The Green Mandarin Mystery Page 5

  “I don’t quite see...” began Baine. But Ellis cut him short. He was suddenly intensely busy, hurrying to his bedroom and quickly gathering up several items that he had brought with him from the island laboratory off the coast of Scotland. One of these items was a small, neat flat metal box about three inches long by two wide. Baine of course knew what it was, and the realisation made him whistle gently in admiration.

  “So that’s it, is it?” he said. “Chief, it’s a very good thing that you keep on inventing these gadgets. They make life simple for me!”

  Ellis smiled. “We’ll see,” he said. “Now this is the lay, my lad. You whip off to our hangar and pick up the helicopter as quickly as you can. Don’t tell anyone that we’re on to anything spectacular. We’ll see how it breaks first, then, if necessary, we can call on the police when the time comes for making an arrest.”

  “I get the kite and hover around, is that it?” said Baine. “With the radar receiver switched on, of course.”

  Ellis nodded. “I’ll be wearing this little personal transmitter in my pocket,” he said, patting the small oblong box in his hand. “As you know, it sends out a continuous beam on microwave. The set in the helicopter will pick it up and give you a line on where I am at any time, so keep watch and listen. The radar screen will naturally show you more accurately what movements I make. Tune me in as soon as you reach the plane and stay that way till we join forces again. It’s the best method of following anyone that’s ever been thought of! The only snag is that the person being followed must wear the transmitter.” He paused and scratched his left ear reflectively, frowning. “It’s a problem I’ll have to tackle when I get the chance.”

  Baine grinned. “We have our own problems right now,” he pointed out. “I’ll be off! “

  Chapter 7

  Unknown Destination

  When Baine had left the flat Ellis spared a little time for thought as to what he intended to do. He knew he would shortly be walking into a situation from which it might be extremely difficult to extricate himself. He could, of course, inform the police beforehand what was happening, but to have them nosing in on this would be the surest way of giving something away that he could think of. Had there been plenty of time to make proper arrangements it would have been a different matter, but he must leave the flat almost at once if he was to keep his appointment at Victoria with the mysterious woman who was to be his guide.

  He gave full marks to the man in black for the way in which he had planned things. These Green Mandarin people, thought Ellis, were a power to be counted dangerous.

  It was a tricky problem to decide what to take with him in the way of equipment. He did not go armed, for he was sure he would be searched at some time or other. All he took in the end was the tiny radar transmitter, an equally small short-wave radio sender which was permanently tuned to Baine’s in the helicopter, and a very minute sound detector apparatus. The radar sender was the biggest item. The radio transmitter was in the form of a wristwatch he wore on his left wrist. The sound detector took the shape of a fountain pen in his pocket. The problem of hiding the radar outfit was solved by fitting it inside his big cigar case—a receptacle designed for this and similar purposes as well as holding cigars.

  Finally, feeling that he had done everything possible to make the venture a success, he left the flat and locked the door behind him, after first of all propping the note he had written in a prominent position for someone to find when the place was cleaned out.

  Following his instructions closely, he arrived at Victoria and did as he had been told to do, buying a single ticket for Newhaven and walking to the appropriate platform. There he hung about as if waiting, glancing occasionally at his watch and pretending to read a paper he had bought. The woman, he remembered, would be wearing a miniature edition of the Green Mandarin in the form of a ring.

  He had been waiting for something like ten minutes when someone came and stood a few yards from him. It was a woman. Ellis watched her curiously for a second or two. She made no move to approach him at once, but gazed round in a slightly uncertain manner. She looked at her watch. She looked at the indicator board above the platform. She inquired of a passing railway official as to when the next train left. Ellis began to wonder if this was or was not the woman he wanted.

  He was soon put at his ease, however. The woman, who was in the early thirties, smartly dressed and attractive in a feline fashion, felt in her handbag and wrought out a small gold cigarette case from which she extracted an oval Turkish cigarette. She then fumbled for a match or lighter, failed to find what she needed, and looked round inquiringly. At sight of Ellis her face brightened and she came towards him quickly, holding out the unlighted cigarette in her left hand.

  Ellis met her smile with one of his own disarming ones. Before she could ask for a light he had produced a box of matches and was already striking me.

  As she held her cigarette steady between her lips he saw the ring with its small green figure of the mandarin. Just as the man in black had said it would be it was on the little finger of her left hand.

  “You are satisfied?” murmured the woman quietly as Ellis shook the match to extinction and met her gaze.

  “Perfectly, madam,” he replied. “I am at your service and will act as you direct.” He spoke gravely.

  “Not at my service,” she answered with the faintest of smiles. “May I suggest that we leave this place? It is perhaps a little public, which is well for a meeting, but not for lingering. I have a car outside.”

  Ellis followed without demur as she thanked him for the light and turned away, making for the main entrance of the station. Crowds of people passed them as Ellis followed her a few yards behind. She made straight for a long, low, fast-looking sports saloon of expensive make.

  She opened the door and stood waiting for him.

