CHE noon 
 
 QF 
 
 DRAGON 
 
 by
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 EDWIN CORLE 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 JEAN CORLE
 
 THE DOOR OF THE 
 DOUBLE DRAGON
 
 The blood rushed to her head; her whole body was strained. The 
 door was gradually closing.
 
 THE DOOR OF THE 
 DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 A Romance of the China 
 of Yesterday and To-day 
 
 BY 
 HECTOR BLANDING 
 
 Frontispiece by 
 GEORGE W. GAGE 
 
 NEW YORK 
 W. J. WATT & COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHER
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY 
 J. WATT & COMPANY 
 
 pnrss or 
 
 BRAUNWORTH A CO. 
 
 BOOK MANUFACTURERS 
 
 BROOKLYN. N. Y.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 prologue 
 
 CHAPTER I PAGE 
 
 AT THE COUNTRY CLUB i 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 BLACK WRENNE ..,...,.., 12 
 
 Book % JttBt 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 To PAINT THE PORTRAIT OF A PRINCE 23 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE SLEEPING SERPENT WITH THE STRANGLING 
 TAIL 37 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 BLACK WRENNE Bows TO BROWN BESS 45 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 HE OF THE WHITE BANNER 58 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 THE SEVEN THOUSAND EYES OF BUDDHA 64 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 THE CLIMAX OF CONSPIRING CIRCUMSTANCES 73 
 
 2038477
 
 vi CONTENTS 
 
 IBank thr 
 
 CHAPTER I PAGE 
 
 AN AUDIENCE WITH THE SON OF HEAVEN ........ 93 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 CAPTAIN KOMOTO is PROMISED THE GOLDEN KITE 102 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 IN THE GARDEN OF THE INVISIBLE DEITY ........ na 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 ASSASSINS WHO SHOULD BE PURVEYORS of THE 
 POOR ........................................ 125 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 A QUESTION OF ETHICAL RIGHT AND WRONG ...... 138 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 THE PAGODA ON THE LAKE ...................... 146 
 
 thr 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 THREE GOLDEN ARROWS ........................ 159 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 WITHIN THE DRAGON-GUARDED TEMPLE .......... 170 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 CLASH OF STEEL IN CANDLE-LIGHT ............... 179 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 SIGNALS OF CONSPIRACY ......................... 194
 
 CONTENTS vii 
 
 CHAPTER V PAGE 
 
 DRUGGED 201 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 THE PLEASURE-PALACE 1 06 
 
 Bank % Jourth 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 Two DIAMOND PARROTS 223 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 THE HOUSEHOLD SQUADRON RIDE LATE 246 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 THE SECRET STAIRWAY 255 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 THROUGH THE PEKING GATES AGAIN 269 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 BY HER BEDSIDE 272 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 TOGETHER ON THE GRAND CANAL 280
 
 PROLOGUE 
 
 AT THE COUNTRY-CLUB 
 
 IT had been snowing steadily all day, the fall ceasing 
 only with the dusk. The Flemish villages and 
 Queen Anne cottages along Club Road were 
 festooned with the flakes and in front of the Ren- 
 shaws' some boys had built a snow- fort. The Ren- 
 shaws always closed their house for the winter and 
 went into town, so that there was no one to disturb 
 the fort-builders. 
 
 One of the builders, a Hampden hoodlum, who 
 hung about the gates of The Roland Park Country 
 Club to hold horses or buckle on skates, had joined 
 the youngsters and was directing their efforts. The 
 snow-fort finished, he elected to stay behind it with 
 the larger boys and to make of the others an attacking 
 party. The latter having suffered severely for some 
 time now demanded that they become the fort's de- 
 fenders. This project falling through they began the
 
 2 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 manufacture of munitions pending an emergency. 
 Meanwhile there were the passers-by. 
 
 A number of people passed, but they were mem- 
 bers of the club, personally known by both hoodlum 
 and boys. It was not deemed wise to offend these. 
 A negro servant, however, not so fortunate, fled to- 
 ward Roland Avenue with smarting face. At the 
 corner she paused to hurl back at her youthful as- 
 sailants heated promises that the Olympians should 
 soon be made aware of their sons' associations with 
 "that there po' white trash." 
 
 The hoodlum recognizing and hotly resenting this 
 characterization of himself by one of a subject race, 
 scowled heavily and, reaching down and digging up 
 a large and jagged stone, made a compact ball of snow 
 about it and promised darkly: 
 
 "Wait 'til that dinge comes back." 
 
 Some of the boys demurred. It was not fair to 
 put stones in snowballs. "You might hurt somebody, 
 Jerry," urged a flaxen-haired youngster in a Scotch 
 cap. 
 
 "Oh, mamma!" jeered Jerry. 
 
 The flaxen-haired youngster pulled his Scotch cap 
 over his eyes and stalked away, followed by several of 
 his friends. 
 
 "Let the sissies go."
 
 PROLOGUE 3 
 
 Jerry, a youth of some sixteen years, large framed, 
 heavy- jawed, laughed mockingly, and rolled the snow 
 about the jagged stone all the tighter. 
 
 The hoodlum and his like, many of whom hung 
 about the gates of the Caddie House of the country 
 Club, were a different species from the Roland Park 
 boys. He came from Hampden, a factory suburb a 
 mile or so nearer the city. Compelled to attend school 
 by what his kind and their parents resented as un- 
 reasonable laws preventing them from profitable 
 employment until they were fifteen, they were found 
 in the vicinity of Club Road after school hours, for 
 here were to be had odd jobs; and often steady 
 afternoon work as caddies and toboggan attendants. 
 Jerry had held both jobs but had been discharged for 
 insolence to club members. "Wasn't he just as good 
 as they was?" On the other hand he was savagely 
 indignant at any similar claim of equality on the part 
 of fellow-caddies of the color of the fleeing servant 
 because of whose criticism he was reserving the 
 jagged stone. 
 
 Misfortune had made a different reservation for 
 that stone-snowball which Jerry was now carefully 
 soaking in the gutter the ice coating of which Jerry 
 had broken. The water-soaked snow rapidly con- 
 gealed ; long before the servant left the grocery with
 
 4 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 basket filled, the snow had frozen until it was as hard 
 without as the stone within. 
 
 Returing at the head of his wildly whooping 
 band from an enforced retreat by two department- 
 store delivery boys, whom misfortune had compelled 
 to leave parcels at the club, Jerry spied a person 
 for whom it had been decreed that murderous pro- 
 jectile of his should have been made. 
 
 "Hefting" the hard, heavy, stone snow-ball Jerry 
 could no longer deny himself the pleasure of hurting 
 somebody. Especially as that somebody looked unable 
 to avenge himself. 
 
 "There's our meat, fellows," he yelled in savage 
 abandon. "To the right, wheel! 'Tenshun! Aim at 
 the enemy the Chink." 
 
 It was an odd, pathetic little figure that Jerry in- 
 dicated an undersized Chinese. A quality of white- 
 stockinged ankle showed beneath a rich and capacious 
 robe of heavily quilted Shantung silk. On his head 
 was a little black skull-cap. 
 
 "Aim at that red button," whispered Jerry. "There 
 on his cap. See who can knock it off first; one, two 
 three! Fire!" 
 
 The Chinese continued to approach, hands huddled 
 tight in the long loose sleeves of his robe, head bent.
 
 PROLOGUE 5 
 
 Unaware of his peril; unaware indeed of any on- 
 lookers, he was too absorbed in his own dreary 
 thoughts to heed the sudden "Fire!" So that the 
 attack on him came so suddenly and unexpectedly 
 that he made no attempt to protect himself. 
 
 Ball after ball of the hard snow struck him, sting- 
 ing ears and nose, breaking against his teeth as his 
 mouth gaped open. Vividly-colored streaks of light 
 blinded him. 
 
 Stunned, he stumbled and fell to his knees, his 
 hands instinctively upraised. 
 
 This was a sport after Jerry's mean coward heart ; 
 inflicting pain upon the helpless. He had waited, 
 gloating, for the others to disconcert and dismay with 
 their snow-balls until the victim would be sufficiently 
 stunned to be still and his own aim thus rendered 
 absolutely accurate. Not until then did he fling his 
 murderous missile. 
 
 It struck the little Chinaman in the exact center of 
 his forehead. The others, each of whom had com- 
 pressed another handful of snow, paused, then flung 
 them away. A cry of alarm arose. The Chinese had 
 staggered against the Renshaws' brick wall clutching 
 at the dead ivy. He brought down two hands ful as 
 he fell, a long gash in his forehead gushing out the
 
 6 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 veriest flood. The sanguinary red stained his fore- 
 head, ran into his eyes, making him a sightless thing. 
 His mouth was a red smear. 
 
 The boys drew back, some angry, all afraid, one 
 or two looking accusingly at Jerry. 
 
 "You cowards! You dirty, despicable cowards!" 
 
 A whirlwind was among them. They were being 
 bowled about, falling right and left as a bowling-ball 
 scatters ninepins. 
 
 "Who did it? Who did it? Oh, you nasty dirty 
 little rats. Don't try to run off, you, Bobby Dalgren. 
 You either, Vincent Bates." 
 
 Now that Jerry heard the voice, instead of feeling 
 the mob-terror of his young companions, he began to 
 snigger insolently. After all it was only a girl. He 
 looked closer: why it was only a damn' Reel. 
 He began to jostle his way toward her. Old helpless 
 Chinese and young helpless girls anything helpless 
 was, as Jerry expressed it, "his meat." 
 
 "Hey ! what's all this here ?" he wanted to know. 
 
 Had he taken a longer look at the blazing brown 
 eyes of the girl who had just dismounted from the 
 horse, whose head she had turned in among them 
 which was why it had seemed a whirlwind he would 
 have hardly dared dismiss "Brown Bess" as "a damn' 
 kid." True, he was a year or so older but she was
 
 PROLOGUE 7 
 
 curiously well-muscled and well- formed; girls of 
 fourteen are apt to be weak, overgrown, gangling. 
 
 This one wasn't. Had it not been for a crop of 
 tangled brown curls, negligently drawn back and tied 
 with ribbon at the nape of the neck; that, and her 
 unmistakably girlish voice, she might easily been mis- 
 taken for rather too good-looking a boy. Especially, 
 as below the skirts of her riding-coat appeared a sec- 
 tion of Bedford cord riding breeches laced tightly 
 at her thin knees. 
 
 "Who did it? Come on now. You'd better tell 
 me, Ben Cavendish." 
 
 She addressed the boy of the flaxen curls who had 
 withdrawn at the sight of Jerry's jagged stone. He 
 was now rejoining the party, his eyes reflecting some- 
 thing of the angry scorn in those of Bess Courtney's. 
 
 But they did not have the same ominous gleam. 
 
 Scenting an ally, she asked less threateningly: 
 "Who did it, Ben?" Their two heads, flaxen poll and 
 brown crop of curls, had been bent over the en- 
 sanguined face of the unconscious Oriental where he 
 lay, strangely and pathetically still. Ben Cavendish's 
 face caught something of the same red stain as the 
 girl's, whose color blazed high through her oddly 
 brown skin. 
 
 Brown skin, not tanned but brown; brown eyes
 
 8 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 red-brown like her chestnut crop of curls; it was no 
 wondered they called little Miss Courtney "Brown 
 Bess." 
 
 "I'll tell you," said little Flaxen-Poll quietly. The 
 color had fled his cheeks now; they were strangely 
 pale, for he was remembering. Is it strange with 
 Jerry scowling at him, Jerry the best-known bully of 
 small boys between Roland Park and Hampden; the 
 one most skilled in the tortures of twisted wrists and 
 bent back head ? 
 
 "Tell me, Bennie." 
 
 The little boy's forefinger straightened out as it in- 
 dicated the sullen-eyed Jerry, who, arms hanging 
 gorilla-like, moved a pace or two toward his small 
 accuser. 
 
 But Bentinck Cavendish had the blood of many 
 splendid sires behind him and although his voice 
 trembled, he still accused: 
 
 "We were only only throwing snow-balls, Bess. 
 Honest we were. He put a stone in his. That's why 
 I quit playing with him. None of us had stones in 
 ours, did we, fellows?" 
 
 They answered a confirming chorus ; then, they, too, 
 pointed out the hulking fellow. With a snarl he came 
 at them. The next moment a riding-crop came at 
 him. With a roar he threw himself at its wielder.
 
 PROLOGUE 9 
 
 But, her eyes blazing, her sturdy arm began to rise 
 and fall so fast that eyes could not follow. It stung 
 him again, again and again. Despite his rushes he 
 never got near enough to pluck it from its wielder and 
 turn it against her. Soon he was ceasing to rush and 
 was retreating, raising his voice in the bellow of a 
 savage but cowed animal. Then, quite suddenly, a 
 blow was miscalculated, and the riding-crop's snake- 
 wood handle, instead of its leather loop, thudded 
 against his hard skull. 
 
 He dropped like a butcher-stricken ox. 
 
 "You've killed him, Bess! You've killed him!" 
 
 The girl put out a small spurred boot and pushed 
 the body out of the way. "I wish I had," she said 
 fiercely. "The low coward." 
 
 The jingle of sleigh-bells approaching had ceased 
 when the thrashing of Jerry began and a sleigh had 
 pulled up at the curb. A blond young man in English 
 tweeds now tossed off the lap-robe and, throwing the 
 reins to his companion, approached the girl. She was 
 kneeling beside the prostrate Chinese, touching his 
 wound with a bit of cambric handkerchief. One tan 
 gauntlet had been flung down in the snow while she 
 was performing this errand of mercy; the stained 
 riding-crop lay alongside. The blond young man 
 picked up both.
 
 10 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 "Hello, Bess! Did you lay him out, too?" He in- 
 dicated the Oriental. 
 
 She turned and frowned at him. 
 
 "Oh! You, Frank! I'm glad you've come. You 
 see what's happened? Who's in that sleigh with 
 you ?" 
 
 "A West Point cadet Wrenne in Jim's class." 
 
 She did not appear interested. "Will you and 
 Mr. Wrenne carry this poor man to your sleigh, and 
 take him to my house. Go ahead, Frank! Don't 
 stop to think about it." 
 
 He beckoned Wrenne and between them the Chinese 
 was helped into the sleigh. 
 
 "You'll have to get out," said the girl, addressing 
 the West Pointer. "Go back to the club and wait 
 till Frank has taken him to my house. Will you please 
 hurry?" 
 
 The other youth got out. Emory put the lap-robe 
 about the Chinese, chirruped to his horse, and the 
 sleigh was off. The girl's horse, which had been stand- 
 ing quite quietly during the whole affair, looked at his 
 mistress with inquiring eyes. 
 
 "Come, help me up," she said to Wrenne. 
 
 He made a cup of his palms, into which she put 
 her foot for the slightest second; then, with a salute 
 of her riding-crop, peltered after Emory, leaving
 
 PROLOGUE 11 
 
 Wrenne with a confused vision of tangled brown 
 curls, healthy, flushed cheeks, a thin, girlish form, 
 and magnificent eyes, that had no shrinking in them. 
 He watched her as she turned into Roland Avenue, 
 seemingly a part of her brown mare, supple, swaying. 
 Then he turned to the quiet group of little boys 
 gathered around the prostrate Jerry.
 
 II 
 
 BLACK WRENNE 
 
 JERRY had a number of bruises, and one cut. 
 Industrious rubbing of snow had had its effect, 
 and he was groaning and coming out of his un- 
 consciousness. He arose to look into the eyes of young 
 Hamilton Wrenne. 
 
 "Damn that " 
 
 Wrenne had a curiously dangerous look when he 
 chose. Jerry decided not to be explicit in his damna- 
 tion. He slouched off toward Roland Avenue, and 
 Wrenne went back to the Country Club to join 
 the tea-drinking crowd that sat before the huge brick 
 fireplace, where great logs sputtered and crackled, and 
 sent thousands of little red sparks dancing up the 
 chimney. As he sat there, he took from his pocket 
 a bit of cambric stained with blood. He stared at it 
 for some time, and at the monogram in one corner 
 "E. G" Presently he went below to the lavatory, 
 and washed the cambric carefully in one of the bowls. 
 Wringing it out, he folded it and put it back in his 
 pocket. 
 
 12
 
 PROLOGUE 15 
 
 With his resumption of his seat by the fireplace, 
 he lit a cigarette and continued to meditate. He 
 did not know any of the people at the club, for he 
 was not a Baltimore man, but a guest of Frank Emory, 
 whose brother had been in his class at the Point. 
 
 But Hamilton Wrenne was not one of those 
 strangers to go unnoticed. His youth was not patent. 
 He was scarcely past his twenty-first birthday, but 
 he looked much older, due to his excessive darkness 
 and his heavy growth of beard and mustache, which, 
 although carefully shaven, was evident in the hardness 
 of his cheeks and upper lip. 
 
 He was dark in the manner peculiar to English- 
 speaking races. No one would have mistaken him 
 for a Latin. He was an atavism, a recurrence of the 
 strain of black Danes who had first ravaged, then de- 
 fended, England. His hair was quite black, his com- 
 plexion swarthy but clear. He had a hawk-nose and 
 firm lips, and a certain boldness was in his dark-blue 
 eyes. Less than six feet in height, he carried him- 
 self with so easy an erectness that he appeared taller. 
 
 He had just finished his cigarette when Frank 
 Emory returned, and drew another armchair up be- 
 side him. Stretching his arms, he ungloved his hands 
 and rubbed them before the fire.
 
 14 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 "Might as well take dinner here now, Hammy," he 
 said. "It'll be too late to get home in time to 
 dress. They're to have the Yarnells and some others 
 there to-night, and they'll expect us to show some 
 open front. The club for me." 
 
 Wrenne acquiesced. They sent a servant for a 
 bill of fare, ordered, and sat back, smoking. 
 
 "Who was the girl, Frank?" Wrenne asked. 
 
 "Oh! Brown Bess! Miss Elizabeth Courtney, if 
 you like that better. Won't she be a lulu when she 
 grows up? She's only about sixteen now ! Why, she's 
 Austin Courtney's sister. Austin's the paying-teller 
 at the Iron Bank. Awfully good family, and all that 
 up to their neck in debts. Father gambled most of 
 it away. Relatives had some pull, and got Austin 
 in the bank. He's one of your sporty kind. Chorus 
 girls and the races, and bachelor apartments in town. 
 Lot he helps the family. Don't know how they get 
 credit. Guess the relatives help some. George Gris- 
 com's wife is Mrs. Courtney's sister, and the Gris- 
 coms could give every man in Baltimore a couple of 
 dollars apiece and not know they had spent anything. 
 Bess is going to make good, though." 
 
 "She's one of the most attractive kids I ever saw," 
 Wrenne remarked. 
 
 "She sure is. But I wasn't thinking about her
 
 PROLOGUE 15 
 
 looks. She paints, you know. Now, don't make that 
 silly joke I mean, of course, that she paints pictures." 
 
 "At her age !" 
 
 "Well, I should say so. She's been drawing ever 
 since she was a tot. Original as the devil! Made a 
 caricature of Jim in his first cadet uniform, four 
 years ago, when she was twelve. I've got it framed 
 and hung up in my room." 
 
 "You mean to tell me a twelve-year-old kid did 
 that ! Why, I thought that " 
 
 "Oh, yes, I know. Everybody does. We all con- 
 cede that Bess is a wonder. She's gone in for tech- 
 nique lately, and works every day at the Charcoal 
 Club. They've got a man there who used to be with 
 Julian, and who took some prizes at the Paris salon. 
 He's enthusiastic about her. Bess is the girl for my 
 money, all right. And she can ride like a clipper, 
 too. She follows the Elkridge hounds every Satur- 
 day, and has got the nerve and pluck of any two 
 average men." 
 
 They went below to wash up, and later one of the 
 servants informed them their dinner was ready. 
 
 "When are you going back to the Point, Hammy?" 
 asked Emory, when they were seated by one of the 
 square-paned windows overlooking the snow-covered 
 valley.
 
 1 DOOR OP THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 He had met Wrenne at Union Station early that 
 afternoon, and taken him out in his sleigh before going 
 home. Up to now they had not discussed personali- 
 ties. Emory was rather surprised that Wrenne was 
 not at the academy, for he knew the winter term was 
 on. Wrenne was to graduate that year along with 
 Frank's brother Jim. 
 
 "I'm not going back at all, Frank," answered 
 Wrenn. "I was booked through for Washington, but 
 I thought I'd drop off here and let you know about 
 my case. I probably sha'n't see you again for years 
 and years. I've an appointment to-morrow with the 
 Chinese ambassador in Washington." 
 
 "With the Chinese ambassador!" Emory laid down 
 his fork. 
 
 "Prezactly! He is to give me my appointment as 
 a captain in the Chinese army!" 
 
 Emory stared at him, not well pleased. "Chucking 
 the service?" 
 
 "Been chucked, Frank. Oh, it was done very 
 quietly! The superintendent was a friend of dad's, 
 and he allowed me to resign. They caught me playing 
 cards after taps. It was my room the rest skedad- 
 dled. Lights up, and Cadet Captain Hamilton Wrenne 
 discovered amid playing-cards, poker-chips, beer- 
 bottles, and cigarettes. Case for courtmartial, all
 
 PROLOGUE 17 
 
 right ; but the newspapers have been making so beastly 
 much rot over hazing and other things that the court- 
 martial was given the go-by. The superintendent 
 asked me for the names of the other chaps. In case 
 I peached, I was to be reduced to the ranks, lose a 
 lot of points in grade, do 'sentry-go' for a month or 
 so, etcetera, and etcetera. The others would get the 
 same dose. In case I refused to give up, I would lose 
 the chance of graduating." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 Hamilton Wrenne smiled. "Good Lord, Frank!" 
 he said, protestingly. 
 
 "Of course, old man." 
 
 Wrenne drank some coffee. "Well, it was hard 
 lines. Dad and grandad both retired generals, and 
 their son not allowed to graduate! Perhaps it's better 
 they're dead. They'd have taken it pretty hard. But 
 the superintendent was decent. He let me resign, and 
 recommended that my resignation be accepted. Then 
 he took me aside, and told me the Chinese were look- 
 ing for military-school men to teach their soldiers to 
 fight in our fashion. I made application and was ac- 
 cepted. To-morrow I see the Chinese ambassador, 
 .get my appointment and expenses, and go to Peking." 
 
 Emory stretched his hand across the table, and 
 touched the other's fingers. "Good boy, Hammy!"
 
 18 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 he said softly. "But it was hard lines, hard lines. 
 You were pretty near at the top of your class, too." 
 
 "Only one man ahead of me." Wrenne sat silent 
 for a minute, then: "Let's have a drink, Frank. I 
 can't sign checks at this club, or I'd order one myself. 
 Don't bother about me. I'm going to have a good time 
 out there in China. I haven't read Kipling for 
 nothing. Always did want to get 'somewheres east of 
 Suez' was going to apply for a Philippine's scouts' 
 commission. Dare say I can climb higher in this 
 Chinese service. I'll have a freer hand, anyhow." 
 
 They drank to one another. The dinner finished, 
 they lingered over their cognac, coffee, and cigarettes. 
 
 "Where does Bess Courtney live?" 
 
 "Only about two blocks from here. Curious her 
 taking in that Chinese, wasn't it, and you going out 
 to China? Do you know what that fool kid did? 
 She took him right into the house, and made their 
 nigger John undress him and put him to bed. Then 
 she sent for the doctor. Curious kid, very. Why 
 do you ask?" 
 
 Hamilton Wrenne had taken the bit of cambric 
 handkerchief from his pocket. He was rubbing it 
 between his fingers. 
 
 "Like to drop over and call?" 
 
 For a moment an affirmative trembled on Wrenne's
 
 PROLOGUE 19 
 
 lips, but it went away when he smiled. It was rather 
 a sad smile, and a shake of the head accompanied it 
 "I'd be afraid to, Frank. You see, I've got to start 
 for China to-morrow."
 
 BOOK THE FIRST
 
 CHAPTER I 
 To PAINT THE PORTRAIT OF A PRINCI 
 
 The favor of your presence is requested on 
 the evening of the :8th of October at 
 Holmwood House: 
 
 To meet 
 His Imperial Highness: 
 
 Prince Chu'un. 
 R.S.V.P. to 
 Mrs. Patterson Corby. 
 
 THIS form of invitation was in the hands of 
 every one of the slightest note in Washington 
 society by October i. And no one failed to 
 send an acceptance. It was not often that even Wash- 
 ingtonians were able to meet the brother of an em- 
 peror; and Prince Chu'un and his imperial Chinese 
 majesty had the same father. 
 
 The prince was distinguished in another way. He 
 had been partly educated among white people. Pat- 
 terson Corby had been his classmate at Oxford, and 
 adjudged him as a very decent sort of chap according 
 to any standard. It was a distinct plume in Mrs. 
 
 3
 
 24 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 Corby's bonnet that she should, by virtue of this 
 previous acquaintanceship be able to introduce the 
 prince to the social elect of Washington; and she re- 
 duced a check-book to stubs in order that the setting 
 should be fit for the jewel. 
 
 Patterson Corby had family, and his wife had 
 wealth. Holmwood House was, therefore, an exceed- 
 ingly desirable place to which to be invited. It was 
 a huge pile of white masonry in the Renaissance style 
 stone-walled, iron-gated, with a grassy stretch sur- 
 rounding it, an Italian pergola, and a toy lake. Within, 
 it was distinguished by lofty ceilings, marble pillars, 
 marvelous frescos, and not too much furniture. The 
 Patterson Corbys believed in long stretches of space, 
 in order that their priceless fittings might be properly 
 appreciated. 
 
 Mrs. Patterson Corby received in the Chinese room. 
 This had been one of her pet projects ; and on it she 
 had lavished much wealth, attention, and good taste. 
 It now fitted quite excellently into the scheme of 
 things. Its frescos might have been the wonder of 
 Chinese artists, for they carried out the Oriental style 
 and color effect, but were executed with the strength 
 and originality of a brain not so old as the Chinese. 
 The painted silk screens were from the same hand. 
 The carved chairs, lacquered columns, swinging-
 
 A PORTRAIT OF A PRINCE 25 
 
 lamps, and rare rugs were only to be rivaled by those 
 of the imperial palace itself. A subtle Oriental per- 
 fume pervaded the atmosphere. 
 
 The guests began to arrive at a little after nine, 
 and Mrs. Corby received from a raised platform, the 
 prince by her side, and behind him a man in the dress 
 uniform of the Chinese Army gorgeous yellow with 
 gold frogging, and a crucifix-hilted sword encrusted 
 with topazes. There were several decorations on his 
 breast, and, as he stood bareheaded, he held in his 
 hand a mandarin hat, with peacock plume and crystal 
 button. They saw him to be a Caucasian. 
 
 Prince Chu'un himself was an exceedingly hand- 
 some but weak-chinned Oriental. His eyes were not 
 oblique, nor was his nose flat. His features were as 
 regular as a European's might have been, and only 
 his saffron complexion marked him indubitably a 
 Chinese. He had splendid, enthusiastic eyes, and a 
 thin, straight, high-bridged nose. 
 
 Dressed in the imperial yellow, with a Double- 
 Dragon interwoven throughout in gold threads, his 
 gown belted about the waist by a golden-linked belt, 
 clasped with a carven topaz, he was a singularly stately 
 figure. He held his hat in his hand, in deference to 
 the European custom, as he smiled upon each briefly 
 presented one, turning afterward with a graceful
 
 26 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 sweep of the body to the uniformed man behind 
 him: 
 
 "My aide-de-camp, Colonel Wrenne." 
 And the guests, mixing with one another, and gen- 
 erally failing to catch the name, asked one another 
 .who that striking-looking, black-visaged man might be. 
 "His aide-de-camp, Colonel Somebody." 
 ""But he's not a Chinese." 
 
 "Who said he was? They have white officers in 
 "the Chinese Army." This from the former consul to 
 Shanghai. 
 
 "Do you know him?" 
 
 But the consul was out of ear-shot. 
 
 "His name's Wrenne," volunteered the daughter of 
 a cabinet official. "He called on father the other 
 day." 
 
 "Wrenne? Well, upon my soul, if it isn't old 
 Hammy Wrenne !" An army lieutenant speaking this 
 time. 
 
 "Do you know him?" 
 
 "Rath-er! My cadet captain. Resigned five years 
 ago. Sad story, very. Never mind that. Heard he 
 went out to China and quite distinguished himself. 
 Must have a word with old Hammy." 
 
 He took himself off. 
 
 But it was not particularly easy to have word with
 
 A PORTRAIT OF A PRINCE 27 
 
 Colonel Hamilton Wrenne about that time. The 
 formal presentation of the guests over, the prince and 
 his body-guard had been surrounded by half a score 
 of gushing debutantes and earnest, purposeful ladies 
 interested in Chinese foreign missions. The prince, 
 who spoke very good English, was trying to answer 
 the purposeful ladies, while Wrenne managed to keep 
 the debutantes at bay. 
 
 In fact, it was a toss-up as to which one of the two 
 was really the most interesting. This Colonel Wrenne, 
 with his clear, swarthy skin, his intensely black hair 
 and bold eyes, his tightly fitting uniform and shining 
 boots bringing out every line of his slim, powerful 
 form, was decidedly out of the ordinary. An Ameri- 
 can, young, the confidant of the prince. There was a 
 smack of the mysterious about him to which his care- 
 less air and clear-cut features gave an entrancing 
 touch of the debonair. He was ready with his tongue, 
 too; had many pleasant gallantries and an effective 
 manner of rendition, so that for the moment the 
 recipient of the flattery imagined that he might have 
 implied more than he said. 
 
 He was growing decidedly tired of it, however, 
 and welcomed the news that the grand opera tenor 
 had arrived. He sought the prince, and the crowd 
 followed them to the music-room, those who could not
 
 28 DOOR OF_THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 get in making the best of it in the conservatories 
 outside. 
 
 It was then that the prince managed to speak 
 privately for a moment with his aide-de-camp. 
 
 "You saw that marvelous artistry, Black Wrenne? 
 You saw the clouds and the rice-fields and the 
 dragons? You saw the Buddha face? Eh, my 
 Wrenne?" 
 
 "You mean the decorations of the room where you 
 were received ?" 
 
 "No other, my Wrenne. Wonder that we have not 
 the artist at the palace. Chinese he surely is; but 
 in China we have no such artist. What do you think, 
 my Black Wrenne eh?" 
 
 "It's good work," the aide-de-camp responded. 
 "I'll ask this Corby woman the name of the artist 
 when De Kurtz finishes." 
 
 The tenor was vociferously applauded. He put one 
 hand on his little fat stomach, bowed so that the 
 lights shone on the pomaded remnants of his hair, 
 and strutted off. 
 
 "If he could only sing from behind a screen!" 
 sighed a female voice near Wrenne. He turned, and 
 caught a glimpse of hair like burnished copper, with 
 two little curls loose at the neck. He would have
 
 A PORTRAIT OF A PRINCE 29 
 
 followed, for some vague recognition had come to his 
 mind. The prince's hand on his arm detained him. 
 
 "The turkey-cock will again crow !" said the prince. 
 
 De Kurtz was back by the piano for his encore. 
 He had a marvelous voice; and the proof of it lay 
 in the fact that, when he had bowed, many took deep 
 "breaths. Mrs. Patterson Corby herself had forgotten 
 the prince for the minute. Now she was by his side 
 again, but the wife of the British ambassador had 
 claimed his attention, and she was left to speak to 
 Hamilton Wrenne. She said something unimportant 
 about De Kurtz's singing, to which he replied in kind, 
 then: 
 
 "Mrs. Corby, the prince admires your decorations 
 in the Chinese room." 
 
 She smiled brilliantly. 
 
 "Does he? I'm terribly glad. I think they're 
 simply perfect. He must meet the artist. She's here 
 to-night." 
 
 "She?" 
 
 "Yes. Isn't it odd? A girl did them. And " 
 
 "American?" 
 
 "Yes. She's a sort of relative of mine. That is, 
 George Griscom's wife is her aunt. And George is 
 a cousin of mine. Her family's awfully hard up. 
 Nice people, though, very ! Baltimoreans. You might
 
 30 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 know them. The Oh, there she is. Come along, 
 
 Colonel Wrenne." 
 
 He followed her as she threaded her way through 
 couples and groups straight to where a girl in a white 
 lace gown was talking to a lean, bronzed Englishman 
 and a thin Japanese. Both had the broad, red ribbon 
 of the Diplomatic Corps across their shirt-fronts ; and 
 both wore a multiplicity of glittering orders pinned to 
 the lapels of their dress coats. 
 
 "Miss Courtney, let me present Colonel Wrenne. 
 Bess, this is Prince Chu'un's friend. They've been 
 admiring your work tremendously." 
 
 Remembering her duty as a hostess, Mrs. Corby 
 then went elsewhere. 
 
 "Do you know Captain Abercrombie and Count 
 Ito Ugichi, Colonel Wrenne?" 
 
 He bowed to the Englishman and nodded to the 
 Japanese. "Oh, I know the count," he said. His 
 tone did not imply that he knew anything favorable 
 about him. "How d'ye do, captain? Think we had 
 you up at Shan-hai-kuan once, didn't we? I was 
 sorry I wasn't there. Parker spoke of you." 
 
 "Oh, quite right. To be sure. Hamilton Wrenne, 
 eh? Yes, to be sure. So you're old Yuan-shi-Kai's 
 pet what? The man who put down the rebellion 
 in Cheh-li ? I say, come to the club after this is over,
 
 A PORTRAIT OF A PRINCE 31 
 
 won't you? Army and Navy yes! You've a card, 
 of course. I'd like to talk over China-way with you. 
 Chin-chin." 
 
 This with the smile of those who have a common 
 interest in the Orient. He bowed to Miss Courtney, 
 and went off. 
 
 "The prince is looking for you, Ugichi," said 
 Wrenne. 
 
 The Japanese did not look very well pleased, but 
 his meaningless smile submerged his expression. With 
 him gone, Wrenne took the girl's arm and led her 
 into the chrysanthemum section of the conservatory, 
 where great balls of yellow, white, and pink nodded 
 at them. He seated her, and remained standing, look- 
 ing down at her wealth of hair, little curls of which 
 clung about her neck, ears and forehead. 
 
 She had lost the thinness of her childhood. From 
 her rosy rounded shoulders to her delicately arched 
 ankles she was of an exquisite slimness. But the 
 eyes were the same that old red-brown, almost com- 
 parable to the darkest of rubies, with slumbering fires 
 in their depths. They matched the odd olive color- 
 ing of her skin, which nevertheless had nothing un- 
 Anglo-Saxon about it; nothing of the Latin or even 
 the Gaul. Her coloring might have been that of 
 Long Will Langland's "Nut-Browne Mayde."
 
 32 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 "Still 'Brown Bess.' " It was this that caused him to 
 speak his thoughts aloud. 
 
 It was the first thing he had said, although he had 
 been looking at her for some time. She had returned 
 his gaze frankly. 
 
 "Do you know I was going to quote Tweedledum 
 to you: 'If you think we're wax images, you ought 
 to pay ; if you think we're human ' " 
 
 "Well, you don't look like most humans," was the 
 clumsy best he could do. 
 
 "Hamilton Wrenne, royal favorite of women !" she 
 smiled. 
 
 He added hastily, blushing as he told her: 
 
 "I've remembered you for five years." 
 
 "Perhaps you have a mind for detail," she sug- 
 gested sweetly. "Most military people have. In what 
 train of well-ordered thought was I a detail." 
 
 "Not a detail at all the radiating center." 
 
 "Bravo! On the left we have the radiating lady." 
 
 "Seriously, Miss Courtney Brown Bess you 
 don't remember me, eh?" 
 
 "I have a vague recollection of your intense black- 
 ness of hair and eyes. I can't conceive forgetting 
 those. I'm a painter, you see." 
 
 "You take away with your left what you give with 
 your right. However, my vanity isn't hurt. You only
 
 A PORTRAIT OF A PRINCE 33 
 
 saw me for a minute maybe less. It was five years 
 ago. The Club Road at Roland Park. Some boys 
 throwing stones at a Chinese !" 
 
 "You " 
 
 "No, I wasn't one of the boys throwing stones. You 
 flatter my youth, Brown Bess. I was the man you 
 peremptorily ordered out of the sleigh." 
 
 "You " 
 
 "Yes. I'd just been sacked from West Point, and 
 had accepted an appointment in the Chinese Army! 
 The next day I saw the Chinese ambassador, and 
 before night I was on my way to San Francisco to 
 take the P. M. boat for Shanghai." 
 
 "Frank Emory's friend!" 
 
 "Yes. I must look up Frank, by the bye. I sup- 
 pose he " 
 
 "He's in his father's office. A lawyer. All the 
 Emorys take to the law when they don't go into the 
 army. They are a family with traditions." 
 
 "Yes, to be sure. Well, you can see now how I've 
 remembered you. It was the turning-point in my 
 life." 
 
 "I told you I was only a detail." She laughed. 
 
 "Let's be serious," pleaded Wrenne. 
 
 "Gayety doesn't come often enough to fling it away 
 carelesslike. We can be serious enough without try-
 
 34 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 ing. However, have it your own way. That was 
 the turning-point in my life, too. And also due to 
 Chinese influence. There's a bond of futurity be- 
 tween us, Colonel Wrenne." 
 
 "How a turning-point in your life?" 
 
 "You remember the Chinese I took home ? He was 
 the influence. It so happened that he was a Chinese 
 gentleman and an artist in his way. I nursed him 
 through an attack of brain fever, and he took some 
 sort of a fancy to me. Mother was furious, but well,, 
 she gave in. We had a little out-house on the grounds,, 
 and he went there to live. He paid us for it by taking 
 care of our garden. Thanks to him, we have the most 
 magnificent garden anywhere about Baltimore. He 
 could do the queerest things with flowers. He added 
 to it, and finally built a hothouse. The family's 
 awfully glad he's with us now there's a big demand 
 for his flowers. He's quite the fashionable florist.. 
 And we get the money! Nice, isn't it?" 
 
 "Very. But his influence on you?" 
 
 "He taught me the Chinese color scheme and dis- 
 tance effect. Also the grotesquerie. My own instincts 
 supply the realism of face and figure. Occidental 
 technique added to Oriental imagery! It's something 
 quite new."
 
 A PORTRAIT OF A PRINCE 35 
 
 "You've done wonderful work. This Chinese of 
 yours must be a treasure." 
 
 "He is. It's odd, isn't it? 
 
 "Everything connected with the Chinese is odd to 
 us. We can't get their view-point. The Chinese soul 
 is old; very old. It's been satiated with all the emo- 
 tions. We are distressingly new and interested. I'd 
 like to see your Chinese treasure." 
 
 "You can't. He won't have anything to do with 
 other Chinese, nor with anyone who's been in China. 
 I've tried that before. There's some sort of a mystery 
 there." 
 
 "Everything Chinese is mysterious to us. But, 
 Miss Courtney, I want you to meet the prince." 
 
 "I shook hands with both him and you. You don't 
 seem to remember that!" 
 
 "I must have been saying something to the last per- 
 son I shook hands with. Will you come?" 
 
 She nodded. They left the conservatory. The 
 prince was not in the Chinese room, the music-room, 
 nor the Louis XIV. reception-room. They ran him to 
 earth under a hexagonal lantern in the Flemish cell. 
 
 Miss Courtney was briefly presented as "the artist 
 the Imperial one had deigned to notice." Wrenne 
 used the florid form satirically. 
 
 "He mocks our customs in his English, this Black
 
 36 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 Wrenne," smiled the prince. "You know our art, it 
 would seem, Miss Courtney. I had imagined the artist 
 one of my countrymen. A new touch ! You preserve 
 our conventions and atmosphere, and add realism. I 
 am very charmed with your work, Miss Courtney." 
 
 She thanked him. 
 
 "You paint the face pardon! the portrait?" 
 
 "I have done both face and figure from Chinese 
 models. But it was generally symbolical." 
 
 "I have a reason for asking, Miss Courtney. My 
 portrait has never been painted. My aunt, the queen- 
 mother, has had her portrait done by an American; a 
 Miss Karl. She is pleased with it. She has also set a 
 precedent. I may now follow her example." 
 
 "You mean " 
 
 She had lost her self-control. She was almost gasp- 
 ing. 
 
