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Title: Alleys of Peril (Leather Lightning)Author: Robert E. Howard* A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook *eBook No.: 0609061h.htmlLanguage: EnglishDate first posted: Dec 2006Most recent update: Jul 2018This eBook was produced by Richard Scott and updated by Roy Glashan.Project Gutenberg of Australia eBooks are created from printed editionswhich are in the public domain in Australia, unless a copyright noticeis included. We do NOT keep any eBooks in compliance with a particularpaper edition.Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check thecopyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing thisfile.This eBook is made available at no cost and with almost no restrictionswhatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the termsof the Project Gutenberg of Australia License which may be viewed online athttp://gutenberg.net.au/licence.htmlTo contact Project Gutenberg of Australia go to http://gutenberg.net.au
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THE minute I seen the man they'd picked to refereethe fight between me and Red McCoy, I didn't like his looks. Hisname was Jack Ridley and he was first mate aboard theCastleton, one of them lines which acts very high tone,making their officers wear uniforms. Bah! The first cap'n I eversailed with never wore nothing at sea but a pair of old breeches, aragged undershirt and a month's growth of whiskers. He used to sayuniforms was all right for navy admirals and bell-hops but they wasa superflooity anywheres else.
Well, this Ridley was a young fellow, slim and straight as aspar, with cold eyes and a abrupt manner. I seen right off that hewas a bucko which wouldn't even let his crew shoot craps on deck ifhe could help it. But I decided not to let his appearance get on mynerves, but to ignore him and knock McCoy stiff as quick aspossible so I couldst have the rest of the night to myself.
They is a old feud between theSea Girl and McCoy's ship,theWhale. The minute the promoter of the Waterfront FightArena heard both our ships had docked, he rushed down and signed usup for a fifteen-round go—billed it as a grudge fight, whichit wasn't nothing but, and packed the house.
The crews of both ships was holding down ringside seats and thespecial police was having a merry time keeping 'em from wreckingthe place. The Old Man was rared back on the front row and ever fewseconds he'd take a long swig out of a bottle, and yell: "Knock theflat-footed ape's lousy head off, Steve!" And then he'd shake hisfist across at Cap'n Branner of theWhale, and thecompliments them two old sea horses wouldst exchange wouldst havecurled a Hottentot's hair.
You can judge by this that the Waterfront Fight Arena is kindafree and easy in its management. It is. It caters to a rough andready class, which yearns for fast action, in the ring or out. Itsperformers is mostly fighting sailors and longshoremen, but, if youcan stand the crowd that fills the place, you'll see more realmayhem committed there in one evening than you'll see in a year inthe politer clubs of the world.
Well, it looked like every sailor in Hong Kong was there thatnight. Finally the announcer managed to make hisself heard abovethe howls of the mob, and he bellered: "The main attrackshun of theevenin'! Sailor Costigan, one hunnerd an' ninety pounds, of theSea Girl—"
"The trimmest craft afloat!" roared the Old Man, heaving hisempty bottle at Cap'n Branner.
"And Red McCoy, one hunnerd an' eighty-five pounds, of theWhale," went on the announcer, being used to suchinterruption. "Referee, First Mate Ridley of the steamshipCastleton, the management havin' requested him to officiatethis evenin'. Now, gents, this is a grudge fight, as you all know.You has seen both these boys perform, an'—"
"And if you don't shut up and give us some action we'll wreckthe dump and toss your mangled carcass amongst the ruins!" screamedthe maddened fans. "Start somethin' before we do!"
The announcer smiled gently, the gong sounded, and me and Redwent together like a couple of wildcats. He was a tough baby, oneof them squat, wide-built fellows. I'm six feet; he was four inchesshorter, but they wasn't much difference in our weight. He wastough and fast, with one of these here bulldog faces, and how thatsawed-off brick-top could hit!
Well, nothing much of interest happened in the first threerounds. Of course, we was fighting hard, neither of us beingclever, but both strong on mixing it. But we was both too tough toshow much damage that early in the fight. He'd cut my lip andskinned my ear and loosened some teeth, and I'd dropped him forno-count a couple of times, but outside of that nothing much hadhappened.
We'd stood toe-to-toe for three rounds, flailing away right andleft and neither giving back a step, but, just before the end ofthe third, my incessant body punching begun to show even on thatchunk of granite they called Red McCoy. For the first time hebacked out of a mix-up, and just before the gong I caught him witha swinging right to the belly that made him grunt and bat hiseyes.
