Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1915-08-03
NINETEENTH EPISODE
THE SAVING CIRCLES.

In an opium den down in cellar
In the heart Of Chinatown, Long Sin
lay in a bunk, contemplating what
form of revenge he might suggest to
his master, WI Fang.
About him were many Chinese and
even white men, all dreaming of the
great things they would do, dreams
which were dissipated into ashes, even
as the drug in the pipes which gave
them their shadowy forms.
Hop Ling, the proprietor, was just
about to hand Long Sin pipe with a
half-cooked pill, when a well-dressed
white man entered and gazed about.
Sea white devil" he muttered
to Hop under his breath, calling his
attention to the stranger.
Hop Ling moved forward and ac-
costed the newcomer. "Why does the
white man visit us?" he asked suave-
ly, though coldly.
Il am Jack Sprague, the aviator
replied the visitor, still looking about.
Il smoke the stuff for my nerves.
Come across with pipe, boss"
Hop considered moment, then at a
nod from Long Sin, whose opinion he
valued highly, led Sprague over to an
empty bunk near by.
Long Sin continued to eye the
stranger critically Finally as Sprague
settled himself, the Chinaman pulled
himself out of his bunk and moved
over to the airman.
How are you?" greeted Long Sin
in English.
1t was Sprague's turn now to be sus-
picious of Long Sin with his sinister
face
Are you an aviator?" pursued the
Chinaman.
Sprague nodded. you said it" he
replied in laconic slang.
Long Sin sQuatted down and they
talked and smoked Half an hour later,
Jack Sprague, his nerve restored and
his cupidity aroused by the promises
of Long Sin, accompanied his new
friend out Of the hop joint.
They passed through the narrow
streets of the Chinese quarter and
finally entered what looked like a
squalid tenement. There Long Sin
nodded and whispered to a servant.
and moment later they were admit
ted to an anteroom of WI Fang, the
Serpent
Master" bowed Long Sin as WI
received him, Il have here a man
whom we may use"
WI nodded graciously to Sprague,
while his slave bent down and whis-
pered in his ear in deep gutturals,
moving his hands In expressive cir
cles through the air. Wu's brow cloud
ed, but at last he seemed to catch the
idea.
you mean, then, that he fies?" he
asked.
Long Sin nodded. Not only does
he fly, master" he said, but from
his aeroplane he can drop anything
and hit mark"
Come with me-" beckoned WI to
Sprague, as he put on his street
clothes to go out.
Somewhat earlier In the day Lieu
tenant Waters of the army, who had
already interested Kennedy in a new
explosive of his own invention, trod-
lite, had invited Craig to visit the fort
on Staten Island at which he was
stationed, and Craig had taken Elaine
down on a visit.
They saw about everything there
was to be seen, but the thing that in
terested Kennedy most was, of course,
the explosive and the handling of it.
In a storeroom of the fort Elaine
picked up from a table a peculiar
pointed instrument with a weighted
head
THAT is one of the new aeroplane
arrows that are being used in the Eu-
ropean war" explained the lieutenant.
How interesting" remarked Elaine.
They stood for moment chatting,
then passed on until at last they came
again to the entrance to the grounds
Of the fort where a sentry, pacing back
and forth, saluted.
Thank you so much" said Elaine
as she gave Lieutenant Waters her
hand.
Yes. indeed" agreed Craig. 1--WE
have had a most interesting visit. By
the way, Lieutenant, come to my
laboratory tomorrow morning. would
like to show you one or two very novel
effects that / have been able to get
from your iuveution."