“I mean as if you just happened in,” explained Luke. “But I have a better plan. Can’t you send some laundry to be done up?” he appealed to Ruth.
“Yes, I could make up a bundle.”
“Please do so. We’ll make this seem as natural as possible.”
“Will he be open as late as this?” asked Hal.
“Oh, sure!” asserted Sammy. “He’s workin’ all night, Hop Wong is.”
A little later Sammy was dispatched with a bundle of things which needed the peculiar attention of the Chinese, and then the party of young folks at the Corner House waited.
Sammy came back much more quickly than they expected him. He gave the peculiar check to Ruth and said:
“He wasn’t there.”
“How did you leave the laundry then?” asked Luke.
“Oh, there was another Chink in the place—his partner, I guess. I asked him when Hop Wong would be back, but I couldn’t make out anything he said except ‘Tlhusdlay.’ I guess he meant Thursday.”