he realised that she was also wiping her eyes . he hated having to hurt her , but he had known ever since he had announced his engagement to Hyacinth , that he would have to talk seriously to his ex-wife . he had suspected her of wanting to renew their relationship before she accepted Charles Rawlings , but afterwards he had believed that she had found happiness with the bluff sailor and he &apos;d been genuinely glad - until this holiday in Singapore . then it had occurred to him that she had not got over their disastrous marriage . I &apos;ll - try and make Charles a good wife , she said when she had controlled herself and turned to face him . he is - devoted to me , and I know he will make an excellent husband . I have already told him about you , and - and he is prepared to forget it . he believes that it is possible for two people situated as we are to have a platonic friendship . and you know that &apos;s true , Biddy . she shook her head . I do n&apos;t think that a man and woman who have lived together can ever be friends ; sex is bound to enter into their relationship &amp;hellip; . perhaps you are right . she made a determined effort to speak naturally . it would have been a bad mistake to try and pick up the threads again . you always were a devil , Nick , and I &apos;m sorry for the girl you marry , whether she is Hyacinth or - someone else . if it is not Hyacinth it will be no one , he assured her . but meanwhile , I must find her . if only I had a clue where to look for her . has it occurred to you that when you told her about - us it was such a shock to her that she has run away . if that had been the case she would have left a letter or a message , surely ? he protested . she might have wanted to punish you ; to make you half frantic on her account , and if so , she has succeeded admirably . I am sure Hyacinth would not be so childish , he retorted . it &apos;s just possible that she did leave a letter and it has n&apos;t been delivered yet , said Bridget . what about Tu Kota - perhaps he knows what has happened to her ? as soon as Charles comes back I &apos;ll send for him . the Vice-Admiral returned a few minutes later , his face very grave . Miss Chalmers did leave the hotel last night , he said . she was seen going down the servants &apos; staircase . those on duty took her to be a Eurasian sewing maid ; she went out very quickly and spoke to no one . one of the boys who was just going off at the time saw her walking to the corner of Empress Place , where she got into a ricksha . did he notice the number of the ricksha ? asked Nick eagerly . he says not . then - he probably recognised the coolie who drew it ? these boys know the ricksha coolies by sight . once we can find the fellow we shall also find where Hyacinth went . there &apos;s no time to be lost . the boy says that the coolie was a stranger to him ; he had never seen him before . I think he was speaking the truth ; there was no reason for him to lie . damn ! Nick pounded his clenched fist on the table . if only he had kept his eyes open ! in which direction did the ricksha go ? he did n&apos;t wait to see ; there was a great crowd in the streets last night , owing to the Chinese festival , and it was easy enough to lose sight of a ricksha . I am afraid , Nick , old fellow , that we shall have to ask the police to help us , for there has been a very sinister development . you - mean &amp;hellip; ? that Malay boy , Tu Kota , is missing ; he , too , did n&apos;t sleep in the hotel last night ; he has not been seen since just before midnight , and he told no one where he was going . 2 . there you are ! exclaimed Bridget . Hyacinth was not alone ; granted she &apos;s run away , but she took Tu Kota with her ; and I can assure you that she &apos;ll be quite safe with him . do n&apos;t look at me like that , Charles , I &apos;d trust that boy anywhere . he is perfectly reliable . I would n&apos;t be at all surprised if Hyacinth has returned to Lipur . but she would n&apos;t do that . how could she , when your brother is there alone ! perhaps that &apos;s why , said Bridget , then as both men looked blank , she cried . oh , how stupid you two are ! did n&apos;t Edward propose to her ? she may have decided to accept him after all , and he &apos;ll lose no time in marrying her ; he will n&apos;t give her a chance to slip through his fingers again . we must get in touch with Lipur at once ! cried Nick . 3 . but it was not so easy to get in touch with Lipur ; there had been a heavy storm twenty-four hours previously , and telephonic communications with the district had been cut , and with Pekama . Nick managed to get on to the nearest estate and they promised to send a runner to Lipur with a message for Edward Grampian , and when they received his reply , telephone it at once to Singapore . meanwhile , Charles Rawlings systematically called on all the people Hyacinth had known , and questioned the officers who had dined with them the previous night , but none of them had seen Hyacinth , nor could give any clue to account for her disappearance . it was a complete mystery . when the following day had dawned and she had still not returned and there was no news of her , both the men realised that they must approach the police . Nick had not slept all night and looked haggard ; he was so restless that he could n&apos;t bear to sit still . even Bridget was no longer suggesting that the girl had been caught out in an escapade ; if she had been she &apos;d have been back long ago . but there &apos;s still a chance that