The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-01-18

ON his girdle a few brass cash =
Irchase a prayer-charrn. an examp!
hich all the others quickly followed:
but those deeds were not confined &c
he ancient days. We have them now
and right here in this very house where,
the Deputy was poisoned scarce two
weeks ago."
Here? In this very house? It can
not be. Tell me. my children. tell the
old priest how the ancient deeds sur
vtve unto the present"
Yes, tell the old Father all about It.
Chang; You saw 1t and heard It all.
Show him the room and tell him who
was there" they all cried in chorus.
Chang. the head-boy led the old
priest into tho private dining room and
gave him the most vivid description OF
the scene. He told him the names of
every person present. showed him just
where they sat and recalled every dish
upon the menu. Tho old priest listened
with the deepest attention and pleased
Chang more and more by asking close
and leading questions. Tell me slow
ly." he said. "for am cid in years and
cannot take 1t all in like one more
young. See. will make some notes Of
1t in this little book, that If 1 return
in safety to Thibet. I may tell this
wondrous story of the modern DAYS to
all within the White Cloud Temple
for they will find it hard to believe. I
fear"
Then the old priest, returning once
more into the kitchen. took up his little
flute and bells and charms. and with a
Bless you ALL my children" crossed
the pavement of the courtyard and
soon was lost to sight in the busy
streets.
Late that evening, when the beard
and wig and gown of the Thibetan
priest had been exchanged for the short
and comfortable Kwa-tse or short
jacket Of the Chinese student. Wang
Foo lighted his pipe and. seated at the
table in his upper-room. opened his
| notebook and began to think. All was
quiet, FOR the basket maker and his
| family. weary with the work of the long
and heated day. had retired early. He
thought and thought. He read notes
and made other notes. He compared
persons. places aud events. Gradually.
as the night wore on. an outline seemed
to frame itself before him. indistinct at
first. but gradually getting clearer,
though here and there a piece seemed
to be yet wanting. And this was the
conclusion of it all:
l. Lo the Deputy had been clearly
murdered-killed by some subtle poison
unknown to Western medicine. but the
fatal working time of which had been
| carefully thought out
2. The deed which was handed 70
| him and which was seen by all and
read to them. was not the deed to which
he affixed the Tao-tai's seal. BY some
| very clever eleight- Of hand, one must
have been substituted for-the other at
the very table and between the mo-
ments Of the reading and the sealing.
3. The administering of the poison
must have been done by some person
present in tho room, who timed the
| length Of the meal exactly and the
same person or trusted confederate
| must have exchanged the deeds.
All this Wang 700 .eounted on as a
good days work. BIZ: within the next
four days he must sspply these three
! missing links to make the chain of evil
dence complete. viz: What was the
poison? Who administered It? Who
exchanged the deeds? The hoarse
whistles Of the up-river steamers
| warned him that there remained but
| three hours before the sunrise, so
Y
book. he turned in to his well earned
sleep.
The next morning he rose rather late
and took his noon day rice with the
basket-nsker's family. In the after
noon he eauntered down to the Woo
sung Gardens and. finding a cool seat
by the rivers bank. sat down to medi-
tate and look over once more the notes
OF the night before. The tunks and
| sampans gliding smoothly by on the
| incoming current. seemed to him like
human characters in the drama he was
trying 10 disentangle. Two foreign
yachts with their graceful hulls passed
by and then his eye rested upon a new
| Mandarin gun-boat with her flags and
banners. but just as she got within his
| range of vision. a loathsome beggar
boat slipped In between them and the
ragged lepers with outstretched palms
gave him a strange feeling Of revulsion
as for moment their ugly craft hid
the little gun-boat from his sight He
looked again and two large CARGO junks
laden with cotton were following in
their wake. He glanced down at his
notes and read: six people only were
seated at the table: the Deputy. his
secretary. Mr. Lee. the owner Of the
property: Messrs. Mactavish and
Owens. directors of the company, and
last, but by no means least. Long
Wing, the assistant interpreter from
the Yamen. who acted as general util-
man and go-between.'
What made him pause and shudder
as he recalled this name? What ma de
him compare him with the leper- boat
that hid the Mandarin from him on the
river7 He looked at the little diagram
Of the seats at table on that fatal night.
and he saw that Long Wings seat was
directly opposite the Deputy's An
other link in the chan was being forged
llose rapidly.
He .hurriedly left the gardens and.
taking a in-rik-sba. told the coolie to
take him to the old city gates De-
scendins there. he exchanged the jim
rik -sha for sedan and directed the
beg reTs 70 Tao-tafa Yamen uhera he