leaving the dock gates behind me i tramped through the steady drizzle, going parallel with the river and making for the chinese quarter. the hour was about half-past eleven on one of those september nights when, in such a locality as this, a stifling quality seems to enter the atmosphere, rendering it all but unbreathable. a mist floated over the river, and it was difficult to say if the rain was still falling, indeed, or if the ample moisture upon my garments was traceable only to the fog. sounds were muffled, lights dimmed, and the frequent hooting of sirens from the river added another touch of weirdness to the scene.
even when the peculiar duties of my friend, paul harley, called him away from england, the lure of this miniature orient which i had first explored under his guidance, often called me from my chambers. in the house with the two doors in wade street, limehouse, i would discard the armour of respectability, and, dressed in a manner unlikely to provoke comment in dockland, would haunt those dreary ways sometimes from midnight until close upon dawn. yet, well as i knew the district and the strange and often dangerous creatures lurking in its many burrows, i experienced a chill partly physical and partly of apprehension to-night; indeed, strange though it may sound, i hastened my footsteps in order the sooner to reach the low den for which i was bound—malay jack's—a spot marked plainly on the crimes-map and which few respectable travellers would have regarded as a haven of refuge.
but the chill of the adjacent river, and some quality of utter desolation which seemed to emanate from the deserted wharves and ramshackle buildings about me, were driving me thither now; for i knew that human companionship, of a sort, and a glass of good liquor—from a store which the customs would have been happy to locate—awaited me there. i might chance, too, upon durham or wessex, of new scotland yard, both good friends of mine, or even upon the terror of chinatown, chief inspector kerry, a man for whom i had an esteem which none of his ungracious manners could diminish.
i was just about to turn to the right into a narrow and nameless alley, lying at right angles to the thames, when i pulled up sharply, clenching my fists and listening.
a confused and continuous sound, not unlike that which might be occasioned by several large and savage hounds at close grips, was proceeding out of the darkness ahead of me; a worrying, growling, and scuffling which presently i identified as human, although in fact it was animal enough. a moment i hesitated, then, distinguishing among the sounds of conflict an unmistakable, though subdued, cry for help, i leaped forward and found myself in the midst of the melee. this was taking place in the lee of a high, dilapidated brick wall. a lamp in a sort of iron bracket spluttered dimly above on the right, but the scene of the conflict lay in densest shadow, so that the figures were indistinguishable.
“help! by gawd! they're strangling me———”
from almost at my feet the cry arose and was drowned in chinese chattering. but guided by it i now managed to make out that the struggle in progress waged between a burly english sailorman and two lithe chinese. the yellow men seemed to have gained the advantage and my course was clear.
a straight right on the jaw of the chinaman who was engaged in endeavouring to throttle the victim laid him prone in the dirty roadway. his companion, who was holding the wrist of the recumbent man, sprang upright as though propelled by a spring. i struck out at him savagely. he uttered a shrill scream not unlike that of a stricken hare, and fled so rapidly that he seemed to melt in the mist.
“gawd bless you, mate!” came chokingly from the ground—and the rescued man, extricating himself from beneath the body of his stunned assailant, rose unsteadily to his feet and lurched toward me.
as i had surmised, he was a sailor, wearing a rough, blue-serge jacket and having his greasy trousers thrust into heavy seaboots—by which i judged that he was but newly come ashore. he stooped and picked up his cap. it was covered in mud, as were the rest of his garments, but he brushed it with his sleeve as though it had been but slightly soiled and clapped it on his head.
he grasped my hand in a grip of iron, peering into my face, and his breath was eloquent.
“i'd had one or two, mate,” he confided huskily (the confession was unnecessary). “it was them two in the blue anchor as did it; if i 'adn't 'ad them last two, i could 'ave broke up them chinks with one 'and tied behind me.”
