The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1913-08-22
A FIGHT IN
THE DARK
II Resulted In a Narrow
Escape
By CLARISSA MACKIE


Gordon & Co. had finally resulted II
an active investigation Of the mattel
by the efficient young manager. Philip
Newton.
He had worked on the matter fol
several weeks before he decided thai
Lennon, his foreman on the wharf
was in conspiracy with the captain OF
q handsome Chinese junk that hat
lain at anchor near the wharf ct inter
walls that correspondent with the date
of the robberies.
So it was that one rainy night Philip
Newton made his way down to Pun
dersons jetty. where he found Peter
Cook. his trusted young assistant
waiting for him In the trim little
launch which belonged to the com
pany.
Punderson's jetty overlooked Cor
don's wharf. and Philip had scarcely
seated himself in the launch when Pc
ter leaned cautiously toward him.
1.-THE junk went up about a half hour
ago, sir" lie said.
Good, Well 80 right along too"
The Meteor spltterCd cut into the
river and POINTED her nose w strea m
After her engine was fairly started
and the specially patented muffler had
been applied the noise died down un.
til at last she glded in utter silence
through the water.
The drizzling rain had ceased. and
the harbor was iewe.ed with the radi-
ance Of Hundreds Of lights from the
and fishing boat bore its softly CLEAN
ing paper lantern. and as the launch
threaded her way cut Of the anchn-a re
she seemed to glide over waves of
molten gold where the current broke
the reflection into thousand SHIN
mering lights.
The boat was going very slowly. feel
ing her way. now and then avoiding
rapidly moving sampan. and but for
the occasional meeting Of one Of these
small craft their journey was without
incident until suddenly, without warn.
ing, Peter brought the launch to a
standstill and Philip realized that the
fender chafed the side Of some huge
craft which was moored in the middle
of the river.
There was a slight Jar Of impact, an
almost imperceptble listing Of the lar.
rer craft to starboard. and as she
righted herself the launch was tossed
gently away and again brought up
with a slight rub against the black
bulk.
There was dead SILENCE In the launch,
hut all about them In the fog were the
staccato murmur OF Chinese voices
and the swish Of water as though
myriads Of tiny boats might be darling
between the junk and the shore, for
sometimes the sounds were near. as
II approaching them and then dimin-
ishing.
Occasionally there was mufiied
thud as though some heavy object had
been transferred from one vessel to
another. but the encompassing fog con-
cealed the mysterious happenings from
the eyes of the Americans in the
launch
ut is the junk" said Philip in a
whisper
81 guess you're right. sir"
Put her under shore now. Peter.
There should be landing and some
stone steps along here. Perhaps we
can find what they are taking ashore.
Gently now!'
The swift flow of the river drowned
the pant Of the engine, and In a few
minutes they had drawn up under the
high. muddy bank. just beneath the
black wall of masonry.
From his seat in the bow Philip
thrust one leg over the rail, CROPPED
with his foot and discovered, what he
was looking fora fight Of broken
Shiny stone steps leading from the riv-
er to the bank above.
Quite by accident Peter had brought
OF this flight of steps.
Philip was undetermined as to what
he would do next His object had
been TO gain the next landing beyond
them, where he suspected the cargo
boats were unloading the stolen mer-
chandise from the junk.
Although he did not doubt that the
mandarin, San Yuen. chief magistrate
OF the province Of Szechuan, was the
fnstigator Of the plot and likewise the
chief benefactor In the returns, he
knew It would be a difficult matter to
bring the man to justice owing to the
corrupt practices In vogue at the
courts, especially where high official
was concerned
And San Yuen was not an ordinary
mandarin-ruler Of a small province.
He was rich and powerful. man.
DARN Of the coral button Of high rank.
and much In favor near the throne.
He could command the richest offices
within the gift of the rulers. yet he
preferred his position as potentate Of
prosperous province. which he ruled
with cruel hand that could wiring the
last copper cash from q poor farmer
or extract silver ingots from q mer-
chants treasure chest
San Yuen was gentleman bandit,
q pirate. a terror to his enemies or
those he preyed upon. To the polite
Chinese world he was a splendid gen.
tleman. with the instincts Of q true