The Chinese Tapestry

CHAPTER VIII. KELROY TAKES ADVICE

IT was morning. Fog had cleared from San Francisco. David Kelroy, awakening, was puzzled as he stared about the sunlighted bedroom. Recollection was slow to dawn within his mind. When it came at last, Kelroy sidled out of bed and donned the slippers and dressing gown that he found upon a chair.

He was in Colin Eldreth’s apartment. He had stayed here overnight at his new friend’s suggestion. He had slept late, too, for a clock on the bureau showed half past ten.

Kelroy opened the door and stepped out into a living room. He found Colin Eldreth, fully dressed, reading the morning newspaper.

“Hello, old man,” greeted Colin, with a wave of his hand. “Park yourself over there in the dinette. You’ll find fruit and cereal. While you’re eating them, I’ll fix some eggs and coffee. How long do you want the eggs boiled?”

“Three minutes,” replied Kelroy. “What’s in the newspaper?”

“Nothing about you,” returned Colin, chuckling as he went toward a little kitchenette. “Just some junk about a brawl in Chinatown. Tough guys trying to crack Ku Luan’s storehouse.”

“Any arrests?”

“None of importance. The police have gained some leads, however.”

“Regarding the thugs who invaded the storeroom?”

“Yes. They are looking for a yegg named Zack Ruggey. They think he was behind it.”

COLIN gave a sharp glance over his shoulder as he made this mention of Zack Ruggey’s name. Kelroy was busy with his dish of cereal. The name of Ruggey apparently did not register with him. A slight smile showed on Colin’s lips as he turned to watch the boiling eggs.

The coffee and eggs ready, Colin brought them to the dinette table. Seating himself opposite Kelroy, he faced his guest in frank and friendly fashion. Evidently there was something that Colin wished to discuss; and he came directly to the point.

“You were somewhat incoherent last night,” Colin told Kelroy. “It didn’t surprise me, old man, for the story that you told me was tough enough to have given anyone the jitters. That’s why I insisted that you turn in and get some sleep. Now that you are yourself again, I would like to go over some of the details.”

Kelroy nodded. Colin proceeded.

“You received a letter from Ku Luan,” he said. “With it was a token. You showed the latter when you arrived at Ku Luan’s house.”

“Yes. I gave it to Tsing Chan.”

“Did Tsing Chan recognize your name?”

“Yes. He stated that I was expected.”

“Good! That proves that Tsing Chan knew nothing about the teakwood box with the silver dragon, the one that you told me about last night.”

“I see.” Kelroy nodded. “Tsing Chan would have had no cause to wait until I talked to Ku Luan — that is, if Tsing Chan had known that the teakwood box was important.”

“Not so fast,” objected Colin. “You are going on the assumption that Tsing Chan wanted to see you murdered. We have no proof of that fact, as yet.”

“But he talked with Wong Soy, the doorman,” insisted Kelroy, “and it was after I left them in the hallway that Wong Soy came in to spy upon me.”

“Perhaps Wong Soy acted without Tsing Chan’s knowledge.”

“Possibly. What does the newspaper account say about Wong Soy?”

“It states that he was murdered.” Colin reached for the newspaper. “Wong Soy is supposed to have fought against the marauders.”

“Did Tsing Chan stand for the statement?”

“Apparently he did.”

“Then Tsing Chan was behind Wong Soy.”

“Not necessarily. Tsing Chan was not there to see Wong Soy’s treachery.”

Kelroy was forced to nod. The argument was a good one.

“I am assuming that Tsing Chan may be honest,” proceeded Colin. “Wong Soy, alone, could have been the one who had contact with the outside crooks. Since reading the morning newspaper, I have found out a few facts about Tsing Chan.”

“From whom?” inquired Kelroy, in surprise.

“From a Chinese friend,” replied Colin. “One who works on the Chinese Free Press. I called him this morning. He told me that Ku Luan left orders for all his stored goods to be sold at auction, immediately after his death.”

“Where? In Chinatown?”

“Yes. At one of the bazaars where auctions are held. The first sale will be made tonight.”

“Who receives the proceeds?”

“Tsing Chan.”

KELROY opened his eyes wide. This backed Colin’s assumption concerning Tsing Chan’s innocence.

Kelroy had seen Ku Luan’s storeroom. He knew that its contents were of high value. It did seem unlikely that Tsing Chan, already assured of a sizable legacy, should jeopardize his own position by backing murder.

“Notice of the sale,” continued Colin, “has already been posted on a big bulletin board at Clay Street and Grant Avenue. Many Chinese will be present at the auction; and Americans as well. Ku Luan was always recognized as a connoisseur of rare art objects.”

“You seem to know something about Ku Luan,” smiled Kelroy. “Much more than your cousin Mark did.”

“I am familiar with Chinatown,” remarked Colin, idly. “I frequently visit the quarter. Mark probably would not go there on a bet. In fact, he would not make a bet to begin with. He is a stuffed shirt, a namby-pamby.”

