not the wise way ? " 
 
 " The intelligent poor are beginning to think 
 so, but the settled dynasties call it republicanism." 
 
 " You do not agree with the intelligent poor ? " 
 
 " Though I absorb the new, it is that I may be 
 of greater service to the old ; for through the old 
 man may achieve what man most covets titles, 
 distinctions, power ! " 
 
 " I cannot help it, oji-san, but I sometimes fear 
 that I am one of the new." 
 
 He nodded his head in solemn acquiescence, but 
 betrayed no sign of how this admission affected him. 
 
 " Yoji Takemoto is one of the old," he said 
 slowly. " A judicious blending of the old with the 
 new might produce the most satisfactory results." 
 
 " What do you mean by that, oji-san ? " Her 
 eyes narrowed to long bright slits of blue. It was 
 when this look came into her face that the European 
 seemed utterly to vanish. 
 
 " I have decided that you shall be the wife of 
 Takemoto-san." 
 
 " I his wife ! "
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 77 
 
 The white face grew whiter, the eyes straighter ; 
 for a moment even the colour forsook her lips. 
 
 " He has thus honoured you," said the little man, 
 imperturbable as ever. 
 
 " Naturally, I feel the honour greatly, oji-san," 
 she said with an effort. " Indeed, I fear I am 
 unworthy of even the smallest niche in his 
 affections." 
 
 " He generously forgives all deficiencies out of 
 regard for the great affection he bears you." 
 
 " How can one so unworthy accept such un- 
 exampled generosity ? " 
 
 " He waives all that with a magnanimity much 
 to be admired. Quite naturally, I protested against 
 the honour he would show to one so utterly un- 
 worthy, but Takemoto-san is one in whom the virtue 
 of generosity excels to a superlative degree." 
 
 " Might I not be granted an equal generosity in 
 forbidding him to contract an alliance so unworthy 
 his excessive virtues ? " 
 
 The little yellow man blinked once, twice, thrice ; 
 but beyond that he betrayed no sign of being 
 affected by her protest. 
 
 " Practically the same argument was advanced 
 by me, though even my acutest wisdom failed to 
 produce the slightest sign of wavering." 
 
 " There is another point, oji-san," she said in a 
 deep, steady voice. "Is it not possible that I
 
 78 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 may not wish to become the wife of the honourable 
 Takemoto ? " 
 
 " Such a wish cannot prevail with a true daughter 
 of Nippon." 
 
 " But am I a true daughter of Nippon ? My father 
 was a white man, oji-san. You seem to forget that." 
 
 " I have tried hard to forget it," he admitted. 
 " It is a misfortune I have never ceased to deplore, 
 a misfortune we must try hard to forget." 
 
 " But if I cannot forget it if I have no wish to 
 forget it ? My mother, your honourable sister, 
 loved my father dearly. Always she told me to 
 honour his memory. How can I honour it by for- 
 getting him ? " 
 
 " My honourable sister was true to her breeding. 
 She honoured her husband as I have no doubt you 
 will honour yours." 
 
 " But I could not honour Takemoto-san. His 
 revolting presence affects me like a sickness." 
 
 " Iris-san," he answered gravely, but without 
 the least sign of anger, " these are but the half- 
 digested sentiments of the lawless Western woman, 
 who knows not how to respect that chivalry which 
 has granted her so much freedom. In the East 
 we do not do these things. This future of yours 
 has been the cause of much serious thought on my 
 part. In Yoji Takemoto I have found all that a 
 wife should desire."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 79 
 
 " Yet if I care not for him ? " she said. 
 " Another pernicious idea of the Western woman," 
 he replied. " What more can a woman want than 
 that her husband should care for her ? It is a great 
 honour he would pay you, Iris-san." 
 
 " If I look upon it with the eyes of a Western 
 woman I see no honour in it at all, but rather a 
 shame and a degradation." 
 
 " How is it possible for you to look on it with the 
 eyes of a Western woman ? " 
 
 " Because I am one," she answered boldly. 
 
 Thoughtfully he stroked the strip of loose skin 
 below his chin, his blinking lids quite steady for 
 the space of several seconds. 
 
 " Have you forgotten so soon ? " he asked in that 
 quiet, sing-song way of his. 
 
 " What ? " But her heart misgave her. She 
 saw like a flaming sword the thought that was run- 
 ning through his mind. 
 
 " One who was but is not. He thought of you 
 as something quite other." 
 
 " I cared not for him," she protested. 
 
 " Yet he made you suffer." 
 
 " Made my pride suffer, not me." 
 
 " But you hated him ? " 
 
 " I have forgotten." 
 
 " Hated all his race ? " 
 
 " My race, too," she said.
 
 8o THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " It is not thus I would have you think," he 
 answered gravely. 
 
 " How would you have a woman think but the 
 way her heart dictates ? I may obey you, oji-san, 
 because it is my duty to obey you, but I could not 
 think with you if my heart forbade it." 
 
 " If we would achieve our destiny," he answered, 
 " it becomes our imperative duty to see that the 
 heart becomes subservient to the mind. What we 
 call sympathy, feeling, is but the illegitimate off- 
 spring of a degenerate alliance. No strong man, 
 no strong nation, is ever swayed by such. The 
 tiger is respected in the jungle, the lion in the forest. 
 These Christians, following the precepts they profess, 
 would fall into our laps like ripe fruit. There is no 
 Christianity in the jungle. It is kill, kill ! " 
 
 " The law of the brute." 
 
 He did not even smile. He rarely smiled, this little 
 scrap of old parchment ; but he thought it strange 
 that the blood in her should thus assert itself despite 
 his teaching. 
 
 " Man's law is the law of the brute, and through the 
 brute only can he achieve victory over his fellows." 
 
 " With due respect, oji-san, I think you are not 
 always quite correct. Why I think so I know not, 
 nor could I hope to impress your august intelligence 
 with my feeble reasoning." 
 
 For quite an appreciable space of time Mohri's
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 81 
 
 lids forgot to blink. Indeed, never had she seen 
 those little eyes so wide and so full of wonder. 
 
 "It is not strange that you should fail to under- 
 stand," he said. " I should advise a discontinuance 
 of the endeavour. I am also of opinion that Yoji 
 Takemoto would not altogether approve a wife who 
 exceeded a wife's duties." 
 
 She tossed her head, but not disrespectfully. 
 
 " The honourable Takemoto has my sincerest 
 sympathy," she said. 
 
 Looking fixedly at her his lips moved as though 
 about to formulate a reply ; but, as if acknowledging 
 the wisdom of a second thought, he uttered no sound. 
 
 And yet this new phase of her character occasioned 
 in him a curious sense of futility. What if the 
 blood was to triumph after all; and he and all his 
 knowledge were to offer no insuperable barrier to 
 the rush of primitive instinct ? It had not been 
 to his liking that union of East and West out there, 
 and when the girl-child came, the despised girl- 
 child, instead of the son in whom only is honour 
 and glory he saw the sardonic smile of destiny 
 At first he ignored the new-comer, seeing in it a 
 strange hybrid totally beyond his range of sympathy ; 
 but with the death of the parents, when the strang- 
 thing came to him, he performed his duty coldly 
 towards it according to his lights. With her growth, 
 the child's singular intelligence appealed to him 
 
 F
 
 82 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 in a perverted manner, and having no male relation 
 to whom he could communicate his ideas, he took 
 a sort of grotesque delight in talking to the child. 
 Finding an apt pupil, his interest in her increased. 
 That which he had at first treated as a whimsical idea 
 became a serious part of his life. What if he should 
 make of this woman-child something unique in the 
 world of woman ? Was it possible that the masterful 
 mind of man might filter into one of the other sex ? 
 And how would the prodigy affect the world ? 
 
 Maker of experiments, the idea strongly appealed 
 to him, and had she been his younger and other 
 self, he could not have devoted himself more assidu- 
 ously to the moulding of her mind. He saw her 
 grow up as he believed sexless, devoted only to the 
 acquiring of wisdom and of that knowledge which 
 makes for power. He knew that she was beautiful. He 
 was tactfully approached by the makers of marriages 
 with advantageous offers. She listened when he spoke, 
 but coldly, and without interest marriage-proof. 
 
 Of this wondrous creature he began to dream 
 strange dreams. Fantastic possibilities filled his 
 mind. To flood that brain with his wisdom meant 
 the creating of a new kind of. woman, one that 
 might rise to inconceivable heights in the days to 
 come, in the days of the great upheaval which he saw 
 looming ahead. She was his, and he had created her, 
 and the love of his own creation grew strong in him-
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 83 
 
 Then the stranger came the white man from 
 the West and he knew that the woman was 
 stronger than the scholar, the blood greater than 
 the brain. Knowledge might be laboriously acquired, 
 might steady the reason, stimulate the intelligence ; 
 but one rush of the sex-instinct swept it all away 
 into the limbo of dead ideals. Not for him was the 
 wealth and the glory of passion, the one thing that 
 makes tolerable human strife, human endeavour. 
 He looked with coldness on the passionate ways of 
 man, deploring that weakness which seemed to 
 afflict as with a pestilence the whole human race. 
 Above these things he moved, looking down on 
 them with pity and contempt. From his pinnacle 
 in the clouds he saw men and women come and go, 
 a dreary train of unsatisfied longings yearning for 
 the lusts of the flesh ; and he knew that these 
 people, if one allowed them the indulgence of the 
 beast or the fool, would prove so many stepping- 
 stones to power. Perhaps one day, even, he might 
 be called to the councils of his nation. 
 
 But in his own undemonstrative fashion he 
 loved this strange product of the East and the 
 West, and though of late he had experienced many 
 qualms concerning her, he really had no doubt that, 
 being a woman, she would ultimately prove amen- 
 able to his all-compelling reason.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A REIVING rather late one afternoon, and 
 4 * learning that Miss Mayford was out, but that 
 she was expected shortly to return, Kenneth 
 Everard followed the soft-footed Japanese servant, 
 Yoban, through the hall into the garden, where hi 
 due course tea was brought to him in those quaint 
 little cups without handles. Dr. Mohri also was 
 abroad, a fact which did not render the young 
 man utterly inconsolable. He was not quite sure 
 that he understood this Dr. Mohri, and though he 
 tried his hardest to like the strange little man, he 
 knew that it would be frankly impossible for him 
 ever to penetrate that cold reserve of manner 
 which always seemed to enshroud the doctor. 
 
 But of a truth he thought little of Hiro Mohri 
 as he sat there dreaming in that old-world garden. 
 But of Hiro Mohri' s niece he thought a great deal. 
 From the moment he had gazed into those bewildering 
 blue eyes, Evelyn Brereton's defection had failed 
 to cause him any excessive concern. Indeed, 
 
 8 4
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 85 
 
 though against this slowly dawning truth honour 
 made due protest, he was not sure that he regarded 
 the defection as an insuperable obstacle to hope. 
 That she could for one moment entertain even the 
 remotest suspicion that he was in any way con- 
 nected with his cousin's death proved conclusively 
 on what a flimsy foundation her affection was built. 
 He frankly admitted that at the time things had 
 looked black against him, that was, to those who 
 did not know him ; but that those within the 
 inner circle of his friendship could even suggest 
 that there might be cause for explanation on his 
 part came as a severe shock to him. And that of 
 all persons she whom he had hoped to make his 
 wife should apparently harbour doubt, made him 
 seriously wonder if this was the sort of woman in 
 whom he might expect to find those gracious 
 attributes which he associated with wifehood. 
 
 And just at that moment of revulsion fate decreed 
 that Iris Mayford should enter on the scene Iris 
 May ford with her strange, pale face, her red lips, 
 and eyes the most remarkable he had ever gazed 
 into. And now, after much hard thinking, he had 
 come to know what fate had in store for him. He 
 felt convinced that Evelyn would not be sorry : she 
 was not the sort of girl likely to wreck her life 
 through an excess of affection. Probably that rich 
 City man of whom she had so often "hinted would
 
 86 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 now step into the breach and apply the soft balm 
 of his presence to her wounded vanity. Certainly 
 the wound would not be a deep one, or not so deep 
 but that it would yield to judicious salving. On 
 the whole, he was prepared to give that City man 
 a most cordial greeting. 
 
 He sat smoking for some time, glancing every few 
 seconds towards the porch through which he ex- 
 pected to see her come. But as the time passed, 
 and still no sign of her, he rose, stretched himself, 
 and then sauntered slowly towards the bottom of 
 the garden, the thought being in his mind that he 
 would have a look at the two dogs, the singular 
 behaviour of which had left such a curious impression 
 on his mind. But when he reached the kennels, 
 he found only one dog there the fox-terrier. The 
 cage in which the Airedale had been confined was 
 empty, the door open. 
 
 The terrier, crouching in a corner of his cage, 
 trembled violently when he called to it, nor would 
 it stand up or come to him, though he cajoled it 
 with the softest of accents. There it lay shivering, 
 looking up at him with eyes in which terror was 
 most painfully apparent. 
 
 Being a lover of animals, he was greatly inclined 
 to burst open the door and set the creature free, 
 or at least attempt to discover what ailed it. But 
 even as he stood with his hand on the cage, an
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 87 
 
 action which seemed to convulse the dog with 
 terror, the image of Dr. Mohri rose between him 
 and his desire, and he drew back with an involuntary 
 shudder. Then he tried to laugh, but for the life 
 of him he could not tell why the attempt died so 
 suddenly, so strangely. 
 
 Resuming his aimless peregrinations he returned 
 to the seat he had vacated but a short time pre- 
 viously. Not a soul was to be seen in or about the 
 house : save for the chirp of a bird not a sound 
 broke the stillness of the garden. Occasionally 
 from the distance there came to him the humming 
 of a passing motor, and until it passed beyond 
 hearing he had hopes that it was bringing her home. 
 
 He was beginning to wonder if he could with 
 propriety remain any longer, when all at once there 
 came to him a sound which caused him to look up and 
 listen. Strange how he waited for the repetition. It 
 seemed long in coming seconds minutes and then 
 it came again, distinct but low, like a child in pain. 
 
 Involuntarily he rose to his feet ; but the cry, 
 seeming to circle in the air, was extremely difficult 
 to locate. Where was it, what was it ? He listened 
 and presently it came again a long, low whine ; 
 but this time he had no difficulty in locating it. 
 It came through the partly-open window of Dr. 
 Mohri 's laboratory. 
 
 A succession of strange thoughts flashed through
 
 88 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 his mind. The empty cage, the great Airedale, the 
 terror of the dogs. What could it mean ? He 
 looked round like one uncertain how to act, what 
 to think, when through the open window came 
 once more the whimper of pain, only this time, 
 beginning in a low, melancholy whine, it quickly 
 rose to a sharp succession of short yelps. 
 
 He went to the door and called to the servant 
 Yoban, but his voice echoed strangely through the 
 empty hall. Not a soul came in answer to his cry, 
 and as he stepped further into the house he ex- 
 perienced a singular feeling of eeriness, a feeling 
 which he with difficulty prevented from over- 
 mastering him. For a few moments he stood 
 irresolute at the foot of the stairs, eager to penetrate 
 this mystery and yet not daring to intrude on the 
 privacy of his host, when once more the pitiful cry 
 of pain reached him. Then, flinging discretion to 
 the winds, he dashed up the stairs, along the short 
 passage on the first landing, and flung open the 
 door at the end. 
 
 Though now in Mohri's sanctum of sanctums, a 
 room in which Iris never dared venture without 
 the permission of her uncle, he had no time to look 
 about him and examine the apartment, for on a low, 
 flat, deal table in the middle of the room he saw 
 the great Airedale strapped down and gagged. . . . 
 There were little clots of blood on the white boards.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 89 
 
 The dog's jaws were flecked with a bloody lather : 
 his eyes, bloodshot and wild, were almost hanging 
 out of their sockets. If the poor creature was not 
 mad, then it must have been very near it. 
 
 Everard spoke to it kindly, softly, approaching 
 with outstretched hand, at which the animal 
 made a vain attempt to snap, though terror mingled 
 with the wildness in his eyes. Nevertheless, the 
 thought of the risk he ran never troubling him for 
 a moment, Kenneth began to unbuckle the straps 
 which held the dog, stroking him gently and speaking 
 to him kindly all the time. Then with a quick 
 movement he loosened the gag, the dog snapping 
 savagely at his hand, and missing by a hair's breadth. 
 The animal made a convulsive effort to get on his 
 feet, staggered heavily across the table and rolled 
 on to the floor. Once more Kenneth advanced 
 coaxingly, with outstretched hand, but the dog, 
 growling savagely, dragged himself to the far corner 
 of the room, where he crouched as if ready to spring. 
 
 During all this a mental vision of the room had 
 vividly stamped itself on Everard's mind : the rows 
 of bottles, the little gas furnace, a bookshelf, and 
 sundry glass tubes. Indeed, the various accessories 
 of the chemist were all there, proving that the doctor 
 indulged in practical chemistry as well as esoteric 
 philosophy. 
 
 But though, in other circumstances, all this might
 
 go THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 have interested him greatly, just then he was thinking 
 principally of the dog and the tortures to which it 
 had been subjected, and determined at all hazard 
 to make friends with it, he once more began to 
 speak softly, calling it " good fellow," " good boy," 
 and a dozen other endearing epithets, the dog all 
 the tune watching him with suspicious, blood-shot 
 eyes. Then of a sudden he noticed the creature's 
 ears prick up, its muzzle come forward, and he 
 knew that it was listening. As it shrank farther in 
 against the wainscot he turned instinctively to the 
 door, and there on the threshold stood Dr. Mohri. 
 
 The little man evinced not the slightest surprise 
 on beholding the intruder ; indeed, seeming to 
 ignore his presence, he concentrated his glance upon 
 the dog, his hand going quickly to the pocket of his 
 coat. Then in the same imperturbable fashion he 
 advanced into the room, closing the door behind 
 him. This he did by pushing his hand backward, 
 his eyes never for a moment removed from the dog, 
 who now began to utter a low, fierce growl, which 
 was yet curiously reminiscent of a whine. 
 
 It all happened in a flash. With Mohri 's advance 
 into the room the dog bared his teeth : the next 
 moment he flew at him snarling savagely. Quick 
 as light Mohri threw something at the creature : 
 there was a mild explosion, a little puff of smoke, 
 and almost before Kenneth knew what was
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 91 
 
 happening, the dog was writhing convulsively on 
 the floor. 
 
 Too bewildered to speak, to ask a question, 
 Kenneth stared from the man to the dog and from 
 the dog to the man in mute amazement. With 
 the toe of his boot Mohri rather contemptuously 
 turned over the writhing body and then looked up 
 at the youqg rnan with a smile which was full of 
 strange meaning. 
 
 " I regret," he said with his customary suavity, 
 " that I should have been out when you called, 
 and I hope that you have not been greatly incon- 
 venienced ? " 
 
 " Not at all, I assure you." 
 
 To him this greeting sounded inconceivably trite 
 and commonplace, a sort of anti-climax to a stirring 
 situation. No question as to why the sanctum had 
 been invaded, not even the slightest suggestion of 
 annoyance. Dr. Mohri, taking all things as a 
 matter of course, found in this invasion of his 
 privacy nothing worthy of a remark. Everard at 
 once began to stammer an apology. 
 
 " I must apologise, Dr. Mohri. I heard the dog 
 whining and failed to understand what it meant. 
 I called to your native servant, but could not make 
 him hear me. Fearing that the animal might have 
 met with an accident 
 
 " Precisely. You were a little astonished ? "
 
 92 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " I confess it. I did not know you were a 
 vivisectionist." 
 
 " Say rather an experimentalist for the purpose 
 of physiological research." 
 
 Everard bowed, a little ironically perhaps. There 
 might have been a distinction, but he was not one 
 for the splitting of hairs. 
 
 " Is the creature dead ? " 
 
 " I hope not." 
 
 Kenneth sincerely hoped he was. He knew it 
 would be far better for the dog. 
 
 " What was the meaning of his sudden collapse ? 
 You threw something ? It seemed to explode like 
 a shell." 
 
 The little doctor blinked up at him, and Everard 
 could have sworn that the shadow of a smile flickered 
 over that impassive yellow face. 
 
 " If I were to publish all my secrets, Mr. Everard, 
 the world would be as wise as I am. We must keep 
 something in hand, we experimentalists, or we 
 should rob the great occasion of half its glory." 
 
 " The great occasion ? " 
 
 " When knowledge is flung broadcast over the 
 world. But see, the dog is reviving. I'm afraid 
 it's a very savage creature." 
 
 A convulsive shudder swept through the animal's 
 body. It stretched itself in half-hearted fashion 
 and made an ineffectual effort to get on its feet.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON 93 
 
 Mohri muttered something in Japanese, and the dog 
 looked up at him in a dazed, half-conscious sort of 
 fashion. Then painfully it dragged itself beneath 
 the table, where it lay shivering horribly. 
 
 " You are not an advocate of physiological 
 research ? " asked the doctor, seeing the look of 
 pity and loathing on the young man's face. 
 
 " Not if this is ' physiological research,' ' was 
 the prompt reply. 
 
 " Yet how are we to acquire knowledge ? I 
 admit the means are not all they might be, but we 
 must seize such limited opportunities as the occasion 
 provides. I am afraid this subject will be of little 
 further use." 
 
 " Then give him to me ? " 
 
 " With pleasure ; though I doubt if you will 
 thank me for the gift. You must exercise extreme 
 care in handling him, as I think he is rather 
 dangerous." 
 
 Kenneth Everard had an idea that of the two 
 the danger lay not so much in the dog as in 
 the man.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A I V HE two men descended the stairs together, 
 the little doctor chatting amicably of trivial 
 matters, for all the world like one to whom the fore- 
 going incident was a matter of absolute unconcern. 
 
 " I will have the creature sent to your address," 
 he said when they at length entered the room in 
 which Sir Basil Everard had been received on his 
 first and only visit. " King's Bench Walk, is 
 it not ? " 
 
 " Yes. I shall be most awfully obliged. Do you 
 know, Dr. Mohri, I have made rather a singular 
 discovery ? I find that Mr. Mayford once had the 
 very chambers which I and my friend now occupy." 
 
 " Indeed ! I believe my brother-in-law was con- 
 nected with the law. I never knew why he 
 abandoned it. It seems a lucrative profession." 
 
 " For some," the other laughed. " But for the 
 
 most of us " He spread out his hands depre- 
 
 catingly. " The old story of the fruit that ripens 
 best in the sun." 
 
 94
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 95 
 
 " Still in your case the necessity is not 
 imperative ? " 
 
 " One doesn't like being beaten." 
 
 " But so many of us are beaten : so many of us 
 were bom to be beaten. It would be a curious 
 world in which all were masters. There would be 
 no room for the workmen." 
 
 " I don't think there is any great fear of that." 
 
 " What do you fear, Mr. Everard or ought it 
 not to be Sir Kenneth ? t " 
 
 " Not yet. Remember, I am still more or less 
 under a cloud." 
 
 " Which, no doubt, will soon be dispersed ? " 
 
 " I would like to think so, though to tell you 
 the truth, I am no nearer a solution of the mystery 
 now than I was at the beginning." 
 
 " You have consulted Scotland Yard ? " 
 
 " Yes, but they are as much at sea as I am. My 
 cousin led a strange, roving sort of life, and they 
 have not been able to trace his antecedents with any 
 degree of accuracy. He seems to have wandered 
 pretty well over the world." 
 
 "As you say, it would be extremely difficult to trace 
 his wanderings. I take it that you are not one of 
 those who sneer at the acumen of Scotland Yard ? " 
 
 " Quite the contrary. I know I shouldn't like 
 them to be on my track if I'd done anything wrong." 
 
 "Then you think in time "
 
 96 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " I haven't the slightest doubt of it." 
 " But so many mysteries remain unsolved." 
 " Yet I cannot help thinking that one day we 
 shall know the truth of this." 
 
 " I wonder if it would be worth knowing ? " 
 " To me yes. It is necessary that I should know, 
 that the world should know. I want my friends to 
 know the truth I want you to know." 
 " Why me in particular ? " 
 
 " Because one day I am hoping that you may 
 permit me to marry your niece." 
 
 In spite of himself the little doctor gave a start. 
 " That is very curious," he said. " I did not 
 
 know. I thought 
 
 " Miss Brereton has not that faith in me which 
 I had every reason to expect. I think she will 
 not prove inconsolable." 
 
 The doctor blinked and nodded, but before he 
 could reply the servant Yoban entered with 
 more tea. 
 
 " Perhaps you would prefer something stronger ? " 
 suggested the doctor, as the servant turned and 
 quietly quitted the room. 
 
 " No, thanks. I like this quaint custom of yours." 
 The little man bowed, and walking over to the 
 cabinet returned with a curiously carved Oriental 
 box, which he held open for his visitor. 
 " Perhaps you would like a cigarette ? "
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 97 
 
 Kenneth dipped in his fingers and extracted one. 
 " You do not smoke ? " he said. 
 " Only at stated intervals." 
 Politely he struck a match and held it out to the 
 young man, who took three or four solemn puffs, 
 as though analysing the flavour. 
 
 " A Japanese cigarette," said the doctor. " You 
 do not like it ? " 
 
 As a matter of fact he did not, though a certain 
 sense of politeness forbade him to admit as much. 
 No doubt the fact of its being Japanese accounted 
 for its singular flavour. In a way he thought the 
 smell of it was reminiscent, though unable to 
 remember where or when he had previously 
 encountered it. 
 
 " A bit strong," he said. 
 
 " But soothing to the nerves. I believe they are 
 impregnated with opium. The drug is rather a 
 vice in the East. But pray don't continue : it 
 may not agree with you. Try one of these : they 
 are made of Virginia tobacco." 
 
 The little eyes blinked continuously behind the 
 steel-rimmed spectacles, but never for a moment 
 did they wander from the young man's face. 
 
 " If you don't mind." He laid the cigarette aside. 
 " I think they must be rather an acquired taste." 
 " Undoubtedly." 
 
 So this was opium ! He had often read and heard 
 
 G
 
 98 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 of the singular effect produced on the smoker by 
 an over-indulgence of the drug, but if it affected 
 them in this peculiarly numb and nauseous manner 
 he failed utterly to see where the pleasure came in. 
 However, the strange sensation passed away almost 
 as quickly as it had come, though in that moment 
 of bewilderment, of mental confusion, it had seemed 
 to him as if the little doctor had suddenly presented 
 a weird and forbidding appearance. 
 
 " You were speaking of my niece," cooed the soft, 
 low voice. " Naturally both she and I must ieel 
 extremely flattered at the great and unmerited 
 honour you would confer on us ; but I regret to 
 say that she is already betrothed to my august 
 friend, the illustrious Yoji Takemoto." 
 
 " What that But here he wisely checked 
 
 himself. He was going to say that " yellow lump 
 of pock-marked iniquity " ; he might have used a 
 dozen epithets equally true and equally deplorable. 
 Little provocation would have caused a candid 
 outburst on the many demerits of the illustrious 
 Takemoto. Instead, he rather tactlessly expressed 
 his surprise at her consenting to such an alliance, 
 which to him seemed highly incongruous, almost 
 sacrilegious. 
 
 " Our women are sensible of the fact," said 
 Mohri, " that in these matters we are the best 
 judges of their welfare."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 99 
 
 He did not like the way in which the little man 
 said " our women." He would not have it that she 
 was one of their women : the thought revolted 
 him. Yet he was none the less curiously aware of 
 the fact that this impassive yellow person, small 
 as he was, loomed largely and forbiddingly across 
 his path. It was ridiculous, of course. He could 
 have taken the little man hi his arms and tossed 
 him up against the ceiling ; and yet and yet there 
 was power in that tiny form : a potential power 
 which affected him in-. a manner he could not explain, 
 and which he would not admit even to himself. 
 
 " It is just possible," he said, a sense of obstinacy 
 overcoming his discretion, " that your niece may 
 not approve of your choice." 
 
 " You misunderstand the Japanese woman." 
 
 " But she is not a Japanese woman : she is 
 English." 
 
 " In such matters I think you will find she is 
 entirely Japanese." 
 
 " Have I your permission to try ? " 
 
 He bowed. "You will find her in the garden. 
 I heard her enter the house some time ago." 
 
 Kenneth Everard started, a remarkable sensation 
 of the uncanny sweeping through him. When had 
 she entered ? How did he know she was in the 
 garden ? He believed his ears to be no less acute 
 than the other man's, his sight as good : yet he
 
 ioo THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 had detected neither sign nor sound which had 
 apprised him of her arrival. There was something 
 weird about this bunking little Asiatic that sent 
 unpleasant shivers circling round the nape of his 
 neck. 
 
 He found her in the garden, a book hi her hand, 
 a tray of sweets spread out on the table beside 
 her. He liked the look of those sweets. The 
 thought may have been foolish, but he rather 
 fancied that people who ate sweets were peculiarly 
 human in then- tastes and desires. 
 
 She looked up, betraying the faintest surprise at 
 seeing him. 
 
 ** I did not know you were here." 
 
 " I have been here for some time." 
 
 "They did not tell me." 
 
 " Perhaps they never thought it worth while." 
 
 He saw her eyes wander from him to the window 
 above the porch, and then come back again. . But 
 he made no reply to the mute inquiry, though he 
 could not help wondering if she knew of her uncle's 
 experiments. 
 
 " I have been talking to Dr. Mohri," he 
 said, dropping into a vacant chair and facing 
 her. 
 
 " And you found him interesting ? " 
 
 "Very." 
 
 " He is always interesting, that uncle of mine,
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 101 
 
 and his knowledge is amazing. When he exerts 
 himself to talk, few talk so well." 
 
 " You are very fond of him ? " 
 
 " Naturally. He has been father, mother 
 everything to me. People have found him difficult 
 to get on with, but to me he has always been kind- 
 ness and gentleness personified. Sometimes I have 
 thought he could forgive almost anything but a 
 slight to me." 
 
 " You would be sorry for the man who slighted 
 you ? " 
 
 " Why should any man slight me ? " she asked 
 with some show of surprise. 
 
 " That I can't say : the supposition is too 
 incredible." 
 
 " You think the Asiatic " she began. 
 
 " On the contrary : you know I never associate 
 you with the Asiatic." 
 
 " Yet I am one. Look at my eyes." 
 
 " Wonderful ! " he gasped admiringly. 
 
 " My eyebrows. Did you ever see such an up- 
 ward slant in a European ? " 
 
 " I deny the upward slant. They are perfect." 
 
 " Really ? " 
 
 " Really and truly." Leaning toward her, his 
 face assumed a sudden seriousness. " Why does 
 your uncle wish you to marry Mr. Takemoto ? " 
 
 " You know ? "
 
 102 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " He has just told me." 
 
 "He is not usually given to babbling his private 
 affairs." 
 
 " I wrung it from him." 
 
 She assumed a look of incredulity. " I can 
 imagine many things, but the wringing of private 
 information from oji-san is not one of them." 
 
 " I asked his permission to marry you." 
 
 The strange eyes opened in amazement, the 
 red mouth tightened ; but beyond this the blunt 
 avowal apparently failed to stimulate her Oriental 
 calm. 
 
 " Tell me, Mr. Everard, is it honourable to ask 
 for the hand of one woman while you are still 
 engaged to another ? " 
 
 " But I am no longer engaged to Miss Brereton. 
 She has cast me off, flung me aside : her father thinks 
 it best that our engagement should come to an 
 end. For once I agree with him. Evelyn lost 
 faith hi me because I could not prove that I had 
 not murdered my cousin. Though even if it were 
 otherwise, it could make no difference now." 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 " Because I'm deadly, desperately in love with 
 you, Iris Mayford, and I'm not going to let you 
 marry that little pock-marked monkey Takemoto. 
 The mere thought of such a tragedy outrages every 
 Christian sentiment."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 103 
 
 " Christian ! But I am a heathen woman from 
 the^Far East, where Christianity does not flourish, 
 and where women have never a soul to be saved." 
 
 " And if I think differently ? " 
 
 " How can that alter the truth ? You know that 
 in your heart you do not regard me as an English- 
 woman, but rather as a curious hybrid of the East 
 and the West who appeals by reason of the bizarre, 
 the grotesque in me." 
 
 " But you do not really think this ? " 
 
 " At times I have tried not to : but in my heart, 
 yes. Takemoto-san is of my people. I would 
 understand him he would understand me." 
 
 " But you could not love a thing like that ? " 
 His tone was full of horror, his eyes betrayed an 
 amazing incredulity. 
 
 " Love ! Women are honoured by the choice of 
 their lord. What should a woman want more than 
 the honour of wifehood ? Takemoto-san is rich. 
 In Hiogo he is considered a man of the first im- 
 portance. His wife will receive great honour, much 
 consideration." 
 
 "It's too horrible ! I wonder you can even speak 
 of such a thing." 
 
 " If I look on the East and its ways with Eastern 
 eyes, is that unnatural ? To you, perhaps. But 
 is that not just the difference between us ? In a 
 way Takemoto-san will be proud of me."
 
 104 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " But not as proud as I should be." 
 " Ah, no, you would not be proud at all. You 
 might be generous, brave in misfortune, but you 
 could not be proud. You could only be proud of 
 your wife if she were of your race. How would 
 you feel if you heard the sneer, ' Oriental Asiatic ' ? 
 The knowledge that I was not a white woman 
 how it would rankle, how it would eat out the 
 pride of your heart. Your children : you would 
 search their eyes in terror of the Mongol slant. 
 And if you found it how you would hate them, 
 and the woman you were fool enough to marry. 
 Then you are a Christian, and the mother of your 
 children would be a heathen ! I know what you 
 think of those whom you call heathens. Takemoto- 
 san, according to you, is also a heathen. There 
 may be some virtue in us I do not know : but it 
 is scarcely the virtue that finds honour in a Christian 
 land. Yet it might surprise you to know that 
 a heathen, despite the numerous disadvantages 
 under which he exists, is not without merit of 
 a kind." 
 
 " You are altogether wrong," he said, " and you 
 misjudge me harshly. Call yourself by whatever 
 name you choose Christian, heathen, savage you 
 are still th^ woman whom I greatly honour, and 
 whom I greatly love. And as for the difference 
 between the East and the West, of which you make
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 105 
 
 so much, what is it, after all, but a fanciful dis- 
 tinction which in your case does not exist." 
 
 " Ah, but it does. I once heard the story of a 
 girl such as I a hybrid a creature who was neither 
 white nor yellow. A white man came to her, and 
 she was honoured. She despised the people who 
 had been kind to her and turned eagerly to the 
 stranger, in whom she thought she saw the un- 
 exampled virtues of the dominant races. In the 
 East he professed unbounded admiration : in the 
 West the call of his own women proved irresistible. 
 You can guess the end of that romance. As it was 
 with her, so it is with me. Even were I to love a 
 white man I should not marry him." 
 
 " I hate to hear you talk of ' white men ' in this 
 manner, as though they were different from you, 
 something removed from you. To me you are a 
 white woman : it is not even conceivable that I should 
 think of you as anything else. How could I ? Not 
 alone are you a white woman, but you are the love- 
 liest white woman I have ever seen. I adore you : 
 I have adored you from the moment I first met you. 
 Listen, Iris, because it is very curious. I had just 
 been talking to Evelyn about that affair, you 
 understand when I became cruelly aware of the 
 fact that this woman whom I had promised to 
 marry did not really love me. She was peevish, 
 irritable, annoyed, antipathetic. For the first time,
 
 io6 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 I think, I saw her as she really was, and of a sudden 
 my heart grew heavy with doubt. Then you came 
 in : I looked into your wonderful eyes, and a strange 
 feeling of relief came over me. I knew that I no 
 longer regretted her defection. From then until 
 now it has been the same. The other day she 
 wrote suggesting that we should postpone our 
 marriage for at least twelve months : it would give 
 me time to right things. I answered suggesting why 
 not postpone it for twelve years or for ever. She 
 thought the latter would be a wiser course. I had 
 no doubt of it." 
 
 Strangely she regarded him during this recital ; 
 closely, penetratingly, as though she would read 
 those other thoughts which lurked behind his 
 words. 
 
 " And tragedies are so easily made ! " 
 
 " But this is no tragedy for her. Rather call it 
 a comedy-interlude which she will remember with 
 a positive degree of satisfaction in the years to come. 
 Therefore I do her no wrong." 
 
 " The wrong would matter little to me," she 
 said in that appallingly frank manner of hers which 
 had startled him more than once, " if my inclination 
 were to tend that way ; but to tell you the truth, 
 Mr. Everard, in no circumstances could I marry a 
 white man." 
 
 " Why not ? "
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 107 
 
 " Because I hate them I hate them in a way 
 you could not understand. I hate them because 
 of their affected superiority, because of their white 
 faces because of their women ! To me the whole 
 hateful white race exists only to be subdued as 
 one day it shall be by the despised yellow races. 
 Even you, with all your protestations of affection, 
 were secretly wondering if you were doing a wise 
 thing. Then let me answer you : no ! You would 
 do an extremely foolish thing, and this, in your 
 heart of hearts, you are firmly convinced of. A 
 dozen, a hundred times, you have asked yourself, 
 would I be wise, and your heart has told you, no, 
 no, no ! But you are not without generosity, and 
 you have said to yourself, what does it matter : 
 the taint in her is not so great ; it shall be eradicated 
 root and branch. And you have thought how 
 best you could teach yourself to forget how you 
 could teach her to forget. And all the tune you 
 knew that there was no forgetting : nature itself 
 would not allow you to forget." 
 
 " I still think you are mistaken." 
 
 "Perhaps," she added defiantly; "but I shall 
 marry Mr. Takemoto." 
 
 Slowly he shook his head. " I don't think so. You 
 may not marry me, but you will not marry Mr. 
 Takemoto." 
 
 " Why not ? "
 
 io8 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 He knew that tears were close behind those flaming 
 glances. 
 
 " Because you do not love him, and you will 
 marry no man you do not love." 
 
 " He is of my race, of my blood." 
 
 " So you tell yourself, without conviction. You 
 know that Mr. Takemoto is not of your race, that 
 he is repugnant to you. It is impossible that it 
 should be otherwise. You are no mere mercenary 
 schemer who would submit herself to any degrada- 
 tion for the sake of what is called ' position.' You 
 have a heart, a brain, that would revolt against 
 anything so shameful. That heart may not be 
 for me, but I do not think it will be for Mr. 
 Takemoto." 
 
 " What makes you think that ? " 
 
 " Frankly, I could not pay myself so poor a 
 compliment." 
 
 " Arrogance," she sneered, " the arrogance of 
 the white man." 
 
 The story of his cousin's perfidy bubbled to her 
 lips. She yearned to tell him of the shame the dead 
 man had heaped on her, of distorted faith, of broken 
 promises : that, if she hated the white man, above 
 all others she hated the white man who bore the 
 name of Everard. This was her revenge, this her 
 triumph ; this wiped out much of the humiliation 
 that had stung her almost beyond endurance. She
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 109 
 
 did not tell him that she had been inordinately proud 
 of the white blood that was hi her, that she, too, had 
 believed herself to be of the dominant white race. 
 She would not flatter him so greatly, she could not 
 so humiliate herself. But her eyes blazed with the 
 joy of the occasion, and the deadly Eastern spirit 
 of revenge. 
 
 And when he was gone, vanquished utterly, regret 
 on his lips, sorrow in his eyes, it seemed as though 
 she had suddenly lost her hold on hope. Dr. Mohri, 
 blinking through the window of his laboratory, 
 had followed with accumulated interest this scene 
 to its denouement. No words reached him, but 
 he did not need words to explain the situation. 
 It was curious, though, the fatality of this family of 
 Everard. He was not quite sure that this strange 
 freak of fortune met with his entire approval. 
 Man of science, man of philosophy, man of the 
 world, he had not wholly eradicated that sense of 
 kismet which seems peculiar to the Eastern mind.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 TAKEMOTO failed to appreciate the 
 doctor's reluctance to force matters. To 
 him the girl was nothing more and nothing less 
 than the niece of his esteemed friend Dr. Mohri, 
 and that this same Hiro Mohri should hesitate in 
 the consummation of so superb an alliance was the 
 one incredible thought. He had offered himself, and 
 the honours and riches which all that implied, and 
 3~et Hiro Mohri seemed to hesitate in a manner 
 that was singular in one of his breed. Yoji Takemoto 
 was not accustomed to being thwarted in matters 
 which pertained to the gratification of his desires, 
 and his repellent face marked his displeasure in no 
 slight degree. 
 
