d, or if the ample moisture upon my garments was traceable only to
the fog. Sounds were muffled, lights dimmed, and the frequent hooting of
sirens from the river added another touch of weirdness to the scene.

Even when the peculiar duties of my friend, Paul Harley, called him
away from England, the lure of this miniature Orient which I had first
explored under his guidance, often called me from my chambers. In the
house with the two doors in Wade Street, Limehouse, I would discard the
armour of respectability, and, dressed in a manner unlikely to provoke
comment in dockland, would haunt those dreary ways sometimes from
midnight until close upon dawn. Yet, well as I knew the district and
the strange and often dangerous creatures lurking in its many burrows, I
experienced a chill partly physical and partly of apprehension to-night;
indeed, strange though it may sound, I hastened my footsteps in order
the sooner to reach the low den for which I was bound--Malay Jack's--a
spot marked plainly on the crimes-map and which few respectable
travellers would have regarded as a haven of refuge.

But the chill of the adjacent river, and some quality of utter
desolation which seemed to emanate from the deserted wharves and
ramshackle buildings about me, were driving me thither now; for I knew
that human companionship, of a sort, and a glass of good liquor--from
a store which the Customs would have been happy to locate--awaited me
there. I might chance, too, upon Durham or Wessex, of New Scotland Yard,
both good friends of mine, or even upon the Terror of Chinatown, Chief
Inspector Kerry, a man for whom I had an esteem which none of his
ungracious manners could diminish.

I was just about to turn to the right into a narrow and nameless alley,
lying at right angles to the Thames, when I pulled up sharply, clenching
my fists and listening.

A confused and continuous sound, not unlike that which might be
occasioned by several large and savage hounds at close grips, was
proceeding out of the darkness ahead of me; a worrying, growling, and
scuffling which presently I identified as human, although in fact it
was animal enough. A moment I hesitated, then, distinguishing among
the sounds of conflict an unmistakable, though subdued, cry for help,
I leaped forward and found myself in the midst of the melee. This was
taking place in the lee of a high, dilapidated brick wall. A lamp in a
sort of iron bracket spluttered dimly above on the righ