 "I mean I shall be in Washington for some little 
 time, and I should like you to paint my portrait, Miss 
 Courtney."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE SLEEPING SERPENT WITH THE STRANGLING 
 TAIL 
 
 THE half-light of a drizzling afternoon did little 
 to light up a private cabinet in the Japanese 
 legation where two men sat with the passive 
 calm of the Oriental belying their inward tumult. One 
 was Count Ito Ugichi, special envoy of the mikado to 
 where he willed; the other, whom his countrymen 
 called "Gray Fox" keen, resourceful, unscrupulous; 
 most dangerous for his original brain. He was in a 
 heavy silk kimono, this Gray Fox ; his feet slippered 
 the count frock-coated, gray-trousered, nursing a 
 walking-stick with gloved hands. Matters of moment 
 had been discussed, plans made, details discussed. 
 They lingered over personalities, speaking in their own 
 language. 
 
 "To us, already in debt many hundred million yen, 
 this is no light matter, Ito-san. Our country groans 
 under new taxation, our customs are mortgaged to the 
 English, our internal revenue to the Americans. We 
 have little money, Ito-san." 
 
 37
 
 38 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 "It is to be that we have much when this end is con- 
 summated. The treasuries of China think you, grave 
 one! The stones groan in the Temple of the Son of 
 Heaven; groan under much weight of gold. The 
 darkness alone greets the seven thousand eyes of Bud- 
 dha. The door of the Double-Dragon is closed. Think 
 you what wealth, son of the Samurai " 
 
 The other's beady eyes shone greedily out of their 
 red rims. 
 
 "Think, too, of Taotais and viceroys to be sweated 
 out of ill-gotten gains; of lamas with treasure hid in 
 their monasteries. Kwannon and Shaka shall take for 
 their own the treasure of these heretical Shintos. And 
 Nippon shall play nakodo." * 
 
 He grinned. But so long had he made this grin 
 meaningless, that when he would have had it significant, 
 he failed. Too long had he worn the mask for mo- 
 bility to visit his countenance. 
 
 "Think!" 
 
 The other man combed his thin point of gray beard 
 with talonlike fingers. His smile was a purely specu- 
 lative one. 
 
 "Almost am I convinced, Ito-san. You make honor- 
 able promises !" 
 
 Ito Ugichi made a wry face. "Too long have I 
 
 * Middle man.
 
 THE SLEEPING SERPENT 39 
 
 listened to these Western barbarians," he said. "They 
 have another word for what we would do. 'Honor- 
 able' to them that is different !" 
 
 "The Ugichi hath no fear of the future?" Gray 
 Fox smiled. 
 
 "There are eels that sting as serpents. There are 
 serpents that much resemble eels. I know these 
 Westerners better than the esteemed father's son ! At 
 times I have fear of them. Then I say: What chance 
 have they ? We, the subtle, the wise of many genera- 
 tions, may outgeneral them at every point. Yet there 
 is a subtlety of eternal innocence ; a well-spring fit for 
 drowning in the clear truth. Fuji! there is a certain 
 muddiness in my metaphors which the well-spring 
 might do well in lacking. You grasp me, Gray Fox?" 
 
 Quite inscrutable the other, with his wisely smiling 
 face. His benevolent hypocrisy was as much a mask 
 as Ito's meaningless grin. 
 
 "Fear!" He stroked the beard-point thoughtfully. 
 "We do not fear what we understand, Ugichi. Had 
 these Westerners remained always innocent they might 
 be more dangerous. Perforce now they add the sem- 
 blance of cunning which only old races may have. In 
 believing their acuteness, they are delivered into the 
 hand of Nippon. A holy innocent may not easily be 
 gulled. A man wise in his own egotism is but the prey
 
 40 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 of the truly wise. Kwannon preserve thy intellect 
 among these muddled metaphysics ! The deed for the 
 word, good Ugichi !" 
 
 Ugichi fondled the cane. "I fear them sometimes 
 not often. As a nation, never, but individuals a 
 difference there, gnawing Gray Fox! It is no fault 
 of these Americans that, as a country, they are stupid. 
 The fault is otherwise." He paused. "They have the 
 wrong men at the head of things." 
 
 Gray Fox looked triumphant. "My theory, good 
 Ugichi, but rehashed ! Spake I not so in Yeddo, sev- 
 eral years ago ? We had gulled this American nation. 
 As we fought with Russia they cheered and en- 
 couraged us; sent for our hospitals money; for our 
 famine sufferers, food." 
 
 He laughed mirthlessly. 
 
 "They were pleased to patronize us, O good Ugichi ! 
 We of Nippon! Our good friends they! 'The poor 
 
 little Jap/ said they " He quoted in English, 
 
 mimicking: " 'The poor little Jap fighting the great 
 bearded Russian.' They are one great gallery, these 
 Americans. Of us they made a hero !" 
 
 Both took to laughing now, their glee unrepressed. 
 
 "We told them how we loved them ! Ah, we loved 
 them nobly, good Ugichi ! Nobly ! Ha ! 'We imitate 
 you,' said we. Teach us to be like you. We would sit
 
 THE SLEEPING SERPENT 41 
 
 at the master's feet and learn. We would be the 
 Yankees of the East' Barbarian fools! That they 
 might teach us aught !" 
 
 Into his eyes came a sadness. 
 
 "And yet I would it were not so, Ugichi. My 
 thrice-honored and divinely deceased father he of the 
 Daimio he told me much of the old days. A happy 
 people we. Happy in our own islands, with none but 
 our own people, believing most devoutly in our gods, 
 tilling the land; happy aye, Ugichi, happy. To us 
 had been preached contentment ; the pursuit of naught 
 save the spiritual weal ; the content of the cot and the 
 palace. Long ago that, my Ugichi." 
 
 He lost the mask and was suddenly quite fierce. 
 
 "What cared we for these foreigners with their new 
 machinery, their lights of electricity, their hideous 
 clothes, their false modesty, their guns, and their belch- 
 ing ships! We were happy happy, my Ugichi." 
 
 There was a wail in his voice. 
 
 "Long we resisted them forbade them entrance to 
 our shores; forbade that they bring to us knowledge 
 of what we did not need, which, knowing, we might 
 desire and strive for. But their all-conquering greed 
 for money drove them on. They forced themselves 
 upon us with roaring sea-monsters of steel and iron;
 
 42 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 with iron tubes that sent death-hail among us and 
 then!" 
 
 Ugichi clasped his stick firmly, a sudden gleam in his 
 eyes. 
 
 "Then the sleeping serpent opened his eyes. The 
 guileful serpent of Nippon! They had trodden upon 
 his tail, and his eyes blinked upon them. He saw their 
 strength, their superior cunning of instruments. A 
 wise serpent! What then?" 
 
 " 'By their own standards they set everything, these 
 barbarians.' So the serpent! 'Long have I pondered 
 over the things of the beyond. That I may further 
 dream, let me preserve my peace by besting them in the 
 things of the world. My lack of mechanics is lack of 
 inclination. As brain to brain you are fledglings; 
 Western materialists.' 
 
 "And so he set himself to learn. And now now 
 the canker has spread grown. No longer does he 
 desire contentment. A materialist he he grasps, this 
 serpent. He would wrap the world in his tail and 
 strangle it. For he hath a very strong, supple tail, O 
 Ugichi." 
 
 Gray Fox fell back, exhausted. He coughed. 
 Ugichi patted his back. 
 
 "Yes," he said, with a certain ferocity, "they 
 brought it upon themselves, these barbarians. They
 
 THE SLEEPING SERPENT 43 
 
 awakened the serpent. He cannot sleep again not 
 again. He must own all or be scotched this great 
 serpent of ours. For our contentment is gone; no 
 longer do we believe in our gods; no longer care for 
 aught save conquest " 
 
 Both lost the sadness of eyes became expression- 
 less again. Gray Fox spoke brusquely. 
 
 "And when we have put Prince Chu'un on the 
 throne of China; made him the thirteenth emperor; 
 removed Kwang-Hsu of the 'Great Purity,' and his 
 aunt, 'She of the Western Palace'; when Japanese 
 rifles in the hands of Chinese rebels make echoes 
 through the red-walled city do we not chance aught? 
 Eh, there, my Ugichi? How then of Chu'un? Fine 
 promises are the prerogative of princes of the succes- 
 sion. How then?" 
 
 "With a Nipponese army within the gates ? A ques- 
 tion unworthy of Gray Fox. Of Prince Chu'un fear 
 nothing. Upon me he leans entirely in this matter. 
 He would be emperor. Tze-Hsi would have Tuan, 
 the third brother of Kwang-Su, the future son of 
 heaven and Tze-Hsi rules China. Well are her pal- 
 ace doors marked 'Sho.' * She would live forever, 
 this barren, sharp-toothed she-wolf. And suces- 
 sion for Chu'un comes not while Tze-Hsi lives. 
 * Longevity.
 
 44 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 China sweats under oppression and the inroads of the* 
 foreigners. They curse the emperor secretly as a babe 
 in the hands of the unbeloved dowager. We of Nip- 
 pon have given them strength and belief in the yellow 
 man. Before they had thought the white race in- 
 vincible. Now with the White Bear fleeing to his 
 Siberian steppes the Great Fear is gone. Chu'un, 
 with Nippon at his back, would be hailed with 'Ban- 
 zais' but of this discussion what use? Fate has 
 willed. It is the Emperor's desire " 
 
 They bowed their heads. Feudality is no dead thing 
 with the Japanese. They had spoken of their ruler. 
 
 Ugichi picked up his silk hat, smoothed the nap, and 
 prepared himself to go. "There is but one obstacle; 
 one whom I fear. Not that he will not aid in the plot, 
 for it is to his interest that Chu'un be emperor ; for of 
 him Chu'un hath made a companion, a sharer of 
 secrets, an adviser in military law, and other affairs. 
 Black-visaged this fellow, and secret in his ways. Some 
 frowning storm-god of Fuji might have fashioned his 
 face." 
 
 "The American aide-de-camp?" 
 
 "He is the man." 
 
 "And you fear him?" 
 
 "Because of his great secretiveness. He holds his 
 tongue well, the Black Wrenne. Of monumental aid
 
 THE SLEEPING SERPENT 45 
 
 to me in my share in the details, for he hath a cunning 
 mind and a great understanding of men. Of conscience 
 little. No hypocrite, in verity, but his strength and 
 reserve make me fear him. It would appear that he 
 deems a certain amount of subtlety enough for the 
 gaze of others than himself, chuckling meanwhile that 
 they believe it his all. But of him I have no present 
 
 fear; only later when Chu'un be emperor Now 
 
 he is quite occupied " 
 
 "Another scheme?" 
 
 "The painter of portraits. The Spirit of the Cherry- 
 Blossoms she of pink cheeks and ruddy hair. She 
 paints the portrait of the prince, but her eyes are for 
 Black Wrenne. And when a woman engrosseth a 
 man, plots and counterplots find him not too eager for 
 them." 
 
 He nourished his hat. Gray Fox arose and put his 
 talonlike hands on the other's shoulders. His rodent- 
 like eyes searched those of his subordinate. 
 
 "I have heard tales of the woman with the ruddy 
 hair. Kwannon hath many eyes. It is said that the 
 Count Ito Ugichi is seen often to enter the house where 
 she paints." 
 
 Ugichi dropped his gaze. The talons tightened on 
 his shoulders. 
 
 "Remember, it is as you have said: 'When a woman
 
 48 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 engrosseth a man, plots and counterplots find him not 
 too eager for them.' Be careful ! An infatuation with 
 a Western woman is death, Ugichi. We cannot under- 
 stand them, we of the Orient. There have been among 
 us men who have striven for them. When we desire 
 our own women, we buy them of their parents in 
 proper, discreet fashion. With them is no perturba- 
 tion of mind; only pandering to our bodily cravings. 
 These Western women have a fashion of setting brain 
 alight, of destroying subtlety, of making of man abject 
 mental slaves, while the craze lasts so beware, 
 Ugichi!" 
 
 The count met his gaze, but quickly withdrew his 
 
 eyes. "To me why this " He was not speaking 
 
 confidently. From this keen Gray Fox even the mind 
 seemed an unsafe place to hide passions unauthorized. 
 
 "Remember you belong to the Son of Heaven. 
 Forgetting, you may achieve no merit for Ito Ugichi."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 BLACK WRENNE Bows TO BROWN BESS 
 
 PRINCE CHU'UN'S portrait was finished. Bess 
 stood off and observed It with critical eye. It 
 was not as good as she expected to do five 
 years hence ; but the best that her present power could 
 compass. 
 
 It stood, propped against the chair on the model's 
 platform in her Washington studio, which overlooked 
 Lafayette Park. Through the bay windows of the 
 old mansion one caught a glimpse of the White House 
 across the way, and the fagade of the State, War, and 
 Navy Building. The house had once been occupied by 
 a prominent Washington family; afterward it had 
 been the abode of successive cabinet ministers. When 
 the tide of fashion swept up Connecticut Avenue way, 
 the lower floor had been let as offices for a branch 
 of the Federal judiciary, while the upper floors had 
 been converted into studios. Bess had the spacious 
 attic, which had once been the family store-room. It 
 possessed the facilities of a good north light, and a 
 
 47
 
 48 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 splendid view. There were stairs to climb, but that 
 was nothing to a young, healthy woman like Bess. 
 
 She addressed the Chinese who stood gazing at her 
 work the same Chinese who, five years before, had 
 been taken to her home in Frank Emery's sleigh. At 
 first sight he might have been mistaken for a Japanese 
 cue gone, hair clipped close to his head, wearing a 
 lounge-suit of brown tweeds. He had deliberately 
 sacrificed the cue by his action tacitly acknowledging 
 that he did not intend to return to his native land. 
 
 "Well, Lee, what do you think of it?" 
 
 It was his first sight of the picture. He had come 
 over from Baltimore only that day to see his pupil's 
 work before its delivery to the Chinese prince. Bess 
 had told him much concerning the portrait, going to 
 and fro between Baltimore and Washington almost 
 every day. 
 
 He answered slowly and in excellent English : 
 
 "The hand here !" He pointed. "There is 
 
 too much of it it attracts the eye from the face by 
 being so conspicuous. You have put into the hand 
 much character the character of the man and to it 
 first people will look. This fold of the inner robe is 
 in too sharp a contrast to the curve of the angle " 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders, and, reaching over, re- 
 draped the picture.
 
 BLACK WRENNE BOWS 49 
 
 "Well ?" Bess had disappointment in her tone. 
 
 He came to her, smiling softy, and took both her 
 hands in his. 
 
 "It is because I fear to make you satisfied that I am 
 lacking in praise, plum-blossom!" 
 
 "Then it is good oh, Lee!" 
 
 "It is good, little flower of my heart. But better 
 things you shall yet do. Save the two defects I have 
 mentioned, there are no faults to find. And now I go 
 back!" 
 
 He picked up his brown bowler hat and gloves. 
 
 "I have no wish to meet the brother of the Son of 
 Heaven. Nor his American soldier. All things Chinese 
 I have left behind me, plum-blossom. I would not be 
 reminded." 
 
 They shook hands. 
 
 "Lee!" with sudden alarm "you are not looking 
 well. You have been working too hard, Lee. You are 
 not well." 
 
 He smiled. "No? You have noticed it?" 
 
 He had the head of a Confucius, the puny body of 
 a lama. There was much to distinguish him in feature 
 the lofty forehead, bulging outward : the high cheek- 
 bones; the face curving to a point. His eyes were 
 those of the thinker, dreamer, and deep hater. The 
 face was thin and very much wrinkled, its yellow skin
 
 50 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 drawn tightly over little flesh. There were black rings 
 about his eyes; a certain flaccidity of the lips. 
 
 "Let me tell you, plum-blossom, I am as well as I 
 may hope. It is the heart." He put his hand to his 
 side. "I had not expected to live as long as I have, 
 little flower of my heart. For years I have been 
 expecting the messenger of the goal. But " 
 
 "Lee !" She shook him sharply. There was mois- 
 ture in her eyes. "Lee, don't talk like that!" 
 
 His face warmed. "You care, little one ? You have 
 always cared for poor Lee. But it is best to be pre- 
 pared. At any moment it may come click! And 
 then to the graves of my ancestors the last of my 
 line ! It is true, plum-blossom." 
 
 He bowed, sweeping his hat close to the floor. "The 
 gods guide you!" Then he was gone. 
 
 The girl went to the window and watched him as he 
 emerged from the house and struck through Lafayette 
 Park on his way to the Pennsylvania cars. He walked 
 feebly, a bent-over, shrunken little figure, and she 
 wiped away tears from her eyes as she watched him. 
 She owed much to this Chinese her philosophy, her 
 training in Oriental art, her broad outlook on life. 
 Then, too, he had recruited the family finances in his 
 inconspicuous way, making of their gardens a revenue. 
 She sank down into the window-seat.
 
 BLACK WRENNE BOWS 51 
 
 "Poor old Lee!" 
 
 That was what he had chosen to be called "Lee." 
 She knew that was but the English equivalent of "Li," 
 and but one of three names. When necessity had com- 
 pelled another name, he chose that of "Gordon." 
 
 "He was a great general, that Gordon," Lee had 
 said. "I have seen what he did with our soldiers." 
 
 Gordon Lee! And that was all she knew of her 
 Chinese mentor. She arose, went to her portfolio, and 
 took out a recent sketch of "Gordon Lee." She had 
 taken the face and pose from an unconscious sitting, 
 when he imagined her engaged on another picture, but 
 had provided the cue, the mandarin's coat and hat, and 
 the fan from her own imagination. Thus she imag- 
 ined Lee must have looked in his native country. She 
 pondered over it, thinking of improvements, her red 
 lips pursed up, her pretty brows in a frown, her head 
 bent over, so that the sunbeams made an aureole of 
 her hair. One pink finger was pointing accusingly at 
 certain technical defects. 
 
 Quite suddenly two strong hands on her shoulders 
 turned her completely around, to look into the eyes of 
 Hamilton Wrenne. She surveyed him with outward 
 coolness. His top hat and stick had clattered to the 
 floor as he seized her, and she noted that his morning
 
 52 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 coat was smartly cut, his white silk Ascot well tied, a 
 flawless ruby in Chinese gold holding it together. 
 
 "Well, Black Wrenne?" 
 
 "Well, Brown Bess?" 
 
 "It is my right to ask the question," she informed 
 him. "You enter my studio without knocking; you 
 take me rudely by the shoulders " 
 
 "Not rudely tenderly !" 
 
 "If that is tenderness, I shouldn't like to feel your 
 savage mood. However, to proceed. You hold me in 
 a grip which will leave two red marks on my shoulders 
 that will show when I attend the Mason-Carrs' dinner 
 to-night." 
 
 He released hef. She rubbed her shoulders with 
 solicitude. 
 
 "Thank you. And then you have the presumption 
 to say 'Well'?" 
 
 "The door was wide open. You made a prettier 
 picture than you have ever painted." 
 
 "Thanks for the subtle appreciation of my work!" 
 
 "Hang it ! you know what I mean." 
 
 "I thought I did. When you took me by the 
 shoulders I imagined you were going to kiss me." 
 
 He took a step backward. 
 
 "Well, so I did intend !" he said, goaded. 
 
 "I hate a man who merely threatens "
 
 BLACK WRENNE BOWS 63 
 
 He came toward her, but she eluded him. 
 
 "Hang it, Bess ! you're the most tantalizing creature 
 alive." 
 
 "Why? Because I refuse to be the plaything of 
 Hamilton Wrenne, Colonel, I. C. A. and aide-de-camp 
 to his Imperial Highness, Prince Chu'un; Mandarin of 
 the second degree, and Fellow of the Royal Geo- 
 graphical Society; not to mention Don Juan in general 
 to any foolish girl who fancies his sinister type of 
 beauty? Hardly so, Black Wrenne!" 
 
 With a sudden rush forward, he had her penned in 
 a corner. 
 
 "Now," he said triumphantly, "we shall see, Brown 
 Bess!" 
 
 She held up a rosy finger. "I fancy not, Black 
 Wrenne. Listen! We are quite alone in this studio. 
 If I called out, no one would hear me. You are quite 
 safe. You can kiss me as much as you please. But 
 you're taking no chances, Black Wrenne. The game 
 is one-sided. And you're not the sort of man to play 
 that game, are you, Black Wrenne !" 
 
 He threw up his hands despairingly. 
 
 "Upon my word, Bess, I'm no match for you. I 
 surrender, capitulate, and kiss the chains that embrace 
 me. Please will you give the captive of your wheels 
 some tea?"
 
 54 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 She crossed the room, turned on the alcohol-lamp, 
 and mixed the tea and hot water. 
 
 "Why aren't you like other girls, Brown Bess?" 
 asked Wrenne, as he accepted the cup from her hands 
 and watched the slice of lemon circle the rim. 
 
 "You mean why don't I show the proper thankful- 
 ness for your condescension, and be your doll 'for a 
 week or a month or a day, sir' ? Is that it ?" 
 
 "You make me out a fearfully egotistical ass !" 
 
 "No. Simply call your attention to the fact, Hamil- 
 ton, dear." She smiled at him captivatingly. 
 
 "Now, upon my word!" he said, in indignation. 
 "You call me 'dear,' give me a smile that, luckily, 
 came several centuries too late for St. Anthony, and 
 then pulverize me when I lose control of myself." 
 
 "I'm penancing you for the sake of the other 
 women. But I expect you're not wholly to blame, 
 Black Wrenne. You've found your sinister beauty a 
 good bait for girls who want the excuse of physical 
 attraction. You believe that most of us only want 
 that excuse. I believe you're right. You most cer- 
 tainly are in my case." 
 
 "What!" He nearly dropped his cup. 
 
 "Most certainly !" she repeated. "You have a very 
 vivid attraction for me. I've often rather wanted you 
 to kiss me. I feel sure I should like it "
 
 BLACK WRENNE BOWS 55 
 
 He put his cup on the tray and stared at her. 
 
 " that's my animal, physical self," she contin- 
 ued placidly. "That is just Bess Courtney; Brown 
 Bess, who enjoys physical sensations. But, you see, 
 I'm a painter, Black Wrenne. That's not Bess Court- 
 ney. That's a part of the universal soul of things given 
 into my keeping; a precious gem that I must keep 
 flawless. The setting must be worthy of the gem 
 Therefore, Black Wrenne, my self-respect. Rather in- 
 volved, isn't it?" 
 
 He got up, came over, and took her hand. 
 
 "Bess," he said, "you're a damn' good sort!" 
 
 Crossing the room, he removed the drapery from the 
 picture of the prince. For some time he gazed on it, 
 giving her the flattery of statuelike attention. It was 
 with a deep intake of breath that he turned to her. 
 
 "You've opened my eyes, rather, my dear girl. It 
 is indeed presumption that Hamilton Wrenne, a mere 
 foreign mercenary, good for mighty little but a plot or 
 a fight, should seek to make a conquest of the girl 
 that painted that!" 
 
 "Thank you," she said simply. His praise was too 
 genuine to call forth a display of false modesty. 
 
 "By the bye," he said presently, when the conscious- 
 ness of having betrayed emotion had passed off, "they 
 tell me Ito Ugichi is a frequent visitor here. Not that
 
 56 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 they need to tell me I've seen him here often enough 
 myself." 
 
 "He comes quite often," she acknowledged. "He 
 interests me. He is the best liar I have ever known." 
 
 "Oh !" He laughed with a certain constraint. "You 
 take the words on my tongue. I'm flattered to think 
 there's a certain telepathy between us. Ugichi insults 
 you with his admiration. You know the Japanese idea 
 of women." 
 
 "Is there really much difference between his ad- 
 miration of me and yours, Black Wrenne?" she asked 
 softly. 
 
 The sudden stricture left him flushing with its truth. 
 
 "No," she said, "there isn't. Only a difference be- 
 tween the men. Ugichi is yellow, not prepossessing. 
 Hamilton Wrenne is white, and striking rather! But 
 both admire me in the same way. Is it the better part 
 of me, the part that finds expression in my work, that 
 you admire? My ideals? My striving for better 
 things ? No, Black Wrenne. Only these brown curls ; 
 the curves of my figure, the redness of my lips ! There 
 lies the admiration. And both of you are unmoral 
 not immoral, for I know he never had any morals, and 
 I doubt whether you ever had. But, still, there is a 
 difference between you "
 
 BLACK WRENNE BOWS 57 
 
 She paused. Wrenne, shamefaced, did not meet her 
 gaze. 
 
 "I am afraid of Ugichi. I am not afraid of you!" 
 
 "Why?" he asked, in a low tone. 
 
 "You, being an Anglo-Saxon, have honor he, be- 
 ing a Japanese, has not even that!"
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 HE OF THE WHITE BANNER 
 
 HIS man!" 
 
 There was an unusual note in the voice of 
 Prince Chu'un. He held in his hand the sketch 
 of the Chinese who chose to call himself "Gordon 
 Lee." 
 
 It was an hour later. Prince Chu'un had seen the 
 finished portrait and had approved of it without reser- 
 vation. The secretary of the Chinese legation had pre- 
 sented in payment a check for more than twice the sum 
 for which she would have dared ask. There was also 
 his highness' gift a belt of topazes, with a jade 
 buckle, beyond price. Bess Courtney was somewhat 
 dazed. 
 
 She would have returned the splendid present, but 
 Hamilton Wrenne, surmising her intention, warned her 
 that that way lay imperial displeasure. It was, he 
 assured her, the privilege of royalty to make such gifts 
 as were compatible with their pleasure. Bess, only 
 wanting an excuse to retain the belt, reconsidered. 
 
 n
 
 HE OF THE WHITE BANNER 59 
 
 The legation servants had been brought to the studio 
 for the weighty ceremony that took place, and the 
 official members of the legation stood solemnly by in 
 official robes. The portrait had been placed in a cam- 
 phor-wood box, lined with the imperial yellow. This 
 box was inclosed in others similarly lined. The boxes 
 were covered with yellow cloth, painted with the 
 Double-Dragon; and, at last, the picture was ready 
 for transmission to Peking, to be viewed by the august 
 eyes of Kwang-Hsu, thirteenth of the great purity em- 
 perors, and brother of Prince Chu'un. 
 
 A private car had been reserved to convey the por- 
 trait to San Francisco, in charge of a gentleman of the 
 legation and two attendants. From thence an O. and 
 O. S. S. stateroom would have the honor of its pres- 
 ence to Shanghai, a C. N. C. stateroom to Tien-tsin, 
 and a very special train from that point to Peking, 
 where a cavalcade would receive it and convey it 
 within the environs of the Forbidden City. 
 
 But the part Bess bore in the ceremony was over. 
 Those of the Chinese legation had departed. Re- 
 mained only the prince himself, Hamilton Wrenne, Ito 
 Ugichi, and Bess Courtney's brother Austin, a hand- 
 some, dissipated young man, immaculately garbed, 
 with hair too well-groomed, and an inherent weakness 
 and sensuality of mouth and chin.
 
 60 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 They had been startled by the sudden exclamation 
 of the prince. 
 
 "What man?" asked Bess. She came forward and 
 noted the sketch of her Chinese mentor upon which 
 the prince gazed. His face was bland and placid 
 again, but Bess knew instinctively that it had not been 
 so when the pictured likeness first came under his eye. 
 
 She hesitated before replying, remembering Gordon 
 Lee's avoidance of his own people, his refusal to meet 
 even those white men who had been in China long 
 enough to realize how little of it they understood. A 
 chill struck her. She was at fault. She should not 
 have exposed the sketch. She recalled that she had 
 been looking at it when Hamilton Wrenne had pin- 
 ioned her shoulders on his first entrance some hours 
 before. 
 
 "That man!" she said, her self-control regained, her 
 voice without emotion. "Why, he was a model that I 
 used to have. He's dead now these two years " 
 
 Austin Courtney opened his mouth. 
 
 "Why, Bess!" he began. "You " 
 
 Her look silenced him. Ito Ugichi, observing the 
 byplay, grinned in his meaningless way, and rubbed 
 his yellow hands together. It was with a certain chill 
 Bess noted that the interchange of looks had been
 
 HE OF THE WHITE BANNER 61 
 
 observed by the Japanese. Prince Chu'un, however, 
 did not seem to note the interruption. 
 
 "You remember," finished Austin, "that we had to 
 pay for his funeral. Out in Loudon Park Cemetery. 
 You liked him." 
 
 She smiled at the idea of Austin paying for any- 
 thing also grimly noted his facile mendacity, which 
 had in it the colorature of little things, giving veri- 
 similitude. The prince was apparently convinced. 
 
 "Do you know him, Your Highness?" asked the 
 girl. 
 
 Chu'un nodded. "He was master of ceremonies at 
 the court during my uncle's time," he said. "One of 
 the White Banner families, having rank almost as high 
 as my own which is the Yellow Banner. He was 
 fond of me, I remember; gave me much of my early 
 Confucianisms. A wise man, and in advance of his 
 time, perhaps. Li-Wung-Kih his name. With my 
 august uncle's death, and the reigning of his son, the 
 Emperor Tung, he exercised much authority, and was 
 unfortunate enough to incur the enmity of my thrice- 
 beloved aunt, Tze-Hsi, the queen-mother. He was 
 accused of witchcraft; of having caused the death of 
 the youthful Emperor Tung, and had a narrow lease 
 of life for a space. Then he escaped, none knew 
 whither. But this none forgot he had been, beside
 
 62 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 master of ceremonies, master also of the imperial 
 treasures. After his arrest, imprisonment, and flight, 
 his palace was searched for the treasure keys. All were 
 found, and in good order save one set! the keys 
 to the temple of the Double-Dragon, where the seven 
 thousand eyes of Buddha look only upon the darkness 
 to this day." 
 
 "But other keys can " interrupted Austin Court- 
 ney. 
 
 "No, young brother of the painter. There is one set 
 of keys to the doors of the Double-Dragon one set of 
 keys which may let the light shine upon the seven 
 thousand eyes of Buddha. In my country there is 
 tradition, young brother of the painter. There is a 
 tradition that these keys were fashioned at the behest 
 of the invisible deity, and given to the Son of Heaven 
 that he might prove his superiority over mere desire 
 for mastership of the world. For within the temple 
 of the Double-Dragon there is wealth untold seven 
 thousand diamonds of the purest stones ; two thousand 
 that are blue, two thousand that are yellow, three 
 thousand that are white, and each the size of a pigeon's 
 egg-" 
 
 His audience gasped. The prince smiled. 
 
 "Ha ! Your wealthy men appear but ciphers before 
 such astounding value of gems! Perhaps it is better
 
 HE OF THE WHITE BANNER 63 
 
 that the keys be lost. Li-Wung-Kih has gone to his 
 ancestors, say you, fair young painter? With his body 
 let the memory of this wealth be buried. Until bar- 
 He smiled, apologizing. 
 
 "I had forgotten. Until foreigners take the For- 
 bidden City wholly for their own, the seven thousand 
 eyes of Buddha are safe behind the door of the 
 Double-Dragon !" 
 
 He put the portrait back on the table. 
 
 "Come, let us go," he said to Hamilton Wrenne.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 THE SEVEN THOUSAND EYES OF BUDDHA 
 
 BESS did not return to Baltimore that night along 
 with Austin. She had a dinner engagement 
 with the Mason-Carrs, and was to be one of a 
 box-party afterward. For these contingencies she was 
 provided, as there was a tiny room back of her studio 
 that she occupied on such nights. The box-party, 
 having been a wedge between the dinner and the Bach- 
 elors' Cotillion at the Willard, it was something close 
 to four o'clock before she retired, and very near to 
 noon before she arose. Several calls and talks regard- 
 ing mural decorations which people wanted of her 
 occupied the afternoon, and did not leave her free to 
 go to Baltimore until dusk. She took a Roland Park 
 car from Union Station, and arrived at home as Aus- 
 tin was fidgeting over his dinner, quite alone. 
 
 The mother, being an invalid, occupied her rooms 
 constantly, and had not been below-stairs for nearly a 
 year, except to be carried out to the family victoria and 
 driven about the park. Some asserted her more hypo- 
 
 64
 
 THE EYES OF BUDDHA 65 
 
 chondriacal than ill, indicating her stoutness and pasty 
 complexion as evidences of one whose chief trouble is 
 a sedentary life indoors. But Bess had accepted her 
 mother's valuation of her ailment, and did not argue 
 the question. 
 
 Going up-stairs, she submitted to a family lecture on 
 the subject of girls who stayed alone in single rooms 
 and disregarded chaperons, which was supplemented 
 by a request for the check which Bess had received for 
 the portrait. The request was denied very gently. 
 
 "I owe most of it, mother. I've got to pay my own 
 bills, you know. Besides, if I give it to you, you'll 
 simply have some new- faddish doctor in to call your 
 trouble by some new name." 
 
 The mother wept, and spoke of the difference be- 
 tween the respect shown her and the respect she had 
 shown her mother. 
 
 "And," continued Bess, "what the doctor didn't get 
 would be borrowed by Austin. No, mother, I've got 
 most of the burden of the house on my shoulders as it 
 is. I'm not going to be the victim of Austin's latest 
 fancy in chorus-girls." 
 
 Bess discussed Austin quite frankly. She had no 
 respect for him, looking on him rather as a wayward 
 child to be disciplined. Her mother's infatuation for 
 the brother, however, ran to an antithetical extreme.
 
 66 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 She was willing to deny herself little luxuries to give 
 the money to Austin. 
 
 Bess escaped from the parental displeasure, and 
 went to the children's play-room, where her two little 
 sisters were studying their next day's lessons. The 
 children went to convent school, and Bess paid the 
 bills; also she kept them supplied with clothes and a 
 nursery governess. Otherwise they might have grown 
 up little savages. Their mother hardly saw them one 
 day out of the seven. 
 
 She had a box of candy for them, which, delivered, 
 was paid for with many hugs and kisses. Later she 
 rejoined Austin in the dining-room. He had finished 
 his dinner, and was scowling over a cigarette. Bess 
 was rather surprised to see him dining home, as he 
 seldom favored the house with his presence, sleeping 
 at his bachelor apartments in the Savoy, and dining 
 either with men at the clubs, women in private dining- 
 rooms, or as a member of some formal party of people 
 whose names were in the social register. 
 
 "You took long enough coming," he snarled. 
 "Didn't you get my wire?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 The servant brought her some soup and went out. 
 
 "Oh, you didn't ? Well, why don't you stay in your 
 studio without gadding all over town?"
 
 THE EYES OF BUDDHA 67 
 
 "Drop it, Austin," she commanded. "What's the 
 matter? More debts? Because I sha'n't pay them, 
 you know. The last money I loaned you went to buy 
 a diamond sunburst for a certain Miss Lola Montmor- 
 ency and well, if my money's going for diamond 
 sunbursts, the sunbursts are going on me much as I 
 detest diamonds!" 
 
 "Oh, indeed ! You told mother that, too. A rotten, 
 shabby trick, Bess ! You don't hear me knocking about 
 your affairs." 
 
 "I beg your pardon !" 
 
 "Your affairs, I said affaires, if you like that 
 better. For instance, the black-eyed man Wrenne. 
 You'd better drop him, my girl; let me tell you that. 
 He's a bad egg, and " 
 
 The servant returned, and replaced the soup with 
 something more substantial. When she had taken 
 herself off, Austin continued: 
 
 "I've heard " 
 
 "Austin, you're an awfully poor imitation of a man ; 
 honestly you are ! But for these small favors I must 
 be thankful. If I hadn't a brother like you, I shouldn't 
 have known half so much about how bad men can be. 
 So I haven't had many illusions shattered." 
 
 "Oh, indeed!" 
 
 "Yes, indeed!" she mimicked. "Now, you keep
 
 68 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 your nasty tongue away from my affairs, Austin 
 Courtney." 
 
 Austin was afraid of his sister in this mood. He 
 covered his fear with sulkiness. Finishing his cigar- 
 ette, he went to the window and dropped it out, then 
 came back and stood at the girl's elbow. 
 
 "What I wanted to tell you," he said, in a different 
 tone, "was that Lee's skipped out for parts unknown, 
 and taken his luggage with him." 
 
 Instantly she divined. "You told him about what 
 the prince said !" she accused. 
 
 He admitted it. "I thought he ought to know." 
 
 She considered. 
 
 "Perhaps you're right, Austin. They might have 
 had their suspicions aroused, and sent someone over 
 here to investigate. I didn't like the way that Japanese 
 looked at us when we spoke of the model, either. So 
 Lee's gone! Well " 
 
 She pushed her plate away and rested her head en 
 her hands. The defection of her Chinese mentor 
 meant much to her. His was a place impossible to fill. 
 
 "He left a letter and a package for you," continued 
 Austin. "Here they are." 
 
 He took them from the sideboard and placed them 
 before her. He was a man lacking the reality of honor 
 with curious absoluteness, but he had those superficial-
 
 THE EYES OF BUDDHA 69 
 
 ities of the idea which had restrained his curiosity as to 
 contents of letter and package. 
 
 Bess excused herself and opened the letter. It was 
 written in English, and in a small, carefully formed 
 chirography. 
 
 LITTLE PLUM-BLOSSOM : Austin has told me of the sight which 
 the Prince has had of my picture. It was most unwise, little 
 Flower of My Heart, that such was seen by him, for I am no 
 longer able to remain near you. 
 
 All that His Highness told you holds truth in it. I am he of 
 the White Banner of whom he spoke, the exiled Manchu. 
 
 There will be no rest now until they have found me and taken 
 from me the Keys of the Door of the Double-Dragon. But of 
 this they shall have no chance, for I leave in the sandalwood box 
 the keys in your keeping. 
 
 Guard them as I pray the Gods guard thee. 
 
 Thy, LEE. 
 
 "What does he say?" 
 
 "That's my business !" 
 
 "Oh, indeed!" sneered Austin. "Then, maybe, it'll 
 be my business to tell Prince Chu'un how you lied to 
 him ; and also that Lee left a letter and a box for you." 
 
 "You'd hardly do that!" 
 
 "Wouldn't I? Well, you keep your eyes on little 
 Austin, and you'll see what he'll do. I'm sick of the 
 way you're treating me, Bess and well, I've had 
 enough. What does he say?"
 
 70 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DKAGON 
 
 He snatched the letter as he spoke, and read it. She 
 watched him, coldly contemptuous, and said nothing 
 when he gave it back, his eyes glowing with antici- 
 pation. 
 
 "Bess," he choked, "do you see what this means? 
 Why, he's left us a fortune. The keys to the treasure- 
 house to the seven thousand eyes of Buddha the 
 diamonds ! Bess, do you realize that he's made us the 
 richest people in the world ? That " 
 
 She was unwrapping the package, cutting the string 
 with the pocket-knife Austin had opened and given 
 her. 
 
 "Don't be ridiculous," she said. 
 
 With the tiny key that had been inclosed in the letter 
 she unlocked the carved sandalwood box. Opening it, 
 she found reposing on a tray of yellow satin a short 
 squat key of rusty iron, cut into many notches. The 
 second tray had a smaller key of copper; the third, 
 diminished in size, was of silver; and the last, and 
 most diminutive, on the bottom tray over the imperial 
 Double-Dragon, a tiny key of gold, carved and twisted 
 into such an utterly fantastic shape that, had they not 
 known it to be a key, they might have speculated in- 
 correctly as to the purpose for which it was intended. 
 
 Bess put back the trays and locked the box. Austin 
 was looking at her, stunned.
 
 THE EYES OF BUDDHA 71 
 
 "We're the richest people in the world," he said 
 dully. 
 
 "Austin!" 
 
 "Well?" He roused himself. 
 
 "Don't be ridiculous, as I told you once before." 
 
 "I'm not ridiculous," he said hotly. "We heard the 
 prince say that tradition kept this place from being 
 opened with anything except the official keys. We've 
 got the keys, and, consequently " 
 
 "In the first place," interrupted Bess, in a very quiet 
 tone, the quietness that Austin feared, "these keys 
 were entrusted to me to guard. Consequently they 
 shall be locked away in my safe-deposit vault at the 
 Mercantile Bank until Lee comes back and asks for 
 them." 
 
 "Wha-a-a-t !" Austin had sprung to his feet. 
 
 "In the second place," she continued without 
 noticing his interruption, "these keys fit doors in the 
 Forbidden City in Peking. People who do not belong 
 to the imperial court are not allowed there. There 
 have been only three or four white people in all history 
 who ever lived in the Forbidden City and two of 
 them died there !" 
 
 "But " 
 
 "In the third place, these diamonds do not belong 
 to us or to anyone who finds them. They are not treas-
 
 72 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 ure-trove. They are the property of the Emperor of 
 China. Consequently to take them would be stealing 
 wouldn't it?" 
 
