The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu

y were in perfect order. It became more and more incomprehensible how anyone could have entered and quitted

an exhaustive examin

per beech, the grass and weeds were trampled and the surrounding laurels and r

" said Smith. "We c

to get at Caesar; his presence is dang

Redmoat? I am open to admit the possibility of someone's getting in during the day whilst the gates are open, and hidi

friend of her description of the thing which she ha

t us stick to what we can understand, and that may help us to a clearer idea of

interior of China, is warned by an official whose

ne of the Yellow group represen

presumably by his curious 'defenses.' An attempt in a train fails owing to Miss Eltha

Redmoat certain preparations are m

ath of Denb

heard and seen

eard and seen by

The prime object of these preparations, Petrie, was to enable someone to gain access to Eltham's room. The other events are incidenta

For Heaven's s

ut into the light

id in a hushed voice. "The object of that visit I hope we may

you; but do you think he has some incredible crea

ure in the known world to be hidden here. I b

e to report that he had examined the moat, the roadside, and the

moat last night, I think," he s

the neighborhood for traces of strangers, examinin

induce Fu-Manchu to abando

e. Furthermore, I have an idea that his arrangements are of such a character that they MUST go forward. He might turn aside, of cou

xact so severe a toll from one's nervous

ntal forecast; but that inactive waiting at Redmoat, for the blow which we knew full

c altar, with the priest's obsid

d so quickly. And it came suddenly enough; for there in that quiet Norfolk home we found ourselves at hand grips with one of the mysterious horrors

e of the scene gave the lie to my fears that we bordered upon tragic things. Then Caesar,

ence of the girl which prompted Denby to the rash act, a desire personally to distinguish himself. But, as I recalled afterwards, his gaze had rarely le

?" he yelled. "

edge of the shrubbery a shot sounded, and in

you enter the bushes from the west. Dr. Petrie, east. Edwards, Edwar

e gardener's voice from the lower gate, and I saw

se heart of greenwood. Then a loud cry-I th

nly broken by the ho

nium and heliotrope, and plunged in among the bushes and under the elms.

ed, and yet lo

ilence fe

tomed to gloom, and I could see fairly well what lay before me. Not daring to think

Eltham's voic

wards," I heard Nayland Smi

patch which marked a break in the elmen roof. At the foot of the copper beech I almost fell over Eltham. Th

ite still f

hispered through

re i

rds; I was too dazed with amazement

Vernon!

ng horrible about that vain calling, under the whispering beech,

the house came Ca

rapped Smith. "Ev

ut on to the lawn, a disordered company. Eltham's face

he said. "I could

mposed of stran

ally after a very brief delay; and ten minutes sufficed us to explore the entire shrubbe

he lawn, I thought that I ha

can we do?" he mutter

wer; for there was

where," said E

lose upon an hour we all searched. We searched every square yard, I think, within the wire fencing, and found no trace. Miss

race. One and then another would give up, until only Eltham and Smith were mi

rustic seat, and sank

a newly caged animal, snapping his

ntern and strode silently off across the grass and to the shrubbery once more. I followed him. I th

in he tripped and fel

the body of Denby

t conjecture. Mr. Eltham joined us, uttered one short, dry sob, and dropped upon his knees

was terrible. But the stark horror of the thing inspired him to that, which conceived earlier

are fools! LO

e dog-"

d his hand o

l lead us to it. If a MAN is there, he will fly! Why did we not think of it before. F

eme suc

on his errand when bells be

d Eltham, and

ming madly. "Above the moat," he panted. And w

a narrow ladder of thin bamboo joints and silken cord hanging by two

eamed Eltham. "

nd like a fury sprang out into the road. Straight and white it showed to the acclivity by the Ro

hissed Smith. "Without hi

aurel shrub cunningly affixed to its movable lid, which was further disguised with tufts of grass. A slender b

nts with them. They concealed themselves somewhere-probably in the shrubbery-and during the night made the cache. The excavated earth would be disposed of on the flower-beds; the dummy bush they probably had ready. You see, the problem of getting IN was never a big one. But owing to the 'defenses' it was impossible (wh

t was the Do

eyes like the eyes Miss Eltham

Manchu had planned to prevent Eltham's leaving England for

nd dragged down into the cache-to which he must have lain in such dangerous proximity as to render detection of the dummy bush possible in removing him. The quickest exp

his recovering consciousness and revealing the secret of the shrubbery. The ruse of rel

scent, consciously added not one fact to those we alrea

right of the first cervical curve of the spine, of a minute puncture-undoubtedly caused by a hypodermic syringe. Then, unconsciously, poor Denby furnished

symptoms was a mystery-a mystery which defied Western sc