his way.

"Hello," the yellow man saluted us.

"Hello, Chung," Worth rejoined, and added, "Looks good to see you
again."

I was relieved to hear that. It showed me that the cook, anyhow, had not
seen Worth last night in Santa Ysobel.

"Just now I hea' 'bout Boss." Chung's eye went straight to the stain on
the rug, exactly as Edwards' had done, but it stopped there, and his
Oriental impassiveness was unmoved. "Too bad," he concluded, thrust the
fingers of one hand up the sleeve of the other and waited.

"Where you been all day?" I said quickly.

"My cousin' ranch."

"His cousin's got a truck farm over by Medlow--or used to have," Worth
supplied, and Chung looked to him, instantly.

"You sabbee," he said hopefully. "I go iss mo'ning--all same any
day--not find out 'bout Boss. Too bad. Too velly much bad." A pause,
then, looking around at the four of us, "I get dinner?"

"We've all had something to eat, Chung," Worth said. "You go now fix
room. Make bed. To-night, I stay; Mr. Boyne here stay; Mr. Edwards
stay. Fix three rooms. Good fire."

"All 'ite," the chink would have ducked out then, Jim Edwards after him,
but I stopped the proceedings with,

"Hold on a minute--while we're all together--tell us about that visitor
Mr. Gilbert had last night." I was throwing a rock in the brush-pile in
the chance of scaring out a rabbit. I was shooting the question at
Chung, but my eye was on Edwards. He glared back at me for a moment,
then couldn't stand the strain and looked away. At last the Chinaman
spoke.

"Not see um. I go fix bed now."

"Hold on," again I stopped him. "Worth, tell him those beds can wait.
Tell him it's all right to answer my questions."

"'S all 'ite?" Chung studied us in turn. I was keeping an inconspicuous
eye on Edwards as I reassured him. "'S all 'ite," he repeated with a
falling inflection this time, and finished placidly, "You want know
'bout lady?"

"What's all this?" Edwards spoke low.

"About a lady who came to see Mr. Gilbert last night," I explained
shortly; then, "Who was she, Chung?"

"Not see um good." The Chinaman shook his head gravely.

"Did she come here--to the study?" I asked. He nodded. Worth moved
impatiently, and the Chinaman caught it. He fixed his eyes on Worth. I
stepped between them. "Chung," I said sharply. "You knew the lady. Who
was she?"

"Not see um good," he repeated, plainly reluctant. "She hold hand by
face--cly, I think."

"Good God!" Edwards broke