The Five Knots
Page 22
*CHAPTER XXII*
*FROM EAST TO WEST*
There was something almost pathetic in the way in which Uzali utteredthe few words which passed his lips. His face was devoid of all traceof anger, his dark eyes had grown very sad.
"I am afraid you will hardly understand me," he said. "It is almostimpossible for Western people to enter into the thoughts and ambitionsof the East. You would hardly suppose, to see me sitting here in theheart of London, surrounded by these evidences of civilization, that Iam a man who has set his heart upon the remaking of a nation. And yet,up to a few moments ago, that ambition was as strong and keen as ever.And now it has been dispelled like a dream. But, perhaps, I had betternot talk in this poetic strain. Three or four years ago I came toEngland to see if I could come to terms with the Government. You see,both my brother and myself had been educated here, and we thought it wasjust possible that the British Government would take our province undertheir protection. We had talked it over scores of times, and at last Icame to England to see what I could do. It is about three years sincethe news of the catastrophe came to me, and even then I learnt itthrough the medium of one of the newspapers. I suppose the Press didnot think it worth more than a paragraph, which merely told of thedisaster of the lake and how the tribe to which it belonged had beenswept out of existence. Mind you, I did not think there was anythingwrong. It seemed not unnatural that some great storm might sweep thedam away, and then the rest would have been a mere matter of minutes.But I was not satisfied. I went to Borneo to make inquiries, andeventually I found two survivors of the disaster. Then it was Idiscovered what had taken place. I can assure you, from that time tothis I have done nothing but investigate and investigate till, by slowdegrees, I have hit upon the right track. But tell me, gentlemen, howdid you find me out?"
"We didn't find you out at all," Mercer said. "The thing was pureaccident. We discovered that some of your tribe were bent upon wreakingtheir vengeance on Samuel Flower, and as my friend Russell was so mixedup in the matter he determined to see the thing through. It was themerest coincidence that we met you at the theatre to-night."
"I see," Uzali said. "Well, gentlemen, if you will help me I willpromise to help you. But even as yet you don't quite appreciate wherethe danger lies. Everything is in the hands of those two clansmen ofmine. If they are here on their own responsibility and I can gainspeech with them, I may prevent murder. But if, on the other hand,these men are here as the emissaries of our priests, then it is littleheed they will pay to me. If I were to sit here talking to you allnight I could not impress upon you the influence which our priestsexercised over our people. But at any rate, I can try. If you willboth come with me to a place in the East End of London----"
"Impossible so far as I am concerned," Russell said curtly. "I haveother and much more important work to do. But there is no reason whyMercer should be home before Saturday evening, and I daresay he will beglad to keep you company."
"Anything where I can oblige," Mercer said.
Uzali rose hurriedly to his feet.
"Then there is no more to be said for the present," he exclaimed. "Isuppose Dr. Mercer knows where to find you if necessary. Now, if youwill give me a few moments I will change my dress."
Russell had gone by the time Uzali came back. The latter had changedinto a thick pilot suit with a blue cap which came well below his ears.A short clay pipe in his mouth gave him the aspect of the foreign typeof seaman generally to be found loitering about the docks, and along thewharves about Limehouse.
"We are going into some queer company," he explained. "I had bettergive you a cap like my own to wear and a shabby overcoat. If we haveany luck we shall be on the track of our friends before daylight. Wecan take a cab as far as Upper Thames Street and walk the rest of thejourney."
Uzali chuckled to himself as the first passing cabman looked at himkeenly and demanded to know where his fare was to come from. The sightof half a sovereign seemed to allay the cab-man's fears and he set hishorse going somewhat sulkily. When the cab was dismissed there was agood step yet to go before Uzali turned down a side street with the airof a man who appears to be sure of his ground, and knocked three timesat a doorway which was so far underground as to be more like theentrance to a cellar than anything else. A grating in the doorway waspushed cautiously back and a yellow, skinny face peeped through. It wasthe face of an elderly Chinaman scored and creased with thousands oflines, each line having the dirt ground into it, and the wholeresembling an engraving after Rembrandt. It was an old, cunning, wickedface, too, so that even Mercer, accustomed to all sorts and conditionsof men, recoiled at the sight.
