After the group settled into three small rooms at the Hotel Joppa in the town of Jaffa (British Mandate of Palestine), Nell made sure that the seriously wounded (Oswald, Alisa, Jessica) were comfortable and in stable condition. Brother Paul went in search for a doctor, while Nell and Rupert went to the train station. They learned that there were three trains daily to Haifa, which was the major port for the territory. Steamships docked at Haifa regularly, they were told.
Brother Paul returned to the hotel with an English-speaking Arabic doctor. When he asked the cause of the wounds, Lya said that they were due to a "hunting accident". When the doctor questioned this, Nell explained that the group had been attacked by gangsters in Cairo who tried to rob them. He seemed content with this story and changed the bandages on the wounds. While Sidney, Lya, and Velu only required minor treatment, the doctor said that Jessica and Alisa's wounds were serious enough to require hospitalization. He called for an ambulance and accompanied Jessica and Alisa to the local hospital. Rupert and Brother Paul went along as well.
The remaining investigators then discussed what to do next. There was strong sentiment to do something unexpected and throw off any possible surveillance from Gavigan and the cultists. Rather than go to Kenya, the group decided to proceed to Shanghai in search of Jack Brady. A slow boat to China also seemed a good way to relax and regain sanity.
It was agreed that the group would split up: Nell, Rupert, Slakinoff, Lya, Alisa, and Brother Paul would travel to Haifa, and then to Shanghai by steamer. Velu and Jessica would return to London. Sidney and Oswald would remain in Jaffa for several days, and then ?
Brother Paul decided to remain overnight at the hospital, while Rupert returned to the hotel. He spent the evening studying the arcane knowledge in Dark Cults of Africa, while Slakinoff studied his new acquisitions. Lya spent her time writing at a furious pace in her journals, while Nell washed clothes and studied her travel books.
The next morning Nell and Slakinoff visited Alisa and Jessica in the hospital and was told that they would be released at noon. Slakinoff volunteered to remain at the hospital so that Brother Paul could return to the hotel.
Nell and Rupert then walked to the train station, where they boarded the 9 am train to Haifa. While waiting at the station, Nell purchased a copy of the Cairo Bulletin and read a news story blaming Bedouins for the "massacre" of the Clive expedition near Giza. She hoped that Dan'l Boom had managed to get out of Cairo safely.
In Haifa, Rupert reserved three rooms at the Hotel Carmel, while Nell went to the steamship ticket office and obtained a schedule for ships travelling to the Orient. She met Rupert for lunch at the station, where they considered their options: travel to Athens, Constantinople, or some other port and then board a steamer, return to Suez and board a steamer, or wait in Haifa for a steamer. Returning to Egypt seemed too dangerous, and travelling back to Europe would take too much time, so they decided to travel to Beirut and board a French ship that was leaving on Tuesday evening.
After cancelling the hotel reservation, Rupert purchased six 2nd class tickets to Shanghai on the Messageries Maritimes line. He then waited at the Haifa station for the others to arrive, while Nell went shopping for the group (since all their baggage remained behind at Shepheard's in Cairo). She purchased several steamer trunks and outfits.
Sister Sarah and Brother Paul took the noon train to Haifa. Rupert explained the situation to them. Lya sent a telegram to Prospero Press, informing Jonah that she was on the move and that the first installment of her report would follow. She then mailed her notes and journal back to New York.
Alisa and Slakinoff took the evening train to Haifa and were not pleased to learn that the entire group would soon board a night train to Damascus and then to Beirut. The trip was very tiring for Alisa, as she had just been released from the hospital.
The night train took them across the Jordan to the town of Dera'a, then north through the desolation of the basaltic wilderness of the Hauran, and then to the ancient city of Damascus, where they spent several weary hours of the pre-dawn morning waiting at the station for the train to Beirut. The language of officialdom changed to French, as they had entered the French Mandate territory of Syria.
