agreed to negotiate a sale of the papers and travelled to England to complete the transaction. Mr Pearson was to meet Wu Ling at the train in Southampton but the train was delayed, so Pearson left. He thought Wu Ling made his own way to London where he booked into the Hotel Russell Square and telephoned the company to say that he would see them the next day. He failed to appear at the meeting and the hotel was contacted. They said Wu Ling had gone out earlier with a friend. He still failed to appear at the offices throughout the day. The police were contacted and the next evening Wu Ling's body was found floating in the Thames. Poirot investigates people who shared the voyage to England with Wu Ling. He finds that one of them, a young bank clerk called Charles Lester, was the man who called for Wu Ling at his hotel on the morning of the disappearance. Mr Lester told a story of having been asked by Wu Ling to call for him at 10:30 am. Instead his servant appeared and asked him to accompany him to meet Wu Ling. Their taxi took them to Limehouse where Lester started to get nervous and got out of the taxi before they reached their destination. That was the end of his connection with the affair. However, Wu Ling had no servant. The taxi driver who took both men to a known opium den said Lester alone emerged half an hour later. Lester was looking ill. Lester is arrested, but the papers about the mine are not found. Pearson and Poirot go to Limehouse and investigate the opium den. They overhear a conversation between some of the Chinese about the death of Wu Ling and that Lester certainly had the papers. Poirot and Pearson leave the den quietly. Poirot quickly finds the papers – Pearson has them. He had indeed met Wu Ling in Southampton (there was only his own word that he failed to meet the visitor) and taken him directly to Limehouse, where Wu Ling was killed. One of the opium dealers had already been put into the Hotel Russell Square to impersonate Wu Ling. Hearing of Lester's invitation to visit the hotel from Wu Ling himself, Pearson set the young man up to take the blame for the murder. Lester entered the opium den and was