  “Biff!” Charles Keene shouted his nephew’s name hoarsely. He crossed the room and placed his hands on Biff’s shoulders. Strangely, the guards made no move to stop him. “Gee, Uncle Charlie—” Biff broke off. He felt his voice choke up and knew he wasn’t far from tears. This, he told himself, would never do. Not in front of the leering Ping Lu. “I’m sure glad we found you, sir. Chuba came with me.” Chuba was grinning at Uncle Charlie. “We find you okay, Sahib Charlie. You in good shapes?” “I’ve been very well cared for,” Uncle Charlie replied, stressing the word “very.” “Ping Lu has seen to that.” Uncle Charlie glanced at Ping Lu, then deliberately turned from him and bowed low to Tao Kwang. A fleeting smile crossed the Ancient One’s face. “Quite a reunion,” Ping Lu said. “And surely a most happy one.” “It would be, under different circumstances,” Charles Keene said. “Those circumstances can be altered to suit you and your nephew, Keene,” Ping Lu said. He added, “It is but a slight thing I ask you to do.” Charles Keene shrugged his shoulders. “Perhaps you would like to discuss it with your nephew. And I’m sure the Ancient One could advise you well.” Ping Lu clapped his hands. The door through which Charles Keene had entered opened again. Across the room came a tall, white-robed man. Biff glanced at the man, then stared hard at him. It was Palung, the Chinese who had attempted to kidnap him at the Rangoon airport. Palung didn’t even look at Biff. Biff’s escape from him and his two knife-wielding thugs, had undoubtedly caused Palung to lose face. Certainly Palung must have been disgraced in the eyes of his superior, Ping Lu. “Show our guests to the large court. They have much to talk about. And be sure this time the young one doesn’t get away.” The expression on Ping Lu’s face, the bark in his voice plainly said, “That’s an order.” The two guards who had escorted Charles Keene into the room took their positions behind the three. A short, crisp sentence came from Ping Lu’s lips. The Ancient One arose from his chair and joined them. Palung led them from the room. The guards stayed close behind. The room they were taken to was large, but sparsely furnished. There were two wooden chairs, plain but sturdy. Low benches, used for sleeping, lined the walls. The door closed behind the four, and they could hear a key turning in the door’s lock. No one spoke for several moments. Then Biff went to the door to peer through its barred window. His stare was returned by a guard’s expressionless face. Biff turned back to rejoin the group. “All right, young man,” Charles Keene said. “Now suppose you just tell me how you happen to be here.” “I will, Uncle Charlie. But first, don’t you think we’d better check to see if this room is bugged?” “You’re right, Biff. Should have thought of that myself. There could very well be a microphone hidden in this room. I imagine Ping Lu would be most interested in what we’ll be talking about.” The inspection of the room took only a few minutes. The walls were bare. There were no light fixtures, no wiring. There was no place where a microphone could have been concealed. “Guess we’re safe from their ears,” Uncle Charlie said. “But why did they put us together? They’ve got some reason, I know.” Biff nodded his head. He picked up one of the chairs and placed it near the bench directly opposite the barred door. Chuba brought over the other one. Biff wanted to be as far away from the guard as possible. Plans had to be made. Biff didn’t want them upset by any eavesdropper. The two Americans and the two Chinese huddled by the wall. They spoke in low tones. Biff quickly sketched in his experiences since leaving Indianapolis. Then he plied his uncle with questions. “But what I don’t understand, Uncle Charlie, is why they would want to capture me? I’m sure that blinky-eyed Chinese was spying on me from the moment I left Indianapolis. Even before, according to your friend Ling Tang.” “You’re right, Biff.” “And then I’ve told you how they tried to put the snatch on me at the airport. But why?” “I can’t give you all the answers, Biff. I’m not sure of them myself. But I have a pretty good idea.” Charles Keene paused to light a cigarette. “I’ve been held here almost a month, now. Sort of lost track of the actual number of days. At first I thought they’d ship me off to Peking, the capital. But if I should agree to what Ping Lu wants me to, it would be a large feather in his cap. He’d become a big shot in the eyes of the big bosses in Peking.” “What does he want you to do?” Biff asked. “Just sign a paper.” “Sign a paper? Is that all?” Biff asked, disbelief in his voice. Charlie Keene nodded his head. “It would be quite a document, Biff. He hasn’t let me read it, but from what he has said, I get the message.” “But why the paper, Uncle Charlie?” “That’s what I’m not altogether sure of. I think Ping Lu believes—in fact, I know he does—he’s convinced that I came into China for a reason quite different from the real one. He believes the reason I gave him for daring to enter this forbidden country is merely a cover-up story for my real mission.” “What does he think you’re doing here?” Biff insisted. Charles Keene grinned. “He has me marked as a big fat spy.” An idea was buzzing around Biff’s mind. He thought he might have stumbled on why Ping Lu was spy-minded. But he’d tell Uncle Charlie about that later. He