The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1923-08-10

NEA Service lnc. 1870
This unusual series of stories deals
with the exploits of "Chinese" rem
nington, a detective, sent by his gov
eminent to British North Borneo to
run to earth The. Yellow Seven, 4
gang Of Chinese bandits.
James Varney's bungalow was a
landmark. 1T stood on the summit Of
hill at the foot of which the turbid
Tembakut Riysr--swseping from some
mysterious point of .surigin in the
Borneo Observation-Disclosures abrupt
'ly and, leaving ail its wake muddy
delta infested with crocodiles, con-
tinued its onward course4to the sea.
Varney knew that river and had
charted it as accurateay as it was
possible to chart anything in the
lesser-known regions of q perplexing
Orient. He understood the habits
and customs of the Dyak villagers
whose dwellings, clustered along the
palm-girt banks. Il was possibly for
these reasons that discriminating
syndicate in London-that exploited
the cocoanut from its outer husk to
the oil that lurkcd beneath it's hard
cxterior-had seen fit to entrust HIM
with their interests. -
Varney was ,tilirty-sev He was
short, moreover, and stockily built,
with rugged, kindly countenance
upon which the tropical sun had
set it's unmistakable sign and super
scription. He had dog-a sham
bling, friendly animal of unknown
breed-an extensive library of faded,
cloth bound books, and marked
preference for Dutch tobacco. Var
ney-who despised all other forms
Of personal adornmant-had from
time to time solicited the aid of the
most skilled tatooer on the island,
one lara Khan-and, excepting for
space the size of a dinner-plate on
his broad chest with a corresponding
vacancy between his shoulders, his
body was covered with. the grim
masterpieces of zara-Khan.
Before the cyclone came, Varney
had been worrying over those two
blank spaces. Zara-Khan-a tall,
slim, brown-skinned scoundrel, with
an ingratiating smile, gaudy tur-
ban, and a suit of white ducks-had
looked in on one of his periodical
visits to Varney's area. He had
passed on to a neighboring rubber
estate, hoping on the return journey
to find his lucrative client less ex-
ercised in mind. Coming swiftly on
the heels of a perfect tropic after
noon, the storm-fiend had spread its
cloak over the entire heavens.
miracle could have spared Varney's
house; but, as luck would have it.:
the frenzy of the gale had merely
lifted the sago-t hatch until it stood
on end, allowing the ensuing deluge
to pour in; had deposited Varney's
dog in the river couple of hundred
yards away, and left half the crock
cry in the bungalow intact. The more
sheltered ,buildingsroffices, clerks
quarters, store-houses, and the like,
had crumpled like pack of cards.
r Chang-the dog-had crawled back
to the veranda and crouched in a
corner over a chunk of raw meat pill
LACED from a ruined store. Varney,
returned from a preliminary investi-
CATION Of damage, was greeting the
imminent fall of darkness through a
tumbler of amber fluid wherein
countless silver bubbles scurried
merrily upward. A half-dazed Chi
nese boy-bare to the waist--en-
deavored from complete packet OF
matches to discover one that would
serve to ignite the wick of the OIL
lamp. Something sputtered feebly,
then leapt into flame and the servant
emitted a grunt Of satisfaction.
The Chinaman shuffled beyond the
rays of the lamp; the dog growled
with sudden fierceness and bounded
toward the entrance, where the
trader intercepted it skillfully-and.
as if tossed by an unseen hand over
the veranda-rail, a piece of paste
board fluttered through the crowd
of humming insects that encircle
the lamp and came to rest on the
sodden boards almost at Varney's
feet.
Varney raised his voice.
"Chong- Hee! Come here! Go down
and see who's prowling around out
side"
He stopped and picked up the card.
It was as long as his middle finger
a narrow, flexible thing with round
ed corners. He turned It over Curl
ously between his finger-then
started back in Mortified amazement.
"The Yellow Seven!"
A second later he was turning over
jumbled head of moist documents,
searching for the circular he had re-
ceived only two days before from
Captain John Observation-Disclosures
of Police at Jesselton-a kind of
formalswarning that this yellow seven
was the sign employed by powerful
secret organization-ands that its
receipt signified warning of deathl
He hooked FORWARD a chair and,
pouring himself out q generous help
ing from square bottle, examined
the document and the card in turn.
Presently he folded the document
carefully over the pasteboard and,
thrusting both into tunic pocket,
leant back in his chair.
It was fully ten minutes before
~ did try to serve some onions with