The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-10-07
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sweep by which the craft was steered.
| 1t was but fleeting glimpse, for the
| moon quickly vanished. and might have
| been a trick of the vision. At any rate,
| despite the edict prohibiting vessels en-
| tering the harbor, the Waterman made
no official report of the matter and to
put forth in a small boat to investigate
would have been to court destruction.
V.
The customs officials seated in the
| station house were in rare good humor
as the deputy marshal walked in with
his prisoner after a hard ride from Ha-
mama. A number of square bales cover
ed with coarse mating were stacked
against the wall, still dripping pools
upon the floor from their recent INNER
sion 1t made goodly heap, containing
vast financial possibilities, for thus is
| opium wrapped for commercial export.
| The contraband drug was sold in the
! open market in San Francisco, and he
who made the lawful seizure received
half the proceeds.
How are you. Englehart,' said the
inspector. t'Sorry to see you in this
fix. Tt IS the old story, though, of the
| pitcher that goes oft to the well. Now,
| boys, get those bales open!'
Englehart sat down and lit a cigar.
/ IF ne was annoyed, as well he might be,
! it was hardly perceptible. His face bore
an expression of bored resignation. The
inspector slit the mating and disclosed
a number of dirty tin boxes wrapped
| with soiled paper covered with Chinese
characters The inspector, his fingers
trembling slightly, cut the paper of one
and pried the cover off with his knife.
AS the box flew open look of blank
amazement overspread his countenance.
| He probed in the box with his fingers,
then turned it over and scattered its
contents on the floor. 1t had been
filled with coarse bits of cork.
"Hell!'' he said explosively. En-
glehart, what the devil IS all this7'
'Cork, - said Billy, smoking placidly.
"That IS what / said it was. The deputy
here wouldn It believe me- -
Viciously the inspector attacked a
fresh tin. Helping hands joined in the
| labor. Mating was ripped off and tin
after tin opened and it's contents scat
tered, and the result in each case was
| the same. All were filled with cork
| shavings. And yet from each tin came
| tantalizingly the subtle, weed-like odol
of poppy juice.
The deputy marshal viewed Englehart
| with hanging jaws. He was wise enough
to know that he was beaten. Billy,
| said he, 81 guess you We run in a cold
| deck on us. III be blessed if | can see
| how or why. 1t is too elaborate for q
mere joke, but I'm ready to cry quits
if you II tell US what you and that com
| modore are up to-.
"Nothing to tell, - said Englehart So
berry, though there were suspicious
| wrinkles about the corners of his eyes
and mouth. 81 told you it was cork
plain enough That's what 7 ordered
! and paid for, and it IS what I received
| apparently, and a pretty mess you we
made of my investment. How much bail
do you want me to put upa [ think ]
can find it about me somewhere
ooh. thunder! Clear out if you want
| to. / II find you if / need you later -
"All right said Englehart. At the
threshold he turned to lodge final
| shaft: ''By the way, you fellows can
| keep that cork l dom want it now.
You-you might smoke it! Good
| nighti''
And Billy Englehart, trader, Gre
! cruiter,' and gentleman of leisure
turned and walked out of the station
| house.
VI.
1t was a large room with private
joss In one corner, before which punk
! sticks were burning. A vault was built
| into side wall and it's door stood open
The floor was Uttered with bales cover
ed with mating, many of which had
| been opened and the contents, a vast
number of small dirty tins, lay about
and were being carried into the vault
by a Chinese boy and piled neatly OF
the shelves. All Chuck sat by a table
inlald with mother-of-pe nibbling
candied watermelon rind. A tall China
man stood before a mirror, rubbing his
face with a towel saturated with witch
hazel. As he rubbed, the racial Inca
ments seemed to melt away and when
with final movement. he removed
a bald wig with a long cue attached
there were revealed the swarthy
handsome features of the psuedo com
modore.
well. Chuck" said he from the
depths of a washbowl, "alfs well tina
ends we'll. I thought for a while you1
old tub was never going to weather
that blow outside. 1t was a good thing
though, that storm, for it shut out tn,
moon. Otherwise we might have beer
seen in the harbor. How's Englehart? p
''All light said All Chuck "Ht
Tested, but he no stop Ions. He wal
YOU row. your cottage. He Taught"