An hour passed, and the scene had but changed to this extent that the moving figures had settled down to a man to give themselves up to the soothing influence of tobacco. On his rug, U Saw had not stirred a limb save to flick the ashes from his cheroot, nor had his gaze wandered aside from the glowing flame. The quiet had become profound. Then, in deep silence, there was a sound of footsteps approaching the courtyard. Without turning his head, U Saw raised his hand. The gesture was scarcely begun when Jack felt himself gripped from behind by more than one pair of hands, and he knew among them the deadly clutch of the Strangler.

He was gripped at the same instant by the throat, the waist, and the heels, nor, so cunning had been their approach, had he dreamed that an enemy stood behind him. In an instant the thong at his wrists was severed and his arms drawn out to their fullest extent, a rope tight about each wrist, while his ankles were lashed together with magical swiftness and dexterity. He was swung against the wall despite his struggles, and his body and feet bound to an upright beam. Then the ropes which were about his wrists were drawn taut and made fast, and he was a helpless prisoner.

Just as the last twist was given to the bonds, a group of four entered the courtyard. Saya Chone, the half-caste, came first, and he was followed by Mr. Haydon, under guard of a couple of Kachins. Now U Saw slowly rose from his rug and moved forward, his silken kilt catching the light and glowing with the softest, brightest hues of crimson and gold.

"How are you, Jack?" called out Mr. Haydon anxiously. "Any bones broken?"

"Not one, I believe, father," replied Jack; "only bruises."

"If either of you speak another word," said the half-caste smoothly, "I'll gag you till you choke."

Jack and his father knew that much significance lay under the quiet words, and they remained silent. U Saw and Saya Chone now spoke together in a low tone, and then father and son were brought face to face.

"You are such a slippery couple, and have evaded us so often," said the half-caste, "that we are going to pay you the compliment of dealing with you once and for all upon the spot. Now you can be assured that your last chance of saving your skins has arrived. Here and now we settle the matter. You can start for Bhamo or Mandalay with the break of dawn, or you can become food for wild beasts. It remains with you to decide."

"Don't say a word, father," broke in Jack impetuously. "Don't you see that we're done for in any case? If you told, do you think such men as these would keep their word? Dead men tell no tales."

"That's horribly true, Jack," said his father in a low voice.

The faces of the Ruby King and the half-caste had blackened with rage upon hearing this swift, shrewd speech, which laid bare their motives and intentions, for Jack had hit the mark fair in the centre. Saya Chone thrust his face forward till it was within six inches of Jack's.

"Bold words," he hissed viciously, "bold words; but we shall see before we have done with you."

At this moment there ran into the courtyard a man who panted as if he had travelled far and fast. He bore beneath his arm a small basket made of rushes very closely and strongly woven. The Ruby King gave a grunt of satisfaction, and moved towards him.

Saya Chone now sprang forward and seized the collar of Jack's tunic. He fixed both hands in it and ripped it open. Then he gripped the collar of the flannel shirt beneath and made a snatch at that With a grin of vicious pleasure he rent that open too, and tore a piece of the stuff clean out. He raised his open hand and struck the bare breast of the English lad with a resounding slap.

"Now we shall see," he cried, "now we shall see!"

At sight of this Mr. Haydon had attempted to spring forward, but half a dozen of the iron-muscled little men had leapt at him like cats, and kept him in his place. They hung on to him and held him a close prisoner during the scene which followed.

Jack was little affected by the slap. He had his eyes on U Saw. He felt strongly that the grim, silent Ruby King was the man to be feared above all.

U Saw and the man with the basket had retired to the other side of the fire, and a group of Kachins watched the Ruby King respectfully from a little distance. The watching group now gave a loud murmur of wonder and admiration, as if they had divined some superlatively clever trick of their master's, and were applauding it. Then U Saw turned and came across the courtyard, his right arm oddly and stiffly extended.

Jack watched him come, and wondered what it was that seemed to move and writhe about his arm as he came. The Ruby King stepped into the full light of the great, blazing pile, and Jack saw what it was that moved, and felt his blood run cold within him.

