The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-02-15

ing he was under the influence OF opi.
atss. 20 ordinarily I doubt that It
would be safe to accept az fact 4 good
deal said under such circumstances. II
appears to me, however, that In his
case. these very conditions only
strengthen tho probabilities; for his
MIND seemed to hold only the one
theme, and his statements could hard
~ nave been either spontaneous or
studied Inventions. On the other
hand, they were rather a sort Of invol.
untary recital Of the particulars Of a
subject which had engrossed him for
years to the exclusion of almost every
thing else"
DR.. Addison nodded his head. en-.
couragingly. II quite understand,
MISS Clement" he said. And /, too,
assured her thst her reasoning ap-
peared to me logical.
1T was significant" she continued,
that so far as / could fix dates, he
made no references at all to any hap
pening prior to sixteen years ago. The
tragedy Of that time was the begin
ming or what I think I may call his
mania. Everything he told me had to
do with 1t. 1t came at the beginning,
at the apex. and at the end Of every
revelation"
THE tragedy Of sixteen years ago?~
inquired the physician.
The tragedy Of what has been
called The Sable Lorcha.'" / remind.
cd him.
"Oh, yes, Of course"
You know Of that, then? asked
Miss Clement. And briefly / ran over
what Yup Sing had told me.
John Soy, understand, was the
cook whom McNish imprisoned In the
galley" added.
1T seems he broke his way out Iust
as tho lorcha was sinking. McNish
had waited until he had gone to his
bunk for his usual hop, and had
CHOSEN the hour he was sleeping to
get away and scuttle the vessel. For
hve days Soy floated about on q bit OF
wreckase without food or drink. and
was finally picked up by a proa and
taken back to Macao at the mouth Of
the Canton river, where, after weeks
or delirium, he told his story of the
lorchas fate. From that day the search
for McNish began. 1t seems that he
mad partner, an Irishman, named
Moran. who for q time was suspected
OF having been IN the conspiracy; for,
you must remember. 1t was thought
then that the sinking Of the lorcha had
been planned from the first, the idea
being that 1t was simply a scheme to
get the passage money from the poor
coolies. and then drown them"
"Horrible!" calculated the ply.
sician.
But tho Chinese are just" the mis-
sionary continued. "They discovered
that q certain United States cruiser
that had been warned Of the attempt.
ed smuggling. did, on that particular
day, give chase to q lorcha, which
eventually disappeared in the fog. So
the enmity against Moran subsidized,
and. ultimately, this Same Moran be-
came the most openly bitter of all the
avenging horde that for over a decade
and half secured the four corners OF
tho globe; for 1t seems that McNish
had not only made OF with his share
OF the receipts Of their Joint enter
prise. but had left him with a running
lot OF debts to settle as well. There
was something. too, I believe, about q
Chinese woman whose loyalty to Mo.
ran, McNish undermined. but con-
Tess that part OF the story was not
very clear to me. At all events Soy,
the half-hreed. and Moran, the Irish
man. who appears to have been a row.
Ing blade, q sort OF soldier OF fortune
with some talent for painting, became
the prime movers in this relentless
quest, In which they were backed by
what 10 known as the Six Companies.
All the tongs. no matter how much at
variance on other points, were a unit
In this instance, and unlimited money
was always available to prosecute the
search"
A footman. appearing at this junc-
ture with the inevitable tea parapher.
MALTA, interrupted temporarily the cur
rent OF Miss Clements narrative. But
our interest was such that We limited
the cessation to the briefest possible
period. DR.. Addison. whose profes-
sional engagements were being top
pied over one after another, politely
urged her to continue, directly her cup
was In her hand.
Think. Miss Clement" he SAID.
with an ingratiating smile. "of the rapt
audience you have! I trust It is at
once an inspiration and a compensa.
ton"
1T surely is." was the good lady's
prompt acknowledgment. "And, by the
way, must not forget to tell you how
this man, McNish, actually had the
temerity to return to China a few
years ago. He appeared to think
either that his crime had been forgot.