 " Patience, my good friend ! " said the little 
 doctor in that mild, persuasive manner of his which 
 at all times was calculated to appease the wrathful. 
 " You must not forget that hi this instance we have 
 a very difficult problem to solve. In many ways 
 Iris-san is not one of us. In her we have the con- 
 no
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. in 
 
 junction of the two races, two opposing currents of 
 blood, the antagonism of the East and the West. 
 Can they ever assimilate ? Are they capable of 
 assimilating ? " 
 
 " You did wrong in bringing her to this country, 
 Mohri-san : wrongly have you educated her, plaiting 
 a lash for your own back. Better a thousand times 
 for you, for her, for all of us, had you trained her 
 as a woman should be trained, perfect in duty, 
 adoration, and a love of the domestic arts. What 
 more should a woman want ? These brazen, asser- 
 tive females of Europe would not be tolerated in 
 any well-governed country." 
 
 Dr. Mohri blinked, perceiving the difference 
 between him and his honourable guest. Here spoke 
 the old reactionary, the dead, dull conservatism 
 of the past : the sentiment that may have been 
 proper enough five hundred years ago, but which 
 seemed singularly inept in these times of stress. 
 
 " Also," he answered mildly, " though I realise 
 and appreciate the wisdom of what you say, is there 
 not another side of the question ? Knowledge is 
 power, Takemoto-san, and one must always pay 
 for knowledge. Remember, we have risen to great- 
 ness by applying to our uses the knowledge of the 
 West. Having taken the first step forward we 
 must push on ; and though, of a truth, the greater 
 wisdom must always remain with our sex, I cannot
 
 H2 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 see how the possession of a finer understanding 
 is going to harm any woman. A nation cannot 
 live by tradition. It will choke the life of it as 
 surely as sedges choke the movement of a stream. 
 The stream is still there, to be sure, but how it 
 struggles for life ! Moreover, as a nation we have 
 destroyed so many traditions, with such incalculable 
 benefit to ourselves, that I do not think I grow 
 frightened at the thought." 
 
 Takemoto shook his head. 
 
 " There be some who think we go too fast." 
 
 " The inability of middle-age to keep up with 
 youth. Go fast, make mistakes, and rectify them : 
 be fearful of the next step, and you rot where you 
 stand. Youth pushes the world, Takemoto-san. 
 Age may act as a drag on it, but, thank heaven, 
 is quite unable to effect a permanent check. There 
 is too much age in the world. It lives by youth and 
 through youth, and yet is for ever striving to hold 
 down that by which it exists." 
 
 Takemoto had no idea that his friend was such a 
 revolutionary. As for youth, it was a fine thing in 
 its way especially in woman but it had no power 
 and no money. Age had the money ; it could 
 always buy youth. 
 
 " Still," he said in the dogged way of the un- 
 imaginative, " I am one of those who think that 
 we may move too swiftly ; and in this matter
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 113 
 
 of women I cannot approve of these hateful Western 
 methods." 
 
 The little doctor blinked profoundly. 
 " When we have learned, with wisdom, to regulate 
 our own affairs, then may we, with wisdom, set about 
 the regulating of other people's. At the same time, 
 you imagine ills that do not exist. Rest content, my 
 friend : that which you desire shall be." 
 
 " It is easy enough for you to promise," grumbled 
 the other. 
 
 " I am one who usually fulfils his promises." 
 " Some promises are not easy of fulfilment." 
 " I did not say so. Here I recognise many 
 difficulties which might not prove so insistent out 
 there. She is full of the West, its schemes, its ideas. 
 That which is called freedom seems to her a very 
 dear thing. It is with them as it is with us : women 
 are bought and sold, bartered and exchanged, 
 only they are wise enough to let her think she is a 
 consenting party. Believe me, she is usually wise 
 enough to appreciate the advantages of a good 
 bargain. The difference is that the Western woman 
 likes to be won. Let her think that she is giving 
 something of incalculable value which is always 
 herself and the spirit of self-sacrifice will dominate 
 
 every other sentiment. Were we in Nippon 
 
 " I would we were," said Takemoto. " When 
 do you return ? " 
 
 H 
 
 N
 
 H4 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " When my work is accomplished." 
 
 " I have heard much of that work, Mohri-san. 
 What is it ? " 
 
 " All in good time, my friend. At the present 
 moment we are in the West and must adopt Western 
 methods. You will no doubt find her in the garden. 
 I hope your honourable suit may prosper." 
 
 Bowing he held wide the door for Takemoto to 
 pass through. Iris, looking over the top of her 
 book, saw the perplexed lover approach, and a gro- 
 tesque figure he seemed in his ill-fitting, ill-cut 
 European clothes. Small, podgy, cumbersome of 
 action, seeming to emit an imperceptible odour 
 of the East, he appeared singularly out of place in 
 this typically English garden. 
 
 She rose and bowed very graciously, betraying not 
 the slightest sign of emotion. Without a word he 
 dropped into a vacant chair and with a gaudy silk 
 handkerchief wiped the imaginary perspiration from 
 his brow. Then he looked up at her with his little 
 pig eyes and nodded. She bowed and reseated her- 
 self. Takemoto crossed his podgy hands and sat 
 apparently deep in thought. 
 
 The girl could not help contrasting this insignifi- 
 cant little person with the tall, clear-skinned, 
 muscular young fellow who had so lately occupied 
 that same seat. Almost sullenly she regarded the 
 pockmarked face, her lips pouting. The beady little
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 115 
 
 eyes, wandering over her person, filled her with a 
 sudden sense of loathing. She pictured herself tied 
 to this ineffable image. What could possess her 
 uncle that he should further the suit of this man ? 
 
 " Iris-san," he said, speaking in a thick, oily 
 voice, " your uncle has given me permission honour- 
 ably to approach. As you are doubtless aware, I 
 long to make you the star of my household, the 
 light of my life." 
 
 " I am highly honoured, Takemoto-san," she 
 answered with becoming humility. Come, thought 
 Takemoto-san, this is not quite the difficult problem 
 Dr. Mohri led me to expect. 
 
 ' Your beauty, Iris-san, coupled with your in- 
 numerable merits, has led me to believe that there 
 is much happiness in store for us." 
 
 " Indeed, I hope so," she said. 
 
 " I fail to see how it can be otherwise. Your 
 honourable uncle sings your praises with no un- 
 certain voice. Indeed, so greatly do you possess the 
 supreme virtues of your sex that I have decided to 
 make you my wife." 
 
 " You overwhelm me, Takemoto-san. The con- 
 temptible merits possessed by one so utterly un- 
 worthy could but dim the lustre of your radiance." 
 
 Takemoto nodded. He knew all about his 
 radiance and its lustre. It gleamed yellow like gold, 
 or white like diamonds in a woman's eyes a radiance
 
 n6 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 most engrossing. And he had feared, had doubted 
 he who could give a woman so much ! 
 
 " I was not mistaken in you, Iris-san," he said, 
 a look of supreme self-assurance wrinkling his 
 face in a curiously satisfied smile. 
 
 " Were you not ? " she asked. 
 
 " Like all true Japanese you but use the know- 
 ledge of the West for a purpose. In your heart 
 you hate these people as I hate them, as your uncle 
 hates them." 
 
 " What makes you think my uncle hates them ? " 
 
 " I have eyes to see and ears to hear. Mohri-san 
 is a good Japanese." 
 
 " And I ? " 
 
 ' You also, I trust, are proud of your nation." 
 
 " My nation ? But have I a nation ? Don't you 
 see, Takemoto-san, I am like one who stands at the 
 boundary of two nations with no right to cross the 
 frontier into either. Therefore, I fear I am utterly 
 unworthy of the honour your illustrious conde- 
 scension would confer on me." 
 
 Takemoto's little eyes peered curiously through 
 their puffy yellow ridges. 
 
 " There is no honour of which you are not worthy," 
 he said. " It is I who am presumptuous in claiming 
 for a mortal that which the gods alone should enjoy." 
 
 Again his beady little eyes wandered from her 
 dazzling face to the superb contours of her figure.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 117 
 
 Noting the keenness of that look she shuddered. 
 That other, she knew, had admired equally, but 
 there had been no sense of shame in his admiration. 
 
 Takemoto took no pains to conceal his thoughts. 
 It never for one moment occurred to him that he 
 should do so. The mad Western notion of woman 
 being man's equal was a proposition so absurd as 
 not to be worth a second thought. When a man 
 looked with favour on a woman he honoured her 
 greatly, and it became her at once to assume an 
 attitude of gracious humility. He knew the white 
 men pandered to the whims and fancies of their 
 women, thereby creating difficulties innumerable ; 
 but that was not the way of the Asiatic, and it was 
 not his way. Nevertheless, he recognised that in 
 this instance the circumstances were somewhat 
 altered, and that here in this English garden he 
 might have to win in the English way. It was 
 annoying, but it was also easy enough to give a little 
 now in the hope of gaining much hereafter. 
 
 " You greatly flatter me," she said : " though I 
 am not aware of any intense longing for the adora- 
 tion of the gods. When my hour comes, Takemoto- 
 san, as it comes to all of my unhappy sex, I daresay 
 I shall be content with a mere human. Certainly, I 
 have no hankering for the divinities." 
 
 " Then there is hope for the degraded slave who 
 prostrates himself at your feet ? "
 
 n8 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " May be, Takemoto-san. I do not know until 
 my hour comes." 
 
 "It! has come," he whispered, in a voice half 
 choked with passion. 
 
 " May be," she said again ; " but I do not 
 realise it." 
 
 " To make you realise it that shall be my 
 honourable duty. When we return to our native 
 land, Iris-san, it will be to find great honours in 
 store for you." 
 
 To return with him to endure him ! In her 
 wilfulness she had told Kenneth Everard that she 
 would many Takemoto. She had hurled it at him 
 as a taunt, a defiance ; but looking on this Take- 
 moto' s cruelly pitted face, in his horrid slits of eyes, 
 which burned with a light that caused her a 
 deep sense of shame, she knew she would as soon 
 take a leper in her arms. 
 
 |$/' I shall not return with you," she said. " I 
 am not, I could never be, worthy of so great an 
 honour. You must look among your own race 
 for one worthy to uphold the many dignities you 
 would confer^on her." 
 
 ikemoto's ugly lower lip protruded in a decidedly 
 unpleasant manner. His little eyes narrowed until 
 they shone like black pin heads. A sudden flush 
 of anger caused the pits on his face to gleam luridly. 
 
 " I have not looked beyond my own race," he
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 119 
 
 said : "I should never dream of doing such a 
 foolish thing." 
 
 It was now her turn to start, to flush. Very 
 curiously her own eyes narrowed. She would have 
 been amazed could she have seen how very similar 
 her action was to his. 
 
 ' Then allow me to congratulate you and her." 
 
 " In congratulating her you congratulate yourself, 
 Iris-san, for you are she." 
 
 " I ! You mistake. I am not of your race : 
 I am a white girl." 
 
 " Since when ? " he asked. 
 
 " Always," she answered sharply. 
 
 " My mistake," he replied, but in a manner which 
 left no doubt as to his meaning : " I apologise. 
 I wonder if your white friends have fallen into the 
 same error ? " Then more solemnly, yet in a tone 
 which suggested pity and a modicum of contempt : 
 ;< Why this pretence, Iris-san, of being what you 
 are not ? And wherein lies the supreme merit of 
 belonging to the white race ? If it were true I see 
 no cause for boasting ; as it is far from true, the 
 pretension becomes absurd. These people do not 
 regard you as one of them. In their pride of race 
 they despise all who are not of their blood : for 
 the half-breed they have nothing but contempt. 
 But I I have forgotten these things. Though you 
 cannot claim purity of blood, even the despised blood
 
 120 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 of Asia, I still believe you to possess many surprising 
 merits. Be foolish no longer, Iris-san : put away 
 from you that vanity which mars your life like an 
 accursed thing. In Nippon we are of the same race, 
 and happiness awaits you there." 
 
 As he spoke a flush of annoyance darkened her 
 pale face. Quickly her bosom rose and fell : she 
 seemed to breathe with difficulty through teeth 
 clenched. 
 
 " I am a white girl," she repeated doggedly, 
 " and could not degrade the honour of my race 
 by mating with any Oriental, much less with an 
 Oriental like you. Return to Nippon and find 
 some yellow woman who will welcome the honour 
 you propose. Look at yourself, Takemoto, again 
 and again regard your face thoughtfully, and then 
 pray to be forgiven for your great temerity. Once 
 even I, knowing no better, might have done what you 
 wished ; but since coming among my own people 
 my father's people- I have learnt something of 
 the pride of race, and all the wealth of the world 
 would not lure me from my allegiance. Is that 
 enough, Takemoto-san ? " 
 
 "Nay," he said, "it is but the mere raving of 
 foolishness, of a woman who has drunken deeply 
 of strange wine and has become intoxicated. You 
 of the white race ! You are not even a Japanese." 
 
 " Did I not tell you so ? Then seek one of your
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 121 
 
 own kind : she may be overwhelmed by the flattery 
 of your proposal. I must deny myself that great 
 honour." 
 
 " And think you then that this white man who 
 comes brings honour for you ? " Again a vivid 
 flush passed over her face, but this tune it was not 
 wholly of indignation. " Remember, one of his 
 breed came before, and the shame remained with 
 you. Thus must it ever be when the yellow woman 
 forgets her duty and her honour. But I leave you 
 to the care of one whose wisdom is unexampled. 
 Think over what I have said : remember that you 
 are of the East, and that the clash between the 
 two worlds is eternal." 
 
 He bowed very low, ceremonious still, notwith- 
 standing the fact that he was inwardly seething with 
 rage and anger. Then he turned his back on her, 
 leaving her a mass of jangled nerves, of tangled 
 conjectures. She sat very still, staring stolidly at 
 nothing in particular. But there was anguish in 
 her e3^es, and in her heart a pain too deep for words.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 I/KENNETH EVERAKD found no difficulty in 
 
 " dodging the briefs that came hurtUng through 
 his door. Indeed, their visits were so few and 
 so far between that had he been dependent on 
 them for a living he could scarcely have occupied 
 his present chambers. Nor did his connection with 
 the mysterious murder of his cousin increase his 
 forensic prospects. It was little likely that the 
 litigant who wished to impress a jury with his own 
 impeccability would employ as counsel one who had 
 been publicly accused of such a crime. Everard 
 knew this, and was content to bide his time. Only 
 on the rarest occasions did he show himself at his 
 club, and then merely from a sense of duty to him- 
 self. He saw the furtive glances, noted the coolness, 
 and inwardly treasured up some rather bitter 
 memories. He forsook his accustomed restaurant, 
 dining in obscure, respectable places. Only on 
 those friends whom he knew to be real friends did he 
 ever call. But he was in continuous communication 
 
 122
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 123 
 
 with the authorities at Scotland Yard, and particu- 
 larly with Detective-Inspector Bayles, who had 
 charge of the investigation. 
 
 Bayles, notwithstanding the fact that he had 
 started as a uniformed policeman, so little resembled 
 one of the heavy-footed fraternity as to be able 
 to pass unrecognised by eyes trained to discover 
 the " 'tec " in every lounger. He was a man of 
 medium height, slight of build, wiry, and almost 
 intellectual-looking ; and in him Everard believed 
 that he had the one man who could unravel the 
 mystery if it was ever to be unravelled. 
 
 Frederick Bayles frankly confessed that the 
 affair puzzled him greatly. 
 
 " Had he been a different sort of person alto- 
 gether," said Bayles ; " one who was fed up with 
 life, without hope or prospects, then I should have 
 favoured the theory of suicide. But as far as we 
 know he had everything to live for : money, position, 
 and an apparently happy marriage in view. Men with 
 these advantages don't commit suicide especially 
 when they have led more or less of a waster's life. 
 There is always the man Sandilands. But what 
 motive had he : what was he to gain by the act ? " 
 
 " No one had anything to gain but me," said 
 Kenneth. 
 
 " Quite so. This is where we begin to knock 
 our heads against the wall of conjecture. Of course,
 
 124 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 you know nothing of your cousin's life after his 
 return from abroad ? " 
 
 " Absolutely nothing. As I have told you, we 
 were not the best of friends for no reason that I 
 know of. Frankly, I always thought him an im- 
 possible person, and at our last meeting he was more 
 impossible than ever." 
 
 Whatever theories or suspicions the detective 
 may have held he kept to himself, and Kenneth had 
 of necessity to possess his soul in patience. But it 
 was a bitter waiting, and but for this new romance 
 that had so suddenly come to him would have 
 made life perfectly intolerable. As it was, that final 
 scene with Iris would have plunged him into the 
 lowest depths had he believed in his heart that it 
 really was final. But this was a contingency he 
 would not acknowledge ; and though he failed 
 utterly to see how the reconciliation was to be effec- 
 ted, he could not, or would not, rid himself of the 
 thought that matters would yet be smoothed out. 
 
 Having no briefs to study, he made a serious 
 attempt to read, but the perusal of intricate legal 
 problems held no attraction for him just then. 
 Out of the stodgy page rose her white face with the 
 curious compelling eyes, and red lips mocked his 
 most strenuous efforts to forget. Occasionally, 
 the great Airedale, which, in accordance with his 
 promise, had been duly forwarded to him^by Dr.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 125 
 
 Mohri, would rise from its corner and creep timidly 
 towards him, and with an air of apology lay its 
 great head on his knee. The dog still started 
 nervously at every sound, trembling with terror at 
 an unknown voice ; but when they were alone 
 together, and no sound of voice or step broke the 
 stillness, the dog wandered about the room sniffing 
 with the curiosity of his kind. Kenneth had great 
 hopes of curing the creature altogether, though he 
 plainly saw that it would be a long time before 
 the great fellow would utterly forget his terror. 
 
 About four o'clock one afternoon, as he and the 
 dog sat looking at each other, there came a low 
 and rather timid knock at his door. The dog looked 
 up and uttered a low, soft growl. Waving it to its 
 corner Kenneth rose, crossed to the door and opened 
 it. Outside stood a woman, closely veiled, but not 
 so closely as to hide her identity. His heart gave a 
 sudden leap of recognition, and with an exclamation 
 of joy he held out his hand. 
 
 " This is good of you," he said. 
 
 Frankly she gave him her hand, unhesitatingly 
 entering the room. Carefully he closed the door, 
 his face expressing both astonishment and delight. 
 
 " I have discovered that these were my father's 
 chambers," she explained, though without the 
 slightest betrayal of embarrassment, " and I wanted 
 to see where he worked and how he lived."
 
 126 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " John May ford rented these 
 chambers some twenty-five years ago, and John 
 Mayford's daughter is very welcome indeed." 
 
 " It's wonderful ! " she mused. " I can just 
 recollect him, a pale, tall man with a racking cough. 
 But my mother used to tell me of him, and promised 
 me that one day I should go and see his country. 
 She would have liked to be here with me now, poor 
 little thing, for she adored him as no woman should 
 adore a man." 
 
 " Rather as a woman should," he contradicted 
 with a smile, " if she would be very happy." 
 
 " Are women ever happy ? " 
 
 " I hope so." 
 
 She turned away and looked out through the 
 window into the gardens. He, standing beside 
 her, forbore to utter the obvious. The great Aire- 
 dale crept out from his corner and came slowly 
 and suspiciously towards her, ultimately summoning 
 up sufficient courage to sniff at her skirt. Suddenly 
 she looked down, giving a curious start. 
 
 " Inu ! " she exclaimed. " Where did you get 
 this dog ? " 
 " You remember it ? " 
 
 " I seem it is not " 
 
 " Yes. Dr. Mohri gave it to me." 
 
 She looked at him as if asking for a further ex- 
 planation, but he felt that such an explanation was
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 127 
 
 more than he dared venture on. How could he 
 tell her of the cruel experiment, and all that had 
 happened in Hiro Mohri's laboratory ? 
 
 " I took rather a fancy to the poor creature," 
 he said. " At some time or other of his life he 
 seems to have been extremely ill-used, but I am 
 glad to say his terror is gradually wearing off. You 
 used the word inu. Does that mean dog ? " 
 
 " Yes. When I fail to remember I am English 
 I instinctively use another language." She looked 
 up at him through her veil with something of defiance 
 in her attitude, but he made no reply. To his 
 thinking there was no further need to prolong the 
 argument. 
 
 But the coming of the strange girl filled him with 
 much curious conjecture. Also her absolute self- 
 possession was not a little disconcerting. She 
 seemed to make no more of stepping into this private 
 room of his than if she had been paying a visit to a 
 public gallery. There was no apology, no suggestion 
 of such, no hint of what had passed between them. 
 He could not even imagine that it was filial affection 
 which had brought her. She came because she 
 wished to come, because she had the right to come 
 if the whim so took her. She would have walked 
 into the street with the same air of possession, 
 or of self -detachment. 
 
 " I am sure you would like some tea," he said.
 
 128 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " It would be very welcome," she admitted. 
 
 " I'm sorry I can't give it to you Japanese 
 fashion." 
 
 " I would rather you did not." 
 
 He apologised further, setting out the spirit 
 lamp as he spoke. 
 
 " Our housekeeper goes off at noon, so we have 
 to do these little things for ourselves. Would you 
 prefer that we should go out somewhere ? " 
 
 " On the contrary, I should much prefer to stay 
 here and help you." 
 
 He murmured his appreciation of the suggestion. 
 She pulled off her gloves, raised her veil, and at once 
 set to in the most workmanlike manner. Table- 
 cloth, tea-cups, plates, and so forth, he fished out of 
 a cupboard, she deftly spreading the things. He 
 rang up the nearest confectioner's for cakes and 
 sandwiches, and by the time the water was boiling 
 the provender had arrived. 
 
 He watched her with peculiar intentness as she 
 moved swiftly and silently about the room, realising 
 that this suggestion of tea was a most happy inspira- 
 tion. Whatever of ceremonial stiffness may have 
 been his, or hers, vanished under the genial influence 
 of the occasion ; and soon the two of them were 
 chatting away as though nothing more serious 
 than a plate of sandwiches had ever risen between 
 them. 
 
 ..
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 129 
 
 " I wonder if my father used to take tea like 
 this ? " she said. 
 
 "In all probability. Manners and customs 
 change slowly here in the Temple." 
 
 " Of course our parents before us did exactly as 
 we do, though it seems hard to realise that they 
 were once young and " 
 
 " Foolish ? " 
 
 " Is it not the privilege of youth to be foolish ? " 
 
 " Not to the destruction of itself and others." 
 
 "As to that," she replied, glancing slyly over 
 the tea-cup, "the others must look after themselves." 
 
 " There are occasions when it does not depend 
 wholly on one's self times when so much depends 
 on another." 
 
 She was trying hard to trace some resemblance in 
 him to that other who behaved so falsely. Of the 
 same blood, breeding, faith what had she to expect 
 from this man more than the other had given her ? 
 Yet, strive as she would, she could trace no resem- 
 blance. Unless every sense misled her, this was a 
 real man, a man who looked at one with honest 
 eyes, who said a thing and meant it. And they had 
 accused him of the murder of that other, and the 
 woman who should have stood beside him had slunk 
 away with a sneer on her lips. 
 
 She was sorry now she had not told him of her 
 acquaintance with Sir Basil ; but she had been 
 
 I
 
 130 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 warned by her uncle never to breathe the man's 
 name for fear of complications ; and, on first meeting 
 him, she had been animated by that which she now 
 knew to be a spirit of revenge. Might she not pay 
 back on this man the slight the other had offered her? 
 He had called her an Asiatic, a half-breed ; had not 
 spared her in any particular, but with a brutality 
 which was inconceivable had ground her in the dust. 
 And now here was his heir ready to fall at her feet 
 and worship the despised yellow woman. Yes, he 
 had thought of her as a yellow woman, one whom 
 the white man had condescended to toy with for 
 an hour or so. 
 
 Frankly she admitted to herself that she had 
 lured this other man on. She had meant to bring 
 him to her feet, and when she found him there she 
 could not resist the triumph that was hers. It had 
 all happened just as she had planned. No, not 
 quite as she had planned : that was the disturbing 
 element in the conduct of her campaign. Victory 
 had not made her as happy as victory should. It 
 was comparatively easy, in her moment of passion, 
 to twit him with the illustrious Takemoto, but the 
 passion gone the triumph had seemed a very poor 
 thing. Takemoto ! Again she saw those beady 
 little eyes crawling all over her, and in the subsequent 
 revulsion of feeling this other came into a little of 
 his own.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 131 
 
 After his first astonishment at seeing her he quickly 
 adapted himself to the situation. A vain man 
 might have imagined vain things, but studying her 
 closely he knew this was the sort of thing she 
 might do. She called herself an English girl, but an 
 English girl would not have run so great a risk. 
 He knew not whether to flatter himself or to com- 
 miserate with himself. That she had come to 
 him was indubitable, but that she had come for the 
 sake of him was what he could not bring himself 
 to believe. For all the embarrassment she showed 
 she might have been talking in Dr. Mohri's garden. 
 
 With dainty trifles she fed the dog, who after a 
 time had ventured timidly from his corner, patting 
 his great head and addressing him in a smooth flow 
 of Japanese. Solemnly the big fellow regarded 
 her : occasionally he wagged his tail in serious 
 fashion. But as yet he was not sure that the hand 
 which was lifted to caress might not mean to strike, 
 and though he endured her strokings it was with a 
 wince and a suspicious glance upward. 
 
 " What made my uncle send him to you ? " she 
 asked suddenly. 
 
 " I took a fancy to the creature, and Dr. Mohri 
 seemed to have no further use for him." 
 
 He thought his answer came pat enough ; yet 
 by the way she looked at him he feared there had 
 been some slight hesitancy in his reply.
 
 132 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " I do not understand it," she said. " My uncle 
 did not tell me of those dogs." 
 
 " Does he tell you everything ? " 
 
 " Of course not ; but he knows I am fond of 
 animals." 
 
 " I can see that." 
 
 The dog's head now rested on her knee, and from 
 time to time he looked up at her with a world of 
 meaning in his clear brown eyes. 
 
 " You big, strong fellow," she said. " I should 
 like to take you over the seas." 
 
 The dog wagged his tail and rubbed his jaw 
 along her knee. Everard started, a sudden sense 
 of apprehension setting his pulses throbbing. 
 
 " Then you are returing to Japan ? " 
 
 " Of course." 
 
 He came closer, looking her straight in the eyes. 
 
 " With Takemoto ? " 
 
 Defiantly she returned the look. 
 
 " If the whim takes me." 
 
 " It must not." 
 
 She looked surprised : then a smile began to 
 creep slowly round the corners of her mouth. 
 
 " Is that for you to say ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Indeed ! I. seem to be learning things." 
 
 " Iris, you must not make this sacrifice. It 
 is too hideous, too awful ! "
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 133 
 
 " Really ! Do you think the ordinary English girl 
 would consider marriage with a millionaire such 
 an appalling sacrifice ? " 
 
 " Yes, if she were like you, and he like Takemoto." 
 
 " But she would do it, eh ? " 
 
 " It would depend on the woman." 
 
 " Well, what merit have I above my kind ? " 
 
 " In my eyes, every merit. Stay here in England 
 and marry me." 
 
 " I thought we had already arrived at a complete 
 understanding on that matter." 
 
 " There can be no complete understanding until 
 you agree." 
 
 A strange, uncertain look crept into her blue eyes, 
 and almost imperceptibly her lips began to twitch. 
 
 " We might agree to be friends," she said. 
 
 " That is not enough for me." 
 
 " I am afraid there can be nothing more." 
 
 " There shall be ! " he whispered. 
 
 " No ! " She drew herself back, her eyes flashing, 
 her cheeks burning. " I could never marry you." 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " Because because you are the last man I should 
 think of marrying." 
 
 " I don't know why you should say that ; but, 
 frankly, I refuse to believe a word of it. I love 
 you, Iris, and I'm going to marry you." 
 
 " Whether I wish it or not ? "
 
 134 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Exactly." 
 
 She tried to laugh, bat something in the strong, 
 serious face of the man checked the smile on her lips. 
 ' You are quite sure that your courage does not 
 outrun your discretion ? " 
 
 "Absolutely. If you sanely and seriously con- 
 sider the matter what else can happen ? Here am 
 I so madly in love with you that I want you as I 
 have never wanted anything in this world. Now, 
 when a man wants a thing so badly he's going to 
 strain every effort to secure it." 
 
 " Even though it may not be worthy of the 
 effort?" 
 
 " That's a thing he cannot believe : at any rate, 
 he's prepared to risk it." 
 
 " Do you think H wise ? " 
 
 " I think it must always be wise to achieve that 
 which we have set our heart upon." 
 
 " Sometimes we set up a false god." 
 
 "* like Yoji Takemoto ? " 
 
 A dark flush swept over her face, darkening her 
 eyes, 
 
 " I hate him ! " she whispered. 
 
 Kenneth Everard was never able to analyse 
 the impulse which prompted the act, but even as 
 she spoke she was in his arms and he was passionately 
 kissing that red mouth of hers. She made no effort 
 to repulse him On the contrary, her eyes burned
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 135 
 
 luridly into his, and her breath came in quick, 
 fierce gasps as though she breathed with difficulty. 
 He could feel her heart beating against his own. 
 For himself, he trembled like a child. 
 
 Suddenly she disengaged herself, and moving 
 from him, stood with her back against the table, 
 her hot eyes burning in a dead white face. 
 
 " Why did you do it ? " she gasped. " I hate 
 you ! " 
 
 She passed her fingers over her lips as though 
 to wipe out the stain of his kisses. Her eyes nar- 
 rowed, her breast rose and fell wildly. Without 
 hesitation he came close to her and laid his hands 
 on her shoulders. He showed never a tremor 
 of fear or regret as he returned the fray of 
 her gaze. 
 
 " I did it because I could not help it, and because 
 I love you. If I have offended you I humbly crave 
 your forgiveness. No offence was intended. When 
 a man kisses the woman he loves, he does not mean 
 to offend her. On the contrary, he exalts, idealises 
 her, sets her far above all other women." 
 
 " And treats her as though she were a geisha. 
 I thought that you at least might be trusted." 
 
 " Not when I look into your eyes those wonderful 
 eyes that draw the very soul out of me. Is it 
 surprising that I should love you, that I should 
 forget myself you, a woman of charm and mystery,
 
 136 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 you, my beautiful Iris, whose soul is waiting for 
 the dawn ? " 
 
 A wavering uncertainty crept into those wonderful 
 eyes. 
 
 " I cannot love you," she whispered. " I hate 
 you must hate you ! " 
 
 " But you do not hate me, and there is no reason 
 why you should." 
 
 " Every reason," she said, resisting desperately. 
 
 " Tell me one." 
 
 One only she knew, and that she dreaded to 
 mention. Like one distraught she racked her brain 
 to find a way out of the tangle. She felt that the 
 meshes of fate were ensnaring her. Of all the men 
 in the world, that this should be the one to take her 
 in his arms and press her to him so passionately, 
 so endearingly ! And she trembled as she thought ; 
 for she knew that she did not resent those kisses, 
 that her soul had escaped into his keeping, and 
 that above all things she wished it to remain with 
 him. 
 
 " Iris," he said, taking her hand, which he stroked 
 with infinite tenderness, " try to love me just a 
 little. I want your love, I want it more than any- 
 thing else in the world." Oh, the wonderful pleading 
 of those eyes ! She felt as though the very life of 
 her were passing into his hands. " Believe me, 
 dear ; try to believe in the honour and honesty of
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 137 
 
 what I say. Why should you doubt : what cause 
 have I ever given you to doubt ? That other 
 woman ? We came together, we thought we loved 
 each other, but if that was love, then this is some- 
 thing for which we have not yet found a name. 
 You do not hate me, dear ? " 
 
 " I must," she whispered hoarsely. 
 
 " But why ? " She felt her lids sting as though 
 the tears behind were made of fire. " If I have 
 in any way offended you it was not with the inten- 
 tion of offending." Then suddenly, as the horrid 
 thought dawned on him : " You do not think that 
 I am in any way responsible for my cousin's death ? " 
 
 " No, no ! " Almost wildly she shook her head, 
 her eyes wide with horror at the mere suggestion. 
 
 " Then what is there that should come 
 between us ? " 
 
 " Let me go ! " she said excitedly. " I ought not 
 to have come here ; I was mad to come." 
 
 " Thank heaven for such madness," he answered 
 devoutly. 
 
 She wrenched her hands from him, and started 
 for the door, but pausing midway, stopped and 
 faced him. 
 
 " This is all a mistake, Mr. Everard," she said in a 
 low, tense voice. " Could I have foreseen I would 
 not have come. In any case I ought not to be here 
 with you. It is I who should apologise for the
 
 138 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 intrusion, and I take on myself whatever of blame 
 there may be. This that has happened we must 
 forget, or remember only as an incident on the 
 journey. There is no one to blame but me. I 
 came out of bravado, and I return humiliated 
 beyond words. I am sorry. Good-bye ! " 
 
 Without giving him time to answer she rushed 
 from the room, and as he stood nonplussed by the 
 door he heard her hurrying footsteps on the stairs. 
 For a time he stood there listening, wondering. 
 Then mechanically closing the door he crossed to 
 the window and stared moodily into the garden. 
 As he stood there thinking all manner of dear, 
 impossible things, he presently felt the great rough 
 head of the Airedale thrust into his palm. 
 
 " Inu," he said softly. " She called you Inu. 
 What does it mean, old fellow ? " 
 
 The dog could not tell him, but he looked up with 
 loving, wistful, brown eyes, and thrust his head 
 still further forward into the palm of his master's 
 hand.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 T EAVING King's Bench Walk, Iris Mayford 
 *~ - ' made direct for the Temple Station, and 
 took the first train for Richmond. Outwardly 
 she was a very self-possessed young lady indeed, 
 looking neither to the right nor the left of her ; 
 but inwardly every pulse beat as wildly as 
 though she was one of those excitable Europeans 
 she had been taught to despise. Never in all her 
 life had she felt so singularly futile. Hitherto she 
 had looked on life, such as she knew it, calmly 
 critical or indifferent. Men came and went, women 
 did strange, foolish things. To her it seemed fated 
 they should do these things : it mattered nothing. 
 She looked on and laughed, or frowned as the fancy 
 took her. And now she, too, had joined the great 
 army of the foolish and the futile ; had succumbed 
 to a deplorable weakness of which she knew she 
 ought to be heartily ashamed. 
 
 But was she ? She told herself, yes ; repeatedly 
 she assured herself of this fact. But she wasn't, 
 
 139
 
 140 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 and this knowledge angered her, made her bite her 
 lip, made her think of his mouth on hers. The 
 enemy, the hated enemy ! And this was her 
 revenge ! It was the old trite commonplace of 
 playing with fire. And she was commonplace, just 
 like other women : perhaps worse. Pretence, chin up, 
 pride in the eye, a vain belief in one's superiority : 
 and underneath the smooth white satin of the skin 
 just the common blood and nerves of common 
 women. 
 
 On arriving home she found her uncle watering 
 his favourite flowers in the garden. He was dressed 
 in an old dun-coloured kimono, and on his feet 
 were straw sandals. He looked round at her as 
 she came through the gate, blinking unemotionally 
 through his large glasses, and for the first time it 
 struck her that this curious product of the East was 
 singularly out of place in this old-fashioned garden. 
 She called to him a word of greeting as she passed 
 into the house, but she did not stop on her way, 
 and he made no reply. She was rather glad of this, 
 for just then she was in no mood for the conventional 
 commonplaces, and she was rather afraid of the 
 penetrating power of his glances. She wanted to 
 be alone, to think over the happenings of the last 
 few hours, and with that end in view made direct 
 for her room, nor did she leave it again that night. 
 Later Yoban came to inquire, but she sent a
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 141 
 
 message to the doctor that she was tired and had 
 a headache. 
 
 But on the following morning, as they breakfasted 
 together in the garden, instinct told her that the 
 interrogation was coming, and for the first time in 
 her life she felt nervous of him, having something 
 to hide. 
 
 " Takemoto-san honoured our contemptible house 
 with a visit," he said in his unemotional sing-song. 
 
 " Indeed." 
 
 " He regretted that you were not here to receive 
 him." 
 
 " I did not know he was coming." 
 
 "So I informed him. He displayed much 
 patience." 
 
 " That was condescending of him." 
 
 " Takemoto-san is a man of many virtues." 
 
 " There are always compensations," she replied. 
 
 If he noticed the sneer, he betrayed no sign of it. 
 That withered parchment of a face seemed incapable 
 of expressing emotion. As well expect a rock to 
 break into tears or smiles. 
 
 " A careful consideration of his many merits has 
 led me to the conclusion that he is quite a remark- 
 able man." 
 
 " I weary of his merits," she said, " just as I 
 weary of him. His many virtues appal me." 
 
 " When he inquired for you I could not tell him
 
 142 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 where you had gone because I did not know. This 
 he thought somewhat singular." 
 
 " I wish Takemoto-san would mind his own 
 business. What right has he to inquire for me ? 
 Why should he seek to know my whereabouts ? " 
 
 Mohri blinked away behind his glasses with the 
 twinkling calm of a summer sea. 
 
 " Your pardon," he murmured, " but I also have 
 some slight interest." 
 
 " I went to see the sights," she answered with 
 hesitation, "and the noise of the streets gave me 
 a headache." 
 
 " I am sorry. You must take greater care of your- 
 self. And did you find it interesting that quaint 
 place they call the Temple and your father's old 
 chambers ? " 
 
 She started, being quite unable to control the 
 sudden look of suspicion that leapt to her eyes. 
 He put the question without the slightest suggestion 
 of interest. 
 
 " What do you mean, oji-san ? " 
 
 " Why, what should I mean but what I say ? I 
 had hoped it would not -be necessary to question you. 
 You must not be foolish, Iris-san. Yoji Takemoto 
 might not approve." 
 
 " It is quite immaterial to me whether he approves 
 or not. I did not think you would condescend to 
 spy on me, oji-san ; but since you have, I may
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 143 
 
 tell you that I found the Temple interesting, and 
 my father's old chambers quite remarkably so." 
 
 There was a palpable note of defiance in her 
 voice which, however, left the little man un- 
 moved. 
 
 " We will not discuss it further," he said. " At 
 the same time, I am glad you have been, as it will 
 not be necessary for you to go again." 
 
 Inwardly she began to seethe, though outwardly 
 she was no less calm than he. 
 
 " Why may I not go again if I choose ? " 
 
 ' ' Because I do not wish it, and because Takemoto- 
 san might not approve." 
 
 " I hate him ! " 
 
 " A woman cannot begin too soon to study the 
 wishes of her husband." 
 
 ' Takemoto-san is not my husband." 
 
 " Prospectively." 
 
 " I hate him ! " she said again. 
 
 " And this other ? " 
 
 " Why do you ask ? " she stammered. 
 
 " Why does one usually ask a question ? " He 
 fixed his eyes on her, compelling an answer. 
 
 "If it were a question between him and Take- 
 mo to " 
 
 " It can never be that." 
 
 ' You forget, oji-san, that I am not now in 
 Nippon."
 
 144 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Every good Japanese is a part of the sacred 
 earth of Nippon." 
 
 " I am not a good Japanese I am not a Japanese 
 at all." 
 
