Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-06-05
THE
Mandarin'S Daughter.
THE
Il WONG CHIN FOO.
CHAPTER V.-COSTSCED.

Presently the pirate vessel cast of
her fastenings and was seen 20 drift
gradually away from the prize. The
wedge-shaped sails, which had been
lowered but few minutes before, went
up with rafting sound which could be
heard a long distance across the water.
and the PROV was turned in pursuit of
/ the fugitives. 1t was not long chase,
for when the wind filed out the
wrinkles of the fluttering canvas, the
/ junk, clumsy as she looked, made rapid
Roadway. She came directly for the
boat in which sat little Sho Mai, and, as
she saw it, she blessed tho chance
/ which had separated her from her lover.
He might yet escape, for the sun was
now low in the heavens. Would he be
/ preserved, and in the days to come
would her memory live in his heart?
/ What message would he send to those
who waited for her in her deserted
home in the city of Paoting; 10 those
whom she would never see again? BY
strange path had she been led to meet
the fate which now hung over her. Who
that had seen her in her fathers house,
surrounded by every safeguard, could
/ have foreseen a death by the sword and
burial in the sea? Words that she
had read long ago came back to her, and
she murmured: What the god of fate
wills, 50 shall it be-
Her mind seemed already to have
come out from her body. Dimly, as
half-interested spectator, she saw the
great junk drawing near, and with a
dull ear heard the frantic lamentations
of those who were with her in the boat.
The next moment the pirates were
upon them, and they were captives. A
nimble sailor dropped lightly into the
little boat and made it fast with a rope,
one end of which he threw to waiting
comrade. Then a rope ladder was
dropped over the side.
up to the presence of the most noble
First Chief of Kwan Dab and pay your
homage, dogs said the sailor, as he
roughly helped the trembling captivcs
to mount the ladder. When they were
all on deck they were placed in a line,
where some wept, others wrung their
hands and few awaited their fate with
calm despair.
Then the First Chief. attired in gar
ments richly embroidered with gold and
studded with jewels, and attended by
his suite, came forth and ordered the
captivCs to be searched. At his com
mand two powerful men, naked from
the waist up, each armed with great
curved cuJlass, came out to do his bid
ding. The cowardly captain of the junk
was the first man called upon to step
from the line.
"Doyou believe in the God of ocean,"
asked the chief.
Yes faltered the trembling wretch.
''Then GO to him, and may you pros
peri
At this, one of the executioners with
swinging stroke cut the captains
head from his body. Then beth threw
him over the rail into the sea. Another
victim was called, and in a moment his
lifeless body fell into the ocean. Thus
the fearful murder was continued I'M
til but five were left, of whom Sho Mai
was one. By this time the junk had
overtaken another boat, and the places
which had been made vacant in the line
were filled again. AS the unfortunates
came up the side Sho Mai watched them
with an agony of expectation, but the
boat was emptied and Ii Xiii had not
appeared.
again, and in almost every instance
wave of the sword was the end. A few
were spared, but as they seemed to be
the largest and most powerful of the
captives, Sho Mai had little hope with
which to meet the summons, which came
at last
Boy, who are you?" asked the Chief.
Tt seemed to Sho Mai that her voice
i !
tremble as she replied: Il am now but
one of many captives of kwan Dab.
expect to be but one of many victims of
his sword"
You speak boldly"
Because there il but one death. !
am on the Threshold
There was pause, and her eyes met |
those Of the Chief. No effort of her life |
was comparable to that by which she |
now steadied her gaze. a minute that |
was like year crept by with its burden |
of terror, and then the Chief waved his |
hand, and Sho Mai was led back to the |
little band of those whom the sword had
passed by.
LET them be taken below" ordered |
the Chief, and in a moment they were
in the rayless gloom of little cabin,
behind bolted door. But Sho Mai had
cast one hasty glance at the sun which
now touched the horizon, and she ariel
the remembrance of the gathering ia X
ness with her as consolation. The
night might come in time to cast it's
vail between Ii Xiii and his pursuers-
The sword which had flashed so close TO
her own throat had withdrawn into it's
scabbard. Youth hopes easily, and Sho
Mai filled the darkness of her prison
with bright pictures
With the cargo of the captured mer-
chairman and the captives whose lives
had been spared the pirates set sail for
the home of the pirate king, Xwan Dab.
It was a long sail, but the winds were
favorable, and before many days had
passed the peaks of the famous island,
Shi Yam San, which, interpreted. is the
Ten Island mountains, rose out of the
sea.
The Shi Van San is one of the most
islands In the Yellow
Sea, near the peninsula of Corea. 1t is
known as the Mysterious Kingdom of
the Sea, because no vessel, excepting
the pirates junks, had ever been able
to make a landing. The shore is of q
most peculiar formation Jagged rocks
rise precipitously and in such fantastic
shapes that they seem every minute