 She arose. 
 
 "And, fourthly, Austin Courtney, if you say any- 
 thing to anybody about Lee or about this affair, I shall 
 leave this house for good and all, and let you shift 
 entirely for yourself. Now, good-night don't bother 
 me any more." 
 
 "Damn her!" muttered Austin, as the door closed 
 behind the painter of Prince Chu'un's portrait.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 THE CLIMAX OF CONSPIRING CIRCUMSTANCES 
 
 EAR God!" prayed the girl. 
 
 For more than a month Austin had been 
 haunting her, haggard and gaunt-eyed. 
 Numberless times he had tried to confide in her, but 
 the words would not out. But at last, thoroughly 
 wretched, he had torn away the veil, exposed the mis- 
 erable degrading story. 
 
 Two dear old ladies were their maiden aunts. Up 
 to several years before they had conducted a school for 
 little girls ; but by an unexpected rise in some inherited 
 real estate they had found themselves the possessors of 
 only a little less than a hundred thousand dollars. On 
 this they retired. Austin had persuaded them to en- 
 trust to him the money for investment. 
 
 He had speculated with it on his own account and 
 lost! 
 
 The girl was crying softly. She loved them very 
 dearly, Aunt Malvinia and Aunt Kitty. She had 
 always been sure of cake and candy when she went 
 
 73
 
 74 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 to see them Sundays. They had been in the habit of 
 buying picture-books and keeping them on the library- 
 table just for her to read. They had denied themselves 
 to help her; had paid for her instruction in painting; 
 had why, she owed everything to those dear old 
 maiden ladies ! 
 
 There was the little white house just around the 
 corner from the club; the little white house with the 
 green holland blinds and her great-grandfather's pic- 
 ture in the hall very gallant that grandsire in his 
 uniform as one of George Washington's aides. There 
 was the much-thumbed copy of "Alice in Wonderland" 
 on her own little reading-table, sacred to her use alone, 
 and with the book-mark that Aunt Kitty had embroi- 
 dered. The paintings of Austin and herself, side by 
 side, in the little reception-room, dusted every day by 
 loving hands, thin, wrinkled, gentle, patrician hands. 
 Dear Aunt Malvinia and Aunt Kitty! 
 
 Eeverybody loved them! It was to their school 
 that all the debutantes had gone until they were old 
 enough for convent or boarding-school. Eeverybody 
 had been rejoiced that they were now able quietly to 
 live out the autumn of their lives for there was no 
 winter for such as they. It was too harsh a term. 
 Theirs was the autumn, the golden-brown, kindly 
 autumn. And now
 
 CONSPIRING CIRCUMSTANCES 75 
 
 "Dear God!" 
 
 "Well, well?" Austin demanded fretfully. "What 
 are we going to do eh? What are we going to do?" 
 
 The eyes of brother and sister met. He shrank at 
 the fire gleaming from behind the tear-stained lashes. 
 
 "You low beast!" said the girl. 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 She did not answer him, but went, rather, to the 
 studio window overlooking the park, parted the cur- 
 tains, and stared out across the park. Again her sor- 
 row overcame her, and she fell among the cushions of 
 the bay windows, sobbing, choking out her grief. 
 
 Austin came nearer. 
 
 "Now, now!" he soothed. 
 
 "I hate you. Go away." 
 
 "You've got to face it, haven't you?" he asked 
 doggedly. "And how? You can't raise more than a 
 few thousand at the most. I can't raise a rotten penny. 
 Ever since they made me resign at the bank I've been 
 on my uppers, and you know it. I thought I could 
 make good Bess, I was going to give them half the 
 profits it would have been a good thing for them, too. 
 And it looked easy, so damned easy. I stood to make 
 fifty per cent on the investment. I'd have paid my 
 debts and had a goodish lot left. It was a " 
 
 "If I'd only known!" she said, in a low, strained
 
 76 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 voice. "If I'd only known! But I never dreamed of 
 your having it never dreamed of it. I thought they 
 had it in bank safe in bank." 
 
 "They did drawing a miserable three and a half 
 per cent! I got 'em to get it out and " 
 
 She sat up and faced him. Her tone was vicious. 
 
 "I wish you were dead, Austin Courtney; quite 
 dead, quite dead." 
 
 He laughed recklessly. 
 
 "You've got a good chance of your wish coming 
 true when this comes out no mistake there !" 
 
 "It mustn't come out mustn't. It must be paid 
 back. I suppose you understand that, Austin. I can 
 go on giving them enough to make them think the 
 interest's being drawn. After that " 
 
 "Well what?" he demanded. "That's all in your 
 eye, you know. How are you going to pay it back? 
 Art's no money-maker. If you make six thousand a 
 year you're doing well and we need all of that." 
 
 "We?" Much to sting him in that tone. 
 
 "Why, you little " But he only said that much, 
 
 for the light in her eyes frightened him. He averted 
 his gaze, and there was a silence for a time almost in- 
 terminable to both of them. Then he spoke suddenly. 
 
 "There is a way !" 
 
 She waited for him to explain.
 
 CONSPIRING CIRCUMSTANCES 77 
 
 "How about the keys that Lee left? A handful of 
 those diamonds would pay the whole hundred thou- 
 sand and a hanged sight more! Not many not 
 enough to be missed just a handful, Bess. Why, 
 what good are they doing anybody where they are? 
 And they'd never be missed." 
 
 "No," she said, and sat silent. He became angry, 
 and mocked her. 
 
 "You're afraid! Sunday-school scruples say it's 
 wrong wrong to take something that nobody has any 
 use for, to keep a whole family from disgrace, to keep 
 me from shooting myself, to keep your aunts out of 
 the poorhouse!" 
 
 She bit her lip and breathed heavily. This was her 
 brother speaking, her brother ! 
 
 He went on, not realizing his peril. 
 
 "You'd rather see our Baltimore friends take up a 
 collection to keep the old tabbies out of the poorhouse, 
 would you? Oh, yes, I dare say you would. That's 
 better of you why, you devil !" 
 
 For, with a sudden swing of her arm she had struck 
 him squarely in the mouth with clenched hand. He 
 almost fell. Afraid to face her, he covered his face 
 with his hands. 
 
 "Don't, Bess!"
 
 78 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 The angry crimson in her cheeks faded out into 
 whiteness. She paused, her fingers relaxed. 
 
 "No, I won't!" 
 
 It was that very quiet tone that Austin had heard 
 before and which showed him the naked unmanliness 
 of himself. 
 
 "No, I won't touch so poor a thing as you, Austin 
 Courtney! A thing that steals from helpless old 
 women and foists its burden on another woman. 
 Women! They've been very good to you, haven't 
 they, Austin? They like the way you smile at them, 
 the way your hair waves ! They like you, don't they, 
 Austin? Men don't, do they? Because men know 
 men ; and you aren't a man. No, only a thing that finds 
 women useful and a thief! And you want me to be 
 a thief, too to save you !" 
 
 "Bess!" 
 
 "Yes, that's the naked truth, isn't it? You want me 
 to save you ! Do you care what becomes of Aunt Mal- 
 vinia and Aunt Kitty ? Not the tiniest little bit, Austin 
 Courtney. No! That's the lever to work me with. 
 Because you know how I care for them, how terribly 
 fond I've always been of them. So you try to use that 
 to save yourself and you've a good conception of 
 women's weaknesses. For I would steal those jewels 
 for Aunt Kitty and Aunt Malvinia."
 
 CONSPIRING CIRCUMSTANCES 79 
 
 Her last words dissipated to his mind all the con- 
 tumely. He had won. She would do it. 
 
 "You you will?" he stammered. 
 
 "I said I would," she returned quietly. "But there's 
 no way no possible way. The jewels are in the For- 
 bidden City. How am I to " 
 
 He interrupted, eagerly suggesting. 
 
 "Split it with Wrenne. He's not the kind to turn 
 down a proposition like that! He's going back to 
 Peking. He's got the run of the Forbidden City. You 
 give him the key and get him to do it for you, and let 
 him take his share !" 
 
 "Impossible!" burst from her. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 She was at a loss to answer him fitly. The idea ad- 
 vanced represented surely the sensible thing to do. She 
 had no reason to believe from what she knew of the 
 gentleman adventurer that he would do anything save 
 eagerly accept such a chance for wealth. His casque 
 of reputation bore no stainless white plume. He was 
 a plotter, intriguer, hired mercenary. As a boy dis- 
 missed from the service of his own country for evil 
 habits, he had seemed to carry out the future prophe- 
 sied for him. Why not, then? 
 
 She reasoned this very thoroughly, but still she re-
 
 80 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 peated her negative when Austin would have con- 
 vinced her. 
 
 "You want him to think you're a little tin saint, eh ?" 
 Rightly had she named Austin's influence. He had 
 little brain, less reasoning power, no moral standards; 
 but a keen intuition where the other sex was concerned 
 stood him in lieu of the first two lacks and abetted the 
 last. Bess tried to disguise her angry, labored breath- 
 ing by holding her breath. She dared not risk 
 speaking at all. 
 
 Until Austin had made his comment, she had not 
 known herself. But it was truth. She did covet this 
 man's belief in her goodness, or, rather, her striving 
 after the better things. She liked to believe that she 
 was an influence for better in his life. It was quite 
 plain to her that if he became her co-partner in the 
 scheme to take the diamonds there would come the 
 shattering of the standards she had set for him to 
 measure her by. 
 
 Austin continued, with an angry sneer: 
 "That's your style. Get a goody-goody boy and you 
 try to make him bad look at Tommy Worthington 
 that you used to call prude because he thought it a sin 
 to bet on races and be a game 'un. Then you get hold 
 of this chap who is an out-and-out rake and tell him 
 how wicked he is, and "
 
 CONSPIRING CIRCUMSTANCES 81 
 
 "That's enough!" she said rising. "Quite enough. 
 You'd better go down to the station and take the train 
 home. I shan't be over to-night. I'll stay here and 
 try to think this out, somehow, then " 
 
 She stopped. Someone was coming up the stairs, 
 two at a step. She waited until she heard the knock 
 on the door. 
 
 "Hello, Bess! In?" 
 
 "There's Wrenne, now!" said Austin, in an excited 
 whisper. "Let me stay and arrange the whole thing 
 right now." 
 
 But she had been abruptly reminded of another 
 reason she had forgotten. The keys that she held had 
 been entrusted to her by Gordon Lee. She had no 
 ownership in them. They were not even hers by right 
 of the person who had stolen them. 
 
 "Austin, I can't," she said, in a low tone. "I'd for- 
 gotten about Lee, too. He trusted me with the keys. 
 I can't go back on him. It's off, Austin, all off " 
 
 He flung out a furious curse. 
 
 "Heavens, how wicked!" remarked the man on the 
 other side of the door politely. "Want any assistance, 
 Bess?" 
 
 "Come in, Colonel Wrenne." 
 
 They heard him open the door and heard the clatter
 
 82 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 of his stick and hat on a side-table. It was too dark 
 to more than vaguely distinguish his form. 
 
 "Who's here? Oh, you Courtney ! I thought I 
 recognized your style in that remark I caught." 
 
 "Look here, Wrenne," said Austin shortly. "You're 
 not personal supervisor of my manners, you know. 
 Nor are you in any way entitled to call me down as 
 often as you do. I want you to remember that !" 
 
 Wrenne answered him coolly: 
 
 "You can be as boorish as you like to other people 
 and to me. I don't mind ! But it strikes me you aren't 
 sufficiently impressed with the fact that you are pretty 
 much of a lucky dog to have Bess for a sister. There- 
 fore " 
 
 Bess interfered. "The discussion isn't in very good 
 taste," she said coldly. 
 
 "You're right, it isn't. But I wasn't harking back to 
 old things. Something's happened to-day something 
 that gives you somewhat of a laurel wreath did you 
 know that, Bess ?" 
 
 "No. What is it?" She was not greatly interested. 
 
 "I don't know that I should forestall the prince. You 
 see, he's coming here in a few minutes to tell you him- 
 self. So when he does you want to make him believe 
 you haven't heard it before. But I wanted to be the 
 first person to bring you the news !"
 
 CONSPIRING CIRCUMSTANCES 83 
 
 Now she was aware that the matter was of im- 
 portance. But her head was too full of the other affair 
 to give her a clue to his meaning. 
 
 "Your painting arrived in Peking a few days ago. 
 The emperor inspected it yesterday, and immediately 
 wired to the prince to bring you back to China with us 
 to paint his portrait! Now, what do you say to that? 
 To paint the portrait of His Imperial Majesty, Kwang- 
 Hsu!" 
 
 It was fortunate for her that it was dark. As it 
 was, he did not see her face nor her gestures, nor the 
 greedy eyes of Austin Courtney lighting up. 
 
 "I I can't accept," she said presently. 
 
 "Can't accept !" shouted Austin. "Can't " 
 
 Wrenne broke in. 
 
 "My dear girl," he soothed, "that's foolish. Chu'un 
 and I are returning to China next week. We have a 
 special train across country, and a special section of a 
 liner reserved for us. You will have every con- 
 venience and will be looked after absolutely. Think 
 what it means ! You'll have the run of the Forbidden 
 City. You'll paint the emperor's portrait, get an inside 
 view into a life that will be invaluable to you in your 
 work and, besides, I want you to come." 
 
 She knew that he did. She did not tell him that 
 was one of her reasons for refusing. The other was
 
 84 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 Gordon Lee's trust in her. A third might have been 
 found in the fact that she could not accept the hospi- 
 tality of those from whom she intended to steal. 
 
 "Of course you'll accept," Wrenne went on. "Now, 
 if you will pardon me, I'll go out into the hall and 
 telephone the Willard. I want you to dine with me 
 to-night and talk over arrangements. I dare say the 
 prince will be here in a moment or so." 
 
 He left brother and sister alone again. Austin 
 gripped her arm. 
 
 "Think of the chance! Think of it! The way's 
 wide open. You don't have to call on Wrenne. You 
 can do the trick yourself yourself! Think of it! 
 And you're refusing! You don't mean it, Bess, you 
 don't mean it. Do you want to see Aunt Malvinia and 
 Aunt Kitty " 
 
 "That's enough!" 
 
 "Well, it isn't enough," he continued furiously. 
 "Not enough for me, at any rate. I'll see whether 
 you " 
 
 "I can't do it, Austin," she said. 
 
 Having regained her composure in all seemingness, 
 she switched on the electric lights which glowed out 
 of Bohemian glass vases on mantels and filigreed 
 lamps swung from the ceiling. The glow fell warmly 
 on rugs and carved furniture, on the walls covered
 
 CONSPIRING CIRCUMSTANCES 85 
 
 with pictures, framed and otherwise, sketches in inks, 
 studies in water-colors, a few small oils. Looking 
 down from his place by the window, Austin saw a 
 carriage draw up before the curb of the house. A 
 robed figure got out, followed by several others. 
 
 "Here comes the prince," he said, with savage in- 
 tensity. "You'll be sorry every day of your life after 
 this if you turn this thing down." 
 
 They waited in silence for the prince's rap. When 
 it came, Bess opened the door for him, greeting him 
 and the Japanese, Ito Ugichi, who followed with 
 several of the legation attaches whom Bess knew 
 only slightly gravely smiling Chinese with intensely 
 indifferent countenances. 
 
 She asked the prince and his companions to have 
 tea. He refused, with formal politeness. 
 
 "This it is official, Miss Portrait-Painter," he said. 
 "Wung-Han, will you give to the young lady the scroll 
 you have prepared?" 
 
 One of the legation attaches handed her a formal- 
 looking roll of parchment from which dangled several 
 seals. For all the solemnity of the occasion and the 
 issues involved, her sense of the ludicrous harked for- 
 ward a simile of her childhood. Wung-Han marvel- 
 ously resembled the Frog Footman. 
 
 Following the delivery, the attache indulged in the
 
 86 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 peroration prepared for the occasion, a seemingly un- 
 ending affair, which brought in all the titles, appella- 
 tions, and similes advertising to His Imperial Majesty. 
 Prince Chu'un's explanation, which followed in Eng- 
 lish, summed the matter up much as Hamilton Wrenne 
 had done. 
 
 The emperor was pleased with Prince Chu'un's 
 portrait. He wished the same hand to paint one of 
 himself. He tendered to the painter the freedom of 
 the sacred city, and would have a palace put aside for 
 her special use. The remuneration was to be what- 
 ever she desired, her expenses were to be paid, and, 
 in conclusion, the emperor wished her long life and 
 many sons. 
 
 All in a daze, she thanked the prince, trying to lead 
 up in some way to a refusal. She knew she must 
 refuse ; but, somehow, the words stuck in her throat. 
 She looked dully across to where Austin glowered 
 at her. 
 
 The silence that ensued was broken by the shrill 
 whistling of some popular street song on the part of 
 someone ascending the stairs. The whistling came 
 to a close when the whistler knocked sharply on the 
 door. 
 
 "Come in!" 
 
 A boy in the blue of the Postal Telegraph stopped
 
 CONSPIRING CIRCUMSTANCES 87 
 
 on the threshold, gazing at the various dignitaries in 
 no evident embarrassment. 
 
 "Gee!" he said. 
 
 Bess looked at him. "Well, little boy?" 
 
 "You Miss 'Lizabeth Courtney?" 
 
 She nodded. He came across to her with a queer 
 side-step of a gait, and gave her a telegram. She 
 signed for it, and, excusing herself to those present, 
 broke it open. 
 
 MAYANALAINE BERMUDAS, 
 
 The seventh. 
 Miss ELIZABETH COURTNEY, 
 
 Washington City, U. S. A. 
 
 Chinese known as G. Lee died here to-day, leaving unofficial 
 will bequeathing a thousand dollars and other properties to you. 
 Wire instructions. 
 
 K. L. HAYDEN, 
 
 Vice-Consul, U. S. 
 
 She put up one hand to loosen the niching at her 
 neck. The room seemed hot she was gasping for 
 air. 
 
 "The window, Austin," she choked. 
 
 It was a genuinely alarmed Austin who allowed the 
 air to come through the room. The girl sat down 
 and folded the telegram with trembling hands, putting 
 it, for security, in her belt.
 
 88 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 "Any answer, lady?" 
 
 She shook her head, and the Postal Telegraph boy 
 went out. He picked up the strain of his song where 
 he had left it when he entered, and the assembled 
 company heard it until he slammed the door below. 
 Even then the echo of it floated up from the street 
 through the open window. 
 
 Gordon Lee was dead! He had left everything to 
 her including the keys to the doors of the Double- 
 Dragon. It seemed that circumstances were conspir- 
 ing to make of her a thief. She had no excuse now, 
 none! Each one had been swept away by the con- 
 spiring circumstances. 
 
 "Little Miss Portrait-Painter," said Prince Chu'un, 
 "you are very ill we do not trouble you more. We 
 go." 
 
 He made a sign to his companions. They moved 
 toward the door. But it was opened for them from 
 the outside, and Hamilton Wrenne entered. He 
 saluted the prince gravely, and turned to Bess. 
 
 "Well the prince has told you?" 
 
 She nodded. Somewhat taken aback by her ap- 
 pearance, he came forward and put a hand solicitously 
 on her shoulder. 
 
 She looked up. The prince was smiling in kindly 
 fashion, but there was a certain amount of expectancy
 
 CONSPIRING CIRCUMSTANCES 89 
 
 in his glance. Austin was glowering at her. Black 
 Wrenne was tender. 
 
 "So you're going with us, Bess?" 
 
 The girl got up and crossed the floor to where the 
 prince stood. She bowed her head and made a motion 
 of carrying Chu'un's long, clawlike hands to her lips. 
 
 Turning, she looked at Wrenne. 
 
 "Yes," she said.
 
 BOOK THE SECOND
 
 CHAPTER I 
 AN AUDIENCE WITH THE SON OF HEAVEN 
 
 PRINCE CHU'UN and his escort had entered 
 the imperial city the night before, leaving 
 Bess at the American legation in the Tartar 
 city. It was arranged that she should have her audi- 
 ence in the morning. 
 
 The American legation held forth in a former 
 Chinese temple, just under the red walls of the im- 
 perial city, named "forbidden" by the foreigners. The 
 official green chair that came for Bess had, therefore, 
 not far to be carried by the palanquin-bearers, sturdy 
 coolies in the trappings of imperial servants. Before 
 the chair went soldiers of the Palace Guard, driving 
 the staring natives out of the way. On either side of 
 the chair were more of the military to prevent the 
 lower orders from crowding the chair; and behind 
 marched yet more for the same purpose. 
 
 Bess did not fancy the Tartar city. It was pic- 
 turesque, but very dirty and smelly. Water, long 
 stagnant, lay in broken places of the causeway, and
 
 94 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 heaps of refuse cried aloud to heaven. She found 
 her relief in inspecting the lacquered fronts of the 
 shops, and the red signs and pennants which swung 
 with the wind, advertising in up-and-down ideographs 
 the merits of various brands of edibles. But this was 
 all much of a sameness; and she breathed a sigh of 
 relief when they reached one of the great gates in 
 the wall surrounding the imperial city. 
 
 The officer of the guard cried, gutturally, to the 
 guardians of the gate, and it swung open. Bess had 
 a little shiver of apprehension. She wished suddenly 
 for the presence of Hamilton Wrenne. She remem- 
 bered that she was entirely alone and about to go 
 within the mysterious city of which she had heard 
 so many gruesome tales. The thought of why she 
 had come suddenly chilled her. 
 
 The palanquin had passed over the stone bridge of 
 the canal while she was in the grip of her terror. 
 Looking from the windows, she saw the battlements, 
 turrets, and moat of the Winter Palace, its walls, once 
 red, now softened to a pale cherry hue. Hamilton 
 Wrenne had described the palace so often to her, en 
 route, that she could not fail to recognize it. 
 
 The raised road over which she was being carried 
 was a picture of animated color, with its official chairs 
 of green, bedizened carts, and splendidly trapped
 
 THE SON OF HEAVEN 9fi 
 
 horses. One must go gayly attired into the imperial 
 city, and all were obedient. Here Greater China was 
 represented; the melancholy, mustached Tartars; the 
 apparently noseless Mongols, fur-dressed and leather- 
 booted, the nobles among them riding on gaudily hung 
 camels; the yellow-gowned lamas from the temples; 
 the Cantonese striving to make up in color for what 
 they lacked in stature ; the strapping Manchus, seldom 
 short of six feet, striding majestically as though con- 
 scious of the fact that their dynasty ruled. Here one 
 had attaches of the Foreign Office and the yamens, 
 taotais, and viceroys come to "save their faces"; 
 officers of the army riding white horses all Chinese 
 these officers with two exceptions, a rather large- 
 statured Japanese, who passed, talking with a fresh- 
 faced young Englishman who looked as though he 
 might have been a Sandhurst boy. 
 
 And now the great fact of the palace itself ! 
 
 Bess was not prepared for the intricate array of 
 winding passages, high walls, heavy gates, and huge, 
 iron-spiked doors through which they passed after; 
 entering the palace gates. She reflected, with a shud- 
 der, on the impossibility of Bess Courtney, stranger, 
 finding her way out of the palace without assistance. 
 More keenly than ever she regretted her resolve. Her 
 face was very white, her lips pale. To embark on
 
 96 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 such a quest in a country where the Chinese are much 
 mocked and little feared was a different thing from 
 assuming nonchalance as to the same purpose when 
 the mystery, secrecy, and strength of the Ming dynasty 
 was made manifest to her. 
 
 Her green chair had been changed for a red one, 
 after entering the great gate, and in this she was 
 carried through a labyrinth of white, paved courts, 
 until she came to a very central one, where a number 
 of cedar-trees sheltered the stones from the heat of 
 the morning sun, and where beautiful shrubs, plants, 
 and flowers almost intoxicated her with their perfume. 
 She found that her chair had been lowered to the 
 ground. She stepped out. 
 
 A number of palace eunuchs in embroidered robes 
 of office were bowing to her. Three of them preceded 
 her, making signs that she was to follow. The others 
 took up the rear. The plate-glass doors of the palace, 
 resplendent with a huge character enameled in red and 
 indicating longevity, swung back without noise. She 
 entered, and found herself in the throne-room. 
 
 It was a long hall, paved with blocks of black 
 marble, having red walls and a dome-shaped roof, 
 that glinted gold in the morning sunlight. In the 
 center of the south side were the great doors through 
 which she had entered, directly opposite a red-
 
 THE SON OF HEAVEN 97 
 
 lacquered throne, approached by five steps of varying 
 widths. Near the throne were gathered the ladies 
 of the court, splendid in their gold-embroidered cos- 
 tumes, with gems on their capes and flowers in their 
 hair. As the eunuch stood by the door calling out in 
 low gutturals, several of these court ladies approached 
 Bess, and one of them spoke to her, quite prettily, in 
 English. 
 
 "You are the portrait-painter? I am Na-Leng. My 
 father was minister to your country at one time " 
 
 She spoke a trifle stiltedly, and had the usual diffi- 
 culty with her r's. Pretty she was not, according to 
 European standards, but Bess, familiar with the 
 Oriental idea, knew that Na-Leng was most greatly 
 desired. She was in a long loose gown of rare satin 
 stuff, painted with bird-and-sky effects, wore a pro- 
 fusion of jewelry and ornaments, and had on satin 
 boots with white kid soles. Bess knew her at once 
 for a Manchu girl and one of high rank. 
 
 "I want to be your flend," said Na-Leng. "You 
 remember me now I go back. Come. She ap- 
 proaches." 
 
 Some cymbals and flutes sounded the Imperial 
 Hymn, preceding the coming of majesty. The doors 
 were thrown open. Two lines of gorgeously vestured 
 eunuchs walked stiff -legged into the court. In the
 
 98 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 sudden quietness an open chair was carried to the 
 center of the hall. Another chair followed. It was 
 put down alongside the first. Behind the first chair 
 stood a maid of honor, while behind the second was 
 Hamilton Wrenne in the full dress of the Chinese 
 Army. 
 
 Their majesties alighted. The dowager empress 
 took the throne-seat, her nephew, the emperor, seating 
 himself on a hassock by her side. Bess surveyed them 
 both with eager eyes. 
 
 The much-discussed Tze-Hsi was in a gown of 
 stiff, transparent silk, embroidered with pearls and 
 fastened on one side from neck to hem with jade but- 
 tons. About her neck was a rope of pearls having 
 for pendant a large, pale ruby. Her hair was parted 
 in the middle and brought over her brows. The third 
 and fourth finger-nails of either hand were like talons, 
 and were protected by gold guards. She wore no 
 paint, and her skin was fresh, having the appearance 
 of youth. Her eyes had in them a contemptuous kind- 
 liness, but her small mouth had cruel lines about it. 
 
 The emperor looked to be little more than a boy, 
 although Bess knew him to be nearer thirty-five than 
 thirty. He was slim, slight, and short, and had the 
 face of a monk or a priest the ascetic type. His 
 mouth and chin were not lacking in strength; but his
 
 THE SON OF HEAVEN 99 
 
 gaze was aimless, his eyes without concentration. He 
 was simply dressed in a gown of yellow brocade, 
 belted tightly about a waist, of the smalmess of which, 
 in common with his hands and feet, he was quite 
 proud. Looking keenly for the signs of weakness 
 she sought, Bess discovered that his forehead, while 
 high, receded as it neared his glossy hair; also that 
 his hands and lips had an odd habit of twitching 
 nervously. 
 
 Wrenne acted as interpreter, and Bess was greeted 
 graciously. She formally accepted the offer of the 
 emperor, and was requested to name her preference 
 of abiding-places while she dwelt within the "violet 
 city." 
 
 She trembled before she answered. She knew, from 
 stealthily questioning Wrenne while on shipboard, 
 that the Temple of the Double-Dragon was a small 
 one, erected within the Gardens of the Invisible Deity; 
 knew also that a small pavilion, the Arbor of Buddha's 
 Hand, overlooked the temple and gave access to it 
 through the gardens. Without mentioning specifically 
 the place she wanted, she described the pavilion to 
 Wrenne, who translated her remarks to their majes- 
 ties. The Arbor of Buddha's Hand occurring to 
 them, the emperor inquired of the head eunuch as to 
 its tenancy, and was answered that it was closed. It
 
 100 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 was ordered to be opened, refurnished, and heated, 
 being made in all ways ready for the portrait-painter. 
 
 The emperor rose. The arbor, he informed Bess, 
 would be ready the next morning. He begged that 
 at that time she take possession of it, and at eleven 
 o'clock be ready for his first sitting. He would come 
 to the Arbor for his sittings, that the Sacred Picture 
 might not be touched unnecessarily by the hands of 
 servants. 
 
 The empress arose, also. The audience was ended. 
 
 "Go back to the legation," Wrenne whispered. "I 
 shall see you this afternoon. To-morrow a chair will 
 bring you here and a cart will bring your belongings 
 to-day M 
 
 He was quickly on salute, and stepped behind the 
 chair of the emperor, waiting until the imperial pair 
 had been borne away, then attaching himself to Prince 
 Chu'un, who had sat throughout the ceremony on the 
 lower steps of the throne in company with several 
 cousins of the royal house. Bess, recognizing him, 
 thanked him again for his good offices. 
 
 The prince smiled, disclaiming, and asked if she 
 cared to inspect the palaces of the imperial city. If 
 so, he would put his servants at her disposal and ask 
 the court ladies to accompany her as escort. But the
 
 THE SON OF HEAVEN 101 
 
 excitement of the morning was enough for the girl, 
 and she asked that he repeat his offer at some later 
 period. 
 
 He went away with Wrenne ; and the eunuchs, con- 
 ducting her to her chair, Bess was taken to the palace 
 gates, her chair changed again, and carried from out 
 of the imperial city back to the American legation. 
 On arriving at the latter place, her first act was to 
 send the servant assigned to her for brandy, and of 
 this she took more than she had ever permitted her- 
 self before. Her nerves in a normal state, she went 
 down to lunch with the American minister's wife and 
 family.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 CAPTAIN KOMOTO Is PROMISED THE GOLDEN KITE 
 
 I TO UGICHI and he whom his countrymen called 
 Gray Fox were once again in conference. The 
 room in which they sat might have been the 
 same as the last meeting-place in furnishing and 
 general appearance, but instead of overlooking the 
 yellow Connecticut Avenue cars, whirring motors, and 
 fashionable crowds of Washington's thoroughfare, it 
 looked out on the inner court of the legation in 
 Peking. Gray Fox was again in the costume of his 
 country, his gray kimono embroidered with cranes, 
 his obi-sash blood-colored. His feet in getas were 
 stretched out before him, and he contemplated them 
 without expression. 
 
 Ugichi, in the frock coat grown habitual with him 
 outside his native country, was smoking a cigarette 
 and watching Kitsune-San. The Gray Fox had not 
 spoken since the greetings had passed between them. 
 
 "Is thy thesaurus of speech depleted that thou 
 grudgest of its contents to me, Samurai?" asked 
 Ugichi. 
 
 102
 
 THE GOLDEN KITE 103 
 
 Gray Fox looked up. 
 
 "I have seen to it that the rifles, the ammunition, 
 and the supplies have been landed," he said slowly. 
 "Not fifteen miles from Tongku, there is a cave well 
 known to the opium-smugglers, and this holds the 
 wherewithal of rebellion against Kwang-Hsu. For 
 these expenses Nippon is sorely taxed. Thou didst 
 propound to me in Washington a plan by which the 
 seven thousand eyes of Buddha should refund Nippon 
 and hast thou so replenished the exchequer of the 
 Son of Heaven?" 
 
 "Truly I have not," answered Ugichi. 
 
 "Thou hast not ! The servant of the emperor would 
 now have reasons." 
 
 "By Kappa! thou shalt have them, gnawing Gray 
 Fox!" The Count Ugichi showed a spot of color on 
 either sallow cheek-bone. His voice was that of a man 
 wronged. "Think you, now, what I have done. Was 
 it not I who months ago, in Washington, detected 
 the falsity of the potrait-painter's speech when she 
 spoke concerning the picture of the exiled son of the 
 White Banner? Knew I not then that she lied, and 
 did I not discover where lay the Manchu, Li-Wung- 
 Kih, who called himself Gordon Lee? He became 
 imbued with thy cunning, that of the fox, and fled 
 to the Bermuda Islands; but forth on his trail went
 
 104 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 Yedo, the agent, with my orders to take from him the 
 keys. Yedo returned. He had killed this Gordon 
 Lee with a subtle poison, had examined his clothing 
 when dead, had searched among his properties for 
 the keys of the door of the Double-Dragon. Found 
 he them ? No ! Kappa * is in my luck and 
 
 tli f*n ' ' 
 
 "Then you discovered that the keys were in the pos- 
 session of the portrait-painter herself. That I re- 
 member. Recount not thy own craftiness, Ito-san. 
 Thou art very cunning. Proceed." 
 
 "It is as Gray Fox says. She had the keys, wear- 
 ing them always about her neck upon a chain that was 
 very strong. In San Francisco did not our cleverest 
 agents brush again her in crowds, provoke small riots, 
 do all that might give a chance for the keys to be 
 snatched. But how fortunate they? One is in their 
 jail, another in their hospital. She hath in Hamilton 
 Wrenne a protector the black-visaged man of the 
 great secretness. Knew I well we should be enemies, 
 Samurai. It is so." 
 
 "What further attempts?" 
 
 "As much as any man, even as much as thee, the 
 wise and most machinating furu danuki.-\ On 
 
 * The demon of hell. 
 fOld fox.
 
 THE GOLDEN KITE 105 
 
 the steamship I had agents among the ship-boys, 
 all of whom attempted and failed. She wears the 
 keys next her skin and over them a close, very tight- 
 fitting jersey high in the neck. Once I had nearly 
 won. By great secrecy and caution that same agent, 
 Yedo, serving as a ship-boy, had entered her cabin 
 late in the night; had with his knife slit open the 
 night-dress that she wore, only to find naught save 
 bare skin for she wore the jersey not at night, nor 
 the keys about her neck. He searched most secretly 
 among her bags and boxes, finding nothing, and was 
 interrupted in the task by her awakening. Ever after- 
 ward a soldier of Prince Chu'un slept outside her 
 door what chance, then?" 
 
 "Bribery!" 
 
 " 'Twas tried, and failed. To his master Prince 
 Chu'un the soldier told the tale, and my Yedo was 
 landed at Honolulu ironed and manacled as a criminal. 
 He is also of the Samurai, this Yedo-san. 
 
 The Gray Fox nodded. "And further?" 
 
 "Her room was entered while she slept, in the 
 Astor Hotel, in Shanghai. Again naught was found, 
 naught worn. The keys are no longer in her posses- 
 sion, Gray Fox. She hath given them to this Hamil- 
 ton Wrenne to keep for her. They have been en- 
 closed in a sealed silver box and this swung upon a
 
 106 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 chain again for this was done while she waited in 
 a silversmith's in Shanghai and while a guard of 
 soldiers, ordered by the Taotai as her escort, waited 
 without the shop. The sealed silver box she gave to 
 Black Wrenne. Samurai, we must rid us of this in- 
 cubus of a Wrenne. His presence is parlous to the 
 cause of the Son of Heaven. Besides the keys, much 
 power hath he with Chu'un, much too much, Gray 
 Fox." 
 
 "But thou saidst " 
 
 "Said I my power was the greater? Yes, I re- 
 member. Kwannon grant I was not in error. Ijin- 
 san* hath me in doubt. Very useful he hath 
 been in my plotting, knowing, as he doth, the 
 strength of all the armies of China, and those liable 
 to defection. But his work is done now. He can 
 help me no more. He were well out of the way." 
 
 Gray Fox meditated. "And with him out of the 
 way, Ugichi, it might be that the keys " 
 
 Count Ito grinned in his meaningless fashion. "If 
 he is then to see the black Omi-angel, why not in 
 the presence of faithful Japanese who might procure 
 from him the keys to the door of the Double-Dragon? 
 Speak I wisely, Gray Fox?" 
 
 They eyed one another. 
 *The foreigner.
 
 THE GOLDEN KITE 107 
 
 "Wisely, indeed!" said Gray Fox, and fell to 
 meditating again. Presently he raised his eyes. 
 
 "It is for the emperor, Ito-san. What is one man 
 that he should stand in the way of the emperor's 
 desire? We have originated this plan to put Chu'un 
 on the throne; have provided the brains, the money, 
 the rifles, the munitions of war even the men, in 
 part. Knowest thou that between Peking and Tien- 
 tsin there are scattered some five thousand of our 
 race, members of the army of the emperor?" 
 
 Ito nodded. "Long since I knew that, Gray Fox. 
 Also do I remember that at Shan-hai-kuan among 
 the allied garrisons there is a full regiment ready to 
 write their names in the Bushi Kanjo and as thou 
 hast said: Are the time, the money, the men, and 
 the emperor's desire to go for naught because one 
 Black Wrenne opposeth the path? Nay, Samurai! 
 Scruples are well enough for a robber Eta who pilfers 
 on his own account for him there is the law. For 
 those who act at the emperor's wish there is no ques- 
 tion of law." 
 
 "Light of the Son of Heaven !" murmured Gray Fox. 
 
 He reached for a bell-rope, pulling it. A servant, 
 answering, was told to fetch Captain Komoto, who 
 would be found below. A surmise as to Gray Fox's 
 purpose lightened the eyes of Ito Ugichi, but he said
 
 108 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 nothing of it, waiting in silence until a Japanese in 
 the blue uniform and patent-leather top-boots of the 
 army entered and saluted. 
 
 "You sent for me, honorable ones," he murmured. 
 
 "Komoto, thou knowest a certain Ijin-san holding 
 rank in the army of China one Wrenne, whom they 
 call the Black!" 
 
 Komoto assented. 
 
 "He imperils the welfare of the mikado, Komoto- 
 san I" 
 
 Komoto's hand went to his sword-hilt. 
 
 " To the enemies of the Son of Heaven, what, 
 Komoto-san?" 
 
 "Let those of the Akuki be speedily delivered to 
 the maw of the Red Dragon !" answered Komoto sym- 
 bolically. 
 
 "Takest thou service under the Red Dragon, 
 Komoto-san? Wilt be his purveyor?" 
 
 "For the glory of the emperor what not?" 
 
 "Let the golden kite be writ large upon thy breast, 
 son of the Samurai ! Amadi Butsu guide thy steps to 
 paradise." 
 
 Gray Fox discarded the sonorous symbolic syllables, 
 becoming suddenly practical. "Thou hast many men 
 that thou mayest trust, Komoto?"
 
 THE GOLDEN KITE 109 
 
 "All serve the emperor!" answered the captain 
 oracularly. 
 
 "It is well. Now it were not difficult to take five 
 of these men and attire them as Chinese coolies to 
 put false cues upon their heads, and wadded garments 
 upon their persons." 
 
 "It were not difficult, son of the Daimio " 
 
 Gray Fox raised his hand, regarding him sternly. 
 "The days of Daimios are past. There is but one 
 ruler the emperor ! Forgottest thou, Komoto ?" 
 
 The officer seemed humbled. "I crave pardon, 
 Kitsune-san.* It were difficult to me to forget, 
 I who was born in a humble shoji very near the 
 palace of thy illustrious father. Again I crave pardon." 
 
 "Offend not again, Captain Komoto. Touching on 
 the matter of the five mock Chinese. You said it 
 were not difficult?" 
 
 Komoto bowed. 
 
 "Nor would it be difficult if these five mock Chinese 
 met with this Black Wrenne in the purlieus of the 
 Chinese city, whither he goes each night to inspect 
 his soldiers keeping guard upon the walls?" 
 
 Kimoto bowed again. 
 
 "And should accident occur to this Black Wrenne 
 should he tumble from a wall and be utterly de- 
 
 * Mr. Fox.
 
 110 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 molished, there could be no harm in opening his 
 garments and finding hung about his neck a silver 
 box on a chain, eh, Komoto-san?" 
 
 "There could be no harm, Gray Fox," echoed the 
 soldier. 
 
 "Keep thou and thy five mock Chinese sharp watch, 
 then, for his fall! And when thou hast the silver 
 box bring it to thy unworthy preceptor. For this 
 watchfulness of thine, thy name shall be recorded in 
 the unwritten book of noble deeds. Sayonara" 
 
 The officer hesitated. 
 
