“His Excellency will now clean up whole shooting match,” Mr. Po went on. “No more Ho Shan Company!” And he waved his cigarette about to indicate the compound.
“Oh, that goes, too?”
“Oh, yes! His Excellency has at once telegraphed agent-general at Tientsin for final show-down price on surrender of all leases, agreements, expenses, bribes and absolute good riddance. They say three million taels cash. To-morrow we shall throw it at their heads. And so much for that!”
“H'm!” mused Brachey. “Pretty quick work. Rather takes one's breath away.”
“Oh, yes! But His Excellency's son of a gun.”
“Evidently. But I'm still in the dark as to how this rather extraordinary change came about. Did I understand you to say that Kang is dead?”
“Oh, yes! Night before last.”
“How did that happen?”
“Oh, well—it's just as well not to give this away—on arrival at Ping Yang His Excellency made at once prepare bowl of sweet lotus soup and send it with many compliments and hopes of good omens to old devil.”
“You mean—there was poison in it?”