Tales of Chinatown by Sax Rohmer (good books to read for 12 year olds TXT) π
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- Author: Sax Rohmer
Read book online Β«Tales of Chinatown by Sax Rohmer (good books to read for 12 year olds TXT) πΒ». Author - Sax Rohmer
βYes, a man named Cohen.β
βCohen?β
βA funny little chap,β continued the girl. βHe tried to make love to me.β She lowered her lashes roguishly. βI knew all along he was pretending. He was a thief, I think. I was afraid of him.β
Durham did some rapid thinking, then:
βDid you say his name was Cohen?β he asked.
βThat was the name he gave.β
βA man named Cohen, an American, was found dead in the river quite recently.β
Lala stopped dead and clutched his arm.
βHow do you know?β she demanded.
βThere was a paragraph in this morning's paper.β
She hesitated, then:
βDid it describe him?β she asked.
βNo,β replied Durham, βI don't think it did in detail. At least, the only part of the description which I remember is that he wore a large and valuable diamond on his left hand.β
βOh!β whispered Lala.
She released her grip of Durham's arm and went on.
βWhat?β he asked. βDid you think it was someone you knew?β
βI did know him,β she replied simply. βThe man who was found drowned. It is the same. I am sure now, because of the diamond ring. What paper did you read it in? I want to read it myself.β
βI'm afraid I can't remember. It was probably the Daily Mail.β
βHad he been drowned?β
βI presume soβyes,β replied Durham guardedly.
Lala Huang was silent for some time while they paced on through the dusk. Then:
βHow strange!β she said in a low voice.
βI am sorry I mentioned it,β declared Durham. βBut how was I to know it was your friend?β
βHe was no friend of mine,β returned the girl sharply. βI hated him. But it is strange nevertheless. I am sure he intended to rob my father.β
βAnd is that why you think it strange?β
βYes,β she said, but her voice was almost inaudible.
They were come now to the narrow street communicating with the courtway in which the great treasure-house of Huang Chow was situated, and Lala stopped at the corner.
βIt was nice of you to walk along with me,β she said. βDo you live in Limehouse?β
βNo,β replied Durham, βI don't. As a matter of fact, I came down here to-night in the hope of seeing you again.β
βDid you?β
The girl glanced up at him doubtfully, and his distaste for the task set him by his superior increased with the passing of every moment. He was a man of some imagination, a great reader, and ambitious professionally. He appreciated the fact that Chief Inspector Kerry looked for great things from him, but for this type of work he had little inclination.
There was too much chivalry in his make-up to enable him to play upon a woman's sentiments, even in the interests of justice. By whatever means the man Cohen had met his death, and whether or no the Chinaman Pi Lung had died by the same hand, Lala Huang was innocent of any complicity in these matters, he was perfectly well assured.
Doubts were to come later when he was away from her, when he had had leisure to consider that she might regard him in the light of a third potential rifler of her father's treasure-house. But at the moment, looking down into her dark eyes, he reproached himself and wondered where his true duty lay.
βIt is so gray and dull and sordid here,β said the girl, looking down the darkened street. βThere is no one much to talk to.β
βBut you have your business interests to keep you employed during the day, after all.β
βI hate it all. I hate it all.β
βBut you seem to have perfect freedom?β
βYes. My mother, you see, was not Chinese.β
βBut you wish to leave Limehouse?β
βI do. I do. Just now it is not so bad, but in the winter how I tire of the gray skies, the endless drizzling rain. Oh!β She shrank back into the shadow of a doorway, clutching at Durham's arm. βDon't let Ah Fu see me.β
βAh Fu? Who is Ah Fu?β asked Durham, also drawing back as a furtive figure went slinking down the opposite side of the street.
βMy father's servant. He let you in this morning.β
βAnd why must he not see you?β
βI don't trust him. I think he tells my father things.β
βWhat is it that he carries in his hand?β
βA birdcage, I expect.β
βA birdcage?β
βYes!β
He caught the gleam of her eyes as she looked up at him out of the shadow.
βIs he, then, a bird-fancier?β
βNo, no, I can't explain because I don't understand myself. But Ah Fu goes to a place in Shadwell regularly and buys young birds, always very young ones and very little ones.β
βFor what or for whom?β
βI don't know.β
βHave you an aviary in your house?β
βNo.β
βDo you mean that they disappear, these purchases of Ah Fu's?β
βI often see him carrying a cage of young birds, but we have no birds in the house.β
βHow perfectly extraordinary!β muttered Durham.
βI distrust Ah Fu,β whispered the girl. βI am glad he did not see me with you.β
βYoung birds,β murmured Durham absently. βWhat kind of young birds? Any particular breed?β
βNo; canaries, linnetsβall sorts. Isn't it funny?β The girl laughed in a childish way. βAnd now I think Ah Fu will have gone in, so I must say good night.β
But when presently Detective Durham found himself walking back along West India Dock Road, his mind's eye was set upon the slinking figure of a Chinaman carrying a birdcage.
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