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To-day, I was not the favoured one; to-day I had not been selected recipient of her confidences confidences sweet, seductive, deadly: but Abel Slattin, a plausible rogue, who, in justice, should be immured in Sing Sing, was chosen out, was enslaved by those lovely mysterious eyes, was taking to his soul the lies which fell from those perfect lips, triumphant in a conquest that must end in his undoing; deeming, poor fool, that for love of him this pearl of the Orient was about to betray her master, to resign herself a prize to the victor!
"Considering the importance of his proposal," I began, as the door closed, "you hardly received our visitor with cordiality." "I hate to have any relations with him," answered my friend; "but we must not be squeamish respecting our instruments in dealing with Dr. Fu-Manchu. Slattin has a rotten reputation even for a private inquiry agent. He is little better than a blackmailer "
"Yes, my dear," Slattin was saying, and through his monocle ogling his beautiful visitor, "I shall be ready for you to-morrow night." I felt Smith start at the words. "There will be a sufficient number of men?" Karamaneh put the question in a strangely listless way.
As I grew more accustomed to the gloom, I found myself staring at his office chair; once I found myself expecting Abel Slattin to enter the room and occupy it. There was a little China Buddha upon the bureau in one corner, with a gilded cap upon its head, and as some reflection of the moonlight sought out this little cap, my thoughts grotesquely turned upon the murdered man's gold tooth.
A shadowy figure uprose, and vaguely I made it out for that of a man in the unobtrusive blue serge which is the undress uniform of the Force. "Well?" rapped my companion. "Mr. Slattin returned ten minutes ago, sir," reported the constable. "He came in a cab which he dismissed " "He has not left again?"
Lawford told him. "Wal, it strikes me," Cap'n Amazon said, "that your tops'ls air slattin' a good deal. You ain't on the wind." "I am upset, I declare!" "Sure you got the right hooks this time?" "Yes. I believe so." "Then if your Merry Andrew what is she, cat-rigged or " "Sloop."
"Well, sir," the man continued more calmly, "the lieutenant " "The lieutenant!" began Smith; then: "Oh! of course; Slattin used to be a police lieutenant!" "Well, sir, he Mr. Slattin had a sort of hold on this Singapore Charlie, and two years ago, when he first met him, he thought that with his aid he was going to pull off the biggest thing of his life " "Forestall me, in fact?"
White-faced I saw him to be; for now Smith and I were racing up the steps. Ere we could reach him, Slattin, uttering another choking cry, pitched forward and lay half across the threshold. We burst into the hall, where Burke stood with both his hands raised dazedly to his head. I could hear the sound of running feet upon the gravel, and knew that Carter was coming to join us.
"Well, sir," the man continued, more calmly, "the lieutenant " "The lieutenant!" began Smith; then: "Oh! of course; Slattin used to be a police lieutenant!" "Well, sir, he Mr. Slattin had a sort of hold on this Singapore Charlie, and two years ago, when he first met him, he thought that with his aid he was going to pull off the biggest thing of his life " "Forestall me, in fact?"
Carter came in out of the darkness, carefully stepping over the recumbent figure; and the three of us stood there in the lighted hall looking down at Slattin. "Help us to move him back," directed Smith, tensely; "far enough to close the door." Between us we accomplished this, and Carter fastened the door.
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