"Will you open the door?"
The manager agreed to do that. The bedroom was empty. The bed had not been
touched. But there was no evidence that the occupant did not intend to
return.
"We shall leave everything just as it is," said Dennison, authoritatively.
"I am her friend. If she does not return by one o'clock I shall notify the
police and have the young lady's belongings transferred to the American
consulate. She is under the full protection of the United States
Government. You will find out if any saw her leave the hotel, and what the
time was. Stay here in the doorway while I look about."
He saw the jade necklace reposing in the soap dish, and in an ironical
mood he decided not to announce the discovery to the Chinaman. Let him pay
for his cupidity. In some mysterious manner he had got his yellow claws on
those infernal beads, and the rogue Cunningham had gone to him with a
substantial bribe. So let the pigtail wail for his jade.
On the dresser he saw a sheet of paper partly opened. Beside it lay a torn
envelope. Dennison's heart lost a beat. The handwriting was his father's!