The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-02-01

his face and hands and lighted IN fine
rough travelling clothes that he wore
Ralph thought ii strange that trained
wOOdman as Beale waS. he had no, :,,.
rayed himself for this long and tedious
fishing trip. He carried no impedimen
ia. and his friend attributed this IN
Beale'S having made small camD OF
his own near by or else he had drOl-
ped his kit beyond the circle Of flame
Yarn away. prompted Ralph laziIv
as be lounGed on the warm ground
He reached out and laid his hand on
Nip'S briStipd neck and felt the dog
trembling like an aspen. "Nip's get
ting white liverpd over something" re
marked Ralph.
Il went TO KaOling on the China
coast. you know" began Beale abrupt
ly. You remember | was searching
for some stray pieces Of that rare old
Kaoling porcelain, and | had been put
on that trail by Hudnuth Of San Frau
cisco"
Ralph nodded
Il was the only white man within
hundred miles in any direction OF the
little village. and their courtesy dis
armed me of any fears | may have en-
tertained as to their hospitality. The
steamers boat which landed me re-
turned TO the big vessel. and she
steamed away into the horizon, leav-
ing me all alone on the yellow mud
shore. surrounded by a chattering, tit
fnrit OyxrI
low as the mud.
"Of course there was no inn to speak
of, only an infested hole. into which
| poked my head only once. On the
outskirts Of the village found the de-
serted home Of a prosperous merchant
and made deal with his relatives
for Its occupancy. There / made my
headquarters, surrounded by thieving
servants and aware that If | was ever
caught off my guard l was done for.
They were a crowd that would have
knitted me for twenty cash.
IL knew that a remote Chinese fish
Ing village is a queer place ia which
to look for KaOling porcelains; but.
mark you. Ralph, that little village
was all that remained of once great
and prosperous city whose ruins strag-
gled hi Ci rom the sea and covered
many 'ipS of fat country, broken
by jur"- stones of half burned tenn
piles.
1T WlS here those treasures were
the earthquake which had destrOyeG
the city had spared the porcelains. So
] made my strongest efforts to bear on
the temple ruins. and in the end met
measure Of success. | was sorry
that had not persuaded you to ac-
company me on that quest; but. no:
perhaps it was best that you did not"
Beale stared into the fire with
strangely lit eyes, and there was some
thing in the rigidity of his attitude
that brought Ralph Hillman to a sit
ting posture where he could watch his
friend closely.
Go on, Francis" he urged. Il wish
| had been with you, danger or not!
You know I'm not afraid of that"
Il know" said the other. with a long
confident look at Ralph. we have
slept by campfres together. and you
saved my life once. That was why
wanted to see you once more"
Once morew repeated Ralph uneas-
lily. What do you mean, Francis? You
are not going away again.
Never mind that now: you will an
derStand after you have heard nv
story. AS said. found the entrance
to an especially promising temple and
planned to spend an entire day there.
hoping to reach the inner shrine. where,
there might be porcelain god, and |
was almost sure to discover some altar
vessels of the coveted ware. OF course
L had had help in my work, a gang of
coolies had eXcavated for me day bv
day. but now that a free passage had
been discovered preferred to be alone.
as l knew they would resent the re-
moval of one article from the place,
and was after all could get.
Before | started out that morning |
had received word that Barment and
his party would join me on the Sth.
that very day was the eth Of Septem-
Der. was elated to think | was going
10 have white companions at last. mon
interested in the same pursuit that | I
was. sent the bOatman. who had
brought the message. away rejoicing
with handful of money and so fur
ther excited the cupidity Of my native
servants.
Il ordered my house set ia order for
a dozen guests. and so | went on to
the buried CITY | maGp my y.ov 1o,,.,, :
INTO the stone passage of the temple.
round my way unchecked save by oc-
caSional blocks Of stone which pr;cd
away. and ut last | was within the
inner shrine. where my widest homes
were realized.
such collection of Kaoling ware
you never saw. but Barmpnt will res-