Upon his right hand U Saw wore a thick leathern hunting glove, and his right arm was heavily swathed with a woollen girdle. About his arm the body of a snake was twisted, and he held the head firmly in his hand. A terrible groan of agony burst from Thomas Haydon's lips as he saw the venomous reptile coiling and uncoiling its short, thick body round the arm of the Ruby King. It was a small cobra of the most venomous kind, a creature whose bite took effect at once, and was followed swiftly by death.

U Saw walked up to Jack and held the head of the horrible creature within a foot of Jack's face. The latter tried to look steadily at the frightful death which menaced him, and, for a few seconds, was fascinated by the dreadful sight. The tiny, glittering, bead-like eyes of the reptile sparkled with rage, and its hood swelled and swelled in its fury as it sought something to strike, something upon which it might expend its store of deadly venom. But the grip of the Ruby King held head and neck immovable except as he wished, and the cobra had no power save over its coils. These were in constant and furious motion. They were now wrapped tightly round U Saw's arm, now flung loose, and then tightened anew as the angry snake twisted and writhed and sought to free itself from the clutch which imprisoned its head.

Inch by inch U Saw advanced the frightful flat head until the forked tongue played immediately before Jack's eyes, and the grip on the head was now slightly loosened, and the cobra opened wide its horrid jaws and disclosed its poison fangs, and made convulsive efforts to reach and strike the face just before it.

Jack closed his eyes and drew a long, quivering breath. This torture was exquisite beyond any bodily pain. But there was no thought of yielding in his heart. Among these dark-skinned Asiatics he and his father stood alone, and it lay with them to maintain the English name and credit in this moment when men of a weaker race would have given way and cringed and begged for mercy.

Summoning up his utmost resolution, Jack opened his eyes again, resolute to deny to his enemies the smallest token of their triumph. But he found that the horrid, gaping jaws were no longer close to his face. U Saw had stepped a pace backwards, and was adjusting his grip of the reptile with the greatest care.

He grasped it anew and more tightly, and stepped forward once more. Now he advanced the flat head little by little towards Jack's naked breast. At last it was so close that the cobra's tongue, darting in and out, was touching the lad's body. Ah! that was horrible. To feel the cold, forked tongue playing upon the warm flesh above the beating heart, that heart which would be silenced for ever were but the keen fangs advanced an inch or so farther.

The natural repugnance of the flesh to so horrible a situation was too strong for the spirit, and Jack could not restrain a convulsive shudder, which shook him from head to foot. His father groaned in rage and agony.



CHAPTER XLIII.

THE FACE AT THE DOORWAY.

The sullen face of the Ruby King was lighted up with a smile of deep relish. His savage nature was pleased to its depths to see the effect this simple but exquisite torture had upon the Englishman within his grasp. Again he drew back a pace, and waited a moment for Jack to recover himself. Next he waved to the men who were holding Thomas Haydon to bring their prisoner closer to the bound captive. They did so, and now the position of those gathered in the ruined courtyard was as follows. Jack faced the doorway, and the Ruby King and the half-caste, with their followers clustered behind them, were on his left. His father, under charge of the guards, was on his right, and the fire, which was now at its highest, lighted the whole scene in most brilliant fashion.

Now U Saw raised his arm and stepped forward. His evil grin shone out once more. He was enjoying himself to the full. Jack braced his back against the post and clenched his fists as tightly as the ropes around his wrists would allow, and set his teeth to endure without flinching. His eyes were staring straight before him, into the blackness of the ruined doorway.

Suddenly into that patch of darkness there flashed a face, peeping in on the scene, and as suddenly vanishing. Jack gave a great start and a gasp. Was the torture turning his brain? He had known that face, but it was not the face of any living man. It was the face of Me Dain, their brave guide, who had fallen headlong into the raging torrent, close-grappled with his foe. Jack's movement was hailed by a grim chuckle from the ring of hostile faces. They misjudged it altogether.

U Saw once more held the cobra forward, and glanced with savage meaning at both father and son. Thomas Haydon watched the evil creature with fascinated eyes, and saw that the Ruby King was loosening ever so slightly, and little by little, his grasp of the head, so that the venomous reptile was working forward through the leathern grip towards Jack's breast.

By tiny degrees the cobra worked itself on and on, but Jack saw it not. His eyes were strained into the outer darkness. What had it meant, that face? Was it a mere fancy, or was there more behind it than he dreamed of? Then, with another great start of his frenzied, overwrought body, he saw something else, a thing which none saw save himself, for every eye was fixed on the deadly, wriggling serpent, fighting to get his venomous fangs into that smooth white breast.