 " We must try to make you one. Tell me, Iris- 
 san, is it possible that you can forget ? " 
 
 " I don't know," she said : " you must give me 
 time to think. Why should I blame him for the 
 wrong another did ? Rather, am I not to be con- 
 gratulated ? " 
 
 " He meant it for a wrong : he meant to humiliate 
 you. These white people profess unbounded 
 admiration for our victories over Russia. They cry 
 with one breath, ' Wonderful ! ' But they only 
 think it wonderful that we, a heathen, coloured 
 race, should have adopted their methods with such 
 marked success. In their hearts they do not regard 
 us as their equal, but only as a curious, barbaric 
 people who humbled the great white giant of the 
 North the monster whose frown used to set all 
 Europe shivering with terror. We achieved what they 
 had not the courage to attempt : we pricked the 
 bubble, slashed the bladder. As soldiers they accept 
 us, but as a people they contemplate us with chins in 
 the air. Our business is to lower those chins. Sir Basil 
 Everard slighted you because you were a Japanese." 
 
 " I am not a Japanese," she insisted. He did 
 not seem to notice the interruption.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 145 
 
 " And he paid the penalty." 
 
 Widely her eyes opened, betraying a searching 
 look of interrogation. 
 
 " What do you mean by that, oji-san ? " she asked 
 in a low voice. 
 
 ' That he met the fate reserved for all who 
 attempt to check our progress." 
 
 " I don't quite understand. He died suddenly, 
 met his fate as we all must. Do you mean that the 
 idols of Nippon triumphed over the God of the 
 white people ? Because if that is the case you are 
 far from being the man whose wisdom I have learned 
 to reverence." 
 
 " ' The idols of Nippon/ " he quoted, " have their 
 willing instruments the same as the white man's 
 God. When it suits us we may each claim divine 
 interception. With us the virtues of the Emperor 
 triumph, with them the unseen Deity. It is a pretty 
 piece of romance whichever way you look at it. 
 Meanwhile, we arm ourselves with the very latest 
 weapons of destruction, the live shell being the 
 greatest of all living deities. To destroy seems to 
 be the ultimate end of Nature and of God." 
 
 " Is that also your gospel, oji-san ? " 
 
 " When it concerns my enemies, or the enemies 
 of my country." 
 
 " Concerning this Sir Basil Everard ? " she said 
 suddenly. 
 
 K
 
 146 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Being dead, what further interest can we 
 in him ? Dead emperors or dead dogs, what's the 
 difference between them once they're put under 
 the earth ? But the living ah, the living may 
 wound, and the wound may rankle till it ulcerate 
 the whole body. I thought, Iris-san, that your 
 extreme affability in the case of Mr. Kenneth 
 Everard concealed a very ingenious stratagem. I 
 was mistaken ? " 
 
 " No. Profiting by your philosophy I employed 
 the most contemptible means to gain my end." 
 
 " Success was assured you from the beginning. 
 Having once brought your enemy to your feet, you 
 immediately begin to trample on him, otherwise 
 he will rise up and sting you." 
 
 " No, oji-san," she faltered. " I almost think he 
 might trample on me." 
 
 " Am I then to assume that Sir Basil Everard 
 was right, and that, being a half-breed, you are 
 necessarily a degenerate ? " 
 
 It was the first time he had ever spoken to her 
 in a manner so cruel, and yet strangely enough she 
 did not resent it. As a matter of fact she was 
 wondering if there was not more virtue in the half- 
 breed than hi the full-blooded native. Certainly 
 she would not have exchanged for the latter. 
 
 " These things come, oji-san," she said weakly, 
 " and carry us with them against our better judg-
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 147 
 
 ment. At first other thoughts were mine. Being 
 a woman, I am not ignorant of my power. I would 
 bring him to my feet and then spurn him with 
 ridicule. As you know, I did spurn him." 
 
 " Only to go in pursuit of him ? " 
 
 She gave a little gasp : otherwise the Oriental 
 calm remained unruffled. 
 
 " Who can hide anything from that august 
 intelligence ? " 
 
 Gravely he inclined his head in response to the 
 compliment. 
 
 " It is nothing," he said. " Women have been 
 foolish from the beginning of time. Yoji Takemoto 
 need not know. Nothing else matters. My work 
 accomplished, we will return to our own country. 
 As the wife of the illustrious Takemoto you will be 
 guarded against all future mishaps." 
 
 " I cannot be the wife of Takemoto-san," she pro- 
 tested. " I hate him ! You would not have me 
 marry a man I hate ? " 
 
 " What difference can it make, once you are his 
 wife ? He wants you. Your love or your hate may 
 sweeten or embitter, but beyond that it can matter 
 little. The wishes of the husband must always be 
 sacred to the wife." 
 
 " That is your Eastern notion, oji-san ; but the 
 Western peoples rank their women higher than the 
 beast."
 
 148 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " The Western peoples know how to make arms, 
 but they have forgotten how to govern women. In 
 the future they will come to us for that knowledge." 
 
 " And you return to Nippon ? " she asked, with 
 just the slightest suspicion of a quaver in her voice. 
 
 " Soon now. My work is almost finished. A 
 few more experiments, and when next I visit Europe 
 it will be with our conquering armies." 
 
 What he meant by that she did not know, nor 
 had she the curiosity to inquire. She knew that 
 dream of old, the conquest of the white races, but 
 of a truth it never fired her to any great enthusiasm. 
 As an abstract theory it was not without interest 
 they had discussed it times out of number but 
 as a likely happening it lacked even a remote 
 probability. 
 
 " I regret to say, oji-san, that I shall not be able 
 to return with you to Nippon." 
 
 " Indeed ! " he answered slowly, but without the 
 slightest suggestion of emotion. " That would be 
 very singular." 
 
 " Never again shall I set foot in Nippon. It does 
 not call to me as once it did. This England is 
 wonderful, oji-san : my father's country. Having 
 once known it I could not leave it now without 
 a pang." 
 
 " Since when, may I ask, have you learned to 
 iove .it so greatly p "
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 149 
 
 " I think the love must have been bred in the 
 blood. How else am I to account for it ? These 
 things come of their own accord, oji-san. We do 
 not suspect their existence until we suddenly find 
 that they are there." 
 
 A close observer might have seen the ghost of a 
 smile flicker for a moment across Dr. Mohri's face. 
 Certainly it would have needed a quick eye to 
 detect it, a brain keen to anticipate. If she saw it, 
 one would not have guessed so from her demeanour, 
 which was as stolidly impassive as his own. 
 
 ' That is so, Iris-san," he admitted, " though 
 usually there is some cause relative to their dis- 
 covery. It is a nice psychological point and worthy 
 of some attention. I almost feared there might have 
 been a more material reason for the change." 
 
 " And if there were ? " 
 
 " Things material may be taken in hand and 
 promptly dealt with : we possess the appliances for 
 such ; but things spiritual, Iris-san, are frequently 
 too elusive for our gross touch." 
 
 " Are things material always so easy to handle ? " 
 
 " To one who has the will and the power- 
 perhaps." 
 
 " But the spiritual, the inner elusive essence of 
 us how are we to handle that ? If my heart 
 leads the way and I follow, what happens ? " 
 
 " The stronger will always dominate the weaker.
 
 150 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 There is a remedy for most ills, my child, if we 
 only knew how to apply it." 
 
 She knew quite well that he saw through her 
 speculations, and that however vaguely she pre- 
 sented her case he pierced the opaque reasonings 
 and grasped the central facts. 
 
 " I have decided," she said shortly, " that I shall 
 not marry at all." 
 
 Solemnly he blinked back at her, but his face 
 expressed no emotion, neither amusement nor 
 surprise. A perpetual calm seemed to encompass 
 him. He was like a mountain lake, placid in the 
 midst of storms : a land-locked sea on which the 
 wind scarcely raised a ripple. To her nothing at 
 all astounding, because she was accustomed to it, 
 but to the more impatient native of the West an 
 exasperating entity. 
 
 " Have we the power to decide even so trifling 
 a matter ? " he asked. " When fate approves a 
 scheme she usually carries it to a successful conclu- 
 sion, and I think she has already mapped out your 
 destiny." 
 
 " But you are not fate, oji-san ; neither is 
 Takemoto." 
 
 " Who knows ? A child may strike down an 
 emperor." 
 
 She knew that a continuation of these subtleties 
 would utterly destroy her. In the vague exposition
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 151 
 
 of hidden meanings, which were yet so singularly 
 lucid, she knew that he would confound her utterly. 
 Truly the pupil had trodden in the master's steps, 
 but it was the master who had hewn those steps. 
 
 " You understand clearly, oji-san, that I have 
 decided not to marry Yoji Takemoto ? " 
 
 " I understand you to say so, my child ; but when 
 you know it to be my wish, I am not without hope 
 that you will alter that decision." 
 
 " Why should you wish it, when you know that 
 to me the idea is repellent ? " 
 
 " There are many reasons, though I had not 
 thought I should ever be called upon to name them. 
 Nevertheless, I recognise that to a certain extent I 
 am responsible for this curiously perverted attitude 
 of yours, and therefore I condescend to explain. In 
 the first place, all women should marry who are fit 
 to bear children men-children who shall one day 
 carry their country to victory. Then they should 
 marry well, if possible, and Takemoto has much of 
 this world's goods. What more could king or 
 noble desire for his daughter than I have found 
 for you ? I admit that the woman-child is a 
 necessary misfortune, but once she comes, she 
 claims our duty irrespective of sex. But above 
 all tilings Takemoto is rich. You may search the 
 world from end to end and you will discover no 
 greater virtue than riches."
 
 152 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " There is no other reason ? " 
 
 ' Yes. I could not permit you to marry a white 
 man." 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " Because I hate them." 
 
 " Why do you hate them ? " 
 
 " Why do the nations hate each other why are 
 they born with the hatred in them ? I confess 
 that my philosophy has not provided me with 
 an answer." 
 
 " But do you not realise, oji-san, that here in this 
 country my father's country you have no power 
 to forbid me marrying whom I please ? " 
 
 " So," he answered rather sharply, " you learn 
 quickly, my child ? " 
 
 ' Thanks to your inimitable training, oji-san. 
 But you do not mean what you say about Takemoto? 
 You would not doom me to live all my life with 
 that hideously degraded creature ? Your honour- 
 able sister, my august mother, left me in your 
 charge, and you promised, oji-san you know how 
 you promised ! " 
 
 " Have I failed ? " 
 
 " No ; but you would fail now. If she knew, 
 what would she say ? Should her spirit meet 
 yours in the hereafter, what answer would you 
 make ? " 
 
 " My ambitions do not greatly concern the here-
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 153 
 
 after," he replied. " I leave all that to those who 
 take an interest in it, who possibly have no other 
 interest in life. I believe the poor whites have 
 some hope of recompense then. No rich man would 
 think of depriving them of this harmless consolation. 
 But Takemoto is rich : I have work to do, and he 
 has promised " 
 
 11 What is this work, oji-san ? I hear so much of 
 it, but I see so little." 
 
 ' You shall see more : the whole world shall hear 
 of it and shudder with terror. Nippon shall be 
 exalted above the nations : Tokio shall dictate to 
 the universe." 
 
 His narrow, pinched face lit with sudden emotion 
 he seemed to swell with the importance of his 
 prophecy. Behind the parched exterior of 'that 
 yellow skin a strange light shone which set aflame 
 the mask of reserve that had always hidden the 
 real man. Deadly always, relentless as a tiger in 
 the pursuit of his prey, she at last saw something 
 of the man of whom strange stories had been 
 whispered out there in Kobe.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A N account of the very remarkable incident 
 * ^ appeared in all the newspapers, and naturally 
 caused no little comment. Indeed, one might 
 go further and say that among the travelling public 
 it created a feeling akin to consternation. The 
 papers called it " a singular," " an amazing/' " an 
 extraordinary " occurrence. Theories were pro- 
 pounded only to be abandoned with a serious note 
 of conjecture. But the more alarmist members of 
 the community loudly proclaimed their belief that 
 a new terror had descended among us. 
 
 Brief were the facts, though voluminous the 
 aforesaid theories. And the facts were these : 
 
 A certain train from Waterloo, which takes busi- 
 ness men to their homes in the far suburbs, stops 
 at Richmond, and here the first discovery was 
 made. A passenger from Richmond to Twickenham, 
 on opening the door of a first-class smoker, was 
 amazed to see the occupants of the carriage sprawling 
 about in all sorts of grotesque attitudes. His first 
 thought was that they were all asleep, or drunk, 
 
 154
 
 THE GIRT. FROM NIPPON. 155 
 
 but on looking closer he saw that their faces were 
 swollen and discoloured, ancf that they appeared 
 to be in a state of serious collapse. Alarmed, he 
 called the guard, and immediately the amazing 
 discovery was made that all the occupants, five 
 in number, were completely unconscious. Quickly 
 they were borne into the waiting-room, which was 
 turned into a temporary hospital, and medical aid 
 sent for. But though everything was done to 
 restore the five unfortunates, only three recovered. 
 The other two must have been dead when lifted 
 from the carriage. 
 
 As to the cause of the death the medical fraternity 
 differed, as it always differs ; but a few facts came 
 out at the post-mortem. Not alone was the face of 
 each swollen and discoloured, but the tongue and the 
 throat were angrily inflamed, and a curious sort 
 of yellow mucus lodged in the corners of the eyes. 
 
 What was it ? People began to whisper the 
 dreaded word " plague." Inquiries set on foot 
 disclosed the fact that the five victims of this strange 
 visitation were reputable business men. The doings 
 of the three survivors during that day were quite 
 satisfactorily accounted for. The first and natural 
 theory was that of poisoning ptomaine poisoning 
 for preference. Being City men they had probably 
 partaken of the same dish in the same eating-house. 
 But a further investigation dispelled this theory j
 
 156 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 for it was proved that the survivors, at all events, 
 had lunched at different places. 
 
 What, then, was the cause of death, and how 
 came it that three of the victims survived ? True 
 the rumour ran that the survivors were only attended 
 to in time ; that in two instances the delay of 
 another minute or so in applying restoratives would 
 have proved fatal to all chance of recovery. Ignorant 
 medical men wrote ignorant letters to the papers : 
 the government analysts were held up to the derision 
 of the mob. It was a bad time for experts. The por- 
 tentous notification that the authorities of Scotland 
 Yard had taken the matter in hand caused a universal 
 sneer. Then the affair gradually began to die down. 
 
 One curious fact, however, remained. Each of the 
 three survivors was sure that the carriage had been full 
 when the train had left Clapham Junction, which 
 meant that there must have been six people in the 
 compartment. The train did not stop between Clap- 
 ham Junction and Richmond. Yet when the door 
 was opened at Richmond only five persons were found. 
 If there had been a sixth, what had become of him ? 
 
 The men were questioned and cross-questioned 
 on this point, and two of them were as sure of what 
 they said as men could be of anything. The third 
 was sure, or at least " almost sure." He would 
 swear every one of the six seats was occupied ; 
 that is, he was " under that impression," though
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 157 
 
 he had not taken particular stock of his travelling 
 companions. Speaking " off-hand," he would say 
 that the compartment was full when it left Waterloo. 
 What happened after he could not be absolutely 
 certain, as he had settled himself down in his corner 
 to a careful perusal of the " cricket scores." 
 
 What were the first signs or symptoms of the 
 coming attack ? This none of them seemed to 
 know. All agreed that the afternoon was sultry, 
 and that every man seemed to be smoking pipe, 
 cigarette or cigar. Naturally the atmosphere soon 
 became oppressive, nor would one of the men who 
 sat in a corner put the window down. Which man 
 was this ? No one could say ; but there could be 
 no doubt that it was one of the dead men. 
 
 Not one of them seemed to have the slightest 
 recollection of how he succumbed. In fact, there 
 seemed to be only two cardinal points on which they 
 did agree : one was that the atmosphere in the 
 carriage was heavy with smoke, the other that the 
 afternoon was extremely close. As for the sixth 
 passenger, of course none of the public believed in 
 him. He was a figment of the disordered brain ; 
 for if there had been such a person, he, too, would 
 have been found among the victims. 
 
 The incident occurred on the 2ist of June, and 
 ran the accustomed nine days of wonder. Then, 
 as is usual in such matters, public interest slackened.
 
 T58 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 So many strange things happen among millions of 
 people in nine days that to sustain the interest the 
 victims would need to be crowned heads. But 
 on the following 5th of July, another remarkable 
 occurrence was brought to light. 
 
 At the Corinthian Theatre, famous for its realistic 
 productions, a rather lurid melodrama was being 
 presented with marked success. In this piece there 
 was a battle scene, in which the usual forlorn hope 
 beat off the enemy amid the enthusiastic plaudits 
 of the audience. Real cannon were fired off in this 
 engagement, the smoke from which permeated the 
 auditorium in quite a pungent cloud. People . 
 coughed and sniffed, said such objectionable realism 
 was quite unnecessary, and enjoyed it all the time. 
 
 But on the evening of July 5th it is probable 
 that more powder was expended than usual, or the 
 composition of the explosive must have been de- 
 fective, for when the lights were turned up at the end 
 of the act, several people in the stalls, particularly 
 women, were seen to be in a state of collapse. 
 
 At first those who were unaffected merely smiled, 
 others looked serious and protested that in the 
 theatre nowadays art and romance were being 
 banished for the fetish of commonplace reality. 
 But as the victims of this too realistic production 
 were either led or carried from the theatre, pro- 
 testation gave way to something like panic.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 159 
 
 What had happened ? No one knew ; no one 
 really did know until an account of it appeared in 
 the morning papers. Of course even that was 
 inconclusive, more or less garbled ; but the appalling 
 fact remained that during the great scene at the 
 Corinthian Theatre, the " great battle scene," as 
 it was called, several of the audience, overpowered 
 by the noise and the smoke, had fainted, and that 
 no less than five women and two men had in some 
 unaccountable manner succumbed ! 
 
 Here again among these seven dead the symptoms 
 were curiously similar to those observed in the 
 victims of the tragedy on the South Western Railway. 
 There was the same swollen and discoloured face, 
 the inflamed throat and tongue, and the yellow 
 mucus in the corners of the eyes. Many more were, 
 of course, affected, but not fatally. Quite a dozen 
 were taken home by their friends or relatives in a 
 more or less dazed condition, every one of them 
 betraying the same remarkable symptoms. 
 
 Oddly enough, the actors, whom one would natur- 
 ally expect to be the greatest sufferers, mingling 
 as they did in the thick of the smoke, escaped scot- 
 free. All the victims were discovered to have had 
 seats in the first three rows of the stalls. 
 
 Needless to say, this tragic incident, coming on 
 the top of the other, and betraying the same 
 mysterious symptoms, caused a remarkable sensa-
 
 160 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 tion throughout the land. Open-eyed, people 
 asked each other what it meant. In the first 
 case there was an element of uncertainty, of 
 conjecture. It might have been an accident, 
 truly an accident which had never been satisfactorily 
 explained ; but there was about it a certain amount 
 of scientific postulating which the public had per- 
 force to accept. But once the ammunition used in 
 the theatre had been carefully analysed, and the 
 report published; the public knew it had to look 
 elsewhere for a clue to the mystery. 
 
 Then some one started the cry that a scientific 
 monster, probably a madman, was loose in the land, 
 a wretch bent on the destruction of his species. 
 Terror reigned everywhere. People watched each 
 other suspiciously in the streets ; they were afraid 
 to congregate in rooms or public buildings. The 
 theatres and music halls stood open, empty, the 
 public ignoring the insidious advertisements that 
 " every precaution " had been taken. People were 
 afraid to travel by train, especially in the old- 
 fashioned compartment carriages ; even in the 
 tubes each man regarded his neighbour with a 
 malignant scowl of suspicion. The extremely nervous 
 never stirred abroad ; even the ordinary un- 
 imaginative person refrained from travel unless 
 compelled by necessity to do so. London and the 
 suburbs positively swarmed with plain clothes police-
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 161 
 
 The Home Secretary and his factotum, the Chief 
 Commissioner, were plainly told that they should 
 resign before an indignant people caught them and 
 strung them up to the lamps in Trafalgar Square. 
 Some were equally as certain that it was God's 
 judgment on us for permitting the existence of such 
 a Government. It was the usual mob in extremis 
 shallow, ignorant, knowing nothing of what was 
 being done by the authorities, yet howling in the 
 mad rage of childish panic. 
 
 People looked at each other and asked when the 
 next happening was to be, and who was to be counted 
 among the victims. Many arrests were reported ; 
 even the police forgot their accustomed dignity in 
 the great funk established by the unknown monster. 
 Amateur detectives sprang up on every hand, 
 pursuing what ? a shadow. For, after all, this 
 monster theory was nothing but a theory. They 
 had not even proved the existence of the monster. 
 It might have been one man or many ; or the 
 tragedies may not have been caused by men at all. 
 There were some who believed that the devil, burst- 
 ing his chains, had come to make havoc on earth. 
 
 It was all a wild chaos of conjecture. People who 
 write to the papers on the least provocation aired 
 their inane views at much length ; scientific and 
 quasi-scientific gentlemen strove hard to prove 
 how little they knew of the matter. One popular 
 
 L
 
 162 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 jingo journal accepted the theory that it was the 
 work of a German Anglophobe, and strove to prove 
 this hypothesis by extolling the scientific genius of 
 the Teutonic race. As at that period certain people 
 believed the Germans capable of any base, wicked, 
 or deceitful act, this suggestion enjoyed much vogue. 
 
 One thing only was certain, and that was the 
 dread of this unknown terror displayed on every 
 face. Men and women showed it in their eyes, 
 in their actions, in the quick, furtive glances they 
 flung about them. A sudden familiar tap on the 
 shoulder made a man almost jump out of his skin ; 
 if you looked at a woman too long or too closely she 
 shot a terrified glance at you and hurried off as 
 though suppressing with difficulty a cry for help. 
 For the first time in her life she did not think that 
 your glance was one of admiration. Children 
 called strange terms to each other in the street. 
 A mischievous boy bursting a paper bag set the 
 neighbourhood in commotion. Chemists and non- 
 chemists aired unprofitable views on poisons, and 
 the man in the street bandied scientific terms, culled 
 from the newspapers, with a freedom which sug- 
 gested an intimate acquaintance with chemistry. 
 
 The terror held London in its grip for a week, 
 ten days, a fortnight. Every precaution was taken 
 to protect life and property. One saw in every 
 stranger a potential maniac with homicidal ten-
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 163 
 
 dencies. Chemists and the scientific men were 
 placed under a ban. But about the fourteenth or 
 fifteenth day the tension began to relax, for nothing 
 further happening people began to tell themselves 
 that they had been unnecessarily alarmed. Indeed, 
 might not this universal belief in the existence of 
 a scientific monster be caused by nothing but the 
 wild reasoning of fear ? There was not the slightest 
 proof that any such monster existed. No one had 
 seen him, heard him. He was a myth, a bogey, 
 a creature born of terror in a nightmare. No, the 
 real solution would be found in the fact that some 
 strange new epidemic, or plague, due, no doubt, 
 to the importation of foreign foodstuffs, had suddenly 
 appeared among us, and housewives were warned 
 to be careful in the preparation of all food. 
 
 And then one Monday morning Londoners, on 
 opening their papers, were startled to see that the 
 monster was again at work. This time the venue 
 chosen was a certain Roman Catholic church in 
 Kensington, and the victims on this occasion 
 numbered three women, all domestic servants. 
 
 It seems that just after the incense was carried 
 round certain of the worshippers, overcome by 
 excessive zeal, were seen suddenly to lean forward 
 in what appeared to be an attitude of devotion. 
 In this same attitude they were found at the end of 
 the service, and when one of the minor assistants
 
 164 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 approached he saw to his horror that they were dead. 
 Then began a repetition of the general terror, only 
 this tune it was trebly intensified. A universal 
 shriek of wrath and despair went up from the people. 
 What was this thing that had suddenly descended 
 on us, and how were we to combat it ? It was 
 monstrous that the Government did not act, and 
 act quickly. What was the use of a Government 
 that couldn't protect the people from this unknown 
 scourge ? It ought to resign forthwith and give 
 the Opposition a chance to prove its metal. Im- 
 potent in both home and foreign policy, it had 
 become a byword among the nations. At least so 
 much was asserted by the Opposition papers. And 
 all the time the Government officials were at their 
 wits' end to discover a solution of the mystery. 
 
 But no solution came. Theories were more 
 abundant than ever. The tens of thousands who 
 had believed in poisonous foodstuffs were nonplussed 
 in endeavouring to explain how the incense became 
 impregnated with the poison ; though the original 
 supporters of this theory protested that, of course, 
 the poison was not in the incense, but in the food 
 partaken of by the domestics before going to church. 
 
 People began to starve themselves. We were 
 promised a nation of the leanest beings ever seen. 
 The Government issued proclamations against all 
 such foolishness. Every precaution had been taken
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 165 
 
 with the people's food : an army of inspectors 
 swarmed all over the great victualling departments. 
 As all these dead people had shown the same 
 symptoms, it was quite evident that some new form 
 of disease had descended on us, to check which every 
 precaution that was known to science and experience 
 was being employed. In the meantime the public was 
 warned to avoid all mobs and crowded places. They 
 were to rest assured that these cases were under the 
 closest scientific investigation, and that the authorities 
 hoped soon to issue a very satisfactory announcement. 
 But the only announcement made was that of a 
 further series of outrages. Birmingham was the 
 scene of the next exploit, where no less than a dozen 
 people met the same mysteriously awful end. Liver- 
 pool followed, then Manchester. Bradford and Leeds 
 were visited in turn by the hideous yellow death. It 
 seemed as though the monster, or monsters, meant 
 to blaze a trail of destruction right across the country. 
 Each town wondered if it was to receive the next 
 visitation. London, relieved for the moment, looked 
 to the provinces with aching eyes. At each new out- 
 rage the country fairly leapt with terror. Men went 
 about with fear and horror in their looks ; women 
 rarely dare venture abroad. Crowds were avoided 
 as though the pestilence lurked in them. No man 
 knew when his end might come. People went to bed 
 in terror and arose as from a nightmare. Fear, a 
 great and universal fear, brooded over all things.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ' TJAVE you noticed anything peculiar about 
 these horrors ? " 
 
 Kenneth Everard put the question to his friend, 
 Jeffrey Colburne, as they sat smoking and dis- 
 cussing the prevalent topic in their chambers 
 in the Temple. Like everyone else they had dis- 
 cussed the subject until there seemed nothing more 
 to talk about ; and as Everard put the question his 
 friend could not refrain from smiling, though quite 
 willing to admit that the affair was no smiling matter. 
 
 " Many things, my dear Ken ; but as you have 
 heard them all, and as I have no new solution to 
 the mystery He shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 The mystery that had baffled all was not likely to 
 be solved by him. He was a good-looking, fresh- 
 faced young fellow with a frank, engaging smile, 
 a fearless eye, and a belief in his kind. Those who 
 know him said that his profession had been chosen 
 wrongly. 
 
 " I don't know that I have a new solution," said
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 167 
 
 Kenneth ; " but in reading of these horrible hap- 
 penings I've noticed one thing, and curiously enough 
 I've not seen it mentioned in any of the accounts. 
 Of course I don't pretend that there is any value in 
 the observation, but it strikes me as being rather 
 singular that no one has referred to it." 
 
 '' Well, out with it, my boy ; don't keep me on 
 tenterhooks. You know I always said you had 
 in you the makings of a first-class detective." 
 
 " You think, of course, that if there had been any 
 value in it, it wouldn't be left for me to make the 
 discovery ? Probably you're right. That practical, 
 unimaginative mind of yours is not likely to be 
 worried by idle speculations." 
 
 "I'm afraid, old boy, I have a penchant for virile 
 reality. I really ought to make a first-class judge, 
 though I'm afraid I shall never get anyone to see it. 
 But this new idea of yours ; what is it ? " 
 
 " Smoke." 
 
 With a smile he blew a cloud to the ceiling and 
 watched it slowly disperse. 
 
 " So I see. But what about your theory ? " 
 
 " That too is smoke." 
 
 " I'm afraid I cannot penetrate it. Do you think 
 you could be more explicit ? " 
 
 " Quite easily. Mind you, I don't say there's any- 
 thing more in it than there usually is in smoke. But 
 take these occurrences seriously and what do we find? "
 
 i68 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Smoke ? " 
 
 " Certainly. The people in the South Western 
 railway carriage were all smoking ; at the Corinthian 
 Theatre the disaster occurred during the great battle 
 scene, when the house was full of smoke ; in the 
 Roman Catholic church the tragedy followed on 
 the burning of incense. In the provinces it was the 
 same. All the occurrences were accompanied by 
 smoke. Do you see the connection ?" 
 
 " I see the smoke all right, but I fail to perceive 
 the relevancy of the connection." 
 
 " It is that connecting link the missing link, we 
 might call it which has yet to be discovered. But it 
 strikes me as being just a little singular that all 
 these happenings are more or less involved in 
 smoke." 
 
 " Where it seems they are likely to remain. But, 
 of course, I see what you mean. You think that only 
 in an atmosphere of smoke it is possible for this 
 monster to work ? " 
 
 " To me it seems a reasonable supposition. 
 Suppose he frees some poisonous gas into an atmo- 
 sphere already charged with a pungent essence, he 
 would the better be able to escape detection ; for 
 if there was any strange smell in it the already pre- 
 valent odour would destroy it, and people would be 
 less prone to suspect the presence of a foreign body." 
 
 Colburne regarded him with much admiration.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 169 
 
 " Ingenious," he said, " but scarcely convincing." 
 
 " I admit the theory is a bit far-fetched ; but if 
 this murderer is a man of science, which seems to 
 be the general belief, the thing, though almost 
 incredible, is not improbable." 
 
 " In the future I shall strenuously avoid all 
 smoky gatherings," laughed his friend. " Who 
 would think, my dear fellow, that so much could 
 come out of smoke ? " 
 
 " My dear boy, because you are totally ignorant 
 of the resources of chemistry you must not make 
 a mock of its powers. I agree that if any of these 
 happenings had occurred apart from the presence 
 of smoke, my theory would topple to the ground. 
 But they have not. On each occasion we get some- 
 what similar conditions, and the more I think of it 
 the more I am convinced that smoke is a necessary 
 auxiliary to the perpetration of these crimes." 
 
 " In that case, what is to prevent the monster 
 from starting a cigarette factory and poisoning us 
 wholesale ? " 
 
 Kenneth Everard started, a strained, anxious look 
 adding sudden solemnity to his expression. The 
 great Airedale, Inu, came forward, and laying his 
 head on his master's knee, looked up at him with 
 strange, pathetic eyes. 
 
 " I believe that dog is half human," said Colburne. 
 " At times I almost fancy he knows what we are
 
 170 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 talking about. Perhaps you can give us a clue to the 
 mystery, old fellow ? " 
 
 He laughed lightly as though the thought amused 
 him ; but the dog's steady eyes never moved from 
 his master's face, and that master was thinking 
 hard. Strange thoughts, vague fancies, flitted 
 through his mind. 
 
 " Isn't it rather curious," he said suddenly, " that 
 while everyone attributes these crimes to a particular 
 individual, no one has been able to supply the least 
 hint as to his identity. Yet many must have seen 
 him, sat close to him and spoken with him. About 
 such a monster there must have been some dis- 
 tinctive feature. No man, lunatic or sane, who 
 could do these things can be like ordinary folk. 
 Somewhere on him he must carry the mark of 
 the beast." 
 
 " Not necessarily. Nature does not always stamp 
 its trade-mark on its manufactures." 
 
 " I think it does, more or less." 
 
 " A bad look-out for some of us," laughed the other. 
 
 " She compensates the unfortunate by endowing 
 the rest of the community with partial blindness. 
 As a rule men see only that which has already been 
 discovered, and it is just possible that we are no wiser 
 than our fellows." 
 
 Colburne shook his head, put on his hat and went 
 out. He had heard it all before, listened to so many
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 171 
 
 theories. The papers teemed with them. One had 
 this monster and his crimes dished up ad nauseam, 
 and as far as he could see there was to be no relief 
 for some time to come. The thing was like a 
 prolonged nightmare, and he was getting weary of it. 
 
 Kenneth Everard in the meantime, sat smoking 
 and thinking. The dog lay curled up on the rug 
 at his feet, but in such a manner that when he 
 opened his eyes he could see his master. In these 
 days a great affection had sprung up between the 
 man and the dog. It seemed to Kenneth that 
 gradually the animal was losing its terror of the 
 unknown. He came now of his own accord with 
 tail wagging, nor did he cower beneath the hand 
 that was raised to stroke him. 
 
 But just then he was not thinking particularly of the 
 dog, but of the casual remark dropped by his friend 
 Colburne, that the monster might start a cigarette 
 factory and poison us wholesale. He would not 1st 
 the thought intrude ; he did his utmost to put it out 
 and lock the door upon it. Yet in it came through 
 the keyhole, slid under the jamb, found its way 
 through unimagined cracks and crevices. It could 
 not be possible ; he would not entertain the thought 
 for a moment ; and yet he knew it was there, and 
 that it carried him to a certain house near Richmond, 
 and above all to a little yellow man who blinked un- 
 ceasingly through a pair of steel-rimmed spectacles.
 
 172 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 Suddenly the dog began to move uneasily, then he 
 looked up, his face to the door, and started to sniff. 
 Next he stood up, stretched himself, and began to 
 stiffen his back. 
 
 " What is it, old fellow ? " asked his master ; 
 but though at the sound of that voice the dog began 
 to whimper, never for an instant did his eyes turn from 
 the door. Thinking this rather curious Kenneth 
 was about to rise and investigate when the bell rang 
 out clearly and distinctly. The dog gave a low 
 whine of terror and showed his teeth. Commanding 
 him to lie down, Kenneth went to the door and 
 opened it. On the threshold stood Dr. Mohri, his 
 wrinkled, yellow face as calmly impassive as ever. 
 
 Though not a little startled, Kenneth bowed him 
 in, closing the door carefully behind them. A low, 
 vicious growl came from the hearthrug, the dog 
 standing there with bared fangs, the embodiment 
 of savage fury. Seizing a cane Kenneth drove him 
 into another room and closed the door, returning 
 with an apology on his lips. 
 
 But Hiro Mohri did not seem to be in the least 
 perturbed by this ebullition of savagery on the 
 part of the dog. Even with the creature ready to 
 spring on him he appeared perfectly oblivious of his 
 danger. Everard wondered if anything on earth 
 could ruffle the placidity of that extraordinary 
 little man.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 173 
 
 " I must apologise," he said. " The dog did not 
 seem to recognise you." 
 
 The doctor may have smiled inwardly, but certainly 
 he betrayed no outward sign of being amused. 
 
 " Perhaps he remembered me only too well. But 
 I am glad to see his courage is returning. I always 
 thought it a pity that so strong a creature should be 
 such an arrant coward." 
 
 Kenneth may have thought the dog had good 
 cause to remember Dr. Mohri, but if so, he kept the 
 thought to himself. 
 
 " Having business in the neighbourhood," said the 
 little man, accepting the seat Kenneth offered him, 
 *' I thought I would do myself the honour and the 
 pleasure of calling on you." 
 
 " The honour and pleasure are mine," said Everard, 
 though of truth he felt neither. The presence of 
 Dr. Mohri always affected him in a totally different 
 manner. " May I offer you some refreshment ? " 
 
 " No, thanks ; but if you have no objection I will 
 smoke." He took out his cigarette case, and offered 
 it to Kenneth, who politely declined the offer, saying 
 he had already smoked himself almost silly. As 
 a matter of fact he still retained a distinct recollection 
 of the last occasion on which he had smoked one of 
 Dr. Mohri's cigarettes. 
 
 The yellow man, sublimely placid as ever, blinked 
 up through his large spectacles ; but the atmosphere
 
 174 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 of Oriental calm in which he seemed to dwell was not 
 shared by the younger man. As the personality 
 of Mohri had always affected him strangely, so he 
 now found himself perplexed, ill at ease, finding 
 much difficulty in carrying on what appeared to be 
 a one-sided conversation. Nor did his visitor seem 
 to make the slightest effort to help him out, but sat 
 like an Eastern idol, placidly contemplative. It was 
 only when the subject of the outrage was broached 
 that they seemed to find a common topic of interest 
 
 " As a chemist, Dr. Mohri, I suppose you have 
 found this matter of much interest ? " 
 
 " Why as a chemist ? " 
 
 " Most people seem to think that the murderer is 
 more or less a man of science, with a special know- 
 ledge of chemistry." 
 
 "People think so many foolish things in their 
 ignorance, assuming this and that in preference to 
 acclaiming a natural law." 
 
 " What exactly do you mean by a natural law ? " 
 
 " The true course of nature." 
 
 " Then you do not believe that any one man has 
 been guilty of these crimes ? " 
 
 " I know of no evidence to justify such a belief. 
 My own opinion is that these people have all died 
 from natural causes, through the medium of a 
 disease which your medical men have not yet been 
 able accurately to diagnose."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 175 
 
 'You do not hold an exalted opinion of their 
 intelligence ? " 
 
 " How can I when there is so much evidence to 
 the contrary ? The letters written on this subject 
 by your medical and scientific authorities would 
 entirely condemn them in the eyes of any intelligent 
 community. Because they are face to face with 
 that of which they have no knowledge, they at once 
 begin to scream like a mob of hysterical women. 
 Take it from me, these people have all died from 
 natural causes. It is merely on account of the 
 strangeness of the cause that we are afflicted with 
 these elaborate attempts to hide ignorance." 
 
 " There may be something in that." 
 
 " May be ? " 
 
 " But I do not think it explains the matter quite 
 satisfactorily." 
 
 " You have a theory then ? " 
 
 " We all have." 
 
 " Yours is ingenious ? " 
 
 " I did not say so." 
 
 " But I feel sure it must be. By the way, are you 
 any nearer the solution of your cousin's death ? " 
 
 " Unfortunately, no. But Bayles still has the 
 matter in hand. I have every confidence in him." 
 
 " Bayles ? " 
 
 " Detective Bayles of Scotland Yard, one of the 
 shrewdest men in the Force."
 
 176 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " And what are the methods of Mr. Bayles ? " 
 The question was put with about as much interest 
 as one would ask the time of the day. 
 
 " He goes backwards." 
 
 " Like a crab. That sounds ingenious." 
 
 " I believe he has some faith in the method. 
 You see, as far as we are all concerned, my cousin's 
 life for many years is a complete blank. To the best 
 of his ability, Bayles will fill in that blank." 
 
 " There seems to be more method in that walking 
 backward than one at first imagined. I'm sure I 
 wish him every success. You must feel very deeply 
 the stigma that attaches to you ? " 
 
 " I can assure you that I am not conscious of any 
 such stigma . I had almost forgotten the accusation . ' ' 
 
 " I am more than pleased to hear you say so. 
 Naturally those who knew you would never credit 
 it for a moment. At the same tune there are others 
 who make it their business to believe evil, and they 
 are, unfortunately, a large percentage of every 
 population. One despises them, of course, and yet 
 is forced to consider their various idiosyncrasies. 
 In such circumstances you quite realise how ex- 
 tremely difficult was my position in regard to my 
 niece." 
 
 Kenneth saw it coming and thought it rather 
 ingeniously led up to. Wondering how much this 
 impassive little person knew, and if this was the
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 177 
 
 real object of his visit, he replied somewhat ambig- 
 uously, though protesting that he would never 
 think of asking Miss Mayford to marry a man who 
 lived under a cloud. 
 
 " Yet you do not wait to dispel that cloud. Is 
 this customary among men of honour ? " 
 
 " You misapprehend entirely, Dr. Mohri. I am 
 not conscious of any act that reflects on my honour." 
 
 " Perhaps we view these matters differently. It 
 is not my wish that you could encourage these hopes 
 as they are bound to prove a bitter disappointment." 
 
 " Pardon me, but is that for you to say ? " 
 
 " Entirely. I do not wish you to see, or attempt 
 to see, my niece again." 
 
 " What is your objection to me ? " 
 
 " Have I not already told you ? It is not 
 my wish." 
 
 " And do you expect me to obey such an unreason- 
 able request ? " 
 
 " I have every confidence in your good sense." 
 
 " You are sure you do not overrate it ? " 
 
 " Quite." 
 
 Never a sign of anger, a spark of annoyance, a 
 touch of emotion. There he sat with a placid 
 unconcern which the other found highly irritating. 
 