So I come out for the fourth round full of snap and ginger andpromptly run into a right hook that knocked me flat on my back. Thecrowd went crazy, and theWhale's men begun to kiss eachother in their ecstasy, but I arose without a count and, duckingthe cruel and unusual right swing McCoy tossed at me, I sunk myleft to the wrist in his belly and crashed my right under hisheart.
This shook Red from stem to stern and, realizing that my bodyblows was going to beat him if he didn't do something radical, heheaved over a hay-making right with everything he had behind it. Ithad murder writ all over it, and when it banged solid on my ear soyou could hear it all over the house, the crowd jumped up andyelled: "There he goes!" But I'm a glutton for punishment if I dosay so, and I merely tittered amusedly, shook my head to clear it,and caressed Red with a left hook that broke his nose.
The baffled look on his face caused me to bust into heartylaughter, in the midst of which Red closed my left eye with aright-hander he started in Mesopotamia. Enraged for the first timethat night, I rammed a blasting left hook to his midriff, snappedhis head back between his shoulders with another left, and sank myterrible right mauler to the wrist in his belly just above thewaist-line.
He immediately went to the canvas like he figured on stayingthere indefinitely, and his gang jumped up and yelled "Foul!" tillI bet they was plainly heard in Bombay. They knowed it wasn't nofoul, but when Red heard 'em, he immediately put both hands overhis groin and writhed around like a snake with a busted back.
The referee came over, and as I stood smiling amusedly to hearthem howl about fouls, I suddenly noticed he wasn't counting.
"Say, you, ain't you goin' to count this ham out?" I asked.
"Shut up, you cad!" he snapped to my utter amazement. "Get outof this ring. You're disqualified!"
And while I gaped at him, he helped Red to his feet and raisedhis hand.
"McCoy wins on a foul!" he shouted. The crowd sat speechless fora second and then went into hysterics. The Old Man went for theWhale's skipper, the two crews pitched in free and hearty,the rest of the crowd took sides and begun to bash noses, and Red'shandlers started working over him. The smug look he give me and thewink he wunk, drove me clean cuckoo. I grabbed Ridley's shoulder ashe started through the ropes.
"You double-crossin' louse," I ground. "You can't get away withthat! You know that wasn't no foul!"
"Take your hands off me," he snapped. "You deliberately hit low,Costigan."
"You're a liar!" I roared, maddened, andcrack come hisfist in my mouth quick as lightning, and I hit the canvas on theseat of my trunks. Before I could hop up, a bunch of men pounced onme and held me whilst I writhed and yelled and cussed till the airwas blue.
"I'll get you for this!" I bellered. "I'll take you apart andscatter the pieces to the sharks, you gyppin', lyin', thievin' sonof a skunk!"
He looked down at me very scornful. "A fine specimen ofsportsmanship you are," he sneered, and his tongue cut me like akeen knife. "Keep out of my way, or I'll give you a belly-full ofwhat you want. Let him loose—I'll handle him!"
"Handle him my eye!" said one of the fellows holding me. "Getouta here while gettin's good. They ain't but ten of us settin' onhim and we're givin' out. Either beat it or get seven or eightother birds to help hold him!"
He laughed kind of short, and, climbing from the ring, strodeout of the building between rassling, slugging and cursing groupsof bellering fans, many of which was yellin' for his blood. Funnyhow some men can get by with anything. Here was hundreds of toughbirds which was raving mad at Ridley, yet he just looked 'em in theeye and they give back and let him past. Good thing for him,though, that my white bulldog Mike was too busy licking Cap'nBranner's police dog to go for him.
Well, eventually the cops had things quieted, separated the dogsand even pried the Old Man and Cap'n Branner apart, with theirhands full of whiskers they had tore off each other.
I didn't take no part in the rough-house. As quick as I couldget dressed and put some collodion on my cuts, I slipped out theback way by myself. I even left Mike with Bill O'Brien because Ididn't want him interfering and chewing up my man; I wanted nobodybut me to get hold of Mister Jack Ridley and beat him into a redhash. He wasn't going to cow me with the cold stare of his eyes,because I was going to close both of 'em.