There slipped into the light of the fire a little round gleaming tube of steel. Six inches beyond the doorway was it thrust, then held still and steady. Jack knew it for the muzzle of a Mannlicher, and realised with a swelling heart what it meant. He turned his eyes on the dark face of the Ruby King, who, with an air of infinite enjoyment, was giving the writhing reptile a little and a little more liberty, and Jack knew that U Saw was a dead man.

A moment later the rifle spoke. There was a sharp jet of flame, a crack, and a scream. The three were practically simultaneous, and the scream rose from the wildly-parted lips of the Ruby King as he whirled round and staggered against Saya Chone, a slip of lead driven through his brain.

The fate of the half-caste was striking and dreadful. The mortally-smitten man flung out his right arm, and the cobra was swung full against the man who stood beside him, and, at the same instant, the Ruby King's grasp was loosened. Here was the chance for which the creature, irritated to the utmost fury, had longed. It struck, struck with all its might, and drove its deadly fangs deep into the throat of the half-caste.

The latter staggered back with a frightful yell, and tore the horrible reptile from its grip, and cast it away. But the work was done, and the full-filled poison sacs had emptied their store of venom into the blood of Saya Chone.

All this happened in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye; and before a hand could be lifted among the retainers, a whirling hurricane of lead smote with crushing fury among the close-packed group of Kachins which had been clustered behind the leaders. A stream of bullets was poured into them as swiftly as magazines could be worked, and half their number went down headlong. None of the rest stayed to face this awful and mysterious foe. To them it seemed as if evil spirits must be encompassing their destruction, and they fled from this dreadful attack, which leapt upon them so suddenly from the darkness and the silence. Those who could move ran for a low place in the ruined wall, climbed it frantically, and fled into the darkness, yelling and terror-stricken.

Now there burst into the courtyard three familiar figures. Buck Risley led the way, Jim Dent followed, and Me Dain raced after.

"Say," cried Buck, "we only dropped on this little fandango just in time. Stand steady, Jack." With a few swift strokes of his knife he severed Jack's bonds, and the English lad staggered aside, and was caught by his father. They exchanged a strong, silent hand-grip, but neither could speak.

Jim Dent, a reloaded Mauser pistol in hand, was standing on guard. But they had nothing to fear from the groaning wounded, nothing from the Ruby King who lay with his evil smile fixed for ever on his dark face, nothing from the half-caste, now writhing in the agonies of a terrible death.

"Say, Professor, this is great to see you again!" cried Buck joyfully, as Mr. Haydon seized his faithful follower's hand.

"Buck, Buck, this is wonderful," said Mr. Haydon in a shaking voice. "You have come to our rescue at the moment of our utmost need. And Dent and Me Dain. A thousand thanks. But what are words to tell you how we feel?"

"We know just how you feel, Professor," said Jim Dent. "We're only too glad we turned up in time to put a stopper on their fiendish tricks. Now the word is march."

"Right, Jim," said Buck; "off we go. Come on, Me Dain."

The Burman was bending over the body of the Ruby King, and stripping off his rich silken girdle.

"I come," he said, and they trooped across the courtyard together.

Jack had not spoken a word. He had clasped the hands of his faithful friends, but he was too overwrought and bewildered to be able to frame his feelings into speech. He stumbled as he walked, for his limbs were numbed from his bonds, and his father and Buck supported him. Near the doorway the native woman waited for them. Her guard had fled, and she had at once sprung to join her companions in flight.

Their path ran across the open space before the pagoda. Here the ponies of U Saw and his men had been picketed, and were now left without watchers, for all had been drawn to the courtyard. Three of these were caught and saddled, and led with the party till the ruins were cleared and the open hill-side was gained.

"Now we're right," breathed Jim Dent. "I don't reckon there was much to fear from that lot we sent scuttling. They're dangerous enough as a rule, but this time we rattled 'em all to pieces. Still, I'm glad to be in the open."

"Me Dain!" cried Jack, who was rapidly becoming himself again. "Is it really you, alive and in the flesh? How did you escape after that frightful fall from the ledge?"

