The Topeka state journal., 1919-08-16

| naked eyes or whether you saw II only
I through your glasses
'Now that you bring that point up,
sir. my recollection is that I saw it
only through the glasses"
You are quite positive about that?"
Quite positive. sir
what glasses do you use."
"A fine pair Of Admiralty binoculars,
sir"
They were in good condition and
perfectly reliable7"
Nothing finer on the coast, sir"
And you had these in your hand
when you entered the wheel-house?"
"WeH, now that you ask that ques-
| ton. sir, I believe 1 had lent them to
| Mrs Duncan and she had not yet re-
| turned them. I just picked up the
pilots night-glasses from the shelf. sir,
and used them-they're a splendid pair,
| too. SIR"
Yes. Mrs. Duncan says that she had
| your glasses in her cabin at the time
| Of the accident and handed them to
you afterwards in the boat"
quite right. sir"
| "And were these glasses the same
ones that Dead-Eye' the pilot used?"
The same. sir: there was only the
one pair at the wheel"
| And did you hand them to him at the
time?"
well. you see sir, the junk was so
near US that I didn't need them. so
| just passed them over to him"
| What happened them"
| He just had time for one squint at
her. He screamed out Devils Wings
| or Devil something or other and
| dropped them on the hoor.'
what became Of these glasses after
wards7"
"I haven't the slightest idea, sir:
presume they were stolen with the rest
Of the loot"
Sir William at this point turned to
his Chinest valet and asked him to un-
Of binoculars. Handing them to Cap
tain Clarke, he proceeded: Does this
look like the pair, Captain"
They seem to be the same ones. sir !"
"Now please oblige me by looking
| through them at the garden opposite
the Consulate and tell me exactly what
you see."
The Captain stepped to the window
and raising the glasses to his eyes cried
out IN a voice that startled the as
sernhiage: "Gredt HedpeHsI IT'S the
Devirs olcn junk again a. sailing through
the treesl"
Hand them back to me, II you
please said the Consul, and unscrew-
ing the larger lens in the right-hand
tube he held up before the Court q
small piece Of painted glass. exclaiming
as he did 50, Gentlemen OF the Court.
I have the honor and satisfaction of
presenting to you the original and only
genuine Phantom Junk. Here It Is,
painted in almost microscopic propor-
tons on this inner glass and any one
of you can see it sailing through the
trees Of my gardener up the streets
Of Shanghai-just as distinctly as the
Captain saw It that evening sailing
down on him through Black Camel
Channel. Gentlemen. the mystery is
solved and it only remains for me to
introduce TO you now the one person to
| whon-more than to any other-we owe
= debt Of gratitude for clearing 1t up.
Permit me to present to the Court Mr..
Wang Foo Of Hong Kong. better known
to the community as The Prince OF
Chinese Detectives who has consented
to unravel the tale for you himself
The Consul's valet stepped forward
to the desk. quickly removed a pair of
bushy eyebrows with a corresponding
mustache and goatee, lifted off a cum
bersome wig with a servants cap at
tached. and unbuttoning q long blue
house-gown re-transformed himself into
the famous visitor from the Southern
Colony OF fragrant Waters" When
cred from their surprise they instinc-
lively greeted him with a round of
generous applause, which Wang Foo
most graciously acknowledged, and in
a few terse sentences unfolded his
story.
"ssir William and Gentlemen of the
Court; have Just three important facts
to lay before you. They illustrate. as
usual, the fa1lacy-not to say the lin
| 1iINfirA-Of Inf
case Of this kind and also the diffculty
of the European mind in unravelIing a
tangling question when the Chinese are
equally involved.
"My first and foremost pleasure Is te
e vfndicate the Captain and his faithful
s pilot Ching Cor 'Dead-EyeO from every
d lurking suspicion and reflection thai
!. may rest upon them. They are equally
7 innocent. They are not users Of opium
3 or alcohol or drugs of any kind what,
: ever. They are certainly not dishones'
: and even the hint that they combined
to wreck the 'Tien Pao' for the sake
OF the insurance is unworthy of thoss
who made it Nor are they victims Of
Authorizations They imagined no sub.
: jective vision'-the junk they saw wa.
n decidedly objective. though made of deli
< cate Chinese paints and not of sea.
: going timber. They simply saw wha
y any OF you, gentlemen. would have seer
$ had you suddenly taken those glasses
d into your hands at that time
: My second point involves a brief in
Z PRODUCTION into Chinese ideas of art littl,
: Known as yet to Europeans. You hav,
q many Of YOU seen the delicate SNUFF.
bottles Of crystal and Of Jade which ar,
n treasured 50 highly by our native col
e lectors Of antiques The hand-paintin,
o is so minute that IT requires magnify
ie ing glass to bring out the details. Il
n an ancient volume OF our Empire the,
" tell wendrous stories Of these artist
l. who were able even TO picture an ertir
n. landscape in the center of tiny crystal
'Yiu Wei Fab Tai Is an ancient sayin,
{, which refers to this: Through the min
ute we reveal the grand Many Of tn
If temples in the interior have sacre,