Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-01-15

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my people the evil eye must co. was
his decision.
"Your excellency will make restitu
ton, them" Dick asked politely. Tia
camera is very valuable"
Hep Foo nodded. Your servant
Wung, said it was Valuable smiled
the mandarin family. He said you
pointed the evil eye at any object yor
wished: then you opened the devil ma
chine and drew out II glass. with which
you retired to a dark place lighted by 8
dim red lamp. He spied upon you once
and saw you place the glass In waite;
and then breathe upon the water. NUT
tering as vol did so. and as you
breathed upon the glass the picture
came out upon it clearly; thereupon
Wung FASTENED to send me word OF
your ~wiekedness against my people"
"As 1t Is useless to try to convince
your excellency that there Is no magic
about this picture taking. | can only re
peat that you must make restitution
for your i'll treatment of me or else
He hesitated and smiled confidently.
"Or else snarled Hep Foo. with
sudden and unexpected feroeity.
Il must remind your excellency that
a few hundred Ii down the river Amer
lean gunboats are anchored"
"Humph. What can your g%unboats
do to me?s scoffed the mandarin. who
had never seer a gunboat in his mono
onous life.
Dick smiled.
They will force you to make restitu-
ton. OF they will take you prisoner and
carry you to Peking."
Hep Foo was Silent for a long time
At last he lifted his head and barked a
sharp order to his secretary. The man
vanished at once. and q look of sur
prise and fear passed over the faces of
the people.
Wing. the traitor servant of Dick.
was evidently suffering with remorse
at having betrayed his generous en-
ployer. for he moved. slowly until he
stood directly behind the American
and muttered a few words In English
that Dick barely caught before Wung
glided back to his former position quite
unnoticed by the Chinese who stood to
a man with eyes glued on the door
through which the secretary would re-
turn.
These are the words that Wung ut
tered:
Take not the melon, for a deadly
asp is hidden within; take not the
orange. for 1t is poisoned; the pear and
the plum will stihe you with noxious
fumes. but the applet Is safe to take
the apple. my lord"
Dick would have laughed Wung's
warning to scorn, for he had no reason
to trust the man, but the servants fear
was evident. and the following incl
dent convinced him that Wings warn
ing was sincere. .
esWhat said you to the foreign devilr'
asked Hep Foo of Wung.
Il was haunting him. my lord" lied
Wung humbly.
"Dogi Be out of my presence thun-
dered Hep Foo. And the unlucky
Wung was dragged out and thrust
through the gates to wander dejectedly
where he might.
Then the secretary returned. and in
his hands he bore a red l~acquered tray,
on which was piled fruit of most ex-
quisite tint and form-a melon, a pear,
a plum, an orange and a rosy apple.
The secretary stood before Dick. and
the young man looked closely at the
fruit.
To his surprise it was carved from
ivory. with delicate tinting cunningly
laid on. The stems were of ebony and
the leaves of polished jade.
Choose ordered Hep Foo-"choose.
foreign devil. And you must abide by
whatever fate is allotted by your
choice"
I'm other words. be a sport" NUT
tered Dick grimly. Then to the man
DARN he said. "And if a kindly fate
befalls me. excellency. / I'm assured of
a safe departure from your DOMAINE"
II am Hep Foo. and my word is
good" said the mandarin proudly.
Dick was muttering to himself:
mot the melon MOI the pear. plum or
orange. but the rosy apple for mine.
But l must keep 'em guessing for a
minute"
So his hand poised uncertainty above
the melon only to dart over to the
orange and from that to the plum.
then again to the tempting greenness
of the melon and at last to alight sure
ly on the ivory apple.
This. excellency. is my choice" be
declared.
A long sigh burst from the assem-
bled Chinese. and with one accord they
looked up into Hep Foo's bafied coun-
%tenanoe.
"You are lucky-lucky," he muttered
at last. Take him away" added Hep
Foo, Impatient of the close scrutiny of
his servants.
The secretary gave the tray of ivory
fruit to an %underling. kotowed to Hep
FOO and moffopfnn 70 niok Hocfinpc