"Well, I must admit, Joe, that I am not especially happy," replied Harry. "But what is it you have to say? Let's have it, quick!"
"It's just this," replied the Chinaman, "I've saved your life."
"How do you figure that out?"
"Easy. You have bunked up against one of the most dangerous tongs in Chinatown, and all the more dangerous on account of its being so little known. I refer to the Brotherhood of the Red Door."
"I have known this long time that such a society existed in San Francisco, but I didn't know they had a lodge here in New York."
"Well, they have."
"Are you a member?"
"Now don't go to asking questions. It is enough for you to know that your death has been decreed by this tong. It is the same with Old King Brady. You want to tell him that."
"How can I tell him when I am a prisoner here in this secret den?"
"Wait! You may get out of this. Now let me tell you that I helped capture you for a purpose. I haven't forgotten what you did for me. I persuaded them to lock you up in this room till night. Then they mean to kill you, run your corpse out in a wagon, and dump it into the river, but I am here now to set you free."