Suddenly, from a bunk on the left of Gaston Max came a faint cry.
"Ah! He has bitten me!"
"'Ullo!" said Bill—"wotcher bin given' 'im, Pidgin? Chandu or hydrerphobia?"
Ah-Fang-Fu crossed and handed him the pipe.
"One piecee pipee. No more hab."
Bill grasped the pipe eagerly and raised it to his lips. Ah-Fang-Fu returned unmoved to his Patience and silence reclaimed the den, only broken by the inarticulate murmuring and the lapping of the tide.
"A genuine customer!" whispered Max.
"Ah!" came again, more faintly—"he … has … bitten … me."
"Blimey!" said Bill in a drowsy voice—"'eave the chair at 'im,
Pidgin."
Stuart was about to speak when Gaston Max furtively grasped his arm. "Ssh!" he whispered. "Do not move, but look … at the top of the stair!"