“No public explanation ever was given,” said Dr. Feng, “but, as a matter of fact, he was arrested on Russian territory north of China on a trumped-up charge. As a matter of fact his party stood in the way of certain Russian ambitions in China and he was quietly removed. Incidentally I can tell you that after his escape the Russian government paid very handsome compensation and apologized. But all that was kept private.
“Now the interest to us is this: Sung-tchun’s escape was planned and directed, from start to finish, by Mrs. Audley’s father. Of course, he was not actively engaged in the actual rescue: he could not leave his ship. But he organized and financed the whole thing. Sung-tchun was a really important figure in China—far more important than the outside world realized—and to have done them such a service would have been ample to earn the undying gratitude of the Thu-tseng, who never forget a friend or a foe. That is all the information my friends can get, and I fancy it is all we shall ever get. What Captain Shaylor’s motive was and how he was dragged into or embarked upon the affair and where he obtained the huge sums of money the rescue must have cost, we shall never know.”
“But why,” I cried, “has the crystal claw only just arrived? Thelma’s father died over a year ago.”
“That is one of the questions I asked,” replied Dr. Feng. “Sung-tchun died only last year and I imagine he must have kept very closely the secret of his escape. In all probability the sending of the claw was a kind of death-bed gift from him to the man who had helped him—or rather to his daughter. That would be quite in accordance with Sung-tchun’s known character.”
“Then the crystal claw does not imply a threat or any danger?” I exclaimed.
“Certainly not,” declared Dr. Feng. “It is an expression of the very utmost good will. Any member of the Thu-tseng would be bound by the most solemn obligation to help in every way in his power the owner of the crystal claw.”
“Well,” I said as I rose to say good-night, “at any rate, I am glad there is no danger about it. But I don’t see how the Thu-tseng can ever help Thelma.”
Old Feng gave me a queer look. “You can never tell,” he said slowly. “Most people want help badly at some time in their lives. Mrs. Audley, for instance, is in a position of considerable difficulty at the moment and may be in a worse one very soon. And remember this, my boy—the Thu-tseng has an arm longer than you dream of.”
As the days slipped by I became more and more concerned about Thelma. Feng’s antagonism to herself and her husband became daily more apparent, and I was glad when, the day after old Humphreys had departed, he left for London. However, we parted good friends. He was going to London first and then to the Riviera and he gave me his solicitor’s address so that I might write to him.
Before he left I mentioned to him the effect the sight of the crystal claw had had on old Humphreys. “Does he know all about the crystal claw?” I asked, half banteringly.