 " With all due respect, Dr. Mohri, you ask the 
 impossible. I love your niece, and will come to her 
 the moment she calls." 
 
 M
 
 178 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " She will not call." 
 
 " Then I will call to her. It is the same thing." 
 
 " Not at all ; the things are totally different. 
 Should she call, it is I who will hear you and 
 answer." 
 
 " What do you mean by that ? " 
 
 " You must attach any meaning to it that appeals 
 to your intelligence. Have I not already told you 
 that she is to marry Mr. Takemoto ? " 
 
 " You said so." 
 
 " And what I say I mean. That which I deter- 
 mine I usually carry to a successful issue. I wish 
 you no harm, Mr. Everard. That you love my little 
 girl is just so much hi your favour ; but it is nothing 
 more. You must not attempt to come between me 
 and my resolve. Many men have tried, and I have 
 stepped right over them. Don't try." 
 
 " I must try, because I must keep faith with 
 myself with her. I love her and I have told her so. 
 You understand that there can be no receding for 
 me until she tells me to go. I am sorry, Dr. Mohri, 
 frightfully sorry that you should object to me ; but 
 you must understand that no man who is worth the 
 name no white man goes back on a woman at the 
 dictation of another." 
 
 " We have heard the white man talk before," he 
 replied in his exasperating, unemotional sing-song, 
 " and were not impressed. To be frank, we are no
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 179 
 
 longer impressed by his presumption. You should 
 not use the term to me, because I do not love it, 
 conveying as it does an implied superiority. White 
 man white woman ! Among the unenlightened 
 peoples of the East your race is still something of a 
 myth ; but for us who know the glory and the 
 greatness have all departed." 
 
 So, after all, it was not impossible to lead the little 
 man out of himself ! Yet, though his words con- 
 veyed a distinct sense of irritation, the manner 
 remained unruffled. He spoke as one who betrays 
 the inner light, yet not altogether conscious that he 
 is betraying it. 
 
 " I claim neither greatness nor glory," said 
 Kenneth ; " no thought of it ever entered my mind. 
 I regret that you should disapprove, but I have 
 my own happiness to think of and hers. If she 
 is dear to you how could you wish to sacrifice her 
 to a man like Takemoto, whose very appearance is 
 revolting in the extreme ? " 
 
 " I thought I had already told you that I do not 
 favour mixed marriages. But I see you are decidedly 
 obstinate by nature, Mr. Everard." He rose slowly, 
 stretching out for his hat and gloves. " That is 
 a pity, because it will probably cause you much 
 inconvenience in the future." He paused at the 
 door and looked up, blinking at the young man. 
 " Perhaps you will take this as a warning. It
 
 iSo THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 may prove of service to you. I do not wish you 
 to have any further communication with my niece ; 
 I strictly forbid it. Presently, almost instantly, I 
 may say, we return to our own country. Meanwhile 
 I must ask you to respect my wishes." 
 
 '* How can I respect the wishes of one who acts 
 with such unreason ? Would you, Dr. Mohri, if 
 you were in my place ? " 
 
 " My niece has promised " 
 
 " Nothing. But, with your permission, I have no 
 fear of the future." 
 
 " You seem to me, Mr. Everard, to be one of those 
 reckless persons who do not carefully test the ground 
 before taking the next step. This is always a mistake. 
 If you would only try to realise it, every step in life 
 is more or less vital. There are forces, seen and 
 unseen, continually barring the road to our desires. 
 No man overcomes them utterly, though now and 
 again he is permitted a partial gleam of success. 
 Don't let that fact lead you to believe in the inevit- 
 able triumph. No man triumphs utterly, and even 
 the greatest of victories are bought with an infinity 
 of suffering." He paused, looking at the young 
 man in a fashion that Kenneth found to be singularly 
 impressive. " I would not have taken the trouble to 
 tell others this," he continued unemotionally ; " for, 
 frankly, I have a very mean estimate of mankind, 
 hi whom I see little to respect and nothing to love.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 181 
 
 Their only use is that we, who hold the will and 
 the intelligence, rise to power through them. They 
 bend their necks for our feet, they are beaten aside 
 to clear the way for us ; they sweat in the heat 
 that we may remain cool, they starve that we may 
 trifle with every luxury, they go clothed in rags 
 that we may have an abundance of fine linen, and 
 when we ride by in all our glory they applaud 
 us as though we were demi-gods. Now, can one 
 respect such a rabble ? By sending them out of the 
 world in battalions one confers on them the greatest 
 of favours, for which, if they had the intelligence to 
 return thanks, they would be exceedingly grateful. 
 Unhappily, it is one of man's misfortunes never to 
 know when he is well off. Never will he take the path 
 that leads to comparative immunity, but always he is 
 thrusting forward that foolish neck of his to meet 
 the downward stroke of the axe." 
 
 He bowed low and passed through the door, 
 taking the trouble to close it carefully behind him. 
 For a moment Kenneth stood looking the way he 
 had gone. Then he opened the door to call him 
 back, for there was an implied threat in all this 
 that needed a clearer explanation. But the little 
 man was not to be seen, nor was there the slightest 
 sound of his footsteps on the stairs.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A WEEK went by during which Kenneth waited 
 * ^ anxiously for some sign from her. But no 
 communication of any sort reached him. Eagerly 
 he scrutinised his letters, but without seeing that 
 one which would have meant so much to him. 
 He even waylaid the postman on the stairs : he 
 questioned telegraph boys as they crossed the road. 
 For an hour at a time he would sit, pretending to 
 read, but in reality waiting for his telephone to 
 ring. True, she had promised nothing ; but deep 
 in the heart of him was the firm belief that sooner 
 or later she would communicate. 
 
 Meanwhile, London was lulled once more to 
 security, forgetting or trying to forget, that the 
 unknown terror had ever descended upon it. In 
 a great city events that startle to-day are almost 
 forgotten to-morrow, and with the horror quiescent 
 people were only too glad to banish it from their 
 minds. Moreover, most of them had fallen into a 
 state of sheer hopelessness concerning it all. Having 
 defied the authorities for so long it would continue 
 
 182
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 183 
 
 to defy them. No one had any more faith in the 
 prescience or energy of the powers that be. A 
 cynical irritation born of their futility was experi- 
 enced, and expressed, by every citizen. It was 
 maddening to think of the impotence of authority. 
 The most expensive of police systems, and supposed 
 to be the best organised, had proved its utter incom- 
 petence before the whole world. 
 
 Kenneth called on Bayles and learned from him 
 that he had been forced to abandon the investi- 
 gation concerning Sir Basil's death for this larger 
 and more important business. He found the de- 
 tective guarded in his remarks. Of course, they 
 were following up clues they always were but 
 Everard knew quite well that Frederick Bayles 
 was as much nonplussed over this mystery as the 
 merest tyro in detection. 
 
 Of course, he believed that we had seen the 
 last of these outrages. The criminal, or criminals, 
 responsible for them, had got a scare and would 
 never again venture on such incredible horrors' 
 So authority told the public, begging it to rest 
 quietly in its bed. All that skill, experience, fore- 
 sight could do to protect the public was being 
 done. But the public heard without heeding. 
 It had little faith in authority, and none at all in 
 the imaginary terror of the murderer. 
 
 Kenneth Everard, walking along Piccadilly from
 
 184 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 his club in St. James's Street, had reached that point 
 opposite the Burlington Arcade when he caught 
 a glimpse of a face in a taxi-cab. At first he was not 
 sure, the passage of the cab was so rapid, the glimpse 
 so fleeting. Instinctively he came to a standstill 
 and looked after the vehicle which, being fortunate 
 in obtaining a clear road, was already some distance 
 away. But a moment's reflection convinced him. 
 The man in the taxi was Dr. Mohri. 
 
 Nothing startling in that, of course, except that 
 the mere presence of the mysterious little yellow 
 man always gave him something of a shock. But 
 as he approached Piccadilly Circus he saw that 
 the traffic was held up, again no uncommon sight, 
 and worthy in itself of no remark. But in this in- 
 stance he noticed that while some people crowded 
 towards the corner others came rushing by him with 
 scared faces. A little farther on and he was able 
 to see that a line of police was drawn across the 
 road and the pavement. 
 
 " What has happened ? " he called out, but no one 
 paid the slightest heed to his inquiry. In the crowd 
 he rubbed shoulders with a man who was trying 
 to break through. To him he put the question. 
 The man turned a white face to him, muttering : 
 " The Unknown Terror ! " Then he bolted as 
 though that terror was already at his heels. 
 
 People with white, scared faces pressed forward :
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 185 
 
 women began to scream, making hysterical efforts 
 to claw their way out of the crowd. Kenneth found 
 himself merged in a seething, excited mass. White 
 lips clamoured for news, wild eyes looked inquiringly 
 into wild eyes. Those behind pressed forward 
 until it seemed as though the mob would break 
 through the line of police, which probably would have 
 been the case had not a strong reinforcement hurried 
 up. Never was such a pandemonium, one half of 
 the mob being panic-stricken without knowing why. 
 
 Backwards and forwards Kenneth was carried 
 in this tumultous crowd, but without getting nearer 
 the scene of the tragedy or learning precisely what 
 had happened. That there had been a tragedy, 
 and a terrible one at that, no one seemed to have 
 the shadow of a doubt, the rumour running that 
 at least a hundred people had been blown up by a 
 bomb at a corner of Regent Street, and that part 
 of the building itself bad been demolished. Indeed, 
 there was no end to rumour, the most grotesque, 
 incredible stories being swallowed without question. 
 
 Kenneth doubted that half the things these 
 hysterical people shouted were true ; but he had a 
 sickening fear that there was considerable truth in 
 them, and as he slowly worked his way out of the 
 crowd another and deeper sensation of dread took 
 hold of him. 
 
 Eagerly he awaited the publication of the news,
 
 i86 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 returning post haste to his club to watch the tape 
 tick out the message. Here, as elsewhere, all was 
 confusion. Men looked at each other and shook 
 their heads ; the older members, trembling with 
 senile passion, denounced the authorities ; the 
 club servants huddled in little groups with white, 
 scared faces. One man came raging out into the 
 hall to know why the bell had not been answered. 
 
 Then the machine began to tick out the details. 
 
 As everyone acquainted with the West End of 
 London knows, there is always a row of motor- 
 omnibuses drawn up at Swan and Edgar's corner. 
 Also, the pavement just there is invariably crowded, 
 especially hi the afternoon, with pedestrians, and 
 others waiting to mount the 'buses. Also, it may 
 have been observed, that these huge vehicles at 
 starting frequently throw off dense clouds of vapour. 
 It was while this vapour was at its thickest that 
 the thing happened. No one quite knew how, but 
 when the cloud of petrol vapour had passed away, 
 those in the immediate vicinity noticed several 
 people lying prone on the pavement, while many 
 more staggered about with their hands to their 
 eyes screaming in terror that they were blinded. 
 Others were racked with a violent fit of coughing 
 which left them gasping for breath. Many hurried 
 off wiping their eyes as though they were crying- 
 Naturally, there was the utmost confusion, out
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 187 
 
 of which emerged the awful fact that half a dozen 
 people had been stricken down, four of whom were 
 already dead, and that they all showed the same 
 symptoms as those of the earlier victims. 
 
 The sensation created by this latest outrage was 
 inconceivable. Men and women went in positive 
 terror of their lives, the unknown monster murder- 
 ing indiscriminately, sparing neither sex. At every 
 turning one seemed to confront a sudden and terri- 
 fying death. The more nervous of the populace 
 sat at home with bolted doors : behind every strange 
 face was the potential assassin. It was curious 
 to note how quickly small crowds dispersed. A 
 people reduced to panic is a pitiful sight, and London 
 with its millions, which could do so much if armed 
 and led and shown the enemy, quavered like the 
 inert mass of a huge jelly fish. People went stark, 
 staring mad with terror. There were many who 
 saw in these mysterious deaths the avenging hand 
 of God raised against the city. London was now 
 to be punished for her wickedness. And it was 
 astonishing what wickedness they suddenly seemed 
 to discover in the world's chief city. They could find 
 no parallel, though they searched the histories 
 of the wickedest cities of the earth. 
 
 Of course, authority could not sneer at these 
 religious protestations. It is never safe to sneer 
 at a people's religious beliefs, even though in every
 
 i88 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 other particular you have them under your heels. 
 Authority, however, let it be known once more 
 that every effort was being made to apprehend the 
 murderer or murderers. 
 
 Again the papers reeked with stale theories. 
 Scare headlines told of this and that suspicion, 
 of this and that arrest. Many who were in the 
 immediate vicinity of the outrage were questioned 
 and cross-questioned, though no two told the same 
 story. The scare paper that had started the German 
 scientist theory stuck to it like grim death, and 
 some million or so of its readers daily accepted its 
 pronouncements as gospel. Indeed, was not every 
 solitary person interviewed by that paper of the 
 same opinion ? One was sure he had seen a mysteri- 
 ous-looking German at the corner, a fat fellow with a 
 big moustache and spectacles. He also noticed that 
 the German had a furtive glance. This was corro- 
 borated by a lady, who said that glance had been 
 directed on her, and that the fellow had even dared 
 to address her. He spoke indifferent English with 
 a guttural accent. 
 
 Kenneth Everard read and re-read these theories, 
 but they left him cold. He was not thinking of 
 colossal Germans in spectacles, but of a little yellow- 
 faced man whom he had seen whiz by in a taxi ; 
 a man who had given him a most unpleasant cigarette 
 to smoke ; a man who had struck down a savage
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 189 
 
 dog with some mysterious power. He trembled as the 
 memory of that scene flashed upon him : then he 
 grew hot, then cold, for he knew that this thought 
 had been with him for a long time, though he had 
 striven his utmost to put it away. Was Dr. Mohri 
 in any way concerned with these outrages ? What 
 did it mean, that hurried flight from the terror- 
 stricken crowd ? But was it flight, or mere chance ? 
 
 All that he had learned, or thought, of that strange 
 little man came bubbling to the surface. Again 
 and again he entered in fancy the doctor's laboratory, 
 heard the whining of the dog, saw the creature's 
 terror and fury, and its sudden collapse at the feet 
 of the experimentalist. But, of course, all this 
 might mean nothing. He would not let himself 
 think there was anything in it. He did not like 
 the man, and he knew him to be his enemy he 
 vaguely suspected him to be the enemy of the white 
 race but he was a frank enemy, openly avowed. 
 
 Her uncle ! He came to a standstill at this for- 
 midable thought. Then with rather a shaky laugh 
 he checked the exuberance of his imagination. 
 Naturally, the presence of the doctor in Piccadilly 
 was merely a coincidence. What else could it be ? 
 Had he, too, gone mad like the rest of the world ? 
 
 And yet on the following afternoon he took the 
 train to Richmond, determining, if possible, to 
 set one or two doubts at rest. Yoban, the silent
 
 igo THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 watcher, opened the door in answer to his ring, and 
 ceremoniously ushered him into the room where 
 Sir Basil had had his memorable interview. There 
 tea was brought him in those quaint little cups 
 without handles, and a box of cigarettes opened. 
 But he touched neither the doctor's tea nor his cigar- 
 ettes, having a sort of vague belief that the way of 
 discretion might be the safer one to follow. 
 
 For quite a long time he sat in the window staring 
 out into the little front garden. Of Iris he had 
 questioned the servant, but that person, his face 
 as blank as a sheet of paper, merely shook his head 
 in token of not understanding ; but though he 
 repeated the question over and over, in at least 
 half a dozen different ways, he received nothing in 
 return but a repetition of that shake and an un- 
 compromising vacant stare. 
 
 How long it was the intention of Dr. Mohri to keep 
 him in suspense he could not, of course, know ; but 
 presently he began to wander round the room, mak- 
 ing a pretence of examining the few Japanese 
 curios that were scattered about, when suddenly 
 the strange silence that pervaded the house suggested 
 that the servant had nothing to tell him after all. 
 It was just possible that neither Dr. Mohri nor his 
 niece was in, though either might have been expected 
 at any moment. He went to the door and opened 
 it ; he even called to Yoban without receiving a
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 191 
 
 reply. But if neither the master nor the mistress 
 was at home, why had the man admitted him without 
 telling him so ? 
 
 The mystery surrounding these people stimulated 
 his curiosity, there being for ever at the back of his 
 brain that palpitating terror which he trembled to 
 formulate. Was it possible to satisfy that curiosity ? 
 His instinctive sense of honour warned him in no 
 uncertain fashion, but the desire to know, to get 
 at the bottom of the mystery, impelled him forward 
 even against his better judgment. 
 
 Out in the hall he trod guiltily, like one intent on 
 committing a felony. Not the slightest suspicion of 
 a sound reached him. What exactly he meant to 
 do he could not have told himself, but instinctively 
 he made for the staircase which led direct to the 
 laboratory. Once before he had trodden it in 
 answer to the dog's whining, and to him the way 
 seemed strangely familiar. He reached the landing, 
 crossed the small intervening space, and seized 
 the handle of the door. The latter opening to his 
 touch revealed Dr. Mohri coming towards him. 
 
 He started back with a gasp ; but, apparently 
 noticing nothing unusual in the occurrence, the 
 doctor, bowing gravely in his usual unemotional 
 manner, bade him enter. 
 
 " I deeply regret," he said, " that I should have 
 kept you waiting, but as you arrived I was in the
 
 IQ2 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 midst of a most important experiment. I hope my ser- 
 vant has carefully attended to your requirements ? " 
 
 Kenneth muttered some sort of apology, what 
 he did not quite know, feeling as though he had been 
 caught red-handed in some nefarious proceeding ; 
 but the little man smiled in a grave, inscrutable 
 fashion, and expressed the great pleasure this un- 
 expected visit had given him. 
 
 " Then you had thought it possible I should not 
 come here again ? " 
 
 " I had hoped your wisdom would have been 
 greater." 
 
 " What has wisdom to do in a case like this ? 
 Tell me, Dr. Mohri, have you ever been in love ? " 
 
 For several moments the doctor regarded him 
 intently without replying. The little eyes blinked up 
 curiously through the big spectacles, but otherwise 
 the face remained impassive. 
 
 " This love," he said, " has puzzled the wise of 
 all ages ; for while we may generally attribute it to 
 desire, I think there are times when there is some- 
 thing more than mere desire in it. Men have done 
 strange things for love. I assume your question 
 refers to the love of woman ? " 
 
 " To the love of woman." 
 
 " There is a greater love than that of woman 
 a purer, a nobler, though I am ready to admit that 
 for the majority of mankind that greater love is a
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 193 
 
 sealed book. Still, the question is open to debate, 
 as all men do not see all things in the same light." 
 
 " And that greater love ? " he was asked, some- 
 what mockingly, may be. 
 
 " The love of race, blood, country : the ambition 
 to do great things so that one's country may reap 
 the benefit. We have a term for it in Japanese 
 bushido perhaps you have heard the word ? To 
 do all for the sake of one's country, to sink self in the 
 perpetuation of her glory : to have no experience 
 apart from her, to know of no life but hers, no hope 
 but hers, to merge oneself in her utterly, wholly, 
 completely." 
 
 " Even to the perpetration of crimes for her ? " 
 " There is no crime committed in her name, no evil 
 wrought. The object sanctifies the act. The motive 
 for crime is self-aggrandisement or revenge. Elimi- 
 nate such motive, and what becomes of your crime ? " 
 " We should call it crime in this country." 
 " In this country ! Ah, but what sort of country 
 is this where men work only for the hope of pecuniary 
 or social reward ? If you ever had any ideals, they 
 are dead. Two things only have you a reverence 
 for : gold and rank ; and what do you think wilj 
 be the ultimate end of a nation whose ideals soar 
 no higher than that ? " 
 
 " Then you Japanese disdain both gold and rank ? ' 
 " On the contrary ; but we have that besides which 
 
 N
 
 194 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 you have not, something you cannot grasp, conceive, 
 imagine, but by and through which we move on a 
 plane of super-excellence. Just now you asked me 
 if I had ever been in love. I have been, I am, I 
 always will be ; but it is a love which a people 
 without ideals would never understand." 
 
 " The ideal which sanctifies murder, for example, 
 would never be tolerated by us." 
 
 " If this thing you call murder is necessary to the 
 salvation of your country, then murder ceases to be a 
 crime and becomes a heroism. When the fate of 
 nations sways in the balance it is by murder, whole- 
 sale, brutal, fierce, degrading, that the balance is 
 steadied. If we kill for the glory of our country 
 we kill in a noble cause, and are justified before 
 those whom we love." 
 
 " I am afraid, Dr. Mohri, that the ideals of the 
 East must ever clash with those of the West. Take, 
 for instance, these massacres which are the present 
 terror of England. Even they might be excused, 
 or justified, according to your principles ? " 
 " Precisely, if governed by my ideals." 
 4i Yet we should incontinently hang their perpetra- 
 tor. I was in Piccadilly the day of the last outrage." 
 Closely he watched the little man, wondering 
 what the answer to this would be. 
 
 " I was fortunate enough to pass through a few 
 minutes before the occurrence."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 195 
 
 " I saw you." 
 
 " I regret I had not the extreme pleasure of seeing 
 you. There was much confusion, I am told." 
 
 " Yes, rather. By the way, are you still of opinion 
 these people die from natural causes ? " 
 
 " I see no reason to alter that opinion." 
 
 " I think there are few who share it with you." 
 ' You will find, Mr. Everard, that the few who 
 are right are always denounced by the many who 
 are wrong. If you would learn wisdom, cultivate 
 the minority. These people are led like sheep, 
 and like sheep they bleat in unison with the universal 
 bleatings of their kind. One starts the cry and 
 the others answer. If, as many believe, this is the 
 work of an individual, how does he manage to escape 
 the fate he deals out to others ? " 
 
 "It is just possible that he may have some pre- 
 ventive against infection." 
 
 Gravely he shook his head. 
 
 " The idea may be sound, though I have not seen 
 it advanced. The Germans have a great reputation 
 for scientific research." 
 
 " I do not believe it is a German." 
 
 " And what induces you to believe that it is 
 not a German ? Are they not supposed to be the 
 enemies of England ? " 
 
 " Even if they are, they are scarcely murderous 
 savages."
 
 196 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Have you ever seen war, Mr. Everard ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Then you must not attempt to discriminate 
 between civilisation and savagery. The line that 
 divides the two may be snapped by the weak hand 
 of an infant." He made towards the door and 
 opened it. " This has been a very pleasant con- 
 versation, Mr. Everard. I am extremely obliged 
 for the great honour you have conferred on me." 
 
 It was a dismissal, courteous enough but none 
 the less exasperating. Kenneth Everard realised 
 that all his talk, all his resolution, had ended in 
 nothing. With his suave sophistries this little man 
 would talk round anything, or talk it away. Was 
 there no finality in him : was he to attain no finality ? 
 
 " If you will pardon me, Dr. Mohri, there is one 
 other matter your niece. May I see her ? " 
 
 " I offer many apologies, but I fear my niece is 
 not receiving to-day." 
 
 " You mean," said the other, " that you refuse 
 to let me see her ? " 
 
 " Oh, no ! I would not presume so greatly." 
 
 " Then will you let her know I am here, and that 
 I wish to see her ? " 
 
 " Have I not, in my contemptible opinion, already 
 remarked on the unwisdom of doing so ? " 
 
 " Then I can only assure you that in spite of your 
 opinion
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 197 
 
 " No one in this house goes in spite of my opinion. 
 No doubt it is an error on my part, but I usually mean 
 what I say. You do not understand a man or a people 
 who mean what they say ? Perhaps you will learn." 
 
 " What she says is to me equally important." 
 
 " What would a Japanese woman say but what her 
 men dictate." 
 
 " She is not a Japanese woman." 
 
 " Need we discuss that point ? " 
 
 " We must : it is imperative." 
 
 " If you will pardon me, I think it more impera- 
 tive you should remember that you are in my house. 
 Please do not think lightly of my hospitality, but 
 there are so many urgent calls on my time. Perhaps 
 some other day you will honour me by allowing me 
 to listen to your exalted utterances." 
 
 From that impassive yellow face Kenneth's eyes 
 wandered round the laboratory in despair, and for 
 the first time he seemed to notice a strange form 
 which lay on an adjacent bench covered by a cloth. 
 Something he saw beneath the edge of that cloth made 
 him step forward. The next moment he had whipped 
 the cloth aside, laying bare the dead body of a dog. 
 
 It was the pretty little terrier he had seen when in 
 company with Iris they happened on the great Aire- 
 dale. Looking closer he saw that its tongue, which 
 lolled out, was inflamed and spotted, and that in the 
 corners of its eyes was a curious yellow mucus.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 T TE turned on the doctor a long, searching look, 
 * * and Mohri knew that he had stumbled on the 
 secret. Yet, save for an involuntary twitching of 
 the fingers, perhaps also a rather fierce compression 
 of the lips, that amazing little person betrayed no 
 sign of the thoughts that were running like fire 
 through his mind. There may have been a keener 
 look in his eyes, but if so the thick glasses masked it. 
 
 " Does she know ? " was the first question. 
 
 " She ? " 
 
 " Your niece." 
 
 " Know what ? " 
 
 " That you are the Unknown Terror ? " 
 
 " I do not quite follow. Could you explain 
 yourself ? " 
 
 Kenneth pointed to the dog. 
 
 " Yes ; unfortunately it will be of no further use to 
 me. It was a good subject I am sorry. Misfortunes 
 will happen in the cause of scientific research." 
 
 Everard's face betrayed both loathing and horror. 
 He believed that he had stumbled on the secret 
 
 198
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 199 
 
 which had baffled two hemispheres, and he staggered 
 beneath the weight of such a discovery. 
 
 " The symptoms are the same," he said in a voice 
 that was full of meaning. 
 
 " To what do you refer ? " 
 
 " The people who have been murdered by this 
 Unknown." 
 
 " Indeed. That is very curious. I presume you 
 are an authority on these matters. I did not 
 know. This is rather interesting." 
 
 " Then you deny it ? " 
 
 " Deny what ? You have not yet formulated your 
 charge." 
 
 " That you are the man for whom all London is 
 searching ? " 
 
 " I did not know all London was so interested in 
 my identity." 
 
 " This won't do, Dr. Mohri. You know quite 
 well what I mean, that I have seen things undreamt 
 of by others. That day hi Piccadilly you were 
 fleeing from the havoc you had created." 
 
 " Was I indeed ! Viewed with your eyes I must 
 appear a very remarkable personage. Perhaps I 
 am, though scarcely so remarkable as to tolerate 
 with equanimity this curious insolence of my guest. 
 I do not know that I need to detain you longer. 
 Perhaps, hitherto, I have not made myself quite 
 clear : if so I should like to do so without further
 
 200 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 delay. In the future I hope you will not conde- 
 scend to honour my contemptible house." 
 
 He said all this with as much unconcern as though 
 he was asking his guest to take tea. Had there been 
 more anger hi his manner, a fiercer denial in his words, 
 Kenneth might have hoped, by some lucky stroke, to 
 probe the bottom of this mystery ; but this little man 
 appeared to be so completely master of himself that 
 there was no destroying his exasperating equanimity. 
 Consequently, his accuser was torn by all manner of 
 doubt, conjecture. He had made what appeared to 
 him a most appalling charge, and it was summarily 
 dismissed as the mere petulance of a wayward child. 
 
 " Dr. Mohri," he said, making an effort to repress 
 his indignation, realising that self-restraint was his 
 greatest asset in this encounter, " I have not the 
 slightest wish to intrude on your privacy ; but 
 certain doubts have arisen in my mind, and these 
 must be set at rest. You forget that I saw you 
 strike down the great Airedale with some mysterious 
 power. You gave me a cigarette to smoke which 
 inflamed my throat, made my eyes sting, and ren- 
 dered me quite silly for a few moments. The 
 symptoms exhibited by the victims of this new terror 
 are the same as those shown by that dog yonder. 
 I saw you fleeing along Piccadilly a few moments 
 after the last outrage had been perpetrated. That 
 seems to be something of a coincidence."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 201 
 
 The little man smiled. "It is rather curious 
 to one obsessed by an hallucination. I thought I 
 had explained, though for the life of me I cannot 
 see why I should." 
 
 " There is one other point. For the perpetration 
 of these outrages it is necessary that there should 
 be vapour of more or less density." 
 
 "Really, that seems to be a remarkable discovery." 
 But he saw that behind the glasses the little eyes 
 had narrowed to burning pin-points. " You have 
 adopted the wrong branch of the law as a profession, 
 Mr. Everard. You ought to have joined the detective 
 force. There your extraordinary powers of deductive 
 reasoning would prove of the greatest advantage 
 to the criminal classes. But, to finish with this non- 
 sense, and put the proposition plainly : you accuse 
 me of being the author of these mysterious crimes ? " 
 
 " Mysterious to the many, but no longer so to me." 
 
 " It is always some satisfaction to feel sure of one- 
 self, a sensation rarely experienced by the wise man." 
 
 " I do not accuse you, Dr. Mohri heaven forbid ; 
 but there seems to me much that needs explaining." 
 
 " And if, in the interests of science, I should be 
 the author of these so-called outrages what then ? " 
 
 " Simply this, that you would be a monster quite 
 unfit to live." 
 
 " And suppose I thought not so much of this living 
 as you appear to think of it ? "
 
 202 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Your punishment, nevertheless, should be swift 
 and exemplary." 
 
 " That might be a pity." 
 
 " You would probably think so." 
 
 " Oh, no, not I. The pity is not in dying, but 
 in dying before one's work is accomplished. That 
 would be an error which in no circumstance ought 
 to be permitted. For the life of one man may be of 
 greater value than the lives of a thousand men. 
 What, after all, are the majority of men but so many 
 instruments by which we rise to knowledge and 
 power ? For the many there can be nothing but 
 what we choose to give them, and they grow fat or 
 lean according to our generosity. Compare life to a 
 battlefield and you have a very apposite parallel. 
 If the cause need it the officer in command takes 
 no account of life. Men are the raw material of 
 progress, and you use them up as you would use 
 any other commodity. The manner may be 
 different, but the end is always the same. By 
 experimenting on humanity we further its cause." 
 
 " Even to the extent of murdering them ? " 
 
 " What is the word ' murder ' that we should all turn 
 squeamish at the sound of it ? The love of murder riots 
 in the blood of your civilisation. You cannot hang a 
 criminal without the whole population revelling in the 
 details. Where you fail in your civilisation is in not 
 putting murder and murderers to a good use."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 203 
 
 " You talk like one who might do these things, 
 who has no respect for the sanctity of life." 
 
 " Who has ? Life is for those who know how to 
 make profit out of it. What other useful purpose 
 can it serve ? Your captains of war or industry, do 
 they refrain from self-aggrandisement because of the 
 sanctity of life ? Do they grind men and women 
 to the dust, starve little children, because of the 
 sanctity of life ? Come, come, is this all you have 
 learnt from the wisdom of the ages ? One who has 
 gone beyond the wisdom of the alphabet of thinking 
 should know better than utter such banalities." 
 
 " I think the monster who committed these 
 outrages might express himself in this manner." 
 
 " In this and no other manner ? " 
 
 " And you are he ! I know it beyond the shadow 
 of a doubt." 
 
 Even this accusation failed to move the little 
 man. An earthquake would not have ruffled the 
 serenity of that impassive countenance. Monster 
 or saint, he preserved a demeanour of indifference 
 impervious to taunt or denunciation. 
 
 " Suppose what you say is true, assuming that I 
 am the author of these experiments, what would 
 you suggest as an alternative ? " 
 
 He put the proposition hi that curiously impersonal 
 manner which was one of the secrets of his power. 
 This air of indifference, of self-detachment, made
 
 204 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 the most momentous of human problems seem a 
 thing trivial and insignificant. 
 
 " There can be but one alternative." 
 
 " Surely two ? You know, there are always two." 
 
 *' My duty as a citizen 
 
 " Just so." The ghost of a smile flickered over 
 his wrinkled face. " Our civic virtues are usually 
 subservient to our personal interests. Your personal 
 interests would be served by denouncing me ? " 
 
 Kenneth's mind began to wander : weird thoughts 
 flickered confusedly through his brain. This torrent 
 of sophistical reasoning, how could he stem it ? 
 Could this inoffensive-looking little person, who spoke 
 with the ease of one who argued some abstract theory, 
 be the unspeakable wretch who murdered whole- 
 sale ? And if so, what was there terrific in murder ? 
 He found his horror of that crime merging itself into 
 a vague wondering as to its reality. Could murder 
 be so slight a thing after all ? 
 
 Suddenly he awoke, conscious of the fact that 
 those little black eyes were piercing him through 
 and through, and that to the subtle brain of this 
 man his mind was an open book. 
 
 " Nevertheless," he said angrily, conscious of 
 cutting a rather poor figure, " this matter must be 
 probed to the bottom, my doubts set at rest." 
 
 " It is always a sign of congenital weakness when 
 a man is troubled with doubt."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 205 
 
 " Then I have no doubt." 
 
 '* In that case the ground beneath us hardens : 
 we are able to plant our feet with security. Frankly, 
 you set yourself up as my enemy ? Do you know 
 what that means ? I think you cannot, for never 
 was an enemy at so great a disadvantage Obstinacy 
 is not valour, Mr. Everard : you should have hesi- 
 tated before intruding on my privacy." 
 
 " Then you do not deny that you are the author 
 of these crimes ? " 
 
 " You arrive at your conclusions with such undue 
 reflection that I do not consider them worthy of a 
 denial. At the same time I see in you a person who, 
 unless checked, may cause incalculable mischief, 
 and I have no further wish to be annoyed with your 
 pertinacity. Apparently, denial is useless : argu- 
 ment, probability, fails to influence your peculiar 
 cast of thought. It is such unreasoning busybodies 
 as you who appeal with irresistible force to ignor- 
 ance the brute beast that in its panic tramples under 
 foot the rare seeds of intelligence. Cannot you grasp 
 the fact that one man who lifts himself above the 
 mob is worth the thousands who grovel below ? " 
 
 " Who lifts himself by murder, outrage, crimes 
 unspeakable ! " 
 
 " What man ever rose to power except through 
 crime ? " 
 
 " You shall not rise to such power at our expense."
 
 206 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " If I will it, and the power is in me, neither you 
 nor your nation shall stop me. Nothing shall stop 
 me. I become a king a conquering emperor ! The 
 world is in my hands, and I mould it to my will." 
 
 " If words were deeds 
 
 " My words are deeds. You stand there now, a 
 young man in all the flush of physical strength. 
 Your muscles are taut, your brain quick, your hands 
 ready. I am a little old man, of no physique, whose 
 muscles, compared with yours, are like a child's ; and 
 yet I am as surely your master as though you were 
 the child and I the giant. Haven't you learned the 
 elementary truth that it is intellect, not sinew, that 
 rules the world ? You are a microcosm of a nation given 
 over to the worship of vain and foolish things, and un- 
 less you seek change, change will assuredly seek you." 
 
 " I think you will find this nation, though it be 
 given over to the worship of vain and foolish things, 
 has yet some say in the affairs of the world." 
 
 A smile, half of pity, half of contempt, flickered 
 for a moment over the parchment-like face. 
 Kenneth, seeing that look, flushed angrily. The 
 cool insolence of the little man was fast fraying his 
 nerves. All this talk of power, omnipotence, what 
 was it but the vapourings of one who sought to 
 mask by ingenious triflings the fundamental fact of 
 crime ? Under the guise of a specious philosophy this 
 wretch was terrorising the country ; for with every
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 207 
 
 moment he grew the more convinced that this man, Dr. 
 Mohri, was the unspeakable monster without a heart or 
 a conscience, one who would allow neither pity nor fear 
 to sway him by a hair's breadth from his purpose. 
 
 " Presumably. Men and nations pose until some- 
 one comes along who pricks the bubble of repu- 
 tation, as we did with the Russians in Manchuria, 
 as we shall with all the white races, one by one ; 
 while Europe, torn by dissensions, hatreds, jealousies 
 will look on, realising when too late the meaning 
 of it all, cursing the folly of their own shortsighted- 
 ness, deploring the lack of cohesion by which alone 
 they could hope to hold us in check." He stopped, 
 and for several moments looked at Everard without 
 speaking. Then he said : " I have finished. I don't 
 know why I should tell you my secret : I would not 
 have done so had I thought you were likely to heed 
 it. As I know you will not, it can make no difference." 
 " And you hope to see that day ? " 
 " The dawn of it." 
 " That you never will." 
 " You frighten me, O honourable guest ! " 
 The little face was mocking now, mocking with 
 such impish devilment that Kenneth, losing control 
 of the admirable calm which had carried him thus 
 far, stepped forward angrily. The next moment 
 something seemed to explode in his eyes. He 
 staggered back, clapping his hands to his face, and 
 then with a moan collapsed in a heap on the floor.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 T T 7"HEN Kenneth awoke once more to conscious- 
 ness he lay for some time in doubt as to 
 whether he was alive or dead, or in some 
 confused state of dream. Vaguely that interview 
 with Doctor Mohri stole through his brain. All 
 sorts of grotesque fancies bewildered him, and 
 like one who stretches out to touch the reality of 
 things an accustomed wall, the bedclothes so 
 went out his hands and felt nothing. For a 
 moment or so he entertained the vague sensation 
 of being suspended in space, and a convulsive shudder 
 swept him from head to foot. Then he opened his 
 eyes and saw the stars blinking down at him. 
 
 His hands touching the damp grass by his side 
 awoke him to the fact that he was not in his own 
 bed, nor in the laboratory of Dr. Mohri, but out in 
 the open with a dark but clear sky above him. 
 Sitting up suddenly, stiff and cold, he felt his clothes 
 saturated with dew. Before him stretched a wide 
 expanse of open darkness : behind him rose a large 
 
 208
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 209 
 
 clump of gorse. Not a sound, human, animal, or 
 elemental, reached him. Again he shuddered, but 
 whether with cold or sickness he could not say. 
 Perhaps it was a little of both, or perhaps of the 
 vague sensation of evil which surrounded him. 
 
 Where was he ? His eyes smarted horribly ; 
 his throat was parched and sore. He felt like one 
 who has just emerged from a severe illness, and 
 is not quite sure of having shaken it off. 
 
 But little by little the full knowledge of his position 
 returned to him. He knew now what happened 
 up to the moment Mohri had stricken him down, 
 Mohri the implacable, the relentless one, the wretch 
 who murdered philosophically. Shuddering like one 
 with an ague he stood up and looked about him, 
 and as he did so the first streak of dawn began to 
 break through the East. 
 
 As the day opened more clearly, and the land 
 around him was disclosed, he began to recognise 
 more or less familiar objects ; and presently he 
 knew that he was standing in one of the less fre- 
 quented parts of the common, and that over there 
 in the far corner, hidden by a clump of trees, was 
 the home of Dr. Mohri. Dr. Mohri ! He shivered, 
 but whether with terror or with cold he could not 
 say. Instantly he realised what had happened, 
 how he must have been carried to this spot by the 
 doctor and his faithful servants, and there left to 
 
 o
 
 2io THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 recover or die as the case might be. Most probably 
 to die. But why had the doctor not made sure of 
 him ? How could he have spared one who was in 
 possession of his terrible secret ? for that he was in 
 possession of it he had now no manner of doubt. 
 One and one answer only could he find to this 
 question : the doctor probably thought he would 
 die, and had carried him out on the common so 
 that he might be found there, and his death attributed 
 to suicide, or natural causes. 
 
 The horror of it all, weakened as he was by ex- 
 posure, filled him with a most curious and paralysing 
 sensation of alarm. Here was an enemy against 
 whom a host might tremble. If this mysterious 
 force could be used with equal facility against the 
 many, what was to prevent the utter destruction of 
 the city ? The man was a nightmare, his power 
 hateful and hellish and he was the near, and dear, 
 male relative of the beloved woman ! 
 
