Evening star., 1922-03-12

|
He rang the doorbeli. but obtained
no answer. AS he looked around he
observed two figures coming up the
! street.-the assistant Swamis. They
| had gone, it would appear. after some
groceries and other things. Even
Swamis must eat.
Mr.. Casey did not wait their COM
ing. He left the front porch of the
bungalow and slipped around to the
back door. AS he hoped, this was
| unlocked.
Upon entering he found the house
very silent, with that strange unnat-
! ural silence which seems to mark the
| absence Of all human beings He
passed through an untidy kitchen. and
more untidy bedroom. and found
| himself at door of the temple. He
found this locked.
Unfortunately for the door. it was
i made in California after the prevalent
bungalow style. At the first impact
Of Mr. Casey's shoulder it split up the
center and ripped off it's hinges to
boot. Looking into the dimness of
the heavily perfumed temple cham
| figure of Enid Sparhawk dropped in
her chair-and across the imperial
/ ice chest lay the unhapyy Swami, mo-
| tionless
| Mr.. Casey did not wx5t for explana-
| tions. At this critical instant he
heard the steps Of the two assistant
Swamis at the back door. He found
himself standing near the Lord Bud
dha, and within reach of his hand was
smaller Lord Buddha, carved from
soapstone. Swami Lal had obtained
/ this Lord Buddha from a Jap carver
at Long Beach. who worked in the
| open air for tourists.
TAKING the image by the neck with
a satisfied grunt at the way it
fitted into his grip, Mr.. Casey retraced
his steps. He came upon the assistant
| Swamis in the kitchen. 1t speaks well
for his presence of mind that Mr.
| Casey made no attempt to penetrate
| the thickly wrapped turbans, but
smote for the chin. Lord Buddha
smashed at the first blow. and Mr.
Casey did the rest with his fist.
Il
sitting at the telephone in the
Swamis study.
Get a photographer here" he was
saying briskly. "and send down Smitn
to cover the case. Give 'em time to
get here before ringing in the cops.
see? Yes, the swami is dead as a
squirrel. Nope, the lady's all right
they gave her knockout drops Of some
kind. Choral, seems like. No telling
what killed the swami. Not a mark
on him. Looks like a class A mystery
yarn, chief"
That was exactly what it proved
to be. upon later developments. The
mysterious death of Swami Chanun-
dra Lal still remains a riddle in the
files of the L. A. police department.
AS for the assistant swans. they
got exactly what they deserved. AS
Tor Mr.. Casey. he got a whacking
probably inferred. he also got some
thing still better in the long run.
What would a story be without the
love interest?
Having inherited much worldly pos
sessions. as aforesaid, Mr.. Folsom
closed his humble law office and en-
| barked upon travel.
In the course of his peregrinations.
/, he came to San Francisco Having
diligently studied the places of inter-
est which he must not neglect to see
and to admire. he presently turned
| his steps to Post street, and sought
foin ctr hinh ho ho1
credibly informed held many marvel
Gus objects of art and curiosity and
historic interest.
Mr.. Folsom was not married, and
had no intention Of getting married
| 1t may be charitably dismissed as a
| mystery, therefore. why he purchased
| a lapis lazuli necklace for ninety dol
| lars; this sale. however, established
| him as a customer Of the store, and
| one of the proprietors gladly took him
in hand for look around.
TN an upper room. the two gentlemen
! came upon a space decorated very
gaudily with huge figures of cloi-
some. Thomas Folsom listened with
a knowing air to talk Of Ch'ien Lung
colorings and Kang Hsi enamels and
Yang Lao vases. All Of a sudden,
however, he came to an abrupt halt
| and pointed with his stick to a large
rectangular object in one corner
"By George" he exclaimed. Whats
that thing. can you tell me?"
His cicerone expanded visibly.
"Ah, 1t takes a discerning eye to
pick out the real rarities!" he an
swered. That's an ice chest"
| "Oh, is it?" Mr.. Folsom recognized
the object at once, but said nothing
Of prior ownership. What's the
, price?"
/ I'VE haven't priced this piece" was
the apologetic response. There is
| only one other that can touch it-a
| finer specimen, too-and it is in the
British Museum. This is an imperial
ice chest-a block of ice was placed
! inside and allowed to evaporate, thus
cooling the room. you see This par
ticular piece is extremely unusual
however. 1t is Ming, and the four
character mark places it in the reign
of Hung Chin. about the year $500.
, 1t is not only an early cloisonne, how
! ever, but has another interest"
You'd never guess what those
| tubes were for!' said the merchant
| in. hushed voice. Nor would we.
except that in cleaning the piece we
Examined it thoroughly. AS the ice
melted. you observe, the chest would
| fill with water. When the chest was
half full. naturally, the water would
reach the top Of these tubes, and en-
| ter them.''
Il understand" nodded Mr.. Folsom,