 "Were it better for the emperor that this Black 
 Wrenne fell from his perch this night or a later 
 
 "The emperor liketh ill the song of the black wren. 
 This is a bird of ill favor with him. Shall the em- 
 peror's ears be longer offended than his servant may 
 compass?" 
 
 "I am ashamed, Gray Fox !" 
 
 "No need of shame. That only when one has 
 failed. And should the light shine upon a deed which 
 thou hast committed outside the laws of nations, 
 wouldst say it was in thy emperor's service, Komoto- 
 san?" 
 
 The captain drew himself up stiffly. 
 
 "Hath not Komoto-san private revenges that he may
 
 THE GOLDEN KITE 111 
 
 wreak, son of the Daimio? Hath he not a tongue 
 to cry aloud these satiations of revenge?" 
 
 Gray Fox gave him his hand. "Thou shalt yet be 
 read in the Bushi Kan jo, Komoto-san. Thy very ex- 
 cellent good health. Sayonara!" 
 
 "Sayonara, honorable ones." 
 
 He saluted and went out. Gray Fox rubbed his 
 hands. The Count Ito Ugichi grinned in his mean- 
 ingless way.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 IN THE GARDEN OF THE INVISIBLE DEITY 
 
 THE Arbor of Buddha's hand was so called be- 
 cause within the precincts of its garden grew 
 numbers of trees bearing the fruit which has 
 for name the religious synonym fruit much of the 
 same variety as a lemon but more fragrant and 
 shaped in such a way as to vaguely resemble a hand. 
 In the center of the garden was a lotus-covered lake, 
 on the edges of which grew quantities of asters and 
 peonies, also several variations of the orchid family. 
 Cedar-trees flourished there, having dwarfed cypresses 
 for companions. From the marble terrace of the 
 pavilion Bess could note the Temple of the Double- 
 Dragon rising above the tops of the cedars, approached 
 by one hundred steps, flanked on four platforms by 
 small outhouses with curving crenellated roofs. The 
 sight was an obsession with her. Many times she 
 found herself leaving her work and drifting to the 
 terrace to gaze at the temple with its lacquered columns 
 112
 
 GARDEN OF THE INVISIBLE DEITY 113 
 
 and porticos, and the great golden Double-Dragon 
 sprawling across its doors. 
 
 Behind the temple rose a great wall, ten feet in 
 thickness, gray-pink in hue, and this same wall ex- 
 tended on all four sides of the garden. His majesty 
 gained access to the pavilion through the imperial 
 archway on the south side, and Hamilton Wrenne 
 came through the little door on the north. It was by 
 a special dispensation only that this was allowed, for 
 the Arbor of Buddha's Hand flanked the ladies' pre- 
 cincts of the palaces, to which no male was supposed 
 to come save on ceremonial occasions. 
 
 There were five rooms in the pavilion, separated 
 by walls of carven wood, in which were panels of 
 white and blue silk painted with poems and representa- 
 tions of cranes, peacocks, dwarfed trees, and demons. 
 The entire front facing the Double-Dragon Temple 
 was a concatenation of plate-glass windows which 
 might be released and swung outward by pressing in- 
 genious catches. The lower windows were provided 
 with blue silken curtains that rolled into graceful 
 folds. 
 
 In the front room Bess had set up her easel and 
 canvas and arranged her painting paraphernalia. 
 Here, also, had been brought one of the great red 
 lacquer thrones on which the emperor sat while pos-
 
 114 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 ing. Several European chairs had been brought in 
 for Bess' comfort, but she preferred the couch built 
 into the wall, when tired. The second room was her 
 boudoir, the third her sleeping-apartment, the fourth 
 her dining-room, while the fifth was used by the 
 servants as a pantry, the cooking being done in a little 
 outhouse. The pavilion was heated by porcelain stoves 
 and fires built under the floors. 
 
 Nearly two weeks had passed since Bess had come 
 to live within the violet city, and during that time she 
 had not ventured forth from beyond the high red 
 walls. Every morning at ten Kwang-Hsu came for 
 a sitting of half an hour, and during the rest of the 
 day she worked over what she had blocked in. Some- 
 times Na-Leng or some of the ladies of the court came 
 for her and took her on tours of inspection. On 
 several occasions she witnessed performances of the 
 Royal Players. Three times she had lunched with 
 the young empress and her maids of honor. But the 
 days were mostly taken up with work and the visits 
 of Hamilton Wrenne, who came every afternoon 
 through the small gateway at the north. . 
 
 He came generally at sundown and remained until 
 the Gardens of the Invisible Deity were hung with 
 the black wings of the Night-Dragon under whose 
 protection fluttered the good ancestor spirits, waving
 
 GARDEN OF THE INVISIBLE DEITY 115 
 
 their silver lanterns- she recalled the picturesque 
 simile of the Lady Na-Leng, as she sat there this night 
 and watched Wrenne in the starlight. 
 
 She had begun to know that his presence was neces- 
 sary to her, and without his visits she would be like 
 the little nightingale in the silver cage that hung by the 
 windows. The simile called to mind the fact that the 
 little bird's head was drooping, his feathers ruffled. 
 She arose and opened the door of the cage. Gladly he 
 fled into the night, and from the near-by branch of a 
 cedar-tree poured out a flood of song. 
 
 "Hello!" said Wrenne. "You don't seem to ap- 
 preciate the value of that little songster, Bess." 
 
 She shook her head. "Oh, yes, I do. But the poor 
 thing was so unhappy when I first got him. I let him 
 out twice a day. He'll always come back. See!" 
 
 She stepped on the terrace and whistled softly, coo- 
 ingly. She, too, was in the starlight now, and it 
 touched her golden-brown hair, seeming to fondle it 
 The stray curls at ears and brow and neck fluttered 
 in the early night wind, fluttered against that pure, 
 white skin, and brought the tint of wild roses to the 
 cheeks. The nightingale's song ceased. He fluttered 
 uncertainly on his perch, then came flying back and 
 perched on the dainty finger outstretched toward him. 
 The girl stroked its feathers and bent her head over,
 
 116 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 whispering to it. Instinctively it rubbed its feathers 
 against her soft cheek. 
 
 "Coo-oo," she breathed to it again. It turned its 
 wise little head, surveying her with attentive eyes, 
 then, released by the motion of her hand, flew away 
 again. 
 
 She turned to Wrenne. "You see?" 
 
 He saw more than she had intended the brown 
 eyes soft with the mystery of the thoughts of night- 
 fall, the thoughts that her conscious mind hardly read. 
 There was perfume wafted into his face, perfume he 
 knew to be of the garden, but sweet in the thought 
 that it was no sweeter than she. 
 
 "Whispering trees, soft summer breeze, 
 Moon shining bright from above " 
 
 She had begun to hum the song, hardly remem- 
 bering the rest of it which dealt with lover's arms 
 and other accessories of a divine night. It was a 
 tribute to the evening that nature had provided, and 
 to the man himself, in that he provided no jarring 
 element. 
 
 But he had not forgotten the words of the song, if 
 she had. There was color in his cheeks, too, as he 
 came forward, nearly touching her. She was subtly 
 entrancing, a creature for the evening mists, for rose-
 
 GARDEN OF THE INVISIBLE DEITY 117 
 
 gardens and mystic moons. Her charm was as perva- 
 sive as the perfume of springtime, as delusive as a 
 stray moonbeam. She was too daintily ethereal for the 
 workaday world of every-day. Here in the temple- 
 grove on the marble terrace, with the moon and stars 
 silvering the night, and the great, mysterious temple's 
 gold roofs towering beyond the cedar-trees, she was 
 the sprite of the illusion, the key to the picture. 
 
 "Bess!" 
 
 She was not unconscious of his meaning. But at 
 the time, with the enchantment of the good ancestors' 
 silver lanterns in her eyes, she thought of the one 
 word spoken with the infinite tenderness of a lover 
 only as a part of the beautiful night. Looking up 
 and finding him standing so close to her that she could 
 hear the beating of his heart, she was not afraid, only 
 very glad that her soul was light, that it was a glad 
 world, and that he was there. 
 
 She looked, lingering over the picture of him, as 
 he stood very gallant in his close-fitting uniform and 
 boots, with the crucifix-hilted sword catching the 
 light. His cap was off, and the rays ran in and out 
 the waves of his black hair and lighted up those in- 
 tense eyes below the heavy brows. He was at once 
 sinister, debonair, tender, and masterful; perfectly 
 groomed, clean-limbed, every line of face and form
 
 118 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 betokening breeding and strength and in his eyes love 
 for her. To her mind came vaguely thoughts of 
 Bayards, Rolands, and Olivers, compelling composites 
 these: commanders, courtiers, cavaliers. Here was 
 such another. It had taken generations to produce the 
 like of that strong, graceful body and handsome head. 
 
 "Hamilton !" she breathed. 
 
 "Bess, you do, you do love me, don't you, Bess?" 
 
 And when he had conquered, he was a boy again, 
 eager, petulant, winning, awakening also the mother 
 spirit in her. As she lay in his arms she looked up into 
 the shining eyes. 
 
 "How can I help it, Black Wrenne ?" she said, with 
 a little, helpless laugh, and stroked his hair with gentle 
 fingers. He was hers to love, to mother, to obey. 
 She might revel in his strange masculine beauty with 
 the thought that it was hers alone. 
 
 "And oh, enough, dear, enough!" 
 
 It was a little later when she had freed herself 
 from his arms and caught back her stray curls into 
 prim severity. 
 
 "Enough?" he questioned, hurt 
 
 "Enough now, great baby !" 
 
 They laughed together, two children for the time. 
 
 "And how long have you loved me, Bess, dear?" 
 
 "Always, I think," she answered him. Really she
 
 GARDEN OF THE INVISIBLE DEITY 119 
 
 did not know. The thing had always been vague with 
 her, an influence that had grown and grown until it 
 had overwhelmed her in the greatness of it. 
 
 "Yes, always, I think ever since I met you the 
 second time. But before that I had ideals such a 
 man as you. I wanted him big" she was enumerating 
 on her slim fingers, after the fashion of a schoolgirl 
 "big and brave and with black hair and black eyes. 
 Just like you, Black Wrenne. Always B's, you see: 
 big and brave and black-haired and black-eyed. And 
 then I met you and knew I'd been thinking about you 
 all the time." 
 
 "Did you?" he said, enraptured. 
 
 "But, then then you weren't nice to me, Black 
 Wrenne!" 
 
 Where was the woman of the world in this little 
 girl who talked with her mouth pursed up and her 
 eyes upturned to the stars? 
 
 "Wasn't I?" he said disgustedly. "What a brute 
 I must have been!" 
 
 "Yes, you were," she said, and she was the woman 
 again as she spoke. "And and I'll tell you a secret 
 It only made me love you the more because you were 
 a brute to me, Black Wrenne. That was the woman 
 who adored your strength, who thought it better to 
 have you your own way than no way at all. But the
 
 120 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 artist in me called for better things from you, wanted 
 you to love me for the better part of me, to bring 
 that better part there's little enough of it out into 
 the sunlight and hide the other part in the shadows. 
 But you didn't do that." 
 
 "Don't, Bess," he pleaded. "I didn't understand 
 then. At first it was the purely physical man's love 
 for the purely physical woman. And I hadn't had 
 the training to make me very scrupulous. But that 
 day I saw you and wanted you a thousand times 
 more. There will always be that of the physical love 
 that is a part but besides there is the something you 
 gave me which no other woman did. An utter disre- 
 gard of self, a desire to do things for you, to make 
 myself spiritually cleaner." 
 
 Suddenly she realized that she had bared her heart 
 for the knife-thrust. She had begun this by speaking 
 of her better part she had begun it. Why hadn't 
 she been content with the fact that he loved her, with- 
 out dragging in ethics, introspection? While he was 
 trying to make himself better for her sake, she was 
 retrogressing. It became unbearable, the thought that 
 he should ever discover that she had come to Peking 
 to steal and that was why she had come and what 
 she still must do. 
 
 "Bess, I've been a better sort since I met you. For
 
 GARDEN OF THE INVISIBLE DEITY 121 
 
 the past two years I've been grimy with plots and 
 counterplots, lies and treachery, false smiles, and knife- 
 thrusts in the back the machinations of Orientalism. 
 I had one great ambition to be the power behind 
 the throne. For this reason I have cultivated Prince 
 Chu'un, made of him a means to an end. And now 
 the way to my ambition lies open ahead of me, Bess. 
 I can be the real ruler of this country in less than 
 a year the real ruler of the greatest country on 
 earth, of four hundred million people. Think, Bess! 
 I can be that through Prince Chu'un. For I am 
 Prince Chu'un in the will. My way is his way and 
 the time is at hand." 
 
 The wild-rose had fled from her checks, the night- 
 ingale was still. Her trembling fingers caught the 
 sleeve of his coat. 
 
 "Don't tell me, Hamilton!" 
 
 He was strong and big in the moonlight, with his 
 heavy, frowning brows and clean-cut jaws. The 
 fingers trembling on his arm felt the thrill of his 
 hard, vibrant muscles. She was suddenly very much 
 afraid. What would he do when he discovered that 
 he had set up a false idol in her? Would he tear her 
 apart with those strong, brown hands? 
 
 "No, maybe I'd better not tell you. Because the
 
 122 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 path to my ambition is a highway of arson and blood- 
 shed a shambles of the innocents." 
 
 He caught both her white, trembling hands and 
 kissed their palms. 
 
 "Bess!" His voice was suddenly exultant. "I'm 
 going to chuck it all for you, dear going to chuck it 
 all, d'you understand? Because I want you to feel 
 that you can respect yourself when you love me. 
 You've taught me the way to honesty and straight- 
 dealing, dear the other is hateful to me now. When 
 you finish your picture, we'll leave Peking together. 
 And then then, my little wife eh?" 
 
 He was laughing boyishly. 
 
 "All mine, all of you. Those glorious eyes, and 
 those beautiful curls, and your rose of a mouth and 
 the sweet, pure soul of you, Bess, dear!" 
 
 She lay in his arms, her face hot, her body trembling ; 
 but there was a pall on her brain, and her heart was 
 like lead within her. She had set up for this man 
 an ideal of herself, and he had believed that ideal to 
 be what she represented it, had loved the fictitious Bess 
 and diverted his career for her. 
 
 "The road to honesty to straight-dealing." 
 
 It seemed that the Fengshui demon on the wall 
 panel was grinning at her as he repeated the words. 
 She who had come to Peking to rob she had taught
 
 GARDEN OF THE INVISIBLE DEITY 123 
 
 him that road, she who was not yet a thief only be- 
 cause she had not the courage. 
 
 "No, Hamilton," she moaned, "no. Don't talk to 
 me that way. I'm unworthy of it, Hamilton. It 
 was only because I loved you so much that I wanted 
 to have you believe that. But don't believe that, 
 Hamilton because some day you'll find out it's 
 not so." 
 
 But he only laughed and stroked the stray curls. 
 
 "Don't, dear Black Wrenne. Don't laugh at me. 
 Indeed, it is so. Please keep on loving me no matter 
 what I am just love me because I'm Bess, just be- 
 cause I'm this girl that you see for nothing more 
 except that and that I love you very dearly, Black 
 Wrenne." 
 
 "I shall always love you, dear," he said, and bent 
 his head over her. 
 
 "But not the ideal, Hamilton, not that. Just Bess. 
 I'm not the stuff to stand the furnace of idealism. Just 
 clay, dear, and that's all. False images won't stand 
 the test. Don't set one up in me, Black Wrenne." 
 
 The nightingale was singing again. His notes 
 brought the girl to crying very softly. If Black 
 Wrenne should discover what she had come to do, if 
 he should find that she had stolen like a common thief 
 would he love her then? Could she dare to hope
 
 124 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 that he would? Was that fair? When she had 
 dragged him up to a great love with the picture of 
 a woman who did not exist, could she blame him if 
 the love that she had awakened for this mythical ideal 
 turn away repulsed from the woman who was. No, 
 he could not be blamed. Therefore he must never 
 discover. She must do what she had come for. The 
 picture of her two dear aunts was before her eyes. 
 She must do that and then she would try to be the 
 sort of woman he imagined her. 
 
 "It is because you are what you are that you think 
 so little of yourself," he said gently. 
 
 "No," she murmured, wiping away the tears. "No, 
 Hamilton, I'm telling you the truth you don't believe 
 me, thank God! I pray Him that you won't find 
 out!" 
 
 There was a fluttering of wings, a feeble chirp, and 
 unconsciously she put out her finger. The nightin- 
 gale fastened upon it, regarding her with quick move- 
 ments of his graceful head. 
 
 "I'd rather believe the bird than you!" 
 
 And his voice was very tender.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 ASSASSINS WHO SHOULD BE PURVEYORS OF 
 THE POOR 
 
 THE great bell of Kouan-Lo, in the Tachung-sz* 
 tower, was marking the hour with its golden 
 tongue, a mellifluous clangor that had in it 
 more of music than of noise. The air was heavy with 
 the odor of lotos and chu~sha-kih from the barred 
 palace windows of the violet city came the tinkle of 
 the san-hien * and the lute, while nearer the gate of 
 the Fung-Hoang a female voice trilled out a song of 
 Kouei to the gilded dragons of the green roof-trees. 
 It was a very glad world, thought Hamilton 
 Wrenne. 
 
 He had come down the causeway unattended, alone, 
 and on foot, reveling in the beauty of the night, in- 
 toxicated with the lingering perfume of the girl's 
 presence, and like one in a very beautiful dream who 
 was loath to wake again, 
 * Guitar. 
 
 125
 
 126 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 He answered the salutations of the gate guards 
 mechanically, and bestrode the white horse which his 
 orderly held for him. Touching his mount lightly 
 with his riding-crop, he was off through the Tartar 
 city on his night inspection of the wall-guards. 
 
 There was very little thought for his duty to-night. 
 Bess loved him ! He said that over many times, un- 
 consciously humming music to fit the words, turning 
 the beauty of the happening and of the night into the 
 blank verse of the lover's litany. 
 
 She loved him ! He was surprised how little other 
 things mattered amazed that the hazy future held 
 no fears for him and that he could so readily abandon 
 his cherished projects because they were incompatible 
 with his thoughts of her. Indeed, he was letting them 
 go without regret, finding that he no longer cared 
 for what might detract from her regard for him. 
 
 As he told her, he had not been very scrupulous. 
 Since he quitted West Point, an embittered youngster 
 deprived of the fulfillment of a dream that had been his 
 since childhood, he had imagined the world a very 
 cold place, where one kept warm only by the fierce- 
 ness of antagonism to others. His rise in the Chinese 
 service had been one of those curious sequences of 
 circumstance that sometimes occur to Europeans in 
 foreign countries. 'Assigned to a post far up-country,
 
 PURVEYORS OF THE POOR 127 
 
 he had found himself in the center of a rebellion with 
 but a handful of troops to cope with it. Alone, he 
 was powerless. By enlisting in his cause the scat- 
 tered bands of brigands and outlaws, he had relieved 
 the province from rebellion, and as reward turned 
 over the rebels' property to the rapacious crew who 
 had assisted him. Bravery, lack of scruples, and cal- 
 culating cunning had brought him to high places. 
 Now, for the love of a girl, he was to climb down 
 again when his hands were closing about the reins 
 of government. He would be an ordinary soldier of 
 fortune again, a penniless married adventurer. 
 
 But married to Bess! That was the recompense. 
 
 The Manchu orderly Thsang had never before noted 
 his officer in so uncritical a mood. There were several 
 grave defections of duty on the part of the soldiers 
 of the wall that went quite without rebuke. One 
 soldier had forgotten the password, another had taken 
 too much sam-shni and was close to being drunken, 
 another in saluting brought the barrel instead of the 
 stock of his rifle to ground. Thsang did not under- 
 stand his lack of interest in these things, so apart were 
 they from his drawing of the character of the envoy 
 of the Black Fir, the name given Wrenne by his 
 soldiery to indicate the bird of black plumage which 
 haunts the fir-tree and is all-seeing, writing down in
 
 128 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 the Book of Fate the misdeeds of the Tsing-jin,* and 
 preparing for them adequate punishment. Wrenne 
 had not risen to his height without having earned the 
 reputation of a disciplinarian utterly devoid of mercy. 
 
 Now, inspection over, he stood upon the great walls 
 peering away at the ghostly temples and palaces where 
 the dogs of Fo kept their watch; at the swinging 
 lanterns, the illumined kites, the pagodas, the riot of 
 color, of crenellated roofings, porcelain gargoyles, and 
 lacquered goblins. Below, the tracks of the railroad 
 stretching outside the curve of the walls seemed like 
 the trail of the fire-monster, and the engine itself an 
 unreal dragon puffing fire into the silver night; the 
 bobbing light of rickshaws, carts, and pedestrians ; only 
 the elves and sprites of the marshes making merry 
 in a fairy city of the night; the figures of the soldiers 
 those of giants keeping watch on the enchanted city, 
 so distorted their size in the shadows. 
 
 "Hei-song-che-tsoo !" said Thsang, and gently 
 touched his colonel's sleeve, heavy with gold braid. 
 He was addressing him by the name of He of the 
 Black Fir, a nom de guerre which had grown into 
 custom. Wrenne turned, nodding to him impatiently, 
 his eyes wandering back again to the scene spread 
 below him. 
 
 * Tsing-jin Chinese name for themselvesSons of the Great 
 Purity reign.
 
 PURVEYORS OF THE POOR 129 
 
 Borne faintly upward from the mandarin's garden 
 below the way was the sound of the lute played by 
 a master hand, and the voice of a man singing. 
 Wrenne recognized the words of the sage Lao-tseu. 
 
 By beauty of face and ravishing form 
 Come thoughts of a beautiful soul. 
 The world is deceived by the outwards of love 
 But 
 
 "Come," said Hamilton Wrenne impatiently. Lao- 
 tseu was an old croaker, even though a sage. Why 
 had this pessimistic occupant of the mandarin's garden 
 chosen to disturb his beautiful dream? 
 
 Below, he mounted his horse, which shied violently. 
 From the dust of the road arose a black something, 
 that flapped its wings and cawed dismally. Thsang's 
 teeth showed in the half-light. 
 
 "An ill omen, illustrious one," he said. "An ill 
 omen." 
 
 "Not for me," responded Wrenne, with a laugh 
 that was gay enough to show the counsel of Lao-tseu 
 to be of no effect. "For, look you, Thsang, am I 
 not the envoy of the Black Fir and a bird of raven 
 plumage myself? How know you that the bird is not 
 the soul of my ancestor?" 
 
 Thsang made a wry face. "Not so, Black One.
 
 130 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 For it was an evil bird, accursed by Gotama to feed 
 upon offal and the carcasses of the dead. It is a sign 
 of ill omen see, it flies straight along our path. Its 
 way means destruction, Hei-song-che-tsoo. Take the 
 road of Kang-ing-pien to-night." 
 
 "The black clerks are my friends, Thsang," laughed 
 Wrenne again, and touched his horse lightly with 
 his spur. 
 
 The two made a medieval picture as the light showed 
 them outlined against the white steps of a temple 
 the slender, graceful, black-avised man in the imperial 
 yellow uniform, golden-frogged, his crucifix sword 
 suspended from a jeweled belt by a golden cord, the 
 peacock's feather of his mandarin's hat trailing out 
 behind him the picture of a goodly man on a goodly 
 horse, whose whiteness contrasted with Wrenn's hair 
 and eyes ; in his rear the Manchu, also in the imperial 
 uniform, belted and booted, and uprearing his six 
 feet three inches over a gray mare. And so they 
 passed out of the light of the thoroughfare and into 
 the street of the Little Purveyors of the Poor. It was 
 a mean alley with unclean causeway, where were the 
 shops patronized by coolies, undertakers, and those of 
 the lowest orders. It was an unsavory district through 
 which to pass, but Wrenne knew by long experience
 
 PURVEYORS OF THE POOR 131 
 
 that it was a rare Tsing-jin who would raise arms 
 against one in the uniform of the Great Pure Kingdom. 
 "Hiaiif" called Thsang suddenly, in warning. 
 "Spur thy horse, illustrious one!" 
 
 Involuntarily and without asking reasons, Wrenne's 
 spurs came in contact with his horse's flank, and the 
 splendid animal upreared itself on its haunches, stared 
 with dilated eyes, and plunged suddenly forward. Out 
 of the darkness of the street came grasping hands 
 that caught the bridle, and were near to taking it from 
 Wrenne's grasp. Again the spurs bit into the white 
 horse, and with frightened neighs and whinnies for 
 never was there a kinder man to his beast than Hamil- 
 ton Wrenne it galloped madly along the rough 
 street, dragging two men who held tightly to the 
 bridle, tearing its gums until it champed red .foam. 
 Wrenne's hand went to his sword, and the blade 
 of the crucifix glinted out of the darkness. But that 
 same moment a pair of yellow hands clutched his 
 neck from behind. His feet slipped from the stir- 
 rups, and he went over backward. The owner of the 
 yellow hands was undermost, and it was he whose 
 head struck the stones of the street, sending him into 
 unconsciousness and releasing his grip. Immediately 
 Wrenne was on his feet, his eyes peering for his an- 
 tagonists, his sword ready.
 
 132 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 They came soon enough the two who had caught 
 the reins, and who had released them with the slip- 
 ping of the American from his saddle. There was 
 a pink puff, a little gray smoke, a sharp staccato of 
 sound, and a bullet perilously close to Wrenne's 
 shoulder, burning it. But by its light he had seen his 
 antagonist and his sword slashed into human flesh, 
 which quivered at the impact. A man with half-sev- 
 ered neck stumbled on his face into the roadway; 
 another leaped into Wrenne's arms, sending the cruci- 
 fix sword high into air. 
 
 Wrenne felt a sudden strangling, and a hotness 
 overspread his skin. His antagonist's arm was crooked 
 about his neck and his left fist was pounding the pit of 
 his stomach. He grew curiously sick and ill, almost 
 vomiting. Remembrance of his plight came in his vio- 
 lent twist, which freed him and sent the sword-point in 
 the direction of this foul fighter. Only a laugh of 
 derision and an attack from the back; a knee in the 
 small ; both hands about the gullet. Wrenne lashed 
 out viciously with his spurred heels, and the grip grew 
 weaker. The laugh changed to a cry of pain. He 
 whirled upon his antagonist, his sword descending 
 upon his unprotected head, splitting it cleanly through. 
 But even as the blood spurted about the blue steel,
 
 PURVEYORS OF THE POOR 133 
 
 something heavy struck the back of the American's 
 head, and he went down into the unclean street. 
 
 Immediately someone knelt over his body, and a 
 tiny electric torch showed a gleam as the kneeling one 
 tore open the embroidered collar of the coat, the linen 
 one underneath, the cambric shirt, the gauze under- 
 garment. In the light of the torch was a square, silver 
 box, suspended by a silver chain next the skin. The 
 searcher could not find the catch. He pulled at it with 
 eager fingers until the blood came leaping up from the 
 white skin, where the links of the chain cut it then 
 at a weak place they snapped. The silver box was 
 stowed away and the electric torch went out. 
 
 "Cooe-cooe !" 
 
 The ravisher of the chain whistled shrilly. The man 
 with whom Thsang was at grips suddenly released 
 himself, and fled up the street fleetly, following the one 
 who had dragged Wrenne from his horse, who had 
 been stunned, and who had come to life again in time 
 to rifle the American of his dearest possession. 
 
 Thsang, weak from several wounds, kicked the body 
 of the first assailant whom he had killed, and followed 
 swiftly after the one who had escaped. But remem- 
 bering, he halted, struck a match, and lighted a torch 
 which he carried at his belt. It was more important 
 ihat he should find the Black One, his colonel. And he
 
 134 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 found him with crushed head and matted hair, his neck 
 bleeding where he had been despoiled. 
 
 Raging, the Manchu sheathed his colonel's sword, 
 when he had made sure that the other two assailants 
 were dead. Then, raising Wrenne's body in his arms, 
 he staggered along the street of the Little Purveyors 
 to the Poor, slipping and stumbling among the refuse 
 until he emerged upon the street of the legations. The 
 American legation was close by. He let the uncon- 
 scious body slip to its feet, while he knocked upon the 
 gate with his free hand and slipped back in the pro- 
 tection of one of the stone dogs of Fo, two of which 
 guarded the gate. 
 
 An American soldier, on guard, swung open the 
 gate, and eyed the bloody figures suspiciously. Thsang, 
 who knew pidgin-English, addressed him : 
 
 "You savy my Melican mandalin all-same all-same 
 you call Lenne " 
 
 "Gwan, Chink!" growled the upholder of American 
 militarism. "Whatcher giving me, anyhow ?" 
 
 And Thsang, very weak from loss of blood, lost 
 his bland imperturbability, screaming insult in his own 
 language at the soldier, who listened, highly amused. 
 
 "You no savvy 'Melican soldier officer take look- 
 see." 
 
 The American peered cautiously from behind the
 
 PURVEYORS OF THE POOR 135 
 
 bars, and caught a glimpse of the white face, lifeless, 
 in the starlight. Immediately the gate clicked open, 
 and the American and Chinese carried the body within. 
 
 "It's Black Wrenne." 
 
 The American soldier locked the gate and called 
 shrilly to the legation servants : 
 
 "Here, you boys, make qui-qui now damn' pronto; 
 you hear. Qui-qui." 
 
 Sad was the plight of Captain Komoto when he, by 
 devious ways, at last crept into the burrow of Kitsune- 
 san. He was in dirty Chinese garments, rent and torn 
 and stained with blood, his hands lacerated, his finger- 
 nails broken to the quick. The back of his head was 
 an unlovely plaster of sticky hair; he carried one hand 
 limp, for the wrist was broken. And it was in this 
 condition that he gained access to the cabinet where 
 Gray Fox and Ito Ugichi sat smoking over their 
 hibachis, and awaiting his return. 
 
 They noted the plight of him without surprise. 
 They had not expected that their object be attained 
 without serious hurt to those who wished to compass 
 it. 
 
 Komoto saluted them. 
 
 "The gods have guarded you, Komoto," grinned 
 Ugichi.
 
 136 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 "Little guard, Excellency," answered the soldier. 
 "Little guard. I am a mass of broken bones and torn 
 flesh ; good for little duty for a month of moons. He 
 was no weakling, Excellencies." 
 
 "Had he been, 'twould have been unnecessary to put 
 upon his seeking the Captain Komoto," returned Gray 
 Fox. He peered at the soldier with ill-concealed im- 
 patience. "Has Kwannon been thy friend, Komoto- 
 san!" 
 
 For answer, the addressed one drew from within his 
 torn garments a square silver box, to which was 
 attached a stained and broken chain. 
 
 "This I took from the neck of the Ijin-san," he 
 replied, without emotion. "The chain is broken. That 
 I could not avoid, for I hasted." 
 
 "For this a kanjo, Komoto," cried Ugichi, and his 
 eyes sparkled. "A kanjo for thee, Komoto. The 
 golden kite shall be written upon thy breast, illustrious 
 son of thy father." 
 
 He took the box from the table, repressing his eager- 
 ness, and turning it over and over in his fingers. He 
 saw no opening, fastening, or catch, and handed it to 
 Gray Fox. 
 
 "Thou arf familiar with the cunning devices of the 
 silversmiths," he said. "Do thou find the concealed 
 spring !"
 
 PURVEYORS OF THE POOR 157 
 
 Kitsune fondled the box lovingly. In the silence 
 that followed he sought with pressing thumb for the 
 spring, finding it finally as the center of the flower's 
 petals. It flew immediately open. 
 
 Ugichi and Komoto stood tense, watching him as he 
 gazed at the open box. They saw first surprise, then 
 incredulity, then anger as he hastily felt with thumb 
 pressed against the interior. Abruptly he threw the 
 box upon a low table, and arose to confront the two. 
 
 "That was what he wore about his neck this Black 
 Wrenne !" 
 
 Komoto bowed low. "Yes, Excellency." 
 
 "You have done well ; go !" 
 
 Komoto went out. Ugichi and Kitsune faced each 
 the other. 
 
 "Thou the cunning and the subtle one; thou on 
 whose information two soldiers of Japan have lost 
 their lives; upon which I have builded false hopes 
 look what was within the silver box that hung about 
 the neck of this Ijin-san, the Black Wrenne!" 
 
 Count Ito Ugichi picked up the box, and saw it to 
 be but a frame for a small miniature of the face of 
 Miss Elizabeth Courtney, whose eyes met his as he 
 gazed at the painted reflection.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 A QUESTION OF ETHICAL RIGHT AND WRONG 
 
 BESS was never to know that her gift to Hamil- 
 ton Wrenne had been the cause of the attack 
 made upon him. It was true, as Ito Ugichi 
 had said, that while in Shanghai she had the keys to 
 the Dragon door enclosed in a silver box, and swung 
 by a chain ; true, also, that she had given such another 
 silver box to Wrenne, but without thought of exposing 
 him to danger. She had admired the workmanship of 
 the key-box, and had sent a messenger to the silver- 
 smith's to have it duplicated. Wrenne had for a long 
 time- begged for a portrait of herself, and in odd 
 moments aboard ship she had painted a miniature. 
 This she fastened within the silver box and in the 
 dining-room of the Hotel Astor, in Shanghai, had 
 publicly given it to Wrenne. And so, all unwittingly, 
 shethad put Ugichi on a false scent. 
 
 She was further unaware of the fact that any knew 
 of her possession of the Double-Dragon keys, save 
 only her brother Austin. There had been no hint of 
 
 138
 
 ETHICAL RIGHT AND WRONG 139 
 
 foul play in the death of Gordon Lee she had not 
 given the matter thought. Lee had complained, at 
 their last meeting, of a weakness of the heart. This 
 she naturally imagined had brought about his death. 
 The various attempts of agents to secure the keys she 
 put down only to petty thieves, and after leaving 
 Shanghai she had carried the silver box in a chatelaine- 
 bag fastened to her waist, because she found the weight 
 of the chain was leaving a mark upon her neck. 
 
 But, although she did not know herself to be the 
 innocent cause, she was aware of the fact that the 
 attack upon Wrenne had materially changed their 
 plans. In the solitude of the night after Wrenne left 
 her, she had finally determined not to use the Dragon 
 keys not to attempt to pilfer the diamonds in the 
 temple. She knew that in that act she was forgetting 
 her duty to her aunts, going back on her word ; but she 
 loved Wrenne too much to take any chances of losing 
 that love. The picture was to be finished the following 
 week. She and Wrenne would quit Peking together 
 and go back with him to help her. She would always 
 be in possession of enough money to keep her aunts 
 from want and she would not need to steal for them. 
 
 It was after his leaving her that night and too happy 
 to sleep, that while wandering in the gardens of the 
 Invisible Deity she discovered a knot-hole level
 
 140 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 with her eyes in the trunk of an old chu-sah-ki tree. 
 It seemed an ideal hiding place for the keys. Probing 
 within, finding it less than a foot deep, she unf astened 
 the keys from the chain about her waist and dropped 
 them within. 
 
 Her plan of leaving them there forever might very 
 wefl have been carried out, fresh with the impulse of 
 the moment; her decision might even have lasted a 
 week while the first ecstasy of love endured. How- 
 ever, it happened that Hamilton Wrenne lay on a sick- 
 bed for more than a month battling for his life, con- 
 cussion of the brain having developed from the crash- 
 ing blow he had received. 
 
 During this time work on the portrait was sus- 
 pended, and Bess hovered about the sick-room in the 
 character of nurse, wasting herself thin in her anxiety 
 for the man she loved And during this time she 
 reflected over the situation, and decided that, after all, 
 it would be wisest to take the diamonds. When Ham- 
 ilton Wrenne quitted the Chinese sen-ice what then? 
 It might be that for the time it would be necessary for 
 both of them to live on the proceeds of Bess' work, 
 and she would not then be able to help Aunt Malvinia 
 and Aunt Kitty at all. And Bess did not want to be 
 poor again. She knew, entirely too well, that condi- 
 tion of hardly knowing how the expenses of the week
 
 ETHICAL RIGHT AND WRONG 141 
 
 were to be managed. Neither would it do to have her 
 mother and her little sisters (all of whom were almost 
 dependent upon her) brought to the same straits. 
 
 Money was most necessary, and it was dose to 
 hand. 
 
 She recalled Austin's sophistry that she was robbing 
 no one. The jewels were wasted there in the darkness. 
 Only tradition kept the door closed. She was trying 
 nothing from anyone who needed it who would miss 
 it. She was not robbing anyone in particular. The 
 gems were not intended to be used even for display. 
 
 So the fine frenzy of her moral moment wore off in 
 consideration of the practical things of life. There 
 was only one thing to be considered. Hamilton most: 
 not know. 
 
 During his illness she had remained at the Hotel 
 de 1'Univers in the Tartar City where he had really 
 acquired rooms, although he had a splendid suite in 
 Prince Chu'un's yamen. Now that he was well again, 
 she must return to the Winter Palace and fini'A the 
 portrait The first morning he was able to be about, 
 a thin, wan shadow of himself, she said good-by for 
 the time, and returned to her pavilion in the Gardens 
 of die Invisible Deity. An audience with Kwang- 
 Hsu resulted in the sittings being continued, and, 
 after another week, during which she caught only
 
 142 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 hurried glimpses of Wrenne by flying visits to the 
 hotel, she had completed the portrait to the satisfac- 
 tion of her royal patron. Levee was held, at which 
 Chinese lords and ladies said many polite things about 
 her work, and the picture was taken away to be 
 framed. 
 
 It was on that night that she finally made her resolve 
 to enter the temple of the Double-Dragon and secure 
 the jewels. 
 
 Meanwhile she knew nothing of the position in 
 which Wrenne had been placed during a month's lapse 
 of time. Had he, in pursuance of his intention, quitted 
 Peking at the end of the week he had set for himself, 
 ostensibly to perfect some of the mechanism of the 
 plan to seat Chu'un on the Great Purity throne, he 
 would have been allowed to go without question. But 
 the cogs of the plot had been revolving during his 
 illness, and the carrying out of the plan was being 
 deferred only until he could take an active hand in it. 
 Chu'un had so long been a puppet that he was at a 
 loss to decide, or give instructions, without Wrenne's 
 assistance and advice. 
 
 And so it was that on the same night that Bess 
 finally decided to abjure her moral principles for the 
 sake of both sentiment and practicality, Black
 
 ETHICAL RIGHT AND WRONG 143 
 
 Wrenne was summoned by Prince Chu'un to be pres- 
 ent at the final meeting of the heads of the rebel party. 
 
 He argued the question with himself much in the 
 same way that Bess had done. Just as it had been in 
 her case, his rectitude was much more a thing of the 
 moment than of endurance. He cared none the less 
 for the girl. His love, had it been put to the test of 
 choosing between her and his ambition, would, without 
 doubt, have made little deliberation over the matter, 
 and allowed the ambitious projects of the past to take 
 the wind's way, while he clung to the girl. 
 
 All of which shows that all save certain essential 
 morals are for the most part inspired by the moment, 
 save only when they bring about the question of hurt 
 to some loved one which latter is really not morality, 
 only a certain form of sentiment. 
 
 It is difficult to condone the moral obliquity of Bess 
 and of Black Wrenne, but excuse is found in the fact 
 that, while the drama of their lives had cast them to 
 play the parts of hero and heroine, they still remained 
 most indubitably human. And in the workaday world 
 of to-day, where ambitious souls strive for recog- 
 nition, pow r er, and the luxuries, it is not easy to relin- 
 quish opportunities for all these things, where only a 
 matter of ethics is concerned, and go out facing pov-
 
 144 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 erty and obscurity without regrets for what might 
 have been. 
 
 Wrenne was not altogether selfish in his delibera- 
 tions on the matter any more than Bess had been. Her 
 transgression of the moral code had only been made 
 justifiable in her eyes when she considered the un- 
 happiness that would be brought to a number of people 
 by puritanic scruples. Black Wrenne was thinking as 
 much of his sweetheart as of himself. He had no 
 money and no prospects outside China. All his real 
 life had been spent in the land of Tien-ha, and with 
 cumulative effect. Remaining behind, he became a 
 man in power if all went well. Venturing forth, he 
 was again only an obscure adventurer. And as an 
 adventurer with only his sword to sell, would it be 
 possible for him to engage in any foreign service 
 where he would keep that sword clean ? Morality was 
 not expected of mercenaries they were the tools of 
 revolutionists, princes of the succession; intriguers, 
 diplomatic agents. He went away to China to face 
 uncertainty of income without the certainty of straight 
 dealing. 
 