 He had thoughts of returning to the house and 
 investigating, but soon convinced of the futility 
 of such a proceeding he set out on his tramp to 
 Richmond, returning to town by a workmen's 
 train. A hot bath and bed followed, and when he 
 awoke some five or six hours later he knew he had 
 suffered no ill consequences from his adventure. 
 
 And now how to act ? Naturally his first thoughts 
 flew to the authorities. He knew this to be his
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 211 
 
 duty as a good citizen. Such information as he 
 possessed should at once be unfolded in the proper 
 quarter. Of that there could be no doubt : he 
 did not even contest the proposition. But he also 
 remembered Mohri's sneer about our civic virtues 
 being subservient to our own interests, and he knew 
 that for her sake he dare not speak. Perhaps it was 
 one for her and two for him, but if this were so 
 he was supremely unconscious of it. Just then he 
 was wondering if she knew, though this was a 
 thought he could not bring himself seriously to 
 entertain. It was not possible : nothing should 
 make him think it possible but the admission from 
 her own lips. 
 
 Then he thought of Bayles, and wondered if he 
 might take him into his confidence. But here again 
 the same objection stared him in the face. Bayles, 
 after all, was a limb of the law, one who was not 
 likely to let private friendship stand in the way of 
 public duty. No, Bayles was entirely out of the 
 question, at least, for the present. 
 
 After a light luncheon he took the train for 
 Richmond, advancing cautiously upon the doctor's 
 house. For quite an hour he skirted it, but without 
 discovering the least sign of life. This did not 
 strike him as being at all strange, knowing some- 
 thing of the mysterious habits of the inmates. 
 And yet he could not rid himself of the thought
 
 212 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 that there was something more than this in the 
 uncanny stillness ; and putting this belief to the 
 test he advanced boldly upon the gate and rang the 
 bell. Eagerly he waited for the answer which did 
 not come. Again and again he rang, alternately 
 knocking loudly on the heavy door ; but no one 
 stirred, not a sound was heard but that of his own 
 making. As he stared round desperately, wonder- 
 ing what next he should do, a postman approached 
 on a bicycle, and seeing him there called out that 
 the people had left. Kenneth signalled for him 
 to halt and the man dismounted. He could not 
 say when the occupants had gone, but he rather 
 fancied it must have been last night, or early that 
 morning. 
 
 Nothing now remained for him but to return to 
 town and there await developments. What had 
 happened to them, or where they had gone, he 
 naturally had not the remotest idea ; but deep 
 down in him was the belief that he had not yet 
 seen the last of Dr. Mohri or his niece, and though 
 of the one he neither wished to see nor hear more, 
 of the other there was always the hope that in some 
 manner, and under happier auspices, they would 
 meet again. Convinced as he was that she was 
 ignorant of her uncle's true character, his one 
 thought was to save her from participating in the 
 fate which surelv awaited that devilish little monster.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 213 
 
 Mingled with these thoughts was the ever-preva- 
 lent fear that they had quitted the country, and 
 that consequently he might never see her again ; 
 for though it would prove an incalculable relief 
 to know that Mohri had taken himself and his 
 diabolical invention back to his native land, the 
 thought that she was still of his company was not 
 lightly to be endured. 
 
 And yet the days sped into a week, bringing no 
 word or sign from her. He was distracted with 
 anxiety. Had she forgotten him altogether, was 
 it her wish that he should forget her, or was she 
 debarred the power of communicating with him ? 
 How was he to know, what could he do to find out ? 
 The siispense, the dreadful uncertainty, was intoler- 
 able. He had visions of her coerced, frightened, 
 held prisoner ; while ever before her was the 
 hideous, bestial face of Takemoto. Takemoto ! The 
 thought maddened him, for he had seen in her eyes, 
 though she had striven hard to prevent his seeing it, 
 a wavering, indeterminate light which had left him 
 not without hope. She had said she could not 
 love him, that she hated him that she must hate 
 him. But she had not said why, and now he was 
 for ever trying to guess the reason. Could it be 
 the knowledge of what her uncle was ? Even that 
 he tried to think but could not. He was sure it 
 could not be that. Whatever it was it was not that.
 
 214 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 And then one morning the papers were filled 
 with an account of a still further outrage, in all 
 respects similar to those that had gone before, 
 with this exception : in this instance the mis- 
 creant had dispensed with the auxiliary of smoke. 
 
 It happened during a riot outside the Pavilion 
 Music Hall, subsequent to a meeting held by the 
 militant suffragists. While the police and the 
 public were engaged in a desperate hand-to-hand 
 struggle, in which the women fought their natural 
 enemies, the police, with a valour worthy of the 
 bravest, a loud explosion was heard. Immediately 
 the cry of " A bomb ! A bomb ! " was raised, and 
 when the panic subsided they found a dozen women, 
 and about half that number of police, stretched 
 out on the roadway. Many of both sexes were 
 already dead, but those who had a breath of life 
 in them were immediately hurried off to the Charing 
 Cross Hospital. . ' 
 
 At first it was generally believed that the crime 
 was committed by some desperate militant ; and 
 many women, fleeing with their clothes torn from 
 their backs, narrowly escaped lynching at the 
 hands of the crowd ; but a closer examination of 
 the victims disclosed those terrifying symptoms, 
 already so well known, the mere repetition of which 
 sent a convulsive shudder through the land. 
 
 Again the great city was in an uproar, and
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 215 
 
 Kenneth Everard, reading an account of it, felt 
 almost as if he were the perpetrator. Would 
 nothing stop the progress of this homicidal maniac ? 
 Could he, dare he, in the hope of shielding her, 
 allow this monster to ply his dreadful trade ? And 
 yet, even had he the wish, how could he bring him 
 to book ? The man had gone flown he knew not 
 whither. True he might lay the full extent of his 
 knowledge before the authorities ; but what, after 
 all, did that knowledge amount to, and was he 
 so sure that his surmises were correct ? He knew 
 that he was trifling with the matter, trifling on 
 account of her, of her who had told him that she 
 hated him, that she must hate him. But there had 
 been a quiver on her lips when she said it, a look in 
 her eye that had suggested regret more than hatred. 
 There was Colburne, of course : Jeff the bright- 
 faced, the irresponsible, the man who had made 
 fun of his theory of smoke. But he had not been 
 intimate with Jeff Colburne for years without 
 knowing the true character of the man, nor without 
 guessing that underneath his laughter was always 
 a serious purpose. Jeff, the briefless, laughed at 
 ill-luck for the reason that if he had not it might 
 have mastered him, and being a true sportsman 
 he took defeat with a smile. Kenneth knew he 
 could trust him, and that, if occasion required, he 
 was a man on whom he might implicitly rely.
 
 216 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Seen this ? " he asked, as he entered with the 
 open paper in his hand. 
 
 Kenneth nodded, guessing what he referred to. 
 
 Colburne continued excitedly : " The streets are 
 in a ferment with it : everybody rushing the paper 
 boys. Afraid to look at anyone as I came along 
 for fear of being denounced and lynched on the 
 spot." 
 
 ' You look a bit like a murderer." 
 
 " I feel like one, old boy, and should be if I could 
 lay my hands on the wretch who is doing these 
 things. You've read all about it ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Well," he asked quizzingly, " what becomes of 
 your theory of smoke ? Pretty rotten, isn't it ? " 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 " This was done in the open." 
 
 " During a riot. The opportunity was easy, and 
 the chances of detection minimised accordingly." 
 
 " Then you still think your original theory 
 correct ? " 
 
 " I know it to be." 
 
 " My dear old Ken, you're not at all conceited." 
 
 " I hope not." 
 
 " I must say you're a tantalising sort of chap 
 with your air of ' I could if I would.' But here is 
 a distinct case of your theory being entirely at 
 fault. How do you explain that away ? "
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 217 
 
 " I'm not going to try. One doesn't explain away 
 a tiling one knows to be true." 
 
 " I'm glad you know it's true, old boy ; but the 
 evidence ? Having more or less of a legal mind, 
 I crave your evidence." 
 
 " Look here, Jeff," said the other seriously, 
 "what would you say if I told you I know the 
 author of these crimes ? " 
 
 " In the language of the street, dear old boy, I 
 should say that you were up the pole." 
 
 " Well, I do know him." 
 
 " Ken ! " 
 
 " It's a fact absolute. I do know him : I have 
 eaten and drunk with him, I have talked with him 
 I have smoked with him." 
 
 " Smoked ! " 
 
 A slow smile broke over his friend's face. He 
 had heard of men going mad on many subjects, 
 but never had he known one so obsessed by the 
 thought of smoke. 
 
 " Yes, and I shall never forget the sensation." 
 
 " Then you are serious ? " 
 
 " As death." 
 
 Colburne gave vent to his feelings in a long, low 
 whistle. Inu came from his corner and laid his 
 great head on his master's knee. 
 
 " This dog knows him, too." 
 
 The dog looked up with steady, brown eyes. It
 
 2i$ THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 seemed almost as though he knew what they were 
 talking about. 
 
 " Shouldn't wonder," said Colburne. ' The 
 beggar strikes me as being half human. Sometimes 
 I think he tries his hardest to talk." 
 
 "If he could Dr. Mohri would never have given 
 him to me." 
 
 " I suppose not," laughed the other. " A talking 
 dog ! Lord, he'd be worth a huge fortune on the 
 halls." 
 
 ' Jeff, I love you, but you're a fool. Why should 
 I mention Dr. Mohri ? " 
 
 " Your little Japanese friend ? Why shouldn't 
 you ? Mohri dog : dog Mohri." Then, slyly : 
 " I believe the little gentleman has also a very 
 beautiful niece." 
 
 " That is the reason why I am taking you into 
 my confidence ; why one day, at any hour, I may 
 require your help." 
 
 " You know " began the other. 
 
 " Quite well. Jeff, for more than a week now 
 I've kept this dreadful secret to myself, but I can't 
 bear the strain of it any longer. I must confide in 
 somebody, or go mad. I had hoped that once he 
 knew I had hold of his secret he would not dare 
 venture on another outrage. You see, the man is 
 a devil, a maniac out of hell, and nothing will 
 stop him."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 219 
 
 ' Then you do know him, Ken ? " There was 
 no laughter in Jeffrey Colburne's face now. 
 
 " I wish to God I didn't." 
 
 He came close, looking into Kenneth's face with 
 eager, serious eyes. 
 
 " Who is it ? " he whispered. 
 
 " Dr. Mohri." 
 
 " Dr. Mohri ! You mean that ? " 
 
 " I wish to heaven I didn't." 
 
 Then he told all that had happened between the 
 doctor and him. Of his discovery of the dogs at 
 the bottom of the garden, and how subsequently 
 he had seen the little doctor strike down the great 
 Airedale. Through each particular he went down 
 to the moment when he awoke in the secluded 
 corner of Ham Common. 
 
 The story fairly took Colburne's breath away. 
 At one moment it seemed as impossible as a fancy 
 from the Arabian Nights, and the next was as 
 stark, staring true as death itself. 
 
 Dr. Mohri ! He had heard of him, of course 
 of his reputed cleverness and wisdom : but that he 
 should be the monster who had terrorised London 
 for so long seemed perfectly incredible. And that 
 wonderful niece of whom his friend had raved was 
 she also an accomplice in these crimes ? He looked the 
 thought he was afraid to utter ; but the other guessed 
 instinctively what was running through his mind.
 
 220 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 ' You may leave her out of the proposition," he 
 said. " I should require irrefragable proof of her 
 complicity before I believed a word." 
 
 " By George ! " said Colburne suddenly, bringing 
 his fist down with a bang on the table. 
 
 Sharply Kenneth looked up at him. 
 
 " What's the matter now ? " 
 
 " Hasn't it struck you that your cousin might 
 have known these people in Japan ? " 
 
 " Long ago : but I know they never met him." 
 
 " They told you so ? " 
 
 " What on earth do you mean ? " It was now 
 Kenneth's turn to show an increased anxiety. 
 
 " Have you forgotten that the symptoms shown 
 by Sir Basil were not unlike those of the other 
 victims ? " 
 
 " Good heavens ! " 
 
 The utmost fear and horror leapt to his face, 
 burned in his eyes. Then he tried to laugh away 
 the suggestion, but the effort was something of a 
 failure. Could there be any truth in it ? Had 
 they met his cousin out there in the Far East ? 
 Was this the reason why she said she hated him, 
 why she must hate him ? 
 
 " It seems quite possible." Colburne was 
 breathing excitedly. " If Dr. Mohri and the monster 
 are one a matter on which you seem to ,have 
 no doubt then this same Dr. Mohri is capable 
 
 I
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 221 
 
 of any iniquity. On your own showing your cousin 
 was the sort of fellow who might have played off 
 any dirty trick. Suppose he played such a trick 
 on Mohri ? Remember, the poison administered 
 was so subtle as to defy the analytical experts 
 and Dr. Mohri, among his other " he hesitated 
 " qualifications, is something of a chemist." 
 
 " By God, Jeff if it should be ! " 
 
 " It clears you at once, old chap in the eyes 
 of those who do not know you," he added 
 quickly, seeing the horror and consternation on his 
 friend's face. 
 
 " And implicates her ! " 
 
 " Has she denied ever meeting your cousin ? " 
 
 " I am under the impression : yes. But I can't 
 be quite sure how she denied it whether by evasion 
 or distinct denial. She gave me the impression 
 that she had not met him." 
 
 ' Then probably m^ theory is all wrong : it 
 naturally would be being mine." 
 
 " On the contrary," said the other, his face 
 preternaturally grave, " I have a horrible feeling 
 that it's right, and that when she told me she 
 hated me that she must hate me she was 
 thinking of him." 
 
 " So she told you she hated you ? That's an awfully 
 good sign, old man. I shall marry the first girl 
 who tells me furiously that she hates me."
 
 222 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 But this sally brought no smile to his friend's 
 face. If she had lied to him in this one particular, 
 might she not be lying through all ? She might 
 even be cognisant of her uncle's awful crimes ! The 
 thought made him shudder and turn sick. Could 
 it be possible that this woman whom he loved, in 
 whom he had found so much to love, was such a 
 monster ? 
 
 " Of course," he said, as if speaking to himself, 
 " it can't be true the thing is incredible. She can't 
 possibly know anything of all this. Somehow, in 
 some way, she would have betrayed herself. My 
 reason, instinct, must have warned me. I can't 
 believe she knew ; and yet 
 
 He looked round bewildered, his eyes resting at 
 last on the dog. Here, at least, was something in 
 her favour. He remembered her pity, her affection- 
 ate protests. Other things, also, he remembered. 
 She had seemed hard, indifferent, analytical, making 
 a mock of the things so many held in repute. But 
 what, after all, were these but the exercises of a 
 virile brain ? Had he not rather admired her 
 independent outlook on life, her strenuous denuncia- 
 tion of hypocrisies ? 
 
 " Why should you believe anything against her 
 without positive proof ? " 
 
 " But if it should be ? " 
 
 " That she and her uncle are one in these crimes ? "
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 223 
 
 gi He nodded. 
 
 ' Then, my dear fellow, the less you think of 
 her the better, for she must be a monster unfit to 
 live. But between you and me, old man, I don't 
 believe any woman could be such a monster, or 
 any sane man either, for the matter of that." 
 
 ' If it's the man I think, he's sane enough far 
 too sane to be at large in a half-imbecile world. 
 You will respect my confidence ? " 
 " My dear fellow ! " 
 
 ' I know, of course ! Pardon me ? But this is 
 a matter we must work out alone." 
 
 " I think it would be much wiser to call in the 
 police." 
 
 " No, you don't : you know perfectly well that 
 the police must never be called in." 
 
 " Then we are to let this little monster rage 
 and ravage unchecked ? " 
 
 " Until I know the truth of Iris-san."
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 TRIS, accustomed as she was implicitly to obey 
 her uncle, had packed her light travelling 
 trunk and was standing beside it fully dressed 
 when the servant, Yoban, softly entered the apart- 
 ment. The note left by Dr. Mohri had been brief, 
 and to the effect that she was to put a few things 
 together and submit herself to the guidance of 
 Yoban, who had full instructions how to act. As 
 the man knelt down to strap the box, she put 
 questions innumerable to him, to all of which he 
 returned vague, unsatisfactory answers. At times 
 she felt like revolting against this inconsiderate 
 treatment, wanting to know where her uncle was, 
 the reason of this sudden departure, and what he 
 intended to do. But she might as well have ques- 
 tioned the wind ; for though devoted to her, Yoban 
 would sooner have performed the honourable hari- 
 kari than dream of disobeying his master. 
 
 He swung the box on his shoulder and nodded 
 for her to follow him. The car stood outside the 
 
 224
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 225 
 
 gate, its two acetylene lamps glaring like savage 
 eyes into the darkness. She had not noticed she 
 would not that the number of the car had been 
 changed. Even had she observed the number, she 
 would not have noticed the alteration. Yoban, 
 opening the door for her, she stepped in without 
 demur, though still a little perplexed and annoyed 
 with this mysterious happening. Then he put the 
 trunk inside the car and softly closed the door- 
 he did all things softly sprang to the driver's seat, 
 and presently they were purring swiftly through 
 the night towards Richmond. 
 
 It was a long journey northwards. They crossed 
 Kew Bridge and cut along the tram-lines to Ham- 
 mersmith. At Hammersmith Broadway they were 
 held up by the traffic, and she saw the policeman 
 on the shelter look rather keenly at Yoban who, 
 in cap, goggles, with his great coat muffled up 
 round his ears, sat crouching over the wheel like a 
 tenacious monkey. He was a wonderful driver, 
 that same Yoban, and as he slipped in and out 
 amongst the traffic he gave her many a pleasant 
 thrill. 
 
 On the rise from Kensington he slipped into the 
 Park, emerging again at the Marble Arch, and 
 thence glided steadily and surely along the flaring, 
 glaring Edgware Road. Then he shot off to the 
 right into a quieter neighbourhood, presently
 
 226 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 emerging into the broad thoroughfare of the Finchley 
 Road. This he pursued until he had passed Colder 's 
 Green, when suddenly he swung down a narrow 
 road on his left. Here the way was unlighted, 
 but though he slackened speed he went as surely 
 as though he were driving by daylight. 
 
 Presently the car stopped before a cottage seen 
 but indistinctly through the gloom. Yoban sprang 
 from his seat and opened the door for her. As 
 she stepped from the car she noticed that its lights 
 had been switched off. 
 
 He held wide a little gate, and preceded her up 
 a pathway to the cottage. In the open doorway 
 stood one of their own Japanese servants with a 
 lamp in his hand. 
 
 No word of welcome, no genial smile greeted 
 her nothing but the accustomed obsequious 
 urbanity of the menial. She felt a shudder sweep 
 through her as she entered the house, but was 
 careful to hide it from those patient, watchful lynx 
 eyes. The man handed her a note, which she saw 
 at once was from her uncle. It was like all his 
 missives brief, purposely vague. Business detained 
 him : he would return later. Meanwhile there was 
 no cause for alarm. Nothing was told which might 
 satisfy her curiosity, no explanation given of the 
 sudden change of address. 
 
 Though she had always regarded him as a man
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 227 
 
 with many singular idiosyncrasies, one who came 
 and went unquestioned, who never gave a reason 
 for the numerous strange things he did, she was none 
 the less exceedingly agitated over this last mysterious 
 move, and when she eventually retired it was to 
 toss restlessly through the long hours, and to dream 
 of the most appalling mischances. 
 
 When she saw him the next morning he was in 
 the garden contemplating in a sort of ecstasy 
 a cluster of sweet peas. 
 
 " Was ever anything more delicious ? " he asked, 
 holding out a fragrant bunch for her acceptance. 
 " Look, the dew is still on it, Iris-san, and it sparkles 
 almost as brilliantly as your eyes." 
 
 " My eyes are tired," she said. " All the brilliance 
 has gone from them." 
 
 " Tired ! Youth is never tired. Sleep restores 
 it as the dew these blossoms." 
 
 She took the flowers and kissed them, the cold 
 drops of dew refreshing her hot lips. 
 
 " What if one does not sleep ? " 
 
 " Is it so with you ? " 
 
 " Last night," she said, looking at him with 
 solemn, questioning eyes, " I did not sleep. Why 
 are we here, oji-san ? Why did we leave so 
 hurriedly ? " 
 
 " I have the best of reasons for believing that 
 my secret is not safe. In some manner, unknown
 
 228 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 to me, the English Government has heard of my 
 experiments and are eager to learn my secret that 
 secret which is to place our beloved Nippon at the 
 head of the nations. Takemoto-san has been hearing 
 whispers and I myself, from my laboratory, saw 
 a suspicious person in our vicinity." 
 
 " But the English Government is not a robber 
 government. It does not break into a man's 
 house and steal." 
 
 " None the less it reserves to itself the right to 
 search on suspicion. I thought it wiser to remove 
 temptation from its path for the few days that 
 are left us." 
 
 A sudden chill attacked her heart ; but she 
 echoed in a low, steady voice : " The few days 
 that are left us ? " 
 
 " I am about to make preparations for our im- 
 mediate departure," he said. ' I do not think my 
 secret can much longer be successfully kept. 
 Things leak out, whispers penetrate the farthest 
 corners. It was necessary that I should test my 
 experiments to the fullest before laying my pro- 
 position before our government. I am glad to say 
 that they have fulfilled my highest expectations." 
 
 " And those experiments, oji-san : are they still 
 to remain a secret to me ? " 
 
 " For a little while longer. I dare not reveal 
 them even to my dearest."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 229 
 
 " Then you no longer trust me ? " 
 
 " There are some things with which we are afraid 
 to trust even ourselves. ... I think, when we have 
 bestowed some artistic care upon the training of 
 these blossoms, we shall have a group of the most 
 bewitching beauty." 
 
 She turned away with a discontented sigh. He 
 watched her curiously, though pretending absorp- 
 tion in the flowers. After all, the care of his sister's 
 child had been something of a check on freedom. 
 The man who tied a woman round his neck, whether 
 wife, mother, sister, niece, gave a great hostage to 
 fortune. And she was beginning to chafe at the 
 restraint, to question, to wonder why. He buried 
 his dry little face in the fresh young blossoms, and 
 let the perfume steal like nectar through his brain. 
 
 In accordance with his instructions, she kept 
 strictly within doors, or ventured no farther than 
 the garden, the days dragging tediously to a close. 
 Often she wondered what had become of Kenneth 
 Everard, and if she should ever see him again. 
 Frequently she told herself that she hoped not, 
 and knew that she was lying. Of course it was 
 better that they should never meet. She must not 
 forget her pride, her dignity : she could not pardon 
 the slight that one of his house had heaped on her. 
 Yet the remembrance of his kisses, the passionate, 
 burning glances, the fierce intoxication of his em-
 
 230 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 brace would the knowledge of this ever pass away 
 from her ? Did she really hope that it would 
 pass ? She knew she did not ; she knew that she 
 was one who yearned for love, who could not live 
 without love : who would journey far to find love, 
 who knew that by and through love only could she 
 rise to the ultimate glory of life. 
 
 One day Takemoto called, but from her bedroom 
 window she saw him coming and resolutely kept 
 her room until he had again taken his departure. 
 Takemoto ! How she shuddered at the thought 
 of him, contrasting him with the straight-limbed, 
 clear-eyed young Englishman who had taken her 
 in his arms and kissed her with all the adorable 
 fire of youth. Could oji-san really mean what he 
 said that he would doom her to perpetual com- 
 panionship with one whose mere presence was so 
 distasteful, so revolting ? Naturally he could not 
 see with her eyes. To him Yoji Takemoto was an 
 eligible parti : rich, as this world went rich in 
 everything but what she yearned for most. That 
 this man was old, and fat, and ugly amounted to 
 nothing. What were these trivial blemishes in the 
 eyes of oji-san : what could a woman want more 
 than to make a wealthy and honourable marriage ? 
 
 Slowly a week passed, and then one day Yoji 
 Takemoto came again. 
 
 The cottage was one of two storeys. On either
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 231 
 
 side of the main entrance was a bow window, 
 that on the right belonging to the drawing- 
 room. Round this window clustered a thick 
 creeper, while a low laurel bush reached almost up 
 to the window itself. To the right of this bush 
 again she had been sitting in the shade, reading 
 and dreaming, until the opening of the little rustic- 
 shaped gate aroused her. Peering through the 
 leaves she saw Takemoto come, and sat very still 
 lest he should perceive her. But without a glance 
 to right or left he walked swiftly but heavily up the 
 path and knocked on the door. 
 
 Very still she sat for some time, wondering how 
 she might reach her room unobserved. Once there 
 she could lock the door and resolutely refuse to 
 meet the man should he ask to see her. But how 
 reach the room ? If she entered the front door 
 she must be seen : she might possibly creep in the 
 back way, though that also was not without some 
 risk. A wild desire to flee from her impending fate 
 took hold of her. Far across the valley the country 
 stretched into the wide, dim distance. Somewhere 
 there, somewhere away from it all, she might find 
 peace. Then suddenly she sat very still, scarcely 
 daring to breathe, for she had caught her own name 
 uttered by the shrill voice of Takemoto. 
 
 In the meantime Dr. Mohri, with many bowings, 
 was ushering his illustrious visitor into the drawing-
 
 232 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 room. Takemoto's head was in the air, his eyes full 
 of suspicion as he watched his host. Sinking into 
 a chair by the window, to which the doctor bowed 
 him, he took out a large coloured handkerchief 
 and rather excitedly began to mop his face. 
 
 ' You have walked far ? " the doctor inquired 
 sympathetically. 
 
 Takemoto grunted with that freedom unknown 
 to the poor. The little doctor eyed him with a 
 curious, almost pathetic, impassivity. 
 
 " I have come, Mohri-san," said his guest, " be- 
 cause I weary of your honourable dalliance, and 
 would know exactly what I am to expect from this 
 protracted negotiation . ' ' 
 
 "Ah," muttered Mohri, " what one is to ex- 
 pect : what one receives ! In what way may I 
 conduce to your eternal happiness ? which is the 
 one thought nearest to my heart." 
 
 Again Takemoto grunted, his face flushing 
 darkly. 
 
 " Your niece, Iris-san." 
 
 " As usual, enjoys the best of health." 
 
 ' You understand, Mohri-san, that I leave shortly 
 for Nippon ? " 
 
 ' You have been good enough to honour me with 
 your confidence to that extent." 
 
 " As you know, it is my wish that she should 
 accompany me as my wife ? "
 
 THE QIRL FROM NIPPON. 233 
 
 ' Your honourable condescension has favoured 
 me with this further confidence." 
 
 " Then why this delay ? " asked the other 
 abruptly. 
 
 " I always think that fate, who upon occasion 
 grants so much, invariably reserves this privilege 
 of delaying her blessing. Why we do not, at tele- 
 graphic speed, get just exactly what we want is one 
 of those problems which I am not competent to 
 solve. I deal in human affairs, Takemoto-san, not 
 in the prerogatives of the gods." 
 
 ' This seems to me a very human affair," growled 
 Takemoto, who, like all men with a full purse, 
 was impatient of opposition. " I am to understand 
 that you are my friend, Mohri-san ? " 
 
 " Always." 
 
 " Then, as a friend, why have you not brought 
 matters to a head ? I am not greatly enamoured 
 of this trifling with my interests." 
 
 " If there be trifling," said Mohri, " it is the 
 trifling of the gods, against whom we hurl ourselves 
 in vain." 
 
 " Pooh ! " ejaculated Takemoto, snapping his 
 stubby fingers as if in disdain of all deities. He 
 thought not overmuch of them, this rich man, nor 
 would he tolerate for a moment their interference 
 in his affairs. " Am I to understand that you 
 would trifle with me, Mohri-san ? "
 
 234 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " By.no means. My wish has ever been the same 
 to serve yon honourably. Yet here it is not I 
 alone who can command. Had we to deal with 
 men there would be no doubt of our ultimate 
 triumph ; but this is a woman, one who is half of 
 the West, and who has imbibed the strange woman's 
 doctrines that are such a disgrace to European 
 civilisation. However much we may deplore the 
 fact we cannot deny it. She claims the right, for 
 good or ill, to choose her own partner, and the law 
 of this benighted land does not permit me to use 
 force." 
 
 Takemoto's face grew serious with suppressed 
 wrath : the pock-marks looked like livid pits in 
 the flushed skin. 
 
 " What am I to understand exactly by that ? ' 
 
 " Of a truth I do not know exactly. When a 
 woman takes the bit between her teeth there is no 
 holding her in.'' 
 
 " It seems to me," said Takemoto, with a sneer, 
 " that the niece is not alone in imbibing the notions 
 of the West." 
 
 " How can a student of humanity fail to observe 
 the more blatant characteristics of a strange people ? 
 On coming to a new country we notice, first, the 
 costume of the people, next, their faces, and then 
 their customs. If we live with them long enough 
 we gradually penetrate their intellectual outlook.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 235 
 
 He would be a dull student of humanity who jgnored 
 the latter." 
 
 " Quite so." Takemoto's expression was gradually 
 
 growing more aggressive. " What I wish principally 
 
 to know is whether you are for or against me ? " 
 
 " Is there any necessity to ask such a question ? " 
 
 " I should not ask it if I did not think so." 
 
 " Then rid your mind of any such thought, my 
 
 friend. My dearest wish, now, as always, is to see 
 
 my niece married to your honourable supremity. 
 
 But of a truth, Takemoto-san, she seems somewhat 
 
 indifferent to the great honour you would confer 
 
 on her. Personally the thought is incredible I 
 
 cannot grasp it. Yet it is the way of a woman, 
 
 and if the gods can read this strange- riddle of the 
 
 sex, which I cannot, then are they worthy of our 
 
 deepest veneration." 
 
 " Perhaps," answered Takemoto in his greasiest 
 tone, a tone full of infinite suggestion. " it might 
 be worth your while to try." 
 
 " I fear my subtleties would fall on dull ears. 
 One cannot teach the blind to see or the deaf to 
 hear. I admit that your august condescension has 
 reached its limit. I have discovered that when a 
 Western woman cares for a man there are no 
 bounds to her daring, nothing she will not do or 
 suffer for his sake ; but, if she does not care, all the 
 gods of Europe and Asia threaten her in vain
 
 236 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Bv that you imply " 
 
 " Thai she does not care for you. Takemoto-san. 
 It is deplorable, incredible : I am overwhelmed 
 at the thought of such ingratitude Yet I fear it 
 is the truth." 
 
 Takemoto rose heavily to his feet, his little eyes 
 burning with curious malignity. 
 
 " You must teach her to care, Mohri-san." 
 
 The words came slowly, distinctly, with an 
 emphasised meaning which Dr. Mohri could not 
 possibly ignore. 
 
 " I ! Many things have I attempted, Takemoto- 
 san, many obstacles have I overcome : but this 
 that yon ask me, this is the labour of a god." 
 
 " Nevertheless, I think you will accomplish it." 
 
 " You have much confidence in my powers." 
 
 "Only the greatest." 
 
 " But what makes you think that I am equal to 
 this task ? " 
 
 " Because I ask you." 
 
 " I could wish that you had more reason for 
 such confidence." 
 
 "Then because I command vou. Mohri-san." 
 
 Behind the big spectacles the blinking eyes 
 steadied for a moment, but beyond that the wizened 
 little face betrayed neither anger nor alarm. 
 
 " It is good to be able to command," he said. 
 " Better still to be obeyed."
 
 THE GIRT. FROM NIPPON. 237 
 
 " You will obey." 
 
 " Is that for Takemoto-san to say ? " 
 
 " I think so : otherwise I shall know how to 
 act." 
 
 " Perhaps I might be permitted to ask in what 
 manner the honourable Takemoto-san intends to 
 act ? " 
 
 " By letting those in authority know the secret 
 of Dr. Mohri." 
 
 " Do you think that would help you ? " 
 
 " Then you do not deny that you are the author 
 of these outrages that have been convulsing 
 the whole country ? " 
 
 " Why should I deny that which my honourable 
 guest asserts with such conviction ? I do not see 
 that it bears on the matter at issue." 
 
 " Only so much as it affects your freedom your 
 life," answered the other drily. 
 
 " If I give my freedom and my life for the greater 
 glory of Nippon, I give all that a patriot has to 
 give." 
 
 " These people call it murder, and murderers they 
 hang by the neck. Thep do not understand, or 
 appreciate, that patriotism which riots in murder." 
 
 " Am I to be responsible for the dullness of a 
 particularly dull people ? " 
 
 " Look you, Mohri-san," said the other sharply, 
 irritably, " I am not here to argue with you. These
 
 238 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 people would like to know that the person who 
 poisoned Sir Basil Everard is the monster who has 
 been terrorising London." 
 
 " And you think I am that person ? " 
 
 " I know it." 
 
 " And; unless I coerce my niece into becoming 
 your wife, you will go to these English people and 
 tell them what you suspect ? " 
 
 " What I know." 
 
 " That would be unpatriotic, Takemoto-san : 
 the Emperor would not approve." 
 
 Takemoto sniffed disdainfully. The rich man 
 thwarted is no great respecter of emperors, for he, 
 too, is an emperor in his own small way, and we are 
 never unduly submissive to those of our own rank. 
 
 " Nor do I approve," said Mohri, " for by des- 
 troying me you would destroy your country. That 
 makes you a traitor, Takemoto-san." 
 
 Takemoto's eyes narrowed as he gazed on that 
 impassive face, and for the first time there was a 
 suspicion of uncertainty in the look. 
 
 " Perhaps I did not mean to go so far," he said. 
 " Give me Iris-san and I care not what you do, 
 or what happens to these people." 
 
 " You are going farther, Yoji Takemoto : you 
 are going to the very end of things." 
 
 Takemoto fell back a pace or two, a sickly, 
 yellow pallor suddenly overspreading his face.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 239 
 
 " What do you mean by that, Mohri-san ? " he 
 asked in a low whisper. 
 
 ' That Dai Nippon has no use for traitors." 
 
 'la traitor ! " he gasped. 
 
 " Have you not proved it out of your own mouth ? 
 What I have done has been for the greatness and 
 glory of my country. As a result of my experiments 
 I shall in time place Nippon in the forefront- of the 
 nations. Yet you would rob her of that greatness. 
 Nippon has no use for you : in this world there 
 is no room for the traitor." 
 
 " Mohri-san ! " 
 
 The voice came pitifully, choked with terror. 
 But Mohri-san had no pity. Takemoto saw him 
 take aim at his face, and before he could put up his 
 hands to protect himself the thing crashed in his 
 eyes. 
 
 Dr. Mohri covered his mouth and nose with a 
 pad of linen as he leant over the recumbent figure.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 TN this attitude he remained for some time until 
 * the huddled heap on the floor began slowly to 
 relax. Then, looking round, he suddenly en- 
 countered the wide, staring eyes of Iris, and with a 
 quick movement he transferred the pad of linen 
 from his mouth to his breast-pocket. There she 
 stood with a deathly white face, her breast rising 
 and falling tumultuously, the very epitome of 
 terror. For the first time in his life he seemed 
 nonplussed, though even then his cold, calculating 
 brain was wondering how he had come to overlook 
 the possible presence of the girl. 
 
 " Run away ! " he said sharply. " Why are you 
 here ? " 
 
 " I was outside ; I saw him come ; I heard. 
 What have you done to him ? " 
 
 The words came in short gasps, with difficulty : 
 with equal difficulty she seemed to breathe. He 
 turned as if to screen with his meagre form the 
 thing that lay on the floor. 
 
 240
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 241 
 
 " You heard ? " 
 
 " Every word. But it's not true, oji-san say 
 it's not true ! " 
 
 " And if it were ? " 
 
 Leaning against the doorpost, she buried her 
 face in her hands, shivering. He came forward, 
 and taking her by the arm led her swiftly but 
 gently from the room, .closing the door behind him. 
 Together they crossed the hall into the room 
 opposite. There he sat her in a chair by the table 
 and stood looking down at her. 
 
 " If it were true ? " he repeated in his unemotional 
 sing-song. 
 
 "It cannot be," she sobbed. 
 ' You would hate me very much, Iris-san : you 
 would look on me with loathing, seeing in me 
 nothing but the monster who revelled in murder ? 
 If I were that, and that only, your judgment would 
 be just : but if I experimented for the honour and 
 glory of my country, as the vivisectionist experiments 
 on animals for the good of humanity, what then ? " 
 
 Her eyes sought his, and in them he saw a shud- 
 dering terror, a horror of him and the thought 
 which his presence awoke, that made him shrink 
 sickeningly within himself. 
 
 " Then you do not deny it ? " she whispered. 
 In the face of what she had heard, what she had 
 seen, how could he ? 
 
 Q
 
 242 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " To gain the knowledge necessary for us to 
 struggle successfully with our environment we must 
 experimentalise," he explained in that cool, im- 
 perturbable manner of his. " The vivisectionist is 
 not necessarily a monster because he destroys life, 
 since by such destruction he may discover truths 
 of incalculable benefit to humanity. If by life we 
 do not acquire wisdom, knowledge, of what value 
 is it ? " 
 
 " But don't you realise that the taking of human 
 life is not permitted ; that it is a wicked, a shameful, 
 an outrageous act, punishable by death ? " 
 
 " All that, my child, I knew before you came into 
 the world to enlighten it with your wisdom. But 
 when the glory of one's country is at stake, Iris- 
 san, one ought not to consider so small a thing as 
 human life." 
 
 " He said that you murdered Sir Basil Everard." 
 
 " A mere experiment which ended fatally." 
 
 " That is why you forbade me to mention his 
 name, to admit that we had ever known him 
 out there ? " 
 
 " Obviously that must have been the reason. I 
 think it no crime to experiment on an enemy : I 
 know of no one on whom I would rather test my 
 skill. You weep for him ? " 
 
 " For you myself." 
 
 " Sir Basil Everard insulted you me my august
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 243 
 
 sister of sacred memory. He was a dog craving to 
 be poisoned, and I satisfied the craving. So it must 
 be with all who would hurt me and mine. In a 
 world of force, in a world where righteousness does 
 not exist, force is king and emperor. If I do not 
 trample on the million, the million will trample on 
 me. It has been so from the beginning of things ; 
 it will be so to the end of time." 
 
 " And these murders," she gasped, " these horrible 
 atrocities that have made the unknown scourge a 
 loathsome terror to the community ! " 
 
 " Who are they that you should weep for them ? 
 In all probability I am the best friend they ever 
 had. As a flock of sheep may be destroyed without 
 compunction, humanity deriving benefit from the 
 act, so may these nobodies help to further the 
 ultimate omnipotence of Nippon. To test my 
 invention, it was necessary that I should experiment 
 in this wise. I am happy to say that I have proved 
 beyond doubt the value of my theories. When the 
 armies of Dai Nippon march Westward, they will carry 
 with them a power that shall sweep their enemies 
 from their path. And to me the glorious con- 
 quests will be due. Armed with my invention, our 
 people will march from East to West the lords of the 
 universe. That which has been but a dream will 
 be a tangible reality. Nippon shall become a god 
 among the nations, and I, Hiro Mohri, a prophet.
 
 244 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 If, then, I can do these things, bring these proud, 
 white races to their knees, place on their stiff necks 
 the heavy, steel-shod foot of Nippon, shall I not be 
 justified of my acts ? What were a hundred or a 
 hundred thousand of these people lost if Nippon is 
 saved ? " 
 
 " But this is murder," she said in a low, scared voice. 
 
 " Since when have you learned to think so seri- 
 ously of what these people call murder ? What, after 
 all, is it but a passing, hurried a little, perhaps, but 
 merely forestalling ultimate destiny ? " 
 
 " Since when was Hiro Mohri given the right to 
 forestall destiny ? " 
 
 " All great men forestall destiny : destiny was 
 ever willing to follow in the footsteps of great men. 
 Great men are the masters of destiny, the arbiters 
 of fate, and as such are not to be judged by the 
 trivial conventions which are good only for those 
 who are born to follow." 
 