"I had very good luck, sahib," chuckled the Burman, "very good luck. The Kachin was under when we drop down, and that break my fall. I very near drowned, but at last I got on bank. Then I go on up the pass, and run to the other sahibs."

"Here's the road," said Jim Dent. "There's no moon, but we can see all we want by the stars. Up you go."

Jack, Mr. Haydon, and the native woman were set on the ponies, and then the little cavalcade moved briskly forward, talking as they went, and exchanging experiences.

Me Dain's story made it plain that he had cleared the mouth of the pass just before U Saw and his men blocked the way. He had put his best foot forward and regained the camp, made in a solitary glen among the hills, where Buck and Jim awaited him. The three of them had started back at once well armed, but had travelled on foot in order the more easily to escape observation. Thus the night had fallen by the time they had gained the outskirts of the ruined city. They saw the flare of the fire, and heard the voices of the encampment. Little by little, and with the utmost care, they crept upon the Kachins and brought aid in the very nick of time.

"Say, I don't guess we need trouble much about these little blue-kilts any more," remarked Buck Risley.

"Not in the least, Buck," replied Mr. Haydon. "The death of their leaders sets them at once free from their allegiance. I've no doubt in the world but that the survivors will hurry back home and plunder U Saw's house."

"And how did that little half-caste come off?" asked Jim Dent. "I hope he had something for his trouble."

"Say, Jim," cried Buck, "didn't you twig that? It was about the best touch in the show. The snake they'd got ready for Jack worked loose when you dropped the King, and nipped the half-caste, and he hit the long trail right away."

"Serve him right, the little varmint," was Jim's comment.

They had covered a league or more from the deserted city, when the tinkle of running water fell on Jack's ears.

"That sounds like a brook," he said. "I'm fearfully thirsty."

"So am I," said his father. A brook it was, and they halted beside it and drank their fill.

"Better stop here till daylight," said Me Dain. "Not easy to find the way over hills in the dark." So it was agreed to make a camp beside the brook. The fugitives were quite willing, for they were exhausted by fatigue, and when they had eaten a little of the food which Me Dain had carried in a wallet across his shoulders, and drunk once more of the water of the brook, they lay down and slept the deep sleep of utter weariness. Their fresher companions, Buck and Jim, took turns to watch through the night.

By an hour after dawn they were all on the move, and did not halt again till they reached the secluded hollow where the pack-ponies, securely hobbled, were quietly grazing. In a trice Me Dain had a fire blazing, and he and Buck soon made ready a good meal. When the meal was over they sat in the shade of a clump of bamboos and discussed affairs.

Suddenly, with a grunt of surprise as if at his forgetfulness, Me Dain sprang up and fetched the wallet which had been slung over his shoulders. He laid it before Mr. Haydon, and began to draw forth a long band of rich, glittering silk.

"Why, you've brought U Saw's girdle, Me Dain," said Mr. Haydon.

"Yes, sahib," said Me Dain, a broad smile lighting up his dark face as he looked up at his old master. "And for why? You lose a big ruby. U Saw got it."

The meaning smile on his face broadened.

Mr. Haydon slapped his knee with a crack like a pistol shot. There was no need of words between them.

"By Jove, Me Dain!" he cried, "I shouldn't be surprised if you are right."

"Right, quite right," said Me Dain. "U Saw never leave great stone like that at home. Carry it everywhere. U Saw trust no man."

By this time the others had grasped the meaning of this conversation. Was the great ruby in U Saw's girdle?



CHAPTER XLIV.

HOW THINGS ENDED.

All eyes were fixed in breathless excitement on Me Dain. His swift, practised fingers rapidly explored the intricacies of the long, soft band which had been wound twice or thrice round the waist of the Ruby King.

"Lump here," grunted Me Dain, drawing his knife. He made a couple of rapid snicks, pulled the silk open, glanced in, then looked up at his old master.

"Hold your hand, sahib," he said.

Mr. Haydon held out his hand, and the Burman shook the girdle sharply. A cry of admiration and wonder burst from every watcher as an immense ruby fell into Mr. Haydon's palm and lay there glittering with richest, deepest fire.

The great expert did not need to take a second glance. "That's my stone," he said. "Me Dain, I am indebted to you for ever. Its value to me is beyond all money, for it represents my honour and the good faith which I owe to those who employ me. Me Dain, my good friend, I shall give you ten thousand rupees."

