The Fate Joss

CHAPTER III DOCTOR ROY TAM

JUST outside of Chinatown was a corner that held a touch of the Oriental district. The corner itself was occupied by a pawnshop, but the first door below, on one of the streets making up the corner, bore the lighted sign of a Chinese restaurant called the Hunan Cafe. The restaurant was located on the second floor; its sign was on the level of the elevated railway that loomed above the avenue.

Similarly, the other street making up the corner had a Chinese sign one door away from the pawnshop. This sign was above the front of a small, sleepy looking tea shop, where a lone Chinaman sat pondering over the fact that business was poor. Like Leng and Tuan, the owner of the tea shop was garbed in American attire.

Five minutes after he had left his Chinatown cafe, Tuan entered this tea shop and spoke to the proprietor. The man unlocked a door at the rear of the shop. Tuan entered a storage room and the proprietor closed the door. Locking it, he went to the front window and stared out at the side street.

Tuan, meanwhile, was threading his way through stacks of tea chests. Passing these obstructions, he reached a stairway and ascended. On the second floor, he found a door that he unlocked for himself. It revealed a staircase that Tuan took to the third floor.

At the top, this stairway was joined by another that came upward at a right angle. That fact, in itself, was proof of something unusual. The second stairway came from the Hunan Cafe. Both the restaurant and the tea-shop afforded access to this third floor; but both from a different street.

Tuan knocked at a closed door. It opened; another Americanized Chinaman was standing there. Tuan inquired for Doctor Tam. The guardian shook his head; then told the visitor to wait. Tuan sat down in a little reception room that was furnished entirely in American fashion.

ONE block back from the avenue was a dark, curving street that marked the very fringe of Chinatown. It belonged to that idle, blackened terrain that seemed almost uninhabited. The street possessed a single shop; but it was closed, its door and windows boarded. One Chinaman had made a poor guess in trying to do business there.

A man was walking along the secluded street. Short, but quick of gait, he paused suddenly at a spot just opposite the darkened shop. Unlocking a door, he entered a house that belonged in the same square at the Hunan Cafe.

Passing through a darkened hallway, this man ascended a flight of stairs. He walked to the rear of the house; there he knocked at a door and gave a guttural utterance. The door opened; the short man passed a guard who was standing in another darkened passage.

This corridor formed a secret connection to a building at the rear. The short man followed it; he came to another door and gave a new signal. The second barrier opened; passing another hidden guard, the short man ascended a stairway and came to a blocking door. He unlocked it in the darkness and stepped into a blackened room. There he closed the door and turned on a light.

The glare showed that the short man was a Chinaman. Firm-faced, square-jawed, he had features that fitted his garb, which was completely American. This man was another whom Yat Soon would have recognized. He was known as Doctor Roy Tam.

The room in which Doctor Tam stood was an office, furnished simply with oak table, straight-backed chairs and metal filing cabinet. Doctor Tam seated himself behind the desk and pressed a buzzer.

The front door of the office opened; a man entered to announce that Mr. Tuan was waiting in the reception room. Doctor Tam nodded, as sign that the visitor was to be admitted.

Tuan arrived to find Doctor Tam busy reading letters. At last the square-jawed Chinaman looked up; he motioned for Tuan to sit down. He then made query in a sharp, choppy tone:

“Well, Tuan! What brings you here?”

“Leng has seen Roucard,” replied Tuan, soberly. “He believes that the fellow was visiting Shan Kwan.”

A harsh exclamation came from Tam’s lips. His fists clenched upon the desk top. Then he demanded:

“Where did Roucard go?”

“We do not know,” replied Tuan. “Leng did not follow him.”

Doctor Tam pressed the buzzer twice. A Chinaman came into the office. He was not the one who had admitted Tuan; this newcomer was wearing glasses and looked like a student.

“Sit down, Noy Dow,” ordered Doctor Tam. “No, never mind the notebook. I have no letters to dictate. I want you to hear what Tuan has said. Raymond Roucard visited Shan Kwan tonight.”

“Regarding the Fate Joss?” questioned Noy Dow.

“Probably,” replied Tam. “There have been no telephone calls during my absence?”

“There were none, Doctor Tam.”

The square-jawed Chinaman was drumming his desk. In action, he seemed more American than Chinese; but as he sat pondering, his almond eyes narrowed until they were no more than thin slits. Oriental craftiness became dominant in the attitude of Doctor Tam.

Suddenly, the transformation ended. Raising his head, Tam addressed Tuan.

“You have done well, Tuan,” he commended, “you and your friend Leng. Return to your place of business and await new word. Perhaps I shall send others to join you. Be ready to receive them.”

Tuan bowed himself out. Doctor Roy Tam remained behind his desk; his only companion was the bespectacled Noy Dow. After the door had closed behind Tuan, Doctor Tam spoke.

“Bring me the list,” he ordered. “I shall choose the men whom we may need. Work lies ahead, Noy Dow.”

NOY DOW produced a list from the filing cabinet. It was typed in English; but Chinese names appeared upon it. Some of these had been crossed out in pencil. Doctor Tam checked the ones that he wanted; then passed the list back to Noy Dow.

“Summon them,” he instructed. “Tell them to be ready to join Tuan as soon as they are needed.”

Noy Dow nodded; then pointed to a name at the bottom of the list.

“What of Hoang Fu?” he inquired. “Should he not be named among them?”

Doctor Tam shook his head. He noted a puzzled blink behind Noy Dow’s spectacles. Motioning to the secretary to sit down, Doctor Tam spoke. His voice became a smooth, persuasive purr.

“There are very few,” he stated, “whom I can fully trust. You, Noy Dow, are one. Like myself, you have become American. Yet you are young, Noy Dow. You still must learn very much.”

