Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-04-05
THE VENGEANCE OF PAX SING.
Oriental Attempted to Blow Up Ship to Get
Even With the Officers Who Kicked Him.


while a boy by the steamer he had COL
lided with and sunk his prahu. BY
birth and instinct PAX Sing was pi-
rate but nowadays the pirate business
is SO hampered and spoilt by meddle-
some gunboats that PAX Sing had sup
pressed his natural tastes and followed
the honest calling of a steamboat fire
man. Certainly, from our narrow Oc-
cidental point of view, PAX Sing be-
haved badly when he tried to wreck
the steamer Labuan. Yet, If one takes
into consideration his hereditary incli-
nations, it Is hard to see how SELF
respecting Malay could have acted
otherwise. However the Labuan Is
still afioat, and PAX Sing is anchored
by a fire bar to the bottom Of Yoko-
hama bay, so 1t really doesn't matter.
PAX Sing was Number Two stoker
aboard the steamer Labuan, which Is
an equivalent position to that of DON
keyman aboard ship that carries a
European crew. His office entailed
some responsibility, because while the
vessel was in port Number Two had
to start the morning fires and keep
steam on the boiler that worked the
cargo winches, which, as every one
knows is a Job requiring care and at
tention.
Now Il happened one evening that
while the steamer was lying anchored
at Kobe roadstead PAX Sing, having
finished his work in the hot and dusty
stokehold, sat on the forecastle head,
inhaling the cool evening breeze and
watching the numerous boats and sam
pans plying between vessels anchored
in the roadstead and the shore. Sea-
men of various nationalities, all on
pleasure bent, were being ferried
ashore in these sampans; and PAX Sing
watched them, until he too became pos
sessed Of a craving for recreation and
excitement after the tolls of the day.
So, hastily donning clean sash ana
turban, he hailed a sampan and went
ashore himself.
to visit the waterfall or to view the
beautiful scenery around Kobe. on
no; he craved recreation and excite
ment Of quite a different order. IN
deed. he only walked a few hundred
wards from the landing place and into
a small drinking house for seamen
kent by a Cf1inaman. Here were as
sembled a motley gathering of rough
noisy seamen from all quarters Of the
globe Men of his own race and color
were there but PAX Sing, not being OF
a sociable disposition. did not mingie
with them at all. He just walked up
TO the bar and called for drink; then
purchasing a bottle Of sake, which Is q
strong native drink, he returned quiet
ly to the ship.
The next morning when Mr.. Mcleod,
the chief engineer, went below at
o'clock, there was no steam in the
boiler for working cargo, and Pax
Sing, whose business it was to get up
early and start the banked fires, was
sitting on the ash bucket singing
Malay war song and brandishing an
empty sake bottle.
Mcleod, a big, powerful Scotchman'
possessed a quick temper and hard
first. Roughly and profanely ne Or
dered the fireman to get to work at
once, but the ardent sake had aroused
the sleeping devil in the Malays ma
ture, and he gave a defiant answer.
Mcleod promptly kicked over the ASH
bucket and capsized the fireman N the
stokehold plates.
With an angry snarl the Malay rose
TO his feet and, whipping out his knife,
made a fierce spring at Mcleod. A
Malay does not often miss his footing,
and PAX Sing was 1.-the and sineWy
as a panther, yet in this case his foot
slipped on the greasy plates, and the
savage stab, half thrust and half slash'
that he aimed at the engineer missed
its mark by a few inches only, other
wise Mr.. McLeod's earthly troubles
would have ended there and then.
Before PAX Sing could recover and
deliver another thrust, the brawny en-
gineer, who could hit like a kicking
horse. had fiattened his opponent
AGAINST the boiler casing with smash
ing blow on the jaw, and when the Ma
Law dropped limp and stunned MCLEOD
took his knife away and afterward
threw it overheard.
The mutineer was then revived by
having buckets Of salt water thrown
over him. and taken before the skip
per. who gave him a good talking TO-
and threatened to keep him in irons If
he did not behave himself In the fu-
ture. With great humility PAX Sing
said that he was very sorry for MS
misdeeds, and promising good behav-
ior he withdrew, salaaming profound
" with an utterly eXpressionless face
and the fires OF hell raging in his
heart.
.Td watch that coffee colored gentle
man. If were you, Mac" said the
second mate, as the ship was steam
ing toward Yokohama few days later.
.Oh, that's all right; he'll keep away
from me. He doesn't want another
nnnch on the Jaw" replied Mcleod. as
ba rolled his big shoulders ard laugh
ed.
Yet all the same the chief engineer
,aI, rather uneasy whenever PAX Sing
nassed close to him, because many
,ovases to the far east had given him
.o,ne experience of the Malay race and
their reyengeful natures. So he TOOK
the precaution to sleep with his cabin
door locked. although the weather was
warm. Furthermore, he decided to dis
nense with the services of his number
TWO fireman when the ship got back to
Hong Kong. and so rid himself from
the haunting dread of a knife-thrus'
between the ribs.
Nothing of Importance occurred dur
ing the run from Kobe, and just after
midnight the Labuan swung round fo-
kohama breakwater and, threading heI
WAY through the shipping, came to al
anchor in the inner harbOr. After eV-
erything had been squared up al
oil