The Press., 1915-07-28
a heavy duck bag through the paIings

and tossed 1t over ner neaU.
 He hasten0l to the gate at the end of the garden and performed the same operation with the fiercer male beast.
 His hands were trembling now. for he must make haste. He could not hope that the anaesthetic would do more than stupefy the beasts for awhile. There was not enough of It. and the conditions were not favorable.
 "Just ten minutes-give me ten min utes' start and I'll take my chances with sharks rather than stay here an other minutew he muttered savagely.
 The garden gate opened, and he step ped over the inert form of the striped guardian.
 He slipped and slid down the muddy bank until he reached the waters edge The full moon guided him to the groul of fishing boats drawn up on the beach Tn a moment he had pushed off from shore and was polling his frail craft into the track of moonlight that led tC freedom.
 Of to the southeast there showed s faint light-some nolthbound steamer So fearful was he that he might miss the precious opportunity and so ab sorbed was he in the management Ot the strange boat that Mason failed tt notice the ominOus silence that brood ed over the waters; the shuddering licking sound of the oily waves.
 Suddenly the moon was plotted out by swift onrush of inky clouds and the hot breath of the wind.
 Surely death stared him in the face It was riding now on the wings of the approaching typhoon.
 And all the while that red light bob bed and disappeared, and now the steamer showed blessed green light He could see them alternately-port and starboard. She had changed heI course and was coming before the wind, straight toward the tiny sampaI tipping up and down on the swell.
 One minute after Mason had beer rescued by the great ocean liner tho typhoon struck with shrieking force.
 Perhaps the tidal wave that follow ed tossed the sanpan back on its na tive shore; perhaps the hungry wave leaped the embankment and tore away Masons hut and the snarling guard fans. He never knew. He never cared.
 They put him in a cabin and gave him what he asked for-hot water and soap and clean garments-and he cared not for fifty typhoons. He was back among civilized people. He was free from that mysterious Imprisonment
 A year later he had almost forgotten 1t. He was back in New Hampshire going daily to his business in Concord His family welcomed him home as one from the grave, and his children play ed with the straw toys he had bought from the street vender.
 Albert Mason had other troubles now. Business was bad, and bank ruptcy stared him in the face. UnfOr. tunate investments had depleted his assets. The years he had wasted in the hut on the China sea had under mined his prosperity.
 He went home and talked 1t over with his wife. helpmate indeed.
 They smiled at the children playing on the floor. The youngest brought a broken toy to his father. It was one of the straw animals Mason had brought home from China.
 1.-The frog and the cat and the bird are quite we'll" said the baby earnest ly, "but my dwagon feels very sickv'
 "The dragon, eh?' repeated Mason, examining the hollow interior of the curly tailed, red fanged toy. "I don't wonder. Molly, look at thatr'
 He withdrew his fingers and dangled before his wife's amazed eyes a golden chain, from which hung a magnificent girdle clasp of jade set with diamonds and rubies, the insignia of some Chi nese military official. And carved on the face of the jade was the deep cut figure of dragon inclosed in seal.
 :Ihe dragon!" he muttered dazedly.
 "You were carrying it all the time,' his wife added. "It must have been within the toy when you purchased it. What mystery 1t all is!'
 "Some one has palmed off incriminat- ing evidence upon me-" laughed Ma son. ''I'll write to Wayne in Shanghai and see if there is any chance of find ing the owner If there isn't-well Mason & Go. will continue to do busi- ness. Hurrah!'
 Two months afterward came Wayne's letter, from which quote:
 Impossible to trace. China has turned over, you know. Mandarins have suicided, been assassinated and others cashiered. You better keep it as reward for your time of imprison- ment."
 "But wouldn't go through the expe- rience again for double the price," said