Evening star., 1900-10-27
4 CHINAMAN'S GRATITUDE


Chinaman, anyhow-hes grateful remin-
iscently remarked a Washington man who
put in a couple of cruises as an apothecary
in the United States navy. "You may, OF
late, In the great mass of rubbish that's
been written about the slant-eyes, have
seen that fact disputed; but 1 just happen
to know that Chinamans grateful. How
ever, in order to make the point clear I'll
have to begin at the beginning. So here
gees:
when I was serving on board a cruiser
on the Pacific station 1 had as ship
mate private marine named-oh, well,
Tom Kingsleys near enough to it: some of
his people, of good station, are still living
IN Philadelphia, and this boy hurt them
enough. so We'll just make it Tom Kings
ley. Kingsley was sent to the ship with
detachment of marines quite a while after
l was attached to the vessel. l noticed him
particularly as soon as he came aboard
not so much because he was a tall broad
shouldered, flne-looking chap, who COM
pletely outclassed the bunch he Joined with
in appearance and bearing, as because l saw
what his trouble was as soon as I clapped
an eye on him. l understood as soon as l
made the discovery why Kingsley was
wearing the uniform of buck private in
the marine corps. 1t was because a slavery
to which he had become addicted in civil
life had rendered him unfit and incompe-
tent to keep up with the procession in civil
life.
That is to say, didn't need two looks at
Kingsley to see that morphine had him.
His gray eyes focused to pin-points, and
he had all of the other exterior indications
OF the man chained in the morphia bond
age.
AT the inspection on the Sunday follow
ing Kfngsley's coming aboard 1 watched
my immediate chief. the ships surgeon,
narrowly to see If he was going to get on
to Kingsley when he passed by the marine
in Foil
When the surgeon passed by the row of
marines, drawn up in their mastering
clothes, eyes straight ahead. observed that
ne gave one sharp glance at Kingsley, and
that was all.
Below, in my storeroom, after inspection,
the surgeon looked at me out of the tail
of his eye.
"'Have you noticed that marine, apothe-
cary?' he asked me.
a. Yes, sir. l replied.
'Hum--Tm glad to be corroborated-yet
l was sure l couldn't have been mistaken
said the surgeon. Better have an extra
eye to your store of morphia-keep it under
cover
However. Kingsley didn't become inca
pable. He was an admirable soldier of the
sea. He was always right on the minute. a
top-notcner on guard duty. a spck-and-
span man always. The marine officer in
charge of the guard never, Of course, sus-
pected that there was anything wrong
about Kingsley, and he thought so much
made corporal a couple of months after
Kingsley joined US. Kingsley was always
under the influence of the drug, of course.
He never ran out of the stuff. You know
how morphine slaves provide against that
awful contingency. He kept on edge all
the time, and never appeared to overshoot
his limit. Kingsley surely was man of
powerful self-control in that respect How
ever l knew that it would get him in time,
and throw him. 1t always does throw its
victims if they give it rope enough. You
know. and morphine is one of those things
that just demands all the rope it wants
kingsley knew by intuition that I knew
about his habit, and he avoided me very
elaborately. One noon-hour, however, 1
happened to be smoking a pipe at the
gangway. Kingsley was looking out over
the beautiful harbor of Acapulco in his
dreamy, dopey way-his way. that is to
say, when he was off duty. Well, l edged
over to Kingsley. We were quite apart
from the rest of the men.
"'Bucko. said I, in as kindly a way as
l could-I felt sorry for Kingsley, who was
most obviously gentleman-'you want to
cut it out You do for a fact. Itll nail
you. It's game you can't beat Nobody
can beat it. l can reduce you gradually
eighth of a grain a day. Better let me
take hold of you. Itll be on the quiet
That's good of you. PAL replied Kings
ley. never taking his eyes away from the
horizon to look at me. 1 won't forget it.
But I've tried reducing before. I'm going
to make the fight alone. I'm going to
ndTS on IL II Kills lue btdtI - cllIy d
little thing. anyhow, compared to this
slavery. When we hike away from here
for the islands next week. I'm going to
heave all I've got of the stuff over the side.
Then it'll be me or the powder. I'll do the
best l know. I'll be trying to win, any
how Much obliged to you. all the same
Bad job, breaking it off all of sud
den,' 1 told him Dangerous at that. Yet
you're a pretty husky looking fellow. You
may beat it
Il was pretty skeptical about it, but
didn't want to discourage him. Well, lie
mudhook came up ten days later, and away
we went for Honolulu. We started in the
morning. / didn't see Kingsley until along
toward night. He looked pretty bad, too.
1 knew that he was making the fight.
stuff RIsf toRight,' : thought Hes been TAX
ing thirty or forty grains a day, and he
won't be able TO stand it. But I'll be
beached if it's found out that I've given
him a sixteenth Of a grain. I'm sorry for
him out.
well, Kingsley didn't come to me until
along toward 2 o'clock on the following
morning.
Just an injection he whispered to me,
hoarsey. I'm going insane
''I couldn't and l told Kingsley as de-
Gently as 1 could. 1t hurt me to turn hlm
down, but I couldn't take the chance He
shuddered all over, and staggered out OF
my little store room.
Fright for'ard of my store room was the
store room OF wang WOO, tlie
steward Wang, of course, hit the pipe.
Most Cinnamon in the navy do, in the mid
night privacy of their store rooms, but no
official notice Is taken of that It's looked
upon as part of the Chnaman's game.
Well, Kingsley stumbled into Wang Woo's
store room. Woo was cooking himself
pill in the dark. 1 heard Kingsley beg the
Chink for little of the gummy stuff. offer
ing to give up a months wages for it. Woo
passed him up, and Kingsley stumbled for
ward, almost mad, as he had a right to be.
He'd already have been insane had 1t not
been for his great natural strength.
AT 9 O. clock that morning, the hour for
sick call, l saw Kingsley come down the
after ladder. looking frightful. His face
was drawn to a knot from his sufferings.
One of the gun divisions was breaking out
the after magazines, the matches to which
were right at the foot Of the after ladders.
The matches were wide open. Kingsley,
coming down the after ladder, saw that
they were open. But Wang Woo. coming
around from the ward room at a little lope,
to answer the call of the shippers messen-
ger above, was looking aloft through the
main hatch to see the messenger boy, and
he didn't see the open magazine matches.
Well, he had one foot already over one of
the matches. and was just about to plunge
to the bottom of the fixed ammunition mag
azine when the collar of his blouse was
gripped by the hand of a man whose mus