"By no means, Mr. Ainsleigh. Forge was a good doctor, but he knew nothing about mining. He doctored the coolies, and attended to minor matters. Your father looked after the mine personally. I understand he learned how to do so in California."

"Yes--He was there before I was born, but--"

"Permit me to continue, Mr. Ainsleigh. Well then, I left your father in possession of the mine, and joined the Boxers. I rose to be a leader, and afterwards returned to see my parents. At that time the rebellion--for that it was--proved unfortunate, so it was necessary that I should conceal myself, I took service with your father as a foreman of the mine, and I can safely say," said Lo-Keong with a certain show of emotion, "that your father saved my life. I consider myself indebted to him, and now I am indebted to his son."

"It is very good of you," said Rupert. "I need a friend."

"You have one in me," said the Marquis courteously. "But to proceed, as the night grows darker. I was your father's friend, Hop Sing was his enemy, and Forge sided with Hop Sing."

"But why did he do that?" asked Ainsleigh impetuously. "Forge was at college with my father--they were great friends--"

"So Mr. Markham Ainsleigh thought. But Dr. Forge was greedy and wished to have the mine to himself. Hop Sing, who had some influence at the Imperial Court, promised to help Dr. Forge to get rid of your father and secure the mine provided I was ruined."

"And Forge acted this base part."

"He did," said the Mandarin quietly. "I may tell you Mr. Ainsleigh that I was completely in your father's confidence. He made a great deal of money out of the mine, and I arranged for it to be turned into safe investments through a third person whose name need not be mentioned. A large sum was placed out at interest and all these many years the interest has been acc.u.mulating. You will receive a handsome sum I a.s.sure you, Mr. Ainsleigh."

"But," broke in Olivia perplexed. "Dr. Forge told my husband that the whole amount was eighteen thousand, of which ten thousand belonged to him and eight thousand to Rupert."

"Dr. Forge places the money obtained from the mine at a low figure,"

said the Chinaman smiling, "what the amount is, I shall tell you later.

Meanwhile I must explain the intrigue which led to your father's murder----"

"Ah," Rupert leaped to his feet, "then he _was_ murdered."

"He was--by the emissary of Hop Sing. Be calm, Mr. Ainsleigh, and be seated. Your father died quietly enough by strangulation----"

"What. Was he killed in the same way as Miss Wharf?"

Lo-Keong bowed his stately head. "Yes, and by the same person----"

"Tung-yu," cried Olivia starting to her feet in her turn.

"Exactly, Mrs. Ainsleigh. I know that Tung-yu strangled Mr. Markham Ainsleigh, and I believe that he strangled your aunt."

Rupert sat down on the sofa and drew his wife down beside him. "But Tung-yu was the man who was to buy the fan----"

"Quite so." Lo-Keong folded and unfolded the fan calmly. "You know of the G.o.d Kw.a.n.g-ho."

"Yes--but I can't understand----"

"Naturally," the Marquis laughed quietly, "that is a thing beyond the comprehension of a Western barbarian--your pardon for so calling you.

Kw.a.n.g-ho," went on the Mandarin, "is an ancestor of mine who lived during the Ming dynasty. He was a sage, and very famous, so I took him as my private G.o.d."

Olivia looked amazed and a little shocked. "A private G.o.d. I never knew that anyone could have a private G.o.d even in China," she said.

"If you have read Roman history, Mrs. Ainsleigh, you will remember the Lares and Penates, which were something of the same kind. I was very unfortunate with the public G.o.ds of my country, so I chose Kw.a.n.g-ho to be my genius--my destiny. I had an image made and offered him incense.

It was, in fact what you might call ancestral worship; only I looked upon Kw.a.n.g-ho as one who could control my destiny. I was right," said Lo-Keong emphatically, "for, from the moment I sacrificed to Kw.a.n.g-ho, my fortunes changed."

"In what way?" asked Rupert, wondering that a clever man like this should talk so superst.i.tiously.

"In every way. The priest of my new G.o.d Kw.a.n.g-ho consulted the deity and ordered that I should leave the Boxers and attach myself to the party of the Empress Dowager, who was to be all powerful in the future. I think,"

added Lo-Keong smiling blandly, "that Kw.a.n.g-ho was right in that. Who is so powerful as my august mistress."

