The Shanghai Incident by Bryan Methods

Author:Bryan Methods [Methods, Bryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Adolescence, Adventure, Adventure Stories, Adventures, Bravery, Bryan Methods, Carolrhoda Books, China, Chinese, Courage, Crime, Crimes, Danger, Families, Family, Family & Relationships, Fantasy, France, French, Hero, Historical Fiction, Humor, Master Diplexito and Mr. Scant, Middle Grade, Mysteries, Mystery, Mystery & Adventure, Secret, Secret Society, Secrets, Spies, Spy, Teen, The Shanghai Incident, Travel
ISBN: 9781512467635
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Published: 2017-08-01T04:00:00+00:00

VIII

Under the Bridge and Over

Jackdaw took us to a richly decorated restaurant in the basement of a large building in a Western style, designed as if a European town hall had been scooped up by some great cosmic hand and placed down here amidst the elegant pagodas and gilded temples. I felt a strange sense of kinship with that building, as if I had been placed here by that same hand.

Though there were no windows in the restaurant, the place was bright with electric lights, a feast for the eyes. Large wooden screens divided huge tables from one another, and large works of art decorated every wall. Most were wooden carvings of village scenes and mountains, but no more than four or five inches thick, so the pieces had the qualities of both sculpture and painting. A huge, golden Chinese character hung behind the largest table, encircled by carved dragons with half-lizard, half-lion faces. This was the table Mr. Jackdaw led us to, as the owners of the restaurant greeted him like an old friend. He took his place under the Chinese character and then smiled at us warmly, showing us a strange set of teeth, white and straight but with tiny gaps between all of them.

“Have you ever tried a xiao long bao?” he began. “I prefer the char siu bao in Hong Kong, but these are the local specialty and really very good. I hope you’re more open-minded than my colleagues. If I hear ‘foreign muck’ one more time, it will lead to fisticuffs.”

He regarded Mr. Scant first, and then me.

“I’ve never tried one,” I said.

“You’re in for a treat.” He turned Victor and repeated the question in French.

Victor pursed his lips and said, “Mais Julien, où est-il?”

Mr. Jackdaw said that he was very sorry but he didn’t know where Julien could be found, or something along those lines. Then he looked back to me and Mr. Scant. “I’m sure you were surprised to see me. Putting aside that twin nonsense, you’re wondering why I would have been sent to the other side of the world. Just to show you a friendly face? To give the impression the Yard is much more capable than you thought? Because it’s amusing to watch you try to guess the motivation? Isn’t it maddening?”

“Not really,” said Mr. Scant. “It’s obvious you’re not going to give us an answer, and if you did, we would have no reason to believe it.”

Mr. Jackdaw laughed. “Maybe you’re right, and maybe you’re wrong. How will you know if you don’t ask? Ah, here come the bao. The service is so fast here.”

The staff brought over several large round baskets made of some kind of wood, with lids that made them look like cooking pots. An inviting steam and still more inviting smell drifted out of the baskets as they were placed in the center of the table. Then the lids were removed, revealing a number of small dumplings with the look of sugar icing to them, closed at the top with a little swirl.

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