Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-04-24
VENGEANCE OF PAX SING.
Oriental Attempted to Blow Up Ship
to Get Even With the Officer Who
Kicked Him.


had spent most of his early life in
Hongkong. having been brought there
while little boy by the steamer that
had collided with and sunk his prahu.
BY birth and instinct Pax Sing was d
pirate but nowadays the pirate bust
ness is so hampered and spoilt by med
dlesome gunboats that PAX Sing had
suppressed his natural tastes and fol-
lowed the honest calling of a steam
boat fireman. Certainly, from our
narrow Occidental point of view PAX
Sing behaved badly when he tried to
wreck the steamer Labuan Yet, 1t
one takes into consideration his heredi-
tary inclinations. it is hard TO see how
n self respecting Malay could have
acted otherwise. However, the Labuan
is still afioat. and PAX Sing is anchor
ed by a fire-bar to the bottom of Yo-
kohama Bay, so ii really doesn't mat
ter.
PAX Sing was Number Two stcker
aboard the steamer Labuan. which Is
an equivalent position To that of don
keyman aboard a ship that carries
European crew His office entaiied
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, when, as everyone
knows. is job requiring care and at
tentien.
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 ana
watching the numerous boats and
sampans plying between vessels an
chered in the roadstead and the shore
Seamen of varied nationalities, all on
pleasure bent, we're being ferried
ashore in these sampans; and PAX Sing
watched them, until he too became
possessed of craving for recreation
and excitement after the tolls of the
dav So hastily denning clean sash
ard turban. he hailed a sainPan ana
went shore himself.
1t must not be supposed that he went
to visit the waterfall or to view the
beautiful scenery surrounding Kobe.
oh. no. he craved recreation and ex-
citement of quite a different order IN
deed. he only walked a few hundred
yards from the landing place and into
a small drinking house for seamen
kept by Chinaman. Here were as
sembled a motley gathering of rough,
noisy seamcn 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 MIN
gle with them at all. He just walked
| nm TO the bar and called for drink,
then purchasing a bottle of sake, which
is strong native spirit, he returned
quietly to his ship.
The next morning when Mr. Mcleod,
chief engineer. went below at Z o'clock,
there was no steam in the boiler Tor
working cargo, and PAX Sing, whose
business it was to get up early ana
start the banked fires, was sitting on
an ash bucket singing Malay war
song and brandishing the empty sake
bottle.
Mcleod, a big, powerful Scotchman,
| possessed O quick temper and a nara
fist Roughly and profanely he order
| ed the fireman to get to work at once,
but the ardent sake had aroused the
sleeping devil in the Malay's nature,
and he gave defiant answer. Mcleod
promptly kicked over the ash bucket
and capsized the fireman on the stoke
hold plates.
With an angry snari the Malay rose
to his feet and. whipping out his KNIFE,
| made fierce spring at Mcleod a
Malay does not often miss his footing,
| and pax Sing was 1.-the and sinewy as
n panther. vet in this case his foot
slipped on the greasy plates, and the
/ t,I IaI !, OF nd half slash.
that he aimed at the engineer. missed
Its mark by few inches only. other
wise Mr.. McLeod's earthly troubles
| would have ended there and then
Before pax Sing could recover ana
deliver another thrust. the brawny en-
gineer who could hit like a kicking
horse. had flattened his opponent
| against the boiler casing with a
| straight smashing blow on the jaw,
and when the Malay dropped limp ana
stunned Mcleod took his knife away
and afterward threw it overheard.
TIN. mutineer was then revived ny
having buckets of salt water thrown
over him, and taken before the skip
per. who gave him talking to. ana
threatened to keep him in irons II ne
| did not behave himself in the future
With great humility PAX Sing said
| that he was very sorry for his mis-
deeds and promising good behavior he
withdrew. salaaming profoundly, with
an utterly expressionless face and the
fires of hell raging in his heart.
/ I'D watch that coffee colored gem
| tleman il | were you, Mac" said the
second mate, as the ship was steam :
| ing toward Yokohama few days later.
ION, that's all right; he'll keep away
| from me. He doesn't want another
punch on the jaw" replied Mcleod. as
he rolled his big shoulders and laughed.
Yet all the same, the chief engineer
felt rather uneasy whenever PAX Sing
1 ma ssed close to him, because many
voyages To the Far East had given
him some experience of the Malay race
and their revengeful natures. So he
took the precaution to sleep with his
cabin door locked although the wealth
er was warm. Furthermore. he decid-
ed to dispense with the services of his
number two fireman when the ship gof
back to Hong Kong, and SO rid HIM