Under the Chinese Dragon: A Tale of Mongolia

by F. S. Brereton

'Home,' said David. 'Yes, to Constable Hemming's. He's been here to arrange.'

'Home with me,' interrupted Mr. Jones, placidly. 'You must understand that you are an invalid as yet. You require care and comfortable surroundings. Not that I assert that Constable Hemming would deny you those; but you will obtain them to greater degree where I live, in the country, outside London. Hemming knows of the suggestion and approves. By the way, he's Sergeant Hemming now—promoted for his share in the work of capturing those men. Now I'll see the House Surgeon and get his report.'

'Oh, David?' said the latter, cheerily, when accosted by the solicitor. 'Davie is going strong; we've had him examined under the Roentgen Rays. The bullet struck the fourth rib on the left side, and ought to have killed him outright. But he has luck; he was born to be lucky it seems. The bullet turned along the rib, left it half way back, and emerged. The trouble with him is that the rib was fractured, and one of the broken ends pierced the lung. Hence bleeding from the mouth and other nasty and troublesome symptoms; but he'll do now if he takes it easy for another month. When can he go out, Mr. Jones? Let us say in a week's time.'

Accordingly David was driven away from the hospital at the termination of that period, deeply grateful for all the care and kindness shown him, and leaving many a friend behind. A motor car conveyed him to Mr. Jones' house, and thereafter he came under the care of that gentleman's wife. Three weeks later he attended the inquest on Henricksen, and there for the first time gave a description of how he had seen the burglars come into the store, and of how he had been forced to hide himself. Then followed the trial of the Admiral and of Spolikoff and Ovanovitch, the latter two having by then recovered from their wounds. Needless to say both Judge and jury highly commended the behaviour of our hero.

'Of course, we don't expect that you will care to come back to us,' said the manager of the store, when the trial was finished, 'though if you wish to come, we shall be glad to have you. But you are so well off now that you can look for something better. To begin with, our directors have handed me a cheque for one hundred pounds, to be paid at once to you.'

David coughed at the intimation. It made him breathe so deeply that his already healed wound pained him. 'One hundred pounds,' he gasped. 'That's enough to take me to China.'

'Hardly, I think; but there is some more. Spolikoff and Ovanovitch were much wanted by the police for extradition to their own country. They are a dangerous class of criminal who have infested this country of late. In Russia they were Anarchists, and are known to have held up and robbed a train. Russia became too hot for them, and so they came to these hospitable shores to continue robbing. There was a reward offered for their apprehension. You, of course, obtain that. The sum is three hundred pounds.'

Little wonder that David gasped again. When he agreed to remain on watch at the store he was almost penniless. True, he had a few pounds by him, as well as a bicycle, while there was always the small allowance which was due to him; but the prospect of earning much was by no means brilliant. And here were four hundred pounds—four hundred shining sovereigns, to do with as he liked, to pay his passage to China if he wished it.

'Then off I go to China!' he cried, when he had recovered from his astonishment at such good fortune. 'I'll sail on the first opportunity.'

'Which means that you will go when I, as your appointed guardian, allow you to do so,' exclaimed Mr. Jones, severely, endeavouring to hide a smile; for David's eagerness and enthusiasm delighted this gentleman. Mr. Jones was the sort of man whom a stranger would imagine never even smiled, much less laughed outright. David had himself always considered him somewhat of a wet blanket; but he did not know him so well then. As a matter of fact the solicitor was the prince of good fellows, and kind-hearted to a degree. And it was true that he had constituted himself David's guardian.