Honest to cats, I dunno when I ever been so mad in my life. Iwas sure he'd deliberately jobbed me and throwed the fight toMcCoy, and what was worse, he'd slugged me in the face and got awaywith it. A red haze swum in front of me and I growled deep blackcurses which made people stop and stare at me as I swaggered alongthe waterfront streets.
After a while I seen a barkeep I knowed and I asked him if he'dseen Ridley.
"No," said he, "but if you're after him, I'll give you a tip.Lay off him. He's a hard man to fool with."
That only made me madder. "I'll lay off him," I snarled, "afterI've made hash for the fishes outa him, the dirty, double-crossin',thievin' rat! I'll—"
At this minute the barkeep commenced to shine glasses like hewas trying for a record, and I turned around to see a girl standingjust behind me. She was a white girl and she was a beauty. Her facevery white, all except her red lips and her hair was blacker thanmine. Her eyes was deep and a light gray, shaded by heavy lashes.And them eyes was the tip-off. At first glance she mighta been aordinary American flapper, but no flapper ever had eyes like them.They was deep but they was hard. They was yellow sparks of lightdancing in them, and I had a funny feeling that they'd shine in thedark like a cat's.
"You were speaking of Mr. Jack Ridley, of theCastleton?"she asked.
"Yeah, I was, Miss," I said, dragging off my ragged old cap.
"Who are you?"
"Steve Costigan, A.B. mariner aboard the traderSea Girl,outa San Francisco."
"You hate Ridley?"
"Well, to be frank, I ain't got no love for him," I said. "Hejust robbed me of a fight I won fair and square."
She eyed me for a minute. I ain't no beauty. In fact, I beentold by my closest enemies that I look more like a gorilla than ahuman being. But she seemed plenty satisfied.
"Come into the back room," she said, and, to the bartender:"Send us a couple of whisky-and-sodas."
In the back room, as we sipped our drinks, she said, "You hateRidley, eh? What would you do to him if you could?"
"Anything," I said bitterly. "Hangin's too good for a rat likehim."
She rested her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands,and, looking into my eyes, she said, "Do you know who I am?"
"Yeah," I answered. "I ain't never seen you before, but youcouldn't be nobody else but the girl the Chinese call the 'WhiteTigress.'"
Her narrow eyes glittered a little and she nodded.
"Yes. And would you like to know what drove a decent white girlinto the shadows of the Orient—made an innocent, trustingchild into one of a band of international criminals, and the leaderof desperate tongmen? Well, I'll tell you in a few words. It wasthe heartlessness of a man—the man who took me from my homein England, lied to me, deceived me, and finally left me to thetender mercies of a yellow mandarin in interior China."
I shuffled my feet kind of restless; I felt sorry for her anddidn't know what to say. She leaned toward me, her voice dropped awhisper, while her eyes burned into mine: "The man who betrayed anddeserted me was the man who robbed you tonight—JackRidley!"
"Why, the low-down swine!" I ejaculated.
"I, too, want revenge," she breathed. "We can be useful to eachother. I will send a note to Ridley asking him to come to a certainplace in the Alley of Rats. He will come. There you will meet him.There will be no one to hold you this time."
I grinned—kinda wolfishly, I reckon. "Leave the rest tome."
"No one will ever know," she murmured, which kind of puzzled me."Hong Kong's waterfront has many secrets and many mysteries. I willsend a man with you to guide you to the place. Then, come to mehere tomorrow night; I can use you. A man like you need not workaway his life on a trading schooner."
She clapped her hands. A Chinaboy come in. She spoke to him inthe language for a minute, and he bowed and beat it. She arose: "Iam going now. In a few minutes your guide will come. Do as he says.Good luck to you; may you avenge us both."
She glided out and left me sitting there sipping my licker andwondering what it was all about. I'd heard of the White Tigress;who in China ain't? A white girl who had more power amongst theyellow boys than the Chinese government did. Who was she? How comeher to get so much pull? Them as knowed didn't say. That she was ainternational crook she'd just admitted. Some said she was a pirateon the sly; some said she was the secret wife of a big mandarin;some said she was a spy for a big European power. Anyway, nobodyknowed for sure, but everybody agreed that anybody which crossedher was outa luck.
Well, I set there and guzzled my licker, and pretty soon in comethe meanest, scrawniest looking piece uh humanity I ever seen. Aragged, dirty shrimp he was, with a evil, furtive face.
"Bli'me, mate," said he, "le's be up and doin'. It's a nicenight's work we got ahead of us."
