Before I met him, I had been
called upon by Detective Ayscough, Mr. Rubinstein, and Mr. Lauriston--they
know what I said to them. I could not at that time say anything else--I
had my own concerns to think of.
"When Purvis and I met we had another consultation, and we determined, in
view of all the revelations which had come out and had been published in
the papers, that the suspicion cast on young Mr. Lauriston was the very
best thing that could happen for us; it would reassure our Chinaman. And
we made up our minds that the house in Maida Vale would not be found
untenanted that night, and we arranged to meet there at eleven o'clock. We
felt so sure that our man would have read all the news in the papers, and
would feel safe, and that we should find him. But, mark you, we had no
idea as to which of the two Chinamen it was that we wanted. Of one fact,
however, we were certain--whichever it was that I had seen slip round the
corner of Iron Gate Wharf the previous day, whether it was Chang Li or
Chen Li, he would have kept his secret to himself! The thing was--to get
into that house; to get into conversation with both; to decide which was
the guilty man, and then--to take our own course.
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