she went to Lipur , she insisted . and you must n&apos;t worry too much , Nick . if Tu Kota is with her ; he &apos;ll look after her . the boy who saw her get into the ricksha said she was alone . it may not have been Hyacinth ; he could n&apos;t swear to it . it may really have been one of the Eurasian sewing maids . he said she was wearing a light coat and a gauzy scarf round her head , and those are two of the articles missing from Hyacinth &apos;s wardrobe . it may be just a coincidence , said Bridget . I should n&apos;t pin too much faith on that . wait until we have heard from Lipur . but Charles Rawlings agreed with Nick that they could not afford to wait , and he offered to go to the police . he knew them and could impress upon them the need for as little publicity as possible , though , of course , if publicity would help to find the girl , then they must employ it . the girls and Nick should have returned to the country today , but with Hyacinth missing , it was unthinkable that they should leave Singapore . Nick had done everything possible to discover her whereabouts , but from the moment she had stepped into the ricksha it was as if the earth had opened and swallowed her . he decided to go and make some tactful enquiries in the Chinese quarter ; not that he expected to find Hyacinth there , but someone might have seen her . Nick himself had many acquaintances in the Chinese quarter , friends from the war days , and he knew he could rely on them to do everything possible to help him . he was just about to leave the hotel on his quest when one of the clerks in the reception desk - a young educated Malay - came up to him . Mr Trelawney , sir &amp;hellip; about the young lady &amp;hellip; . yes , replied Nick , suppressing his eagerness with an effort . I have made a discovery , sir . it may be of no account , but I think that you will find it - interesting . if we could go up to your room , sir &amp;hellip; . Nick wondered if he was about to be touched by a blackmailer , but the young man sounded genuine enough . very well , he said . come with me now . once in his room he closed and locked the door , then faced the Malay . what is it ? he asked . if it &apos;s information which will lead to the finding of Miss Chalmers I &apos;ll make it well worth your while &amp;hellip; . as I said , sir , it may be of no value , but briefly , I have some scraps of paper which the boy who cleans her room found in her waste paper basket . I thought they might be a clue . he took an envelope out of his pocket , and emptied a number of twisted scraps of paper on to the desk in the window . Nick saw that they contained words printed in block letters , and that some of them had been part of an envelope . when were these found ? he asked . yesterday morning , sir . I was passing when I saw the boy emptying the waste paper basket , and I gave him a coin to let me have the contents and not say a word about it to anyone . Nick was already sorting the scraps of paper . have you put them together ? he asked . no sir . but Nick guessed that the Malay was lying ; he had put them together and then crumpled them up again . he thrust his hand into his pocket and handed a note to the man . keep your mouth shut , do you understand ? Nick gave up all thought of going to the Chinese quarter ; he had glimpsed one significant word , and he was determined to piece the whole of the scraps together , no matter how long it took him . it was over two hours before he had finished , and then he had the entire message and the envelope . if Missie Chalmers wishes to know about Mr Trelawney &apos;s business in Singapore , a ricksha will be waiting at the corner of Empress Place tonight at midnight , to take her to the lady known as Chinese Lily . come veiled and say nothing of this . it concerns Missie &apos;s happiness . so that was it ! someone was anxious to break his engagement to Hyacinth , and had sent her this damnable note which she ought to have brought straight to him . but she had not done so and had undoubtedly gone off in the ricksha which had been sent for her ; the boy who had seen her get in it had told the truth . but where had she been taken ? and why had n&apos;t she returned ? who was at the back of all this ? Chinese Lily ? he could not think so . he had always regarded her as his very good friend , though one could never be quite sure when dealing with an oriental . it might be that the announcement of his engagement had roused some dormant demon in her and she &apos;d had Hyacinth kidnapped . but she had congratulated him and told him she was very happy for him when he had spoken of his fianc&amp;eacute;e the other night . who else could be at the bottom of this attempt to get hold of Hyacinth ? attempt , he thought angrily . it was no attempt ; it was an accomplished fact . if the person had just wanted to put her against him she would have been back by now ; the fact that she was missing assumed a very sinister aspect . Chinese Lily was quite capable of having a European girl kidnapped if she wanted to do so . she was utterly fearless , and had been too long associated with the underworld not to know exactly how to set about it . he knew that certain girls who had been in her employ during the war and had chatted too much to the Japanese had simply disappeared , and as one girl was as good as another to the occupying troops - and if any special man was interested in the girls in question , Chinese Lily always saw that there were others , even more attractive - no awkward questions were asked . 