LING CHU RETURNS Tarling dropped the telephone receiver on its hook and had sunk into a chair with a groan.

His face was white--whiter than the prisoner's who sat opposite him, and he seemed to have gone old all of a sudden.
"What is it ?" asked Whiteside quietly.

"Who was the man ?" "Stay," said Tarling.

"Stay.

He has Odette! It's awful, awful!" Whiteside, thoughtful, preoccupied; Milburgh, his face twitching with fear, watched the scene curiously.
"I'm beaten," said Tarling--and at that moment the telephone bell rang again.
He lifted the receiver and bent over the table, and Whiteside saw his eyes open in wide amazement.