The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1907-06-21
C6e
Physician and the Pirates
Che
By Laurence J. Yates.


there came to the office of Dr. Fred
eric Curtin, young English physician
in Hongkong, a native junlman from
the Chinese city of Swatow, about
two hundred miles northeast OF the
English city. The junkman brought
a letter to the doctor from an old
acquaintance. the Rev James Burren,
a missionary in the vicinity Of SWa-
tow; and the letter begged Curtin to
come and attend the missionary S
young son, who was suffering from
puzzling and lingering illness.
As none of his patients in Hong
kong demanded his immediate at
tention, Curtin was free to respond
to the call. The Silver Moon, the
trading junk that had brought the
letter of appeal, was to leave on the
return voyage the next day at noon;
and as this junk offered the only
means Of reaching Swallow for several
days, Curtin engaged passage on the
slowsailing, clumsy vessel.
There had been much activity that
summer among the native pirates that
infest the coast waters of the China
Sea; and although the doctor did not
expect to encounter any of these gen
try, he took the precaution of placing
in his valise two heavy navy reVolVers
and quantity of cartridges.
The Silver Moon sailed on the NOR
row at midday, as scheduled, and
driven by a wide spread Of canvas,
slipped through the deep blue, tapping
water of this Eastern sea at a much
better speed than the doctor expected.
That evening a nearly full moon float
ed in the clear sky, and gave a glory
to the ocean that Curtin had never
seen surpassed. He sat on deck until
late, and when he did go down to his
cTamped berth in the cabin below,
be dropped into a sleep so profound
that his first intimation Of danger was
when he was awakened by fierce, wild
cries and the scurrying and tTampling
of many feet on the deck overhead.
He sprang to get his revolvers. But
the case, there was a rush Of foot
steps down the passageway outside;
and the next moment the frail door
burst in with a crash before the attack
of half dozen nearly naked China
men, who had American revolyers and
short curved swords. The Silver
Moon had fallen prey to pirates, and
Curtin calmly submitted himself to the
invaders.
He was allowed to dress. In the
meantime the pirates rummaged
through his baggage, including the
rather portly black leather case in
which he carried his medicines and.
surgical instruments. When he was
hustled on deck a few moments later
he found lying alongside the Silver
Moon huge junk, and swarming over
the captured vessel a motley horde
of evil-looking barbarians The crew
of the Silver Moon, awed and cring-
ing, was huddled forward under guard.
But Curtin was not placed with
the other captives. At a word from
the thin, wiry man who appeared to
be the leader, two OF the pirates
marched the doctor straight aboard
the strange junk, where they proceed
ed to bind his arms and legs with
ropes, and left him near the fore
mast to sprawl or sit on the hard
deck, as he chose. AS soon as every
thing. of value on the Silver Moon had
been transferred to the robber junk,
the crew returned to their own yes
sci, and cast off, leaving their coun-
trymen to go their way in peace The
pirate junk now headed to the north
east, following the coast.
Curtin, sprawling on the bare deck
in his bonds, could only conjecture
what was to be his fate. He knew
that the native pirates often made
practice of holding prisoners for ran
som, and he fancied that his captors
intended to do so in his case. other.
wise they would not have singled him
out from all those on the captured
junk. 1t did not reassure him to re-
fleet that his bank-account in Hong
kong was an extremely modest one,
and that he had few friends in the
city who could place any large sum at
his disposal
Abour the middle of the forenoon
his attention was attracted to one OF
the pirate crew-a big man who was
restlessly pacing up and down the
sun-scorched deck not far away, ap-
parently in intense agony. On observ-
ing the fellow closely, the doctor saw
that there was an angry unhealed
wound in the muscles OF his bare left