The Golden Scorpion

papers. Then from the tobacco jar he loaded his pipe, but his manner remained

him. She was the most fragrantly lovely creature he had ever met, and never for one waking moment since her first visit, had he succeeded in driving her bewitching ima

blood in her veins. Although she was quite young, apparently little more than twenty years of age, she dressed like a woman of unlimite

be a Frenchwoman, but an unmarried French girl of good family does not make late calls, even upon a medical man, unattended. Had he perchance unwittingly made himself a party

guised princess if I wonder about

e for the MS. of his unfinished paper on "Snake Poisons and Their Antidotes." By chance he pulled out the brief

t some feature of the experience was missing from his written account, he could not identify the omission. But one memory arose starkly before him-that of the cowled man who had stood behind

in his desk that was worth stealing!" he said aloud

nt aside and turned t

e knock a

ut the next moment he had turned, eage

Dunbar has

uart, repressing another

d his hair untidily. He was iron grey and a grim mouth was ill concealed by the wiry moustache. The most notable features

s voice was pleasant and unexpectedly

nspector," Stu

table in the armchair

eached out a long arm for the tobacco jar. "I came to see i

uart, a keen professional look c

detective-to whom Keppel Stuart's unusual knowledge of poisons had been of servi

om the inside pocket of his tweed coat a bulging note-book and extracted therefrom some s

doctor," he said, "an

length, it formed a crescent made up of six oval segments joined one to another, the sixth terminating in a curled point. The first and largest segment ended jagge

ment of jewellery-possibly

tossed the match-end into the fire.

ly, because I cannot imagine any woman wearing su

"The tail of a scorpion! I thought so! And Sowerby would have

in the originals but in such a miniature reproduction as this. H

ell. You've travelled in the East and lived in the East-two very different things. Now, while you were out the

his chin with the mouthpiece of his

ey-and-soda, Inspector,

ng on the side-table

elf with syphon and decanter. Presently he returned, carrying two full glass

rest you. It wanted but a few minutes to sunset, and I was anxious to get back to my quarters before dusk fell. Therefore I hurried up my boy, who was drawing the rickshaw, telling him to cross the Canal by the

, master!' he whispered.

aring up the slope I say that it was entirely deserted except for one strange figure at that moment crossing the crown of the bridge and approaching. It was the figure of a t

ing hi

n wonder, when the boy, seeming to divine the other's appro

ing to the man

boy had snatched up the shafts and darted across the bridge as though all hell were after him! Here's the odd thing, though; I could never induce him to speak a word on the subject afterwards! I bullied him and bribed him, but all to no

ueer yarn, certainly. How lon

y-five

to a scorpion. I was so puzzled that I saw the Commissioner about it, and he could tell me next to nothing. He said the word had come through from Paris, but that Paris seemed to know no more about it than we did. It was associated in some way with the sudden dea