"Suits me," said I, and I follered him out of the saloon by aside door into the nasty, dimly lighted streets, and through twistyalleys which wasn't lighted at all. They stunk like sin and Icouldst hear the stealthy rustling noises which always goes on insuch places. Rats, maybe, but if a yellow-faced ghost hadda jumpedaround my neck, I wouldn'ta been surprised a bit.
Well, the cockney seemed to know his way, though my sense ofdirection got clean bumfuzzled. At last he opened a door and Ifollered him into a squalid, ramshackle room which was as dark asthe alleys. He struck a light and lit a candle on a rough table.They was chairs there, and he brought out a bottle. A door openedout of the room into some other part of the place, I guess; thewindows was heavily barred and I saw a trap door in the middle ofthe floor. I could hear the slow, slimy waves sucking and lappingunder us, and I knowed the house was built out over the water.
"Mate," said the Cockney, after we'd finished about half thebottle, "it comes to me that we're a couple o' blightin' idjits tobe workin' for a skirt."
"What d'ya mean?" I asked, taking a pull at the bottle.
"Well, 'ere's us, two red-blooded 'e-men, takin' orders from alousy little frail, 'andin' the swag h'over to 'er, and takin' wotshe warnts to 'and us, w'en we could 'ave the 'ole lot. Take thisjob 'ere now—"
I stared at him. "I don't get you."
He glanced around furtive-like, and lowered his voice: "Mate,let's cop the sparkler for ourselves and shove out! We can get backto Hengland or the States and live like blurry lords for a while.Hi'm sick o' this bloody dump."
"Say, you," I snarled, "what'r you drivin' at? Whatsparkler?"
"W'y, lorlumme," said he, "the sparkler we takes off Mate Ridleyafore we dumps his carcass through that trapdoor."
"Hold everything!" I was up on my feet, all in a muddle. "Ididn't contract to do no murder."
"Wot!" said the Cockney. "Bli'me! The Tigress says as you wasyearnin' for Ridley's gore!"
"Well, I am," I growled, "but she didn't get my meanin'. Ididn't mean I wanted to kill him, though, come to think about it,it mighta sounded like it. But I ain't no murderer, though killin'is what he needs after the way he treated that poor kid. When hecomes through that door, I'm goin' to hammer him within a inch ofhis life, understand, but they ain't goin' to be no murderdone—not tonight. You can bump him later, if you want to. Butyou got to let me pound him first, and I ain't goin' to be in on noassassination."
"But we got to finish him," argued the Cockney, "or him and ToYan will have all the bobbies in the world after us."
"Say," I said, "the Tigress didn't say nothin' about no jewelnor no To Yan. What's they got to do with it? She said Ridley brungher into China and left her flat—"
"Banan orl!" sneered the Cockney. "She was spoofin' you proper,mate. Ridley never even seen 'er. Hi dunno 'ow she got into so muchpower in China myself, but she's got somethin' on a mandarin and aclique o' government officials. She's been a crook ever since shewas big enough to steal the blinkin' paint orf 'er bloomin'cradle.
"Listen to me, mate, and we 'ands 'er the double-cross proper. Iwasn't to spill this to you, y'understand. I was to cop thesparkler after you'd bumped Ridley, and say nuthin' to you aboutit, see? But Hi'm sick o' takin' orders orf the 'ussy.
"Old To Yan, the chief of the Yan Tong, 'as a great fancy toRidley. Fact is, Ridley's old man and the old Chinee 'as been closefriends for years. Right now, To Yan's oldest darter is in Henglandgettin' a Western eddication. Old To Yan's that progressive and hupto the times. Well, it's the yellow girl's birthday soon, and ToYan's sendin' 'er a birthday present as would make your heyes bugout. Bli'me! It's the famous Ting ruby, worth ten thousandpounds—maybe more. Old To Yan give it to Jack Ridley to taketo the girl, bein' as Ridley's ship weighs anchor for Henglandtomorrer. I dunno 'ow the Tigress found hout habout it, but that'swot she's hafter."
"I see," said I, grinding my teeth. "I was the catspaw, hey? Shehanded me a line to rub me up to do her dirty work. She thought Iwanted to bump Ridley, anyway. Why'n't she have some of her ownthugs do it?"