 " And Takemoto-san ? " 
 
 " You do not weep for him ? " 
 
 " No but " 
 
 " Takemoto-san would have betrayed his country 
 to the enemy. There was no room in this world 
 for Takemoto-san, and so I sent him to join the 
 spirits of his illustrious ancestors. It was written 
 so : it is written on the foreheads of all who would 
 oppose the progress of Nippon."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 245 
 
 " And do you suppose Nippon will thank you for 
 these crimes ? She will be branded as a pirate 
 nation, and all the just peoples of the earth will 
 rise against her." 
 
 " There are no just peoples on earth, neither is 
 there justice on earth. Their Prophet and God 
 came to teach them, and they made a mock of Him, 
 and murdered Him, and they have been mocking 
 Him and murdering Him ever since." 
 
 She bowed her head submissively : how could she 
 cope with one supreme both in dialectics and murder ? 
 But though he might beat down her reasoning by 
 the force of his intellect, he could not sweep aside 
 the sense of revulsion which the thought of him, 
 the presence of him, awoke. 
 
 " Assuming," she said, " that in your eyes murder 
 is the light thing you would make of it, you do not 
 fail to realise that others may regard it as a par- 
 ticularly heinous offence ? " 
 
 " Not at all : that's why I've had to act in secret. 
 Murder only becomes an acknowledged part of the 
 social system in times of stress and upheaval. Truly 
 the ways of men are as inscrutable as those of 
 the gods." 
 
 " Yet these men are gods who will destroy you." 
 
 A slow smile broke over his yellow face. 
 
 " My work is done," he said. " When they learn 
 who is, or was, the author of these experiments,
 
 246 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 I shall be at the head of the conquering armies of 
 Dai Nippon." 
 
 " And suppose they know already : suppose they 
 are already preparing to envelop you ? " 
 
 He looked round with a quick, comprehensive 
 glance, as though detection might be lurking in 
 some near corner. Then once more that slow, 
 meaning smile broke over his face. 
 
 " You saw what became of Yoji Takemoto and 
 his power. It is as easy to slay a thousand as 
 one." 
 
 " Oji-san, for the love of God ! " she cried. 
 
 " God ! The god of these people, or the gods 
 of Nippon ? I, too, am a god," he said ; " the giver 
 of life and death. A world-conqueror I the little 
 yellow man from the East whence came all wisdom. 
 But my work is finished, Iris-san. Nothing now 
 remains for us but to steal away and leave these 
 people wondering till the great day of awakening. 
 Are you not glad that Takemoto goes not with us ? 
 He served his purpose. Let him rest." 
 
 A great fear of him had descended upon her : 
 like a cloud it fell, covering her with darkness, 
 wrapping her in an impenetrable mist of horror 
 and doubt. Live with him, return with him to 
 the East, knowing his fearful secret ! She felt that 
 never again could she touch his hand, or listen to 
 his voice, or feel other interest in him than that
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 247 
 
 of desperate horror. And this was the man whose 
 wisdom she had applauded, whom she had regarded 
 as far above all other men in learning and prescience. 
 And all his wisdom, all his knowledge, all his acquire- 
 ments, had been directed to murder ! 
 
 " The dogs ? " she said suddenly. 
 
 " Ah, yes ; one begins in that way." 
 
 " It was cruel of you." 
 
 " I admit compunction as to the dogs." 
 
 " You gave one to Kenneth Everard ? " 
 
 " An amiable young man, but inquisitive. I do 
 not like inquisitive people." 
 
 She took a step forward, her eyes dilating. 
 
 " What have you done to him ? " 
 
 "He is quite safe." 
 
 " You have killed him ? " 
 
 " He was not of sufficient importance." Yet he 
 saw the sudden gust of passion sweep to her eyes, 
 and he knew that it required a supreme effort on 
 her part to hold herself in check. 
 
 " Tell me, oji-san you have killed him ? " 
 
 " No, no ! But I have taught him a lesson. I 
 think he has probably gained some wisdom. The 
 day after to-morrow our ship sails from Liverpool 
 the Satsuma-Maru. We shall be among our own 
 people. You will be ready, Iris-san and very wise. 
 In Nippon I shall be great, honoured the Prophet, 
 the Deliverer. And you shall partake of my glory,
 
 248 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 and, who knows, perhaps return here with me in 
 the vanguard of our conquering armies." 
 
 " The day after to-morrow ! " Dreadfully, in- 
 sistently, the words coursed and thundered through 
 her brain. The day after to-morrow and what 
 then ? For ever to be associated with him of the 
 dreadful power, with him who treated with similar 
 contempt the life of a man or a dog ! Why, there 
 would be no more peace for her, no rest by day or 
 night. Waking she would behold that cold, calm, 
 inscrutable visage, sleeping he would be ever the 
 nightmare' of her thoughts. Ah 1 of a sudden there 
 opened between them the vast gulf which divided 
 East from West, the vast, illimitable swell of ocean 
 which neither thought nor ingenuity could ever 
 bridge. And like a revelation it came to her that 
 she was of the West, that she had always been of 
 the West, that her thoughts, aspirations, all the 
 soul of her, was with the white peoples, the glorious 
 white peoples ! 
 
 He stood hi the hall and watched her a curious 
 and quaint little figure as she slowly mounted 
 the stairs to her room her prison. For such she 
 knew this house was now to her ; a temporary 
 prison in which she was to be lodged until he took 
 her aboard the Japanese ship. Though he had 
 spoken with his usual suave discretion, she knew 
 quite well that he harboured doubt of her, and all of
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 249 
 
 whom he harboured doubt he had his own peculiar 
 methods of guarding. Without a word she had left 
 him, no sound escaped his closely-pressed lips : it 
 was the first time they had parted so coldly. 
 
 There was doubt on her face, pain in her eyes as, 
 seated by the window of her room, she looked 
 across the blue, peaceful landscape. How still 
 everything was, how quiet, and how secure ! This 
 was the civilisation of a great and peaceful people, 
 of a people who did no wrong nor tolerated wrong 
 in others ; a people who opened their hospitable 
 arms to the stranger, giving him the freedom and 
 the security of her own sons. And how had that 
 stranger repaid her hospitality ? She shuddered, but 
 it was not with the cold. 
 
 In a vision, as it were, she saw that ship, the 
 Satsuma-Maru, nosing her way Eastward through 
 the everlasting seas. Onward it would go, drawing 
 nearer and ever nearer until Fuji towered up out of 
 the blue expanse, and the land of Nippon, once so 
 loved, now so hated and feared, met her view. 
 There was her prison, there an end to the new life, 
 the new hope that of late had welled so strongly 
 within her. Could she face it : dared she ? Was 
 she for ever to say good-by to the new and thrilling 
 interests of life ? Out there she would return once 
 more to the Eastern woman, and know nothing 
 of this sudden joy, the exultation of living that
 
 250 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 had made existence so supremely sweet. This she 
 knew was her home, to the joys, the sorrows, the 
 tenderness of which every drop of her blood re- 
 sponded. All those other thoughts had been alien 
 thoughts : even while she believed herself to hate 
 these people and then: land she knew that they 
 were her people, and that it was her land, and she 
 loved them both. It was the call of the blood, 
 strong as life, insistent as death. Love that long 
 has lain dormant bubbles, bursts afresh to life as 
 one watches beside the sick bed. So was it with her. 
 In the hour of parting the scales fell from her eyes, 
 the mists from her soul. She loved these people, 
 these great white people her people ! who had won 
 such a glorious place hi the sun. 
 
 And oji-san, what was she to think of him ? He 
 had not killed as the common man kills in passion, 
 for gain. She almost wished he had. Then one 
 might find some palliation for poverty, or the gust 
 of fury. But to him murder was a mere experiment, 
 a thing that circumstance rendered necessary. Life 
 had one value only : it fed, satisfied the craving 
 of ambition. As the world-conqueror strode to 
 glory over the bodies of both friend and enemy, 
 regretful, perhaps, but consoling his blood-lust with 
 the knowledge that such things must be, so strode 
 he, unheeding the pale, pitiful hands that were raised 
 in supplication. That his work was in the street
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 251 
 
 instead of on the field of battle mattered nothing. 
 He, too, worked for that glorious iniquity which 
 men in their madness applaud. 
 
 Some three hours later she softly descended the 
 stairs, but there were others as soft of foot in that 
 house, and she had not taken two steps across the 
 hall before she encountered Yoban, who seemed, 
 shadow-like, to emerge from the shadows. 
 
 " My uncle ? " she questioned. 
 
 He shook his head. " I cannot say, honourable." 
 
 " He is abroad ? " The man bowed. " And I ? " 
 Yoban remained mute, regarding her with unwinking 
 eyes. " You have had your orders ? " 
 
 " The doctor, your illustrious uncle, thought it 
 better that you should honourably prepare for 
 your journey." 
 
 ** Yoban, I am a prisoner in my uncle's house ? " 
 
 " Not so, illustrious. The doctor, your august 
 uncle, would never pardon me if harm befell 
 you." 
 
 It was the same thing, but this care of her was 
 singularly inopportune just then. Vague plans 
 flitted like ghosts through her brain. She knew that 
 this quiet, unobtrusive, lynx-eyed little person would 
 die before swerving an inch from his master's orders. 
 And there were others in the background mysteri- 
 ous dark shades that seemed to live in shadows, 
 but who would emerge as resolute men at the word
 
 252 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 of command. And away beyond it all was the 
 waiting ship, and Nippon and oblivion. 
 
 The door of the drawing-room was wide open, 
 and as her glance turned to it she involuntarily 
 drew back a pace. Then her eyes sought those of 
 the sphinx-like Yoban, who bowed low, as if inviting 
 her to enter. Piercingly she gazed at him, and then 
 suddenly remembered that he was not supposed 
 to know she knew. With a sudden effort she 
 entered the room, looking fearfully about ; but 
 there was nothing to startle the eye, nothing to 
 offend but memory. The furniture was carefully 
 arranged as usual, the windows wide open, and 
 through the room blew the delicious smell of the 
 garden. On a table by the window was a bowl 
 of sweet-peas which the doctor had gathered and 
 lovingly arranged with true artistic appreciation. 
 
 " You do not know when my honourable uncle 
 will return ? " 
 
 " He did not so far confide in one so utterly un- 
 worthy but he ordered the car." 
 
 Yet he had not taken Yoban to drive it ! What 
 this meant exactly she could not imagine. She 
 knew that the doctor, among his other accomplish- 
 ments, was an expert driver ; but why had Yoban 
 been left at home if not to guard her ? 
 
 " I had hoped you would be able to take me out," 
 she said.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 253 
 
 He bowed, there being no need to explain the 
 impossibility of doing so. 
 
 Shadow-like he disappeared among the shadows 
 as she once more mounted the stairs ; but though 
 she went direct to her room, and somewhat noisily 
 bolted the door, it was not to rest. Eagerly, im- 
 patiently, she paced the narrow limits of her room. 
 Sometimes she sat by the window, her arms on the 
 sill, and stared out dreamily across the darkening 
 landscape. Then when it was quite dark she rose 
 softly and stole towards the door. Kneeling she 
 put her ear to the keyhole and listened with great 
 intentness. Then, assured that there was no one 
 hi the passage without, she carefully drew back 
 the bolt, and a moment later she was peering into 
 the darkness. 
 
 Not a sound came from below : with the exception 
 of her own suppressed vitality it might have been a 
 house of the dead. Nevertheless she moved lightly 
 as a ghost across the passage to the door opposite, 
 which was that of her uncle's room, and turned the 
 handle. It gave beneath her touch, and the next 
 moment she was in the room. She had little fear 
 now that those below would stir, for unless expressly 
 bidden, none of them ever dared to approach the 
 upper floors. Indeed, she herself had never dared 
 to enter his private apartments uninvited : it was 
 one of those things he would never dream her
 
 254 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 capable of doing. But once inside she carefully 
 drew the heavy curtains across the window; and 
 lit the candle with which she had come prepared. 
 
 The room betrayed none of the idiosyncrasies of 
 its owner. It was as plain a room as you would 
 find in any middle-class house : the sort of room 
 that was used for one purpose only to sleep in. 
 Here were no traces of the dreadful trade plied 
 by oji-san. It was the plain, unpretentious bed- 
 room of the man who caught the 8.30 for the City 
 every morning. But as she held the light up, she 
 saw, hanging behind the door, the coat which 
 Mohri had worn during his last interview with 
 Takemoto. Quick as thought she began to search 
 it, and presently from the breast-pocket she drew 
 forth that for which she had come in quest a pad 
 of linen the identical pad with which Dr. Mohri 
 had covered his mouth and nose as he stood over 
 the huddled form of Takemoto. 
 
 As she took it in her hand, she suddenly became 
 aware of a strong, pungent smell, not unlike that 
 of ammonia. None the less she slipped it into her 
 bodice, blew out the light, and carefully groped 
 her way back to her own|room.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 TT was just on midnight when Kenneth Everard 
 -* returned weary and disappointed from one of 
 his fruitless searches for Dr. Mohri. Not that 
 he had the slightest wish ever again to set eyes on 
 that redoubtable assassin, but he knew that where 
 the doctor was there would the niece be also, and 
 to find her he felt capable of infinite energy. 
 
 As he crossed the open space of King's Bench Walk 
 a shadow came swiftly towards him from among the 
 trees, and almost before he knew what was happen- 
 ing Iris stood beside him. Of all the surprises of 
 his life, that was perhaps the greatest, and in- 
 voluntarily his hands went out to her and caught 
 hers in a warm clasp. 
 
 " You S " he gasped. " I have been looking for 
 you everywhere." 
 
 She threw a quick glance to right and left, gently 
 releasing her hands. 
 
 " I had to know," she answered enigmatically. 
 
 255
 
 256 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " You had to know. I want to talk. Is it safe 
 here ? " 
 
 He also glanced round, hesitant. " It would be 
 safer in my chambers. Do you mind ? " 
 
 11 You forget : I am an Oriental." She gave a 
 little laugh that jarred. 
 
 He made no further protest, and she was thankful. 
 Without a word they crossed the roadway. He 
 opened the door with his latchkey. 
 
 " You look tired," he said as he turned to her 
 hi the light of the room. 
 
 " I walked and I ran," she answered briefly, 
 " and I have waited out there for an hour." 
 
 He was full of apologies. 
 
 " Why did you run ? " he asked. " From whom 
 did you run ? " 
 
 " My uncle." 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 " You cannot guess you do not guess ? " 
 
 Her eyes sought his, wildly, appealingly, eyes 
 which glowed curiously of terror and pathos. 
 
 " Yes, I know. When did you ? " 
 
 " To-day. Takemoto came. He threatened him 
 with exposure." She hesitated. 
 
 " Well ? " 
 
 " Takemoto will never expose him now." 
 
 " Dead ? " 
 
 She nodded. For a brief moment the suspicion
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 257 
 
 flashed through him again, but in the face of her 
 evident distress he knew that he was wronging 
 her grievously. 
 
 " And you ? " he asked. 
 
 " My uncle has decided that we leave for Liver- 
 pool to-morrow, and from there sail in a Japanese 
 ship for the Far East." 
 
 " Yes ? " He put the word breathlessly. 
 
 " I cannot go with him : I dare not. It is too 
 horrible ! Like so many of his race he has preached 
 hatred of the white people ; but I never thought, I 
 could not dream. ... I, too, have tried to hate 
 you because he wished it ; because I was envious, 
 sick with longing for that which was denied me 
 my birthright. I think he dominated me to my 
 undoing, except except when that other came 
 along." 
 
 " I do not understand." 
 
 " No, but you must. He killed Sir Basil Everard." 
 
 " He ! " Incredulity and amazement struggled 
 for mastery on his face. " But he did not know my 
 cousin ? " 
 
 " A fiction like most things connected with us. 
 In Kobe your cousin was ill, and he saved his life. 
 Then Sir Basil Everard was pleased to take note 
 of me. It was what I had dreamed : it was the 
 white man, noble, full of kind words, one of my 
 own people. When he left for England he promised 
 
 R
 
 258 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 to return for me ! But he did not keep his promise, 
 When we met here he regretted that promise : he 
 could not marry an Asiatic, a half-breed ! I was 
 not sorry, because I had long since ceased to trust 
 him. But it stung, that taunt : it made me bitter, 
 it intensified my hatred. I had no regret for the 
 loss of him, but I was savage for revenge. I think 
 just then I hated the world and everybody in it- 
 To oji-san he told the same tale, but he was not 
 so merciful. You know what happened." 
 
 He looked at her, and there was both horror and 
 loathing in the look. 
 
 " Then you knew all along that he had murdered 
 mv cousin ? " 
 
 " No, no ! " she gasped, shrinlrmg from him. 
 " I had not the slightest suspicion. Could you 
 think that I - " 
 
 " But tell me "-^ie appeared bewildered" what 
 was your reason for pretending that you had never 
 met my cousin out there ? " 
 
 " Such were his orders, which I have always 
 obeyed implicitly, and ... I had a reason of my 
 own." 
 
 " What was it ? " 
 
 " Revenge on you for the wrong done me by 
 your cousin." 
 
 " In plain words, you wished to ensnare me ? 
 Well, you had an easy task," he laughed bitterly.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 259 
 
 " Which has become more than I can bear. That 
 is why I am here to open my soul. I said : ' If I 
 can I will humiliate this man because of that other, 
 I will cause him intolerable bitterness. If woman 
 have any attraction for man, he shall desire me. 
 I will bring him to my feet, and then spurn him 
 as a dog of a mongrel breed.' ' : 
 
 " And like a dog I came to your feet, and you 
 spurned me ; but I could not see into your heart, 
 I could not dream that you were animated wholly 
 by revenge. Somehow I thought you nobler than 
 that. That you defied me seemed natural enough : 
 even when you hurled at me marriage with Take- 
 moto I had no real fear that you could descend so 
 low. Having no knowledge of the enigma of your 
 life, how could I imagine that you were animated 
 by so gross a spirit ? " 
 
 " That spirit died at its birth," she said in a low 
 voice. " And shame came to me, and horror and 
 loathing beyond words. But could I believe ? 
 Should I break my heart at the bidding of a man ? 
 What was left me but pride ? Such a weak, foolish 
 little pride it seems now. Yet in the moment of 
 my wrath this revenge did not seem so small a 
 thing. You see, you had ennobled me beyond my 
 merits. I am not, I never was, the woman of 
 your imagination. I thought it would be a fine 
 thing to bring you down and then laugh at you.
 
 260 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 But when the hour came, there was no laughter 
 left. I am humiliated beyond words, beaten all 
 along the line ; and so I come, not for pity, not to 
 supplicate, but because I owed you this, and I am 
 full of shame and terror. I had hoped to make 
 a mock of you, and I have covered myself with 
 humiliation. Truly the blood of Dr. Mohri must 
 be strong in me, otherwise I could not have perpe- 
 trated this great shame." 
 
 She leant forward in the chair and hid her face 
 in her hands. Before her he stood irresolute, 
 wondering, scarcely belie ving that he had heard her 
 aright. It seemed an incredible thing that she 
 could be guilty of this great meanness, pitiful beyond 
 words. Yet, if she had never been sincere before, 
 he did not question her sincerity now. It was plain 
 to the eye of the most exacting. 
 
 " And after ? " he said. She turned up to him a 
 pair of inquiring eyes. 
 "After?" 
 
 " When you found that I was not responsible 
 for the shame of my cousin, when you found I was 
 sincere, as far as God permitted me ? " 
 
 " No one could guess my remorse." Then for a 
 moment something of the old defiance shone in her 
 eyes, poised curiously in the turn of her tilted chin. 
 " But that as it may be. Now you know me for 
 what I am. This I think I owed you. It has cost
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 261 
 
 me much, but I had to come : I should never have 
 known a moment's peace had I not told you all. 
 I think I shall never know peace again." 
 
 " And this love for my cousin there was love ? " 
 
 " I may have thought so then. I was young, you 
 see, young in many ways, and he was the first 
 white man I had ever known. You would not 
 understand what that meant to one in my position. 
 . . . When he came to repudiate me my heart beat 
 joyously. Long had I suspected what was then 
 made certain." 
 
 " And Takemoto ? " 
 
 She shuddered. " You could not dream " 
 
 " No," he answered quickly. ' v Even when you 
 turned on me I told you so." 
 
 " Takemoto is dead," she wailed. " Oji-san 
 killed him, as he has killed so many. Oji-san who 
 to me was a wonder, almost an adoration." 
 
 " You are sure there is no mistake here ? " 
 
 * ' With my own eyes I saw him. The thing seemed 
 to burst in Takemoto' s face ; there was a little 
 smoke, and Takemoto was dead." 
 
 So it was the same method : the little bomb, 
 almost noiseless, the suffocating odour, and death. 
 Dog and man, women, children, all paid tribute to 
 this rapacious monster. 
 
 " What does it mean ? " he asked. " Is he mad, 
 do you think ? "
 
 262 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Mad drunk with patriotism, the glory of 
 Nippon." 
 
 " The glory of Nippon ? " he echoed, startled 
 beyond himself, for of a sudden the awful truth 
 seemed to dawn on him. 
 
 " By such means he hopes to lead the armies of Dai 
 Nippon, Creat Japan, victorious over the white races. 
 He is maa for the greatness and glory of Nippon : the 
 thought obsesses him. I sometimes think he is not 
 quite human, and that he has but the most vague 
 perception of the horror of his crimes. Indeed, I 
 doubt that he really regards them as crimes. He 
 is not as other men. In the white races he sees 
 nothing but the potential enemies of his country, 
 and it consequently becomes a religious duty to 
 sacrifice them. The East is rising, he says, pre- 
 paring for the great day, and he knows that when 
 that day comes the white people, to save themselves, 
 must sink their petty jealousies of each other and 
 combine, or utter annihilation awaits them." 
 
 " But this devilish invention of his, whatever it 
 is is it not also dangerous for those who wield 
 it ? The fumes which overpower the enemy may 
 also destroy the friend." 
 
 She started, then slipping her hand into the 
 pocket of her coat drew forth the pad of linen and 
 held it out to him. 
 
 " This is the antidote. As he stooped over
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 263 
 
 Takemotosan he held this to his mouth and 
 nose." 
 
 Everard took it, handling it as carefully as he 
 would a venomous serpent. The pungent, but not 
 unpleasant, chemical odour greeted his nostrils. 
 Inquiringly he turned to her. In a few brief words 
 she told him what she had seen, and how she had 
 discovered the pad. The significance of it all 
 seemed to strike him with singular force. Masked, 
 protected in this manner, an army might sweep the 
 world before it. Dr. Mohri was a more dangerous 
 and terrifying person than ever he had imagined. 
 
 " And now," he said, a new, strange light stealing 
 into his eyes, " what of yourself ? " 
 
 " I do not know except that I have fled from 
 him, that I must hide myself away, that I cannot 
 go back to him." 
 
 " You think he will follow ? " 
 
 " I am sure of it. He may hate others, but me 
 he loves." 
 
 " Loves ! " 
 
 " You do not know him : none of your people 
 could understand him. To him this is not murder, 
 but a great and sacred duty for the glory of Nippon. 
 Nothing else in the world counts with him. Scorn, 
 opprobrium, hatred the world might seethe with 
 these, but they would not sway him a hair's-breadth 
 from his purpose."
 
 264 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Yet he realises that the moment he is appre- 
 hended, as apprehended he will be, the law will 
 claim his life as forfeit ? " 
 
 " He will never be apprehended." 
 
 " He must be. This sort of thing cannot go on 
 unchecked. Heaven knows, Iris, I would do any- 
 thing to spare you this humiliation, but you must 
 realise that my duty " 
 
 " You may try, but it will be useless and danger- 
 ous. His enemies vanish one by one as though 
 some unseen power swept them from the earth. 
 I implore you not to attempt what so many have 
 failed to achieve. I sometimes think he is a little 
 jnore than human. Out there, in Kobe, people 
 whispered strange tales of him : children ran and 
 hid themselves as he passed through the street." 
 
 " And you believe 
 
 " Ah, no ! Nevertheless he is not as other men, 
 and to cross him is dangerous. Therefore I beg of 
 you to rest content with this knowledge, and instead 
 of seeking him, do your utmost to avoid him." 
 
 " And should he seek me ? " 
 
 " Take this : it may save you." She held out 
 the linen pad. " Keep it on you always, and 
 should you suddenly encounter him, be prepared. 
 He strikes quickly, like lightning." 
 
 " I know. Already has he struck me down." 
 He told her of that incident in the laboratory.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 265 
 
 " And you live ? " It seemed to her as though a 
 miracle had happened. 
 
 " As you see. He may not have meant to kill. 
 I cannot say. He was forced to protect himself. 
 But I might easily have died out there on the 
 common." 
 
 She shuddered, drawing close to him with 
 frightened eyes. 
 
 " You would have been sorry, Iris ? " 
 
 " Yes," she answered simply, " I would have 
 been very sorry." 
 
 " Nothing more ? " 
 
 " What more ? " 
 
 " Wouldn't it have seemed that something you 
 would rather not part with had gone out of your 
 life : that that perhaps 
 
 He had taken her hands and was involuntarily 
 drawing her closer to him. Pathetically, appealing, 
 she looked up at him. His arms went round her, 
 and she hid her face in his breast. 
 
 " My dearest," he said, " look at me." 
 
 She did so through moist and quivering lashes. 
 He kissed those dear, strange eyes, which 
 looked up at him yearningly, mutely, with the 
 patient love and adoration of a dog. Then, as 
 though startled at a sudden thought, she drew 
 back. Reproachfully he looked at her. 
 
 " I was forgetting who and what I am."
 
 266 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " You are my dearest love," he said, " and one 
 day, soon, you are going to be my wife." 
 
 Slowly she shook her head. 
 
 " The niece of Hiro Mohri. Do you forget ? " 
 
 " If the niece of Hiro Mohri loves me she will 
 forget all that I ask her to forget." 
 
 " Yes, I love you," she said quite simply. " I 
 loved you even when I tried my hardest to bring 
 about your humiliation : I think I loved you most 
 when I taunted you with Takemoto. That was 
 hard to bear ? " she questioned. 
 
 " Very hard." 
 
 " Yet you did not upbraid me. If you knew how 
 mean I felt. When I reached home I quarrelled 
 with oji-san ; but he knew I would never marry 
 Takemoto. He will never let me marry you." 
 
 " Then we must do without his consent." 
 
 Realising all that this meant, a look of dire 
 uncertainty sprang to her eyes. One might easily 
 talk of defying Dr. Mohri, but therein lay a danger 
 which she knew and feared. 
 
 " He will never consent," she said with finality. 
 " Even now he may be coming in pursuit of me." 
 
 Apprehensively both turned to the door, and 
 then instinctively each sought the eyes of the other. 
 
 " We must prepare even for that contingency. 
 You are mine now," he said, " and 1 am going to 
 hold you for ever."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 267 
 
 She nestled in against his shoulder, and he felt 
 the pressure of her dear arms tighten on his neck. 
 
 " Hold me close, my very dearest," she whispered ; 
 " don't let anyone tear me from your arms. I 
 want to be yours, all yours, yours through life and 
 the ages after life. In your Holy Book they say 
 that those who love on earth shall meet again in 
 Heaven. Do all Christians believe that ? " 
 
 " All good Christians." 
 
 " I want to be a good Christian, for I want to 
 believe it too." 
 
 " You are a good Christian already." 
 
 " Ah, no ; but I shall be. You will teach me 
 how." 
 
 " I am a poor teacher, dearest." 
 
 " You are a good teacher," she protested, " be- 
 cause you have taught me how to love you when 
 my heart was filled with nothing but hatred and 
 envy. Oji-san scoffed at all faiths : religion was 
 to him but another name for superstition. He 
 said that no intelligent man could believe in such 
 a thing : that even those who professed such faith 
 the teachers, the priests did so with a sneer in 
 their hearts, laughing at the simplicity of the 
 devout : that it meant nothing more than the 
 grasping of worldly possessions^ worldly power, 
 and that its only use was to keep the ignorant in 
 subservience and awe : vain promises held out to
 
 268 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 propitiate the unhappy, those whom the world 
 holds down." 
 
 " There may be many who think with him, but 
 we do not envy them. All is not perfect, dearest, 
 even in Christendom, though among much that is ill 
 there is also much that is noble. But all this you 
 shall know later. In the meantime we must hide you 
 from Dr. Mohri. You were to sail to-morrow ? " 
 
 " He will not go without me. Even now, re- 
 turning suddenly, he may have learnt of my flight. 
 At this moment he may even be waiting for me at 
 your door." 
 
 She pressed closer to him, and there was a great 
 fear in her eyes.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 T N spite of himself he could not help gazing round 
 *- with a look of alarm. This knowledge angered 
 him ; yet he was ready to admit that the 
 thought of Mohri affected him like a nightmare. 
 That implacable spirit of hate, who smote without 
 mercy, what was one to do with him ? Again the 
 thought swept through him of the imperative duty 
 he owed to the community ; that he should go 
 forthwith to the proper quarter and denounce this 
 monomaniac who seemed to make a jest of murder. 
 And yet how was that going to help him ? To tell 
 all did not mean to cure all. It was not to be 
 assumed that apprehension would necessarily follow 
 the disclosure of his identitj'. Then there was the 
 girl, the girl whom he love"d, whom he hoped one day 
 to make his wife. How could he let her relationship 
 with this monster be bandied about from lip to lip ? 
 He was distraught with a multiplicity of emotions. 
 Dr. Mohri had to be fought and conquered, but he 
 
 269
 
 270 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 could not see that publicity was the proper means 
 to his end. 
 
 " You have no doubt," he questioned, " that once 
 he learns of your flight he will come in search of you ? " 
 
 " None whatever," she answered with conviction. 
 
 " And you do not wish to see him ? " He put the 
 question tentatively, like one who entertains the 
 shadow of a vague suspicion. 
 
 " Never again," she replied, a little regretfully. 
 His past kindness, consideration, love, all flashed 
 through her mind, awaking a sense of deep depression. 
 If the answer suggested ingratitude, as she feared it 
 might, she hoped this lover of hers would understand. 
 To him, to the world, Dr. Mohri was a homicidal 
 maniac of the most appalling character ; but to her he 
 must always be oji-san, the man who had been father, 
 mother, all that endears, the very embodiment of 
 affection and careful consideration. Never could 
 she look upon him with the eyes of the world ; his 
 crimes, so black to others, would always be pierced 
 by the tender rays of solicitude. The knowledge of 
 what he had been, how he had shielded her, made 
 smooth her way through life, must always soften 
 harsh judgment or bitter feeling. Memory flew 
 back to other days when they had been very dear 
 to each other, when she had looked up to him as one 
 who was above all men in knowledge, when she had 
 sat at his feet and drunk in his wisdom. And now
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 271 
 
 the land rang with detestation of him ; every man's 
 hand was against him. If apprehended an igno- 
 minious death awaited him ; if encountered in the 
 street he would be shot down like a mad dog. 
 
 Was he really conscious of the enormity of his 
 offences ? In her heart she doubted it ; she was 
 sure that his estimate of himself was at complete 
 variance with the rest of the world, though she well 
 knew that the world was likely to take little heed 
 of that. To his perverted mind there might even 
 seem something noble in his deadly work. It was 
 not for personal gain, nor from any motive of revenge ; 
 all was for the advancement of Nippon and the 
 glory of his race. This was to him faith, religion, 
 God. So that he accomplished the end he had in 
 view, the result sanctified the means. 
 
 Reading her inner thoughts Kenneth's manner 
 was one of delicate consideration. He knew what 
 this man had been to her, and that notwithstanding 
 his many faults none but the better side of him had 
 she seen. Therefore, and with much circumspection, 
 he suggested that a cousin of his, who lived at 
 Harrow, would gladly welcome her until such time 
 as he could, by due process of law, make her his wife. 
 Also he was not without the hope that during the 
 interim Dr. Mohri might be apprehended, destroyed, 
 or forced to fly the country, though of this he 
 naturally did not breathe a word.
 
 272 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 Expressing her willingness entirely to be guided 
 by him, he at once began to think of the means by 
 which he could put his plan into execution, and 
 with that end in view immediately rang up his 
 cousin. It was some tune before he could get 
 through, the people at Harrow having retired, but 
 at last the connection was secured, and briefly as 
 possible he explained his needs. Iris, of course, 
 could not hear what was said at the other end of 
 the line ; but when Kenneth wound up with, " It's 
 awfully good of you, Jack. If I can get a taxi to 
 bring us along I'll come at once. Tell Molly she's 
 a dear," she knew that he had succeeded. 
 
 " It's all right," he said as he hung up the receiver. 
 " They're two of the best people in the world, and 
 I know you will be quite safe with them. Are you 
 ready ? " 
 
 " Quite," she answered. Without demur she 
 would have gone with him to the end of the world- 
 
 Together they descended the stairs and made their 
 way into Fleet Street. Opposite the " Griffin " they 
 hailed three cabs in succession, but the drivers, 
 pleading a lack of petrol, refused to take them so far. 
 However, a fourth, who had not been long on the 
 streets, learning that oixe of the fares would return 
 with him, undertook the job, Kenneth assuring him 
 that at Harrow he would be able to replenish his 
 supply of petrol should such be necessary.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 It was a long, strange, sweet drive, but it came to 
 an end at last, and they were duly welcomed by 
 Mr. and Mrs. Worsley (otherwise Jack and Molly), 
 with a warmth which gladdened both their hearts. 
 It must be confessed that a humorous look 
 twinkled in Jack Worsley's eyes as he glanced at 
 Kenneth, and that Mrs. Worsley could not altogether 
 suppress some sign of amazement as she welcomed 
 the strangely beautiful girl. She, however, asked 
 no questions, but slipping her arm through that of 
 Iris led her away. 
 
 " I will come again first thing in the morning," 
 Kenneth said. The girl smiled. Mrs. Worsley 
 thought she had never seen such a plaintively 
 beautiful smile. 
 
 " It's like this," Everard explained to Jack 
 Worsley, who had taken his friend into the dining- 
 room to give him a whisky and soda before his setting 
 out again, " Miss Mayford Iris is going to be my 
 wife. I give you my word, old chap, that everything 
 is all right, but there are circumstances which render 
 this secrecy necessary. When the time comes I will 
 explain everything to your satisfaction. Tell Molly 
 this." Jack nodded. "It is in connection with 
 that affair of my cousin. There is a possibility of 
 trouble, but I think we'll soon clear things up now." 
 Jack gripped his hand, his honest face beaming 
 gratefully at the good news. 
 
 s
 
 274 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " You know what delight that will give us." 
 
 " I know. You've both been very good ; I shall 
 never forget." 
 
 Jack tossed his head disdainfully. 
 
 " My dear fellow, the thing was too absurd." 
 
 " You will be amazed when you hear the sequel. 
 I know neither of you would dream of questioning 
 Iris. Trust me just a little while longer." 
 
 Jack Worsley obtained for the driver a fresh 
 supply of petrol, and Kenneth turned reluctantly 
 from the house. It was a long and rather 
 miserable run back, but he reached the Temple 
 in safety, and though it cannot be said that he 
 slept over-well that night, it was some consolation 
 to know that he had placed Iris beyond the reach 
 of harm. 
 
 When he arrived at Harrow on the following 
 morning Jack had already gone to the City, but 
 Molly Worsley met him in the hall, and greeted 
 him with that charming frankness which was one 
 of her most delightful characteristics. 
 
 " You're a lucky man," she said. " Miss Mayford 
 is charming." 
 
 " So glad you like her, Molly. I thought you 
 would. How is she ? " 
 
 " Quite well, and as self-possessed as though you 
 had been married twenty years." 
 
 He saw the question she did not like to put, and
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 275 
 
 a rather amused smile shone in his eyes and played 
 round the corners of his mouth. 
 
 " But there's something about her you don't quite 
 understand, eh ? " 
 
 " She has the most strangely beautiful eyes I 
 have ever seen," said Mrs. Jack diplomatically. 
 
 " * Strangely beautiful/ " he echoed with a smile. 
 " Is that all ? " 
 
 " Don't be absurd. Is she English ? " 
 " Half ; the other half is Japanese." 
 " Japanese ! " 
 
 " Her father married a Japanese woman. She is 
 over here with her uncle, Dr. Mohri." 
 " And where is he ? " 
 
 ' Thereby hangs a tale, Madame Curious which 
 shall be unfolded to you in due course," he added 
 in a mysterious whisper. " Patience, my dear 
 friend ; I have promised Jack that you both shall 
 know all presently." 
 
 " Well, she's in the garden," said Mrs. Jack with 
 a sly smile. " I'm going into the town to do some 
 shopping. You'll stay to lunch ? " 
 
 " I was afraid you weren't going to ask me." 
 He found her on the lawn at the back of the house. 
 She was sitting in a large wicker chair, a book on 
 her lap, her head tilted back against the flaming red 
 cushion, her eyes, like her thoughts, away in the 
 clouds. He tried to draw near without disturbing
 
 276 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 her, but as if acting on some instinct she suddenly 
 sat up and looked round. Then with a little cry of 
 joy she rose and came to him. He caught her in his 
 arms and kissed her, and as she pressed her face 
 against his breast he buried his lips in her thick 
 black hair, the smell of which exhilarated him like 
 a deep draught of wine. 
 
 " My own dearest," he said, his hands stroking her 
 arms and shoulders with infinite tenderness. 
 
 Closely she clung to him, and the pressure of her 
 slim, warm body against his set his pulses beating 
 with happiness. 
 
 " It is you. You have come ? " 
 
 " Did you think I would not ? " 
 
 " No but He saw the trouble in her eyes 
 and kissed them. 
 
 " Nothing but death could keep me away from 
 you," he said. 
 
 She shuddered. Death ! It was ever in her 
 thoughts ; it hung like an exhalation about them. 
 Quite plainly he read the thought that was passing 
 through her mind. 
 
 " You are afraid ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " But we are safe here. Nothing can harm you 
 now." 
 
 " I hope so. Still, I am afraid. You do not 
 know him. If he intends to discover me, he will.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 277 
 
 If he should be angry with you . . . You carry 
 the antidote ? " 
 
 " Always." 
 
 " Be careful ; never forget it. If anything should 
 happen, I too should die." He kissed her quivering 
 mouth. " I wonder if I had told him if I had asked 
 his permission. He may hate the world, but he 
 loves me." 
 
 " Could he love anything anyone ? " 
 
 " He loves Nippon," she said, almost by way of an 
 apology. " Therefore love is not dead in him." 
 
 " But he would have married you to Takemoto." 
 
 " You do not quite understand. He is an Oriental 
 and looks at things with Eastern eyes." 
 
 ' True," he answered ; " I do not profess to 
 understand the East." 
 
 " Yet this, too, came out of the East." 
 
 She held up the book she had been reading. He 
 saw with a feeling of mingled pride and amazement 
 that it was a copy of the New Testament. 
 
 ' You understand, Iris ? " 
 
 " I think so. Listen." She read slowly, with an 
 intensity of expression which seemed to discover 
 new depths in her : 
 
 ' And God shall wipe away all tears from their 
 eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow 
 nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain.' '
 
 278 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " It has comforted many," he said in a low voice, 
 no less earnest than her own. 
 
 " To me it is singularly beautiful." 
 
 Reverently he laid his hand on her shoulder, for 
 suddenly, added to the woman he adored, he saw 
 the soul of her, and she grew sacred to his touch. 
 
 At the best he meant this house at Harrow to be 
 but a temporary shelter, it being too near town and 
 Dr. Mohri for him to feel perfectly secure. He knew 
 of a quiet place in Devonshire, on the confines of 
 Dartmoor, where, Mohri once eluded, they might 
 hope for security ; but, previous to that, he must 
 make her his wife. Once married, and with the 
 greater right to protect her, he felt that, even in the 
 worst extremity, he would be able to meet Dr. Mohri 
 on firmer ground. 
 
 He told her all this as they paced up and down 
 the garden after lunch The house inhabited by 
 the Worsleys was a pretty, gabled, detached, red- 
 brick building, unpretentious, yet showing much 
 evidence of care and comfort. Though the front 
 garden was small, there was a fair stretch of ground 
 at the back, a part of which, at the bottom, was used 
 as a kitchen garden, the whole being surrounded by 
 a red-brick wall surmounted by broken glass. In 
 the right-hand bottom corner was a clump of apple 
 and pear trees blotting out that portion of the wall. 
 
