This he set
beside the cage. With never a glance at the mummy figure of Sam Tuk,
he walked around the counter, raven on shoulder, and grasping the end
of the laden shelves, he pulled the last section smoothly to the left,
showing that it was attached to a sliding door. The establishments of
Sin Sin Wa were as full of surprises as a Sicilian trinketbox.
The double purpose of the timbering which had been added to this old
storage vault was now revealed. It not only served to enlarge the
store-room, but also shut off from view a second portion of the
cellar, smaller than the first, and containing appointments which
indicated that it was sometimes inhabited.
There was an oil-stove in the room, which, like that adjoining it, was
evidently unprovided with any proper means of ventilation. A paper-
shaded lamp hung from the low roof. The floor was covered with
matting, and there were arm-chairs, a divan and other items of
furniture, which had been removed from Mrs. Sin's sanctum in the
dismantled House of a Hundred Raptures. In a recess a bed was placed,
and as Sin Sin Wa came in Mrs. Sin was standing by the bed looking
down at a woman who lay there.
Mrs. Sin wore her kimona of embroidered green silk and made a striking
picture in that sordid setting.
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