  With a smile he got in. The woman went round to the other side and slid behind the wheel. She was a graceful person, thought Ellis dispassionately. And mighty dangerous too, he decided. Though beautiful, he reckoned she had a shrewish temper and razor-sharp claws when roused. He decided to leave her to make the running. For himself, he was supposed to be under the influence of post-hypnotic suggestion and was therefore not expected to show much initiative. His chief role till further notice was to do as he was told without seeming to find it strange.

  He sincerely hoped that Gerry Baine was already keeping track of his movements from somewhere in the sky above the city. Thank heaven for science, thought the detective.

  The car, driven expertly by his companion, wended its way swiftly through the traffic and was soon speeding out through the suburbs in a westerly direction.

  The woman did not speak again for some considerable time, and then it was merely to tell him he could smoke if he felt like it. Ellis did.

  The miles flew by; the hours drifted past. It was dark before the woman stopped the car. Ellis had so far been keeping a check on their direction, but once evening closed in and they left the main road for a number of winding secondary ones which the woman seemed to know like the back of her hand he was quickly lost. All he knew for certain was that he was somewhere in the west of England, probably near the border country of Wales.

  The woman behind the wheel drew up on a lonely stretch of comparatively straight road that ran across wild-looking heathland, .with the dark mass of woods on one hand and a steep slope to what might have been a deep flowing river on the other. Ellis opened the window on his side of the car and a fierce wind struck his face. The inside of the car was warm and close. The air from outside felt clean.

  “Close the window, please,” said the woman. Ellis did not argue, but did as he was told meekly.

  The woman switched on a small interior lamp and felt beneath the dashboard. Ellis watched as she brought out a microphone and switched on a concealed radio. There was a humming note from a speaker somewhere under the dash.

  She glanced at her wristwatch, frowned slightly, and waited for half a minut
e.

  Ellis, sitting silently beside her, wondered what it was all about. He could only guess that she was getting in touch with the headquarters of the Green Mandarin. It was at least something to be fairly sure that this was situated in the district, for it was reasonable to suppose that the radio she was using would not have an exceptional range.

  Almost before the thoughts had passed through his mind the speaker crackled faintly and a thin, harsh voice drifted into the stillness of the silent car.

  “You were not followed from London,” said the voice. It belonged to a man, but that was all Ellis could decide. “Everything is well. You are to proceed as usual. How is our guest?”

  The woman glanced across at Ellis. His expression gave nothing away. She lifted the microphone she held and pressed its contact button, speaking quietly and clearly:

  “He would appear to be enjoying himself,” she said with the faintest suggestion of a smile. “No one has given trouble.” A pause during which Ellis stared thoughtfully down the road ahead. No traffic showed up. The woman went on: “We shall be with you shortly. Off.”

  She replaced the microphone and switched off the set with a satisfied smile, turning to Ellis as she did so.

  “It is all arranged,” she murmured softly. “You will soon be joining the Green Mandarin, a goal all men of wisdom and science will seek in the future.” A queer note of intensity entered her voice. Ellis realised she was as much under the influence of the Green Mandarin as he himself was supposed to be. What was it, he asked himself that was capable of acting on people in this extraordinary manner?

  “I am eager to offer my services,” said Ellis aloud.

  “We all are,” she answered more gravely. “That is why you are travelling with me tonight. That is why I myself am doing this work. Let us carry on.”

  “Where are we going?” asked Ellis. He tried to keep some of the curiosity out of his voice.

  “Perhaps it is better that you should not be told until the Master has seen you and given you treatment,” she answered cryptically. “You have nothing to worry about, I assure you. You are only following in the footsteps of others just as valuable as yourself. Have patience.”

  Ellis could not persist in the face of this gentle refusal to talk. He sat quietly, wondering where Baine and the helicopter would be now. Somewhere not far off, he thought. Baine wouldn’t let him down, and the microwave transmission he was sending out all the time would ensure that his assistant did not lose track of him. Baine was an expert pilot and the helicopter was fully equipped to carry out a journey of this description. Specially designed fuel economisers on the engine made it possible to keep the machine in the air for more than twice its normal duration. This, under the circumstances, was just as well. Baine, thought Ellis, would have landed before dark and refuelled at some airport outside London. With a full load he could keep the machine aloft till morning if the need arose.

  The woman beside him started the engine again and set the car in motion once more. They drove in silence for another hour, threading through narrow roads that gradually turned from roads to lanes, climbing all the time. Ellis guessed they were now somewhere among the Welsh hills. If the Green Mandarin had his headquarters or hideout in this vicinity he had certainly chosen an ideal setting. The local inhabitants were taciturn and cautious of strangers, looking on everyone outside their own village as foreign. Nor would they be ready to talk of whatever was going on.

  Probably the Green Mandarin and his organisation had already worked on their natural superstitions and paved the way for mysterious comings and goings, of which there were bound to be a number.

  The lane through which they were travelling was rough and uneven. It climbed steeply upwards, always upwards. Ellis ventured to open the window again, but the chill of the keen mountain wind quickly changed his mind. Even the artificially warmed interior of the car was cold. The woman told him to shut the window. She sounded impatient.

  Ellis relapsed into silent stillness once more. It would not do to antagonise the woman, he thought. She gave the impression of being a trifle short-tempered as well as dangerous if crossed.