 Arm in arm the lovers sauntered up and down the
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 279 
 
 well-shaven lawn which stretched to the beginning of 
 the kitchen garden, earnestly discussing their plans 
 for the future, when of a sudden Kenneth came to 
 a standstill, his eyes glued upon the afore-mentioned 
 clump of trees. Then with a low exclamation he 
 dashed from her side and made a precipitate rush 
 for the spot. He had caught, or thought he had, 
 the glimmer of a pair of eyes staring at them 
 through the leaves. 
 
 Yet, even though he mounted the wall, he saw 
 nothing, nor could he discover the slightest trace ol 
 anyone having been there. She came towards him 
 with a white, scared face and eyes that were full oi 
 terror. 
 
 " What is it ? " she gasped. 
 
 " My mistake, of course. Foolish of me. I'm 
 sorry." 
 
 ' You saw something ? " 
 
 " Thought I did. Of course it was only my fancy. 
 I'm always seeing things will always see them 
 until this is over." 
 
 But she was not to be satisfied with this lame 
 explanation. Tremblingly she laid her hands on 
 his shoulders and looked up at him with a pitiful 
 expression. 
 
 " What was it ? tell me." 
 
 " A pair of eyes peering at us through the leaves." 
 
 She shuddered. He caught her hands, pressing
 
 280 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 them warmly, and laughed, but not as whole- 
 heartedly as he imagined. 
 
 " All fancy," he said, " the result of a heated 
 imagination. Look, there are a thousand holes 
 between those leaves which one might easily confuse 
 with eyes. That's how perfectly sane and honest 
 people see ghosts." 
 
 " Let us go in," she said. 
 
 ' You are afraid, Iris ? " 
 
 " Of him always." 
 
 " But he would not harm you ? " 
 
 " He might take me away from you." Help- 
 lessly, pitifully, she looked around. To her the air 
 was full of mystery and terror ; she seemed obsessed 
 by the fear of unseen but ever-present fatality ; 
 as though out of the unknown destiny in some horrid 
 shape would strike. " You won't let them take 
 me away from you ? " she pleaded. 
 
 " Not while 1 live." 
 
 But truth to tell he too had that sense of dread 
 which he found so difficult to combat. 
 
 They agreed to say nothing to Molly Worsley of 
 their fears, which, when analysed, resolved them- 
 selves into nothing more than terrors of the imagina- 
 tion. What else could they be ? Supposing even 
 that a man had been watching them over the wall, 
 it was nothing but then- fear that connected him 
 with Dr. Mohri. Assuming even that some one had
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 281 
 
 been there, it might have been only a tramp, or a 
 boy intent on plundering the fruit trees. 
 
 He told her all this, again and again he repeated 
 the assurance to himself. He had discovered no 
 one, there was not even a trace of anyone to be 
 found : yet he counselled prudence as they drew 
 near the house, and begged of her not to stir out of 
 doors while he was away. On the morrow he would 
 return and take her far into the country, where they 
 would be free of all fear of pursuit. 
 
 It was dusk when he reached the Temple. The 
 square was deserted, business being once more over 
 for the day. Mounting the stairs, two steps at a time, 
 he reached his own landing and quickly opened the 
 door. The room was in darkness, but feeling for the 
 switch he turned on the light. As he looked round 
 he saw Dr. Mohri sitting in his own particular 
 arm-chair placidly blinking up at him.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 "^TEEDLESS to say the unexpected apparition 
 
 of the little doctor gave him a terrific shock. 
 
 Instinctively his hand went to his pocket, an 
 
 action which caused Mohri's lip to curl rather 
 
 superciliously. 
 
 ' There is no necessity," he said, the smile 
 deepening. Kenneth Everard had forgotten that 
 Dr. Mohri could smile. He would rather the feat 
 had been impossible. 
 
 " What do you want here ? -how did you get in ? " 
 
 " I wanted to see you ; and 1 came in through 
 the door." 
 
 " Broke in ? " 
 
 " Obviously, as the door was shut, 1 had no other 
 alternative." 
 
 Gazing at that calm, insignificant, imperturbable 
 figure, Kenneth could not realise that this was the 
 maniac, the monster for whose life the country was 
 positively howling. Never, perhaps, had crime sat 
 so lightly, or so insignificantly, on any human being. 
 
 282
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 283 
 
 It seemed impossible that this could be the man 
 who had set London England in a ferment. 
 Crime, even in its most hideous form, lost all the 
 fierce brutality of its force in such a guise. He should 
 have been horrible to look at, tigerish, wolfish, not 
 withered benevolence blinking through steel-rimmed 
 spectacles. Looking at him was to fill one more with 
 wonder than loathing ; amazement tempered fear, 
 incredulity almost blotted out anger and horror. 
 
 Not in the least perturbed, though well he knew 
 how his presence affected Everard, he continued to 
 blink upon that young man with as much composure 
 as he would have watched the antics of a moth round 
 a flame. 
 
 " Mr. Everard," he said, babbling smoothly and 
 easily as a child, " I had hoped it would not be 
 necessary again to warn you of the unpleasantness 
 that may accompany interference with my affairs. 
 Also I had hoped, having already received one 
 warning, that you would exercise a greater discretion 
 thereafter. I regret to see that you are one of 
 those people who fail to profit by experience. This, 
 as you may imagine, is extremely painful to me, 
 having no use for fools." 
 
 Kenneth nodded with the slow sang-froid of one 
 who was absolute master of his emotions, though 
 dreading every moment that those emotions would 
 master him.
 
 284 THE CTRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " I don't think there is any necessity for us to 
 discuss the relative value of fools," he said, assuming 
 an ease he was far from feeling. " I presume you 
 have come to demand the whereabouts of your 
 niece, but if you expect to terrorise either her or me, 
 you will find that you are mightily mistaken." 
 
 " No, no ; nothing was further from my thoughts. 
 Why should I come to ask you the whereabouts of 
 my niece, when I know ? " 
 
 " You know ? " echoed the other incredulously. 
 ' You took her to the house of Mr. Worsiey at 
 Harrow. I approve of your conduct, Mr. Everard ; 
 indeed there is much in you that I admire, however 
 wrong I may consider it. The unfortunate thing is 
 that our interests seem to clash." 
 
 " I love your niece, Dr. Mohri, and she has promised 
 to be my wife." 
 
 " Women will promise anything ; it is character- 
 istically charming of them. Occasionally we wise 
 ones step between them and their promises for 
 their own good. While admitting that Mrs. Worsiey 
 may possess every admirable attribute of her sex, 
 I have thought it better to remove my niece from 
 her care." 
 
 " Do you think that will be easy ? " 
 
 " I shall be extremely surprised if it has not been 
 done already." 
 
 Kenneth looked bewildered. Then he advanced a
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 285 
 
 quick step nearer the little man. The right hand, 
 which all this time had been in his pocket, took a 
 firmer hold of the revolver. 
 
 " What do you mean by that ? " 
 
 Dr. Mohri looked up blinking, unperturbed. 
 
 " If my orders have been carried out, which I 
 have no doubt is the case, my niece has already 
 forsaken the protection of Mrs. Worsley." 
 
 " You boast." 
 
 " Sometimes I do more." 
 
 There was no doubt of that. Kenneth shuddered. 
 And yet he had no personal fear of this man ; rather 
 was the feeling in him one of irritation, annoyance. 
 He flew across to the telephone and bawled the 
 Worsleys' number into it, the while his eyes were 
 glued to his unwelcome visitor, who sat as calmly 
 as though this matter did not in the least 
 concern him. 
 
 Receiving no reply to his call Kenneth rattled the 
 receiver furiously. 
 
 " Don't get angry with them," purred the soft 
 voice from the chair. "It is really not their fault ; 
 they are quite unable to answer. The connection 
 is severed." 
 
 " By you ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes." 
 
 Furiously replacing the receiver, Kenneth strode 
 back and confronted that impassive figure.
 
 286 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Get out of this," he said harshly. " For her 
 sake I give you one more chance. Quit the country, 
 go back to Japan with your cursed invention, or 
 whatever you call it, and if you want to murder, 
 murder your own people." 
 
 " She has been indiscreet, this niece of mine ? Alas ! 
 it is the way with women, even the best of them ! " 
 
 " I know who you are and what you are. I know 
 you murdered my cousin as you have murdered 
 Takemoto, as you have murdered so many innocent 
 people. A mad dog is more fit to live than you." 
 
 " Then why not denounce me ? " 
 
 " Because of her, and the shame a knowledge 
 of your relationship would bring on her. This sort 
 of thing must end, Mohri ; you must quit the 
 country at once. It is the last chance you will 
 ever get of saving your miserable neck." 
 
 " And should I fail to be intimidated by your 
 threats ? " 
 
 " I will at once denounce you to the police." 
 
 ' You are rash, Mr. Everard, knowing my power. 
 Even now, if I so wished, I could destroy you where 
 you stand." 
 
 Kenneth whipped the revolver from his pocket 
 and held it within a yard of the man's head. 
 
 " Keep your hands out of your pockets," he- 
 warned, " unless you want me to blow your brains 
 out."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 287 
 
 Perceptibly the doctor shrank from those fierce 
 eyes, that threatening pistol. But he did not 
 attempt to rise, nor did he fumble at his pockets. 
 On the contrary, calmly, almost ostentatiously, he 
 stretched his slender little hands along the arms 
 of the chair. Then he looked up with that smile 
 which was deeper than the gaze of the Sphinx. 
 
 " Pray do not excite yourself unduly. Had 1 
 wished to kill you I could have done it a dozen times 
 within the last ten minutes. I could do it now even 
 though you seem to command the situation." 
 
 " I think not," answered the other grimly. 
 
 Mohri shrugged his shoulders, the while his slender 
 fingers beat a delicate tattoo on the leather arms of 
 the chair. 
 
 " Remember," he said, " the number of times I 
 have had you at my mercy. If I were what you 
 believe me to be, could I have been so generous ? " 
 
 " What can I believe you to be, except what you 
 are a murderer and a discredit to humanity ! 
 The only consolation to be found is in the knowledge 
 that you are not a white man." 
 
 " I am equally pleased with that knowledge. 
 You and your white men ! " he sneered, his thin 
 mouth twitching angrily. " And all England, all 
 Europe, is trembling at the exploits of one despised 
 Oriental. What do you think it will be when we 
 swarm across your country in our tens of thousands,
 
 288 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 burning, destroying, your cities ravaged, your 
 homesteads in flames ! " 
 
 " So that is your dream ! Others have dreamt it 
 before and -they have gone the way of all such 
 dreamers." 
 
 A slow smile spread over the narrow yellow face, 
 and for a moment seemed to irradiate the high 
 cheekbones. 
 
 " Perhaps it would not be profitable to discuss any 
 such contingency. Dream your fool-greatness : let 
 it lap you in a heavy slumber of vanity until the 
 awakening." 
 
 " What you conceive to be a heavy slumber is 
 merely the repose of the giant. His limbs are 
 strong, his brain clear he does not sleep, he rests. 
 Go back with that message to your people : tell 
 them to banish their vain dreams of conquest. A 
 disastrous triumph over a demoralised foe, fighting 
 thousands of miles from his base, has turned your 
 silly heads. The white race will always keep you 
 where you are, where you deserve to be. You are 
 not great enough to be free : only foolish enough 
 to be vain and unscrupulous." 
 
 " Yet you would marry one of our people, the 
 people your high superiority despises." 
 
 " I despise no people, though I may loathe the 
 individual." 
 
 " She has my blood in her veins the blood of a
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 289 
 
 murderer. There were moments when I might 
 have made of her what I would." 
 
 ' That you refrained is to your credit, Dr. Mohri. 
 For that I owe you something, and here, now, I 
 wish to discharge the debt. It is the recollection 
 of this, of what you have been to her, of what she 
 thought you were, that has held me back so long. 
 But an end has come to my forbearance. You 
 must leave England at once." 
 
 " I have your permission to depart ? " The low 
 voice rang with the faintest suspicion of a taunt. 
 ' That is exceedingly good of you, but culpable. 
 I believe your law recognises the offence of being 
 accessory after the fact. But my work is finished. 
 I have no further use for you or yours at present. 
 You may doubt me, Mr. Kenneth Everard, but in 
 spite of your excessive foolishness there is something 
 in you that I admire. According to your lights you 
 are an honest man, and however much I may deplore 
 an excess of honesty in a world where only the 
 rogue and the hypocrite prosper, I have a per- 
 verted admiration for honesty. Iris-san, my 
 honoured niece, is honest. I think, also, her father 
 was an honest man : at least, my honourable sister 
 always protested so with much feminine vehemence ; 
 although one must make every allowance for the 
 adoration of that strange sex, which creates a god 
 to-day and hurls him from his shrine to-morrow. 
 
 T
 
 2go THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 Almost I regret my determination not to let her 
 marry a white man. She is of the East, she must 
 remain of the East. It is imperative to my scheme 
 of things." 
 
 " Your scheme of things ? Murder ? " 
 
 " Incidentally, perhaps, as the slaying in battle 
 is murder. I foresee trouble with authority out 
 there even as your dreamers here are stifled beneath 
 a mountainous dust-heap of officialism. You think 
 of us as a people in the van of progress, quite for- 
 getting the fact that we are an Oriental people 
 still swathed in the ignorant superstition of long- 
 dead centuries, flaunting in our caps the peacock 
 feather of vanity. But in that ignorance lies our 
 strength, for from the ignorant only can we com- 
 mand allegiance to the death. Is it not so with all 
 the fighting peoples ? On that ignorance the men 
 who rule rely. There would be no great king, no 
 great statesman, no great soldier or sailor were 
 it not for the brute ignorance of the common herd. 
 That authority can always command : I shall com- 
 mand authority." 
 
 " Yet you seemed to doubt." 
 
 " Hence my niece must be taught my secret. 
 I have no son to take my place, no one in whom I 
 dare confide. That is why she must return with 
 me. I take this trouble to explain, because I 
 wish you to understand the apparently unwarrant-
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 291 
 
 able position I have taken up. Personally, I should 
 be most happ}^ to respect her wishes if they did not 
 clash with my schemes, but the circumstances are 
 such that it is imperative she return with me." 
 
 " And do you suggest that she will agree to con- 
 tinue these horrible murders ? " 
 
 " What you call murder I call by quite another 
 name. But since we do not seem to agree on this 
 point I see no use in further discussing it. Perhaps 
 you do not realise that my experiments are at an 
 end ? The machine is perfected. In the future it 
 will help the conquering armies of Dai Nippon to 
 sweep everything before them. That will not be 
 murder, but war, which your priests bless and call 
 noble ! If I should die, my secret must not die 
 with me, that is all. Do I make myself quite 
 clear ? " 
 
 All this he spoke naturally, conversationally, in 
 a tone so matter-of-fact as to make his listener 
 wonder if he could be hearing aright, to doubt that 
 this inoffensive, persuasive little person could really 
 be the cold-blooded monster of his imagination. 
 And that moment of doubt was his undoing, one 
 for which those little eyes with the lizard lids had 
 been watching. With a lightning-like spring Mohri 
 was out of the chair and had struck Kenneth a blow 
 on the wrist which for the moment deprived him 
 of all power. The revolver flew from his fingers,
 
 292 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 and before he realised what had happened Mohri 
 had pounced on it. 
 
 " My turn now," he said, levelling it at Everard's 
 face. " You have not yet learned to seize your 
 opportunities. A most lamentable error." 
 
 Kenneth fell back a pace or two, reading murder 
 in the doctor's eyes. He had no doubt that Mohri 
 meant to kill him, as he had killed so many others. 
 In that calm, impassive face he read a meaning 
 which boded little hope. 
 
 " For the moment I was mistaken, and I deserve 
 to pay. I should have remembered the viper you 
 are and crushed you without mercy." The little 
 man admitted as much with a grave inclination and 
 an unemotional stare, the very fixity of which was 
 fate in its most implacable mood. " Well, why do 
 you hesitate ? Why don't you shoot ? " 
 
 " That is not my way, Mr. Everard," he purred. 
 " Firearms make a noise, and I happen to possess 
 an intense dislike to all noise. When I kill, I kill 
 softly, gently, with the supreme art of my race. 
 Your violent Western methods never did appeal to 
 me. One breathes, and then ceases to be. It is 
 decidedly better both for the experimentalist and 
 his subject." 
 
 He laid the revolver on the table beside him 
 as if in mockery of his victim, at the same time 
 slipping his other hand into his pocket. When it
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 293 
 
 came out again Kenneth saw that he held a small, 
 whitish-looking globe in his fingers. This he poised 
 daintily as if in the act of throwing. A low, long 
 whine came from a door on the right. It was the 
 great Airedale. A slow smile full of meaning crossed 
 Mohri's face. 
 
 " I regret the necessity, " he said, " but circum- 
 stances render it imperative. You know just a 
 little too much, Mr. Everard. Takemoto-san knew 
 too much, and now he knows nothing. It is better 
 thus. Men die easily this way. Many will experi- 
 ence it later : you will have the advantage of them. 
 Also I might experience some difficulty in persuading 
 my niece to return with me if she thought you were 
 alive. Please accept my most humble apologies." 
 
 With a sharp yelp the dog hurled himself at the 
 door. Then he began to scratch and whine. A cruel 
 smile pursed Mohri's thin lips. Kenneth saw and 
 understood. Thoughts, hopes, fears flashed through 
 his brain. If the dog could only break through! 
 But Mohri stood between him and the door, that 
 innocent-looking globe of death poised in his fingers. 
 
 " You fully understand," cooed the little man, 
 " that I much regret the necessity ? Your own 
 intrusive actions have rendered it imperative." 
 
 " Why do you hesitate ? What is one murder 
 more or less to a monster like 3^011 ? " 
 
 " Nothing. It was not of that T thought. Oh,
 
 294 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 no ! The duty of man, as of nations, is to sweep the 
 enemy from his path. Unhappily, you have con- 
 stituted yourself my enemy, and you must go, swept 
 up, dissipated. Even if I wished, I could not afford 
 to let you live. No one must know my secret and 
 live. No," as Kenneth looked wildly round, " I 
 assure you there is no possible way of escape. If 
 you look at that clock you will see that it is now 
 two minutes to the hour. On the stroke of its 
 first chime you will cease to exist." 
 
 " Why wait so long ? " Kenneth asked, despair 
 driving him to the point of recklessness. " I ought 
 to have shot you like the dog that you are when I 
 had the chance. God forgive me for a fool ! " 
 
 " I admit that was an extraordinary error, for 
 which you are -now about to atone. Believe me, 
 even at this last moment, I would show favour if I 
 dared ; but I must kill you, Mr. Everard, otherwise 
 I imperil my scheme of things. You should have 
 taken warning, and so avoided rne and mine." 
 
 He saw the little man take a swift glance at the 
 clock. Instinctively his eyes wandered in the 
 same direction. It was but a question of seconds 
 now. Then, suddenly remembering, his hand went 
 to his breast pocket. At that moment the silver 
 chime struck the first note. Mohri leaned over 
 the table and hurled the bomb at his face. But, 
 acting on impulse, he sprang in the air, clapping
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 295 
 
 the pad of linen to his mouth. The missile struck him 
 just below the neck and exploded with a muffled 
 sound. A bluish vapour rose above his head. For 
 a second or so he swayed like one who has been partly 
 stunned by a blow, and Mohri, a similar pad of linen 
 across his own face, watched him with wonder and 
 incredulity. But, as Kenneth staggered towards the 
 table, his free hand outstretched, Mohri, realising in a 
 flash what that action meant, tilted the table and 
 sprang towards the door, reaching which he switched 
 off the light. 
 
 He heard Kenneth stumble and knew he was 
 searching for the revolver, which had fallen on 
 Everard's side of the room. A moment two 
 three he waited. Then suddenly he opened the 
 door, sprang out, and snapped it to behind him. A 
 bullet splintered the panel as he passed through. 
 
 Kenneth staggered across after him, for not- 
 withstanding the antidote a little of the fumes 
 had penetrated his brain, one hand holding the pad 
 to his mouth and nose, the other gripping the re- 
 volver. He did not wait to switch on the light, 
 but pulling the door open dashed on to the landing. 
 
 Not a trace of Mohri was to be seen. For a 
 moment, but for a moment only, he hesitated. 
 Then he dashed down the stairs at a breakneck 
 pace, and so out into the open. He did not doubt 
 that Mohri had made his exit by way of the lane
 
 296 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 into Fleet Street, and like one gone suddenly mad 
 with the lust of murder he dashed that way. Out 
 of the shadows of the lane he saw a form emerge 
 and come towards him. Up went the revolver, 
 and in his madness he might have fired had not the 
 light from an adjacent lamp shown the newcomer 
 to be Jeffrey Colburne. 
 
 " Where is he ? " 
 
 " You, Ken ! What on earth 
 
 " Have you seen him ? " 
 
 " Him ? " 
 
 " Dr. Mohri ! He went this way." 
 
 " I have seen no one. What does it mean ? " 
 
 Colburne, taking his friend by the arm, found 
 that he was shaking horribly. A strong smell of 
 chemicals seemed to infect the air. 
 
 "He has been here that devil out of hell. We 
 had a tussle. Ugh ! Let's get back. Can't you 
 hear the dog howling ? " 
 
 Away across the still air came the long howl of a 
 dog, which in turn was followed by a succession of 
 sharp, fierce barks. The two men hurried along, 
 both too bewildered to speak.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 A T the very moment that Kenneth Everard 
 4 was facing death in his chambers in the 
 Temple, Iris woke from a troubled dream to 
 behold Yoban's slit eyes staring at her in the 
 moonlight. The window was open, and as the cold 
 air blew in it gently stirred the curtains. She sat 
 up shivering, but made no sound. She was not one 
 of those girls who scream in any and every emer- 
 gency, though even had she attempted to do so 
 the watchful servant was ready to stifle the cry in 
 her throat. As it was he stood over her, his finger to 
 his lips, thereby enjoining silence. 
 
 " What do you want ? " she asked in a low voice. 
 
 ' The honourable lady must dress herself and 
 come with me." 
 
 " I cannot go with you." 
 
 " He commands." 
 
 " I will not. How dare you enter this room ? " 
 
 " Pardon, honourable lady, it is not I. He 
 commands." 
 
 " I will alarm the house." 
 297
 
 2gS THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " It cannot matter ; and it may be dangerous," 
 he added in a warning tone. 
 
 " For you." 
 
 " For your honourable friends. He commands : 
 we obey." 
 
 " Where would you take me ? " 
 
 " Back to him who waits." 
 
 " I refuse to go." Vexatiously she bit her lip. 
 
 " I hope the honourable lady will not make it 
 necessary for me to use force." 
 
 " You dare ! " 
 
 " I obey my master," he answered in the tone of 
 one who acted without volition of his own. 
 
 " Yoban, I don't wish to go back : I can't. I am 
 frightened. My uncle has made it impossible for 
 me to live with him. I do not wish to see him 
 again : I want him to forget me." 
 
 " Orders, lady, the master's orders. I beg of you 
 to consider my position and help me. It is not I 
 who do this thing, who dare to penetrate your 
 honourable chamber. Lady, I implore you to go 
 with me ; and make no sound, otherwise we shall 
 be forced to deal with your friends." 
 
 " We ? " 
 
 " They wait in the garden." 
 
 If this was true there was no hope for her : there 
 would be no hope for her friends should they attempt 
 to interfere. She hadn't the slightest doubt that
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 299 
 
 jack Worsley would show fight : he was the sort 
 of person who would plunge into battle with no 
 thought of self. And if anything should happen, 
 as she was sure it would, how could she look Molly 
 Worsley in the face, how Kenneth ? They had been 
 good to her, kind beyond all seeming. Molly she 
 already loved as a sister. To lure her husband to 
 destruction would be the devil's way of showing love 
 worthy the niece of Dr. Mohri. 
 
 " I will come," she said. 
 
 Yoban strode over to the window and looked 
 out while she slipped into her clothes. This window 
 gave on to a small balcony, which in its turn was 
 only a few feet from the ground. When she 
 announced herself as being ready he beckoned her 
 out on to the balcony. On the grass plot below a 
 man stood in the shadow cast by a wing of the 
 building. She recognised him as one of the native 
 servants. He steadied her drop as Yoban helped 
 her over. Then with an agile movement Yoban 
 leapt the rail and softly alighted beside her. 
 
 They escorted her in the shadow of shrub and tree 
 until they reached the bottom of the garden. The gate 
 was opened and they passed out. After making a de - 
 tour of several of the houses they came, at the corner 
 of a deserted street, upon the car. Without speaking 
 Yoban opened the door and she stepped in. The 
 next moment they were speeding towards Hampstead.
 
 300 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 It had all taken place so quietly and so swiftlv 
 that she almost failed to realise what had happened 
 until the car was well on its way. Then the thought 
 occurred to her that she might at least have made 
 some show of resistance, though this regret passed 
 swiftly. She was not really afraid again to face 
 her uncle, notwithstanding her knowledge of him, 
 and she had the satisfaction of believing that in 
 thus acting she had saved the Worsleys from 
 probable disaster. That, at all events, she had by 
 her acquiescence avoided, and from this fact she 
 
 wrung all the consolation that was obtainable. 
 * * * * * 
 
 In the meantime Kenneth and Jeffrey Colburne. 
 having re-entered their chambers, the former at 
 once sprang across to the telephone and endeavoured 
 to open up communication with the exchange ; 
 but as no answer was returned to him he realised 
 that what Mohri had said was true, and after a few 
 moments' search he discovered where the wire had 
 been severed. Blankly he looked at his companion. 
 
 " I must get through to them at Harrow. She 
 may be in the greatest danger." 
 
 " I wonder if Simpson's in ? " was Colburne's 
 suggestion. 
 
 " Let us go up and see." 
 
 Simpson, who had a suite of chambers above them, 
 was intimate with the two friends, so that they had
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 301 
 
 little compunction in knocking him up at that hour 
 of the night. Kenneth dashed out, followed by 
 his friend, and bounded up the stairs two steps at 
 a time. Fortunately, Simpson was in. Clad in a 
 loose, shabby dressing-gown, a pipe in his mouth, a 
 ponderous-looking law-book in his hand, he opened 
 the door in answer to Kenneth's vigorous knocking. 
 A look of astonishment crossed his rather sallow, 
 ill-shapen face as Kenneth blundered in. 
 
 " Hullo ! " he cried. " Burglars ? " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Heard your pup kicking up an awful shindy. 
 Thought I heard a shot." 
 
 " Then you woke up. I say, old chap, may I use 
 your 'phone ? " 
 
 " Of course ; but I really don't think I was asleep." 
 
 Without waiting to explain Kenneth dashed 
 across the room and snatched at the receiver. 
 Simpson looked at Colburne with elevated brows : 
 Colburne replied with an air of intense mystery. 
 Simpson, who was an extremely placid man, laid 
 down his book and calmly relit his pipe. 
 
 " Have they answered ? " asked the man at the 
 exchange. 
 
 " Not yet." 
 
 " You're through all right." 
 
 " They are probably in bed." 
 
 " I'll call them up again."
 
 302 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 An interminable waiting. The only sound heard 
 in the room was the noise made by Simpson as he 
 pulled rather strenuously at his pipe. 
 
 "Hullo!" 
 
 ' ' Hullo ! ' ' answered Kenneth . "Is that you, Jack ? ' ' 
 
 " Who is it ? " 
 
 " Kenneth." 
 
 " Good lord ! What's wrong ? " , 
 
 " That's what I want you to tell me. Is Iris safe ?" 
 
 " Safe ! What d'ye mean ? Of course she is." 
 
 " Are you sure ? " 
 
 " Sure ? She went to bed three hours ago." 
 
 " Is she there now ? " 
 
 A low chuckle came over the line. 
 
 " How the deuce should I know ? " 
 
 " Go and see, there's a dear fellow." 
 
 " What me ? " 
 
 " For God's sake go. It's serious. I believe 
 her to be in great danger. Go quickly. I'm 
 half mad with terror." 
 
 " Well I'm All right. Cling to the line." 
 
 Kenneth hung to it in an agony of expectation. 
 Every sense was stretched to its utmost to catch the 
 slightest sound. He did not seem to be aware of the 
 presence of the others until Simpson struck another 
 match, for which he received a diabolical scowl. 
 His mind was following Jack Worsley as he mounted 
 the stairs : he almost fancied he could hear the
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 303 
 
 knock on the door. Colburne watched him anxiously 
 as though in anticipation of the worst : Simpson 
 looked from Colburne to the man at the telephone 
 with a placid air of disinterestedness which deeply 
 belied the true state of his feelings. As a fact his 
 mind was sharply inquiring who was " she," and 
 what it all meant. After an almost intolerable 
 interlude the one-sided conversation, as far as the 
 listeners were concerned, was resumed. 
 
 " Are you there ? " came over the line from 
 Harrow in an excited voice. 
 
 " Yes, yes ! " 
 
 " Miss May ford is not in her room." 
 
 " Gone ! " 
 
 " Evidently." 
 
 " Sure ? " 
 
 " Absolutely." 
 
 " No clue ? " 
 
 " None." 
 
 ' You do not think she is in the house ? " 
 
 " Sure she's not." 
 
 " You heard nothing ? " 
 
 " Nothing. Her bed has been slept in, but her 
 clothes are gone. The window of her room was 
 wide open. I had to break in the door." 
 
 " Good God ! " 
 
 " What do you suspect, old man ? What does 
 it mean ? "
 
 304| THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 " Thanks, Jack. Sorry to trouble you. Does 
 Molly know ? " 
 
 " She's here with me now. Can we do anything ? " 
 
 " Nothing, thanks. Good-night." 
 
 " Good-night. But, Ken 
 
 But Kenneth had clapped back the receiver and 
 so severed connection. His face was white, his lips 
 twitched nervously as he turned to the two men. 
 
 " Thanks ever so much, Simpson," he muttered. 
 " Awfully sorry to trouble you." 
 
 " No trouble, old boy. Sorry things haven't 
 panned out satisfactorily. Can I be of any further 
 service ? " 
 
 Kenneth shook his head and made for the door, 
 Colburne following. Closing the door after them, 
 Simpson returned to his pipe and his book and 
 his thoughts. 
 
 " Well, he's got her," Kenneth explained as soon 
 as they had returned to their own chambers. 
 " While he was here holding me in check, his people 
 broke in at Harrow and carried her off." 
 
 " He moves swiftly, and to some purpose, this 
 Dr. Mohri." 
 
 " We, too, must move swiftly. You're in with me 
 in this ? " 
 
 " My dear fellow ! " 
 
 In answer to a further and prolonged whining of the 
 dog he went to the door and let the great fellow out.
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 305 
 
 " Here's another auxiliary," he said, stroking the 
 animal, who whined and capered round him for 
 joy. " We'll take him with us." 
 
 " Where ? " 
 
 " Where we are going. She described the house 
 at Golder's Green its situation. I shall find it : 
 and even if I fail, the dog won't. You'd know his 
 scent, old fellow, wouldn't you, even though a 
 thousand crossed it ? " 
 
 The dog, his head against his master's knee, looked 
 up with clear, unblinking eyes. 
 
 ' You think they have taken her there ? " 
 
 " We shall see. If they haven't, we're done for." 
 
 Swiftly he examined his revolver, reloading the 
 empty chamber. Then he slipped the weapon into 
 his pocket along with a handful of loose cartridges, 
 which he took from the drawer of his desk. Silently 
 Colburne did the same. The dog looked on, his 
 tail wagging as if in approval, his eyes shining like 
 diamonds. 
 
 " We are going to find her, Inu," he said. The 
 dog rubbed his great shaggy body against his 
 master's legs and whined. " We have an account 
 to settle, you and I. Remember, no mercy this 
 time." 
 The dog stiffened. 
 
 " I believe he knows," said Colburne. 
 
 u
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 TN the drawing-room of the house at Golder's 
 - Green Iris sat huddled in the arm-chair biting 
 her lips with the vexation of defeat. Her hair 
 which had been hastily knotted preparatory to her 
 departure from Harrow, had fallen loose, and 
 a roll of it lay across her shoulder thick, black, 
 lustrous, sweet-smelling. Her hat, fallen awry, gave 
 her an almost jaunty appearance in dejection. 
 Dr. Mohri, his hands behind his back, stood by the 
 fireplace blinking at her through his steel-rimmed 
 spectacles. He was as placid, as imperturbable as 
 ever, and for all outward emotion shown by him 
 as sure of himself as he had ever been. 
 
 " Why did you do it ? " she asked angrily. " I 
 had no wish to see you again I have no wish to 
 see you. Knowing you as you are, I fear you. 
 With fear there can be no love." 
 
 " Have I not tried to explain ? You are necessary 
 to my scheme of things. There is no one else whom 
 I can trust. If I should go, you must carry on 
 
 306
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 307 
 
 my secret : should I survive and reach Nippon, much 
 honour and glory await us both." 
 
 " I refuse to be a party to your detestable schemes : 
 I will have nothing to do with them. Go, return 
 to Nippon if you wish, but leave me in peace." 
 
 " I cannot leave you in peace, Iris-san ; I cannot 
 leave myself in peace. Having ventured so far, I 
 must march on to the end. Moreover 
 
 " Moreover ? " 
 
 " It is not my wish that you should ally yourself 
 with a white man. I hate all white men : I live 
 only for the day of their humiliation the triumph 
 of Nippon. Listen, Iris-san : much as I have loved 
 you and found comfort in you, I would rather see 
 you dead than know that the child of my honourable 
 sister was in the arms of one of this detested race. 
 Therefore I sent for you to come to me, and like a 
 dutiful child you came." 
 
 " But not for love of you," she answered boldly, 
 " but fear for the friends who had been kind to me." 
 
 "It is the same thing. Then you have no fear 
 for yourself ? " 
 
 " None. You may kill me as you have killed 
 others. I should not be the first woman you had 
 struck down." 
 
 Unruffled he answered : " These women are the 
 mothers of these men. Not that I strike at women, 
 but if they cross my path, they must be swept
 
 308 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 aside. But you it is of you I would speak. My 
 secret is known to more than one. He knows : 
 how many more by this time I cannot say. Ob- 
 viously it would imperil our chances if we were 
 to attempt to reach Liverpool. We must quit 
 London by another route." 
 
 " Do you think that will help you ? Do you 
 suppose that you can avoid the penalty of your 
 crimes ? Though you hide on sea or on land the 
 fate which you have courted will assuredly track 
 you down. No man can do as you have done and 
 escape punishment. It would be against all reason, 
 all law, all sense of justice. God, fate, destiny, 
 Providence whatever you like to call it is not 
 the impotent fancy of a superstitious mind. In the 
 life of man there is a controlling force which you 
 have outraged, flaunted, jeered at, and it is now 
 about to take its revenge on you. I would not be 
 you for all the wealth and glory of Nippon past 
 and to come." 
 
 " I have met that controlling force and have 
 conquered it : I shall conquer it always. Man 
 moulds his destiny : he does not leave it to the 
 whim of chance. But time presses. You will go 
 with me, Iris-san reasonably, decorously ? " 
 
 " I cannot ! " 
 
 " Cannot ? " 
 
 " Dare not ! I fear you : I should be in constant
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 309 
 
 terror of you : I should be ashamed of you. If go 
 you must, and if you are wise you will fly before you 
 hear the knocking at the door, go, in God's name, 
 but leave me behind ! " 
 
 Involuntarily his eyes turned towards the door, 
 and she knew that he was listening. 
 
 " I cannot go without you," he said quietly, 
 softly, and yet as if with finality. "It is always 
 dangerous to leave a traitor behind." 
 
 " Traitor ! " 
 
 " You are not that ? You have not warned thr 
 enemy of my secret ? " 
 
 " I ? No ! What makes you think that I would 
 betray you ? " 
 
 " I had not thought so once, but I have 
 had proof. What did you give to Kenneth 
 Everard ? " 
 
 She started forward with a gasp, her eyes wide 
 with terror, her lips suddenly frozen. 
 
 " Have you killed him, too ? Have you struck 
 him down as you did the others ? " She advanced 
 on him, her eyes blazing with sudden fury, her lips 
 trembling. In her heart was no thought of fear. 
 The tigress robbed of her cub, the mother of her 
 first-born, would know as little sense of terror. 
 " If you have if you have done this I will kill 
 you with my own hands, oji-san." 
 
 " Peace, peace ! " he commanded. " I have not
 
 3io THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 killed him. Is it possible that he can be so much 
 to you ? " 
 
 "If he is dead," she continued fiercely, " I will 
 hate you through all eternity. Living I will hound 
 you to your doom : dead I will follow you into the 
 unknown." 
 
 Slowly he nodded, as if comprehending all. 
 
 "In an hour's time," he said, " the car will be 
 waiting for us. Go and prepare yourself for the 
 journey." 
 
 " He is dead ? You have killed him ? " 
 
 " He is not dead." 
 
 " But you tried ! Ah, thank God ! " 
 
 " Why do you thank God ? Whose God ? " 
 
 He knew the thought running through her mind 
 had reference to the stolen pad of finen. He had 
 wondered if she had seen him place it to his mouth 
 as he stood over the huddled body of Takemoto. 
 
 " You will be ready in an hour ? " he said. 
 
 " I cannot go with you," she answered slowly. 
 "I do not wish to see you again. Is not that 
 enough ? You could not wish one to accompany 
 you who finds your presence abhorrent ? " 
 
 " Don't you understand ? I dare not leave a 
 traitor behind." 
 
 " A traitor I ! " 
 
 " Is it necessary to prolong this unedifying dis- 
 cussion ? It is imperative that you come with
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 311 
 
 me, Iris-san. I could never sanction your marriage 
 with my enemy, supposing it is marriage he intends." 
 She bit her underlip sharply, as though to keep back 
 the bitter cry of pain. " Remember, you are only 
 a half-breed, one of the despised, inferior race. 
 These men do not marry such women as you." 
 
 " You lie ! I am a white girl and he loves me." 
 
 It was his last throw, and it failed. A bitter 
 sneer curled his lip, and then his beady slits of 
 eyes with their puffed, lizard lids forgot to blink. 
 
 " Time flies," he said, " and I cannot wait indefi- 
 nitely. You come with me ? " 
 
 " No ! " 
 
 " Listen, Iris-san, for I am serious. It is im- 
 perative that you obey me in this. I have definitely 
 decided that you must come with me. I cannot 
 leave you here to be the spoil of this man : I will 
 not. Therefore do not attempt further to exhaust 
 my patience. Do you not realise that I am deter- 
 mined, desperate if you will have it so. Either 
 you must share my secret, or 
 
 ' Your secret will die with me ? " 
 
 She spoke in a low, tense voice, her eyes desperate 
 with horror and the thing she dare not name. Could 
 he would oji-san do this thing ? 
 
 " The way is long," he answered in that soft, 
 cooing, sing-song of his, " and the night will soon 
 give place to the day. We must be many miles
 
 312 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 from London before it dawns. Abroad we shall take 
 ship for Nippon. You will forget these happenings 
 in our own land. Here, I regret to say, I can no 
 longer trust you. You will go to this man, my 
 enemy, and together " 
 
 " Who has made him your enemy ? " 
 
 ' Would it profit me to explain ? All you r 
 to realise is that my secret must not remain in 
 the possession of one whom I cannot trust." 
 
 " If I refuse, you will kill me as you killed Take- 
 moto, as, for all I know to the contrary, you have 
 already killed him ? Well, I will not go with 
 you : I cannot, I dare not. Now kill me, if \ ou 
 will. I shall have a tale to tell my mother, your 
 honourable sister, which, when you come, oji-san, 
 as come you must, you will find hard to answer/' 
 
 " I think," he replied, " that tales are not carried 
 thither ; and in any case, I shall find my reward in 
 the knowledge of duty accomplished. This man must 
 be given up, Iris-san, and all the dreams and yearn- 
 ings that have gone with the thought of him. 
 In this my resolve is unalterable. Do not put me 
 to the limit of my patience. To you I have abased 
 myself beneath the dignity of man. I go no further : 
 you must obey." 
 
