Evening star., 1921-03-13
English officer bade him goodnight
and stepped into his waiting jim

English officer bade him goodnight
and stepped into his waiting jim
! rickshaw.
| In his upper room. which he loved to
F., call THE Glade of Quiet Reflection the
| solver of the colony's mysteries stretch.
| ed himself out on his bamboo couch and
thought the whole story over. The fol
| lowing facts appeared to be clear. viz:
First, daring criminal had escaped
from the hands of the police, just as
| they were about to hand him back tq
| the Canton authorities. This. OF course.
was a reflection upon the foreign
| force and would be Interpreted by the
natives to be a clear case of bribery
| (Which he felt certain it was noO
| and he was as anxious to preserve the
good name of the department as any
European citizen was.
Second, some one had had access to
| the official seal of the United States
! consulate and had used it to forge
documents for the release of prisoners
at both Hongkong and Macao.
Third, some dangerous but very
| skiIIful confederate was at work in
| the colony in constant communication
| with criminals and 1t was he who had
! planned and carried. out the escape OF
| Lao Tsai" cold Vegetables'D. This
| was the manor men, for there might
be several of them-upon whom he
must lay his hand.
|
| three mysteries. namely: Who was the
villain? How did he get at the con-
| sular seal? And lastly. how was he
able to get in touch with prisoners in
the Jail and defeat the ends Of justice
by assisting them to escape.
His first visit was to the United
States consulate, where he talked the
whole matter over with Col. Hopkin-
| son, and where he made a most Care
full personal examination Of all the
| approaches, within and without, to
the Office in the second story.
After noting down various items
and measurements, he asked the con-
sui to show him just how he was ac-
customed to open the inner door of
| the safe. and also made a careful
study of the size and shape Of the key.
His last request was for an impress
| sion Of the official seal. which he
| folded carefully away between the
| leaves of the little leather notebook
"And these two faithful servants
are always here on duty?" he asked
as he pointed to Hiraldo and Old Wing
sitting at the table in the hall.
"Oh. yes: except once a month or
, So when the Goose goes back to see
his old father"
And where does the old father live.
| may l ask?"
"Oh, in Macao, of course, where the
old Portuguese think they get as near
to heaven as they can anywhere on
earth"
| Nearer to heaven than many other
Europeans who visit it," remarked
Wang Foo with a smile, as he bade
| the consul good day and hurried back
! to his home. Once there he sat down
to make careful scrutiny. with a
| powerful lens. Of the seal which the
! consul had given him and of the seal
| which was affixed to the paper by
which "Old Vegetables" had made his
escape. They certainly seem to be
identical" he said to himself. IT can't
discover a particle Of difference"
AS he laid down the lens. he hap
pened to glance upward at some Chi
| nese characters on the wall Of his
room. and they instantly suggested to
him a saying of Confucius which led
him to pick up the glass and gaze at
| the American eagle again. "Why. Of
course! How strange didn't see it at
| first!" Now what was it that he saw
| that the second impression was made
with a duplicate seal. that the maker
| of that seal was a Chinaman and not
a European, and that led him along a
different line of inquiry? The secret
! of that discovery he reserved for a
later date.
"Kak jim Lai Lao! Kak jim Lai
Lao! GA visitor has arrived! A
visitor has arrived.D resounded from
! the outer portal. and Old Chang, the
gatekeeper, hastened to draw back
the great wooden bolts. "Sing Boo
Tai jim" C"The Grand Man of the
Police"D announced the venerable
! matron. who was leaning over the
| rail Of the upper gallery. "Pao Cha
Sung Yang Yen Tsao" ("Pour the
tea and offer the ocean smoke-grass." I"
i.e., foreign tobacco). called Wang
Foo to her as he hastened down to
greet the inspector.
We'll. Mr.. Wang" he said. after he
| had refreshed himself with the
steaming beverage, We have made an
important discoveries and - thought