"That's the blightin' smoothness o' 'er," said the Cockney. "Whyrisk one o' her own men on a job like that, w'en 'ere was a toughsailor sizzlin' for the blinkin' hopportunity? She really thoughtyou was wantin' to bump Ridley; she didn't know you just warnted tobeat 'im hup. If you'd bumped 'im and got caught, she wouldn't abeen connected with it, so's it could be proved, because you ain'tone o' 'er regular men. She thought you was the right man for thejob, anyway, because, mate, if Hi may say so, you looks like anatural-born murderer. But look 'ere—let's cross 'er, and dothe trick hon our hown."
"Not a chance," I snapped. "Unlock that door and let meout!"
"Let you hout to squeal hon me," he whined, a red lightbeginning to gleam in his little rat eyes. "Not me, says you! Watchhout, you Yankee swine—!"
I saw the flash of his knife as he came at me, and I kicked achair into his legs; and while he was spitting curses like a catand trying to untangle hisself, I bent my right on his jaw and hetook the count.
With scarcely a glance at his recumbent form, I twisted the lockoff the door and stalked forth into the darkness. I groped aroundin a lot of twisty back alleys for a while, expecting any minute toget a knife in my back or fall into the bay, but finally Iblundered into a narrow street which was dimly lit and soon foundmyself back in a more civilized portion of the waterfront. And afew minutes later who do I see emerging from a saloon but a man Irecognized as a stoker aboard theCastleton.
"Hey, you," I accosted him politely, "where is that lousy firstmate of yours?"
"Try and find out, you boneheaded mick," he answered rudely."What d'ya think uh that?"
"Chew on this awhile," I growled, clouting him heartily in themush, and for a few seconds a merry time was had by all. But prettyquick I smashed a right hook under his heart that took all thefight out of him, along with his wind.
Having brung him to by a liberal deluge of water from a nearbyhorse trough, I said: "All right, if you got to be so stubborn youwon't answer a civil question, I won't insist. But lemme tell yousomethin', and you can pass it on to that four-flushin'mate—when I get my hands on him, I'm goin' make him eat thatfoul decision. And say, you better find him and tell him that if hekeeps packin' around what To Yan give him, he's goin' to lose it,along with his life. He'll understand what I mean. And tell him tostay away from the Alley of Rats, if he ain't already gonethere."
Well, it was mighty late by this time. The streets was nearlydeserted, even them which usually has a crowd of revelers on 'emall night. I was sleepy, but knowing that theCastleton wassailing the next morning, I took one more stroll around, hoping torun onto the mate. I was sure he hadn't gone aboard yet, because healways spent his nights ashore when he could.
After hunting for maybe an hour or more, I was about to give itup. I was passing a dark alleyway when something come slipping out,looking like a slim white ghost. It was the White Tigress.
"Wait a minute, Costigan," she said, as friendly as you please."May I speak to you just a moment?"
"You got a nerve, Miss," I said reproachfully, "after the bunkyou handed me—"
"Ah, don't be angry at me," she cooed, patting my arm. "Forgetit. I'll make it up to you, if you'll just come with me. You're thekind of a man I admire."
I'm the prize boob of the Asiatics. I follered her along thelittle, dark, smelly alley, through an arched doorway and into akind of small court, lighted by smoky lamps. Then she turned on meand I got a chill.
Boy, all the cat-spirit in her eyes was up and blazing. Her facewas whiter than ever, her red lips writhed into a snarl, and of allthe concentrated venom I ever seen flaming out of a woman's eyes,it was there! Murder, destruction, torture, sudden death anddamnation she looked at me.
"I reckon maybe I better be going Miss," I said, kind ofnervous. "It's gettin' late and the Old Man'll be expectin' meback—"
"Stand where you are!" she said in a voice so low it was almosta whisper.
"But the cook may be drunk and I'll have to make breakfast forthe crew!" I said wildly, beginning to get desperate.
"Shut up, you fool!" she exclaimed in a voice which plumb shookwith passion. "I'll fix you, you dumb, imbecilic, boneheaded,double-crossing beast! It was you who warned Ridley, wasn't it? Andhe ditched the ruby and never showed up at the Alley of Rats. Itwas just by pure luck that we got him at all. But he'll tell whathe did with the gem before we get through with him. And as foryou—"
She stopped a minute and her eyes ran up and down my huge framegloatingly; she actually licked her lips like a cat over amouse.
