“Upon my soul, I don’t know,” he said at last. “I have always had and still have the utmost belief in M. Poirot, but⁠—well, this takes a bit of believing.”

“This Li Chang Yen, too,” continued M. Desjardeaux. “Who has ever heard of him?”

“I have,” said the unexpected voice of Mr. Ingles.

The Frenchman stared at him, and he stared placidly back again, looking more like a Chinese idol than ever. “ Mr. Ingles,” explained the Home Secretary, “is the greatest authority we have on the interior of China.”

“And you have heard of this Li Chang Yen?”