“That will be possible,” returned Noy Dow, “since you are my teacher, Doctor Tam.”

“That is true. You have an advantage that I did not possess. When I was a student, Noy Dow, I still considered myself Chinese. Even though I was studying medicine at an American university, my one purpose was to some day return to China, where I could be a man of great strength among my countrymen.

“Then came the light. I saw greater opportunity here in America. Instead of carrying new messages to those who were steeped in old traditions, I remained here, organizing those who had already emerged from their superstitions and could therefore be banded for greater progress under one strong leader.

“Being wise, I have chosen this secret abode, that only those who are worthy may be joined with my cause. I have appointed you as my secretary, because you have had an American college education. Later, I may gain others like yourself.

“They will do as I am doing. They will go among those of our countrymen who will listen. They will show the way to new opportunity and will receive new contributions toward the wealth that I have raised.”

Doctor Tam paused. A smile showed upon his firm-set lips as he drew a sheaf of papers from the desk drawer. He pointed to a row of figures.

“Already my fund has passed two hundred thousand dollars,” he declared. “It will become greater, Noy Dow. It will reach one million. Then we shall have the power that we need.”

Noy Dow started to speak; his bespectacled face was troubled. Doctor Tam noted his expression and held up a restraining hand.

“When I say that we shall have power,” affirmed Tam, “I mean power that is necessary for good. Personal wealth is not our desire, Noy Dow. Our mission is to aid others, to help those who are hindered by their own ignorance. Those Chinese who are living in this country can advance themselves only by conforming to American customs.”

“That is true, Doctor Tam,” corroborated Noy Dow, moved by the physician’s persuasion. “To seek wealth for the advancement of our noble cause is indeed an estimable measure.”

“You, too, have seen the light,” purred Doctor Tam. “Continue to trust in me, Noy Dow. I need intelligent men like you to persuade those who are still ignorant. Such men as Tuan and Leng are weak. They are faithful only because I understand them and their superstitions.

“LOOK at this list — these crossed-off names. They are the ones whose faith in me has weakened. I have dropped them because they have proven themselves unworthy and, therefore, useless. You spoke of Hoang Fu. Bah! He is like the others who have failed me. I need him no longer.”

Taking a pencil, Doctor Tam crossed off the name of Hoang Fu. Noy Dow made protest.

“Hoang Fu is strong,” he reminded. “When I talked with him not long ago, he swore that he would serve you forever, Doctor Tam. I can not believe that he—”

“You have much to learn, Noy Dow,” interrupted Tam, in a testy tone. “I spoke with Hoang Fu only an hour ago. His attitude has changed. He pretended that he still believed in me; but he does not. Hoang Fu is no longer in my service; remember that, Noy Dow.”

“I shall remember, Doctor Tam.”

Looking up from his desk, Tam could still see doubt upon his secretary’s face. Briskly, the Chinese physician changed the subject. Driving a dynamic fist against the desk, he loosed a fierce tirade.

“This man Roucard is dangerous,” he stormed. “He has visited Shan Kwan the Mandarin. Perhaps they have conferred concerning the Fate Joss.”

“Roucard does not hold the Fate Joss, Doctor Tam.”

“He knows where it is. He may have made plans to acquire it. Should he gain the Fate Joss, he could sell it to Shan Kwan.”

“Perhaps Satsu can give us information.”

“Satsu is still with Laudring. Since we know that Laudring no longer has the Fate Joss, what can Satsu tell us?”

Noy Dow could think of no answer to the question.

“Rumors are about,” remarked Tam, slowly. His square-jawed face showed a scowl. “Rumors that the Fate Joss is here, in New York. Those rumors have weakened my followers.”

“Not Tuan and Leng,” reminded Noy Dow, “nor many others upon whom you can call.”

“Perhaps not; but I am sure that the reports have influenced some. Hoang Fu, for instance.”

Doctor Tam spoke the last sentence with slow, important emphasis. He eyed Noy Dow and noted that the secretary was impressed by the statement. Instinctively, Noy Dow was nodding. Doctor Tam lost no opportunity to drive home another statement.

“I shall prove that I am stronger than the Fate Joss,” he declared. “Once given opportunity, I shall show my faithful followers that I can control its so-called destiny. Serving me, they will gain proof that a half-ton idol is nothing more than a mass of useless metal that can be shipped about as one desires.

“That point proven, our cause will be gained. The power of Doctor Roy Tam will be known. None will block my path to the accumulation of wealth. Our wealth, Noy Dow, not mine.” Again Tam eyed his secretary. “Wealth that will be used to help those who are in need.”

Noy Dow was nodding soberly, his face no longer doubtful. Doctor Tam picked up the telephone that lay beside the desk; then replaced it and pointed toward the door.

“You may go, Noy Dow,” he said, quietly. “Should calls come, I shall answer them. Be ready, in case I decide to summon you.”

NOY DOW retired. Doctor Tam remained alone; seated at his desk, he began a new study of the account sheets. Laying the papers aside, he eyed the door through which Noy Dow had gone. A wise smile appeared upon the lips of Doctor Roy Tam. The meaning of that smile was plain.

Doctor Tam was pleased with the success of his recent discourse. He had convinced Noy Dow on every point. The secretary believed that wealth for the cause was justified; that Hoang Fu was no longer in the service of Doctor Tam; that the power of the Fate Joss was a myth.

Doctor Tam, in turn, was convinced upon one point that Noy Dow had not argued. Though other followers might weaken, there was one upon whom the enterprising physician could rely. That was Noy Dow; and Doctor Tam intended to depend upon his secretary in every move that was to come.