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that he has wrongly arrested a man of God, and that, furthermore, the emerald was stolen by one of his own sons.” He leaned back with a satisfied smile. “What do you think of that?”
    “I think I want five hundred pounds up front and the name of a good bondsman, just in case something goes wrong,” I said.
    “Certainly, my dear Doctor Jones.” He pulled out a wallet thick enough to choke a small elephant and peeled off five one-hundred-pound notes, which he then handed over to me. “I distrust a man who doesn't look out for his own interest.”
    “Okay,” I said, stuffing the money into my pocket. “What else do I have to know or do?”
    “Very little,” he said. “Spend an hour browsing at the museum late tomorrow afternoon, perhaps get into a slight altercation with one of the tourists so people will remember seeing you there, keep off the streets between midnight and two o'clock in the morning, and put this in a safe place.”
    With that, he handed me a small cloth bag that was closed with a drawstring.
    “What's in it?” I asked.
    “Take a look.”
    I opened it up, and found a lump of coal about the size of a golf ball.
    “ That , Doctor Jones, will prove to be the undoing of Willie Wong. Hide it well, but not so well that a thorough search cannot turn it up. While you are spending the night in jail and his men are ransacking your room, my own operatives will plant the real emerald on one of his brats.”
    “An emerald this big is an awful high price to pay to get rid of one bothersome policeman,” I said.
    “He costs me more than that every week,” said Cornwall. “It will be money well spent.”
    “Well, considering that it ain't yours to begin with, I reckon I can see the logic in that,” I agreed.
    “And now, Doctor Jones, it is best that we part company. I don't want anyone to know that we've been in contact since my release from jail.” He stood up and walked me to the door. “Your remaining five hundred pounds will be delivered in an envelope to your hotel the morning after your arrest, and you will be contacted later in the week concerning our next venture.”
    “Sounds good to me, Brother Rupert,” I said, shaking his hand. “It's always nice to do business with a Christian gentleman like yourself.”
    “We've lots more business to do when this sordid little affair is over,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
    I kind of doubted it, since he never asked me what hotel he was supposed to deliver my money to. But with five hundred pounds in my pocket and Willie Wong on my side, I decided that things were definitely looking up for the Tabernacle of Saint Luke.
    * * * *
    I had walked maybe half a mile from Cornwall's office when I saw two young Chinamen staring at me from a street corner, so I strolled over to them.
    “Nine?” I said to the bigger one.
    There was no response.
    “Twenty-Six?” I said.
    “Make it thirty and you've got yourself a date,” he said with a giggle.
    “Doctor Jones!” yelled a young man from across the street. “We're over here!”
    I turned and saw two more Chinamen and made a beeline toward them.
    “Are you Willie Wong's kids?” I asked.
    The older one nodded. “We've got orders to take you to Dad.”
    “Lead the way,” I said.
    I followed them a couple of blocks to a dimly-lit restaurant. They left me at the door, and as I entered it I saw Wong nod to me from a table in the back.
    “You visit with Mr. Rupert Cornwall, yes?” he said, gesturing me to sit down.
    “Yeah. He doesn't like you much.”
    “Stitch in time save nine.”
    “You ever consider writing a Chinese proverb book?” I asked him.
    “Please continue,” he said, slurping his soup.
    “Near as I can make out, he plans to steal the Empire Emerald around midnight tomorrow.”
    “Ah, so.”
    “Not only that,” I added. “But he plans to make it look like I stole it, and while you're busy arresting me he's going to plant it on one of your sons.”
    “Very interesting,”