 Thus reasoning, when he had reduced Prince 
 Chu'un's parchment to the flimsiest bits of rice paper, 
 which he flung to the wind of mid-afternoon, he de- 
 cided that he would not withdraw from the plot to
 
 ETHICAL RIGHT AND WRONG 145 
 
 seat Chu'un on the throne of his fathers, but would 
 take the reward of his years of waiting. 
 
 And so, on just such another beautiful night as the 
 one when they had forsworn temptation each for the 
 other's dear sake, when in the light of the good an- 
 cestors' lanterns they had spoken from their hearts, 
 and with all the good that was in them on just such 
 another night as that both had come to the conclusion 
 that beautiful sentiment and spotless love were for the 
 starlight alone.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 THE PAGODA ON THE LAKE 
 
 EAVING the water-front of Nagasaki and passing 
 upwards to the hills beyond, one comes by 
 circuitous and tortuous ways to a garden sur- 
 rounded by dwarfed yews. Should the passing tourist 
 wish to penetrate the mystery of this garden, he will 
 receive no assistance from the 'rickshaw coolies, for, 
 in their queer pidgin-English, they will gesticulate and 
 point wildly to a number of erected columns, slim and 
 covered with tracery, the center of which is a gro- 
 tesque fox's head. 
 
 But in case of insistence on the part of the passing 
 tourist, he may pass through the grove and find him- 
 self on the shore of a circular lake, in the center of 
 which is an islet. A pagoda-ed temple rises from the 
 beach of the islet ; deserted in appearance, even with a 
 certain sad solemnity. 
 
 One may descend to the level of the lake by means 
 of stone steps. There is a single sampan to be found 
 there with a boatman in a tight uniform of green and 
 red with ideographs embroidered on his tunic. He 
 
 146
 
 THE PAGODA ON THE LAKE 147 
 
 will accept no dole of sen, nor does a great round yen, 
 or many of them, attract them. He will push off his 
 boat from the shore, making elaborate gestures of dis- 
 sent, and the passing tourist returns to his 'rickshaw 
 and to the lower town or goes on to Moji, grumbling. 
 If, while dining at the hotel, he asks one of the boys 
 who serve him concerning the mysterious pagoda-ed 
 temple on the lake, they will doubtless give him the 
 information that it is very, very holy, not to be 
 approached by inferior groundlings like themselves 
 and there is an intimation that seems to include the 
 passing tourist in the same category. Should he meet 
 the American Consul and put the question, that gentle- 
 man will smile and give him practically the same in- 
 formation. Should the honorable gentleman forget 
 to do this, he will doubtless have nothing but time to 
 consider his indiscretion and some inferior port in one 
 of the lesser banna republics to do his considering in. 
 It was therefore with some surprise that several 
 days after Kitsune-San's disappointment at his dis- 
 covery of what Wrenne had carried in the box about 
 his neck that certain 'rickshaw boys noted a person of 
 no distinction disregarding their frantic pointing at the 
 traced poles. Alighting, he bade them in flawless 
 Nipponese, to wait until he should return and to keep 
 their distance meanwhile.
 
 148 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 To all appearance, the person of no distinction was 
 also a foreigner. Yet the Ijin-san passed to the shore, 
 traced something in air for the benefit of the boatman, 
 who gave him a mighty humble genuflection in return, 
 and speedily transported him to the islet. 
 
 He seemed to know his way, disappearing into the 
 temple and ascending to the pagoda whose door flew 
 open at his knock. 
 
 The room he entered was wide and lofty, its fur- 
 nishing both Oriental and European. Rich rugs, 
 kakaenonos, dragon-lanterns, teak-wood furniture, 
 hand-painted screens in delicate Japanese tones, had 
 for companions wall-maps of French and English and 
 German origin, a huge globe into which numberless 
 pins with vari-colored heads were thrust, a shelf of 
 encyclopaedias and other foreign reference works, 
 telephone and telegraph instruments and even one of 
 the newly invented wireless outfits. 
 
 At a huge rosewood desk, supplied with a number 
 of push-bottons, sat a man in a blue-gray kimona and 
 a red obi-sash. He greeted the stranger with a mere 
 lifting of the eyebrows. His hand was waved cere- 
 moniously to a seat nearby. The stranger put down 
 his cockney-clerk top hat and stick. After bowing 
 respectfully he was permitted to draw up his chair. 
 
 "You sent for me, Daimios?" he said.
 
 THE PAGODA ON THE LAKE 149 
 
 The man in the blue-gray kimona frowned and bent 
 the paper-cutter with which he had been toying until 
 it snapped in his hand. 
 
 Tossing the broken bits of ivory away he turned his 
 chilly eyes full upon the man in the tightly fitting suit 
 of Austrian-made clothes. 
 
 "There are no Daimios nowadays," he said harshly. 
 "You will gain nothing by crude flattery, Sugiyama. 
 You will observe that I do not address you as an 
 equal." 
 
 The other nodded. 
 
 "You will remember not to forget that you are a 
 mongrel. And of Eta class. You are offended ?" 
 
 Upon the visitor's face there was no change from 
 his usual inconsequential stare. 
 
 "I do you no wrong, Sugiyama," continued the man 
 in the blue-gray kimona "and for that reason I have 
 made most minute inquiry into your history. You 
 are the son of a Geisha of the Golden Kite tea-house, 
 who married a foreign sailor of low degree who 
 was killed in Yokohama three weeks after his marriage 
 in a foreign gambling house. Your mother returned 
 to her singing and dancing and so continued to her 
 death, fifteen years later. She danced and sang many 
 times before the Emperor." 
 
 Both bowed profoundly.
 
 150 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 "A most estimable woman who educated her son 
 in a manner befitting one of higher rank. It was thus 
 possible for you, Sugiyama, to obtain a commission in 
 the army, for rank is of no consideration when the 
 Emperor must be served. Your merit none will deny. 
 Your courage in the Russian War proved a fortunate 
 accident inducing Hayashi to transfer you to the lower 
 order of the silent. I have long considered you as one 
 well suited to do those dishonorable deeds a Samurai 
 may not stoop to do. For unless I much mistake you, 
 Sugiyama, you have no desire to write your name in 
 the Bushi-kanjo. Your service is that of a mercenary. 
 Although your rearing is Nipponese, your face shows 
 no trace of your mother, only of your father. And 
 that he was a person of no nobility of character that 
 face amply proves. I doubt that your heart is set on 
 aught but gain, Sugiyama, but in things not too great 
 __ y ou " 
 
 Sugiyama had taken from his pocket his handker- 
 chief and was slowly and carefully pleating it in the 
 fashion of a garment. 
 
 "Ito Ugichi is as you may know in China. You 
 will now be told how also the plan he has laid for 
 gaining certain great hidden wealth has come to noth- 
 ing through the foreigner, Wrenne!" 
 
 He told him briefly of the adventures of Captain
 
 THE PAGODA ON THE LAKE 151 
 
 Komoto in his attempt to gain the Golden Kite. He 
 then laid stress upon Japan's pressing financial need, 
 her customs mortgaged to England, her debts to 
 America: the fact that, adequately to consummate 
 their Chinese plans, more money was needed than 
 Japan was able to find. He then continued : 
 
 "We had originally planned that the Emperor 
 should be made away with during the revolt that was 
 to be led in the name of Chu'un. Once the revolution 
 was an assured success in his name Ito Ugichi was 
 to secretly make away with Chu'un, leaving the Re- 
 formers without any leader. Ito Ugichi was then to 
 suggest a Nipponese protectorate during the time that 
 a leader was chosen. And once he held the reins it 
 would be as it was in Korea and in Manchuria." 
 
 Both men permitted themselves a smile. 
 
 "Only four things stand in our way. First, lack of 
 money to pay the Germans for the arms and munitions 
 that lay in the great arsenals at Wei'-Hai-Wei. The 
 second is this man Wrenne, the American who stands 
 high in Reformer Councils and who has steadily op- 
 posed any suggestion that Kwang-Hsu be removed. 
 But he must die if we are to triumph in China. This 
 Wrenne's plan is that Kwang-Hsu be deposed after the 
 revolution and be given his choice between being kept a 
 prisoner and abdication. He is our third obstacle this
 
 152 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 weakling Emperor. The aristocratic Red Girdle and 
 White Banner families will never permit his abdication 
 in favor of Chu-tm who favors the foreigner. Which 
 he will surely consent to do now that he has been sep- 
 arated from the She-Devil. So he must die." 
 
 "Separated? Will the Honorable One explain?" 
 For the first time Sugiyama's passive face showed 
 emotion ; that of astonishment. 
 
 "The Dowager-Empress separated from the Em- 
 peror? She who has ruled China so long in his 
 name?" 
 
 The old Samurai nodded. "It is indeed astounding, 
 Sugiyama. But Yuan-shi-Kai's power has increased 
 over the Emperor, that of Tze-Hsi has declined. And 
 it was Yuan himself that saw to her banishment to 
 the summer palace at Wan-hou-San. She is our fourth 
 obstacle. There, in murderous rage, she plans with 
 P'i-Hsias-li for her restoration, the death of Kwang- 
 hsu and Chu'un too, and the elevation of her fourth 
 nephew to the position of Emperor." 
 
 "Plots, indeed, Honorable One," commented Sugi- 
 yama, his ordinarily dull eyes sparkling. For it was 
 in such an atmosphere that he was at his best, and the 
 old Samurai knew it. 
 
 "Aye, plots indeed fires smolder in Peking as 
 they did seven years since when the Brothers of the
 
 THE PAGODA ON THE LAKE 15S 
 
 Harmonious Fists fanned their flames to consume all 
 foreigners. As you know, the Dowager was the chief 
 adviser, and money from the Royal Treasury went to 
 pay for their revolt. The scattered remains of the 
 Boxer Brotherhood are now drawing close again, to 
 serve the Barren She- Wolf in the elevation of Tuan. 
 It is to our advantage that such a revolt should begin, 
 and you are to aid the Dowager's plans wherever and 
 whenever possible and endeavor to put an end to this 
 dangerous fellow, Wrenne, who advises the Reformers 
 not to make away with the Emperor. The Dowager's 
 revolt is to begin with the assassination of the Em- 
 peror. Once this has happened, you, with your inside 
 information will betray the Dowager's forces to the 
 Reformers, who will attend to their wholesale execu- 
 tions. 
 
 "Thus the Dowager's hand removes the Emperor 
 and the Reformers have their long wished for excuse 
 for sending the bow-string to the She-Wolf and her 
 puppet, Tuan. Two of the obstacles to Nipponese su- 
 premacy in China are thus removed at one blow." 
 
 "But how am I, Honorable, to become party to their 
 secret plans?" 
 
 "By going to her, Sugiyama, as the secretary and 
 confidant of the late Li-Wung-Ki, who carried away 
 the keys to The Doors of the Double-Dragon."
 
 154 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 Swiftly the old Samurai told Sugiyama the tale of 
 Li, his flight from China, his life in the Courtney 
 home, his recognition by Chu'un, of his death and the 
 letter that left the girl his heir and the guardian of 
 the keys ; of the failure of Captain Komoto to capture 
 what he had believed to be the keys; of the affair 
 Jbetween Bess Courtney and Hamilton Wrenne. 
 
 '"And so," he finished, "finally Kitsune-san admitting 
 'himself baffled for once, sent me a message in code 
 calling for aid. He told me that the girl's quarters in 
 the Forbidden City have been many times searched. 
 Unknown to her she had been skillfully drugged by her 
 own attendants to whom we paid a great price, and her 
 person was searched by women while she slept. But the 
 Iceys were not to be found. Then it was I thought of 
 a different way. Had she left the keys in America?" 
 
 He paused; his face stern. 
 
 "It was no work for one of Samurai blood, so I 
 appointed another like yourself, Sugiyama. One of 
 our spies in Washington employed criminals to enter 
 the girl's house at night. But still the keys were not 
 found. Almost in despair I wired that he should 
 inquire as to the girl's kinsfolk hoping for an un- 
 worthy one. Such a one was found her brother. He 
 knew of the great treasure and was angry because she 
 would not share it with him. But she refused, and
 
 THE PAGODA ON THE LAKE 155 
 
 lest he steal them she took the keys with her. They 
 are in China. And so they must be found. There is 
 still a way. And it is a way that will at once rid us 
 of the two remaining obstacles. The keys will give 
 us the treasure the money we so sorely need. And 
 it will rid us of this Black Wrenne." 
 
 Another hour was consumed before Sugiyama had 
 been told. Then he arose : 
 
 "The woman who will assist you you will know by 
 a sign that I will now give you," said the old Chief. 
 
 He had opened a drawer while he spoke and taken 
 therefrom a small sandal-wood box. Opening this he 
 discovered a glittering thing that flashed as it lay in 
 the palm of his hand. Sugiyama, on the other's 
 motion to inspect it, leaned over and saw it to be a bit 
 of jewelry made in the form of a brooch, with some 
 forty small diamonds paved upon a platinum back in 
 the form of a parrot, its head high, its tail extended, 
 and two chip emeralds for eyes. 
 
 "Wear that," said the old Chief, "pinned into the 
 corner of your lower lefthand waistcoat pocket; and 
 unless a man who addresses you as a brother agent, 
 whether he is Japanese or not, can show such a pin in 
 the same place, have no converse with him. These 
 letters . . ."he handed him a small sheaf of them 
 secured with a rubber-band "will present you to
 
 156 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 those of the Dowager's court who have her confidence. 
 Is there more that I can say." 
 
 With a low genuflection and many humilifics, Sugi- 
 yama took the ornament and the letters and went back- 
 wards from the room.
 
 BOOK THE THIRD
 
 CHAPTER I 
 THREE GOLDEN ARROWS 
 
 AFD so at last we come to the night of Hoa-tchao 
 The Birthday of a Hundred Flowers the 
 night when both Wrenne and Bess decided they 
 had suffered from too much starlight. There were 
 stars enough this night in all conscience to have 
 lighted every city in China and that without the aid 
 of the spring moon that sailed a serene silver censer, 
 through a cloudless sky. 
 
 In the streets of the Three Cities men and women in 
 gala dress called upon the flower goddess, Kwan-Yin; 
 flying illumined kites the shapes of the lily and the lotus, 
 and flinging garlands of blooms in air. Paper lanterns 
 green, red, yellow, multicolored bobbed about in a 
 fashion so crowded that one regarding the festival 
 from an elevation surmised a frolic of prismatic glow- 
 worms. The air was redolent of apple sprays and 
 orange-blossoms. Out of the uproar one caught many 
 indistinct notes the tinkle of a stringed instrument, 
 the strain of a song, the laugh of a woman. 
 
 159
 
 160 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 Peking was very gay and future-careless that night. 
 
 A certain mansion, saw-tooth walled and iron-gated, 
 and overlooking the Street of the Maimed Linnet, 
 claimed attention through its lack of lights and fes- 
 tivity. Maskers passing spoke among themselves con- 
 cerning it, their remarks to the effect that the mighty 
 merchant, Hao-Khieou, was absent with family and 
 servants, matters of business detaining him in Tien- 
 tsin. Else there would have been mighty rejoicing 
 among the poor, for upon such festivals Hao was wont 
 to throw open his gates and have spread within his 
 gardens a feast of roasted meats and candied confec- 
 tions ; and any man, even the veriest coolie, might have 
 his fill, blessing the spring-moon and Hao-Khieou in 
 the same greedy breath. Those who had come this 
 night so hoping went away with the gnawing dis- 
 appointment of unfilled stomachs, but with no word of 
 blame for Hao-Khieou. For the poor knew him as 
 their friend, this merchant who had sacrificed a year's 
 profits to feed his hungry brethren in famine time. 
 
 It was true enough that Hao-Khieou's family and 
 servants were in Tien-tsin. But behind the closed 
 shutters and the drawn blinds, lanterns and candles 
 gleamed in the concourse hall of the dark house, and 
 Hao-Khieou sat, engaged in weighty convention with 
 other men of import. The soft rugs on the polished
 
 THREE GOLDEN ARROWS 161 
 
 floors were the seats of fifty people of excellent accom- 
 plishment, bearing names reverenced the length and 
 breadth of the Yellow Kingdom scholars of the uni- 
 versities who had attained much merit; Manchu gen- 
 eralissimos ; two Tartar princes, brothers of the blood ; 
 many Mongolian mandarins; the viceroys of four 
 provinces, and the taotais of a score of cities; man- 
 darins of the yellow banner, henchmen of the royal 
 house ; mandarins of the white banner, their equals in 
 race, only little inferior in power these the thinkers, 
 schemers, controllers of cities, provinces, and princi- 
 palities. 
 
 Lacking, perhaps, somewhat of the brains and the 
 power, but balancing the score by holding the strings 
 of the money-bags, were the grave merchant princes; 
 and of these Hao-Khieou was the chief. 
 
 Two foreigners completed the assembly. The first, 
 Hamilton Wrenne, pale after his illness, but very mag- 
 nificent in his imperial vestments, his cloak slashed 
 with imperial yellow silk, thrown over one shoulder, 
 his right hand resting on his golden-hilted sword. He 
 sat on the right of Hao-Khieou. The other foreigner, 
 Ito Ugichi, on his left. 
 
 There had been much speech-making, much adula- 
 tive rhetoric in speaking of one another, much veiled 
 simile in referring to their reasons for being present
 
 162 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 in the darkened house of Hao-Khieou; but the meta- 
 phor was dropping away as the climax approached, 
 and now they spoke almost baldly. 
 
 It was the first time that the heads of the party had 
 been gathered together en masse. The plan had been 
 perfected by working it out in segments. This was the 
 work of Hamilton Wrenne and the Manchu general, 
 Tchin for Wrenne the planning and segregation, for 
 Tchin the confidence gained to carry on the work. It 
 had been to bring out a general uprising in northern 
 China that these men had striven to make the upper 
 provinces theirs, and most particularly that of Cheh-li. 
 With the majority of the Manchus on their side, the 
 subjugation of the lower provinces would not be diffi- 
 cult. They were ever slaves under the yoke, and it 
 would be no great task to compel them to accept as 
 emperor whoever sat upon the throne in Peking. 
 
 According to the Manchus, there was no rebellion 
 in what they intended to do. Chu'un was Kwang- 
 Hsu's brother, and as much entitled to the throne as 
 the puppet of Tze-Hsi. Neither of the two royal 
 brothers was the son of the late monarch, but merely 
 a nephew. When Hsien-Feng died at Jehol, his son, 
 Tung-Chih, had been nominally emperor, with Tze- 
 Hsi, his mother, as regent. But Tung-Chih had died 
 after only two years' actual reign, and Hsien-Feng
 
 THREE GOLDEN ARROWS 163 
 
 having left no further issue, the successor was chosen 
 from among his nephews. Kwang-Hsu was chosen, 
 his enemies stated, because he was the weakest-willed 
 of the royal princes; and the empress-dowager had 
 seen in him one through whom she could rule abso- 
 lutely, as she had done. 
 
 They were bitter men who sat in the house of Hao- 
 Khieou ; men who had seen their country the despised 
 of all nations during Tze-Hsi's domination defeated 
 ignominously by Japan ; saved from the Taipings only 
 by European interventions; helpless before the mob 
 rule of the Boxers, and the entrance of their sacred 
 city by heavy-handed foreign troops, who cast down 
 their gods and profaned their most reverenced cus- 
 toms. During Tze-Hsi's quasi-reign, China had been 
 made a mock by Japan, bullied by Russia, insulted by 
 the Anglo-Saxon races, and stolen from by all nations. 
 It was a sore thing this, to these men who loved the 
 land of Tien-Ha. 
 
 They were the reformers; nothing more. They saw 
 in Prince Chu'un a gentle-minded prince of European 
 education, who was acceptable to the people because of 
 his ancestry ; and to them, the conspirators, because of 
 his foreign training and his desire for progression. 
 They would have little active interference from him. 
 He would do as he was asked, and make little bother
 
 164 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 over it. All he desired was the title of emperor of all 
 the Chinas. But with his accession, the monuments of 
 greed and imposition which had endured for centuries 
 would go tumbling down ; the modern methods would 
 be adopted, and China put in a position to defend her- 
 self from the encroachments of foreign foes. 
 
 It was true that they had been forced to seek help 
 from Japan in order to carry out their great project. 
 In no other way was it possible for them to obtain the 
 arms and ammunition they needed for their work. 
 Also they needed the assistance of some regiments of 
 Japanese soldiers, in order to inspire their own fight- 
 ers. Japan was necessary to them, but they had no 
 intention of yielding themselves to the dictation of the 
 pygmy yellow nation, who, in their secret hearts, they 
 despised as mere imitators. 
 
 Yet no echo of these sentiments had Ito Ugichi 
 heard. Secret as he was, he had underrated the Chinese 
 after the fashion of his race. Though Japan could 
 work and wait, China could work harder and wait 
 longer. Though Japan had a great secretness, the 
 secretness of China was vast; and these nobles and 
 scholars of the Yellow Kingdom, knowing that those 
 of Japan had imagined themselves China's preceptors 
 and mentors, allowed the fallacy to assume proportions 
 by fanning it with the wind of words. Ito Ugichi,
 
 THREE GOLDEN ARROWS 165 
 
 Gray Fox, and others who served the mikado, looked 
 upon the anticipated triumph of the rebels as the giving 
 over of China to them. The rebels themselves saw in 
 it nothing for Japan. They meant to promise every- 
 thing, to give as little as possible. 
 
 As for Hamilton Wrenne, the only European in the 
 plot, they had had him so long among them that the 
 color of his skin was not a deterrent. He was of all 
 the most necessary, after Chu'un, a reincarnation of 
 "Chinese Gordon" to them. He it was who was able 
 to lead Chinese soldiers to victory he who had put 
 down brigandage and minor rebellions with handfuls 
 of troops; who was able to turn a thousand coolies into 
 a well-ordered regiment of automatons in little time; 
 who possessed the confidence of soldiers and officers 
 alike, and whom almost every man in the army would 
 follow unquestioningly wherever he led. 
 
 This was the climax of over two years of burrowing 
 under the imperial edifice ; this night when the Birth- 
 day of a Hundred Flowers was being celebrated in 
 streets and palaces alike ; the night when the first blow 
 was to be struck for Chu'un and progress. 
 
 Prince Chu'un was not present at the gathering. It 
 was unwise for a prince of the blood to leave the violet 
 city at night and journey to a darkened house in the 
 "'artar city. The empress-dowager had many spies in
 
 166 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 her employ; there were too many private informers in 
 the persons of palace courtiers and retainers who 
 would not be tardy in following up such a departure 
 from the usual. But it was understood that Hamilton 
 Wrenne represented the prince in person, and it was 
 to him that the closing address of Hao-Khieou was 
 made. 
 
 "The moment is at hand, Black One," he said, as 
 he approached the culmination of his peroration. 
 "Outside the walls of the Chinese city are a thousand 
 soldiers in the garb of coolies, having concealed near- 
 by arms and munitions of war. These men, I under- 
 stand from the most illustrious Tchin, though scattered, 
 are but waiting the signal to form and enter the city by 
 the imperial catacombs, a plan of which has been fur- 
 nished their colonel by you, procured from the exalted 
 brother of the Son of Heaven. Within the city walls 
 are another fifty score, scattered through these two 
 cities, and in command of the worthy Yamachi, of the 
 mikado's service. These, too, but wait the signal. The 
 brothers of the blood in the service of the Yellow 
 Dragon soldiers whom thou hast trained thyself, 
 envoy of the Black Fir have been apprised of the 
 situation, and they also wait for the time to strike. 
 They are upon the walls of all three cities ; even within 
 the imperial palaces themselves. And they look upon
 
 THREE GOLDEN ARROWS 167 
 
 thee, envoy of the Black Fir, as their leader, whose 
 word is command. They will be faithful you have 
 promised that." 
 
 "I have promised, and so it shall be," answered 
 Wrenne, rising. 
 
 There was a subdued sound of approving voices. 
 
 "Then" and Hao-Khieou flung his hands outward 
 "why do we delay when all is ready? Procrasti- 
 nation is like strong wine to drug the soul of action. 
 To-night close upon three thousand men, trained sol- 
 diers, wait the commands of the august Chu'un. The 
 fires lighted at Peking will spread through all Cheh-li 
 and to-morrow the province will be ours. Hupeh and 
 Honan are promised; all others will follow. And to- 
 night, when the whole of Tien-ha is drunk with the 
 spirits of the Birthday of a Thousand Flowers to- 
 night is the time to fling to the wind the banner of re- 
 volt the revolt against the cruelty, the blood-lust, the 
 covetousness of the hated Tze-Hsi, who, though she 
 be the mother of a thousand emperors, is a menace to 
 the land of our fathers. If China is to be preserved 
 intact, we must be bound by other chains than those of 
 fear and hatred. And so I say to-night!" 
 
 Again the hoarse murmur of approval. 
 
 "Before my humble dwelling was honored by thy 
 feet across the threshold, Black-plumed One, there had
 
 168 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 been agreed among us that to-night there should go up 
 from the walls of the violet city a signal of revolt. 
 Well we knew that Prince Chu'un was undecided, 
 waiting thy recovery. We knew better still that he 
 flinches at the thought of the first blow but to-night 
 he must decide. Go, therefore, to him, Black Wrenne, 
 taking in your hand these arrows of the night." 
 
 He gave to Wrenne a packet containing what ap- 
 peared to be three rounded sticks. 
 
 "Tell him that you have come for his approval. 
 That close upon three thousand men but await the 
 rending of the night by these arrows of flame to arise 
 up, casting down the old regime for a new. Until he 
 has spoken, there will be taken no action; but if he 
 permits this night to pass without the blow being 
 struck, he will hardly chance upon a better one, though 
 he wait for a thousand Siu-fantis. Meanwhile those 
 among us will go forth among the armed men who are 
 waiting, inform them that when three golden arrows 
 show against the black wings of the night angel all 
 will enter the violet city, taking the forts in the name 
 of Prince Chu'un, and aiding in securing the persons 
 of the weakling, Kwang-Hsu, and his aunt, the ac- 
 cursed Tze-Hsi. To thee, then, is given the command 
 of all the armies of the new order of things, thou who 
 knowest so well the modern battling of arms. The
 
 THREE GOLDEN ARROWS 169 
 
 night is thine, Black Wrenne thine and the prince's. 
 Farewell. We await his decision. If he hath approval, 
 loose, then, the flaming rockets, and to-morrow's sun 
 will rise upon a new emperor of the Chinas." 
 
 All were upon their feet; all bowed low before 
 Wrenne. He, a trifle dazed, thrust the rockets into his 
 sword-belt, and threw his cape of imperial yellow over 
 his shoulder. As he neared the door he drew his 
 sword. 
 
 "I will be faithful," he said, following the form of 
 the conspirators, and held the sword in salute. 
 
 "I will succeed," he added, and presented the sword 
 at point. 
 
 "Or " 
 
 And this time the sword-point covered his heart. 
 With their subdued cheering, he shot the blade into its 
 sheath, turned, and went swiftly from the room.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 WITHIN THE DRAGON-GUARDED TEMPLE 
 
 IT was just ten o'clock when Bess Courtney pressed 
 one of the window-catches, threw open the win- 
 dow, and stepped out on the marble pavilion of 
 the Arbor of Buddha's Hand. The little Sevres clock 
 on its porcelain bracket was chiming out the last stroke 
 of the hour as she closed the window behind her. She 
 faced the Gardens of the Invisible Deity, a trembling, 
 wan-faced, white-lipped girl. 
 
 There was a flood of moonlight on the lotus-covered 
 lake, on the temple's golden roofs, on the hundred 
 white steps leading to its doors. The gray-pink walls 
 were illumined by it, the cedars and cypresses threw 
 their long, languishing shadows across the beds of 
 asters and peonies. As Bess descended from the ter- 
 race to the ground, a spray of white blossoms dropped 
 from a shu-sha-kih tree, and she gave a little cry of 
 fright, shrinking back against the terrace. Seeing the 
 cause of her fright in the creamy blossoms, she forced 
 a smile, and crept, a little gray-cloaked sprite, along
 
 THE DRAGON-GUARDED TEMPLE 171 
 
 the graveled walks skirting the lake, and coming to 
 the foot of the temple's steps a short journey in 
 itself, but to her interminable, fraught as it was with 
 fears of watchers lurking behind trees and walls ; even 
 some indefinite, superstitious dread of ghostly wraiths 
 of Chinese who looked to resent her profanation of 
 sacred things. 
 
 At the foot of the steps she hesitated, crowding close 
 to the little outbuilding, her feet tapping nervously on 
 the marble blocks. After all, what had she to fear? 
 The temple had been locked for many years. Back in 
 her pavilion, her servants had retired to the servitors' 
 quarters of the palaces. The gate to the southern arch- 
 way, through which the emperor was wont to enter, 
 was locked; the key to the northern one was in the 
 possession of Hamilton Wrenne. 
 
 Wrenne! She shuddered at the thought that he 
 might enter the gardens. But no! It was too late! 
 That was not likely, his entrance. 
 
 She nerved herself to the ascent, clutching the keys 
 in one hand. Tentatively she put her foot on the first 
 marble step, then drew it back quickly. Almost weep- 
 ing with shame for her cowardice, she spurred herself 
 on to a sudden ascent of ten steps without looking 
 back. But, weak and hesitating, her eyes were no 
 longer to be kept to the front, but went around with a
 
 172 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 sudden turning of her head. She paused, stiff with 
 fright. A broad black bulk lay directly back of her on 
 the steps. Her eyes dilated when she remembered 
 there had been nothing there as she ascended. Her 
 horrified gaze had espied a certain human shape to the 
 black thing. 
 
 And, as she realized, she laughed hysterically. 
 Afraid of her shadow! How many times had she 
 heard that used as a term of reproach for other 
 women! No one would have imagined it fitting for 
 Bess Courtney. Yet that had been what had frightened 
 her her shadow ! 
 
 The impetus of her laughter carried her up several 
 score steps. Looking back cautiously, she saw only the 
 gardens white in the moonlight; the lake shining, the 
 lotus resting serenely on its surface; the blossoms of 
 the mandarin oranges waving gently in a spring 
 breeze. She continued her ascent. 
 
 Now she faced the iron doors of the temple itself. A 
 very terrifying dragon sprawled across them a two- 
 headed, green-scaled thing with staring eyes of clear 
 jade. Those eyes seemed omnipresent and most dia- 
 bolically alive. So saturated had she become with 
 Chinese beliefs, that she could for the moment imagine 
 this painted presentment to be animated by the spirit 
 of some dead priest, who had served his allotted life-
 
 THE DRAGON-GUARDED TEMPLE 173 
 
 time as a tender of the shrine. The dragon appeared 
 more than a mere symbol more a very real, very in- 
 human protector of the great treasure that lay behind 
 the entrance it guarded. 
 
 She was forced to master herself again before she 
 drew up her hand and inserted the iron key in the door. 
 She turned it to the right without effect; to the left 
 with the same result ; and imagined the jade eyes grin- 
 ning at her. But she had come too far now to be 
 bested by difficulties. They made the task easier for 
 her, taking from her mind the weight of the super- 
 normal. She knew that this iron key must fit the 
 door, and threw the hole weight of her body against 
 the fingers that held it. It turned with a loud, crawly 
 screech, very akin to Bess' remembrance of a refrac-' 
 tory slate-pencil scratching against a slate. But the 
 physical revulsion that it caused saved her the mental 
 shock, and, pushing her right shoulder against the 
 door, she found it swinging gently backward. 
 
 She entered, turning on the pocket electric arc with 
 which she had provided herself in anticipation before 
 leaving Washington. It showed another door, and the 
 blood-chilling spectacle of two enormous red eyes glar- 
 ing into hers. Her affright was so intense that she 
 made neither sound nor movement; and again she had 
 the privilege of laughing at her fears.
 
 174 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 There was barely space enough for three people to 
 stand between the first door and the second one. Bess' 
 arc had disclosed the second to be of burnished cop- 
 per, with a dragon painted across it with red pigments, 
 its eyes four enormous rubies. She pushed the first 
 door shut, and unlocked the second one after some 
 difficulty, revealing a third shining in its white ex- 
 terior ; the familiar dragon this time silver-scaled, and 
 with diamond eyes, the size of which brought the girl 
 to sudden realization of the enormous value of the 
 treasure she was seeking these diamonds alone would 
 almost cover Austin's defalcations. 
 
 The fourth door was painted yellow and had a 
 golden dragon with topaz eyes. That pushed behind 
 her, she stood within the temple itself, the dust of un- 
 swept years in her nostrils; a coughing, sneezing, 
 frightened girl in the most sacred precinct of the For- 
 bidden City The Temple of the Seven Thousand 
 Eyes of Buddha. 
 
 With the dust out' of her eyes, she saw that she was 
 within a rotunda, the walls of which were composed 
 of intensely yellow tiles, each tile forming a niche for 
 a statue of the squatting, arm-folded presentment of 
 Buddha. The images seemed uncountable. She saw 
 them rising in tiers from every curve of the rotunda, 
 all duplicates, and all of yellow porcelain. In the cen-
 
 THE DRAGON-GUARDED TEMPLE 175 
 
 ter, a raised throne served as seat for a great golden 
 Buddha a hundred fold augmentation of those in the 
 niches. When the girl's light fell upon the huge 
 image, she drew back, amazed. 
 
 She had seen many of these Buddha images, but this 
 was by far the most beautiful. The folds of the gar- 
 ments, the shape of the hands, the minute accuracy of 
 face and figure, even the formation of the finger-nails, 
 with the two guards to each hand these had been 
 executed in such a way as to wring envious admiration 
 from her artist's soul. Richly wrought vases of enamel 
 at the Buddha's feet held jeweled flowers. Tall golden 
 candlesticks studded with pearls and rubies were on 
 either side of it. The upper part of the throne was 
 hung with a frieze of red-and-gold-clothed saints. 
 
 Yet for all the exquisite workmanship, there was no 
 semblance of life in the face of the golden image. 
 Bess, not understanding, came to the foot of the 
 throne, her footsteps attended by clouds of dust from 
 the silken rug of imperial yellow on which Buddha's 
 priests had been wont to kneel. Observing closely, she 
 saw the reason for the lack of expression in the face. 
 The golden Buddha was blind. 
 
 Then it was that she turned her light upon the 
 small images in the niches. They, too, lacked the sem- 
 blance of eyes. She smiled slightly when she saw how
 
 176 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 patiently the symbolic term had been carried out. All 
 of the Buddhas were blind. No doubt there were 
 three thousand five hundred of them to represent the 
 seven thousand eyes, spoken of in the metaphor. The 
 thing appalled Bess with the thought of the amount of 
 patience necessary to carry out such a whim of fancy. 
 
 It was now for her to find the eyes of all these sight- 
 less Buddhas the treasure that had haunted her for 
 the many months that had passed since Gordon Lee 
 gave her the keys to the Double-Dragon doors. She 
 flashed the light about, but saw no boxes or receptacles 
 of any kind. Momentarily she imagined she had not 
 seen aright, so paced the entire curve of the rotunda. 
 It was quite true. There was nothing that appeared to 
 contain treasure of any kind only the tiled walls, with 
 their array of inperturbable images and the great 
 throne in the center. 
 
 She sat down heavily on the lower step of the 
 throne. No doubt the jewels were hidden in some 
 secret room which required a knowledge of hidden 
 springs. Tears came into her eyes. She had risked 
 all, sacrificed scruples, taken chances of losing Wrenne 
 for this ! Her clenched hand came down heavily on 
 the step. The resultant sound caused her to sit sud- 
 denly erect. 
 
 It had been hollow, quite hollow, the ring of her
 
 THE DRAGON-GUARDED TEMPLE 177 
 
 hand against the red lacquer of the throne. She sprang 
 up. Yes, there was a chance. The steps of the throne 
 projected slightly over their support. She reached 
 down, caught the edge, pulled it upward, and drew 
 back, dazzled at the lights that shone in her eyes. 
 
 There lay the jewels protected from prying eyes, 
 and the touch of desecrating hands at Buddha's feet, 
 indeed. For each step was but a box within which the 
 jewels lay. 
 
 She threw open one after another. They were shal- 
 low, lengthy boxes, lined with imperial yellow silk, the 
 customary dragon ornamenting it. She put out her 
 hand, touching the glorious gems, letting them slip 
 through her fingers, while she held her breath at the 
 beauty of them living pieces of light that sparkled 
 and scintillated before her blue diamonds, yellow 
 diamonds, white diamonds. And this wealth lay in 
 touch of her hands. 
 
 When she came out of her gasping stage, she acted 
 swiftly. A silver-mesh chatelaine-bag hung at her 
 waist a large bag which she had found useful when 
 she went shopping, for it would hold pocketbook, toilet 
 requisites, and any small articles she might purchase. 
 She unhooked it from her belt, and with eager hands 
 scooped up the gems between her white fingers, cram- 
 ming them into the bag until it was barely possible to
 
 178 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 close it. She had no idea of the value of the wealth 
 she had taken, imagining it to be, perhaps, double the 
 amount that Austin needed to repay her aunts. She 
 did not realize it quadrupled that sum, and gave a large 
 balance besides. 
 
 Now that she had actually done the thing, she looked 
 about apprehensively, with the haunted gaze of the 
 evil-doer. She closed the throne steps, and went 
 hastily to the doors, finding some difficulty in 
 shutting and locking them securely. Finally it was 
 done, and she found herself without the temple and 
 making frantic efforts to close the last door the iron 
 one. The blood rushed to her head; her whole body 
 was strained. The door was gradually closing. 
 
 She paused to take further breath, turning as she did 
 to view the moon-lighted gardens. And then she stood 
 back, wild-eyed, numb, choking back a scream in her 
 throat, one hand extended flat against the green-scaled 
 Double-Dragon. 
 
 A man stood at the foot of the steps and gazed up- 
 ward at her.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 CLASH OF STEEL IN CANDLE-LIGHT 
 
 WRENNE left the house of Hao-Khieou by a 
 rear entrance, a door in the garden wall 
 which had its outlet into a narrow alley. 
 He wormed himself along this, close to the wall, until 
 he emerged upon the street of the Maimed Linnet, 
 where his orderly, Thsang, walked two horses up and 
 down the causeway, awaiting the return of his master. 
 The varicolored lanterns bobbed to and fro in the 
 street, but the sight of Thsang's imperial uniform, 
 kept an open space always before him. As Wrenne 
 joined him, a pretty sing-song girl, bedecked with 
 flowers and jewels, and leaning from a palanquin 
 borne by two coolies, flung a garland of asters about 
 his neck, and invited him with sparkling eyes. He 
 doffed his plumed mandarin hat in mock respect, and 
 the girl, catching sight of the peacock-plume, shrank 
 back in affright, closing the curtains. 
 
 As he mounted his horse and rode away toward the 
 violet city, Wrenne did not see the figure of Ito 
 
 179
 
 180 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 Ugichi, wrapped in a heavy cloak of tan serge, emerge 
 from the same alley, and stand looking after the two 
 as they rode down the street of the Maimed Linnet. 
 In the shelter of a compound farther up this same 
 street, Ugichi got upon a horse also, and turned its 
 head in the direction Wrenne had taken. By pursuing 
 divers short cuts through mean streets and dark alleys, 
 he came to the imperial city gate before Wrenne and 
 his orderly. He was admitted by the parchment of 
 Prince Chu'un which he carried always with him, 
 and left his horse to be cared for by the gate soldiers 
 while he went his way toward the prince's palace. 
 
 Wrenne arrived at the gate a little later, and the 
 officer of the guard told him of the admittance of the 
 stranger who bore Prince Chu'un parchment. It had 
 been impossible to recognize Ugichi. His cloak muf- 
 fled both face and form, and the officer had no reason 
 to believe him other than Chinese, for the greetings 
 had been made in the Mandarin tongue. Moreover, 
 the Japanese count had fastened to his head a cue, 
 which had dangled in full sight from under the man- 
 darin's hat that he wore. 
 
 Wrenne, not thinking of the Japanese, dismissed the 
 matter, and, giving over his horses to the care of 
 Thsang, with instructions to remain by the gate, was 
 about to be on his way. The guard officer a Manchu
 
 CLASH OF STEEL IN CANDLE-LIGHT 181 
 
 from near Yinkow, and a lieutenant of the line 
 stopped him with a deprecatory cough. Wrenne 
 turned. The Manchu held out his hand. 
 
 "Chu'un and progress," he whispered, as he turned 
 Wrenne's wrist so that the palm came uppermost. It 
 was the agreed sign of recognition between those of 
 the conspiracy. 
 
