..."
Again he hesitated oddly; then closed up his pouch and tossed it into
the cane chair. He struck a match.
"I ran into Karamaneh," he continued abruptly, and began to puff away
at his pipe, filling the air with clouds of tobacco smoke.
I caught my breath. This was the reason why he had kept me so long in
ignorance of the story. He knew of my hopeless, uncrushable sentiments
towards the gloriously beautiful but utterly hypocritical and evil
Eastern girl who was perhaps the most dangerous of all Dr. Fu-Manchu's
servants; for the power of her loveliness was magical, as I knew to my
cost.
"What did you do?" I asked quietly, my fingers drumming upon the
table.
"Naturally enough," continued Smith, "with a cry of recognition I held
out both my hands to her gladly. I welcomed her as a dear friend
regained; I thought of the joy with which _you_ would learn that I had
found the missing one; I thought how you would be in Rangoon just as
quickly as the fastest steamer would get you there...."
"Well?"
"Karamaneh started back and treated me to a glance of absolute
animosity! No recognition was there, and no friendliness--only a sort
of scornful anger."
He shrugged his shoulders and began to walk up and down the room.
"I do not know what _you_ would have done in the circumstances,
Petrie, but I--"
"Yes?"
"I dealt with the situation rather promptly, I think. I simply picked
her up without another word, right there in the public street, and
raced back into the house, with her kicking and fighting like a
little demon! She did not shriek or do anything of that kind, but
fought silently like a vicious wild animal.
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