The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-12-14
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The Ivory CheSS-BOard

i William Rollins, head of the great
English firm of Rollins & Co., Chemists
and Druggists, was slipping his coffee
in the little dining-room Of the Church
Hospital for Chinese He was the guest
for the hour Of his old friend DR.. Brad
law. the surgeon. who had come out
with him to the East just twenty years
ago.
We'll. Doctor" he said, how about
the opium question? Are you still
struggling with it as you were five
years ago when I left the Colony and
went homer"
TT is Just about as bad as ever sir
replied the surgeon. I'm spite Of all
the government restrictions and regu-
lations they seem to smuggle the vile
stuff in and we get it in the Hospital
all the time The police and detectives
do all they can to ferret the rascals out
but what can you do when your own
countrymen are the chief offenders
It's the foreign druggists that are really
to blame, Sir Rollins. and"-he looked
toward his guest most Significantly
you'll pardon my saying 1t, but Rollins
& Co. are not above suspicion"
What! Do you mean to tell me that
after all my efforts Of years to Danish
opium from this community, my own
lrm are supposed TO De ACTUALLY Selling
1t to the natives? Impossible!
Not impossible at all; the illegal
traffic is going on right under your very
eyes, but you are not sharp enough to
catch them. Why. only few days a6c
found a patient here taking some of
your new cough-lozenges for his throat,
and when examined the package care
fully. 1t was filled with the choicest and
most expensive Patna opium. What
do you say to that. eh?'
What do I say? 1 vow by all that
hold sacred that I will probe that thing
to the very bottom. and the man that
did it-be he Chinaman or Englishman
shall not only be instantly discharg-
ed but will hand him over to the
police without any mercy"
II sincerely hope you will. Sir. and
not only help US in the crusade. but also
redeem the good name OF your firm;
for my Chinese nurses tell me that
there Is always some way Of getting 1t
at your establishment, If they only
know the secret. or have a pull as the
American doctors say"
There was a grand shake-up in the
leading drugstore of Hong Kong the
following day and the police made one
OF the cleverest hauls of opium THAI
the papers had ever recorded. Padre
Madero. the trusted Portuguese clerk
Gin charge Of the native Department.
somehow or other got wind OF 1t and
disappeared for parts unknown just be-
fore the officers reached his residence.
Hundreds of dollars worth of the gold
en- EARTH" as the Chinese euphoniously
call the drug, were discovered under
various DISCUSSES. Boxes of cough
| lozenges, Quinine, headache powders,
| tonic pills and a dozen other popular
| articles sold to Chinese customers
were found to have been carefully tut
open, filed with opium and then re-
| sealed to avoid detection. The entire
foreignsand native staff were summon
| ed before the firm and given a lecture
| accompanied with threats Of dismissal
| which ought to have been effective In
| forever after preventing a dram OF the
| poison from being sold over their coun-
tiers. Sir Rollins received a flattsrine
| compliment for this in the papers and
| was personally congratulated ,as a pub
| lie benefactor. by His Excellency the
| Governor.
| In less than three weeks from the
| above occurrence, an anonymous letter
| postmarked Canton, was laid upon Sill
| Rollins's plate at breakfast. He tore i
hastily open and read as follows: "Yol
have evidently. Sir, made most con-
| scientious efforts to rid this community
of the opium curse by trying to proven
the sale of it through your clerks. bu
| the Missionaries Of this district hav.
| positive evidence through their nativ,
converts that you have been thoroughly
| hood wnked and that the importation
Ind sale of the drug is still going on
| though in a way that you cannot de
tect Consult the man Of mystery ant
| lArhaps he will throw a little ligh
| upon the subject"
| Sir William Rollins was furious. H
| rose and paced the floor. He crumplet
the letter up and threw 1t into tn
waste-basket and then. after few mo
ments thought, picked it out again
smoothed it and placed it carefully Il
| his wallet.
| Boy" he cried, 'catchee nv chat
chop chop. my wantchee go city-hal
| side.
Arrived at the city offices. he sough
a private interview with the Chief In
spector and. laying the letter on hi
desk, sat down and said: We'll. wha
do you police chaps say to that?''
The Inspector read 1t over Slowly an
carefully and, after a few moments
hemming and having. replied: q
rather imagine that the Willy One !
the only man in the Colony that cal
really get at the bottom Of it"
| And who is this Willy One.' as yo
call him."
! Wang Foo. the Mysterious. Haven
you heard of him?"
| DO You mean the native detectiv
that recovered the Governors jewels
| The same. but he wouldn't care I
be known as a native detective. He
gentleman of means who takes a spe
cial pleasure in ferreting out criminall
in the interests of what he calls tn
Confucian standard of justice. H
won't accept any pay-just does
for the sake OF the cause, don't yo
know-and 1 must say that he is tn
cleverest one Of his kind I ever cam
| across"
If you know where he lives. send fo
him and ask him to do me the homo
1 wit Of h. y,