"Oh, sahib," cried the Burman, overcome with the vision of so much wealth, "it is too much for your servant."

"Not a penny," said Mr. Haydon earnestly, "not a penny too much. You have rendered me a service which no money can repay."

Amid a buzz of wonder and surprise and delighted congratulation, the huge stone was examined and passed from hand to hand. Then Mr. Haydon took it again, wrapped it up in a piece of silk cut from the girdle, and carefully bestowed it in an inner pocket.

"I'll have another try to get to London with it," he said. "We ought to manage it this time among us."

Jack stood looking at his father with shining eyes, and Mr. Haydon now turned to his son. As he did so, Buck slapped the tall lad on the shoulder.

"Say, Jack," he cried, "is this good enough for you? You've got your father and the big pebble. Seems to me you've worked your way through this business pretty successful. I reckon you've been the king pin of this outfit."

"Right, Buck, right," said Mr. Haydon in a tone of deep feeling. "I was just thinking of what I owed to my boy."

The next morning they struck south across the hills for Mogok, the great mining town, and their journey thither, under the skilful guidance of Me Dain, was made in safety. The native woman accompanied them for the first half day of their journey, and then her path branched off to the west. She took leave of them with a thousand thanks and good wishes, and, from the store of ready money, carried on one of the pack-ponies, she was furnished with a bag of silver pieces which would make her a rich woman when she reached her native village.

Her parting words were mysterious. She said, "Tell the young sahib that he will find that I have not forgotten him."

Me Dain asked her what she meant, but, with a smile, she refused to explain, and presently was lost to sight along a forest path, and they saw her no more.

From Mogok the travellers pushed on straight to Mandalay, where, through a merchant of his acquaintance, Mr. Haydon obtained sufficient money to pay Me Dain the reward he had promised. So that this time the Burman retired to his native village with wealth beyond anything he had ever dreamed of.

This business detained them in Mandalay for some days, but one evening Mr. Haydon said, "We'll take the first train to-morrow morning," and the others nodded agreement.

Jack went to his room to pack the big bag which he had bought to contain his share of the baggage. The latter had been carried to the room he occupied in the hotel, and he now began to look over it and lay things in order. Presently he came to a torn flannel shirt, and he looked at it with interest. It was the shirt which the half-caste had rent from his breast, and he had replaced it with a spare one which had been among their store. He raised it, and it felt oddly heavy. He unrolled it, and found that it was wrapped round a small parcel.

"What's this?" murmured Jack. "I never wrapped anything up in this shirt."

He took up the parcel and examined it. The outer covering was of native cloth of a dull blue shade. Jack wondered where he had seen such cloth before, then remembered that the head-dress of the native woman, their companion in so adventurous an escape, had been made of it.

"Looks like a bit of that great bundle of stuff she twisted round and round her head," reflected Jack. "Let's see what she's wrapped up for a keepsake."

But the chuckle with which these thoughts passed through his mind was suddenly cut short. A lamp burned brightly on the table beside him. He untied the scrap of cloth which was fastened about the parcel, and unwrapped the folds. He gave a jump of astonishment and a cry of amazement. For there before him, gleaming softly and richly in the strong light of the lamp, lay a heap of magnificent jewels, glorious rubies every one.

He was still staring entranced at this extraordinary find among his traps when the door was opened and a head thrust in.

"Say, Jack," began the newcomer.

"Buck!" cried the lad, "run and fetch my father and Jim, and come back with them."

Buck hurried away, and in less than a minute the four of them were gathered about the heap of precious stones.

"Oh, thunder!" breathed Jim Dent, in a soft tone of amazed wonder.

"Say, Jack, who've you been stickin' up on the trail?" murmured Buck. "Well, if they ain't got a shine on 'em!" and he could say no more.

Mr. Haydon was whistling softly, his eyebrows raised. At last he opened his mouth. "I fancy we've seen these before, Jack," he said.

"Rather," said his son. "These are the rubies that lay among the bones of the priests in the secret chamber. I dropped to that at once."

"We never thought of them again," went on Mr. Haydon, "but the woman gathered them and carried them off. Now she has passed them on to you in this fashion. She must have tucked them into the baggage at some moment when our backs were turned."