 "You?" Wrenne stepped back in some surprise. 
 He knew the man's family to be henchmen of the 
 dowager's father, the old Manchu general. 
 
 "I," responded the officer blandly. "And all the 
 men of my gate, Black-plumed One." He paused, then 
 in a lower tone : "Is it to-night that we may expect the 
 three golden arrows?" 
 
 Wrenne shrugged his shoulders. "Patience is the 
 heritage of those that achieve," he answered in Con- 
 fucian style. "Success is the reward of those expectant 
 and watchful always. How may we know?" 
 
 "We are ready," stated the officer briefly; then, 
 saluting, stepped back and allowed Wrenne to pass. 
 
 Wrenne did not enter the yamen of Prince Chu'un 
 by the gateway of ceremony. Most Chinese being 
 plotters and conspirators, few houses in the Celestial 
 kingdom are built without secret entrances and exits. 
 It was through one of these a gateway sheltered by a 
 "huge acanthus-tree that Wrenne entered with his
 
 182 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 private key, and found himself in Chu'un's outer 
 garden. He threaded his way among the dwarfed 
 trees and shrubs, through a profusion of flowers. The 
 buildings composing the Chu'un yamen were very 
 dark and quiet. The servants and retainers were 
 mostly without in the Tartar city celebrating the 
 Flower Birthday. Wrenne opened another gateway 
 in an inner wall, and, passing through a paved court, 
 ascended a flight of black marble steps to the very 
 private quarters of the prince. He passed through a 
 lofty-ceilinged rotunda, and knocked upon an inner 
 door. A eunuch admitted him. 
 
 Remembering the officer's tale of the cloaked per- 
 son who had entered with a passport from Chu'un, 
 Wrenne asked the eunuch as to whether the prince 
 had had visitors that evening. The eunuch shook his 
 head. 
 
 "None, illustrious and powerful servant of the Son 
 of Heaven" with a bow only a little less subservient 
 than that which etiquette demanded for royalty. 
 "The exalted brother of the Great Purity has but re- 
 cently returned from the Imperial Theater, where the 
 players celebrate the Birthday of the Thousand 
 Flowers. He hath commanded that none save thyself 
 be admitted into his dread-compelling presence." 
 
 But Wrenne had passed far down the corridor be-
 
 CLASH OF STEEL IN CANDLE-LIGHT 183 
 
 fore the eunuch had finished his sentence. A second 
 door and a second eunuch, a third door and the 
 prince's guard of soldiers, a fourth door and his own 
 personal servant ; and Wrenne was in the presence of 
 Chu'un, who reclined on a couch built into the wall, 
 eating lazily of Chinese sweets from a little tabouret 
 at his side, and taking occasional whiffs from a 
 cigarette. 
 
 He started up at the entrance of Wrenne, dismissing 
 the sing-song girls who had been amusing him. His 
 servant let them through the minor door, and was 
 himself dismissed by a wave from the thin yellow 
 hand. 
 
 "Eh, my black Wrenne?" Chu'un asked nervously, 
 when the red-walled room held only their two per- 
 sons. "Eh, it is well? Advise me, my Wrenne. I 
 am stilted and stupid to-night. The hoofs of my horse 
 killed a cat to-day it is an ill omen. Her eyes were 
 reminders of someone I had known. Perhaps a dead 
 relative. You laugh, my Wrenne; you think me ab- 
 surd nor believe that the spirits of ancestors may 
 be within the bodies of animals." He smiled patiently. 
 "I am well punished for mixing with my Eastern 
 temperament a Western sense of humor. Myself, I 
 believe the cat was near related to me therefore is its
 
 184 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 death an ill omen. The humor of the West obtruding 
 makes a mock of the real ego. And so but what 
 of the meeting, my Wrenne?" 
 
 His hand closed over his aide-de-camp's wrist. 
 
 Wrenne told him in a few whispered sentences, and, 
 finishing, took the bundle of rockets from his belt. 
 
 "Three golden arrows they call these. They are 
 to be shot upward from within the violet city as a 
 sign that the rising to-night has your full approval." 
 
 He looked at his watch. 
 
 "The night is spending itself," he added. 
 
 Chu'un twisted his hands. "Eh my Black 
 Wrenne? It is to-night, eh? Not too early nor 
 but I do not know. I am a poor figurehead is it not 
 so, my Wrenne? With only you to advise me 
 you whom I know to be a friend. You I trust. And 
 if it is that you say the affair shall be to-night, then 
 I give you my permission to pierce the night with 
 your golden arrows eh, my Wrenne?" 
 
 He laughed nervously. 
 
 Wrenne arose. "Within half an hour after these 
 arrows go upward three thousand men will be under 
 arms. In less than an hour Peking will acknowledge 
 for its emperor only the Prince Chu'un. 
 
 "Enough !" 
 
 Chu'un was trembling.
 
 CLASH OF STEEL IN CANDLE-LIGHT 185 
 
 "I go, then," replied Wrenne. 
 
 He paused near the painted screen that divided the 
 room. 
 
 "To bring you a crown, Exalted One." Then, laugh- 
 ing, was gone. 
 
 He passed through several doors before he remem- 
 bered that he had left the bundle of rockets behind, 
 and quickly retraced his steps, the guards at the doors 
 paying little attention to him, dozing as they were, 
 for the most part, in their seats. Wrenne had a 
 peculiarly catlike method of treading, and he re-en- 
 tered the prince's outer chamber without noise, and 
 before the occupant of the inner room realized his 
 presence. 
 
 Chu'un's chamber was divided into two parts by a 
 silk-paneled screen depicting a wonderful forest of 
 cypress and cedar-trees, in the center of which the 
 spires and roofs of a fairy city showed. It was the 
 work of an artist of the last century, a marvelous bit 
 of white, silver, and green. One of the panels was a 
 sliding one, and through this Wrenne had passed 
 when he came out, shutting it behind him. He put 
 his hand to it, slid it back with his customary noise- 
 lessness and the key-panel of the screen, the fairy city, 
 disappeared from view. 
 
 In its place Wrenne had the view of the red- walled
 
 186 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 inner chamber, a yellow-robed figure face downward 
 on the floor ; and a liquid something trickling crimson 
 on the white marble floor. Over it stood Ito Ugichi 
 cleaning his sword very carefully with a square of 
 silk. 
 
 His mode of entrance was quite well known to 
 Wrenne, but for the moment he had forgotten it 
 a trap-door opening from under a rug seemingly 
 marble, but really painted teak-wood. The secret way 
 led through the palace along a narrow flight of stairs, 
 having for exit the lifting up of the floor of a little 
 summer-house near the wall. Wrenne seldom used 
 the entrance. It was difficult of egress, and the abode 
 of insects, rats and reptiles. He noted even now that 
 Ugichi was covered with cobwebs. 
 
 Very slowly Wrenne realized the facts in the case. 
 It was quite plain that Ugichi had killed Prince 
 Chu'un, but the reasons for it did not come immedi- 
 ately. The shock of the matter was too great, for 
 Chu'un had grown to be a very personal friend 
 of Hamilton Wrenne, and it was not until he saw the 
 sprawling, lifeless body of the prince that a full sense 
 of his loss came to him. But for all of that he re- 
 mained calm. Reasons what reasons? 
 
 And then quite simply they presented themselves 
 to him. Ugichi had quitted the house of Hao-Khieou
 
 CLASH OF STEEL IN CANDLE-LIGHT 187 
 
 just after he had left it had known Wrenne's mis- 
 sion. Entering by the secret way, he had waited until 
 Chu'un gave his consent to the signal of revolt. When 
 Wrenne had gone, he had eliminated the prince. The 
 revolt would go on in the name of Chu'un. When it 
 was too late for the leaders to quiet their troops, it 
 would become apparent that they were dethroning one 
 emperor without another to put in his place. It would 
 be the opportunity for a Japanese dictatorship. Yes, 
 it was quite plain. 
 
 The reflections and waiting had hardly consumed 
 a minute's space. Meanwhile Ugichi had looked up 
 and seen the frowning black-browed man, his cloak 
 of imperial yellow thrown over his shoulder, his hand 
 on his crucifix-hilted sword. In the eyes of the 
 Japanese, Wrenne saw something more of reasons 
 saw that at one stroke Ugichi had hoped to rid him- 
 self not only of Chu'un, but of himself, Hamilton 
 Wrenne. No one had seen the Japanese enter or 
 depart. Wrenne would have quitted the chamber the 
 last visitor; and, the prince found dead after his 
 leave-taking, the blame of his murder would be 
 Wrenne's alone. The evidence was enough to damn 
 him, both with the new party and the old. It took 
 from the Japanese the last danger of notable oppo- 
 sition.
 
 188 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 Ugichi only started insolently at Wrenne. He said 
 nothing. He knew the quick brain under that well- 
 groomed black hair, and realized by Wrenne's ex- 
 pression that his intentions were perfectly plain to his 
 enemy. But he only smiled in his meaningless way. 
 There was no cowardice in the make-up of the Japa- 
 nese at least not the sort that made him fear for his 
 life. 
 
 He had two revolvers strapped to his waist, but 
 he knew that a movement toward either one meant 
 instant death at the hands of Wrenne. The Ameri- 
 can was far more proficient in the use of firearms than 
 he. He could draw more quickly, and aim without 
 raising his hand above his hip. Ugichi knew also that 
 Wrenne had no wish to have a revolver shot arouse 
 the sleeping soldiers and eunuchs of the yam en. So 
 he continued to polish the blade of his sword with 
 the square of silk, blowing upon it and rubbing it into 
 a satisfactory glow. 
 
 Wrenne came forward, his eyes upon Ugichi, put 
 one hand behind him, and slid the panel into place. 
 Then, quite as the Japanese imagined he would do, 
 his sword-hand drew the thin steel whizzing out of 
 its sheath. Bending the sword by pressing the point 
 upon the marble paving, he took it between both 
 gauntleted hands, and curved it into what was nearly
 
 CLASH OF STEEL IN CANDLE-LIGHT 189 
 
 a bow. Apparently satisfied, he allowed it to resume 
 its natural shape again, and with his free hand un- 
 loosened his silken cloak. This he tossed on the 
 couch. 
 
 "You wish to try a pass of the sword with me?" 
 asked Ugichi politely. 
 
 Wrenne said very quietly that he did. 
 
 "We are evenly matched," resumed Ito Ugichi, with 
 suavity unexcellable. "You are a famous swordsman 
 and I am a quicker man. Is it necessary that we 
 fight?" 
 
 "I don't see any way out of it," Wrenne answered 
 coldly. "If I had my choice, I should have you strung 
 up and beaten to death with bamboos after the 
 dowager's favorite practice. I never imagined such a 
 punishment justifiable until now, you yellow rat! 
 It's unfair to Prince Chu'un and myself to kill you 
 honorably, painlessly. But it's got to be done. 
 There " 
 
 He lunged. The Japanese parried with perfect ease, 
 and flicked a piece of skin from Wrenne's shoulder. 
 
 "And there!" he added, still grinning. "Not quite 
 so much lacking in difficulty, eh, Meestaire Black 
 Wrenne." 
 
 Sometimes they fought in the light and sometimes 
 in the shadows. A niche in the red walls on either
 
 190 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 side held two candle sprays, with yellow tapers gleam- 
 ing out of their golden censers. These threw their 
 light directly across the center of the room, where 
 lay the body of the murdered prince. Wrenne tried 
 to keep within the circle of light. He had been but 
 lately a convalescent, and knew that it would be quite 
 impossible for him to win by strength and endurance. 
 He must have light in order to watch the eyes of the 
 Japanese, and to give himself opportunity to execute 
 a very cunning trick taught him by a former brother 
 officer, who had been a famous maitre-d'armes in 
 Rome before the wanderlust seized him. 
 
 But Ugichi seemed to be intent in getting him away 
 from the light. 
 
 The American had, save for his first hostile lunge, 
 been entirely on the defensive. It required a certain 
 thrust from the opponent in order to put the maitre 
 trick of tierce into play ; and Black Wrenne left his re- 
 venge in abeyance while he waited for Ugichi to make 
 the necessary opening. But this Ugichi did not do. He 
 had a masterful trick o' the fence himself, un- 
 hampered by conventional teachings and strikingly 
 lacking the things that Wrenne expected him to do. 
 His thrusts were, for the most part, half-thrusts, hav- 
 ing as complement a quick withdrawal and a turn 
 of the wrist, sending his antagonist's sword splay-
 
 CLASH OF STEEL IN CANDLE-LIGHT 191 
 
 wise and Wrenne several steps backward for each 
 time he accomplished the turn. 
 
 It was not without a certain admiration for Ito's 
 skill that Wrenne faced him. The fires lighted in 
 his brain by the death of Chu'un and the trick of 
 the Japanese to fasten the guilt of the murder upon 
 him died out, leaving only the cold ashes of desire 
 for adequate recompense. His smile matched the grin 
 of the Japanese in its utter lack of meaning; but it 
 was a smile that drove away the curves of his mouth 
 and made them abruptly cruel. His black eyes seemed 
 to slumber behind his half-drawn lashes, giving the 
 face the effect of a pretending feline waiting her 
 chance to strike, the brows forming a heavy black 
 line across the forehead. With his cloak gone and 
 in the circle of light, every muscle in his lithe body 
 showed quivering under the tight-fitting uniform; 
 and, as he abandoned the defensive, his movements 
 were disconcerting in their apparent recklessness of 
 position. 
 
 He forced upon Ugichi a style of fence to which 
 the diplomat must either conform or feel Wrenne's 
 sword-point. The tricks upon which the Japanese 
 had seemed to place his skill were dependent on the 
 style of sword-play necessitating a long reach. Black 
 Wrenne, abandoning this, came closer and closer with
 
 192 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 each parry, until they fought with their swords either 
 high in air, or else turning like keys in locks as they 
 came together at the hilts. And then, while in this 
 manner parrying, Ugichi gave the open thrust which 
 Wrenne had so much desired. Wrenne played his 
 trick with a sudden, vicious baring of teeth but with- 
 out effect, and nearly with the result of having the 
 blade of the Japanese pierce his shoulder. 
 
 Wrenne leaped quickly to his former position, and 
 again their swords met one another. 
 
 "A neat play," commented the Japanese. "But I 
 have learned it, you see, mon cher Wrenne. I also 
 have fenced in Rome." 
 
 Wrenne was considering rapidly. He was losing 
 breath and strength, and it was quite apparent to him 
 that, his trick exhausted, he was no better swordsman 
 than the Japanese. Nor did he wish to engage in 
 hand-grips, for he know Ugichi to be proficient in 
 jiu-jitsu, before which his own strength would have 
 very little chance of holding its own. The Japanese 
 was a traitor, a murderer and fair play was out of 
 the question with him. 
 
 Again they came closer, and again their swords 
 shot out in air. In that moment, with the points to- 
 ward the ceiling, Wrenne did a bold thing. He re- 
 leased the hilt of his blade, and before it clattered to
 
 CLASH OF STEEL IN CANDLE-LIGHT 193 
 
 the floor he fastened one hand about the throat of 
 Ugichi, caught the sword-wrist of the Japanese with 
 the other hand, and kicked him viciously on the lower 
 leg. The Japanese went prone, with Wrenne on top 
 of him. The same second found Wrenne planting a 
 knee in Ugichi's chest, and twisting the sword-wrist 
 under his back. Ugichi lay quite powerless. Wrenne's 
 foot was planted heavily on the fingers of Ugichi's 
 free hand, his knee held the Japanese down with 
 sword-hand under him, while Wrenne's two hands 
 choked the air from his gullet. He wriggled violently, 
 pulling the sword from under his back. One of 
 Wrenne's hands shot out and tore it from his numbed 
 grasp. Without pang of pity, Wrenne shortened the 
 blade and thrust it through Ugichi's throat. The 
 Japanese raised himself on his hand with one con- 
 vulsive effort, then fell back quite still. Wrenne felt 
 his heart, and arose with a satisfied smile.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 SIGNALS OF CONSPIRACY 
 
 FOR some time after he had killed the Japanese, 
 Wrenne remained quite still, wondering what 
 he should do. His shoulders bent, his head 
 on his chest, he pondered over the matter. What, 
 indeed, was best? For the moment the fate of China 
 was entirely in his hands. He had but to loose the 
 rockets but what then? Now that he saw the hand 
 of Japan in the matter, was it wise? 
 
 Then his eyes brightened, and he regained his erect 
 bearing. He would go to Bess, confess to her that 
 he had strayed back into the crooked footpaths, ask 
 advice of her. She with her clear, honest eyes must 
 determine for him he would watch the eyes to know 
 what she thought. And he would do as they bade 
 him. 
 
 He pulled away the rug, lifted the trap-door, and 
 pitched what was left of the Japanese head first down 
 the flight of steps. Very tenderly, however, he car- 
 ried the body of Chu'un down, wrapped in the golden 
 
 194
 
 SIGNALS FOR CONSPIRACY 195 
 
 coverlet of his couch, and laid him at the foot of the 
 stairs. Returning, he threw the rug over the blood- 
 stains, then closed the trap-door, and passed out by 
 the usual passage 
 
 The servants and the guards had heard nothing. 
 The eunuchs blinked sleepily as they made him 
 obeisance. He went his way rapidly through the 
 Chu'un gardens to the wall that opened into the im- 
 perial palaces, and opened the secret gate with the key 
 given him by the prince long before. The gate closed 
 behind, and he was in the Gardens of the Invisible 
 Deity. 
 
 The moon was very bright, limning trees, shrubs, 
 and buildings in lines of frosted silver. Lights were 
 out in the pavilion of the Arbor. He hesitated as to 
 whether he should enter and awaken Bess. She had 
 probably retired. For all her troth to him, he felt a 
 delicacy in intruding upon her at this hour. But he 
 must have her counsel himself he could not decide. 
 
 He walked the length of the gardens while he medi- 
 tated, and came to the foot of the temple's hundred 
 steps, which shone like a white moon ladder above 
 him. Looking up, he saw something that sent, despite 
 his courage, a cold shiver through him. One cannot 
 live in China and acquire none of her superstitions. 
 The door of the Double-Dragon, closed these ten
 
 196 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 years, was flung open, and out into the moonlight had 
 come a cloaked figure. 
 
 He stared upward. Then, the figure turning, a pale, 
 white face was abruptly outlined in the moonlight. He 
 had no suspicion of its identity. Only knew himself 
 either to be dreaming or in the presence of an actual 
 psychic phenomenon. Perhaps an omen if ever man 
 needed advice of supraliminal sort, he was the man! 
 He mocked secretly at himself for his paradoxical 
 thoughts, but, his mind made, he bounded up the steps, 
 taking three at a jump, until he came to the level of 
 the doors. 
 
 Now he stood within reaching distance of the figure. 
 His eye took in a cape of soft gray, with two little 
 blue tassels falling from the neck. The cape awoke 
 vague recollections. On shipboard yes Bess! He 
 looked again. How was it possible? The door of the 
 temple was open wide open. 
 
 He put out one hand, and withdrew it. The figure 
 had its back to him, head resting against the door, 
 rounded shoulders shaking convulsively. His ears be- 
 came aware of muffled sobbing. 
 
 The temple door open and Bess here ! From some 
 recess of his memory came the remembrance of 
 Chu'un's recognition of the sketch the girl had made 
 of the exiled mandarin of the white banner. It oc-
 
 SIGNALS FOR CONSPIRACY 197 
 
 curred to him that her cheeks were flushed when she 
 said the exile was dead. That mandarin had left 
 China with the keys of the temple in his possession 
 and 
 
 Bess a thief! 
 
 This time he put out both hands, and the fingers 
 sank deep into the flesh under the soft cape. He 
 turned the figure around. He released one shoulder, 
 and held up the girl's head by pushing against the 
 chin. Her eyes streamed tears. She would not look 
 at him. 
 
 "Bess!" he said, and in his blind rage shook her 
 violently. The silver bag that she was holding fell 
 from her grasp, and to the marble platform. The 
 clasp came undone, and a hundred or more white stars 
 seemed to have fallen upon the marble. Wrenne's 
 eyes went down to them. In that moment he realized. 
 
 She was a thief ! 
 
 In his anger he almost struck her. So this was the 
 girl whom he had come near abandoning all his 
 schemes for success because perforce they were un- 
 worthy of the man she loved. He laughed, and the 
 mirth had a bitter tang in it. Her eyes, weary, hope- 
 less, met his. 
 
 "Don't, Hamilton Don't don't "
 
 198 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 She stretched out her arms, beseeching him. He 
 pushed her away with an angry snarl. 
 
 "You stole those!" he said, and pointed to the 
 gleaming stones at his feet. 
 
 She bowed her head in sobbing acquiescence. 
 
 "You did?" he asked, a menace in his tone. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 His teeth grated hard against one another. "You 
 did eh? You did. Oh, my God! You did? You 
 stole them, did you? You came here and stole them, 
 and you meant to steal them all along, I guess. You 
 did, eh?" He was snarling again at her. "You did 
 mean to steal them all along?" 
 
 Again she bowed her head. 
 
 Wrenne caught her wrists, hurting her cruelly. But 
 the physical hurt was nothing to the hurt of her heart 
 that came from the hardness of his laugh. 
 
 "And I came here to-night to ask you to forgive 
 me because my feet had strayed to crooked paths. 
 And to get honest advice. I meant to watch your 
 honest eyes the eyes that could not lie." 
 
 It was then he had laughed. 
 
 "Honest advice! Honest eyes! My God! And 
 you're a thief!" 
 
 She moaned, but he was merciless. 
 
 "Now let me tell you what you've done. You see
 
 SIGNALS FOR CONSPIRACY 199 
 
 those rockets? When I set them off, the Reformers 
 rise! China will be in revolution. I came to you 
 to ask should they send their message. If you had 
 said 'No,' I would have obeyed you. Now! I'm for 
 my own hand and to hell with honesty! You held 
 the fate of China in your hand to-night and lost 
 your chance. Because you are a thief." 
 
 He threw her from him and she fell to her knees; 
 but she crawled after him clutching at his cloak. 
 
 "No, Hamilton. Hamilton, for God's sake, no! 
 I can explain, I can explain." 
 
 Her moan arose to a scream. For all his greater 
 strength he could not loosen her frenzied clutch on 
 his cloak. 
 
 "Hamilton ! for God's sake don't don't don't do 
 what you said! Let me explain. I can explain. It 
 wasn't for myself I did it. Hamilton give me the 
 rockets. Don't " 
 
 Suddenly she fell face foremost at the foot of the 
 stairs. Finding it impossible to loosen her hold, he 
 had unfastened the jeweled clasp at his throat and 
 the tension relieved, she had fallen almost at his feet, 
 fallen amid the folds of his cloak. 
 
 He hurried off without a backward glance hurried 
 off in the direction of the watch-tower. When she 
 staggered to her feet, she saw the tall figure outlined
 
 200 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 in the moonlight as he climbed. For a moment it was 
 outlined against the parapet, then, as he began to 
 ascend the winding stairs leading to the watch-tower, 
 the foliage of the tall trees hid him from her sight. 
 
 While she stood motionless, the face of the moon 
 was hidden by a passing cloud. As its pale light was 
 blotted out, she saw a flaming arrow rise above the 
 walls of the Three Cities, cleaving the black cloud in 
 twain. 
 
 Another followed and a third ; three golden arrows : 
 the signals of conspiracy. 
 
 So that, when the cloud passed on its way and the 
 moon shone bright again, it shone on grim-visaged 
 men bearing arms men from the North, the South, 
 the East, the West. But the faces of all were turned 
 toward the violet city.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 DRUGGED 
 
 SLOWLY, painfully, still clinching the cloak, all 
 that was left her of her lover, Bess dragged 
 herself back. But before she came to 
 the lotus-covered lake and out into the moonlight 
 again, she passed through the patch of jungle and 
 halted mechanically by the chu-sha-kih tree. Her 
 hand came from her pocket like an automaton's and 
 into the little knot-hole, that safe hiding-place where 
 the keys had lain since her first day in the Arbor of 
 Buddha's Hand, the keys dropped back again. 
 
 Then she emerged into the moonlit circle where the 
 lotus leaves lay languorous on the lake and, above it, 
 like squat green-black monsters of a nightmare, the 
 dwarfed cedars arose and the crenellated green roof 
 of the Arbor of Buddha's hand. Its carven red- 
 lacquered roof -posts were like these same monsters' 
 curved horns, their shadows sharply etched in the 
 moonlight against the great gray pink wall that en- 
 circled the Gardens of the Invisible Deity. Under its 
 201
 
 202 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 lotus leaves the lake gleamed like a polished silver 
 shield. From its silver cage Bess' nightingale flooded 
 the scented night with wave upon wave of a flood 
 of poignantly saddened song. 
 
 "I forgot to let him out to-night, poor Kitty," Bess 
 said dully. She had called her songster that because 
 he was like poor Aunt Kitty, caged so long, yet sing- 
 ing so sweetly. She had to remember the poor 
 aunties. It was better for her to be a thief than for 
 them to suffer, the poor, poor aunties. 
 
 Now she must let Kitty out let him fly to the top of 
 the tallest cedar, and fly down and drink from the 
 lake; have all the little pleasures he had found for 
 himself during his little hour of freedom each night. 
 So she quickened her dragging pace and came up by 
 the little winding way until she stood under her win- 
 dow where the nightingale sang. 
 
 "Coming, Kitty," she chirped, trying to make her 
 voice cheerful, and then, by another effort, came up 
 the steps and into the Arbor. One of her attendants 
 she could never keep track of them, they sent her so 
 many slid open the panel for her. Bess remembered 
 her now that one with the fat sly face Lu-Keng 
 the one she liked least of alL 
 
 It was only by forcing her mind to dwell on such 
 minor details that she was able to keep sane at all.
 
 DRUGGED 203 
 
 The maid came forward to take the cloak she car- 
 ried, the cloak of him who until that night had loved 
 her. But she would not let her touch it. Nor the one 
 she wore. In one of its pockets were the jewels. 
 
 "No, Lu-Keng," she said, sharply, and, going to 
 the cupboard of her bedroom, she locked them both 
 away and attached the key to the chain about her 
 neck. Had she looked back she would have seen the 
 girls' eyes light in a certain covetous gleam. This was 
 the girl Ugichi had paid highly for drugging her 
 with sweetened syrup of opium and searching her 
 mistress's person while she slept. Lu-Keng's name 
 had been furnished Sugiyama, along with others who 
 could be bribed. 
 
 Lu-Keng was to earn her bribe that night a fair 
 different sort of bribe from the meager one she had 
 paid another servant for the privilege of taking her 
 place about the Portrait-Painter that night. 
 
 "Will the honorable lady permit the humblest of in- 
 sects to prepare her for her couch ?" 
 
 Lu-Keng was anxious that Bess should be abed and 
 if possible asleep. And Bess permitted herself to be 
 disrobed, her face, hands and feet bathed in scented 
 water, and a cup of tea served her. She was too 
 accustomed now to the odd taste of things Chinese to
 
 204 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 suspect a soporific added to the tea. Her brain was too 
 benumbed to-night to think at all. 
 
 And, because it was benumbed, the drug took swift 
 effect. Once the lights within the gayly-colored lan- 
 terns were extinguished, she fell into sudden silent 
 slumber so heavy that when Lu-Keng crept in and 
 listened and finally passed a lighted candle before her 
 eyes, she still lay as do the dead. 
 
 Soon she had her answer in the sight of two men, 
 who, waiting for the darkening of the moon, crawled 
 along, beside the lotus-lake on flattened bellies, and 
 finally into the Arbor of Buddha's Hand. 
 
 Bess still slept slept, while a cord, featherweight 
 in quality but strong as steel, tightened about her 
 ankles; slept while a sponge was thrust beneath her 
 nostrils and the sickly sweet odor of chloroform filled 
 the room. 
 
 When the moon sank behind the gray-pink wall, 
 the two men crept out again, but this time erect, and 
 in the attire of Imperial servants, holding the shafts 
 of a palanquin between them. 
 
 They passed on to the little door in the North Wall: 
 the little secret door which had given entry to 
 Hamilton Wrenne so many times. When they were 
 through it and were in a servants' quarter of the
 
 DRUGGED 205 
 
 Yamen, two soldiers would have stopped them but 
 they grounded their gun-butts at the pass-word 
 "Chu'un and Progress." 
 
 Once outside the walls they pelted off along 
 on the Great North Road that led to the Wan-Shou- 
 san Summer Palace where the Barren She- Wolf 
 sheathed her claws. And beyond to what she called 
 her Pleasure-Palace, and others the Palace of Shame.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 THE PLEASURE-PALACE 
 
 WHEN the bonds that bound Bess were loosened, 
 and the bag with the pierced holes that had 
 enveloped her head was removed, she re- 
 called dimly exchanging a sickly sweetish smell for 
 one made up of various odors of the Orient: ylang- 
 ylang, sandal-wood, and the variously scented incenses 
 that burned in the high-placed braziers, one for each 
 of the lacquered columns that supported the lofty 
 ceiling. 
 
 She had found herself lying on the softest sort of 
 couch and because she was a person who loved to 
 lounge just so at home, she luxuriated in a long 
 stretch and yawn before her eyes convinced her she 
 was not at home and dreaming. The room itself was 
 dark save for a swinging censer where a wick swam 
 in aromatic oil. She had tottered to the window 
 Bess could not believe as yet that she was not experi- 
 encing some peculiarly vivid dream and found that 
 
 206
 
 THE PLEASURE-PALACE 207 
 
 the dim dark pagoda in which she found herself was 
 set high above a grove of ghostly temples and palaces, 
 before which the dogs of Fo kept watch great stone 
 griffins with bulgy eyes. The sliding lattices had been 
 pushed aside to admit the clean, sweet, upper air that 
 had brought her out of her unconsciousness. 
 
 Below, one saw ghastly gardens alive with strings 
 of lanterns swaying in the wind, lanterns with the 
 shapes of queer birds and beasts, while illumined kites 
 like the lily and the lotus bobbed and danced and lit 
 up patches of dwarfed green trees and the green roof- 
 trees of the garden arbors. Color rioted on every 
 side wherever light fell and it fell upon crenellated 
 roofings, porcelain gargoyles, and lacquered goblins. 
 . . . From that height the bobbing lanterns seemed 
 too tiny for those of real folk. To her drugged mind 
 they were those of marsh-gallopers; elves and sprites 
 of the marsh, making merry in a fairy city that would 
 vanish overnight. 
 
 From down below arose to Bess the tink-tink-tinkle 
 of many stringed instruments, and, looking down 
 again, she saw approaching through a grove of cedars 
 a line of multi-colored lanterns dancing about on long 
 poles carried by a laughing crew of sing-song girls. 
 The lanterns illuminated their flower-garlanded heads 
 and their long gold-guarded henna-stained finger-nails
 
 208 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 as they struck the strings of their san-hiens, dancing 
 and singing the while. 
 
 Synchronously by another path bordered by dwarf 
 cypresses appeared a long procession of palanquins, 
 preceded by retainers loudly beating on their gongs, 
 demanding the right of way for their illustrious 
 masters. The two paths converged and at their cross- 
 ing the bearers knelt, and from each palanquin there 
 descended a richly robed mandarin, stiff with gold 
 brocade and wearing a crystal button or a long droop- 
 ing peacock's feather in Ms helmet-shaped hat. Be- 
 fore each mandarin a sing-song girl bent the knee. 
 
 Bess' brain was beginning to be free of the drug, 
 and realizing that this was no dream, reeled. She re- 
 membered with a sickened heart the tales of how such 
 important officials were invited to a certain Imperial 
 Pleasure Palace where they were beguiled, and fur- 
 nished with all that sensuous pleasure-loving minds 
 could conceive. If such mandarins proved to be 
 troublesome folk and "too serious," she had heard 
 that they would be apt to leave their bodies behind 
 them. If beguilable, they left more than their bodies. 
 Afar from the seat of government in Peking, the 
 Dowager She-Devil had done more or less what she 
 liked. Thus she had built up a machine. 
 
 For the Dowager had left the Wau-shou-san Sum-
 
 THE PLEASURE-PALACE 209 
 
 mer Palace and had retired to her infamous Pleasure 
 Palace in the hills of Peh-li. 
 
 Here The Brotherhood of the Harmonious Fists 
 had been born. Here leaders had been made who had 
 preached the doctrine of "Death to the Fengqui the 
 Foreign Devil." . . . 
 
 Bess roused herself by a violent effort. After a 
 moment or so of dazed silence, she put both hands 
 to her face to muffle a moan. She had heard of this 
 terrible place, knew there was but one like it in any 
 of the country near Peking, or indeed in Peh-Li 
 province. She was in the Pleasure-City of the Barren 
 She-Wolf! All who had lived a month in the For- 
 bidden City knew its history and knew how Tze-Hsi, 
 when middle-age had began to fill her with fears, had 
 drained a certain lake and there, hidden by four hills, 
 had set thousands of masons to work to build her 
 Pleasure Palace. Then, within its violet walls, she had 
 gathered together all that the art and beauty of the 
 Yellow Kingdoms could give. Such a place as this 
 had never been seen since the days of the Caesars. 
 Tales, sinister, evil, soul-scarifying tales, had been told 
 about it ever since its inception. . . . 
 
 Suddenly she realized that she was not alone. There 
 was someone hiding in the shadows back of the great 
 central brazier, above which a red glow outlined some
 
 210 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 confused objects dimly. And one of these objects 
 had moved, ever so slightly. 
 
 Bess choked back a scream. She had never been 
 an average girl; there was something of the boy in 
 her always. Somehow she knew it was a man back 
 there and that he was looking at her although she 
 could not see him. Now was it possible or had she 
 gone mad? She seemed to see swimming through 
 the darkness two luminous eyes. 
 
 "I see you back there," she managed to say finally, 
 steadying her voice to a calmness she was far from 
 feeling. "Who are you and why was I brought here? 
 What is this place where is it?" She ceased speak- 
 ing for fear of hysteria. 
 
 "Only look down, Miss Courtney," was the reply 
 in English and in tones absolutely accentless. "Only 
 look down and you will surely recall certain stories 
 of the place where you are and possibly of what your 
 fate will be one so beautiful as yourself if you fail 
 me in what I ask of you. Or perhaps your imagination 
 is lacking. Perhaps all that beauty below sounds for 
 you no sinister note. If so, I have permission to 
 conduct you hither and thither about the palaces and 
 pavilions. Certain private views will, I am sure, afford 
 you the information your imagination may deny 
 you."
 
 THE PLEASURE-PALACE 211 
 
 She stopped him with a gesture. She could see 
 him now. He was a Chinese in a scholar's plain robe, 
 outlined against the brazier. 
 
 "What do you want of me ?" she demanded, a note 
 of terror creeping into her voice. "Why did you 
 bring me here? What have I done what do you 
 want?" 
 
 "Just one thing. The keys to the Double-Dragon 
 doors. Inform me where I can find them and you 
 shall go free the instant they are secured." 
 
 Now that he had nearly reached her and the moon- 
 light showed him for what he was, not even the man 
 who had sent him, the old Samurai in his Pagoda 
 by the lake, would have known him for the Sugiyama 
 who wore the Austrian-made clothes and carried the 
 characterless silk hat that in those days might have 
 been bought for half-a-guinea in The Strand. This 
 man was Chinese to his finger-tips; yes, particularly 
 to his finger-tips, long and gold-guarded. His eyes 
 were hidden by a pair of horn-rimmed Mandarin 
 spectacles; his robe was rich but of sober blue. On 
 its breast was embroidered in a lighter shade of the 
 same color the ideographs that betokened him an honor 
 man of the Great University of Peking a distinction 
 that could be won only after twenty years of study. 
 It is needless to say that Sugiyama had never won
 
 212 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 any such distinction. But he was impersonating one 
 who had; one long deceased, the secretary of another 
 dead man, the Mandarin Li-Wung-Ki, with whom he 
 had fled China. 
 
 He came closer to Bess now that she stood so silent. 
 His total absence of personal feeling in the matter 
 made him more sinister than one who threatened to 
 gain his own ends. Sugiyama was so impersonal he 
 was terrifying. 
 
 "I trust Miss Courtney will not be so ridiculous as 
 to refuse." 
 
 "I have not got them," she answered in a low voice. 
 "They are not here in China." 
 
 "No?" he questioned in the same commonplace 
 way. "Then may I ask how Miss Courtney secured 
 these?" 
 
 Lu-Keng had not seen her lock up those cloaks in 
 vain. The key about her neck had opened the cup- 
 board where they hung, hers and Wrenne's, and from 
 the pocket of the first the gems had been taken that 
 Sugiyama now thrust before her eyes. 
 
 "It is most unlikely," he continued in the same 
 quiet manner, "that Miss Courtney carries about her 
 person on all occasions splendid uncut jewels to the 
 amount of a few hundred thousand yen. Besides 
 these jewels were not in her pavilion when it was
 
 THE PLEASURE-PALACE 213 
 
 searched previous to her capture. In any event it 
 would be useless for her to deny that the keys are in 
 China, for her brother, Mr. Austin Courtney of Wash- 
 ington, has informed us otherwise." 
 
 "Austin! Austin informed you?" He bowed. 
 "My God!" 
 
 "So Miss Courtney will understand that we cannot 
 afford to neglect any measure that will enable us to 
 learn where she had hidden those keys. Any 
 measure!" 
 
 She stood silent again. Austin had been a thief 
 and a forger and now he was a Judas, too. Well, all 
 the more reason why she must make up the general 
 average of the family. Wrenne had called her a 
 thief, too, but she had not really been one. What she 
 had taken had been to replace what he stole. So 
 it was Austin really. She would not have minded 
 that. She was sure he loved the aunties, too. He 
 wouldn't have wanted to see them in poverty. 
 
 But to give up the keys. That would be betrayal. 
 And worst of all, to give them up to the hateful Em- 
 press-Dowager, the She-Devil who had misruled 
 China so long, who, at last, was deposed for her 
 deviltries! Hadn't Li fled for fear that the Barren 
 She- Wolf would demand the keys? And to give them 
 to her now would be to hurt the party of the man
 
 214 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 she loved, the Reform Party. It would be to hurt 
 Wrenne himself. 
 
 Sugiyama broke the silence. 
 
 "You refuse?" 
 
 She did not pause to think of the result of her 
 answer. 
 
 "Certainly," she said. 
 
 She was near enough to see his hand raised in the 
 back-lighting from the open lattice. Her own fol- 
 lowed his movement and so well could he see even in 
 the dark that he know that something had flashed 
 in her palm before her fingers closed on it. But she 
 did not use it, not yet, only prayed it would not be 
 necessary. 
 
 His hand had gone up merely to strike upon a 
 certain gong. 
 
 Another silence followed, during which the tinkle- 
 tinkle of the san-hiens and the faint cries of merri- 
 ment continued from below. It was a brief silence, 
 this one; then the corridors outside became veritable 
 moving forests of light Men bearing torches and 
 women with lanterns crowded in, revealing a lofty 
 room of carven wood and silk paneling upon which 
 were painted dragons, demons, dwarfs and peacocks. 
 The floor was in blocks of red and black marble, part-
 
 THE PLEASURE-PALACE 215 
 
 hidden by marvelous rugs. Rare and costly Ming 
 porcelains matched their otherwise matchless hues. 
 
 The blazing torches carried by the men were thrust 
 into wall-sconces. The women hung their lanterns 
 from lacquered brackets overhead. 
 
 When the last was in its place, Sugiyama dismissed 
 the light-bearers with a careless stroke of the gong. 
 
 "Look at them," he said as carelessly. 
 
 For all their rare and costly attire, Bess had seen 
 no distinguishing badges of rank. Suddenly she knew 
 these poor wretches for what they were; slaves 
 selected for their ornamental value as sheerly as the 
 rugs and porcelains. But of less value, apparently, 
 for the porcelains would not fade, or if the rugs did 
 so they gained value in color-tone. 
 
 While these poor human chattels . . . 
 
 As she watched them drift back to wherever it was 
 they came from, she became acutely aware of certain 
 terrifying facts. In going none dared turn his back 
 or hers. They kept their eyes steadily on the man 
 called Sugiyama, as do dogs when going through 
 their tricks. But though their attitude betokened fear, 
 there was no such expression in their eyes. It was 
 then the first terrifying fact imposed itself on her. 
 
