Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-03-20

1T is not my fault" said Jim. 81
have searched long enough for you, but
your courage was only equal to muir.
dering women and old men"
Wooching smiled. He was not an.
CRY. Why should he be? He could not
have hoped to succeed so easily.
i think you wrong me somewhat
and do not rightly consider all the cir.
cumstances. Why are you here? You
DO not answer. will tell you. To
Kill Kung and me. Why? Because
through our agency, your sister and
her husband met their death. 1t is
very natural have no fault to find
But consider my case. My father was
betrayed to death, and pursued the
betrayer. What is natural in one in
stance cannot be unnatural In anoth-
err"
The calmness Of this man, the calm
ness of them all, was amazing. 1t was
very odd to think that this Individual
In the silk robe, who condescended to
argue SO politely with his enemy, was
the man with the strange eyes who
had walked up our garden path that
awful day at Windsor, who had filled
my life with terror which will al
ways be part of ME. Wooching, the
lmplacable yellow man, the subject of
SO many fears, SO many dreams. l
could scarcely realize, though standing
face to face with him. that this polite
little gentleman was the fiend who had
wrought such horror to me and mine.
l was like one COMPOUNDED, amazed,
and, strange as 1t may seem, his dread
full presence now awakened IN me q
feeling more of curiosity than of ter
ror, even though l knew that death
out Of his eyes was staring me in the
face.
AS Jim did not answer Wooching
turned to Kung with smile. And
still 1t was impossible to realize that
these two men, SO quiet, so polite,
welded such awful power. The i'm
passive Kung, with the thin, curling
lips. the meaning smile. Was it posi-
BILE that this could be the man who
willed crime in China and had it exc.
cuted in a country town in England
There was no sign Of power, nothing to
Impress one, MS 1t were, and yet his
grip was rs sure MS death itself.
II fear our illustrious guests realize
the force of my argument" said Woo
ching. well, 1t is an excellent thing
to have a good understanding, and l
hope 1t will enable them to bear philo.
sophically some of the surprises which
the society has in store for them"
He went back to his position by the
chair, and then Kung rose slowly and
came to me. For time he stared me
closely in the face, as though he would
devour every feature. His little black
eyes, at first cold and inscrutable, be-
gan to glow, and presently they gleam-
ed like fire.
1T is long time ago." he said, land
I cannot trace feature. Yet you do
not deny that you are the son Of Cap
tain Kingston"
I do not deny TT
"You are not wise. A serpent breeds
serpents, and as they IRE dangerous we
kill them"
His lips writhed, his eyes cleaned.
The memory Of my father stirred all
that was black and wicked in this
mans nature. He was no longer the
lmpassive yellow man, but a seething
caldron of wrath which, feared,
would presently bubble over.
49," he continued, you are the son
of that dog, that wretched traitor who
betrayed his friends, that miserable
creature who thought he could pit his
FOOLS wits against mine? The dog!
But he persisted, as all perish who
would destroy me. Our friendship is
sacred, our hate is death. For your
fathers crime 1 swore that would ex-
terminate his brood, and with you will
go the last dog and son of dog!" and
with his long yellow fingers he struck
me fiercely across the eyes and then
spat In my face.
Fools" he went on, ito think that
you could grapple with me and hope to
win-to win where the emperor himself
has failed. Kung, the boat builder, is
In Ching-hi today; tomorrow where?
But wherever he goes the sign rallies
the faithful round him. You have seen
1t once. twice maybe? You shall see 1t
again, and you shall feel 1t, too, before
you go hence"
He fiew from the chamber, shouting
something in Chinese, and the others
quickly followed him, extinguishing
the lights as they went. But Jim this
time was left2to keep me company, and
l had no doubt that the last order of
kung had been to this effect. What
was the meaning of 1t could MT
guess, but was glad of the compan-
ionship. 1t was some consolation to
hear even the rattle of Jim's chains.
For some time we did not speak at
all. Under such conditions there was
nothing left for us but to deplore our
fate, and US Jim was one not much
given to railing Mt misfortune we spoke
but little. We knew that the end was
not far off, and my prayer was for a
speedy death. did not want to die,
but had grown SO accustomed to the
thought Of death that insensibly had
robbed 1t of some of It's terror. What
feared was the torture, the threat of
Kung foreshadowing some such horri-
BILE fate. knew something of Chinese
fortunes, and ere was subjected to
them prayed devoutly that God would
strike me dead.
For long time we were left in
pence perhaps an hour, perhaps three.
i no longer attempted accurately to
gauge the time. I only know that I
had grown very uneasy and that the
sharp teeth Of the collar were eating
deeper and deeper into my neck. 1 be-
gan to imagine all sorts of horrible
things. when suddenly the door opened
noiseiessly and man bearing q bra.
zier entered the cell. That it was the
same man had seen enter before and
that he bore the same brazier had no
doubt, but rs the chamber, save where
the fire stole out from the holes in the
brazier, was in complete darkness l
could not see his fapa uowaya, a.