"True enough," admitted Ainsleigh impatiently, "but what has this to do with the death of my father?"

"Patience, Mr. Ainsleigh. I arranged to leave the Boxers. We were fighting for the Emperor, who was then being crushed by the Empress Dowager. I had many papers showing my devotion to the Boxer cause and to His Imperial Majesty. These papers I intended to destroy: but remembering that some day the Emperor might overcome the Empress, I decided to keep the papers. They would show that I had worked for the Emperor, and thus my fortunes would be secure should His Imperial Majesty reign alone. As yet," added Lo-Keong with a shrug, "he has not reigned alone and my august mistress still rules the destinies of the middle kingdom."

"Ah. And if she got those papers?----"

"She would cut off my head," replied Lo-Keong quietly, "so now you see why I thought it best to conceal them. I wished to preserve the papers so as to keep myself in favour with the Emperor, when he became supreme, and I wished to conceal them from the Empress Dowager and her spies, while she ruled China. You understand?"

"We do," said the young couple. "So you used the means of the fan to tell where they were hidden?" asked Rupert.

The Mandarin a.s.sented. "I did. I spoke to your father about this plan of concealment. I knew the papers would not be safe in China, as the emissaries of Hop Sing would find them, and I should be ruined, so on the suggestion of your father, I decided to hide them in England."

"But why in the Abbey?"

"Mr. Markham Ainsleigh's suggestion, sir. He said that this place had been in the possession of his family for years and would likely continue to remain under the Ainsleigh--"

"Alas--alas," sighed Rupert.

"Not at all, sir," was Lo-Keong's brisk reply, "you will have enough money to keep this place I a.s.sure you. But to continue--your father, whose health was very bad, arranged to take his money back to this place, and to take also the papers I wished to hide. We arranged that they should be concealed in the third tree and then I hit upon the plan of an invisible picture on the fan with the a.s.sistance of the beads to identify the hiding-place."

"But was that necessary when you knew the hiding-place?"

"I wished my heirs to benefit by my services to the Emperor during the Boxer rising; and they were not to know of the existence of these papers till I died. So you will understand--"

"Yes! It's very interesting, so please go on."

"Well while we were arranging these things Forge went to Pekin, and got a concession to work the mine from the Empress through the influence of Hop Sing. Meanwhile, I arranged to enter the service of my Imperial Mistress, and left your father ill of dysentery."

"Of which, according to Forge, he died."

"No," said the Mandarin decisively, "he was recovering. He had the packet and the fan which he was to take to this place. Hwei was to go with him, and design the invisible picture and hide the packet. I went to see about letting your father have the money which I had invested for him. All was ready and he was winding up his affairs. Then the emissary of Hop Sing strangled your father--"

"Tung-yu," said Rupert much agitated.

"I have already said that," replied the Marquis rather tartly, "your father died, and Forge obtained the mine. But he did not hold it long. I represented that Forge had obtained the death of Mr. Markham Ainsleigh through Hop Sing. The Empress took my view. Hop Sing was disgraced and I was promoted. Forge had to leave China for the time being, but he came back several times. I sent Hwei to this place with your father's effects and with the fan. He concealed the packet and drew the picture. Your mother was alive then, Mr. Ainsleigh, and Hwei showed her the fan, though he did not tell her the secret."

"Ah," cried Rupert, "now I remember where I saw the fan."

"Yes," Lo-Keong nodded, "as a boy of five you may remember it."

"I certainly do. But Marquis, why did you not send my father's money to my mother?"

"Ah. She died, and although I knew you were the heir and in the guardian-ship of Forge who was your enemy I could do nothing. Hop Sing got the upper hand again and I was in my turn disgraced. Then Hop Sing learned about the papers, and about the fan being the means of finding the hiding-place. He ordered Tung-yu to find the fan. Hwei was bringing the fan back from England to me. He was a.s.saulted when he landed in China, but he luckily had given the fan to a brother of his, so Hop Sing could not find it. Then the brother was killed and a coolie, who knew nothing of the fan, took possession of it. Afterwards, I wanted the fan.

Hop Sing told me what he suspected, so I applied to the G.o.d Kw.a.n.g-ho.