For my family English and Chinese alike Here’s to many more happy delicious dinners
Prologue Mr. Scant peered around the wall of the gazebo I peered around Mr Scant and the strange little urchin peered around me Fortunately our hiding place was shadowy enough that the two men didn’t spot us Besides they were busy enjoying their cigarettes and telling jokes in French presumably bawdy ones from what I gath ered all French jokes were bawdy Mr Scant drew back so I did the same pulling the boy into the shadows with me What are they doing there I whispered to Mr Scant Guarding the door Mr Scant rumbled his voice so low I could only just hear the words Why would they need to guard the door to a gallery 1
Why indeed Mr Scant said glancing down at the long-haired boy who had led us here It seems your little friend thinks we should have a look inside Meeting Mr Scant’s eye the child gestured toward the door and said in his small voice Julien j’pense qu’il est I risked another glimpse Is that one of those Maxim guns he has One of the men was huge and obviously very strong because he was holding a very big gun The other one was there simply to hold the chain of bullets but had his own rifle on his back It was not a very heartening sight A Hotchkiss said Mr Scant Though no mat ter who makes a gun its effect on your general health and well-being will be much the same On the other hand if he thinks he can heft that monster and fire it with any accuracy his poor judgment will be to our advantage Let’s hope this is the only obstacle that stands between us and Reggie Do you think we’ll find him inside If I know my brother he’s gotten himself in hot water It would be wise to make sure Should we find a window or something to look in through 2
What do you think Master Oliver I paused I suppose even if we look in we won’t be sure unless we check everywhere That means we need to be able to get inside Should we try to sneak in somewhere else I would prefer to deal with these two now if that’s all the same to you Master Oliver Best not to risk their overhearing our investigations and catching us by surprise if we sneak in And well if I find out something has happened to my brother I’ll have dif ficulty restraining myself Mr Scant had raised his claw There was an omi nous quality to the way the long sharp blades caught the dim evening light I licked my dry lips I suppose for their sake we’d better deal with them now then Is it going to be that easy I shouldn’t think it will be especially difficult I shall approach from the side and we’ll see how quickly he can turn that great gun of his around What should I do Make sure your little vagabond friend stays exactly where he is And if they shoot me well I suppose that will distract them long enough for you to bop them on the head and have a look around 3