  The car sped on, rocking from side to side as the lane climbed in jagged zig-zags on a pot-holed surface that was wicked.

  Presently a drunken-looking farm gate barred their way.

  The woman stopped and Ellis alighted to open the gate. When the car was through he shut it again. He could tell little of the countryside because of the darkness, but it seemed a wild and desolate district. No lights or buildings showed as far as he could see in any direction.

  Sliding in beside the woman again, he felt the car leap forward. She could certainly drive, this female.

  For possibly a further mile they bucketed along, then Ellis saw something darker and more solid in front. The car slowed down, jolting on the farm track surface. Ahead loomed the ragged-looking pile of a ruined border castle. There were many such, Ellis remembered. Some of them were in such a poor state of repair that they had been left to fall into decay.

  Some, closer to main roads, were now well-known show places. Ellis decided that this particular example did not fall in that category. From what little he could see in the gloom there appeared to be no more than a ruined keep and a few scattered fragments of broken wall. Not a very inspiring place, thought Ellis grimly. But not a bad choice as far as the Green Mandarin was concerned.

  “Pick the mountains for isolation,” murmured Ellis in a whisper.

  The woman looked at him sharply. But she didn’t speak. Then the car stopped and she switched off the engine. Apparently they had arrived.

  “Come,” she said to Ellis. “I shall hand you over to the care of our organisation now. If you are wise you will raise no queries or question their orders. It will be for the best in the end, my friend.”

  Both of them got out of the car and stood together for a moment in the darkness and biting wind. Suddenly Ellis felt her hand on his arm. He reached out and gripped her fingers.

  “Thanks for bringing me up here,” he said quietly. “I shall do my best to live up to the honour that has been bestowed on me.”

  Her handshake was firm. “We shall not meet again,” she said. “Not yet at any rate. Do not be afraid. We must all do our duty, you understand. Mine was to bring you here safely. Now I must go.”

  Ellis was on the point of saying something more when two figures appeared from the gloom and came towards them.

  “Welcome!” said one of them to Ellis. “We have been expecting you. Please come with us.”

  Ellis strained his eyes in the darkness but was unable to make out the man’s features. His voice was not one the detective recognised. The second figure said nothing, but Ellis noticed that he came closer than his fellow and showed no tendency to stray far from him.

  Before Ellis could say anything the sound of the car starting up reached his ears. As he turned his head the headlamps flared and the woman drove away swiftly, leaving him alone with his two companions.

  “Let us go inside,” suggested the one who had so far done all the talking. “It will be warmer there, and you are probably ready for food after your journey.”

  “I could certainly eat,” admitted Ellis ruefully. “And a drink wouldn’t come amiss either.”

  He fell into step between them as they escorted him towards the ruined castle. They skirted it by a winding overgrown path till one of them halted at a small dark gateway in the thick wall. A key clicked softly in a lock. Ellis and his escort passed through to a world that was darker and more depressing than the windy outside.

  On again till a crumbling bastion loomed ahead. Then another narrow gateway. Then steps cut in solid rock, damp and inclined to be slippery. The beam of a torch showed the way. Ellis’s curiosity swamped his uneasiness.

  Chapter 8

  Accommodation

  At the foot of the cold stone steps was a heavy oak door, black with age and plentifully studded with square-headed nails. Ellis studied it curiously
. One of the men with him opened it. The detective noticed that it made barely a sound as it swung back on well-oiled hinges. On the other side it was fitted with a yale-type lock.

  Beyond the oak door things were vastly different to the slippery stone steps and general darkness.

  Once the door was closed behind them one of the men switched on an electric light that hung suspended from the roof. Its glare revealed a clean white concrete passage, the air of which struck warm after the chill outside. Ellis sniffed. This place, he decided, must have been prepared some time ago. Had it been recent there would have been that indefinable smell always associated with new buildings, with still damp cement and plaster. But there was nothing of that sort. The passage, although not old, was certainly not brand new. Ellis might have put a question to his guides, but before he could frame the words they were all three moving along the passage away from the old oak door.

  The passageway was thirty or forty yards long. In the course of its length it turned two right angles in opposite directions. The passage was almost six feet wide and nearly seven in height. Built of what appeared to be reinforced concrete, it must have been quite a large undertaking. Ellis wondered how it had been done without arousing a storm of speculation in the district. Maybe, he reflected, there was no one to speculate. Maybe it was not a wise thing to do in these parts.

  The passage ended abruptly at a steel-lined door with a green light glowing above the lintel. When one of the men opened it with a key from his pocket the green light went out. Alongside the green globe was a red one. Just like a broadcasting studio, thought Ellis inconsequentially. Red and green. Red for danger; green for the Mandarin.

  He was jolted from his line of thought by the sight of what lay beyond the steel-lined door.

  Here again there was little more than bare concrete. But it was a room for all that, and a spacious one. A few wooden chairs and a single table were all the furnishings provided. Not a comfort-filled place. There was no carpet or rugs on the cold floor, but the whir of an air-conditioning plant was audible. Warmish air fanned in through a grating high in the opposite wall above a second door similar to the one by which they had entered.