Tuesday, April 14:
The train to Beirut left Damascus at 8 am. The journey passed through the beautiful snow-capped mountains of Lebanon, in several places utilizing rack-and-pinion traction due to the steepness of the grade.
Arriving in Beirut in mid-afternoon, the group took a taxi to the harbor and immediately boarded the French steamship Chantilly. Slakinoff paid to upgrade his ticket to first class, as did Alisa (due to her medical condition and the need for a private cabin). In second class, Rupert and Brother Paul shared a cabin, as did Nell and Lya.
It was agreed that the group would maintain a low profile during the voyage, with Lya making occasional excursions into first class disguised as a servant to check on Alisa.
Wednesday, April 15:
The group travelled aboard the Chantilly from Beirut to Port Said. Alisa sent a telegram to Velu and Jessica in Haifa, instructing them to contact Shepheard's and have all the baggage sent back to Boston, c/o Kidder-Peabody (Alisa's employer). Alisa also sent a telegram to her employer, informing them that she would be visiting Shanghai.
Thursday, April 16:
The Chantilly passed through the Suez canal and entered the Indian Ocean. Nell and Lya signed up for classes in conversational French to while away the time during the voyage. Alisa spent all of her time resting in her cabin.
Saturday, April 18:
The Chantilly made a port call in the French colony of Djibouti.
Saturday, April 25:
The Chantilly made a port call in Pondichery (French India). Alisa was feeling much better, so she, Nell, and Lya went ashore for a few hours and shopped. Lya purchased a sari, while Nell and Alisa purchased fashionable dresses.
For the remainder of the voyage, Alisa joined Nell and Lya in the French class. Nell practiced her golf swing on the aft-deck, while Lya did early morning calisthenics.
The Chantilly made a port call in Singapore (British colony). Nell and Alisa had lunch at the Raffles hotel, where Nell spotted two interesting newspaper articles, reprinted from the Cairo Bulletin. One article stated that a punitive bombing raid had been conducted against the Bedouins of White Palm Oasis for their role in the Clive Expedition "massacre", while the other stated that a witness (Hassan?) had been found in the Van Heuvelen slaying.
Lya visited the native Malay part of the city and sought out an herbalist shop, where she purchased a "healing" potion. She asked the Malay owner about any strange tales of the region and was told a story about devil-fish men living beneath the sea.
Saturday, May 2:
The Chantilly made a port call in Saigon (French Indo-China).
The Chantilly made a port call at Haiphong (French Indo-China). Alisa telegraphed ahead to reserve a suite of rooms at the Astor House Hotel in Shanghai.
The Chantilly arrived in the outer harbor of Shanghai. From here passengers could either take a train to the North Station or a steamer to the Bund. Having read the newspapers about the on-going turmoil in China, Nell insisted that the group take the steamer.
Nell explained to the group that Shanghai was divided into three parts: the International Settlement (governed by the British, Americans, Japanese), the French Concession (governed by the French), and the Old City (nominally under Chinese control but actually ruled by criminal gangs). The region of China surrounding Shanghai was controlled by a warlord. Each part of the city had its own police force and laws. Under the rule of extraterratoriality, a Western citizen could not be tried by a Chinese court - only by a "mixed court" controlled by Western consular officials. All this made for a very corrupt and lawless situation - worse even than 1925 Chicago.
The steamer slowly made its way through a maze of junks and small boats up the Whangpu River, past the Yangtzepu and Pootung districts of factories, warehouses, and slums, and docked at the financial district known as the Bund. The group declined to take rickshas and instead took taxis to the Astor House Hotel. Alisa, Nell, Lya, Slakinoff, and Rupert obtained rooms, while Brother Paul continued on to a Catholic church on the outskirts of town.
The Astor House Hotel was located just north of the Bund, in the Hongkew district. Nearby were the American, Japanese, German, and Soviet consulates, as well as the Hongkew (farmer's) market.
