<h2 id="c19"><span class="small">CHAPTER XIX</span> <br/>Uncle Charlie’s Story</h2>
<p>“Biff!” Charles Keene shouted his nephew’s name
hoarsely. He crossed the room and placed his hands on
Biff’s shoulders. Strangely, the guards made no move
to stop him.</p>
<p>“Gee, Uncle Charlie—” Biff broke off. He felt his
voice choke up and knew he wasn’t far from tears.
This, he told himself, would never do. Not in front
of the leering Ping Lu.</p>
<p>“I’m sure glad we found you, sir. Chuba came with
me.”</p>
<p>Chuba was grinning at Uncle Charlie. “We find you
okay, Sahib Charlie. You in good shapes?”</p>
<p>“I’ve been very well cared for,” Uncle Charlie replied,
stressing the word “very.” “Ping Lu has seen to
that.”</p>
<p>Uncle Charlie glanced at Ping Lu, then deliberately
turned from him and bowed low to Tao Kwang. A
fleeting smile crossed the Ancient One’s face.</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</div>
<p>“Quite a reunion,” Ping Lu said. “And surely a most
happy one.”</p>
<p>“It would be, under different circumstances,”
Charles Keene said.</p>
<p>“Those circumstances can be altered to suit you
and your nephew, Keene,” Ping Lu said. He added,
“It is but a slight thing I ask you to do.”</p>
<p>Charles Keene shrugged his shoulders.</p>
<p>“Perhaps you would like to discuss it with your
nephew. And I’m sure the Ancient One could advise
you well.” Ping Lu clapped his hands. The door
through which Charles Keene had entered opened
again. Across the room came a tall, white-robed man.
Biff glanced at the man, then stared hard at him. It
was Palung, the Chinese who had attempted to kidnap
him at the Rangoon airport.</p>
<p>Palung didn’t even look at Biff. Biff’s escape from
him and his two knife-wielding thugs, had undoubtedly
caused Palung to lose face. Certainly Palung
must have been disgraced in the eyes of his superior,
Ping Lu.</p>
<p>“Show our guests to the large court. They have
much to talk about. And be sure this time the young
one doesn’t get away.” The expression on Ping Lu’s
face, the bark in his voice plainly said, “That’s an
order.”</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</div>
<p>The two guards who had escorted Charles Keene
into the room took their positions behind the three. A
short, crisp sentence came from Ping Lu’s lips. The
Ancient One arose from his chair and joined them.
Palung led them from the room. The guards stayed
close behind.</p>
<p>The room they were taken to was large, but
sparsely furnished. There were two wooden chairs,
plain but sturdy. Low benches, used for sleeping, lined
the walls.</p>
<p>The door closed behind the four, and they could
hear a key turning in the door’s lock. No one spoke
for several moments. Then Biff went to the door to
peer through its barred window. His stare was returned
by a guard’s expressionless face.</p>
<p>Biff turned back to rejoin the group.</p>
<p>“All right, young man,” Charles Keene said. “Now
suppose you just tell me how you happen to be here.”</p>
<p>“I will, Uncle Charlie. But first, don’t you think
we’d better check to see if this room is bugged?”</p>
<p>“You’re right, Biff. Should have thought of that
myself. There could very well be a microphone hidden
in this room. I imagine Ping Lu would be most
interested in what we’ll be talking about.”</p>
<p>The inspection of the room took only a few
minutes. The walls were bare. There were no light
fixtures, no wiring. There was no place where a
microphone could have been concealed.</p>
<p>“Guess we’re safe from their ears,” Uncle Charlie
said. “But why did they put us together? They’ve got
some reason, I know.”</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</div>
<p>Biff nodded his head. He picked up one of the
chairs and placed it near the bench directly opposite
the barred door. Chuba brought over the other one.
Biff wanted to be as far away from the guard as possible.
Plans had to be made. Biff didn’t want them upset
by any eavesdropper.</p>
<p>The two Americans and the two Chinese huddled
by the wall. They spoke in low tones. Biff quickly
sketched in his experiences since leaving Indianapolis.
Then he plied his uncle with questions.</p>
<p>“But what I don’t understand, Uncle Charlie, is why
they would want to capture me? I’m sure that blinky-eyed
Chinese was spying on me from the moment I
left Indianapolis. Even before, according to your
friend Ling Tang.”</p>
<p>“You’re right, Biff.”</p>
<p>“And then I’ve told you how they tried to put the
snatch on me at the airport. But why?”</p>
<p>“I can’t give you all the answers, Biff. I’m not sure
of them myself. But I have a pretty good idea.”
Charles Keene paused to light a cigarette.</p>
<p>“I’ve been held here almost a month, now. Sort of
lost track of the actual number of days. At first I
thought they’d ship me off to Peking, the capital. But
if I should agree to what Ping Lu wants me to, it
would be a large feather in his cap. He’d become a
big shot in the eyes of the big bosses in Peking.”</p>
<p>“What does he want you to do?” Biff asked.</p>
<p>“Just sign a paper.”</p>
<p>“Sign a paper? Is <i>that</i> all?” Biff asked, disbelief in
his voice.</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</div>
<p>Charlie Keene nodded his head. “It would be quite
a document, Biff. He hasn’t let me read it, but from
what he has said, I get the message.”</p>
<p>“But why the paper, Uncle Charlie?”</p>
<p>“That’s what I’m not altogether sure of. I think
Ping Lu believes—in fact, I know he does—he’s convinced
that I came into China for a reason quite different
from the real one. He believes the reason I gave
him for daring to enter this forbidden country is
merely a cover-up story for my real mission.”</p>
<p>“What does he think you’re doing here?” Biff insisted.</p>
<p>Charles Keene grinned. “He has me marked as a big
fat spy.”</p>
<p>An idea was buzzing around Biff’s mind. He
thought he might have stumbled on why Ping Lu was
spy-minded. But he’d tell Uncle Charlie about that
later. He wanted to know some other things first.</p>
<p>“But how does this all connect up with me?” Biff
asked.</p>
<p>“I figure it this way, Biff. I’m sure if Palung had
been able to kidnap you, they’d have started putting
the pressure on me much sooner. When you escaped,
it upset their plans and their timetable. They had to
have you to force my hand.”</p>
<p>“To sign the paper, you mean?”</p>
<p>“That’s right. They would have held you hostage.