"When I finish with you, you'll have learned not to interferewith my affairs," she added, taking a long, thin raw-hide whip fromsomewhere and flicking it through the air. "I'm going to lash youwithin an inch of your life," she announced. "You won't be thefirst, either. I'm going to flay you and cut you to pieces. I'mgoing to whip you until you're a blind, whimpering, writhing massof raw flesh."
"Now listen, Miss," I said, with quiet dignity, "I like tooblige a lady but they is such a thing as carryin' curtesy too far.I ain't goin' to let you even touch me with that cat."
"I didn't suppose you would," she sneered, "so I provided forthat." She clapped her hands and into the courtyard from nowherecome five big Chinese. They was big, too; the smallest was largerthan me and the biggest looked more like a elephant than a man.They come for me from all sides like shadows.
"Grab him, boys," she snapped in English, and I give a wolfishgrin. I was plumb at ease now I had men to deal with. They wasreaching for me when I went into action. A trained fighter canclean up a roomful of white civilians—and a Chinee can't takea punch. Quick as a flash I threw my whole shoulder-weight behindthe left I smashed into the yellow map of the one in front of me;blood spattered and he sagged down, out cold. The next instant therest was on me like a pack of wolves, but I whirled, ducking undera pair of arms and dropping the owner with a right hook to theheart. For the next few seconds it was a kind of whirlwind offlailing arms and legs, with me as the center.
At first they tried to capture me alive, but, being convinced ofthe futility of this endeavor, they tried to kill me. A knifelicked along my arm, and the sting of the wound maddened me. With aroar, I crashed my right down on the neck of the Chinee which hadme around the legs, driving him against the ground so hard his facesplattered like a tomato. Then, reaching back and getting a goodhold on the yellow boy which was both strangling me from behind andtrying to knife me, I tossed him over my head. He hit on his neckand didn't get up. I then ducked a hatchet swiped at me by thebiggest of the gang, and, rising on my toes, I reached his jaw andcrashed him with a torrid left hook. I didn't need to hit himagain.
The fight had took maybe a minute and a half. I glancedscornfully at the prostrate figures of my victims, and then lookedaround for the Tigress. She was crouched back in a angle of thewall, with a kind of stunned look in her eyes, the whip danglingfrom her limp fingers. She give me one horrified look and shudderedand murmured something about a gorilla.
"Well," I said, kind of sarcastic, "it don't look like they isgoin' to be no whippin' tonight—or have you got some morehatchet-men hid away somewheres? If you have, trot 'em out. Actionis what I crave."
"Great heavens," she murmured, "are you human? Do you realizethat you've just laid out five professional murderers?And—and—what are you going to do with me?"
Seeing that she was scared gave me a idea. Maybe I could makeher tell something about Ridley.
"You come with me," I growled, and taking her arm, I marched herout of the courtyard by another way, until we come to anothercourtyard similar to the one we'd left, but open enough so Icouldst see if anybody tried to slip up on me. Spite of what she'ddid, I felt kind of ashamed of myself, because if I ever seen ascared girl, it was the White Tigress. Her knees knocked togetherand she looked like she thought I'd eat her. When she thought Iwasn't looking, she dropped the whip like it was hot, giving me amost guilty glance. I reckon she thought maybe I'd use it on her,and I felt clean insulted.
"Where's Jack Ridley?" I asked her, and she named a place I'dnever heard of.
"Don't hit me," she begged, though I never hit a woman and hadstmade not the slightest threatening motion at her. "I'll tell youabout it. I sent the note to Ridley and waited for the Cockney tocome and report to me. He had orders to hide you in a safe placeafter you'd turned the trick, and then come back and tell me aboutit. But after a while the Cockney turned up with a welt on his jaw,and said you'd balked on the job. He said you knew about the rubysomehow and that you proposed that you and he kill Ridley, take thestone and skip—"
"Aha," thought I to myself, "I bet he lied hisself into ajamb!"
"—but I realized that you couldn't have known about itunless he told you, so I laid into him with the raw-hide and prettysoon he admitted that he let it slip about the ruby. But he saidyou wanted him to double-cross me, and he wouldn't do it, and youknocked him out and left. He said that after he came to he waited awhile, intending to kill Ridley himself, but the mate never showedup. I knew the Cockney was lying about part of it, at least, but Ibelieved him when he said that likely you had killed Ridleyyourself and skipped. I started my gang out looking for you, butthey caught Ridley instead. It was just by chance.
