ng you.'

'He is not the first person who has thought that and has lived to find
that he has made a mistake. However, you can tell me all about it after
dinner. You had better run upstairs and change your clothes.'

After dinner, Charlie related all that had happened to him, from the
time he met the bow-legged cook until he came back to Grimsby.

'I suspected that you would have a rough time,' Mr. Page said, when
Charlie had finished his story, 'but I never thought that you would meet
with so many unpleasant adventures. However, as you have discovered that
Skipper Drummond is a dishonourable man, I am not sorry that you went to
sea. I don't suppose you will be in a hurry to go again.'

'I want to go very soon,' Charlie replied. 'I want to go to China with
Ping Wang.'

'To settle there?'

'Oh, no; simply to recover Ping Wang's family riches.'

Mr. Page and Fred, not knowing whether Charlie was serious or not, made
no remark.

'I'm quite sane,' Charlie declared, seeing that they were surprised;
'Ping Wang will tell you about it.'

Ping Wang, thus called upon, repeated the story of his father's death
and the seizure of all his property by Chin Choo.

'But how do you know that Chin Choo still possesses the idol with the
secret drawer?' Mr. Page inquired, when Ping Wang finished speaking. 'He
may have sold it?'

'That is not at all likely,' Ping Wang declared. 'I know that he has had
it fixed up in his chief room, and there it will remain as long as the
house stands, or until Chin Choo moves somewhere else.'

'And you think that Chin Choo cannot discover that the idol contains
precious stones?'

'I am certain of it. My father was a richer man than Chin Choo imagined,
and the wealth that the murderer found in our house was more than he had
expected. He is quite certain that he has found all my father's wealth.
If he were not, he would never think of looking for it in the image.'

'But do you think it possible to get into Chin Choo's house and remove
the idol without being discovered?'

'I am certain of it; of course, I shall watch for a favourable
opportunity.'

'Well,' Mr. Page said, after a few moments' thought, 'I must think over
the matter for a few days before deciding whether I can permit Charlie
to accompany you.'

'I wish I could go with them,' Fred joined in. 'I don't desire a share
of the treasure. I simply want to go for the experience.'

'But how about your studies?' Mr. Page asked.

'I wo