The Greatest Works of Earl Derr Biggers (Illustrated Edition). Earl Derr Biggers

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СКАЧАТЬ hesitated. "I—I did not need to dress," he explained. "I hadn't gone to bed."

      Hallet regarded him with a new interest. "Half past one—and you were still up?"

      "I—I don't sleep very well," said Amos. "I'm up till all hours."

      "I see. You weren't on friendly terms with your brother? An old quarrel between you?"

      "No particular quarrel. I didn't approve of his manner of living, and we went separate ways."

      "And stopped speaking to each other, eh?"

      "Yes. That was the situation," Amos admitted.

      "Humph." For a moment the captain stared at Amos, and Miss Minerva stared at him too. Amos! It flashed through her mind that Amos had been a long time alone out there on the lanai before the arrival of the police.

      "Those two servants who came down-stairs with you, Miss Winterslip," Hallet said. "I'll see them now. The others can go over until morning."

      Haku and Kamaikui appeared, frightened and wide-eyed. The Jap had nothing to tell, he had been sleeping soundly from nine until the moment Miss Minerva knocked on his door. He swore it. But Kamaikui had something to contribute.

      "I come here with fruit." She pointed to a basket on the table. "On lanai out there are talking—Mr. Dan, a man, a woman. Oh, very much angry."

      "What time was that?" Hallet asked.

      "Ten o'clock I think."

      "Did you recognize any voice except your master's?"

      Miss Minerva thought the woman hesitated a second. "No. I do not."

      "Anything else?"

      "Yes. Maybe eleven o'clock. I am sitting close to window up-stairs. More talking on lanai. Mr. Dan and other man. Not so much angry this time."

      "At eleven, eh? Do you know Mr. Jim Egan?"

      "I have seen him."

      "Could you say if it was his voice?"

      "I could not say."

      "All right. You two can go now." He turned to Miss Minerva and Amos. "We'll see what Charlie has dug up out here," he said, and led the way to the lanai.

      The huge Chinaman knelt, a grotesque figure, by a table. He rose laboriously as they entered.

      "Find the knife, Charlie?" the captain asked.

      Chan shook his head. "No knife are present in neighborhood of crime," he announced.

      "On that table," Miss Minerva began, "there was a Malay kris, used as a paper cutter—"

      The Chinaman nodded, and lifted the kris from the desk. "Same remains here still," he said, "untouched, unsullied. Person who killed carried individual weapon."

      "How about finger-prints?" asked Hallet.

      "Considering from recent discovery," Chan replied, "search for finger-prints are hopeless one." He held out a pudgy hand, in the palm of which lay a small pearl button. "Torn from kid's glove," he elucidated. "Aged trick of criminal mind. No finger-prints."

      "Is that all you've got?" asked his chief.

      "Most sincere endeavors," said Chan, "have revealed not much. However, I might mention this." He took up a leather bound book from the table. "Here are written names of visitors who have enjoyed hospitality of the house. A guest book is, I believe, the term. You will find that one of the earlier pages has been ruthlessly torn out. When I make discovery the volume are lying open at that locality."

      Captain Hallet took the book in his thin hand. "All right, Charlie," he said. "This is your case."

      The slant eyes blinked with pleasure. "Most interesting," murmured Chan.

      Hallet tapped the note-book in his pocket. "I've got a few facts here for you—we'll run over them later." He stood for a moment, staring about the lanai. "I must say we seem a little shy on clues. A button torn from a glove, a page ripped from a guest book. And a wrist watch with an illuminated dial on which the figure 2 was damaged." Chan's little eyes widened at mention of that. "Not much, Charlie, so far."

      "Maybe more to come," suggested the Chinaman. "Who knows it?"

      "We'll go along now," Hallet continued. He turned to Miss Minerva and Amos. "I guess you folks would like a little rest. We'll have to trouble you again to-morrow."

      Miss Minerva faced the Chinaman. "The person who did this must be apprehended," she said firmly.

      He looked at her sleepily. "What is to be, will be," he replied in a high, sing-song voice.

      "I know—that's your Confucius," she snapped. "But it's a do-nothing doctrine, and I don't approve of it."

      A faint smile flickered over the Chinaman's face. "Do not fear," he said. "The fates are busy, and man may do much to assist. I promise you there will be no do-nothing here." He came closer. "Humbly asking pardon to mention it, I detect in your eyes slight flame of hostility. Quench it, if you will be so kind. Friendly cooperation are essential between us." Despite his girth, he managed a deep bow. "Wishing you good morning," he added, and followed Hallet.

      Miss Minerva turned weakly to Amos. "Well, of all things—"

      "Don't you worry about Charlie," Amos said. "He has a reputation for getting his man. Now you go to bed. I'll stay here and notify the—the proper people."

      "Well, I will lie down for a little while," Miss Minerva said. "I shall have to go early to the dock. Poor Barbara! And there's John Quincy coming too." A grim smile crossed her face. "I'm afraid John Quincy won't approve of this."

      She saw from her bedroom window that the night was breaking, the rakish cocoanut palms and the hau tree were wrapped in a gray mist. Changing her dress for a kimono, she lay down under the mosquito netting on the bed. She slept but briefly, however, and presently was at her window again. Day had come, the mist had lifted, and it was a rose and emerald world that sparkled before her tired eyes.

      The freshness of that scene revivified her. The trades were blowing now—poor Dan, he had so longed for their return. The night, she saw, had worked its magic on the blossoms of the hau tree, transformed them from yellow to a rich mahogany, through the morning they would drop one by one upon the sand. In a distant algaroba a flock of myna birds screamed at the new day. A party of swimmers appeared from a neighboring cottage and plunged gaily into the surf.

      A gentle knock sounded on the door, and Kamaikui entered. She placed a small object in Miss Minerva's hand.

      Miss Minerva looked down. She saw a quaint old piece of jewelry, a brooch. Against a background of onyx stood the outline of a tree, with emeralds forming the leaves, rubies the fruit, and a frost of diamonds over all.

      "What is this, Kamaikui?" she asked.

      "Many, many years Mr. Dan have that. One month ago he gives it to a woman down the beach."

      Miss Minerva's eyes narrowed. "To the woman they call the Widow СКАЧАТЬ