"They brought him to the hang-out and we searched him, but hedidn't have the ruby on him and he wouldn't tell what he'd donewith it. We did worm it out of him that he was on his way to theAlley of Rats in answer to the note he got, when a stoker on hisship met him and warned him to keep away. While we were gettingready tomake him talk, one of my boys brought me word thathe'd just seen you on the streets, and I thought I'd settle thescore between us. I'm sorry; I'll never try it again. What are yougoing to do with me?"
"How do I know you're tellin' the truth?" I asked.
She shuddered. "I'd be afraid to lie to you. You're the only manI ever saw that I was afraid of. Don't be angry—but I saw agorilla kill six or seven niggers on the West African Coast once,and, when you were fighting those China-boys, you looked just likehim."
I was too offended to say anything for a second, and she kind ofwhimpered: "Please, whatare you going to do with me? Pleaselet me go!"
"I'm goin' to let you take me to where you got Jack Ridley," Igrowled, mopping the blood off my cut arm, and working it so itwouldn't get stiff. "I got a account to settle with the bigcheese—and you ain't goin' to torture no Americans while Ican stand on my two feet. Lead the way!"
Well, I'd of been in a jamb if she'd refused, because I don'tknow what I coulda done to make her—it just ain't in me to berough with no women—but my bluff worked. She didn't argue atall. She led me out of the courtyard, down three or four narrow,deserted streets, across a bunch of back alleys, and finallythrough a narrow doorway.
Here she stopped. The room was very dimly lighted by a streetlamp that burned just outside and through the cracks in the wall Icould see they was a light in the room beyond.
I had my hand on her arm, just so she wouldn't try to give methe slip, but I guess she thought I'd wring her neck if she crossedme, because she whispered: "Ridley's in there, but there's a gangof men with him."
"How many and who all are they?" I whispered.
"Smoky and Squint-Eye and Snake and the Dutchman; and thenthere's Wladek and—"
Just then I heard a nasty voice rise that I recognized asbelonging to the said Smoky—a shady character but one which Ihadn't known was mixed up in the Tigress game: "Orl right, youbloody Yank, we'll see wot you says after we've touched yer up abit wiv a 'ot h'iron, eh, mates?"
I let go the girl's arm and slid to the door, soft and easy. Andthen I found out the Tigress wasn't near as scared as she'dpretended, because she jumped back and yelled: "Look out,boys!"
Secrecy being now out of the question, the best thing was to getin the first punch. I hit that door like a typhoon and crashedright through it. I had a fleeting glimpse of a smoky lamp in abracket on the wall, of a rope-wrapped figure on a bunk and a ringof startled, evil faces.
"Ow, murder!" howled somebody I seen was the Cockney. "It's thatbloody sailor again!" And he dived through the nearest window.
In that room they was a Chinee, a Malay, a big Russian and sixthugs which was a mixed mess of English, Dutch and American. As Icome through the door, I slugged the big Russian on the jaw andfinished him for the evening, and grabbing the Chinee and the Malayby their necks, I disposed of them by slammin' their headstogether. Then the rest of the merry men rose up and come down onme like a wolf on the fold, and the real hilarity commenced.
It was just a whirlwind. Fists, boots, bottles and chairs! And afew knives and brass knuckles throwed in for good measure. Weromped all over the room and busted the chairs and shattered thetable, and it was while I was on the floor, on top of three of themwhile the other three was dancing a horn-pipe on me, that I gothold of a heavy chair-leg. Shaking off my assailants for a instant,I arose and smote Dutchy over the head with a joyous abandon thatinstantly reduced the number of my foes to five. Another swat brokeSnake's arm, and at that moment a squint-eyed yegg ran in andknifed me in the ribs. I give a roar of irritation and handed himone that finished him and the chair-leg simultaneous.
At this moment a red-headed thug laid my scalp open with a pairof brass knuckles, and Smoky planted his hob-nailed boots in myribs so hard it put me on my back again, where the survivors leapedon me with howls of delirious joy. But I was far from through,though rather breathless.
Biting a large hunk out of the thumb a scar-faced beachcombertried to shove in my eyes, I staggered up again. Doing this meantlifting Smoky too, as he was on my back, industriously gnawing myear. With a murmur of resentment, I shook him off and flattened himwith a right-handed smash that broke three ribs; and, ducking thechair Scar-Face swung at me, I crashed him with a left that smashedhis nose and knocked out all his front teeth.