That evening the group had dinner at the Trocadero restaurant near the hotel and discussed what to do next. The plan was to use the matchbook found in Jackson Elias' room to find the Stumbling Tiger bar (and hopefully find Jack Brady) and also to investigate Ho Fong Imports (based on shipping crates discovered in a secret basement beneath the Penhew Foundation in London).
Nell asked the hotel to recommend a reliable guide and was given a list of names. She then spent the morning drinking coffee on the hotel terrace and reading the local English language newspaper, the Shanghai Courier. A couple of items caught her attention: a violent incident last night on Lantern Street (near the Stumbling Tiger Bar?), and an advertisement for a Chinese astrologer proclaiming that "the stars are right". Lya was quite excited by this discovery and wanted to visit the astrologer immediately but Nell convinced her to wait.
Nell, Alisa, and Lya then walked to the American consulate to let them know that they were in town, and then went shopping. They took a taxi to visit the multi-story department stores on Nanking Road of Sincere Company and Wing On, where Nell purchased photographic supplies, Alisa purchased clothes suitable for business, and Lya purchased makeup, wigs, and native garb.
Along the way they noted that the policemen in the International Settlement tended to be Sikhs, who were quite brutal in their enforcement of traffic offenses. Any rickshaw man violating traffic laws was beaten on the spot with truncheons. Westerners, of course, were treated courteously.
That afternoon, Nell, Alisa, and Lya took a walking tour of the Bund, the richest and most elegant mile in Asia. Alisa noted the location of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, where she would be working while in Shanghai. Its entrance was flanked by two large, bronze lions - one roaring, the other subdued. Nell noted the number of exclusive clubs catering to various groups - Americans, Britons, French, Japanese, Freemasons, bankers, merchant seamen, and sportsmen.
Across from the British consulate they visited the beautiful Public Gardens, which was barred to Chinese and reserved for Westerners. After crossing the Garden Bridge, they returned to the Astor House Hotel.
Back at the hotel, Lya asked the concierge about Lantern Street and was told that it was not a safe place for a Western lady. She also obtained the address (Kaoyang Street) and telephone number of Ho Fong Imports.
After mailing additional notes to Prospero Press, Lya and Nell spent the rest of the afternoon in the hotel bar, talking with other guests to learn about Shanghai. Some rather shocking stories about nightlife in Shanghai were told them by the bartender. They also learned that a regular tea dance was held at the hotel, and that it was one of the few places where "polite" western and Chinese society mingled.
Alisa reported for work at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and was not pleased to find that her Boston employer had telegraphed a list of over a hundred current and potential clients that she should visit while in Shanghai. She was told that a car with chauffeur and a guide would be provided for her use.
Invited by a male colleague to lunch at the exclusive Shanghai Club, Alisa heard news about the death of Sun-Yat-Sen, prospective arms deals, and fighting between warlords. Unfortunately she was not allowed to visit the famous Long Bar, as it was off-limits to women.
After lunch, Alisa met her guide, a young man named Li Wen-Cheng, an assistant librarian at the Methodist University working a second job. She asked him to meet her at the Astor House on Friday morning at 10 am. Alisa spent the rest of the day arranging her schedule for visiting clients for the next week. Late afternoons, evenings, and Fridays she kept open.
Nell and Lya took a taxi to the Catholic church in Siccawei
( in the French Concession), where they met Brother Paul. They accompanied
him on a tour of the church, orphanage, and the astronomical/meteorological
observatory (founded in the 16th century by Jesuits). Lya showed
the priests the group photograph of the
Carlyle Expedition and asked if anyone had seen Jack Brady. One of
the priests thought he had seen Brady, perhaps a year or so ago.
After returning to the hotel, Nell examined the photograph found in Jackson Elias' hotel room in New York many months ago. It showed a large yacht at anchor, surrounded by Chinese junks. The first three letters of the yacht's name were DAR. She determined that the photograph had been taken within the last year and resolved to investigate this clue. Telephoning the hotel concierge, she arranged for the group to take a harbor cruise the following afternoon.