The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1922-04-26
CHAPTER VIII.

SHNT I'm VIlus
Had either Mr.. Gibney or McGuffey
been watching Captain Scraggs after
he had left them they would have
been much puzzled to account for that
| wOrthyS actions. First he lodged
around the block into Drumm street,
and then ran down Drumm to Califor-
MIA, where he climbed aboard a cable
car and rode up into Chinatown. Ar
irving at Dupont street he alighted
and walked up that interesting thor
Oughfare until he came to No. ia.
He glanced at sign over the door and
was aware that he stood before the
Six Companies, so he climbed upstairs
and inquired for Gin Seng, who pres
emily made his appearance.
Gin Seng, a very nice, fat China
man, arrayed in a flowing silk gown,
begged, in pidgin English, to know In
what manner he could be of service.
"Me heap big captain, alice same
ship" began Captain Scraggs. "On
board ship two China boys have got"
(Here Captain Scraggs winked know
ingly) "China boy no speak Eng
| lish-"
"That being the case" interposed
Gin Seng, II presume that you and I
understand each other, so let's cut
out the pidgin English. DO I UNDER
stand that YOU are engaged in evading
the immigration laws?"
Exactly" Captain Scraggs managed
to gasp, as soon as he could recover
from his astonishment 'They showed
me your name an address, an they
won't leave tn ship, where got 'em
locked up in my cabin, until you come
an take 'em away. Couple O. rela-
tives of yours, I should imagine"
Gin Seng smiled his bland Chinese
smile. He had frequent dealings with
ship masters engaged in the danger
GUS, though lucrative, trade Of snug
Cling Chinese into the United States,
and Willie he had not received advice
! OF this particular shipment, he decided
TO 90 with Captain Scraggs to Jackson
street bulkhead and see if he could
not be Of some use to his cOuntrymen.
AS Captain Scraggs and his Chinese
companion approached the wharf the
skipper glanced warily about. He had
small fear that either Gibney or Nc
Guftey would show up for an hour. for
he knew that Mr.. Gibncy had money
in his possession. However, he decided
to take no chances, and secuted the
vicinity thoroughly before veDturing
aboard the Maggie. These actions
served. but to increase the respect of
Gin Seng for the master of the Maggie
and confirmed him in his belief that
the Maggie was smuggler.
Captain, Scraggs took his visitor in
side the little cabin, carefully locked
and holted the door, lifted the zinc
flap back from the top of the crate of
"Oriental goods" and displayed the
face OF the dead Chinaman. Also he
pointed to the Chinese characters on
the wooden lid of the crate.
"What does these hen scratches
mean?" demanded Scraggs.
"This man is named All Chow and
he belongs to the Hop Sing tong"
"How about his pal here:"
THAT man is evidently Ng Chong
Zip. He is also Hop Sing man."
/ Captain Scraggs wrote it down. "Au
right" he said cheerily; much
obliged. Now. what I want to know
is what the Hop Sing tong means by
shipping the departed brethren by
freight? They 60 to work an fix 'em
| nil o1-
away in Il zinc coffin, inside nice
plain wood box. labels 'em Oriental
goods an consigns 'em to the Gin
Seng company, ia Dupont street, San
Francisco. Now, why are these two
cOuntrymcn O. yours shipped by freight
where, by the way, they goes astray,
| for some reason that I don't know
notl,in' about, an I buys en- up Mt
old horse sale?"
Gin Seng shrugged his shoulders and
replied that lie didn't understand.
"You lie." snarled Captain Scraggs.
"You savoy all right, you fat old idol,
you! It's because If the railroad COM
pany knew these two boxes contained
dead cOrpses they'd a-soalied the rela-
tivcs, which is You, one full fare each
from wherever these two dead ones
comes from, just the same as though
they was alive an well. But you has
'em shipped by freight, an aims to
spend dollar an thirty cents each
Oh 'em, by markin' 'em Oriental
goods Helluva way to treat rela-
ton. Now, looliy here, you bloody
heather. It'll cost you just five hun
dred dollars to recover these two
stiffs, an close my mouth. II you
don't come through I'll make belch
t tn newspapers an they'll keel haul
an skultlrag tn Chinese Six Compa-
MES an the Hop Sing tong through the
courts for evadin' tn laws o TIL inter-
state commerce commission, an make
'em look like monkeys generally. An
then tn pOliceIl get wind of it. Savoy,
policeman, YOU fat old murderer?
TIL price Pm askin' is cheap, Charley.
How do I know but what these two
poor boys has been murdered in cold
blood? There's somethin' rotten in
Denmark. my bully boy, an you'll