For the thing which I had been sent to do was finished."
He put his hand somewhere into the loose folds of his Oriental
garment and brought out a roll of thin vellum like onion-skin,
painted in Chinese characters. It was of immense length, but on
account of the thinness of the vellum, the roll wound on a tiny
cylinder of wood was not above two inches in thickness.
"Excellency," he said, "I have carefully concealed this report
through the misfortunes that have attended me. It is not certain
that I shall be able to deliver it. Will you give it for me to
the jewel merchant Vanderdick, in Amsterdam? He will send it to
Mahadal in Bombay, and it will go north with the caravans."
His voice changed into a note of solicitation.
"You will not fail me, Excellency - already for my bias to the
Master I am reduced in merit."
I put the scroll into my pocket and went out, for a motorcar had
come into the park, and I knew that Marquis had arrived.
I met Sir Henry and the superintendent in the long corridor; they
had been looking in at my interview through the elevated grating.
"Marquis," I cried, "the judge was right to cut short the
criminal trial and issue a lunacy warrant.
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