“that's all right,” i said hastily, “but what are we going to do about this chink here?” i added, endeavouring at the same time to extricate my hand from the vise-like grip in which he persistently held it. “he hit the tiles pretty heavy when he went down.”
as if to settle my doubts, the recumbent figure suddenly arose and without a word fled into the darkness and was gone like a phantom. my new friend made no attempt to follow, but:
“you can't kill a bloody chink,” he confided, still clutching my hand; “it ain't 'umanly possible. it's easier to kill a cat. come along o' me and 'ave one; then i'll tell you somethink. i'll put you on somethink, i will.”
with surprising steadiness of gait, considering the liquid cargo he had aboard, the man, releasing my hand and now seizing me firmly by the arm, confidently led me by divers narrow ways, which i knew, to a little beerhouse frequented by persons of his class.
my own attire was such as to excite no suspicion in these surroundings, and although i considered that my acquaintance had imbibed more than enough for one night, i let him have his own way in order that i might learn the story which he seemed disposed to confide in me. settled in the corner of the beerhouse—which chanced to be nearly empty—with portentous pewters before us, the conversation was opened by my new friend:
“i've been paid off from the jupiter—samuelson's planet line,” he explained. “what i am is a fireman.”
“she was from singapore to london?” i asked.
“she was,” he replied, “and it was at suez it 'appened—at suez.”
i did not interrupt him.
“i was ashore at suez—we all was, owin' to a 'itch with the canal company—a matter of money, i may say. they make yer pay before they'll take yer through. do you know that?”
i nodded.
“suez is a place,” he continued, “where they don't sell whisky, only poison. was you ever at suez?”
again i nodded, being most anxious to avoid diverting the current of my friend's thoughts.
“well, then,” he continued, “you know greek jimmy's—and that's where i'd been.”
i did not know greek jimmy's, but i thought it unnecessary to mention the fact.
“it was just about this time on a steamin' 'ot night as i come out of jimmy's and started for the ship. i was walkin' along the waghorn quay, same as i might be walkin' along to-night, all by myself—bit of a list to port but nothing much—full o' joy an' happiness, 'appy an' free—'appy an' free. just like you might have noticed to-night, i noticed a knot of chinks scrappin' on the ground all amongst the dust right in front of me. i rammed in, windmillin' all round and knocking 'em down like skittles. seemed to me there was about ten of 'em, but allowin' for jimmy's whisky, maybe there wasn't more than three. anyway, they all shifted and left me standin' there in the empty street with this 'ere in my 'and.”
at that, without more ado, he thrust his hand deep into some concealed pocket and jerked out a chinese pigtail, which had been severed, apparently some three inches from the scalp, by a clean cut. my acquaintance, with somewhat bleared eyes glistening in appreciation of his own dramatic skill—for i could not conceal my surprise—dangled it before me triumphantly.
“which of 'em it belong to,” he continued, thrusting it into another pocket and drumming loudly on the counter for more beer, “i can't say, 'cos i don't know. but that ain't all.”
the tankards being refilled and my friend having sampled the contents of his own:
“that ain't all,” he continued. “i thought i'd keep it as a sort of relic, like. what 'appened? i'll tell you. amongst the crew there's three chinks—see? we ain't through the canal before one of 'em, a new one to me—li ping is his name—offers me five bob for the pigtail, which he sees me looking at one mornin'. i give him a punch on the nose an' 'e don't renew the offer: but that night (we're layin' at port said) 'e tries to pinch it! i dam' near broke his neck, and 'e don't try any more. to-night”—he extended his right arm forensically—“a deppitation of chinks waits on me at the dock gates; they explains as from a patriotic point of view they feels it to be their dooty to buy that pigtail off of me, and they bids a quid, a bar of gold—a jimmy o' goblin!”
he snapped his fingers contemptuously and emptied his pewter. a sense of what was coming began to dawn on me. that the “hold-up” near the riverside formed part of the scheme was possible, and, reflecting on my rough treatment of the two chinamen, i chuckled inwardly. possibly, however, the scheme had germinated in my acquaintance's mind merely as a result of an otherwise common assault, of a kind not unusual in these parts, but, whether elaborate or comparatively simple, that the story of the pigtail was a “plant” designed to reach my pocket, seemed a reasonable hypothesis.
“i told him to go to china,” concluded the object of my suspicion, again rapping upon the counter, “and you see what come of it. all i got to say is this: if they're so bloody patriotic, i says one thing: i ain't the man to stand in their way. you done me a good turn to-night, mate; i'm doing you one. 'ere's the bloody pigtail, 'ere's my empty mug. fill the mug and the pigtail's yours. it's good for a quid at the dock gates any day!”
my suspicions vanished; my interest arose to boiling point. i refilled my acquaintance's mug, pressed a sovereign upon him (in honesty i must confess that he was loath to take it), and departed with the pigtail coiled neatly in an inner pocket of my jacket. i entered the house in wade street by the side door, and half an hour later let myself out by the front door, having cast off my dockland disguise.
