Here were unlocked drawers, and the first bottom drawer that Cleve opened brought him his reward. The drawer contained two stacks of papers. Lifting them, Cleve discovered others strewn beneath.
DARLEY had been wise, he realized. An unlocked drawer, filled with useless papers, would not command a thorough search by a burglar.
Cleve withheld his haste, for he realized that it would be wise to replace these papers as he found them. So he laid the stacks upon the table, exactly as they had been in the drawer. One by one, he began to examine each of the odd papers.
He stopped at odd moments to listen. There was a tenseness to this work, and Cleve realized that he must proceed with caution for the task might prove to be most important.
Once, fancying that hidden eyes might be watching him, Cleve stared toward the window, but saw nothing except the jet-black pane, because of the reflected light of the lamp.
Again, he listened, wondering if he had heard the door of the apartment open. He laid these qualms to his fancy.
Ordinarily, Cleve was cool and indifferent to danger; but the sinister atmosphere of Chinatown had made him susceptible to sudden suspicions.
He reflected that the job of burglary which he was now performing was by far the simplest and least dangerous task that he had undertaken since his advent in San Francisco. Here, at least, he was safe from the unseen menaces that hovered over Chinatown.
Cleve reached the last paper in the drawer. He unfolded it in expectation. It must be the one he sought. He could see markings through the sheet as he unfolded it. Then, with the paper spread before him, he stared perplexed.
It was, without doubt, the paper that Ling Soo had mentioned. But it did not contain a word of English. It was inscribed with a series of Chinese characters!