Red-Head was still swinging at me with the brass knuckles, andhe contrived to gash my jaw pretty deep before I brokehisjaw with a hay-making right swing. As the poem says, the tumult andthe clouting died, and, standing panting in the body-littered room,I shook the blood and sweat outa my eyes and glared around for morethugs to conquer.
But I was the only man on his feet. I musta been a sight. All myclothes was tore off except my pants, and they wasn't enough ofthem left to amount to anything. I was bleeding from a dozen cuts.I was bruised all over and I had another black eye to go with theone McCoy had give me earlier in the evening. I looked around forRidley and seen him lying on the bunk where he was tied up, staringat me like he'd never seen a critter like me before. I looked forthe Tigress but she was gone.
So I went over and untied Ridley, and he never said a word;acted like he was kinda stunned. He worked his fingers and glancedat the victims on the floor, some of which was groaning andcussing, and some of which was slumbering peaceful.
"Gettin' the circulation back in your hands?" I asked, and henodded.
"All right," said I, "Put up your mitts; I'm goin' to knock youinto the middle of Kingdom Come."
"Good Lord, man," he cried, "you've saved my life—and youmean you want to fight me?"
"What the hell did you think?" I roared. "Think I come around tothank you for jobbin' me out of a rightful decision? I never foulednobody in my life!"
"But you're in no shape to fight now!" he exclaimed. "You'vejust whipped a roomful of men and taken more punishment than Ithought any human being could take, and live! You're bleeding likea stuck hog. Both your eyes are half-closed, your lips are pulped,your scalp's laid open, one of your ears is mangled, and you've gothalf a dozen knife cuts on you. I saw one of those fellows stab youin the ribs—"
"Aw, it just slid along 'em," I said. "If you think I'm markedup, you oughta seen me after I went fifteen rounds to a draw withIron Mike Brennon. But listen, that ain't neither here nor there.You ain't as big as I am, but you got the reputation of a fighter.Now you put up your mitts like a man."
Instead, he dropped his hands to his sides. "I won't fight you.Not after what you've just done for me. Do you realize that you'veburst into the secret den of the most dangerous crook inChina—and cleaned up nine of her most desperate gangmen,practically bare-handed?"
"But what about that foul?" I asked petulantly.
"I was wrong," he said. "I was standing behind McCoy and didn'treally get a good look at the blow you dropped him with. Honestly,it looked low to me, and when McCoy begun to writhe around on thecanvas, I thought you had fouled him. But if you did, it wasn'tintentional. A man like you wouldn't deliberately hit anotherfighter low. You didn't even hit these thugs below the belt, thoughGod knows you had every right. Now then, I apologize for that fouldecision, and for hitting you, and for what I said to you. If youwant to take a swing at me anyway, I won't blame you, but I'm notgoing to fight you."
He looked at me with steady eyes and I seen he wasn't afraid ofme, or handing me no bluff. And, somehow, I was satisfied.
"Well," I said, mopping the blood off my scalp, "that's allright. I just wanted you to know I don't fight foul. Now let's getouta here. Say—the White Tigress was here withme—where'd she go, do you reckon?"
"I don't know. And I don't want to know. If I don't see heragain, it will be soon enough. It must have been she who sent methat note earlier in the night."
"It was. And I don't understand, if you was goin' to do what itsaid, why it took you so long. You shoulda been at the Alley ofRats before the stoker had time to find you and give you mywarnin'."
"Well," he said, "I hesitated for nearly an hour after gettingthe note, as to whether I'd go or not, but finally decided I would.But I left the To Yan ruby with the captain. On the way, the stokermet me and gave me your tip, which he didn't understand but thoughtI ought to know nevertheless. So I didn't go to the Alley of Rats,but later on a gang jumped me, tied me up and brought me here. Andsay, how is it that you're mixed up in all this?"
"It's a long story," I said, as we come out into one of thepoliter streets, "and—"
"And just now you need those cuts and bruises dressed. Come withme and I'll attend to that. You can tell me all about it while Ibandage you."
"All right," I said, "but let's make it snappy 'cause I gotbusiness."
"Got a girl in this port, have you?"
"Naw," I said. "I think I can find the promoter of theWaterfront Fight Arena at his saloon about now, and I want to askhim to get Red McCoy to fight me at the Arena again tomorrownight."
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