Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-10-15
The Household Devil
 of Sam Louie
By E. SPENCE DE PUB
lcopyri9ht, by yossph ,. Bowles.l

Ling On a summer day.
 Across the grass came another fig
 ure: q little taller, little older than Quong Ling, and neither white nor Chinese, but part of both When 1t was directly behind the Chinese boy 1t shot out its hands and clapped them tightly over the others eyes, and cried in merry voice: "Who?"
 Ming Foo, of course," was the prompt response. 4rv
 They curled themselves comfortably on the grass, near the edge of the gravel path, content as two young ami maIs.
 Here comes Sam Louie," cried Ming Foo, suddenly; he's going to stop"
 "Ho, little rascals, do you have naught to do but idle?" asked Sam Louie affably, as he paused moment.
 Nothing, honorable friend, but to idle and tell stories."
 Well, if that be all, let this add to the pleasures of thy idleness; catch!" Cutting of generous piece of sugar. cane from one of the sticks he carried, he tossed it into the air and passed on.
 For the time all else was forgotten in the pleasurable crunch of teeth upon the succulent cane Forgotten till a fat, sleek Chinaman, in American ap- parel, and another Chinaman, with a great red scar across his cheek, passed by. and word or so hoated to the al ways wide-open ears of Ming Foo.
 Understand? There ought to be about three thousand dollars, and you must get every cent of" That was all, put 1t was enough to arrest a pair of stout young jaws midway in the act of sending a set of white teeth into the juicy wood. Enough to cause Ming Foo to stare wonderingly after the retreat ing pair, and note that they settled themselves on a bench and that they were joined by third Chinaman.
 In the last arrival Ming Foo recog- nized a hatchetman of the Ping Kong tong. His eyes danced joyously, and thrusting his stumpy piece of cane within his blouse, he pulled Quong Ling's ear down close to his lips. whis- pered something. then scampered off and left the smaller boy wondering and watching the patched trousers as they disappeared around a corner.
 Quong Ling's patience had become almost exhausted when one of the three nen on the bench wandered off; in another moment the other two part cd. going in opposite directions; and, as he held his gaze on the empty bench, he saw battered cap and close-cIoppej head rise from the low shrubbery just behind 1t. '.
 "Oh, Quong Ling, Quong Ling. Quong- g-a-ling-a-ling." he sang. dancing around on, the tips of his toes. Big. biggest thing ever. eh? We're goin' to do a big thing tonight. Come long with me and I'll tell you all about it." . Then, with many gesticulations and contortions and swellings of the chest. Ming Foo told what he had heard as he lay in the shrubbery. How. on this night, the store of Now Cum, for whom Sam Louie worked, was to be robbed: that It was to punish the proprietor for daring to cross the hatchet-man-in daring to refuse to bear false witness in some matter before the police. as we'll as to gain the money. That there were things and mysteries back of this that it had to do with the tongs, and much more. So that in the end. Quong Ling quivered with the mystery and excitement of 1t. and Ming Foo. strik- ing his robust little chest. fairly hisssd:
 "Ain't it big? Amt we goin' to stop 1t; ain't we goin' ( do more than big detectives would?"
 Wbcn the smaller adyenturer asked. l How" Ming Foo grew in stature as he exclaimed:
 Never mind! You come with me, I'll | show you! I'm white!"
 Possibly 1t was owing to that little streak of white In him that the follow ing things happened. He was only F. but he knew very much. and Quong 1 Ling was his devoted admirer.
 There was no place in the quarter of which Ming Foo did not have the run. 4 Every cpium joint was to him home and a place to lay his head: every | was his museum. and the theater was his especial place of pat ronage, so that 1t was with no difficul- ty that he gained for himself and fol- lower admission to this place of amuse- ment. He strutted across the stage and to ths dressing room behind. and got In peoples way. and bullied the actors. and finally disappeared in the depths below-and the fact was not even mo- ticei
 Among rows upon rows of masks whole heads. some of them. in fact racks O. swords. miniature pagodas. thrones and ancient armor. they re- lied uadis;urbed. and Ming Foo pulled md hauled the things about until final y h. found these articles he should aeed-not a great deal. a papier mache mask Of hideous design and extraordi- nary proportions and few yards of yellow silk. Nor was the removal of .hese things without detection in the Imallcs; degree difficult nor beyond hir resources
 The rert thing vas surre2;itIousiy o possess themselves of bunk In the -ear Of Nov Gam's store without the of Sam Louie. This also was