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Despite having shot Smilin' Jack (Tom Brown) at point-blank range in the conclusion of chapter 11, the opening of chapter 12 reveals that Trudy Muller, alias Fraulein Von Teufel (Rose Hobart) completely missed her target. Trudy explains that Blenker (David Hoffman) had threatened her and that she shot him in self-defense, but Jack still has to deal with the false accusations leveled against him concerning the murder of Mah Ling. Proving that the phonograph record was doctored by the Black Samurai espionage organization, Jack clears his name and with Wu Tan (Philip Ahn) as the acting Governor of Mandon, the treaty with the United States is ready to be signed. But just as Wu Tan is about to add his signature, a telegram from General Kai Ling in Chunking puts a stop to the proceedings. Rumors of Jack's presumed culpability in Mah Ling's death have reached China, courtesy of Black Samurai agent Kageyama (Turhan Bey), and Jack is forced to travel to Mandon to clear his name once again. In the faraway Chinese province, Lo San (Nigel De Brulier), the High Priest and the only one who knows the secret passage to India, is ready to believe in Jack, but the doctored phonograph record gives him pause. To prove his innocence, Jack agrees to subject himself to the feared "Mandon Ordeal." "What are my chances?" Jack asks Wu Tan. "For someone not of our faith, it is very difficult," the new governor answers mysteriously. The "Mandon Ordeal" proves to be hot coals and Jack is halfway across when he screams "I am innocent!"