First: Ling Soo might have feared that the paper would be molested, and had therefore sent Foy to watch the apartment. The vicious Chinese servant must have been listening outside, while Cleve was in the apartment.
Second: Ling Soo may have wanted to steal the paper back from Darley!
There might have been reasons for this. Perhaps Ling Soo had thought that he had made a mistake in letting Darley have the paper. Ling Soo’s suggestion to Darley — that the paper might be stolen — had all the semblance of a subtle alibi.
These perplexities had been bothering Cleve all day; and for that reason, he had decided to follow the very course that he should have adopted in the first place.
The best way to learn the import of the paper was to visit Darley and see if the man mentioned it. That was what Cleve intended to do tonight.
It was after seven o’clock when he left the restaurant and rode in a cab to Darley’s apartment. The doorman was on duty when Cleve entered. He rang up Darley, and announced the visitor. Cleve was ushered upstairs. He found Darley in his living room. The man seemed agreeably surprised to see him.
As they shook hands, Cleve felt fully at ease. He had planned to give a reason for his unexpected return to San Francisco; and he realized that Joseph Darley could know nothing of his adventures in the guise of Hugo Barnes. Cleve’s private investigations in disguise need not be mentioned.
“Back to San Francisco,” said Cleve, with a smile. “This time — I am pleased to say — it has nothing to do with the Wu-Fan.”
“Ah!” exclaimed Darley. “You completed your report on that subject?”
“I did,” said Cleve, “and now I am virtually on leave for the next few weeks. I have to report at San Diego, later. So, with nothing to do, I remembered your invitation to join you on the yacht cruise to Los Angeles.”