Apparently the guardian of the door was satisfied, for he mumbledsomething in response to Uzali's question and opened the door. For amoment the atmosphere was unbearable. It smote Mercer with the strengthof a blow. He had had many adventures in various sinks of iniquity onthe four continents. He knew San Francisco and New York, Port Said andCairo, but never before had he encountered anything quite so bad asthis. He reeled to and fro and then sat down on the filthy door-step.As to Uzali, it seemed natural to him.
He was speaking a kind of pidgin English which Mercer could understand.He chinked some coins in his pocket which seemed to Mercer rather animprudent thing to do, for the yellow face lit up and the dark almondeyes gleamed with cupidity.
"They are not here, illustrious one," the Chinaman said. "On my soul beit if I do not speak the truth."
"But they have been here," Uzali persisted.
The Chinaman bowed till his forehead touched the filthy floor.Apparently he was placing his den and all it contained at the disposalof his visitor. Uzali took a step forward and shook him violently. Itseemed rather a dangerous thing to do, for the damp, stagnant floor ofthe room was littered with prostrate forms either in the full ecstasy oftheir opium, or drugged to a dreamless sleep by it. The Chinaman shookhis head again.
"One, two, three, four, five," said Uzali counting on his fingers, "six,seven, eight, nine, ten sovereigns if you find them for me this evening.I have the gold in my pocket. More money than you could make in a week.Now wake up, exert yourself. Surely you could find some one who cantell me where they have gone."
"'SURELY YOU CAN FIND SOME ONE WHO CAN TELL ME WHERE THEYHAVE GONE.'"]
The Chinaman pondered a moment with his long fingers in his grey beard.Then, once more he bowed and excused himself a moment whilst hedisappeared in the murky blackness at the back of the evil-smelling den.
"Dare you trust him?" Mercer asked.
"Bah, he would do anything for money," Uzali said contemptuously. "Hecould have told me in the first place if he liked."
"And your friends have been here to-night?"
"Yes, they have been here right enough, and I am rather glad of it forone thing. They would not be able to resist the opium, and when we docatch up with them they will be like children in our hands. We are notgoing to have our walk for nothing."
"I don't mind as long as we get outside this place," Wilfrid said. "Itseems impossible that anybody could live in an atmosphere like this. Ihope that Chinaman of yours isn't going to keep us here much longer."
After what seemed to be an interminable time the proprietor of the opiumden returned, accompanied by a fellow-countryman almost as wrinkled andquite as dirty as himself. It was only from the alertness of hismovements that the newcomer proclaimed the fact that he was much youngerthan the master of the ceremonies. His face was suspicious and sullen,and there was no sign of animation in his eyes till Uzali produced asovereign from his pocket.
"Malays," he said curtly. "North Borneo men. There were two or threeof them here this evening who have now gone. Show me where to find themand this piece of money is yours."
A transformation came over the cunning face of the listener. He heldout a lean, yellow claw which trembled violently as the piece of goldwas passed into it.
"You stay he
re, small piecie," he said, "and I go find. Maybe, smallpiecie be long piecie, and I find all le same."
"We had better go with him," Uzali suggested.
The Chinaman winked slightly and shook his head. Even the display of asecond piece of money failed to shake his determination, though his eyesfairly watered at the sight of it.
"No, no, I not go at all," he said sulkily. "All same piecie gold, goodthing, but life better still."
Uzali gave it up with a gesture of despair. There was nothing for it butto wait in that loathsome atmosphere till the messenger came back. Theminutes dragged along; a quarter of an hour passed and then themessenger returned. He held up his hand as a sign for the others tofollow.