t an opportune time, Mr. Commissioner Nayland Smith, and
Dr. Petrie; at a time when the greatest man in China flatters me with
a visit. In my absence from home, a tremendous honor has been conferred
upon me, and, in the hour of this supreme honor, dishonor and calamity
have befallen! For my services to China--the New China, the China of the
future--I have been admitted by the Sublime Prince to the Sacred Order
of the White Peacock."

Warming to his discourse, he threw wide his arms, hurling the chattering
marmoset fully five yards along the corridor.

"O god of Cathay!" he cried, sibilantly, "in what have I sinned that
this catastrophe has been visited upon my head! Learn, my two dear
friends, that the sacred white peacock brought to these misty shores for
my undying glory, has been lost to me! Death is the penalty of such a
sacrilege; death shall be my lot, since death I deserve."

Covertly Smith nudged me with his elbow. I knew what the nudge was
designed to convey; he would remind me of his words--anent the childish
trifles which sway the life of intellectual China.

Personally, I was amazed. That Fu-Manchu's anger, grief, sorrow and
resignation were real, no one watching him, and hearing his voice, could
doubt.

He continued:

"By one deed, and one deed alone, may I win a lighter punishment. By
one deed, and the resignation of all my titles, all my lands, and all my
honors, may I merit to be spared to my work--which has only begun."

I knew now that we were lost, indeed; these were confidences which our
graves should hold inviolate! He suddenly opened fully those blazing
green eyes and directed their baneful glare upon Nayland Smith.

"The Director of the Universe," he continued, softly, "has relented
toward me. To-night, you die! To-night, the arch-enemy of our caste
shall be no more. This is my offering--the price of redemption..."

My mind was working again, and actively. I managed to grasp the
stupendous truth--and the stupendous possibility.

Dr. Fu-Manchu was in the act of clapping his hands, when I spoke.

"Stop!" I cried.

He paused, and the weird film, which sometimes became visible in his
eyes, now obscured their greenness, and lent him the appearance of a
blind man.

"Dr. Petrie," he said, softly, "I shall always listen to you with
respect."

"I have an offer to make," I continued, seeking to steady my voice.
"Give us our freedom, and I will restore your shattered honor--I will
restore t