The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1906-09-14
When Lung Sing
WhiStied
BY CLAUDE PAMARES

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( By CLAUDE PAMARES 3
/ 3 Copyright, 1905, by f. Z. PARCELS 3
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The foreman ut the Star ranch had
come up TO the house in the middle of
the afternoon Oh some errand, and as
he PASSED the cook house where Lung
ing WIS securing his pots and pans
j.r heard Il sound that caused him to
sop ii his tracks ana cXclaim:
well, I'll be hanged"
IiH;.; Sing wai whiStlmg He had
been cook ut Star ranch for over Il
year ana had never been heard 10 wills
| Tie before Indeed. he never hummed,
never smiled, never talked unless di-
rcctlE spoken 10. lie was put down as
| Suriy and croSS%rained, But as he was
Il good cook and as none of the men
cared Il copper whether he talked or not
he still held his place.
WHAT'S the mattcr:" asked Colonel
Spears wife, who was mistress of the
ranch. as the foreman finally reached
tie door.
That heather back there is wills
Ting"
well. can't heather whistler"
There IS no law against it, but Lung
Sing has been here over year, and
| this il; his first to0t. Wonder what has
| happened To chirl him up
Il can't say. l had him in here an
! hour ago and told him that he'd have to
! take the blackboard tomorrow morning
and drive over to Pine Hill to meet
| Fannie Williams. She's coming on to
! stay with us i month or two. you know.
| They think something is the matter
with her lungs, and the doctor has rec
| commended this climate. The colonel
has ret to 90 oyci' to Wolf Creek, and.
| of course. the rest Of you are busy"
'But-but don't like the idea" said
| the foreman n$ he scratched his head.
"Why don't you:'
"B"cau%c Lung Sing IS whiStling
When Il Eeathpn whistles look out for
| him"
The woman laughed and turned away.
walking Off He passed the cook house
again. and the Chinman was still whis-
Ting softly 10 himself.
Hes at it again, and Ill bet he's UP
to some dcviltry. I'll tell the boys to
keep an eye OH him"
As s0Du as he had cUoi:ed the mems
breakfast LcXt morning Lung Sing set
nIlt l., div 10 In
road. He was given many words OF
caution by the colonel wife, and he
promised over again to drive slowly
and bring the girl and her trunk safely
to the ranch. Ills face was as impaS-
sivc as IL wishboard until he bad left
the house half Il mile behind him; then
he puckcrcd his mouth and began to
whistle. Between whistles he gricned
and smiled
An hour ard half later lie drove up
to the little station on the plains, and
when the train came in his passenger
stepped from one of the parlor cars.
Lung Sing welcomed her with Il grunt.
lie @runtCd again as he put her bag
gage aboard the vehicle. and he put OH
10 the girl:
81 suppose he's the cook over at the
Star and they sent Him because all the
others were busy"
ooh, Iii excuse him." laughed the
girl as she settled herself. And next
moment Lung Sing was driving away.
1t was in June. and the weather was
,NIn Il
forgot the man beside her as mile after
mile was passed. Once or twice she
was conscious that he was whistling,
but as she didn't know whether China
men usually whistled or not she did
not give the matter second thought.
She had been informed by letter that
the drive from the station to the ranch
house would not occupy over two hours
ut the farthcst. That meant her ar
rival by noon. Her watch showed her
when that hour had come round, but
She could see 10 sign of civilization. In
fact, she saw that the vehicle had left
the road, such as it was, and was pro-
cecrling over the unmarked plains.
Arc We almost there" she asked as
she turned to Lung Sing and spoke
for the first time since leaving the
station.
Lille while-lilIe while" he replied
as he stared straight ahead
but how is it that you are off the
road?'
Load allie light"
\ minute later the Chinaman was
whistling 1t wasn't the honest whis
tie of an American, but there was
something hypOcritical and deceiving
about it. The girl had nothing further
to say The man would not have been
sent if he hadn't been all right, and IL
he had left the track it was probably
to take Il short cut and reach the
house all the sooner. 1t was not until
her watch marked l o'clock and the
vehicle was being driven among the
scrub pines and cedars, along stretch
of foothills that the girl turned and
seized Lung Sing by the arm and ex-
claimed:
Il know you are not taking me to
the ranch house! What do you mean
by this?'
"AIle light-alle light" replied the
Celestial as he hurried the horse for
ward
but it is not all right! Let me out
at once"
He seized her with one hand to hold
her in the seat while he guided the |
horse with the other, but in the strug-
gle the animal was refined into tree,
and the vehicle stuck fast. Then Lung |
Sing developed the plot that had been
working in his brain ever since the |
moment he was told that he must drive !
over for the visitor.
With Il fierce ScOwI on his face. in |
his pigeon English he ordered the girl |
to proceed IN Il certain direction. For |
ty rods beyond where she had left the |
blackboard there was a rocky bluff hid !
den under the ccdars and in the bluc |
cave of considerable dimensiOrS. |
Upon entering the cave he tied ths |
girls hands and feet and then retraced |
his steps. The vehicle was backed of |
the brink of Il gorge, the harness flung |
over it. and then the man led the horse |
into Il thicket and cut its throat.
When he reappearcd at the cave he |
unbound his victim and lay down on q |
Eat stone at the mouth and told her bis |
plans He had heard of bPlgands and /