The Monticellonian., 1906-09-13

Across The grass came another fig Ire. a little taller, Httle older than 1 2uong Ling. and neither white nor i Chinese, but q part of both When it Jas directly behind the Chinese boy Il ihot ont is hands and elapped them tightly over the others eyes. and cried n merry voice:
 "Who?"
 Ming Foo, of course" was the prompt response.
 They curleG themselves comfortably on the grass. near the edge of the gravel path, content as two young ani- mals
 Here comes sam Louie cried Ming Foo, suddenly hes going 10 stop.
 'Ho, little raseals. do you have naught 10 do but idle?' asked Sam Louie affabiy as he paused a moment.
 Nothing. honorable friend. but to idle and tell stories.
 Well if that be all. let this add to The l leasares of thy idleness; eafeh,' Cutting off a generous piece of sugar cane from one of the sticks he carried. he tossed 1t into the air and passed on
 For the time all else was forgotten in the p!easurable crunch of teeth upon the sncculent cane Forgotten till q fat, sleek Chinaman in American ap- parel and another Chinaman, with q great red scar across his cheek. passed by, and word or so floated 10 the al ways wide-open ears of Ming Foo.
 
 about three thousand dollars. and you must get every cent of" That was all, put il was enough to arrest q pair Of stout youag jaws midway ill the act of sending d set of white teeth into the juicy wood. Enough te cause Ming Foo 10 stare wonderingly after the retreat ing pair, and note that they settled themse}ves on bench and that they were joined By | third thinaman
 In thf last arrival Ming Foo recog- nized hafchetman of the Ping Kong long Ills eyes danced Ioyously, and thrustins his stumpy piece Of cane within his blouse. he pulled Quong Lins.s ear down close 10 his lips, whis- pereH something, then scampered off
 
 and watching the patched trousers as they disappeared around corner.
 Quone Lngs patience had become almost exhausted when one of the three men on the bench wandered off; in another moment the other two part cd, gong in opposite directions; and as he held his gaze on the empty bench. he saw d battered cap and a close -c1opped head rise from the low shrubbery just behind it.
 "Oh. Quong Ling. Quong Ling Quone-a-ling- a-ling, he sang, dancing around on the tips of his toes. Big biggest thing ever, eh2 We're goin' 10 do big thing tonight. Come long with me and I'll tell you all aboTt il.
 Then, with many gesticulations and eont9rtions 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 Gum, for whom Sam Louie worked. was 10 be robbed; that 1t WAS to punish the proprietor for daring to cross the hatchet-man-i daring to refuse to bear false witness in some matter before the police. as well 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 it, and Ming Foo, strik ing his robust little chest, fairly hissed.
 "Ain,t il big Atn't we goin' to stop it: amt We goin [ do more than big detectives weHld?a
 When the smaller adventurer asked "How = Ming Foo grew ill stature as he exclaimed:
 Never mind! You come with me. I'll show you! I'm white,"
 Possibly it was owing to that little streaN of white in him that the follow ing things happened. He Was only F. bat he knew very much, and Quong Ling vas his devoted admirer
 There was no place ill the quarter Of which Ming Foo did not have the run Every epmm joint was to him home and d place to lay his head; every pawnshop was his museum. and the theater was his especial place of pat ronage. So that 1t was with no difficult ty that he gained for himself and fol- lower admission to this place of amuse- ment He strutted across the stage and to the 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- ticed
 Among rows upon rows of masks whole heads. some of them, in fact racks of swords. miniature pagodas. thrones and ancient armor they re. eled uadisturbed. and Ming Foo pulled and hauled the things ab9ut until final ly he found these articles he should need-not great deal, a papier maehe mask ct hideous design and extraordi- nary proportions and a few yards Of yellow silk Nor was the removal of these things without detection ia the smallest degree difficult nor beyond his resources.
 The LeXt thing was surreptitiously to possess themselves of i bunk in the rear of Mow Gums store without the knowledge of sam Louie. This also was accomplished, though barely before the shutters were put up for the night
 Af.er long wait, Ming Foo eau tiously put aside corner of the mat and slipped to the floor Then he drew