The Forrest City times., 1913-04-18
1A


 l directly. and how he invariably em- 1 pioyed some euphemism. The phrase
 pass from sight of men into torment" the professor pointed out as an illus tration. And then I remembered little Mow Chee, who was in my class at fale, and how, once, in speaking of the demise of fellow classman, he had used the odd expression. he has saluted old age" which I afterwards learned was quite a common form in China
 IL was now year or more since had seen Mow Chee, but 1 recalled that at our last meeting had made note of his address; and so on reach Ing my desk the next morning l looked 1t up. Curiously enough a pri- vate detective agency which I had arranged to consult chanced to have it's office in the same building on low CT Broadway as the Pacific Transport company, by which Now Chee was employed; and thus the plan which had been shaping mentally the previ- ous afternoon, as I hurried away from Professor Griffn's, was readily set in motion before noon of the day fol lowing.
 In the evening I had discussed 1t with Evelyn; and though the detec- tive feature did not at first meet with her approval. she eventually conceded that 1t was necessary part of the project. It was agreed. however, that the real purpose for which that aid was invoked should not be divulged. Philetus Murphy was to be shadowed and daily reports were to be made to me. That he had been under suspi- cion of brutally murdering his Chi nese servant was sufficient reason for the proceeding. and to the detective agency l gave no hint of any further consideration.
 As for my Celestial classmate. was not by any means sure that l should find him at the Pacific Transport of fees. I knew that for some time Chi na had been calling upon her sons of western education to return to their mother country for service, and 1 feared that little Mow Chee might al ready be customs taokai of Shantung, or some other imperial province But my misgivings were very promptly al layed, for no sooner had l stepped within the outer office than he saw me. and came hastily forward, with smile of greeting on his square, fiat tened, yellow face.
 His desk was just back of the long counter which ran the length of the room, and a glance at its piled con- tents showed me that he was very busy. Moreover, there was no oppor- tunity here for the privacy which I desired so after an exchange of greet ings, and few conventional inquiries, l invited Now to lunch with me at the Savarin. at whatever hour would best suit his convenience.
 Somewhat to my dismay, he fixed upon one o'clock. AS 1t still wanted ten minutes of noon I now had over an hour of leisure, which, as may be imagined. promised to hang rather heavy the more so, as l was impa- tient to make some real progress in my quest.
 Wall street being at hand, conclud- ed to call on a friend there who usu- ally handles my investments, and make a convenience of his office On the way, I bought an afternoon paper, and as my broker happened to be at the Stock Exchange, l had ample op- portunity to read it from first column to last. It proved about as thrillingly interesting as the early afternoon re- prints of what one has already read at breakfast usually are, and l was about to drop 1t to the floor, when my eye caught a group of headlines on the last page, which, up to that moment, had escaped me- but which now suddenly riveted my attention: CELESTIAL CLAIMS MYSTERIOUS
 BOX ON FALL RIVER PIER
 Anything concerning Celestials, I suppose would have attracted me, just then, but the burden of this was so peculiarly pertinent, that 1t seemed as if 1t must have intimate connection with the tangle l had undertaken to unravel.
 With the paper gripped tightly fin both hands, and my head bent intently forward, l raced through the frivo- lously- written article which followed; and from 8 superabundance of cheap wit and East side slang managed to extract the somewhat meager facts A truck, driven by a Chinaman, 1t seemed, had that morning taken from the pier of the Fall River Line square box, measuring about five feet each way, and perforated with a num- Der of auger holes. The brilliant space-writer had given his imagipa- ton free rein as to the contents, spec ulating as to the possibilities, from ed ible Chinese dogs to smuggled opium. but he had omitted to furnish the name and address of either the con- signor or consignee. The truck drawn by the slant-eyed white horse and driven by the phlegmatic Chink, clattered away in the direction of Mott street" the account concluded
 After all, 1t was a very common