Sax Rohmer

“ By many modern critics, indeed, it is condemned, as being not art but a parody of art.
Given carte blanche in the matter of cost, Paxton produced a piece of work which induced the critics to talk about a modern Phidias. Based upon designs furnished by the eccentric but wealthy baronet, the statue represented a slim and graceful girl reclining as in exhaustion upon an ebony throne. The ivory face, with its wearily closed eyes, was a veritable triumph, and was surmounted by a headdress of gold intertwined among a mass of dishevelled hair. ”

“ It is good to stand, and stand upright; for it is because he can do this that man is superior to the other animals!"
Coram and I knew Klaw's mannerisms, but I could see that Paxton thought him to be a unique kind of lunatic. Nevertheless, he narrated something of the foregoing up to the point reached at Moris Klaw's arrival.
"Proceed slowly, now," said Klaw. "You left the door open behind you?"
"Yes; but I was never more than ten yards from it. It would have been physically impossible for any one to remove the statue unknown to me. You must remember that it was no light weight." ”

“ Paxton! What a great science is that of mental photography!"
What did he mean? None of us could surmise, and I could see that poor Paxton reposed no faith whatever in the eccentric methods of the investigator. He would have voiced his doubts, I think, but he met a glance from the dark eyes of Isis Klaw which silenced him.
"My child," said Klaw to his daughter, "take the cushion and return. My negative is a clear one. You understand?"
"Perfectly," replied Isis, with composure.
"Breakfast——" began Paxton, tentatively.
But Moris Klaw waved his hands and enveloped himself in the big cloak. ”

“ He calls, 'Nicris!'
"Presently, you come out. You peep over the wall. Ah! out, also, is Madame! She stretches up her white arms—so like the real ivory!—he stretches down his steel hands. He raises her beside him! Name of a dog, he is strong!
"Why to the roof and not over the wall? The path is of gravel and her feet are bare. On the roof, to prove me correct, upon the grime are marks of small bare feet; are marks of men's rubber shoes; are, halfway along, marks of smaller rubber shoes—which he had brought for Nina. He has forethought. They retire by the farther gate of your neighbour's drive. ”

“ I look down at myself, and I am beautiful! I am ivory of limb and decked with gold! I creep, so cautiously, out of the studio (in my dream—you would call it a dream) , and I know, when I wake, that I must have been Nicris! Ah, you wonder! Listen.
"At about midnight, whilst your party is amiable together, comes one, Jean Colette, a clever scamp from that metropolis of such perverted genius—Paris. Into Doctor Gleeson's he goes, supporting Madame—your model. This is seen by Constable Freeman. When the trees hide them they climb over the fence into the lane and over the wall into your garden. ”

“ Paxton smiled. "A little secret I borrowed from the Greeks!" he replied, with condonable vanity. "Polyclitus and his contemporaries excelled at the work."
"That jewelled girdle looks detachable," I said.
"It is firmly fastened to the waist of the figure," answered the sculptor. "I defy any one to detach it inside an hour."
"From a modern point of view the thing is an innovation," remarked one of the others, thoughtfully. ”

“ Paxton, records for me that Nicris was not stolen away, but walked! Plainly, I feel her go tiptoe, tiptoe, so silent and cautious! She is concerned, this barbaric dancing girl who escapes from your studio, with two things. One is some very big man. She thinks, as she tiptoes, of one very tall: six feet and three inches at least! So it is not of you she thinks, Mr. Paxton. We shall see of whom it is. Tell me the name of your acquaintance, the point-policeman."
We were all staring at Moris Klaw, spellbound with astonishment. But Paxton managed to mumble:
"James—Constable James." ”

“ Another policeman will be on duty when the discovery is made; he will know nothing.' He leaves Nina to pretend to be Nicris!
"Ah! she has courage, but her fears are many Most of all she dreads that you will touch her! You do not. And Jean, the ivory statue safe at Clap- ham, returns for Nina. He comes into the doctor's drive by the farther gate—where the point-policeman cannot see him. He wears rubber shoes. He mounts to the studio roof. He lies flat upon the ledge above the door. His voice is falsetto. ”

“ Coram, curator of the Menzies Museum, who up to the present had stood in silent contemplation of the figure, now spoke for the first time. "The cost of materials is too great for this style of work ever to become popular," he averred. "That girdle, by the way, represents a small fortune, and together with the anklets, armlets, and headdress, might well tempt any burglar. What precautions do you take, Paxton?" ”

“ I did not call him, but immediately returned to the studio door."
"In all, you were absent from the studio about how long?" asked Moris Klaw.
"Not a second over half a minute!"
"And on returning once more to the door?"
"A single glance showed me that the statue had gone!"
"Good Heavens!" I said; "it sounds impossible. Was the constable on point duty?"
"He was; there is always an officer there. He stood in sight of the double doors opening on to the street during the whole time, so that 'Nicris' unquestionably came out by way of the garden or melted into thin air. ”

“ From a public call office we rang up the garage, and learned that the man we wanted was not due to report for duty until ten o'clock. We experienced some difficulty in obtaining his private address, but finally it was given to us. Thither we hastened, and aroused the man from his bed.
"A big gentleman and a sick lady," said Moris Klaw, "they hired your cab from Doctor Gleeson's, near Beira Road, at about twelve o'clock last night, and you drove them to the Savoy Hotel." ”

“ Paxton," said her father, indicating the sculptor. Then, indicating the girl, "It is my daughter, Isis. Isis will help us to look for Nicris. Why am I here, an old fool who ought to be asleep? Because of this girdle your statue wore. ”

“ Attempt no tricks, or it is the police and not a meddlesome, harmless old fool who will come. Enter, Jean! We follow."
For a moment longer the big man hesitated, and I saw the shadows of alternate resolves passing across his fine features. ”