The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-02-15

logging camp az flnBau :. Whlch y
emons the redwoods Of the Russian
River country. in the coast range Of Cal
ifornia.
As a matter OF fact. she was not the
Chineman's baby at all. He had found
her one day in bis kitchen, creeping
about the floor after an evasive kitten
There we're no families in-the logging
camp other than his own, and she could
not have wandered into the place from
elsewhere. for she was hardly old enough
TO walk. He lifted her in his arms and
said plainly:
Where you cIume FUN bebby?"
He prided himself on his English. But,
good as it was. the baby did not under
stanI.
''You no sable. bobby. where you clume
fum?" he asked again.
II she did sable" she was not able 10
toll him. She gave no answer but COO
/ She was immensely taken with the
! Chinaman. And LOOng. who had once
/ had a little child of his own, thought OF
( that Chinese baby, sleeping now in the
tonnbs OF his ancestors across the yellow
Sea
/ The memory Of his own. perhaps the
]
strange thought into his head. He put
1 the child on the floor. and. going out.
made a hasty search OF the neighborhood-
I He found no one. On the path to Fin
1 gan's. however, he discovered fresh
prints Of a horses hoofs- There were no
| horses in the camp, only oxen
! Il was afternoon: the loggers would
/ not return until shutdown; not a soul
was about Taking the baby in his arms,
| he carried her down a path through the
! chaparral across the creek. TO his own
small shanty. China woman met him
at the door.
What have you?" she said in Chi
! nese.
/ His answer satisfied the woman, for
( she took the baby from him and began
/ TO tumble about IT'S clothes
What is this?" she exclaimed.
In her hand she held fold Of paper
| and a 25-cent piece-"twO dts
The paper was covered with writing,
/ but neither Loong nor his wife stopped
TO pick out the words They surmised
it's contents and jabbered away in Chi
nese concerning the child. Dinner in
the eating house was late that night.
for keeping them waitIn6.
"Whuf iaw2" he answered them. Too
muchie bully no can cook"
At his cabin the Chinaman found
when he returned that his woman h. -
put the baby TO bed. They had a bowl
i OF rice together and some fat fried pork
Then Loong brought out the piece OF pa
per they had found in the habys clothes,
and before candle on the table he set
10 work 10 decipher il. He was not a
graduate OF the University Of Pckin.
Had he been he would have given up the
dialect Of the redwoods in which the
note was written. as not being the Eng
lish with which he was familiar For
tunately that dialect was the only Eng
lish Loong knew. Word by word he
picked out the note before him. until he
had in good Chinese characters The
equivalent Of the writing This he read
10 his wife
This yer kid belong 10 the richest
man in Soonoma kounty. He don't de-
surve no kid-he's the meanest man in
/ Calforny-he's a cut throt en- a thiev On
. a skoDdril KilIin's tu good fer him The
. kids wurth a pile tn enybody thet'Il
. 1
meseIr-'
The note had 10 signature; it Dor,
2 simply the date. July. 60"
J Satisfying himself with his transla-
tion. and having convinced his wife O.
the value OF keeping the child. Loona
p set TO work to destroy the baby's iden.
t tity. The childs black hair. excepting
a small TUT in the center % the head
P was cut short. and the scalp shaved
close About the tuft was tied a small
J yellow ribbon. When the baby was taken
q from the bed the next morning she wa.
p dressed in the garments Loong's owl
p little child had worn; and as Bittee. h
Chinaman's baby. the little life that had
a crept 50 mysteriously into the IoggiHi
} camp went on She was called Bittec
{ after the piece OF money-the 'tw,
a bits"-found in her dress.
/. The news of the kidnapping Of chilC
y in San Rafael was a ten DAYS sensation
in that part Of the coast, made so D,
the prominence Of the child's parents
. The father was known the length OF III
e State as Redwood" Banks. His littI
o. girl had been stolen from the yerand.
2 OF his residence during the nurses mo
J mentary absence; and although an alarm
e had been given Immediately. and FOR
tune spent in trying TO find her. no clu.
e to her whereabouts had ever reen found
a As the years went by the mysteTiOu
disappearance was forgotten. The child
{ mother had died. Banks himself ha
? given up hope OF earthly things. IT,
c loss of his baby had made him over. H
- was convinced she had not been stOlel
= for a reward; he had offered q hundre
: thousand dollars for her return, but IL
. vain. He realized that he was a hate
man, and to this fact he attributed hi
e loss. The child was dead. ne felt sure
! The eighteen years from '65 10 SO mad
a little difference in the redwood country
n The ranges of mountains stTetchiE
n along the coast had yielded millions O