Evening star., 1921-12-11

llENI- L Is All dHCAcAt SAeJ
on a plain. with three mil
lion people crowded around
it, Before the Roman en-
pire fell, Cheng-tu was great. Hence,
it might be imagined that when Jim
Hanecy. agent and dealer in antiques.
came 1000 miles up the Yangtze
river to this city he knew what he
was doing.
The contrary was the case.
Hanecy was red-haired and WAS
tremendously efficient in a cold, clear
headed way. He came up-river as far
as the gorges on definite business.
running down some old porcelains.
Then he fell foul of river men lately
returned from French labor battalfons
with staggering IDEAS of equality.
The upshot of the matter was that
Hanecy was shanghaied. and woke up
some days afterward to find himse!f
kicked ashore and lucky to get on
with his life.
Jim took it philosophicaliy. He
tramped into Chungking. where there
was q consul, and QUILTED anew.
Here, to his astonishment, he learned
that no less than four other white
men had just passed up-river on their
way to Chang-tu. This fact became
Il coincidence when he discovered
that all four had Travelled separately
and in haste. The coincidence settled
into Il suspcio1r when he discovered
tkat all four were his most proml-
nent professional rivals.
'.Hello." said Hanecy. Now I've
dropped onto something and no mis-
take
He promptly hired boat and went
to Cheng-tu. He did not know why
lie went. but he smelled a distinct
rat. One of the four was Benson. and
Benson never went after anything in
person unless it was tremendously
important. There was something up.
Z. "Some big news broke suddenly on
the coast" reflected Hanecy. Reached
'em all at once. Let's see now! Top
tit is straight as a string. Benson is
crooked as the devil. Gramerfeld
would rob his own brother Of a penny.
Carson plays lone hand, same as
do, HIM, I'd sooner work with Top
lit than any of the others-but 1
guess I'll trail Benson. He and are
about due to lock horns, anyhow
=: x x
HANECY did not deceive himself
L when he deliberately chose this
course. Benson was the most dam
serous man in China. He knew the
dialects like a native. and had lines
of influence and graft extending in
all directions. Small, rather short
sighted, coolly pleasant. he never lost
his head for a minute. He was said
to have all the ruthless cruelty of q
AIanchu, but few Of his, personal en-
emies ever reported ON that point.
The first problem facing Jim Hanecy
was to discover what was up. He
had letters to 4 fur dealer named
1<iang, who was delighted to take
him as a guest: but old Kiang knew
nothing of the mystery. So Jim
sailed forth on the afternoon Of his
arrival.
Kiang's shop and house lay in the
business quarter, just inside the east
gate. .Hanecy sauntered along the
wide, fifty-foot street with it's scurry-
ing crowds and it's rows of f1ashy gilt
signs-and two minutes afterward
came slap on Benson. who was stand
ing gazing into shop window filled
with Tibetan images.
Hello" exclaimed Hanecy. shak-
h..
TOO, eh?'
Benson smiled-a nasty smile it
raS. He was not pleased to see
Hanecy.
"Too late he returned. "The
shows over. Carson has left already.
Gramerfield leaves in the morning
Toptit has disappeared. I'm going
in couple OF days"
"Oh:' Hanecy grinned. "What
Kind of lie did You hand out, to
discourage 'em that way"
Benson's eyes narrowed.
Don't get too personal, Hanecy.
The stuff has been dispersed. There
are lot of collectors here, you
know. The fellow split up the whole
BUSINESS anu IL gone.
Jim concealed his ignorance sue
tessfully.
You're a first-chop liar he re-
turned .cheerfully, and thereby de-
clared var. $50 you fooled the other
boys, eh. Well, don't monkey with
me, Benson. I'll stick around a
while
He passed on, leaving Benson star
ing after him. He was as mystified
as ever. He knew that Chengtu
contained many native collections Of
paintings and antiques. most of them
limitations. referring to the Han pc
riod. Still. he could not imagine Just
what had brought his confreres here.
He chuckled to think how Benson
had managed to get rid Of Gramer-
field and Carson so quickly. That
left only Toptit in the fleld-a gang
ling Yankee agent whom Hanecy
rather respected.
There were no 'rikishas to be had
in this place, and Hanecy suspected
that the sedan chairs might have
previous and more nimbIe tenants, so
he preferred walking. From pre-
Tious visits he knew the city well
enough to find his way about, and
directed his course to the south gate,
where stood the government build
tngs. Shortly before reaching these