They would have promised to release you, unharmed,
if I would agree to their demands.”</p>
<p>“You wouldn’t trust them to live up to their promise?”</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</div>
<p>“No. But more than that. I didn’t think they had
you. Certain questions I asked led me to believe you
were safe in Unhao.”</p>
<p>“And now I turn up right in their own backyard.”</p>
<p>“That’s about it. I expect now they’ll start turning
up the heat.”</p>
<p>“What do you figure is in this paper they want you
to sign?”</p>
<p>“I think, Biff, they want me to sign an official paper,
stating that I came here under the orders of the
United States Government to spy on the Chinese.
Just what they think I was looking for, I don’t know.”</p>
<p>“Would such a document be so damaging?”</p>
<p>“Very. It would embarrass our government and
put an additional strain on relations that are strained
enough already. In the eyes of the world, the Chinese
could use such a paper to further discredit our country.
They would aim the propaganda at those countries
that are wavering in their opinion of the U.S.”</p>
<p>“Just why did you come into China? I think I
know, but I’d like to be sure,” Biff said.</p>
<p>“It goes back to Indianapolis and to my friendship
with Ling Tang.”</p>
<p>“I thought so.”</p>
<p>“Ling Tang is a grandson of the Ancient One here.
Before I left to come out to Burma, Ling Tang asked
me if I would help him and members of the House of
Kwang if the occasion should arise. Naturally, I told
my old friend that I would. Didn’t know then,
though, how much I was letting myself in for.”</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</div>
<p>The Ancient One, although unable to understand
English, pricked up his ears at mention of Ling Tang
and the House of Kwang.</p>
<p>“I’d been out here about three months when I got a
letter from Tang telling me one of his brothers was
going to try to escape from China. He was going to
try to cross into Burma. He would seek me out, identifying
himself with the ring which bears the seal of the
House of Kwang.”</p>
<p>“Like the ring that came through my window?”</p>
<p>“That’s right, Biff. Tang’s brother did get out. He
gave me the ring. I, in turn, sent it on to Tang in the
States. Whenever another escape was about to take
place, the ring was to be sent me to alert me of the
fact. A lot safer than putting such information in writing.”</p>
<p>“Then it was Ling Tang <i>himself</i> who got the ring
to me so mysteriously!” Biff said.</p>
<p>“Yes. You were to bring that ring to me, and then
I would know that another Kwang was on the way
out.”</p>
<p>“But why didn’t you wait?” Biff asked. “Wait until
I got here with the ring?”</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</div>
<p>“I couldn’t. There’s an underground network that
passes information along. From it, I learned that the
Ancient One had finally been persuaded to seek haven
and peace in the outside world. I also learned that he
was in grave danger of being made a prisoner. If this
happened, then all members of the House of Kwang
would have to obey the orders of the Chinese Red
government. The government believes that the House
of Kwang has hidden valuables worth millions of dollars.
If they took the Ancient One prisoner, the family
would be forced to tell where these valuables are
or never see the head of their family again. And you
know how the Chinese worship and revere the head
of the house.”</p>
<p>Chuba sat silent, wide-eyed, as Charles Keene told
his story.</p>
<p>“It was foolish of me, I guess. But when I heard
they were about to move in on the Ancient One, I
decided on a gamble. I sent word back that I was flying
in. They were to have the Ancient One ready. I’d
pick him up and come out. I had the whole thing
figured out. Wouldn’t take more than five hours in
and out. I also figured on the element of surprise. No
one would be expecting such a bold move.”</p>
<p>“And what happened?”</p>
<p>“Everything got fouled up. My starboard motor
conked out. Carburetor iced up in the rarefied atmosphere.
Couldn’t maintain flying speed and had to make
a forced landing. Banged the plane up so I couldn’t
take off again. And then, just as I was making a signal
to Unhao, they grabbed me.”</p>
<p>“That <i>was</i> you then. Your signal came the first
morning I was in Unhao.”</p>
<p>“So part of it did get through! I hoped it had.”
Charlie continued his story. “I was brought here, and
the next day, they brought in the Ancient One.”</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</div>
<p>The conversation was cut short by the sound of the
key turning in the door. It swung open, and a Chinese
entered bringing food. Biff hadn’t realized how much
time had passed. But now he realized he was ravenously
hungry. As the servant placed the food on one
of the benches, the guard stood just inside the door,
his gun covering the prisoners.</p>
<p>Nothing was said as they ate. All were famished.
Biff raised his plate to scrape up the last few grains of
rice. As he did so, his eye was caught by a small,
square piece of thin paper stuck on the bottom of the
plate.</p>
<p>He removed the paper, and once more, saw the
symbol “K,” the seal of the House of Kwang.</p>
<p>Without a word, Biff handed it to the Ancient One.
The old man looked at it. Now it was his time to
talk as the Americans and Chuba listened.</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</div>
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