CHAPTER XXIV

LI FAN'S REVENGE As hour after hour passed and no sign of the _Chen Su's_ return, Li Fan got more and more uneasy. Unless he could produce Forsyth as evidence of good faith towards Annesley, the chances that the latter would stubbornly refuse to divulge the secret of the hiding-place of the golden vases became less and less, till at length Li Fan had to admit that Tao Ching had failed him. Even then he expected the pirate's return. Things were looking pretty black as far as Li Fan was concerned. Strong evidence t…