Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1919-09-04


@No can take.s he answered weak
~. s1fe finish"
sWallen steadled himself with an
effort. and looked at the other closely.
IL was near the end; but still, 60 un-
der certain conditions Il sometimes
did, thu disease had LEFT tina mans In
telligence unimpaired.
Look here. old chap" said wallen
cheerfully through his. own cracked
lips. "You never know. Back up. Take
the medicine" he stopped 60 MT fhe
others head gently. and nearly fen
himself I'm doing it.
A sudden CLEAN OF gratitnds eams
into the Chinaman's eyes.
"You giood man." he whispered.
you all same giood man. But no can
take-all same flnish now" he pushed
the medicine away again: and then
plucked nc Wailen's sleeve. evidently
trying TO get the mates head down
closer to his lips.
The man was going fast. WALES
tried 10 force kindly smile.
what is it1' he asked.
'ListenI' said Ting Wah. sAxebhs
you die too. Mebbs no. An same me
tell-you slood man--iast night blins
medicine al night you glood Inan-ms
me tell"
His voice traIled on weakly.
"YesT prompted Wallen kindly.
The man tried to speak, tried again,
but without avail.
Wallen's own head was reeling, pre-,
monitory OF coming nausea.
'sIt's all right. Ting Wah, its al
right" he said soothingly. .BstteT moi
try to talk"
But now Ting Wah, with q desperate
effort. raised himself to his elbow.
"Yes. me talk 70 he gasped out. aBui
must talk quick. Ne here. Won 81
here. four more all same Chinamen
come on bloard and make crew on ship
here for all same knifee you"
There was contortion I'm the mans
face, q pitiful struggle TO fight bach
the weakness and exhaustion that wa
upon him. Wallen stared ut him In q
daxed way.
@Kill me; Ting Wah r. he cried out
"What fort You-you don't know
what you're saying. do your You
don't mean thati' The Chinaman'i
elbow was slipping gradually away
from beneath him, his eyes were
closed. The medicine spilled from
Wallen's hands onto the deck. and he
caught at the other. propping him up.
'Ting wahl Ting wahw he cried
again. shaking the man to rouse him
"What do you meant Ting Wan, don't
Jon hear mel wEat did ron mean @
KIM me forT' =,
There was no answeS. The man
was-no. not yeti Ting wahis lips
were moving. -Wallen bent his head
still closer to catch the words.
Dlink-House Sam Singapore -
him knew"
That was all. Tt was over now
Wallen Strengthened mp unsteady
and lurched 10 the rail where he could
cling on to something.
Six Cinnamon had shipped a. par,
Of the crew 50 that they could kin him
Why7 He laughed In Q sick fashion
What did It matter7 They were al
dead. those strand every one else
and In few hours he would be dead
too. he laughed again, little hys
terically. This Drink-House Sam oi
Singapore, whoever he, was, ought Go
be satisfied with thati
he clawed his. way back 90 the AFT.
erdeck, and dropped into his chair
again. His brain seemed 20 no numb
for q time. to be Indifferent to every.
thing-and then suddenly 20 becousu
strangely active. Six. Cinnamon hsz
yhipped rs members of the crew %
that they could kin him. II wasn't q
pleasant thought. even II the whole
nix were dead now. and that he him
self would be dead. too. before long.
On. yes, he believed It now, right
enough-why shouldn't hef What
about that murderous attack Won Su
had made upon him. and that he had
thought was deliriumi But that
wasn't an, he had reason beside that
TO believe Ting Wah's story; reason
enough. God knewi now that he came
10 think Of the things that were crowd
lng into his mind.
Out Of the shimmering heat waves
that rose along the deck and seemed
10 hover % weirily over those COW
cred shapes that ought not TO have
been there. another scene gradually
took form, nc first indistinctiy, vague.
y. then In sharp outline. startling. dis
tinct.
Il was stone house, q gray stone
house. all By itself. without neigh
bors. isolated. n silent place. Yes. no
remembered Ill II seemed to bring O
chin upon him now-the cold, dreary,
lifeless house had done its best to
crush even Q laugh out Of his boyh0od
with Its eternal. silent brooding mys-
terry. That was why he had rum away
ten years ago. when no was fourteen.
An his earlier recollecticns were OF
that place.
His mother wasn't there. No had
never seen his mother. There were
Just his father. and that tall, swarthy
Eastern servant. who frightened his
boys heart-just those tive and him
self. He never saw anyone else.
No one ever came 20 the house. No
one was ever admitted. Gunga. the
servant fetched the supplies from the
hearty village. Els own education was
superintended By his father. But thsrs
had never been any intimacy between
his father and himself.
He had never questioned his father
but once-after that he had never
dared 60 DO %. He remembered the
deadly whiteness that had come over
tia morose. faciturn face. the grip Of
iron upon his shoulder. the hoarss pass
sion In his father's yoiee.
-Neyer speak to mo again OF thsf.s
his father had said @when yon are
older. whep the. tims comes. you shall
know -
Wallen rocked unstesdIly In his
chair. What o frlghtful stench ths
ship possessed-or was ft only his
imaginafionl What was &C No had
been thinking or On, yss. the, Sin
Cinnamon who had come 70 nm him.