 The same expression was in every pair of eyes! 
 Expression? Lack of it, rather. There was some-
 
 216 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 thing wrong with these poor people, and whatever it 
 was, Sugiyama wanted her to know what it was. His 
 smile enraged her. But the rage in her eyes gave 
 way to fear when she saw what he meant her to see. 
 Fear? Say rather terror! 
 
 His disquieting eyes held her. He smiled again. 
 
 "They smile, too. But do you notice they do not 
 laugh like this?" 
 
 With an abrupt and startling violence he threw back 
 his head in a guffaw of mirth as loud as it was 
 feigned. 
 
 As the echoes died away she became aware of the 
 awful silence that followed. Yet all these poor people 
 were laughing. They, too, had their heads thrown 
 back. That general movement of the lips was one 
 of mirth. 
 
 Yet no sound ensued. None! 
 
 "Look!" commanded Sugiyama, and laid hands 
 upon the nearest man boy, rather a comely young 
 Shantung Chinese. He opened the boy's jaw as he 
 would a dog's. 
 
 Bess dared not. . . . 
 
 "Look!" again directed Sugiyama, and his eyes 
 threatened her. This time he selected a girl of six- 
 teen or thereabouts; one wearing high satin boots 
 embroidered with flowers and soled with kid.
 
 THE PLEASURE-PALACE 21T 
 
 Docilely she opened her mouth at his command. 
 And this time Bess Courtney looked . . . and quickly 
 looked away, stifling all but the beginning of a shrill 
 scream. For now she knew why all those who smiled 
 could not laugh or speak or even make the noises 
 that animals do. 
 
 She wanted to cry out to God, and sink down hiding 
 her face in her hands. 
 
 Yet she stood erect and angry, seemingly unafraid. 
 
 The last of the painted butterflies kow-towed for 
 the last time and again she and Sugiyama were alone. 
 
 But not for long. For, as she turned and fled to 
 the window from which the lattices had been drawn, 
 and would have flung herself forth into space, certain 
 curtains swayed and parted and she found herself 
 held by unceremonious hands and held so adroitly that 
 even to attempt to turn to see who held her would 
 have caused unbearable pain. 
 
 "You have your choice, fair lady," said Sugiyama, 
 as his eyes searched hers. "My Emperor and your 
 Empress find they have affairs in common both of 
 which are interfered with by your stubbornness. If 
 you will inform me as to where I will find the keys, 
 you shall have enough of the jewels to make you rich 
 for life. You and your Wrenne both will have 
 wealth to spend and to spare. You will reign where
 
 218 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 women should always reign. In the center of civiliza- 
 tion such beauty as yours is reckoned at its true worth. 
 Come! Your Wrenne will not love you less but 
 more! For he will have then only you to think of 
 and adore !" 
 
 "And hate, you mean," came in her calm scornful 
 voice. "As all true men and women, too must hate 
 a traitor!" 
 
 "Do you think he will love you more when you are 
 like those slave-creatures who have just gone?" 
 
 She shivered and was silent. Sugiyama waited. 
 Conquering her physical fear, she faced him as best 
 she might when strong hands held her from behind. 
 
 "Do whatever you did to them damn you!" she 
 said, and laughed at him laughed to think that she 
 could buy anything with that stolen wealth half so 
 precious as the self-respect she sold. 
 
 In that minute Sugiyama came closer to respecting 
 a woman than he had believed possible. But he mas- 
 tered this unmanly weakness. 
 
 "As you say," he bowed politely, "we will pro- 
 ceed!" 
 
 He crossed the room to the black curtain and draw- 
 ing them and the sliding panels behind them, dis- 
 closed an operating table. A man dressed in sur- 
 geon's white garberdine, mask, rubber-gloved hand
 
 THE PLEASURE-PALACE 19 
 
 holding a pair of tweezers was taking surgeon 
 knives from an antiseptic oven and placing them on 
 the operating tray a blue-robed nurse was holding foi; 
 him. 
 
 As he laid the last one down and picked up a 
 hypodermic from the tray, beckoning to the attendants 
 to bring their prisoner to the operating table that he 
 might give her temporary quietude before the anes- 
 thesia, Bess Courtney crumpled up and fell on the 
 marble floor at his feet.
 
 BOOK THE FOURTH
 
 CHAPTER I 
 Two DIAMOND PARROTS 
 
 IN those days that seem so remote now, although 
 barely a decade separates us from them, Friday 
 nights at the Hotel de 1'Univers were events 
 residents of the Tartar City eagerly awaited, especially 
 the Europeans. For although the unclassed and the 
 declasse might not be invited to Legation Balls and 
 private houses, none could bar them here. But two 
 possessions were necessary; a dress-coat, or an even- 
 ing-gown, and the price of a dinner and Peking 
 lacked neither dress-clothes nor spendthrifts. 
 
 An almost barbaric profusion prevailed. Tien-tsin 
 being the clearing-house of the Manchu hunters and 
 trappers for furs going via Shanghai to San Fran- 
 cisco, even the military wore fur-trimmed garments. 
 So that, as they appeared on entering the hotel, men 
 as well as women were muffled up in costly seals and 
 sables, martins and minevers. Underneath their 
 "British warms" English officers from Shanghai-Kuan 
 
 223
 
 224 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 wore high-collared dark blue, with golden pips on their 
 shoulder-straps and a width of scarlet braid to dress- 
 trousers strapped tightly below spurred patent-leather 
 boots. Beneath their Melton great-coats, fur-lined, 
 American navy-men were in their heavily braided 
 blue. A sprinkling of constabularies on leave from 
 Manila, were very gorgeous with red epaulettes, 
 across which sprawled the heavy gold bars of rank 
 and the screaming eagle. One saw, too, French of- 
 ficers, always gay with gilt, officers from down Indo- 
 China way ; gray Germans from Wei-Hai-Wei, almost 
 medieval in their helmets, cloaks and clanking swords. 
 . . . Then there were the Russian officers from New- 
 chwang, Port Arthur, . . . anywhere, everywhere. 
 For in those days the Russians still held Manchuria. 
 You saw then in the red of the telegraph, the blue- 
 black of the navy, and the sky and orange tints of the 
 cavalry and artillery. 
 
 Then there were the civilians; English, American 
 and Russian merchants, long resident in the land of 
 Tien-Ha into whom the spirit of the country had en- 
 tered, grave, repressed, fatalistic. And the various 
 members of the Diplomatic Corps, Legation staffs and 
 the like. Although London was, as it ever will be, the 
 standard for the cut of men's coats and the sober 
 rich materials thereof, Continental ideas prevailed as
 
 TWO DIAMOND PARROTS 225 
 
 to dress-shirts and waistcoats. One saw jeweled 
 waistcoat buttons that matched jeweled shirt-studs set 
 between a pair of parallel frills in the center of 
 elaborately plaited linen, or pique or, was a man wear- 
 ing a dinner-coat, of Chefoo silk. 
 
 Others than the gray Germans wore cloaks, cloaks 
 held in place by platinum, gold, or silver chains; 
 sometimes with jeweled clasps. Were these male 
 cloaks not lined with fur, their linings matched the 
 silk of their dress-waistcoats. The number of Rus- 
 sians present accounted for all this latter business. 
 The younger Anglo-Saxons went as far as they dared 
 to match their barbaric, yet often beautiful, idea of 
 ornamental attire for the evening. 
 
 Here the women shone; rings, bar-pins, neck- 
 laces, chains all sorts of precious profusion . . . 
 that you may easily understand. To shine out in such 
 a gathering proved a woman's beauty to be a sort of 
 genius. 
 
 Yet thus a certain woman shone. She was an 
 exotic, Oriental-Occidental type, Aryan so far as fea- 
 tures went, but with an obliquity of golden-brown eye 
 and skin of the rare color of wild rose painted on old 
 ivory. Her name was Ysobel Arling, or at least so she 
 called herself. And what her business was in Peking 
 no one exactly knew, no one, that is, except those who
 
 226 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 possessed those jeweled pins in which a parrot was 
 represented in miniature. 
 
 Earlier on that same night, about the time that 
 Bess Courtney returned to the Arbor of Buddha's 
 Hand, she had pre-empted a stragetic point of vantage 
 in the Hotel de 1'Univers' Salle-a-manger; one from 
 which she could observe all who entered. Across the 
 Friday night damask, silver, crystal, and cut-flowers sat 
 a young man of no importance to our story. That he 
 was important to Ysobel Arling is proven by his 
 presence there. For he belonged to one of the Lega- 
 tions and knew things she was being paid to find out. 
 
 "It is strange," commented this young man whose 
 dress-clothes came from that semi-circle whose cir- 
 cumference is Bond Street and Burlington Gardens, 
 and whose diameter is Saville Row, "it is strange 
 that none of the I. C. A.* chaps are here to-night. 
 Corkey" one whose income had not been sufficient 
 for a commission in The Guards "Stanislas" an 
 exiled Polish Prince "Don Jaime" one whose Span- 
 ish silver had been melted for the Carlists "Hamilton 
 Wrenne." The young man went on mentioning others. 
 "None of them here to-night. I wonder why." 
 
 They were concluding with after-dinner cordials 
 from squat cob-webbed bottles with dates a half- 
 
 * Imperial Chinese Army.
 
 TWO DIAMOND PARROTS 227 
 
 century old blown in their glass. The keynote of these 
 exiles was enormous expenditure in unimpeachable 
 good taste, and these cordials were a fitting aftermath 
 to a dinner devised by a Cordon Bleu and served with 
 a Burgundy that was a gift of the Gods. 
 
 Ysobel Arling did not answer. The dandiacal 
 diplomat did not take this in good part. 
 
 "I should have thought you would have noticed," 
 he said grimly. "You are always asking me things 
 about Hamilton Wrenne. Do you know he has rooms 
 here now?" 
 
 "Rooms here?" she responded, mechanically curi- 
 ous. Actually her presence at that table on that par- 
 ticular night was due to the very fact that Wrenne did 
 have rooms there ; a fact of which she had been aware 
 for at least a week. Wrenne had not dared receive 
 plotting Tartar princes, Manchu Red Girdles and Mon- 
 golian White Banner Men in his quarters within the 
 Forbidden City. 
 
 "Why I imagined he would be compelled to live in 
 the Violet City. Why is he here? Isn't he Colonel of 
 the Guard?" 
 
 The young man nodded. "I do not know whether 
 he sleeps here or not. But he has rooms here and 
 gives card-parties. I attended one the other night." 
 He had indeed. One of those innocent affairs Wrenne
 
 228 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 was obliged to give to mask those that were otherwise. 
 At the clubs a month or more since Wrenne had begun 
 to gamble heavily before he took these rooms, this was 
 to have been another reason for taking them. 
 
 "I wonder if he is upstairs now playing poker. 
 That's probably why he isn't here." 
 
 "Probably," agreed the girl, who was quite well 
 aware of what was to happen within the "Violet City" 
 that night. So that when the boom of the great guns 
 rose and fell, she was one of the few in the salle-a- 
 manger whose manner betrayed no emotion. 
 
 The rolling reverberations from the forts' emplace- 
 ment batteries, was followed, evidently from a great 
 distance, by the intermittent crackling of the machine- 
 guns and the resonant echoes of the attacking forces 
 and echoes of their musketry fire. Then came the 
 crash of bombs, and, after a confused roar made up 
 of many sorts of explosions, silence, complete silence. 
 
 By this time almost every man and every woman 
 who had not fainted was on his or her feet, and there 
 was a rush toward the doors. These, however, had 
 been long since closed, then keys turned in the locks. 
 At the same time the shutters had been fastened from 
 the outside, barring the windows. 
 
 The manager of the Hotel De 1'Univers had had
 
 TWO DIAMOND PARROTS 229 
 
 his orders earlier in the day, and, accustomed to riots 
 and revolutions, had safeguarded his hotel. 
 
 He now stood among his guests, a polite perspiring 
 little Eurasian. 
 
 "Ladies and Gentlemen," he called from the alcove 
 table he had mounted, "it will all be over presently. 
 Until then the streets may be unsafe. My orders came 
 from the Forbidden City. You will forgive, please." 
 
 He climbed down and took his place at the small 
 table in the alcove. When musketry fire began again 
 intermittently and finally ceased altogether, some of 
 his male guests became threatening and one or two 
 excitable Russian officers picked up heavy chairs with 
 which to smash the doors. 
 
 "Please, gentlemen, I ask you. But a few moments 
 more and I will open them." 
 
 He spoke truly. A steady rapping on the outer 
 door and a voice in Chinese monotonously intoning, 
 caused him to give the order that opened the doors. 
 Outside stood those who had closed them a sergeant's 
 squad under one of Wrenne's own men, the tall 
 Manchu, Thsang. He it was who now indicated the 
 newcomer, a messenger from the Violet City. 
 
 "The trouble is over, ladies and gentlemen," de- 
 claimed the hotel-proprietor. "You may go when you 
 like. Forgive. I but obeyed orders."
 
 230 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 At almost the same moment a Chinese "boy" in 
 cotton-wadded blue came to a halt at Ysobel Arling's 
 table. In answer to her inquiring look the boy 
 indicated his palm held under the table so only 
 she could see the diamond parrot there. The hand 
 closed again and immediately hers hidden by her 
 damask serviette from the sight of all eyes but the 
 "boy's," opened and shut swiftly so that he had a 
 glimpse of a similar jewel. He then handed her a 
 letter from his sleeve and swiftly withdrew. 
 
 "Forgive me," she asked of the young man, and 
 broke the seal. Within was another sealed envelope, 
 a scribbled message wrapped around it. It was in 
 code but she read it without difficulty. The transla- 
 tion was: 
 
 She is on her way to the Jehol. Give the enclosed to Wrenne. 
 He will be at the hotel within the hour to consult with his allies. 
 
 SUGIYAMA. 
 
 She swiftly thrust the sealed envelope into her 
 corsage. 
 
 "You must see me to my carriage," she commanded 
 her young escort as she arose. To all his protests 
 that he must see her home she returned a frigid re- 
 fusal. He would have known why, had he seen her 
 coachman turn his horses back towards the hotel as
 
 TWO DIAMOND PARROTS 231 
 
 soon as the young man's 'rickshaw was well on its way 
 to his Legation. 
 
 Ysobel Arling re-entered the hotel from the rear 
 and made her way to Wrenne's suite of rooms. Here 
 she encountered the Mandarin Liang-Hiao, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel of the Imperial Guard and Wrenne's right- 
 hand man. 
 
 The Mandarin Liang, or Sir Lang as he was gen- 
 erally known to the foreign mercenaries, was a tall 
 Manchu, the Commander of the Imperial Guard, and 
 a Red Girdle Manchu Mandarin. He stood some six 
 feet four in his glistening patent-leather knee-boots. 
 Two or three inches of this, however, was due to his 
 high vaquero heels, his small well-shaped feet being 
 Sir Lang's pet pride. 
 
 He was a pleasant-faced fellow with a philosopher's 
 smile. He had completed his portion of the night's 
 work and had, on arriving at the hotel, received 
 Wrenne's message that Chu'un was dead. Nothing 
 more could be accomplish until the morrow. 
 
 The Reformers held every fort on the walls of 
 Peking, the note told him, every gate of the Three 
 Cities. The Emperor's palace was ringed about with 
 Mongols and Tartars from the desert provinces. His 
 Prime Minister had been informed of the death of 
 Chu'un and the danger of a Japanese protectorate
 
 232 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 unless he signed the decree that appointed Yuan-Shi- 
 Kai Viceroy-General of the Empire and consented to 
 rule through him and the reformers. Also to sign a 
 second decree perpetually banishing Tze-Hsi to the 
 Jehol Palaces, and forbidding her either to use any 
 of her former imperial power or to return to Peking. 
 
 "Thus," Wrenne had told Liang-Hiao in his note, 
 "an almost bloodless revolution has been arranged. 
 And Chu'un's death is avenged. For the Emperor, 
 knowing now what it was that Japan had planned, 
 will be willing that Yuan show her no favors. Yuan 
 himself was not personally concerned in our bloodless 
 revolution, and he is assuredly China's chiefest man. 
 The Emperor will undoubtedly sign the decrees in the 
 morning. The Mongol and Tartar guards will then be 
 withdrawn and my own returned to their places. And 
 perhaps it is as well that the world in general should 
 not know that there has been a change in government. 
 
 "So we cry checkmate to Japan. Dismiss the vari- 
 ous Chieftains and await thy Wrenne." 
 
 Sir Lang, having read this for the third time, had 
 closed the door and now was sitting in a great chintz- 
 covered easy chair by the window, staring at the two 
 steady streams of carriages, 'rickshaws, and palan- 
 quins with an occasional motor or two that were
 
 TWO DIAMOND PARROTS 233 
 
 departing from the hotel bearing officers and civilians 
 in evening-dress or native noblemen and wealthy 
 merchants. When Ysobel Arling entered without 
 knocking his body had stiffened, and his hand flown 
 to his sword-hilt, but he betrayed not the slightest 
 bit of outward interest in her unexpected appearance. 
 
 "I had expected to see Colonel Wrenne," she 
 faltered, at the sight of his grim face. For Sir Lang 
 knew well enough who and what she was. 
 
 "Certainly, mademoiselle," he whispered hoarsely 
 in French, "but you could not expect me to believe 
 that he expected to see you." 
 
 He was grinning as he faced the woman across the 
 table of the suite's reception-room. A certain snap- 
 ping of his fingers before he spoke had brought them 
 an audience. Looking toward the open door, the girl 
 saw two of his cavalrymen outside, the hall-lights 
 gleaming on the brass buckles of their accoutrements. 
 Even the butts of their old-fashioned "bull-dog" 
 pistols were of brass. But, of course, she could not 
 see that as these remained enholstered. The men, 
 after their salute, folded their arms and lounged at 
 ease. 
 
 "Send them away," said Ysobel Arling angrily. 
 
 "I am sorry, mademoiselle," Sir Lang grinned, "but
 
 234 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 I cannot afford to be suspected of secret traffic with 
 the enemy." 
 
 So they stood, facing one another across the table 
 as Hamilton Wrenne entered, and with the stiff, some- 
 what stilted Southern courtesy that he reserved for 
 his enemies, bowed ceremoniously to the intruder. 
 
 "I came," she said coldly, "to bring you this." 
 
 She handed him the sealed letter, of whose contents, 
 however, she was well aware. His eyes brightened 
 as he recognized the handwriting of Bess Courtney. 
 He broke it open. 
 
 The incredible contents of the envelope read: 
 
 Come at once, and if you would avert evil consequences for 
 me, tell no one no one. This is important, not that my life, 
 which is of small consequence after all, should be saved, but 
 that there should a cessation of certain severe methods of 
 suasion by which my loyalty to you and to China are being 
 put to the test. If the new day is to dawn, if I am released 
 (if I am to be) and if I do not instantly take my own life for 
 very shame, I must be relieved at once. If only they would kill 
 me, all would be well. I can stand no more of their fiendish 
 ingenious torture. If only I could go mad but they are too 
 diabolically clever to let that happen. Mad people forget and 
 I am valuable to them only so long as I remember remember 
 where the keys are the keys to the Double-Dragon doors. 
 
 This will be brought to you by one whom I have reason for 
 believing is faithful. But certain circumstances make it im- 
 perative that no one save yourself shall know this person is
 
 TWO DIAMOND PARROTS 235 
 
 betraying the confidence of my captors. Tear this up and 
 follow the bearer's instructions. Tell no one and come im- 
 mediately. 
 
 Your Tortured, 
 
 BESS. 
 
 A stifled groan broke from the reader. Then 
 Wrenne's jaws snapped together and his eyes grew 
 cold and hard. 
 
 "Where is she?" he demanded. 
 
 Ysobel Arling looked aghast. "Does the note not 
 tell you to tell no one?" 
 
 "Where is she?" 
 
 "I will tell you nothing unless you follow the in- 
 structions in the note. I am risking enough as it is. 
 Unless Sir Liang goes with you." 
 
 "Sir Liang goes with me. Where is she ?" 
 
 "At the Jehol Palace. Unless you hasten it will 
 be too late." 
 
 Ysobel Arling looked from one stern face to an- 
 other. Then swiftly Wrenne outlined to Sir Liang 
 the nature of the note and the possession by Bess of 
 the keys to the Double-Dragon doors. 
 
 "You know her handwriting? No! Here is a note 
 from her written yesterday. Read it and this!" 
 
 He tossed both to his Manchu aide, meanwhile 
 holding the girl with hard eyes.
 
 336 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 "When you have read," he continued, still with his 
 eyes upon her, "ride to the Violet City and rouse my 
 squadron of Household Horse." 
 
 Ysobel Arling interrupted, frantically: 
 
 "No! no! Would you ruin me? I will lead you 
 and Sir Liang to her. If you send for more, I will 
 lead you nowhere. Now you know." 
 
 "Sir Liang," said Wrenne sternly, "have you lead? 
 What do you think?" 
 
 "A clever forgery as far as the writing goes. For 
 no American or English woman ever wrote such a 
 sentence such as this: There should be a cessation 
 of certain severe methods of suasion, by which my 
 loyalty to you and to China is being put to the test.' 
 The forger should have remembered that Anglo- 
 Saxons for the most part write as they think : in short, 
 tense clauses. Am I right, my Wrenne?" 
 
 "You are right. This is a decoy to draw us to our 
 deaths. I do not doubt that the Portrait Painter is 
 a prisoner. Of that, however, I will make sure. If 
 she is, she is not where the woman says she is." 
 
 Wrenne's stern eyes met hers. She gave him back 
 look for look. 
 
 "I come to you at the risk of my life and the ruin 
 of my career. The one that wrote that letter told
 
 TWO DIAMOND PARROTS 237 
 
 me that I might trust you. And you brow-beat and 
 bully me and tell me that I lie." 
 
 "I leave that to better judges, Mademoiselle." 
 
 Wrenne's anger was still in leash. "And now it 
 grieves me that I must do this, but unless you choose 
 to reveal the real whereabouts of Miss Courtney, I 
 have no option but to order you kept in the closest 
 confinement until ..." 
 
 "Until you deport me," she mocked. 
 
 Wrenne turned away, his face suddenly saturnine. 
 
 "Colonel Liang," he said, hoarsely, a tone that from 
 him resembled nothing so much as the angry cawing of 
 a sable-plumed raven, "you will assume charge of the 
 prisoner and instantly take such severe measures as 
 you may see fit to insure immediate compliance with 
 my orders." 
 
 Luckily for Wrenne, luckily for Bess, luckily for the 
 Mandarin called Sir Kay Liang, Ysobel Arling, sud- 
 denly startled, went through a surprising series of 
 muscular gyrations, shivering, shuddering, twitching. 
 
 Several times she essayed speech. But it was not 
 until Wrenne, Southern-like, concerned at the sight of 
 any woman in distress, advanced upon her, that she 
 achieved it. Evidently his wrinkled brow had the 
 effect of saturninity to her frightened fancy, for she 
 shrank, visibly shrank from him. So much so that
 
 238 DOOR OF THE .DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 he could not. interpret her inexplicable terror as due 
 to what he had just said. 
 
 "No no," she muttered. Then, as he continued 
 to advance, not yet realizing that what he meant for 
 re-assurance was being misread. "No, no, no !" 
 
 Her voice rose with each monosyllable until it 
 reached its crescendo in a shrill falsetto shriek. 
 
 "No! Oh, no! You wouldn't do that you 
 wouldn't you couldn't you wouldn't dare " 
 
 Her immediate pallor asserted itself all the more 
 insistently because her cheeks remained so ruddy. Un- 
 deniably her rouge had been artistically applied. Until 
 now, she had possessed an almost flawless imitation 
 of that bloom supposed to be inseparable from youth. 
 It was absent now. Equally absent was her usual im- 
 pudence. The woman Wrenne saw was a gray- faced 
 woman of thirty or thereabouts, scared out of her 
 wits by some terrible threat 
 
 "No, no; you couldn't! You wouldn't!" she cried 
 again in crescendo, her terror apparently increasing 
 with every syllable. "Why I thought Americans and 
 Englishmen never did that; not to women! And 
 now!" Her hysterical laugh lengthened out into a 
 scream. "Oh! oh, what hypocrites you are you 
 you American swine! Oh, oh!" 
 
 She covered her fear-wracked face with over-
 
 TWO DIAMOND PARROTS 239 
 
 jeweled fingers that writhed like gleaming white snakes 
 in the lamplight. 
 
 To the debonair devil-may-care Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Liang of the Imperial Guard, Miss Ysobel Arling's 
 terror seemed but a bit of mediocre acting. She could 
 hardly expect to make use of such a letter as the one 
 his Chief had received and expect to be allowed to 
 remain at large. 
 
 Sir Liang hoped his Chief would not be so soft as to 
 let her fool him. Wrenne had always defiantly de- 
 clared himself against the use of women in the ser- 
 vice and now Liang could see why. 
 
 He started to say something of this sort: 
 
 "What's her little game, Colonel?" he began. 
 
 Wrenne silenced him with an upraised palm, con- 
 tinuing steadily to regard the Arling woman. He 
 knew her by reputation quite well. The least she 
 could expect was internment and deportation. That, 
 unfortunately, or otherwise, was the worst punish- 
 ment Anglo-Saxons of his sort found it possible to 
 inflict upon women who had not actually committed 
 capital crimes. 
 
 But being in love with Bess Courtney and afraid 
 for her, his awakened instinct of protection told him 
 what Sir Liang did not know. He was certain that the 
 woman's terror was not assumed any more than her
 
 240 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 continued shrinkings from him. Why, then, did she 
 shrink from him? 
 
 Slowly, as he watched her cower, he reconstructed 
 the exact situation of a moment before remembered 
 that he had turned from the Arling woman in agon- 
 ized anger. Well did he know that anger made an 
 extensive, if temporary, alteration in his face. Once, 
 when enraged (accidently again, if you like) he had 
 seen himself in a mirror, and had failed to recognize 
 anything of himself in the singular ferocity of those 
 mirrored features. Then, presto ! it had changed back 
 to his own and he had staggered back, first revolted, 
 then afraid. . . . 
 
 Might Ysobel Arling's terror not have been due to 
 that? But it needed more than that to intimidate her! 
 Why should this pretty, soulless, little creature of the 
 so-called "Foreign Service" shrink so from him, her 
 body tense with terror? 
 
 Voice, manner, appearance; not one, nor the com- 
 bination either, no matter how unusually sinister, and 
 saturnine or what not, was enough in itself or in its 
 combination to cause her to cower like that. Had 
 they been accompanied by some dire threat, now ! And 
 at once he knew. He repeated the exact words slowly 
 again. 
 
 "Colonel, you will take charge of the prisoner and
 
 TWO DIAMOND PARROTS 241 
 
 instantly take such severe measures as you may deem 
 fit to insure an immediate compliance with my orders." 
 
 He paused where he paused before. It was a muffled 
 moan that he heard now, but it began almost instantly 
 to arise to a hysterical shriek again. Eureka! His 
 surmise was the correct one. 
 
 Having previously assured himself that there were 
 no mirrors to betray him, Colonel the Mandarin 
 Wrenne deliberately winked at Colonel the Mandarin 
 Liang-Hiao. 
 
 "You understand?" he demanded, cryptically. 
 
 But Sir Liang-Hiao did not understand. 
 
 "They have an idea," pursued Wrenne, contemptu- 
 ously, "that we will not torture women." 
 
 Wrenne, having assured himself that Sir Liang was 
 beginning to understand, studied her curiously. Here 
 was the secret to unlock her tongue. Her amiable 
 associates were about to be "hoist with their own 
 petard." Her mind had been running upon torture. 
 The letter was written to get him where he could have 
 personal experience of such inhuman practices. 
 
 Yes, it was not only Bess who was to be sacrificed, 
 but himself, too. Both the Dowager and Japan wanted 
 him out of the way. And now evidently they were 
 allied.
 
 242 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 And now a few unconsidered words of his had 
 put them both wholly in his hands. 
 
 "Sir Lang," he said slowly, "how long since Gor- 
 witz has been below earth?" 
 
 Out of the tail of his eye he saw her fingers slowly 
 unlock about her face. Gorwitz, Wrenne was well 
 aware, was a Japanese mystery. He had been seen 
 last in Shanghai one afternoon in company with one 
 of the "ladies" that real ladies saw only on the Bub- 
 bling Well Road in the afternoon, their nocturnal 
 divertisements automatically barring them from closer 
 acquaintanceship. And that was the end of Gorwitz 
 so far as Tokio knew. 
 
 Now Sir Liang knew as well as did his chief how 
 Gorwitz had died that night, still resisting when the 
 last shot in his Luger had been fired, for Gorwitz 
 had stolen documents. But Sir Liang had been too 
 well trained not to follow the spirit rather than the 
 actual words when his Chief gave the lead. 
 
 "In this present prison place, you mean? Not quite 
 six months." 
 
 "Quite evidently he must go deeper, then, eh, my 
 friend? Our young lady here shall take his place. 
 We are in more haste with her. With Gorwitz we 
 could and still can afford to wait."
 
 TWO DIAMOND PARROTS 243 
 
 "No, no," she moaned, and threw herself at 
 Wrenne's feet. 
 
 "We are in no mood to waste mercy on you, Frau- 
 lein," he answered her harshly. "That is all very well 
 in England and America where we have to fear ex- 
 posure. To return to Gorwitz " 
 
 "He is not dead?" 
 
 Wrenne shook his head. 
 
 "Not yet. Or I should say, 'not quite.' In his 
 case, you will understand, we had no cause to hurry. 
 Your case is utterly different. We will endeavor to 
 give you a lesson in how skillful we can be and in 
 so very short a time that you will be quite willing to 
 tell us anything, anything." 
 
 His smile was so ghastly that she hid her eyes 
 again. 
 
 "Take her along, Sir Liang. But first have your 
 men tie and gag her." 
 
 When she unlocked her eyes at Liang's touch, 
 Wrenne still smiled, but with the cold, hard luminosity 
 of Northern Lights upon an icy polar sea. 
 
 A fit of shuddering overtook her. 
 
 "Tell her, Liang," he cried, lying, like one inspired 
 to save the woman he loved. "Tell her of the torture, 
 Liang. Tell her what we have done to Gorwitz; 
 what we mean to do. Tell her of the subterranean
 
 244 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 cellars that have served him for his living tomb. How 
 now he lies in one so deep and so dark that the 
 miasma racks his very bone. How, even if he had 
 his sight again, and were brought to the daylight, the 
 first rays would blind him. Tell her that for a year, 
 when he still had his sight, we allowed him not so 
 much as a candle. Go on, tell her, Liang." 
 
 But he knew, too, that Liang would never be allowed 
 to tell his tale. As soon as the woman recovered 
 strength enough to push herself up on her flattened 
 palms, the haggard face, out of which looked eyes 
 like burnt-out cinders, that she upraised told Wrenne 
 he had won. 
 
 "Why did he not tell?" she gasped. 
 
 "He went mad," Wrenne said, simply. 
 
 "My God! " 
 
 Hastily, the words overleaping one another, she told 
 him of the place where he would find Bess Courtney, 
 adding with frantic voice: 
 
 "Take a heavy guard. I want you to be sure to 
 return. They expected you alone by the gates. Go 
 by the underground way and take men enough to 
 protect you. Go ! Go ! It will not be fair to torture 
 me because you are so slow " 
 
 But Wrenne interrupted her frantic description.
 
 TWO DIAMOND PARROTS 245 
 
 "Enough ; no more is necessary." 
 "But to find her and protect yourselves." 
 "You are going with us," said Hamilton Wrenne, 
 'then we shall be sure that you will tell us the truth."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 THE HOUSEHOLD SQUADRON RIDES LATE 
 
 IN Peking, as in other great cities of China, even 
 a score of years ago, one could look over one's 
 shoulder and see asphalted boulevards where in 
 the show-windows of shops the latest song-hits and 
 magazines from New York and London were dis- 
 played, and others flaunting the "last cry" in the 
 modes the mannequins were then wearing in Paris, 
 
 In the morning, boys in cricket-caps might have 
 been seen going off to English grammar-schools, wear- 
 ing "house"-colors in their striped neckties; girls on 
 bicycles on their way to seminaries for young ladies; 
 dashing dog-carts being taken back by severely cor- 
 rect English grooms in buttoned-leather leggings and 
 checked riding-breeches. Above the Legations the 
 flags of the various white man's countries were flung 
 to the breeze. From afar off, where the railroad 
 winds its way outside the last of the City's walls, one 
 might hear the toot of a Baldwin locomotive. 
 
 While across the narrowest, shortest sort of foot- 
 bridge, one saw, and still doubtless sees, the narrow- 
 
 246
 
 HOUSEHOLD SQUADRON RIDES LATE 247 
 
 est, crookedest sort of medieval thoroughfares with 
 houses that sag toward one another from either side 
 of the street like stately mannered but dirty-faced 
 dames of long ago. On such a street as this, in old 
 time Paris, Frangois Villon found the white in the 
 dead jade's stocking. Through such another in the 
 London of the Lollards, Jack Straw led his horde of 
 Kentish rebels after Wat Tyler fell. 
 
 But although it was the first decade of the twentieth 
 century of Christian civilization, Hamilton Wrenne 
 led his horde through a street quite as crooked, quite 
 as dirty, quite as medieval. And behind him rode a 
 crew quite as picturesque as any whose horses' hoofs 
 ever rattled over the cobbles of Armagnac France, or 
 Burgundian, behind some stark commander of free 
 companions. 
 
 Greater China was well represented in these troopers, 
 known, somewhat satirically, as the Household Squad- 
 ron of the Imperial Guard. They were as picked a lot 
 of Berserkers as ever the Varangians were. Melan- 
 cholily-mustached Tartars, Mongols high of cheek- 
 bone and almost noseless, flat-faced Chinese, but chiefly 
 strapping six-foot Manchus from that province of 
 which Sir Liang's line had long been the princes. 
 
 At the head of the column rode Wrenne, in his uni- 
 form of Imperial yellow, golden-frogged, his crucifix
 
 248 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 hilted sword held in place by jeweled belt and a golden 
 lanyard over one shoulder. Through an opening in his 
 hastily donned tunic where a button had not been fas- 
 tened, there was the glint of steel, a shirt of steel mail 
 of goldsmith's links so fine that it could be crumpled 
 into a mere handful. Another of his military cloaks 
 bellied out behind him as he rode, companioning the 
 drooping peacock's feather of his Mandarin's cap. 
 
 Sir Liang, who rode beside him was similarly accou- 
 tered. And save that their caps were of the humble 
 black silk sort with red coral buttons, and they wore 
 Mongolian boots of soft glove-leather instead of the 
 glistening patent leather of their chiefs, so were the 
 others of the Cavalcade. 
 
 It was about the same time that Bess Courtney 
 awakened in that lofty room in the Pleasure City, that 
 this troop rode out to save her. And when they paused 
 at the top of the first hill out of the city it would have 
 seemed to anyone at the foot of the hill that the moon 
 had crept slowly from behind the clouds to hang sus- 
 pended over their heads like a great silver-bright 
 aureole. 
 
 In its light it was apparent that not two horsemen, 
 but three rode at the head of the column; for, on the 
 hill-top, when Wrenne and Sir Liang detached them- 
 selves from the others and turned their horses sheerly
 
 HOUSEHOLD SQUADRON RIDES LATE 249 
 
 to the right-about like reviewing officers, a smaller fig- 
 ure was to be seen between them. It was the woman 
 known as Ysobel Arling, now boyish in shape and size, 
 for she wore a man's habiliments. It was she who 
 called the halt and had pointed out the way by which 
 they would reach their destination. 
 
 Clatter, clatter, clatter! . . . Thump, thump, 
 thump ! . . . Pad, pad, pad ! 
 
 And always the moon seemed just overhead and 
 ahead, always climbing aloft and away. Until they 
 came to the high hills, their shadows like those of 
 great centaurs lay black on the silver white road before 
 them. 
 
 And at last when they were as near to the walls of 
 the Pleasure Palace as they dared go, Wrenne, his 
 heart thumping hard against his ribs, had ordered 
 them to dismount and hide their horses in the under- 
 growth below the crest of the last hill. 
 
 This having been discreetly accomplished, and the 
 horses tethered in a little thicket, Wrenne wrapped 
 himself in his all-enveloping cloak and directed the 
 others to follow his example. He and Liang discarded 
 their caps with the peacock's feathers and drew the 
 hood of their caps low on their foreheads, and high 
 above their chins like monks' cowls. Their officers, 
 captains, lieutenants and sergeants (they had no
 
 250 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 majors or corporals in the Household Guards) passed 
 the word on to the men, until all were completely en- 
 veloped, only their eyes and ankles visible. 
 
 Before giving further commands, Wrenne sum- 
 moned his officers to a council. Crouched in the under- 
 brush, he outlined briefly the reason for the expedition 
 and the necessity for someone to remain behind whose 
 honor was impregnable against such assaults as heavy 
 bribes. 
 
 "To see that our hostage does not escape paying the 
 penalty. Should she have mis-informed us and should 
 we fail, someone must guard her, must remain alive to 
 carry her back to Peking." 
 
 The slender figure which even in cape and cowl 
 stood out among so stalwart a crew, pushed her way 
 to Wrenne's head. 
 
 "I won't be left: I won't," she announced fran- 
 tically. "Let me go with you. How else can you find 
 the secret way?" 
 
 "And have you lead us directly into a trap, that, as it 
 snaps on us, releases you," asked Wrenne harshly. 
 
 "And if you fail because I have not shown it to you, 
 you leave me here to be mercilessly punished for what 
 was not my fault. No ! Have a man at my back with 
 a knife." she suggested fiercely. "Let him kill me the 
 moment there is treachery. That would ensure my
 
 HOUSEHOLD SQUADRON RIDES LATE 251 
 
 death before I could get free. Wouldn't it?" But 
 although Wrenne had brought himself to psychic 
 threats, actually he was loath to expose a woman to 
 physical dangers. Above all things, however, she must 
 not guess this. So again he refused, giving his lack of 
 faith in her as his reason . . . "so knowing your 
 ground so much better than we, you might escape 
 before we knew where we were. I dare not take you 
 too near." 
 
 "Oh you are unfair, unfair," she sobbed, stamping 
 her foot again. "Don't you see you might be unlucky 
 might not return? And then, no matter if I had 
 done my best or no, your men would drag me back! 
 No ! I have said my last word. I go with you. Other- 
 wise you may kill me but I will not point out from here 
 how you may reach the palace by the shortest way." 
 
 Thsang, Color-Bearer and Regimental Sergeant- 
 Major by right of being the biggest thewed and might- 
 iest-muscled Manchu of the lot, pushed his way toward 
 Sir Liang, saluted and spoke in English: 
 
 "Your permission to speak to the Colonel, Exalted 
 One?" and turning to Wrenne added; "Sir, you have 
 men here whom you have seen in hazardous service. 
 We are a picked lot of a picked lot. Most of our 
 squadron will be practically devoid of non-commis- 
 sioned officers. Half our commissioned officers are
 
 252 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 here besides. How might one of us dare show his face 
 among his inferiors in rank and service and say that 
 we had remained safely out of the conflict while our 
 colonels, our captains and our brother-sergeants and 
 troopers were massacred. Do not give us a choice be- 
 tween cowardice and insubordination, sir?" 
 
 He saluted and stepped back to his place. 
 
 "And while you waste time here," said Ysobel 
 Arling passionately, "this lady you love may be " 
 
 Wrenne's strangled bellow of rage was in keeping 
 with the fierce fire in his eyes. 
 
 "Forward," he commanded hoarsely. "Deploy . . . 
 as skirmishers . . . advance seeking shelter." 
 
 He added other orders, selecting their point of 
 meeting as Ysobel Arling picked it out through his 
 night-glasses. And then, when the others had gone 
 on hands and knees up and over the crest of the hill, 
 so that they would have been in sight of the watchers 
 on the ramparts, had they gone erect, Wrenne's fingers 
 sought the woman's shoulder in such a grip she could 
 have screamed. But she did not. 
 
 "Go before me. As they have done. And hurry !" 
 
 The undergrowth swallowed them up. As Wrenne 
 advanced, he found that the stalwart Thsang awaited 
 him on the lowest slopes and from there on was never 
 more than a pace or so away from the Arling woman.
 
 HOUSEHOLD SQUADRON RIDES LATE 253 
 
 They were in sight now of the red walls that rose 
 about the Pleasure City walls once red, rather cherry- 
 pink now. . . . 
 