“He did appear timid,” acknowledged Kelroy. “Last night, when I intimated that I had been in danger, he looked scared.”

“Mark values his own hide even more than he does money. That is saying a great deal, to anyone who knows Mark. The fellow is greedy for wealth; that is why he soaks much of his income into new investments.”

“About Ku Luan,” reminded Kelroy. “What else do you know concerning him?”

“His history,” replied Colin, slowly. “Ku Luan was an important personage in the court of the Empress Dowager, many years ago. Later he became one of the young emperor’s advisors. My grandfather had business interests in China at the time. He and Ku Luan were great friends.

“In fact, Ku Luan was responsible for my grandfather’s success in acquiring a fortune in the Orient. When the revolution overthrew the Chinese dynasty, Ku Luan came to America. Like others who had supported the last imperial dynasty, he settled in San Francisco.”

“Did he see your grandfather after that?”

“Quite often. That was while Mark and I were children. Ku Luan had brought many valuables from China. Some of the furnishings which are in Mark’s home were sold to my grandfather by Ku Luan.”

“Then Ku Luan needed money?”

“No. He had enough for his needs. He was through with show and luxury. He lived quietly, in the house where you saw him last night. I’m not surprised to learn that Ku Luan had treasure. You are fortunate, Dave, to have become heir to his hidden wealth.”

“Why fortunate?” queried Kelroy, ruefully. “The treasure is mine; but how can I hope to find it?”

“By acquiring the teakwood box,” returned Colin, with a smile, “when it is sold at auction.”

KELROY popped halfway up from his chair. Colin’s suggestion had come like a thunderbolt. Its possibilities were dazzling.

“You say there were several teakwood boxes,” argued Colin, cannily. “Only one was the right one, the box with the silver dragon. You had not even found it in your search. Wong Soy alarmed you too soon.

“Like Wong Soy, Tsing Chan probably did not guess what you were after. The teakwood box apparently holds some clue that not even Tsing Chan would guess. We shall attend the auction tonight, you and I. When we see the box with the silver dragon, we can buy it.”

“Go to Chinatown? Where Zack Ruggey is likely to be?”

“I don’t think that crook would chance visiting Chinatown after the mess he and his crew walked into, last night. The two of us will be there together, Dave. We should be safe.”

“But if I try to buy the teakwood box, Tsing Chan may think—”

“Leave the buying to me, Dave. Tsing Chan has never seen me.”

Kelroy was nodding his agreement as they arose from the breakfast table. Colin clapped his hand upon his guest’s shoulder.

“Meanwhile,” he suggested, “stay away from Dryer’s office. That old codger would ruin everything. He would want to go and demand the teakwood box from Tsing Chan. Then the game would be a give-away.”

“But if Tsing Chan is honest—”

“We can’t be absolutely positive about Tsing Chan. It is better not to let him know what we are after. He may think that you took away whatever object you went to get.”

“Good logic, Colin.”

SMILING, Colin lighted a cigarette. He puffed a cloud of smoke, then spoke in musing fashion.

“We shall see Dryer later,” he decided. “He will know facts concerning my grandfather’s dealings with Ku Luan. There were a number of transactions between them. Ku Luan sold grandfather some rare Chinese books; grandfather willed them to a library.

“Ku Luan supplied grandfather with Chinese curios for the Oriental Museum. He even superintended the preparation of a special Chinese room, filled with tapestries and statuettes. Once you have the contents of the teakwood box, a conference with Dryer may clarify the whole situation.”

“Perhaps Dryer already knows something.”

“Not a chance. Ku Luan was cagey. There’s something deep in this, Dave. Something that Ku Luan alone knew. Once you have it, Dryer can help. That is why Ku Luan told you to look up Mark or myself. He probably did not know that grandfather left more details to Dryer than he did to us.”

Kelroy was walking toward the bedroom. Colin stopped to fumble about a table drawer. Kelroy waited; Colin shook his head.

“I was looking for those Chinese prayer papers,” he remarked. “I must have tucked them away somewhere else. They were given to grandfather by Ku Luan. I’ve had a batch of them ever since I was a kid. Mark had some, too, but he became too serious to play games with them, like I did. He told me once that he sold them.”

“Were they valuable?”

“No. Picayune. But that’s Mark for you. He’s a penny snatcher. Never mind about the prayer papers, though. There’s a slue of them at the museum. They have symbols on them, and each sign has some meaning. If we find that we might need them, we can go to the museum.”

Dave Kelroy went into the bedroom and closed the door. As he began to dress, a sudden thought struck him. How was it that Colin Eldreth knew so much about Ku Luan while Mark Eldreth knew very little that concerned the ancient Chinaman?

After Dave had pondered briefly on this question, he dismissed it, preferring to concentrate upon the possibilities of tonight’s visit to the Chinese auction.

In changing his line of thought, Kelroy unwittingly dropped a link that he had gained by accident — one that was far more important than he had supposed.

Trouble was brewing for the young man from Shanghai; and had he been keener, he might have guessed its source.