"And this is what she meant by saying that he'd find she hadn't forgotten him," broke in Buck. "Say, Jack, you've struck it rich this time."

The fingers of the expert were busy at the next moment among the rich stones. Mr. Haydon handled each carefully, sorted them, then took a pencil and began to appraise them roughly on a scrap of paper. While he did this, Jack related in a low voice to the other two the story of the secret chamber in the pagoda.

"Well," said Mr. Haydon at length, "there are thirty-seven altogether. They vary very much in size, but all are of excellent colour. Speaking in round figures, they are worth about ninety thousand pounds."

"Bully for you, Jack!" exclaimed Buck.

"Bully for all of us, Buck," replied Jack quietly. "If you fancy I'm going to pocket these, you've missed your kick by a long chalk. We'll all share and share alike. Where would my father and myself have been if you hadn't come to the rescue?"

"Right, Jack, quite right," said Mr. Haydon. "But you will count me out, if you please. We'll realise this parcel of stones in London, and then divide the money squarely among you three;" and so it was settled.

"Then I'll come home with you!" cried Jim Dent. "I've had enough of Rangoon, and this trip'll set me up as a rich man for life."

"I hope the woman kept a few stones for herself," said Jack. His father laughed.

"If she's a wise woman she most certainly did not, my boy," he answered. "The possession of rubies would lead to her getting her throat cut as sure as she had a throat. No, no. She's much better off with her bag of rupees."

Five weeks later, about eleven o'clock on a Thursday morning, Jack and his father walked into the city, and sought the offices of Messrs Lane and Baumann. They had come through from Rangoon without a hitch, and had run into Charing Cross by the boat-train the day before.

As they walked along the crowded streets, Mr. Haydon smiled, and said quietly to his son, "You've seen a thing or two, Jack, since last you paid a visit to Lane & Baumann."

"I have, father," said Jack. "It seems years ago since I was here instead of a few months."

Mr. Haydon had insisted on Jack accompanying him on this visit. "It was in their offices that you vowed to begin your quest, Jack," he said; "and in their offices you shall end it, as far as the great stone is concerned."

They were expected, and were at once shown up to Mr. Lane. The latter sprang forward and greeted Mr. Haydon and Jack most warmly.

"Welcome home," he said, "welcome home. I am delighted to see you safe and sound in England once more, Mr. Haydon."

"And I am very pleased to see you, Mr. Lane," said the famous expert, "and glad to say that I have brought home in safety, after all, that big stone, an account of which I cabled to you."

He drew from his pocket the great ruby still wrapped in the fragment cut from U Saw's girdle, and laid it before Mr. Lane. The latter gazed spell-bound at its size and beauty.

"A marvellous stone, Mr. Haydon!" he murmured at last. "A marvellous stone! Ah," he went on, "I wonder what Baumann would say to-day if he were confronted with this wonderful proof of his folly in leaving us."

"Mr. Baumann is no longer your partner?" cried Thomas Haydon.

"No," said Mr. Lane. "We disagreed, and he withdrew from the partnership." Mr. Lane had too much delicacy to say that the quarrel had arisen over their respective opinions as to Thomas Haydon's honesty. Finding that he could not induce the senior partner to make public what he believed to be the theft of the great jewel, Baumann had broken off his connection with the firm.

"I have a long story to tell you, but this is not the time to tell it," said Jack's father. "You are too busy."

"Will you both dine with me to-night?" cried the great merchant. "Then we can have a good talk over things," and the invitation was accepted.

As Jack and his father walked away from the offices, the former remarked, "In one way I was much disappointed that Baumann was not there. It would have been a cheerful arrangement to make him eat his words. But on the whole it just caps the affair nicely to find that he won't benefit by it. Now we'll turn our parcel of rubies into cash and set up Jim and Buck with a good banking account apiece."

His father nodded absently. Between his fingers he held the piece of shining, delicate silk in which the great ruby had been wrapped.

"I see you've brought the scrap of U Saw's girdle with you," said Jack.

"Yes, my boy," returned his father. "I shall never part with this patch of silk. It stands in my eyes for a good deal. I am here safe and sound, and the big stone is at last in the right hands."

"Yes," said Jack quietly, "with the aid of staunch friends, I have come to the end of my quest."

* * * * *