 From where he crouched and crawled, Wrenne 
 could see the watch-fires on the walls, watchers in 
 watch-towers, guards on duty, right, left, right, left 
 patrolling stiffly to and fro. 
 
 Ysobel Arling touched his arm. 
 
 "There," she said. "In that grove of ylang-ylang 
 trees. Some of your men are missing it." 
 
 "Thsang," he directed," your signal." 
 
 The low shrill notes of the N.C.O.'s whistle, swing- 
 ing ever from a lanyard from one of his shoulder- 
 straps, summoned those who had taken the wrong 
 turning. Minute by minute, one stalwart after another 
 crept silently from the chaparral into the little grove 
 of ylang-ylangs, cedars and cypresses, in the center 
 of which stood a burnished Buddha in its shrine, one 
 of the four protectors of the Pleasure City. 
 
 The woman did not wait for the entire squadron 
 to crowd it. 
 
 "Lift it," she commanded. "The secret way lies 
 beneath the shrine. Knowing no native would dare 
 touch the Buddha save in reverence, the Queen-Mother 
 deemed this way impregnable. And doubtless it would 
 have been had I not believed in the hypocritical honor
 
 254 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 of the Anglo-Saxons who never torture women if 
 they are apt to be found out. God! How I hate 
 you." 
 
 "Hate away," returned Wrenne, grimly. "But be 
 careful not to betray. Thsang ! You are a Moham- 
 medan. Lift the Buddha from its place." 
 
 The big Manchu strained his muscles. The squat, 
 bland-featured Buddha was indeed a test of strength. 
 Thsang lifted it with all reverence into the shadows, 
 while Wrenne exerted all his strength to slide back 
 the copper-sheathed slab beneath it. A wide passage- 
 way yawned below, step after step cut out of the 
 chalky hillside. 
 
 When Sir Liang had called the muster-roll and all 
 had answered, the signal was given and the men crept 
 slowly to the shrine, leaped the barrier and began to 
 descend the spiral stairway. But before their feet 
 touched the second step, each man's hand was gripped 
 by that of their Colonel's and held while Wrenne 
 said "Good-by." At no other time did any of them 
 remember it to have been so husky as it was now.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 THE SECRET STAIRWAY 
 
 " 1" 1" ERE, here," whispered the Arling woman 
 \ I out of a dry throat. "Here feel along 
 the walls sliding walls. Quietly, for 
 God's sake." 
 
 It seemed to Wrenne that they had traveled miles 
 since they descended into subterranea. The spiral 
 stairway seemed to run on forever ; miles in and miles 
 out of empty tunneling that never followed a straight 
 line. Built so, he imagined. For in case of a hostile 
 invasion, were its secret betrayed, each abutment would 
 give shelter to a squad of rifle-men. At some points 
 there was room enough for a machine-gun. Finally 
 he confirmed this idea by flashing his torch upward 
 above an abutment or two and saw imbedded in the 
 chalk a tile of red porcelain with ideographs repre- 
 senting several numerals burned into it. 
 
 Being the invading hostiles themselves, never know- 
 ing what might be around the next corner, Wrenne 
 kept his men in double file formation, a man to each 
 wall, and two paces apart. 
 
 255
 
 256 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 Nothing happened, however. Soon they had be- 
 come so accustomed to the rise and fall of the ground, 
 the swerving from right to left, that those who car- 
 ried the pocket-torches were approximating automa- 
 tically the position in which to hold them so that the 
 light would fall always in the center of the unlit 
 space before them. And all the while they ran with 
 that steady even paddling of the feet that betokens 
 the trained athlete. 
 
 Several times the last squad had been forced to 
 halt impatiently for Ysobel Arling's feebler feet to 
 follow Thsang. Then the giant Manchu swung her 
 up to his shoulders and bade her straddle his neck 
 as if he were a horse. She refused angrily, her face 
 flushing. 
 
 "Then I shall throw you over my back like a sack 
 and carry you by your feet," he threatened calmly. 
 
 Wrenne and Sir Liang were well ahead and those 
 nearby only grinned. So she had no course but con- 
 sent. After that they went on steadily, swiftly as 
 the others. 
 
 After the first flight of stairs had been reached and 
 Thsang set her down (remaining close to her elbow, 
 however), she saw him several times in the light of 
 the torches, whetting the broad blade of his bayonet- 
 knife against a horny palm or testing it with his
 
 THE SECRET STAIRWAY 257 
 
 thumb. Whenever he saw her looking toward him 
 he did this and grinned at her. . . . When she was 
 looking elsewhere the trench-knife hung in its place 
 by another lanyard from his other shoulder. 
 
 It was well for Wrenne that at the Pleasure Palace 
 they turned night into day. Many of those who were 
 not holding wassail in the little arbors with which 
 the gardens were dotted, were watching the sing- 
 song girls hold revel hidden among the scented groves. 
 
 But by far the greater number, having chosen their 
 brides of the night, in the pavilions, were wandering 
 arm in arm with them in the groves or sat on the 
 rustic bridges by the moonlit stream that dashed over 
 rocky defiles and dropped headlong from the hills, 
 making their brides' better acquaintance. The major- 
 ity of the majority, however, had betaken themselves 
 to their quarters where everything had been arranged 
 in the interests of what they doubtless denominated 
 "love." 
 
 Here, each noble guest of the Dowager had in his 
 suite a central court where on one side perfumed 
 waters from a fountain gushed forth from the mouth 
 of some naked male figure in some one of the pos- 
 tures of Oriental "love." Back to back with him was
 
 258 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 a naked female figure holding a great lamp of deli- 
 cately colored rock crystal over which another jet 
 of water was diffused in clouds of perfumed spray, 
 so delicate that it was barely more than a mist. As 
 it crossed the closed lantern, as beautifully carved as 
 it was colored, the mist became as roseated in hue as 
 it was delicately perfumed. So that the circular court 
 was both lit and perfumed by one roseately colored 
 "lamp of Love." 
 
 The cascade that fell from the male figure's mouth 
 and the spray that dripped from the female creature's 
 lap both joined together in the circular pool below 
 where its delicious warmth was retained by pipes at 
 the bottom gushing forth hot water. Couches cov- 
 ered with piles of wondrously colored cushions stood 
 on either side of the pool, and some of the unfor- 
 tunate male eunuchs and female slaves whom Bess 
 Courtney had seen in the tower-chamber were on hand 
 attired only in breech-clouts, to serve the coldest of 
 sweet-scented sherberts, or the hottest of hot cups 
 of tea, lumps of sticky sugar, whitened figs and mar- 
 rons, candied melons, preserved ginger, and Turkish 
 delight. Others, when the Mandarin and his maid 
 had concluded their languid floating about in the per- 
 fumed pool, waited to annoint, knead and massage 
 their bodies with fragrant oils.
 
 THE SECRET STAIRWAY 259 
 
 While others again, the most important these 
 graver folk in spotless white robes and sandaled feet 
 awaited in a sort of silken tent nearby, just wide 
 enough for the Mandarin to lie at length on the couch, 
 his head on piles of cushions, with his maid's shining 
 hair within reach of his hand, while opposite sat the 
 man and women in white; one to prepare the next 
 pill of opium while the other applied the one previ- 
 ously prepared to the clay blowl of the great bamboo 
 pipe, and held it to the Mandarin's lips or the maid's. 
 
 This man knew just how much or how little was 
 needed for the euphoria in each and everyone. He 
 watched their eyes, their lips, the movement of their 
 hands. To give too much or too little was fatal. To 
 make a mistake in amount needed, to mistake and give 
 pain instead of pleasure, might mean his death were 
 the guest so influential a noble that the spoiled evening 
 of pleasure disarranged the plans of the slave's mis- 
 tress, the Dowager. 
 
 For it was her experience that wisdom departed 
 from men properly drugged with sweets and scents 
 and soporifics. And of all, the last was the most 
 important; the opium euphoria which gave all things 
 the appearance of beauty and even the most mercenary 
 of sex-satisfaction the divinity of love.
 
 260 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 In such a place as this there must be necessarily 
 few watchers to remind the guests they were under 
 guard. 
 
 So such attendants as there were, in halls and pas- 
 sages were but poor weak things, servants rather than 
 guards. Before Wrenne and his men had been in 
 the palace more than a few odd moments, ten of the 
 Pleasure Guardians had died in the dark. Nor known 
 how they had died, so silently and stealthily had they 
 been stalked by those crouching tigers, Thsang and 
 the like. When Wrenne found out how harmless 
 they were, he gave orders that no knives were to be 
 used but that the poor painted sexless folk should be 
 mercifully stunned with brass pistol butts. For Ysobel 
 Arling had opened the mouth of a dead guard and 
 showed him that the poor sexless creature was dumb. 
 And, when Wrenne's rage made him speechless, and 
 she faltered out some of the details of the devilish sur- 
 gery that had made the poor painted eunuch sexless as 
 well as dumb, and not always from birth, he realized 
 from her terror-stricken tones something of the full 
 enormity of what was planned for Bess if she stood 
 stanch. 
 
 It was then he became a raging madman. Yet 
 withal he did not forget he was a military commander. 
 . . . Now, holding two stairways, none might ap-
 
 THE SECRET STAIRWAY 261 
 
 proach or depart from the pagoda-roofed tower. The 
 tower overlooked all points of the Pleasure City 
 and was its inner mystery of mysteries. And Liang- 
 Hiao, having heard Ysobel Arling falteringly ex- 
 plain, whispered to Wrenne as he stood on its stairs 
 tales of the scientific atrocities that kept from its 
 vicinage all not peremptorily ordered to attend there. 
 
 "Smite and spare not," said the Manchu Chief in 
 the native tongue. "Men or women none are inno- 
 cent here. Remember the poor painted folk and spare 
 none. I will hold the stairs. None shall interfere 
 with justice. Even if it is the old She- Wolf herself 
 smite and spare not." 
 
 He saluted and went noiselessly down the stairs. 
 
 The thought of the pitifully painted mouths that 
 concealed such malformity stirred Wrenne to insen- 
 sate fury. Jerking at jeweled belt and golden lan- 
 yard, he tore his sword from its sheath of soft leather. 
 It was the straightest of stark blades, razor-keen of 
 point. Cut like a diamond with numberless facets, it 
 had two razor-keen cutting edges, and stiletto-like 
 murderous point besides. Did that point but enter 
 a man's body the veriest child's weight behind it might 
 make an end of him. With this in his hand Wrenne 
 tore up the stairs. 
 
 The huge Manchu, Thsang, followed, herding
 
 262 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 Ysobel Arling who shrank before his grinning face 
 and drawn knife. 
 
 Now outside the lofty room at the top of the 
 pagoda-roofed tower; now that they were so nearly 
 at the end of their quest, she gasped in silent terror 
 as she felt Thsang's hot breath against the nape of 
 her neck. They stood in the hall, through the painted 
 doors of which the painted people had poured that 
 Bess might see how the She-Devil treated her slaves. 
 
 The doors were shut, the hall dark now. Even 
 though the Arling woman knew every foot, she 
 stumbled like a child in the dark, afraid. Within was 
 he whose fiendishly cruel punishment she knew she 
 must expect for her treachery unless he himself was 
 killed. Without was the grinning Thsang and that 
 personification of raging fury Black Wrenne. 
 
 "God damn their souls," he gnashed out between 
 teeth grinding together. "Open the lattice; open the 
 lattice." 
 
 But the woman's fingers palsied with fear made 
 impossible her finding and manipulating the hidden 
 spring. His diamond keen sword, held bent between 
 his two tense, trembling, gauntleted hands, touched 
 by some sheer instinct the place where the door should 
 be and it flew straight again. 
 
 "Thsang, the torch," he muttered. The Manchu's
 
 THE SECRET STAIRWAY 263 
 
 eyes followed the blade, silver white in the light of 
 the electric torch, and thrust his broad-bladed knife 
 between the panels. A rending, splintering sound fol- 
 lowed the pressure of his body upon the thick strong 
 steel. As the panel was forced outward, Wrenne 
 thrust the torch and the crucifix hilt of his sword into 
 Ysobel Arling's hands and caught the outward bent 
 panel with both hands. 
 
 The broad-bladed knife was thrust into its sheaf 
 and to the weight of Wrenne's body and the force 
 of his hands was added the terrific power of the 
 Manchu giant's thews and sinews. His tight military 
 tunic was rent apart and fell loose in two torn strips 
 from his shoulder-blades. Almost at the same time 
 the panel snapped with a sound like a bomb exploding. 
 It exposed a space large enough for Thsang to push 
 the girl through into the darkness. She had just 
 enough strength left to point Wrenne's torch toward 
 the sable curtains that covered the folding-doors be- 
 yond. Wrenne leaped in after her and seized his 
 sword from her hand. Thsang was quick enough to 
 seize the torch before she collapsed and they heard 
 her body thud on something soft, then all was quite 
 still. 
 
 Not for long, however. This second noise was too 
 noticeable for those within to ignore. The lattice-
 
 264 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 like doors of the inner room slid back. At the sound 
 of movement behind them, Thsang's torch snapped 
 out. 
 
 The face of Sugiyama appeared between the sable 
 curtains. Instantly he dropped to his knees and dis- 
 appeared. Wrenne's eyes followed him mechanically 
 almost, if only to forget what the opening doors had 
 revealed : a thing of horror. The operating table . . . 
 a white-clad surgeon in a hospital gaberdine, opposite 
 him, a skeleton-thin man in a blue-linen belted robe. 
 Both had cruel high cheek-boned Tartar faces. The 
 male nurse held fast to an anesthesia cap, pressing it 
 down hard upon an upturned face. . . . Almost 
 touching her, his face bent low, leaned the gaberdined 
 Tartar, the glint of the operating light upon a thin 
 slice of shining steel. Apparently only Sugiyama had 
 suspected and feared. . . . 
 
 It had been some time since Bess had recovered 
 consciousness to find herself lying on the operating- 
 table and to have Sugiyama explain what they meant 
 to do. They had no desire to make her like one of 
 the painted folk she had seen. But unless she gave 
 up the keys. . . . 
 
 Thsang heard the muffled sob of his Chief, the 
 only man or woman for that matter who had ever 
 won the fierce affection of this human bull-dog. He
 
 THE SECRET STAIRWAY 265 
 
 plucked out the heavy, brass-butted pistol of the same 
 name, and snarling animal-fashion through his bared 
 fangs, let it bark twice. Before they had realized the 
 danger in the disappearance of Sugiyama the scalpel 
 fell from the surgeon's hand, the conical cap from 
 that of the male nurse. He followed his cap to the 
 floor where he lay face downward. From his hair 
 there crept something like a dark and aimless snake, 
 thin at first but growing thicker as it grew longer, 
 zig-zagging across the polished floor. 
 
 As for the Tartar surgeon, he still held himself 
 stiffly erect, staring. But Thsang's "bull-dog" barked 
 for the third time within the minute and he fell on 
 his knees, then, like a jack-in-the-box, shot up, col- 
 lapsed and fell over backwards against the operating 
 light. It crashed over with him, leaving the room in 
 darkness again. 
 
 Wrenne had not moved a muscle nor blinked an 
 eye since Thsang had heard him sob when he saw 
 Bess lying there. His eyes, had not the kindly dark- 
 ness hidden them, would have seemed as dead as the 
 surgeon's, so utterly expressionless was their stare. 
 Now, like a corpse galvanized, he moved swiftly, 
 almost as if he saw in the dark. One knee bent for- 
 ward, his left leg bent back diagonally, his left arm 
 parallel with it, the hand flat against the hip the
 
 266 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 swordsman's posture Wrenne lunged and the dia- 
 mond-pointed many-faceted sword met human flesh 
 in its way and pierced it through. The thrust had 
 met the breast of Sugiyama, kneeling in the dark- 
 ness, crouched ready to spring, and who now tumbled 
 back with an inch or so of cold steel protruding from 
 his shoulder. 
 
 Sugiyama never had the chance to use his own 
 weapon. As Wrenne's sword was withdrawn, his claw- 
 ing hands fastened savagely about his antagonist's 
 knees and brought him tumbling down atop of him. 
 Sugiyama writhed, blood pouring from his wound. 
 The butt of the automatic he carried thrust in his high 
 waistband beneath his loose robes, had deflected the 
 sword-point from a vital part. But weak as he was 
 from the loss of blood he had done the worst thing 
 lor himself brought to close quarters a foe whom the 
 sight of Bess had robbed of all desire to live, who 
 had but one desire to kill. 
 
 To this end he had shortened his sword even as 
 he fell, and now, while Sugiyama, seeing his mistake 
 too late, tugged at his automatic, Wrenne's diamond- 
 faceted sword, handled like the stiletto its point so 
 much resembled, drove downward through thews and 
 sinews, flesh and bone, and the sanguinary flood that
 
 THE SECRET STAIRWAY 267 
 
 stained his hand gushed from a heart that had stopped 
 beating. 
 
 Then, mechanically, still as if he saw in the dark, 
 he moved toward the operating table and took the 
 senseless girl in his arms. Thsang, yet to know who 
 had conquered, flashed on the light and saw his chief 
 as he kissed her lips. They were cold, icy cold. He 
 dared not open them. Another broken sob forced 
 itself through his clenched teeth. 
 
 "Take her, Thsang," he sobbed. "The other man 
 is in this room. Let me kill him, let me kill him 
 my self. Take her to Peking take her away. I 
 trust you, Thsang. Leave the others. Take her safely 
 to Peking if you love me." 
 
 "One moment, my Colonel," answered Thsang, and 
 as tenderly as any woman, the big Manchu motioned 
 his Chief to hold the girl in his arms while he climbed 
 through the broken panel. Then he took her from 
 him and gave him the electric torch. 
 
 "But," demanded Thsang in his native tongue, for- 
 getting his English in his emotion, "you what will 
 you do?" 
 
 Wrenne answered him dully in the same language. 
 "Make sure no one is left alive in this tower. Only 
 then shall I know peace, if if " 
 
 But he could not bring himself to voice his fears.
 
 268 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 He dared not admit even to himself that he may 
 have been too late ! And if so, Bess Bess no ! He 
 dared not! 
 
 His hands gripped the muscles of the big Manchu's 
 shoulder. 
 
 Thsang's voice was husky as he muttered his fare- 
 wells and stumbled toward the stairs.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 THROUGH THE PEKING GATES AGAIN 
 
 DAY broke on a gray world. What little light 
 struggled sullenly through masses of sullen 
 clouds outlined the long weary road back 
 home, which might never have been a moon-path for 
 the little it looked like one now. A storm had broken 
 since they passed that way and the great North Road 
 into Peking was littered with saplings, bushes and 
 branches of bigger trees sticky with sap. The road 
 itself was one great morass filthy with the long-laid 
 odors of yesteryear. . . . Through this the horses of 
 VVrenne's troopers picked their way wearily. 
 
 They must have gone slowly, however, whether they 
 willed it or not, for besides the drugged body of 
 Bess, two of Thsang's brothers carried, across cantle 
 of saddle and in crook of bridle arm, two of their 
 wounded companions, who, having reached the limit 
 of endurance were entirely unconsciousness of their 
 rescuer's arms. . . . Others, whose hurts had not
 
 270 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 been as serious, envied them this, at least. For every 
 thud of their mounts meant misery. 
 
 A far different company this from those gasconad- 
 ing cavaliers who had come forth to conquer only a 
 few hours ago. Bedraggled, spiritless, dull-eyed, re- 
 duced in numbers, with many more wounded, their 
 desire for rest, sleep and food approached mania. 
 
 There had been an unexpected attack upon their 
 exit from subterranea, an ambush of the Pleasure 
 City's guards. Man to man, superiority aside, it must 
 be remembered that only two at a time could ascend 
 the spiral stairway. So that before there had been 
 mustered a sufficient quota to withstand successfuly 
 so sudden and surprising an attack by twice their 
 numbers, many of the earlier ones to emerge lay life- 
 less near the shrine. . . . 
 
 Death. . . . Death . . . death. 
 
 Wherever Wrenne's mind wandered on that dull 
 gray morning he seemed to hear the whirring of the 
 Omi-Angel's sable wings. . . . 
 
 The Lieutenant-Colonel of the Manchu mercenaries, 
 the chivalrous Sir Liang, knew the prayer of his chief 
 had so long disallowed his lips. 
 
 "I suffer every pang with you, very dear friend of 
 mine," said this Chinese gentleman, and the two 
 friends gripped hands. Liang's face was as impassive
 
 THROUGH PEKING GATES AGAIN 271 
 
 as ever, but there was that note in his voice that could 
 neither be assumed nor successfully imitated. And 
 there had been few who had called it forth. 
 
 But at last their horses' hoofs rattled on the bridge 
 and under the high pagoda-ed roof of the Great Gate 
 of Peking. And when Wrenne dismounted from his 
 horse at the hotel and took Bess from the arms of 
 Thsang, Sir Lang drew up his men, their sabers at 
 salute as he passed from among them. 
 
 He turned and faced them. "Thank you, my 
 friends," he said, brokenly.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 BY HER BEDSIDE 
 
 AN hour later, the doctors having long since 
 y^ gathered at her side, Wrenne sat outside Bess* 
 door shivering in the shadows. Finally un- 
 able to bear the torture of waiting any longer, he 
 opened the door softly and went in. A shaded light 
 on a night table (the curtains were drawn) showed 
 the girl's pale face among the pillows. 
 
 How little and frail, fragile and perfect, she looked 
 lying there, the curling lashes of her tightly locked 
 eyes like silken brush strokes of some marvelous 
 painter; her locked lips, too, the pale crimson of a 
 Japanese rose; the dusky wild strawberry bloom and 
 olive brown of her cheeks like old ivory tawny ivory 
 of an ancient miniature. One bare arm brown enough 
 and of peach-bloom roundness lay listlessly across the 
 soft silken black brocade that covered sheets soft 
 and white and warm blankets, blankets woven of the 
 fleece of the softest, youngest baby lamb all these 
 
 272
 
 BY HER BEDSIDE 273 
 
 brought from Wrenne's own bed in the Arbor of 
 Buddha's Hand. 
 
 On one side sat Van Duykinck, the American 
 doctor and on the other the English surgeon, Erasmus 
 Bertram, M.R.C.S., into whose keeping Wrenne had 
 long since delivered Bess. An American nurse in uni- 
 form hovered uneasily nearby. With Bertram on 
 the other side, was a motherly old English woman, 
 his unofficial assistant. At the foot of the bed one 
 of Wrenne's chief allies among the Reformers, 
 Chung, a grave and reverend monk of Dalai Lama's 
 own Lamassery sat cross-legged, his back to the foot- 
 board, eyes turned upward, fingers busy with an an- 
 cient and elaborate bit of inlaying called a "prayer- 
 wheel." Almost obscured and beside the drawn cur- 
 tain through which filtered the dusk of the gray morn- 
 ing, was Thsang, stoic-eyed, impassive faced, furtively 
 feeding with prayer-papers the sullen red glow of a 
 swinging iron brazier in which burned charcoal and 
 above which a pan of water bubbled that was steri- 
 lizing the English surgeon's glass syringe and steel 
 needles. . . . 
 
 Slowly Wrenne crept closer to the bed. The Ameri- 
 can vacated his place as he approached, refusing to 
 meet his gaze. Bertram also turned away, joining
 
 274 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 Van Duykinck in the farthest shadows. But all, he 
 knew, high or humble, watched him, shared his 
 woe. . . . 
 
 He leaned across to look at her more closely. 
 
 "Bess," he muttered hoarsely. "Forgive me, oh 
 God . . . forgive me for what I said that night 
 Bess." And then like the sleeping Beauty in the 
 fairy tale, her silken lashes trembled, her eyelids flut- 
 tered like frightened butterflies. Her dark brown 
 eyes like woodland pools deep in sedge, the starlight 
 on them, were suffused with an even darker look of 
 pain and suffering. 
 
 The sight of him seemed to trouble her, stirred 
 something deep down . . . half-forgotten. 
 
 "Hamilton, did you say you forgave?" 
 
 Her lips quivered and barely moved; that was all. 
 But somehow he heard what she had hardly whis- 
 pered; And when her eyelids drooped again, two 
 tears, like tears of blood, forced their way from their 
 corners. The curling, silken lashes, suddenly wet, lay 
 closer to her cheeks, almost as if they were painted 
 there. 
 
 "I forgive? Bess, it is for you to forgive 
 you . . ." 
 
 Suddenly he realized he had deceived himself; she
 
 BY HER BEDSIDE 275 
 
 had not spoken ; he had only thought she had ; it was 
 the sort of delusion pain-wracked minds are apt to 
 have. 
 
 "Did she speak? Did she?" 
 
 Neither Van Duykinck nor Bertram answered, but 
 the American took her pulse and nodded to the Eng- 
 lishman, who rubbed her arm with alcohol and injected 
 morphine from the glass syringe. 
 
 "Let her rest a moment. Then if you will try to 
 get her to open her mouth at least even even if 
 she does not speak !" He heard Bertram whisper it as 
 from afar. In the silence that followed, Wrenne 
 heard Thsang repeating in low savage tones, some 
 barbaric prayer to Kwanyin, and, as if in fear, Bess' 
 hands, those small capable hands, helpless now, flut- 
 tered toward Wrenne. As they clung, clammy with 
 the chill of fear, his voice rose and fell on a single 
 poignant note of animal pain. 
 
 ". . . Even if she does not speak." 
 
 He turned to his fellow American. "Can she speak? 
 Do you know the " he could not say it "the extent 
 of her injury and what can be done?" 
 
 "We have tried to find out ever since we were 
 summoned," Van Duykinck whispered, "but she keeps 
 her teeth tightly set. Her mind is like an infant's
 
 276 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 again. She does not remember us. You have been 
 the only one she recognizes, and even you she's evi- 
 dently puzzled about " 
 
 Thus the American. To which his English confrere 
 added: 
 
 "She may be bleeding internally. How can we tell ? 
 Speak to her as you would a child. She recognizes 
 your authority. We dare not attempt to force her 
 with such a terrible injury. Yes, Thsang has told us." 
 
 "Damn and double damn and God damn their 
 souls," the American broke in harshly. 
 
 "I will speak to her again," whispered Wrenne. 
 His voice was that of an old and broken man. He 
 pressed her cold hands. 
 
 "My darling, my darling. Let the doctors see. 
 Speak to me ; only open your mouth open it and try, 
 won't you, for my sake." 
 
 Obediently she unlocked her lips to obey him. 
 
 "Now Bertram, now Van Duykinck please," he 
 sobbed, and turned his head away. Then he released 
 her hands. Her pale lips quivered and again tears 
 came to her eyes. 
 
 He heard the low-pitched persuasion of the doctors. 
 Evidently she had acceded. Some technical instruc- 
 tions followed from Bertram. Van Duykinck was
 
 BY HER BEDSIDE 277 
 
 focusing the tall contrivance that would send a concen- 
 trated ray into her mouth and throat. Wrenne could 
 see the ray travel swiftly back and forth on the ceiling 
 like a sun-glass in the hands of a boy. Then . . . 
 evidently ... it was focused. 
 
 Wrenne stood as one stricken into stone. He could 
 sense the fact that no one was breathing ... no one. 
 
 A startled exclamation from Bertram; a jubilant 
 cry from Van Duykinck; a duet of incredible amaze- 
 ment. Silence again; the heavy intakes of breath on 
 the part of all in the room. 
 
 "In God's name " Wrenne began, not daring to 
 
 turn around. His shoulder was suddenly twisted, 
 himself twirled around, Bertram on one side, the 
 American on the other. 
 
 "Look," cried the latter, "look look look." 
 
 Without so much as "by your leave," he put one 
 knee on the great bed and opened Bess' mouth 'twixt 
 thumb and forefinger. As obediently as any child of 
 six, she obeyed his order to keep it open, looking 
 eagerly at Wrenne as if to make sure she was pleasing 
 him. 
 
 Wrenne stared. Stared piteously, afraid of not 
 understanding, afraid to try to understand.
 
 278 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 "But but she cannot speak. You saw her try. 
 They " 
 
 The American crossed swiftly to Wrenne's side to 
 explain their theory. He spoke in tones too low for 
 her to hear. 
 
 "Evidently you came just in time . . . probably 
 just about to operate . . . was the anesthetist . . . 
 I thought so ... hold the cone . . . you would have 
 remembered if the surgeon's scalpel had been stained, 
 wouldn't you? . . . you see now, eh?" 
 
 To each and every question of the American's, 
 Bertram, who had crossed to Wrenne's left, nodded 
 affirmation. 
 
 "But you must understand, old dear, that her last 
 awful thought was that she would never be able to 
 speak again, d'you see, old thing? That is all that is 
 wrong quite." 
 
 Thus the overjoyed Englishman. 
 
 "But she cannot " 
 
 "Quite! Quite. But you see, old dear, she well 
 so to speak her brain is still anesthetized. A type 
 of temporary amnesia, not exactly uncommon. Until 
 she comes out of it and Van and I will immediately 
 telegraph Charcot and the other Johnnies sharp and 
 do our best to overcome this idee fixe so to speak."
 
 BY HER BEDSIDE 279 
 
 "You see," explained Van Duykinck again, "she 
 believes she can't speak. And she will have forgotten 
 everything and everyone except apparently you.'' 
 But Wrenne heard no more. His face buried in 
 the pillow beside her, he had quietly fainted.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 TOGETHER ON THE GRAND CANAL 
 
 A MONTH or more after the bloodless revolu- 
 tion of which few without the walls of the 
 Three Cities were aware, and not many 
 within, a Chinese house-boat was sweeping along the 
 Grand Canal. It was propelled by a squat you-lou, 
 or sweep in the stern, which took the place of both 
 oars and rudder and was operated by barefooted men 
 who worked in shifts of four that were changed 
 every hour by the laouta or captain. He, himself, 
 took his orders from the big Manchu Thsang. When 
 there was any wind, which was not often, the great 
 lateen sail, dyed red, shaped like a leg of mutton, 
 whose spars were fastened midway along a stout young 
 pinetree mast, bellied forward and flapped sideways 
 and the you-lou men ceased from their perspiring 
 labors. 
 
 It was a comfortable craft, shaped like any ordi- 
 nary pleasure junk outside, but with plate-glassed cur- 
 tained windows enclosing the living quarters of its
 
 TOGETHER ON THE GRAND CANAL 281 
 
 owner and his wife an invalid who had been carried 
 aboard and who now lay on a many-cushioned couch 
 on the shady port side of the salon. The glass section 
 that walled it in had been released by the catch and 
 hung diagonally. Its silken curtains drawn aside, she 
 could see, from where she lay, all the life of the Grand 
 Canal, that great artery of China. 
 
 Boats boats boats. Compared to the Grand 
 Canal, the Erie is but a brooklet where boys sail toy 
 boats. There were the kickaway boats propelled by 
 treadmills like the paddles of old Mississippi steamers ; 
 treadmills propelled in their turn by the naked feet of 
 slaves. There were the big silk and rice junks, huge, 
 clumsy, high pooped, like the caravels the brothers 
 Pinzon furnished Columbus. There were the tanka 
 girls in their sampans, a type of clumsy row-boat, and 
 the sing-song girls in their gilded water chariots, 
 lounging luxuriously upon brilliant cushions beneath 
 gorgeously dyed awnings. More than often both of 
 these received flatteries and profitable inquiries from 
 the glittering mandarin boats. These were big flat- 
 bottomed affairs; their glass windows painted with 
 cranes and peacocks and dragons. Behind one of 
 these sat the Mandarin himself, either ham-faced 
 and clean-shaven or thin and wizened with long 
 straggling Tartar mustaches; his hat like an inverted
 
 282 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 bowl ornamented with the crystal button or peacock's 
 feather or the like, his hand with finger-nails several 
 inches long and protected by guards like the little gold 
 caps with which dentists cover defective teeth. 
 
 The invalid, wife of the owner of the big yantsu 
 junk, from where she lay on the couch saw these 
 hands with the gold-guarded finger-nails, point fre- 
 quently the fan they held so languidly in the direction 
 of some carmine, red-cheeked, green-jaded, glossy 
 black-haired sing-song girl, whose henna-stained 
 finger nails plucked at the strings of her san-hien. 
 And, remembering the painted folk of the Pleasure 
 Palace, Bess Courtney turned her head away. 
 
 No, not Bess Courtney. She had another name 
 now, the same as that of her campanion, the man who 
 sat on the silken rug at her feet, one hand holding 
 hers. Together during hours of silence, they had 
 watched the life of the river, and that of the flat 
 surrounding country, long stretches of green rice-fields 
 with tiny canals everywhere like streaks of silver when 
 the evening shadows fell. Here and there was a pi-lo, 
 a stone obelisk like a finger pointed to heaven which 
 was what it was, intended to be; for it was there to 
 keep devils away. Or else there was an ornamental 
 arch leading to a green pleasance above the river, and 
 gayly painted and set down amid dwarf cypress trees.
 
 TOGETHER ON THE GRAND CANAL 283 
 
 And every ten miles or so was an Arbor, a resting 
 place for the rich; a flight of stone steps, the lowest 
 one submerged except at low tide, or green with river 
 slime ; and leading to an inn, approached through four 
 pillars of imitation red lacquer, holding up a crenel- 
 lated green roof that curved downward to meet them, 
 its eaves within easy reach of the hand. 
 
 It was nightfall before either Bess or Wrenne spoke, 
 save for a "Yes" or a "No." It was she who finally 
 broke the silence. 
 
 "So you risked your life for me a thief " 
 
 "Don't, Bess!" 
 
 "And married me before I could explain; married 
 me while my mind was like a child's and might have 
 remained so forever. Hamilton, Hamilton what a 
 trump you are, my dear. I'm not worthy of you 
 
 "Don't Bess, don't. It is I who am unworthy. 
 
 She closed his lips with her kisses. 
 
 "I never knew men could love like that. Women, 
 yes; it is their affair, love. But me? Don't you 
 want me to explain now, dear one; explain how I 
 came to be the thief you called me " 
 
 "Can't you ever forgive me for that?" he broke in, 
 hoarsely. "Bess " 
 
 "Wait, Hamilton ! You were right. I was a thief.
 
 284 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 But I can explain." She silenced him with an up- 
 raised hand. ''Yes," a still, small voice went on, 
 "I can explain. That Chinese whose picture I painted 
 was the Chinese I took home at Roland Park 
 that day. The first time I ever saw you, Black 
 Wrenne you do remember? years ago. Yes, the 
 one Chu'un spoke of the exiled mandarin. And he 
 gave me the keys. You knew that. I told you long 
 ago. Afterward he died. Well, it was like this. 
 Before I thought of coming here, I found that Austin 
 had taken money given him by my aunts all they 
 had and lost it in speculation. We were very poor. 
 I couldn't make it up and it was all they had, the 
 poor old dears. And Austin asked me to use the 
 keys. I didn't want to use them, Hamilton. I didn't 
 want to; indeed, I didn't. But then came this chance 
 to paint the picture and I didn't refuse. Can't you 
 see? It was the family shame and the two old 
 women my aunts! And so I came. And then I 
 grew to love you, Hamilton, and I couldn't bring my- 
 self to use them couldn't. But while you were 
 wounded I thought of our prospects how little we 
 would have if you quitted China. And oh things 
 were so unsettled. And there are so many dependent on 
 me. So I went that night to th'e temple and took them 
 not many only enough to repay Aunt Malvinia and
 
 TOGETHER ON THE GRAND CANAL 285 
 
 Aunt Kitty, and something over for us to use. Can 
 you see and forgive? After all we promised one 
 another that glorious night, we discovered that we 
 cared." 
 
 He raised the sleeve of his coat and brushed his 
 eyes. 
 
 "There must be mutual forgiveness," he answered 
 at length. "It seems both of us promised too much 
 that night we found we loved one another. Promised 
 more than we could fulfill. We made a mistake 
 imagined our natures were to be utterly changed. 
 When I came out of my illness, I, too, wondered what 
 we should do away from China saw a black future 
 for us both. And so I went on with plotting. I " 
 
 He faced her. 
 
 "Yes, I did. I who raved and frothed when I found 
 you on the steps of the temple ; I who denounced you 
 God forgive me as a thief before giving you a 
 chance to explain; I I had gone back on all I had 
 promised you and had gone on with the plot. The 
 date of rising was set for that very night. I carried 
 the rockets in my hands which would give the signal 
 for the Reformers to rise throughout the Three Cities. 
 I loved you dearly. I wanted you and power too. 
 The stars put strange fancies in our heads that night 
 let us blame it on the stars."
 
 286 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 She put both hands on his shoulders. 
 
 "Hamilton, you do love me, don't you?" 
 
 He took her in his arms and his lips met hers 
 hungrily. 
 
 "You see, Bess," he went on, "it was neither the 
 ideal nor the physical. I couldn't have loved the 
 ideal for you aren't the ideal any more than I am, 
 but I love you just as much. We have confounded 
 love with a lot of musty platitudes. I don't love you 
 because you're good, or clever, or beautiful but just 
 because you're Bess; and you well, I suppose you 
 must love me for just the same reason. But we weren't 
 satisfied with the beautiful thing that love is in itself. 
 We had to tack on morals and fine frenzies, and copy- 
 book maxims when the real thing is so far beyond 
 our realization that when we tell one another of it, 
 we've only three puny, paltry, little words: words 
 cheapened and debased for thousands of years, by 
 every lecherous rascal in the world." 
 
 "The three little words are enough," she breathed 
 "when you say them, dear." 
 
 When she looked up at him he spoke, telling her of 
 the plot, the occurrences of the night, the deaths of 
 Chu'un and Ugichi ; touched lightly on her rescue ; her 
 loss of all memory except her remembrance of him; 
 their marriage when the doctors said her memory
 
 TOGETHER ON THE GRAND CANAL 287 
 
 might sleep for years; its awakening that morning- 
 while she lay in his arms. 
 
 "And now/' he concluded, "Peking, all China, is 
 ours for the moment that is. Old Yuan-Shi-Kai, 
 China's greatest man since Confucius, rules in the 
 name of our weakling Emperor. On the surface all is 
 the same. The new China is with us : the men educated 
 overseas, at Oxford, Harvard, St. Cyr. Not damn 
 fool democrats, thank God. China will never split 
 on that silly rock. Not democratic donkeys, but 
 benevolent autocrats, men whose one thought is 
 to give the best that is in them to their country. Since 
 the Old She-Wolf's attempt to murder her old-time 
 puppet, Kwang-Hsu, has been discovered (we per- 
 mitted her assassin to get within reach of the Emperor 
 apparently before we nabbed him) ; Tze-Hsi is 
 practically a prisoner. Her Pleasure-Palace has been 
 taken from her and she is shut up in the Jehol 
 afar from Peking. She will never harm us again." 
 
 "And the Emperor?" 
 
 "Poor puppet!" said Wrenne somberly. "But he 
 will be happier now than he ever was before. The 
 world at large will never know that Kwang-Hsu was 
 forced, practically, to abdicate his throne. In the 
 sight of the world he will continue emperor but over
 
 288 DOOR OF THE DOUBLE DRAGON 
 
 a different China. For China will be rid at last of the 
 harpy, Tze-Hsi, who has sucked its blood for so long." 
 
 He laughed whimsically as he turned his face to her. 
 
 "And so good comes out of evil, little girl. Good 
 for China out of my evil and yours. It's only an 
 ethical thing, this question of right and wrong. We 
 are safe only when we follow our strongest instincts. 
 If I had abandoned my share in the plot, China would 
 have been given over to Japan. Had you renounced 
 your theft, you would have brought starvation and 
 dishonor on your family. And for what? That a pair 
 of idealistic fools ourselves might drift aimlessly 
 about the world and commend our consciences !" 
 
 He reflected for a long time as day faded into the 
 luminous dark of a night of stars, their light reflected 
 on the water in long broken lines like that of the boat's 
 multi-colored lanterns. 
 
 "And in time," he said reverently, "when the peo- 
 ple have learned enough, there will be some sort 
 of a real republic a bloodless one, please God. And 
 it comes so much the sooner because I we were 
 not ethical, Bess." 
 
 "Thank God we were not!" she said, soberly. 
 "Thank God for the good that came out of our evil! 
 And thank God that what we love in one another is 
 what we are a willful woman, a heavy-handed man !
 
 TOGETHER ON THE GRAND CANAL 289 
 
 We do love one another for just that don't we, 
 dear?" 
 
 He raised her hands to his lips, and they sat for a 
 long time in the starlit darkness, his head still bowed 
 over them. 
 
 THE END

 
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