 Defiantly she glared back at him. Did he mean 
 it ? Would he carry out his threat ? Would he 
 destroy her ? For a moment a mist of pain blurred
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 3*3 
 
 her vision. Yet in that moment she saw all that 
 she had lost, or might be losing. Would he strike 
 her down, mercilessly, pitilessly, as he had struck 
 down so many others ? In her heart she believed he 
 would. Beyond all conception the man was mad 
 with his great ideal. Mother, father, sister none of 
 these would he spare in pursuance of his plan. He 
 would shatter a world, create chaos, misery, and suffer- 
 ing unutterable, rather than forgo the madness that 
 obsessed him. And now she, too, was to be added 
 to his list of victims. For a stranger she had 
 turned from him, as women will to the end of time, 
 and she felt he hated the man more on that account 
 than because of the colour of his skin, or of his 
 knowledge of the secret. 
 
 " Then I am to die, oji-san ? " she said. 
 
 " It is better so," he answered without emotion. 
 
 " How long do you give me to live ? " 
 
 "All your life," he said, "if you listen to 
 me." 
 
 " I have listened to you, and you tell me that I 
 must give him up. This I cannot do, because there 
 would be no joy in life without him. Therefore 1 
 could not live I have no wish to live." 
 
 " To die is to lose all." 
 
 " Perhaps also to gain all." 
 
 But the gain was not commensurable with the loss. 
 Truly to die was to lose all ; and her blood ran
 
 314 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 strongly, and her heart yearned for the fulfilment 
 of human love." 
 
 " In our country there is an honourable method 
 of dying." 
 
 " I am not of that country. If I thought so once, 
 I know now that it was a trick of destiny. And to 
 me that method would not be honourable : rather 
 would it be a great dishonour. You shall kill me, 
 oji-san, and then, perhaps, you may at last realise 
 what death means : you may at last be brought 
 to a bitter understanding of the wrongs you have 
 committed." 
 
 " How shall I kill you ? " he asked. 
 
 " Swiftly. I would not suffer pain : do not let 
 me suffer pain, or know what I am leaving. As 
 you killed Takemoto. It is quick. I shall not 
 feel it ? " 
 
 ;t You shall not feel it. This is your resolve ? " 
 
 " Unless you let me go to him. Your secret shall 
 not pass my lips, or his. For him I promise. Let 
 me live, oji-san, let me live ! " 
 
 " You would like to live ? " 
 
 " Am I not young ? The blood in my veins is 
 warm : I am aglow with life." 
 
 " Coldness is better," he said. Then he crossed to 
 the door ; but as he reached it he stopped. " Prepare, 
 Iris-san. Coldness and oblivion are much better 
 than pain and the wounds of memory."
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 LEFT alone, Iris gazed round the room con- 
 fusedly. Was this indeed to be the end ? 
 Would he return and coldly carry out his des- 
 perate resolve? To strike at a stranger that, 
 perhaps, was conceivable but ruthlessly to slay one 
 who had been so dear, was this possible ? Yet in 
 truth she did not doubt. Obsessed as he was by his 
 schemings, he would allow admittance to no generous 
 impulse, no human sentiment. 
 
 If she could only know the fate of her lover ! If 
 he were dead, then death might not be so terrible ; 
 but if he still lived, then this going out into the 
 void was full of fear and horror. How could she 
 know ? If she could only know ! In her heart she 
 believed that he still lived. Oji-san, with all his 
 crimes, had never stooped to lying. Accused, he 
 admitted the accusation. He would have admitted 
 it as calmly, as imperturbably, to judge and jury 
 as to the individual in private. He made no pre- 
 tence of not knowing how the world regarded him :
 
 316 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 it merely meant that he acted according to his 
 light, accepting his own principles in his own way. 
 But to die ! She had not that fear of death 
 which affrights the Western mind. The Oriental 
 in her still struggled with the embryo Christian. 
 Fatalism, the thing that must be, strive we ever 
 so hard this, perhaps, was still a part of her creed. 
 This fate she had been accustomed to regard calinly, 
 impersonally : something that comes to us and 
 takes us by the hand whether we will or not. Per- 
 haps to-day, perhaps to-morrow : in any case, soon or 
 late. What matters the hastening or the tarrying ? 
 But in those other days there was not the same incen- 
 tive to live. She had not lived, had not known what 
 life was. She had not known the sensation of a 
 strong, tender pair of arms about her body, of the 
 utter abandonment of self in the existence of 
 another. 
 
 Sharply she turned and looked towards the 
 window. Was she mistaken ? Listening, she 
 heard it come again, a low tap on the glass without. 
 Puzzled, she hesitated, but only for a moment. 
 Then she stepped noiselessly, swiftly, towards tlio 
 window. 
 
 The blind, not having been pulled quite down, 
 left a vacant space of about six inches, and as she 
 drew near, peering, she saw a white face on the 
 other side of the glass, and with a little whimper
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 317 
 
 of joy recognised it as her lover's. He was signalling 
 excitedly for her to open the window, and without a 
 moment's hesitation she obeyed. Instantly he sprang 
 into the room and caught her in his arms. She 
 did not notice the great Airedale leap in after him, 
 or Colburne standing outside, a revolver gleaming 
 in his hand. 
 
 Kenneth half-led, half-dragged her towards the 
 window. Not that she had failed to read his pur- 
 pose, or had hesitated to act on it ; but at that 
 moment her quick ears had caught the sound of a 
 step outside, and a momentary paralysis seemed 
 to seize her. The dog also heard that step and 
 knew it, for with a pitiful little whine he shrank 
 quivering in against the curtains. 
 
 "He is coming ! " she gasped, and as the door 
 opened Kenneth covered the intruder with his 
 revolver. 
 
 " You are my prisoner, Dr. Mohri. Keep your 
 hands out of your pockets or I fire." 
 
 Mohri, without betraying the least emotion, 
 stepped into the room and kicked the door to 
 after him. 
 
 " This is extremely rash of you, Mr. Everard," 
 he said smoothly. " Though, of a truth, I did not 
 expect to see you again so soon, I cannot say that I 
 am sorry you have come. It is well that we should 
 have a final understanding."
 
 3i8 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 Kenneth watched him closely, ready to shoot at the 
 first suspicious movement. He knew Dr. Mohri 
 now, what he had to expect should he for an instant 
 relax his guard, and his mind was made up. He 
 would shoot this murderer come what might of it. 
 
 " I think we have come to that," he said. " The 
 game's up, Mohri. You are my prisoner." 
 
 Mohri smiled. " I your prisoner ! Rather have 
 you placed yourself in my hands. Yet for her 
 sake I would spare you. Go your way. There is 
 death in this house." 
 
 Nonchalantly he walked across the room, the 
 muzzle of the revolver following liim. Catching a 
 glimpse of Colburne by the window a supercilious 
 smile curled his thin lips. 
 
 " Are there many more of you ? How many ? 
 So much the better. There will be fewer for the 
 conquering armies of Nippon to annihilate. To- 
 morrow London will learn of a fresh outrage, one 
 that may be more provocative of terror than all 
 that has gone before. The adorable rashness of 
 youth that would assault the stars, or weave a shroud 
 for destiny ! You may as well drop that plaything. 
 The day is mine^: all days are mine and Nippon's. 
 You are utterly at my mercy : do you know this ? 
 I think you know it : I fancy I see the know- 
 ledge in your eyes. It is something to know- 
 something."
 
 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 319 
 
 " Nevertheless, I fire at the first suspicious 
 movement." 
 
 " Even that will not save you or her. Fool, 
 to think you could thwart my will, match yourself 
 with me, with one who carries the fate of nations 
 in his hands. As well might you build a screen of 
 rushes to shelter you from the typhoon that comes 
 hurtling across the Yellow Sea. I am death, I am 
 judgment : I conquer all. It is I who command. 
 I who deal fate at my will." 
 
 The contemptuous curl never left his lips : his 
 eyes ceased to blink. Suddenly he seemed to grow 
 tall, powerful, menacing, almost like death. That 
 he believed himself to be all that he proclaimed the 
 anxious watchers never doubted. There was an 
 air about him as of one who controlled unseen 
 powers. Nothing insignificant or mean: a spirit 
 in whom burned the forces of destiny. 
 
 Kenneth, his finger on the trigger, wondered why 
 he did not press it, why he did not put an end to 
 the intolerable strain. Feeling that every moment 
 that passed was a clear gain to the enemy, he yet 
 hesitated to shoot in cold blood. The man who 
 did not strike when his chance came was trifling 
 with fate. Yet Mohri refrained from presenting 
 him with the opportunity he craved, as if knowing 
 that this man would act only in self-defence. He 
 had waited once : he had but to wait again.
 
 320 THE GIRL FROM NIPPON. 
 
 But suddenly, like a flash of lightning sweeping 
 across a dark sky, the scene was changed. None 
 of them had observed the great Airedale crouching 
 in the corner. For one thing, they had eyes only 
 for that wizened embodiment of fate, and the great 
 animal had ceased his whining with the advent of 
 his torturer. Consequently, not a thought had 
 been turned his way. But when he sprang it was 
 like a projectile hurling itself from the mouth of a 
 gun. With a savage snarl, mane erect, tail stiff, eyes 
 green with the fury of hate, he launched himself at 
 his enemy, and his great white teeth met with a 
 vicious snap on the lean brown throat. Mohri saw 
 him coming, and his hands went up as if to ward off 
 the dreadful impact. But it was too late. He 
 staggered, uttered a snarl of rage and anguish, then 
 fell backward, the dog on top of him. Mohri beat 
 at him, kicked, screamed, but the dog ground his 
 teeth into him, and tore at the narrow bosom with 
 his claws. 
 
 Kenneth, acting on instinct, rushed forward 
 and seized the creature by his neck : Colbunie 
 scrambled through the window. When they 
 eventually tore the infuriated animal from his 
 victim Dr. Mohri lay still. 
 
 He would never move again. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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 THE BETRAYAL. 65., 2s. net, 1$. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE DUNDEE ADVERTISER. " Mr. Oppenheim's skill has never been 
 displayed to better advantage than here. . . . He has excelled himself, 
 and to assert this is to declare the novel superior to nine out of ten of its 
 contemporaries." 
 
 ANNA, THE ADVENTURESS. 65., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE DAILY NEWS. " Mr. Oppenheim keeps his readers on the alert from 
 cover to cover, and the story is a fascinating medley of romance and 
 mystery." 
 
 THE YELLOW CRAYON. 6s., 2s. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE DAILY EXPRESS. " Mr. Oppenheim has a vivid imagination and 
 much sympathy, fine powers of narrative, and can suggest a life history 
 in a sentence." 
 
 A PRINCE OF SINNERS. 65., and 6d. 
 
 VANITY FAIR. " A vivid and powerful story. Mr. Oppenheim knows 
 the world, and the unusual nature of tht setting in which his leading 
 characters live gives this book destinction among the novels of the season." 
 
 THE TRAITORS. 65., and 6d. 
 
 THE ATHENAEUM. " Its interest begins on the first page and ends on the 
 last. The plot is ingenious and well managed, the movement of the story 
 is admirably swift, and the characters are exceedingly vivacious." 
 
 A LOST LEADER. 65., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE DAILY GRAPHIC. " Mr. Oppenheim almost treats us to a romance 
 which is full of originality and interest from first to last." 
 
 MR. WINGRAVE, MILLIONAIRE. 65., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE BRITISH WEEKLY. " Like good wine Mr. Oppenheim's novels 
 need no bush. They attract by their own charm, and are unrivalled in 
 popularity." 
 
 AS A MAN LIVES. 65., and 6d. 
 
 THE SKETCH. " The interest of the book, always keen and absorbing, is 
 due to some extent to a puzzle so admirably planned as to defy the pene- 
 tration of the most experienced novel reader."
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO.'S POPULAR FICTION 
 
 E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM-continued 
 A DAUGHTER OF THE MARIONIS. 65., and 6J. 
 
 THE SCOTSMAN. " Mr. Oppenheim's stories always display much melo- 
 dramatic power and considerable originality and ingenuity of construction. 
 These and other qualities of the successful writer of romance are manifest 
 in ' A Daughter of the Marionis.' " 
 
 THE MYSTERY OF MR. BERNARD BROWN. 65., and 6d. 
 
 THE ABERDEEN DAILY JOURNAL. "The story is rich in sensational 
 Incident and dramatic situations. It is seldom, indeed, that we meet with 
 a novel of such power and fascination." 
 
 THE MAN AND HIS KINGDOM. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 THE FREEMAN'S JOURNAL. "The story is worthy of Merriman at his 
 very best. It is a genuine treat for the ravenous and often disappointed 
 novel reader." 
 
 THE WORLD'S GREAT SNARE. 65., 7d. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE WORLD. It is full of dramatic incidents, thoroughly exciting and 
 realistic. There is not one dull page from beginning to end." 
 
 A MONK OF CRUTA. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 THE BOOKMAN. " Intensely dramatic. The book is an achievement at 
 which the author may well be gratified." 
 
 MYSTERIOUS MR. SABIN. 65., and 6d. 
 
 THE LITERARY WORLD. " As a story of interest, with a deep-laid and 
 exciting plot, this of the ' Mysterious Mr. Sabin ' can hardly be surpassed." 
 
 A MILLIONAIRE OF YESTERDAY. 65., 2s. net. Id. net, 
 
 and 6d. 
 
 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH. " W cannot but welcome with enthusiasm a 
 really well-told story like ' A Millionaire of Yesterday.' " 
 
 THE SURVIVOR. 65., and 6d. 
 
 THE NOTTINGHAM GUARDIAN. " We must give a conspicuous place on 
 its merits to this excellent story. It is only necessary to read a page or 
 two in order to become deeply interested." 
 
 THE GREAT AWAKENING. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 THE YORKSHIRE POST. " A weird and fascinating story, which for real 
 beauty and originality, ranks far above the ordinary novel." 
 
 FOR THE QUEEN. 6s. 
 
 MODERN SOCIETY. " The fame of Mr. Oppenheim is world-wide, and in 
 ' For the Queen ' the author lives up to the highest traditions of his reputa- 
 tion as a writer of fiction." 
 
 THOSE OTHER DAYS. 65. 
 
 Mr. Oppenheim ranges with assured mastery from grave to gay, while 
 diplomatic scandals and political intrigues are woven with that delicate 
 skill which we expect from him as a sort of right. 
 
 EXPIATION. 3s. 6d., and 2s. net. 
 
 SHEFFIELD TELEGRAPH. " It is a clever story, with a plot, the solution 
 of which is not discernible until the last page." 
 
 6
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO.'S POPULAR FICTION 
 
 FRED M. WHITE 
 THE OPEN DOOR. 6s., and 6J. 
 
 MORNING POST. " This is one of the best novels we have picked up 
 for many a long day." 
 
 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS. 6s., and 6</. 
 
 MODERN SOCIETY. " As the plot is unfolded the reader becomes more 
 and more fascinated, the interest being powerfully held until the close." 
 
 THE SECRET OF THE SANDS. 65., and 6d. 
 
 THE SCOTSMAN. " Mr. White is a master of sensations, and his intro- 
 duction of the incident of the Italian Vendetta gives point to a good tale." 
 
 THE GOLDEN ROSE. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 IRISH INDEPENDENT. " This latest book possesses all those character- 
 istics which go to make Mr. White's novels so readable and so popular." 
 
 HARD PRESSED. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 PALL MALL GAZETTE. " The tale is full of dramatic and exciting 
 Incidents, and will afford the reader keen enjoyment." 
 
 A ROYAL WRONG. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 GLASGOW HERALD. " Hot scent, fast pace, good company a rattling 
 yarn ! " 
 
 NUMBER 13. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 IRISH INDEPENDENT. " Fertile in character, sustained interest, and 
 dramatic situations." 
 
 THE HOUSE OF MAMMON. 6s. 
 
 SHEFFIELD TELEGRAPH. " A very clever construction worked out with 
 the skill of a writer who possesses well-deserved vogue for sensational 
 fiction." 
 
 A SHADOWED LOVE. 6s. 
 
 IRISH INDEPENDENT. " The book from cover to cover is full of exciting 
 incident and entertaining reading." 
 
 POWERS OF DARKNESS. 6s. 
 
 A vivid, rapidly moving story in which mystery, strong characterization 
 and criminality are skilfully blended. 
 
 J. S. FLETCHER 
 THE WOLVES AND THE LAMB. 6s. 
 
 PALL MALL GAZETTE. " This is a rattling story. It is well built and 
 compact of good materials." 
 
 THE KING versus WARGRAVE. 6s. 
 
 Those who enjoy a real good detective story will revel in Mr. Fletcher' 
 latest work. The plot is clever and novel, and it is capably worked out. 
 
 7
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO.*S POPULAR FICT10H 
 
 LOUIS TRACY 
 
 SYLVIA'S CHAUFFEUR. 6s., 2s. net, h. net, Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 MORNING LEADER. " ' Sylvia's Chauffeur ' is as pleasant a piece of light 
 reading as any one could desire." 
 
 RAINBOW ISLAND. 6s., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE LITERARY WORLD. "Those who delight in tales of adventure 
 should hail ' Rainbow Island ' with joyous shouts of welcome. Rarely 
 have we met with more satisfying fare of this description than in its pages." 
 
 THE PILLAR OF LIGHT. 6s., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE EVENING STANDARD. " So admirable, so living, so breathlessly 
 exciting a book. The magnificent realism of the lighthouse and its perils 
 are worthy of praise from the most jaded reader." 
 
 A SON OF THE IMMORTALS. 6s., and 6J. 
 
 THE MORNING POST. " Adventures and stirring situations follow closely 
 upon one another's heels all through." 
 
 MIRABEL'S ISLAND. 6s., 2s. net, and Is. net. 
 
 IRISH INDEPENDENT. "The narrative is weU-written, bright and ful 
 of action ; full, too, of mystery and imagination." 
 
 NO OTHER WAY. 6s., and 6J. 
 
 FINANCIAL TIMES. " Mr. Tracy's latest novel provides an absorbing 
 narrative which is not likely to be cast aside prematurely." 
 
 ONE WONDERFUL NIGHT. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 THE SCOTSMAN. " Adventures and surprises fairly trip over each other 
 in hasty succession to Mr. Louis Tracy's latest romance." 
 
 THE HOUSE ROUND THE CORNER. 6s. 
 
 EVENING NEWS. " The air of mystery sustains the reader with some 
 thrills throughout the recital of a story that is by no means tedious." 
 
 HEADON HILL 
 THE COTTAGE IN THE CHINE. 6s., and 6J. 
 
 THE SCOTSMAN. ' To those whose tastes lie in the direction of thrilling 
 tales, this well-written and cleverly conceived book can be commended." 
 
 MY LORD THE FELON. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 THE BOOKSELLER. " Every page of this book has its incident or adven- 
 ture, while the reader's interest is kept up to the last chapter." 
 
 THE HOUR GLASS MYSTERY. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 THE DAILY EXPRESS. " Those who love a really good mystery story 
 may cordially be recommended to read Mr. Headon Hill's new book." 
 
 THE CRIMSON HONEYMOON. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 IRISH INDEPENDENT. " The book abounds with thrilling happenings 
 and exciting situations." 
 
 SIR VINCENT'S PATIENT. 6s. 
 
 PALL MALL GAZETTE. " The story holds the interest in a way that 
 only a clever writer like Mr. Headon Hill knows." 
 
 8
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO.'S POPULAR FICTION 
 
 HAROLD BINDLOSS 
 
 THE TRUSTEE. 6s., Is. net, and 2s. net. 
 
 PUNCH. " Mr. Bindloss is an author who can deftly use sensationalism 
 to his purpose without forcing it for mere effect, and who can also depict 
 the character of a strong man as honest as determined in love with a 
 weet woman. He tells a story with rare skill." 
 
 THE PIONEER. 6s., 2s. net, and Is. net. 
 
 ACADEMY. " His novels are terse, powerful, yet graceful, showing 
 intimate knowledge and acute observation, never overweighted with 
 description, yet containing many delightful pictures." 
 
 THE PROTECTOR. 6s., 2s. net, Is. net, and 6d. 
 
 MORNING POST. " Mr. Bindloss is always a sure find for a good story, 
 and in this one he has, if possible, excelled himself." 
 
 THE LIBERATIONISM 6s., and 6d. 
 
 MORNING LEADER. " This is the author's best novel, and is one which 
 no lover of healthy excitement ought to miss." 
 
 HAWTREY'S DEPUTY. 6s., 2s. net, Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE WESTERN DAILY MERCURY. " The whole story is told with the 
 most spontaneous verve.and is tinged with a delightful element of romance." 
 
 THE IMPOSTOR. 6s., Id. net, and 6J. 
 
 THE QUEEN. " Mr. Bindloss writes books which are always good to 
 read. His writing is uniformly good, and his books are always sane, in- 
 tensely interesting, and dealing with subjects that cannot fail to concern a 
 wide public." 
 
 THE WASTREL. 6s., and 2s. net. 
 
 THE TIMES. " Mr. Bindloss's books are unchangeably true to type ; 
 and in the distracting medley of modem fiction they calm and regulate the 
 mind." 
 
 THE ALLINSON HONOUR. 6s., and 2s. net. 
 
 THE SPORTSMAN. " The simplicity and force of the language, and the 
 abiding air of reality about the several adventures, make it hard to put 
 down before it had been gone through to the last page." 
 
 BLAKE'S BURDEN. 6s. 
 
 ABERDEEN FREE PRESS. " Mr. Bindloss knows the north-west regions 
 of Canada well, and the story of Blake's hardships, his trials, and his 
 triumphs, is a thrilling one. The spirit of adventure and the freedom of 
 the Wild West makes the blood tingle in one's veins." 
 
 THE SECRET OF THE REEF. 6s. 
 
 THE TIMES. " A sound, straightforward yarn which will engross the 
 reader." 
 
 THE INTRUDER. 6s. 
 
 Another fine, breezy, healthy tale of love and adventure in a land where 
 all is fresh.
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO.'S POPULAR FICTION 
 
 GUY BOOTHBY 
 
 THE RACE OF LIFE. 5s., and 6d. 
 
 THE ENGLISH REVIEW. " Ahead even of Mr. Cutcliffe Hyne and Conan 
 Doyle, Mr. Boothby may be said to have topped popularity's pole." 
 
 THE CRIME OF THE UNDER SEAS. 5s. 
 
 THE SPEAKER. " Is quite the equal in art, observation, and dramatic 
 intensity to any of Mr. Guy Boothby's numerous other romances." 
 
 A BID FOR FREEDOM. 5s., and 6d. 
 
 THE SHEFFIELD TELEGRAPH. " A fully written romance, which bristles 
 with thrilling passages, exciting adventures, and hairbreadth escapes." 
 
 A TWO-FOLD INHERITANCE. 5s., and 6d. 
 
 PUNCH. " Just the very book that a hard-working man should read 
 for genuine relaxation." 
 
 CONNIE BURT. 5s., and 6d. 
 
 THE BIRMINGHAM GAZETTE. "One of the best stories we have seen of 
 Mr. Boothby's." 
 
 THE KIDNAPPED PRESIDENT. 5s., and 6d. 
 
 PUBLIC OPINION. "Brighter, crisper, and more entertaining than any 
 of its predecessors from the same pen." 
 
 MY STRANGEST CASE. 5s., and 6d. 
 
 THE YORKSHIRE POST. "No work of Mr. Boothby's seems to us to 
 have approached in skill his new story." 
 
 FAREWELL, NIKOLA. 5s., and 6d. 
 
 THE DUNDEE ADVERTISER. " Guy Boothby's famous creation of Dr. 
 Nikola has become familiar to every reader of fiction." 
 
 MY INDIAN QUEEN. 5s., and 6J. 
 
 THE SUNDAY SPECIAL. " A vivid story of adventure and daring, bear- 
 ing all the characteristics of careful workmanship." 
 
 LONG LIVE THE KING. 5s., 2s., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE ABERDEEN FREE PRESS. " It is marvellous that Mr. Boothby's 
 novels should be all so uniformly good." 
 
 A PRINCE OF SWINDLERS. 5s., and 6d. 
 
 THE SCOTSMAN. " Of absorbing interest. The exploits are described 
 in an enthralling vein." 
 
 A MAKER OF NATIONS. 5s., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE SPECTATOR. " ' A Maker of Nations ' enables us to understand 
 Mr. Boothby's vogue. It has no lack of movement or incident." 
 
 THE RED RAT'S DAUGHTER. 5s., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THI DATLY TELEGRAPH. " Mr. Guy Boothby's name on the title-page 
 of a novel carries with it the assurance of a good story to follow." 
 
 10
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO.'S POPULAR FICTION 
 
 GUY BOOTHBY continued 
 LOVE MADE MANIFEST. 5s., and 6d. 
 
 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH. " One of those tales of exciting adventure in 
 the confection of which Mr. Boothby is not excelled by any novelist of the 
 day." 
 
 PHAROS THE EGYPTIAN. 5s., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE SCOTSMAN. " This powerful novel is weird and soul-thrilling. 
 There never was in this world so strange and wonderful a love story." 
 
 ACROSS THE WORLD FOR A WIFE. 5s., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE BRITISH WEEKLY. " This stirring tale ranks next to ' Dr. Nikola ' 
 in the list of Mr. Boothby's novels." 
 
 THE LUST OF HATE. 5s., and 6d. 
 
 THE DAILY GRAPHIC. " Whoever wants dramatic interest let him read 
 ' The Lust of Hate.' " 
 
 THE FASCINATION OF THE KING. 5s., 2s. net, Id. net, 
 
 and 6d. 
 
 THE BRISTOL MERCURY. " Unquestionably the best work we have yet 
 seen from the pen of Mr. Guy Boothby." 
 
 DR. NIKOLA. 5s., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE SCOTSMAN. " One hairbreadth escape succeeds another with 
 rapidity that scarce leaves th reader breathing space." 
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WHITE DEVIL. 5s., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE YORKSHIRE POST. " A more exciting romance no man could 
 reasonably ask for." 
 
 A BID FOR FORTUNE. 5s., Id. net, and 6J. 
 
 THE MANCHESTER COURIER. " It is impossible to give any idea of the 
 verve with which the story is told. The most original novel of the year." 
 
 IN STRANGE COMPANY. 5s., Is. 6d., Id. net, and 6d. 
 
 THE WORLD. " A capital novel. It has the quality of life and stir, 
 and will carry the reader with curiosity unabated to the end." 
 
 THE MARRIAGE OF ESTHER. 5s., Id. net, and 6J. 
 
 THE MANCHESTER GUARDIAN. " There is a vigour and a power of 
 illusion about it that raises it quite above the level of the ordinary novel of 
 adventure." 
 
 BUSHIGRAMS. 5s. 
 
 THE MANCHESTER GUARDIAN. " Intensely interesting. Forces from 
 us, by its powerful artistic realism, those choky sensations which it should 
 be the aim of the human writer to elicit, whether in comedy or tragedy.' 1 
 
 SHEILAH McLEOD. 5s., and 6J. 
 
 MR. W. L. ALDEN IN THE NEW YORK TIMES. " Mr. Boothby can crowd 
 more adventurt into a square foot of canvas than any other novelist." 
 
 DR. NIKOLA'S EXPERIMENT. 5s., Id. net, and 6<J. 
 
 Illustrated by Sidney Cowell. 
 
 THE MAN OF THE CRAG. 5s., and 6d. 
 
 il
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO.'S POPULAR FICTION 
 
 PAUL TRENT 
 
 THE VOW. 6s., 2s. net, and Is. net. 
 
 The enormous success of this story immediately places the author quite 
 in the front rank of writers who are able to hold their readers by the power 
 and intensity of their work. 
 
 THE FOUNDLING. 65., and 2s. net. 
 
 DAILY GRAPHIC. " The character of Strand is an excellent study, 
 cleverly and strongly drawn, and the book is a very interesting and readable 
 work." 
 
 THE SECOND CHANCE. 65., and 2s. net. 
 
 THE BOOKMAN. " ' The Second Chance ' is an effective piece of work 
 which well deserves the enthusiastic reception that its author's admirers 
 are pretty sure to give it." 
 
 MAX LOGAN. 6s., and 2s. net. 
 
 MORNING POST. " Mr. Paul Trent tells a tale like this well. He has a 
 narrative style that grips and interests, and we are grateful to him for a 
 real and enjoyable story." 
 
 WHEAT AND TARES. 6s. 
 
 NORTHERN WHIG. " The plot is cleverly developed, and will be fol- 
 lowed by the reader with unflagging interest to the end." 
 
 NESBIT'S COMPACT. 6s. 
 
 FINANCIAL TIMES. "A well told story, with a good plot and no lack of 
 exciting incidents. It holds the reader from the first page to the last." 
 
 WILLIAM LE QUEUX 
 
 MYSTERIES. 6s., and 2s. net. 
 
 THE EVENING NEWS. " Each page is steeped in marvels of crime. The 
 tales are most ingeniously planned, and no amount of pains has been spared 
 to make them thrilling." 
 
 THE ROOM OF SECRETS. 6s., and 2s. net. 
 
 WESTERN MAIL. " A remarkable story, crowded with the most exciting 
 situations, and bristling with crimes which only the brain of a most versa- 
 tile author could conceive." 
 
 THE MAKER OF SECRETS, 6s, 
 
 IRISH INDEPENDENT. " Mr. Wm. Le Queux is the greatest secret 
 manufacturer extant. He revels in mysteries, and such is his power of 
 realistic writing that his readers revel in them too." 
 
 THE WHITE LIE. 6s. 
 
 THE SCOTSMAN. " Few novelists, if any, surpass Mr. Wm. Le Queux 
 in the art of making a frankly and formidably melodramatic story go with 
 alluring lightness in its tensity." 
 
 THE MYSTERIOUS THREE. 6s. 
 
 Mr. Le Queux, who has been called " The Master of Mysteries," is at his 
 best in this enthralling story. 
 
 12
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO.S POPULAR FICTION 
 
 JOSEPH HOCKING 
 THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD. 3s. 6d., and 6d. 
 
 THE FINANCIAL TIMES. " A strong knowledge of human nature, fot 
 which Mr. Hocking is famous, is well portrayed in the pages of this novel, 
 and this, in conjunction with the interesting nature of the plot, renders it 
 particularly successful. The book will be appreciated by novel readers." 
 
 ROGER TREWINION. 3s. 6d., 2s. net. and 6d. 
 
 T. P.'s WEEKLY. " It is a foregone conclusion that Mr. Hocking will 
 always have a good story to tell. ' Roger Trewinion ' can stand forth 
 with the best, a strong love interest, plenty of adventure, an atmosphere 
 of superstition, and Cornwall as the scene." 
 
 THE COMING OF THE KING. 3s. 6dL 
 
 THE GLASGOW* HERALD. " Mr. Hocking's imagination is fertile, and 
 his skill in the arrangement of incident far above the average, and there is 
 an air of reality in all his writing which is peculiarly charming." 
 
 ESAU. 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE OUTLOOK. " Remarkable for the dramatic power with which the 
 scenes are drawn and the intense human interest which Mr. Hocking has 
 woven about his characters. ' Esau ' is sure to be one of the novels 
 of the season." 
 
 GREATER LOVE. 3s. 6J. 
 
 THE NEWCASTLE CHRONICLE. " Though of a totally different character 
 from ' Lest We Forget,' Mr. Hocking's latest story is entitled to take rank 
 along with that fine romance." 
 
 LEST WE FORGET. 3s. 6d., and 2s. net. 
 
 PUBLIC OPINION. " His story is quite as good as any we have read of 
 the Stanley Weyman's school, and presents an excellent picture of the 
 exciting times of Gardiner and Bonner " 
 
 AND SHALL TRELAWNY DIE? 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE WEEKLY SUN. " An engaging and fascinating romance. The 
 reader puts the story down with a sigh, and wishes there were more of 
 these breezy Cornish uplands, for Mr. Joseph Hocking's easy style of 
 narrative does not soon tire." 
 
 JABEZ EASTERBROOK. 3s. 6J. 
 
 THE ROCK. " Real strength is shown in the sketches, of which that 
 of Brother Bowman is most prominent. In its way it is delightful." 
 
 THE WEAPONS OF MYSTERY. 3s. 6d., and 6d. 
 
 " Weapons of Mystery" is a singularly powerful story of occult influences 
 and of their exertion for evil purposes. 
 
 ZILLAH : A ROMANCE. 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE SPECTATOR. " The drawing of some of the characters indicates 
 the possession by Mr. Hocking of a considerable gift of humour. The 
 contents of his book indicate that he takes a genuine interest in the deeper 
 problems of the day." 
 
 13
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO.'S POPULAR FICTION 
 
 JOSEPH HOCKING-continued 
 THE MONK OF MAR-SABA. 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE STAR. " Great power and thrilling interest. . . . The scenery 
 of the Holy Land has rarely been so vividly described as in this charming 
 book of Mr. Hocking's." 
 
 THE PURPLE ROBE. 3s. 6d., and 2s. net. 
 
 THE QUEEN. " It is exceedingly clever, and excites the reader's interest 
 and brings out the powerful nature of the clever young minister. This 
 most engrossing book challenges comparison with the brilliance of Lothair." 
 
 THE SCARLET WOMAN. 3s. 6d., and 2s. net. 
 
 THE METHODIST RECORDER. " This is Mr. Hocking's strongest and 
 best book. We advise every O ne to read it. The plot is simple, compact 
 and strenuous; the writing powerful." 
 
 ALL MEN ARE LIARS. 3s. 6d. t and Is. net. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. " This is a notable book. Thoughtful people 
 will be fascinated by its actuality, its fearlessness, and the insight it gives 
 into the influence of modern thought and literature." 
 
 ISHMAEL PENGELLY : AN OUTCAST. 3s. 6J. 
 
 THE ATHEN^BUM. " The book is to be recommended for the dramatic 
 effectiveness of some of the scenes." 
 
 THE STORY OF ANDREW FAIRFAX. 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE MANCHESTER EXAMINER " Rustic scenes are drawn with free, 
 broad touches, without Mr. Buchanan's artificiality, and, if we may venture 
 to say it, with more realism than Mr. Hardy'i country pictures." 
 
 THE BIRTHRIGHT. 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE SPECTATOR " ' The Birthright ' is, in its way, quite as well con- 
 tructed, as well written, and as full of incident as any story that has 
 tome from the pen of Sir Conan Doyle or Mr. Stanley Weyman." 
 
 MISTRESS NANCY MOLESWORTH. 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE SCOTSMAN. " ' Mistress Nancy Molesworth ' is as charming a story 
 of the kind as could be wished, and it excels in literary workmanship as 
 well as in imaginative vigour and daring invention." 
 
 FIELDS OF FAIR RENOWN. 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE DUNDEE ADVERTISER. " Mr. Hocking has produced a work which 
 his readers of all classes will appreciate. . . . There are exhibited some 
 of the most beautiful aspects of disposition." 
 
 GOD AND MAMMON. 3s. 6d. t and 6d. 
 
 THE LITERARY WORLD. " The story is vigorously told, his struggles, 
 his success and his love affairs are vividly described, while a strong religious 
 tone pervades the book." 
 
 AN ENEMY HATH DONE THIS. 3s. 6d.. and 2s. net. 
 
 FINANCIAL TIMES. " A thoroughly enjoyable story, without a dull 
 page, and in the front rank of the author's work. Plot and characteriza- 
 tion are equally good." 
 
 14
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO.*S POPULAR FICTION 
 
 EDGAR WALLACE 
 GREY TIMOTHY. 65. 
 
 DAILY NEWS AND LEADER. " Mr. Wallace has written one of the most 
 exciting and sensational stories we have read for some time." 
 
 THE PEOPLE OF THE RIVER. 65., and 6d. 
 
 THE GENTLEMAN'S JOURNAL. "There is masculine virility in every 
 line, and from first to last our attention is closely gripped ; a grand book, 
 unaffected and sincere." 
 
 THE RIVER OF STARS. 65., and 6d. 
 
 DAILY GRAPHIC. " We confess that Mr. Edgar Wallace's ingenious 
 ' surprise ' about Amber's indentity and antecedents completely took 
 us in." 
 
 THE FOURTH PLAGUE. 65., and 6d. 
 
 THE FINANCIAL TIMES. " This is a novel abounding In excitement and 
 fascinating throughout." 
 
 BOSAMBO OF THE RIVER. 6s. 
 
 TH REFEREE. " Mr. Edgar Wallace's stories of the West Coast are 
 always welcome, and his latest will be as popular as any of its predecessors, 
 for the masterful methods of Mr. Commissioner Sanders are an abiding 
 delight." 
 
 THE ADMIRABLE CARFEW. 65. 
 
 BIRMINGHAM POST. " A prolific and versatile writer, Mr. Wallace has 
 here made a hit with a story full of humour and diverting incident." 
 
 BONES. 65. 
 
 " Mr. Wallace's admirers will hail with joyous shouts of welcome the 
 re-appearance of Mr. Commissioner Sanders and that delightful black 
 scoundrel Bosambp. The author is at his best when dealing with his 
 beloved West Africa and its dusky peoples. 
 
 LINDSAY RUSSELL 
 
 SOULS IN PAWN. 65., and Is. net. 
 
 MORNING POST. " The characters are drawn with sincerity and vigour; 
 the narrative holds attention at every stage." 
 
 THE YEARS OF FORGETTING. 6s. 
 
 WESTERN MAIU " Every chapter contains some splendid examples of 
 powerful writing. It is one of those rare books which makes its impress 
 upon the brain not easily forgotten by any reader." 
 
 THE ETERNAL TRIANGLE. 6s. 
 
 Another powerful novel of deep human interest that will do much to 
 enhance the already big reputation of the author of " Souls in Pawn," 
 "The Years of Forgetting," etc. 
 
 15
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO.'S POPULAR FICTION 
 
 SILAS K. HOCKING 
 
 UNCLE PETER'S WILL. 3s. 6d. 
 
 SCOTSMAN. " Healthy, plain, and interesting. . . . Story goes forward 
 always with the firm and steady march, and is interesting and manly all 
 the while." 
 
 IN SELF-DEFENCE. 3s. 6d. 
 
 SHEFFIELD TELEGRAPH, " A very capable and entertaining piece of 
 work, made up of live incident and deft character sketching." 
 
 FERGUS HUME 
 THE THIRTEENTH GUEST. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 THE GLOBE. " In a word, ' The Thirteenth Guest ' is Fergus Hume st 
 his best, and will doubtless please this popular author's many admirers." 
 
 THE LOST PARCHMENT. 65. 
 
 IRISH INDEPENDENT. " Mr. Fergus Hume is so much at home as a 
 maker of mysteries in fiction that his readers are always sure of getting 
 what is entertaining." 
 
 ALICE AND CLAUDE ASKEW 
 THE GOLDEN GIRL. 6s., * d 6d. 
 
 THE LIVERPOOL COURIER. " The plot is very ingenious, and it is worked 
 out after a fashion which keeps the reader's attention from start to finish." 
 
 THROUGH FOLLY'S MILL. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 SHEFFIELD DAILY TELEGRAPH. " The story is well written, and will 
 enhance the reputation of these very popular writers." 
 
 L. G. MOBERLY 
 
 UNTIL SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN. 6s., and 6d. 
 
 MORNING POST. " A highly sensational story, containing all the essen- 
 tials required to make a successful melodrama." 
 
 CLEANSING FIRES. 6s. 
 
 SOUTHPORT GUARDIAN. " It is indeed an enviable gift which Miss 
 Moberly possesses of being able to produce novel after novel, each of 
 unflagging interest." 
 
 A. E. W. MASON 
 
 LAWRENCE CLAVERING. 65., and 2s. net. 
 
 A remarkably powerful and stirring historical romance, full of life and 
 movement. 
 
 16
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 Los Angeles 
 
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