wanted to know some other things first. “But how does this all connect up with me?” Biff asked. “I figure it this way, Biff. I’m sure if Palung had been able to kidnap you, they’d have started putting the pressure on me much sooner. When you escaped, it upset their plans and their timetable. They had to have you to force my hand.” “To sign the paper, you mean?” “That’s right. They would have held you hostage. They would have promised to release you, unharmed, if I would agree to their demands.” “You wouldn’t trust them to live up to their promise?” “No. But more than that. I didn’t think they had you. Certain questions I asked led me to believe you were safe in Unhao.” “And now I turn up right in their own backyard.” “That’s about it. I expect now they’ll start turning up the heat.” “What do you figure is in this paper they want you to sign?” “I think, Biff, they want me to sign an official paper, stating that I came here under the orders of the United States Government to spy on the Chinese. Just what they think I was looking for, I don’t know.” “Would such a document be so damaging?” “Very. It would embarrass our government and put an additional strain on relations that are strained enough already. In the eyes of the world, the Chinese could use such a paper to further discredit our country. They would aim the propaganda at those countries that are wavering in their opinion of the U.S.” “Just why did you come into China? I think I know, but I’d like to be sure,” Biff said. “It goes back to Indianapolis and to my friendship with Ling Tang.” “I thought so.” “Ling Tang is a grandson of the Ancient One here. Before I left to come out to Burma, Ling Tang asked me if I would help him and members of the House of Kwang if the occasion should arise. Naturally, I told my old friend that I would. Didn’t know then, though, how much I was letting myself in for.” The Ancient One, although unable to understand English, pricked up his ears at mention of Ling Tang and the House of Kwang. “I’d been out here about three months when I got a letter from Tang telling me one of his brothers was going to try to escape from China. He was going to try to cross into Burma. He would seek me out, identifying himself with the ring which bears the seal of the House of Kwang.” “Like the ring that came through my window?” “That’s right, Biff. Tang’s brother did get out. He gave me the ring. I, in turn, sent it on to Tang in the States. Whenever another escape was about to take place, the ring was to be sent me to alert me of the fact. A lot safer than putting such information in writing.” “Then it was Ling Tang himself who got the ring to me so mysteriously!” Biff said. “Yes. You were to bring that ring to me, and then I would know that another Kwang was on the way out.” “But why didn’t you wait?” Biff asked. “Wait until I got here with the ring?” “I couldn’t. There’s an underground network that passes information along. From it, I learned that the Ancient One had finally been persuaded to seek haven and peace in the outside world. I also learned that he was in grave danger of being made a prisoner. If this happened, then all members of the House of Kwang would have to obey the orders of the Chinese Red government. The government believes that the House of Kwang has hidden valuables worth millions of dollars. If they took the Ancient One prisoner, the family would be forced to tell where these valuables are or never see the head of their family again. And you know how the Chinese worship and revere the head of the house.” Chuba sat silent, wide-eyed, as Charles Keene told his story. “It was foolish of me, I guess. But when I heard they were about to move in on the Ancient One, I decided on a gamble. I sent word back that I was flying in. They were to have the Ancient One ready. I’d pick him up and come out. I had the whole thing figured out. Wouldn’t take more than five hours in and out. I also figured on the element of surprise. No one would be expecting such a bold move.” “And what happened?” “Everything got fouled up. My starboard motor conked out. Carburetor iced up in the rarefied atmosphere. Couldn’t maintain flying speed and had to make a forced landing. Banged the plane up so I couldn’t take off again. And then, just as I was making a signal to Unhao, they grabbed me.” “That was you then. Your signal came the first morning I was in Unhao.” “So part of it did get through! I hoped it had.” Charlie continued his story. “I was brought here, and the next day, they brought in the Ancient One.” The conversation was cut short by the sound of the key turning in the door. It swung open, and a Chinese entered bringing food. Biff hadn’t realized how much time had passed. But now he realized he was ravenously hungry. As the servant placed the food on one of the benches, the guard stood just inside the door, his gun covering the prisoners. Nothing was said as they ate. All were famished. Biff raised his plate to scrape up the last few grains of rice. As he did so, his eye was caught by a small, square piece of thin paper stuck on the bottom of the plate. He removed the paper, and once more, saw the symbol “K,” the seal of the House of Kwang. Without a word, Biff handed it to the Ancient One. The old man looked at it. Now it was his time to talk as the Americans and Chuba listened. |
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