J. S. Fletcher

“ But in a cavity in the one that’s broken he finds something that he never expected to find—something rare—something valuable—and he immediately partly cuts, partly breaks open, the other image, and finds—probably its counterpart! What it is, what these things are, we don’t know, but they satisfy him so much that he pockets them, chucks the broken vase, the images, and the bag aside as of no further interest or value to him, and goes on his way! Now let’s see if the hounds are still on his track! ”

“ Let’s put it this way—to get out of the way of the Hindu, Krevin takes his bag, containing the Kang-he vase and the two images, and sets off from the tower. Getting over the wall of this moat, he has a fall, and, being a clumsily built man, comes down on his bag, and smashes its contents. He opens the bag, to ascertain the extent of the damage, and he finds that the vase is broken, and one of the images—one, mind you, not the other! ”

“ I remarked, “said just now that those Indian images aren’t of any value in themselves, and that Mandhu Khan has only gone after them because they’re probably sacred objects to him. But how does she know that? Perhaps they’re of more value than she thinks? Anyway, there’s one feature about both that’s queer—at least, I thought so. They’re not hollow, but in each, now that they’re broken, there’s a cavity. ”