The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1923-08-09
:5NG YGGG0W 'SGVeN;'
y Chin. Tea! e.
BY Edmund Smell.

with an important paper. He was in
a great hurry, for he did not stop to
tell me when he would be back"
Dawson's servant, entering noise
lessly, set the tray on The table in
front Of her. She glanced up wear-
ly to see the Oriental fall to his
hands on the boards, flattening him
self abjectly, his teeth .chattering too
gether like man with the ague. Fol-
lowing the direction of his frighten-
ed eyes, she became aware that a
broad shadow had fallen across the
floor. The color left her, cheeks and
| her hand shook so that some of the
amber fluid fell from, the spout on
the lacquer tray. .,
Chai-Hung stood on the threshold,
his hands clasped in front of him,
beaming amiably in spite Of certain
shortness of breath. Behind him, on
| the wooden stairway, hump-backed
| coolie, red paper umbrella stuck
under one arm, carried between his
two hands thing that resembled
biscuit-box, shaped like barrel,
with knob at one side and handle
at the top, the existence of which did
not appear to have occurred to him.
II trust l am not intruding, Mrs,
Finey?" He dropped unlimited mtg
a chair. II have FASTENED to proffer
my apologies for my conduct this
afternoon. have not been very we'll.
and the remains of a fever from
which l had been suffering went to
my head.
"You see-I have brought my own
tea" pursued ttba bandit; cheerfully,
taking the metal box from, the dwarf
who promptly effaced himself. ut
is one of our customs which must
appear rather strange to you, Mrs.
Whey. In ancient times which, for
tunately, perhaps, are ,past-npbody
could tell who were ones friends
and who were enemies. A very
favorite method of dispatching ones
enemies was by poison. Hence this
quaint portable teapot. 1t was inx
vented many centuries before you'd
vacuum flask and yet it possesses
certain of it's qualities. Here we
have the outer sheath--a metal con-
tainer simply, with hinged flap to
cover the spout. If were to show
you the inside-you would find
china pot with padding all around
it of horse-hair sewn into silk"
Monica, her interest suddenly
aroused, looked up at him. He was
holding the thing as his servant had
done-and not by the metal handle
in the lid. He leant easily forward
and placed it on the table before her,
just clear of the tray.
t"Dont imagine for one instant that !,
/ brought it here because I believed
you would poison me-" he observed
with the innocent smile of a child.
ut caught my eye as l left, apd
fancied that it might serve to amuse
YOU" With deft movement, he
tilted up the cap. robserve the
spout"
Monica, carried away by the ex.
element of the afternoon, by the
flood of apparently inconsequent
chatter that flowed easily from the
intruder's lips, forced an exclama-
tion of delight. A voice within her
kept repeating itself over and over
again, warning her to be on her
.
ed to his kitchen-quarters, and she
sat alone at tea with, the most dread
ed desperate in Eastern waters. There
was no trace, however. beneath the
mask of affability he now wore, of
the hideous idol that had frightened
her in the forest.
As Chai-Hung had so accurately
pronounced-Monica was inordinate-
ly curious. Her fingers itched to
plore further and presently they
lowered over the handle.
"May II" she demanded sweetly. -
"By all MEANS" said the bandit,
his head thrust forward. 81 must
explain one thing. You will find
our tea little different to that to
which you are accustomed"
II remember" broke in Mrs. vi
ney, gaining courage. "You told US
about it once, in my brothers bunga-
low, in Jesselton. Don't you remem-
Der? You said that we had treated
the beverage shamefully, diluting it
with milk and spelling it with sugar"
She grasped the handle and lifted
the lid slightly. The difficulty she
had anticipated was not there. 1t
came away quite easily.
Suddenly. as she bent down to look
inside, door at her elbow swung
open and tall. figure, plunging head
long through the aperture, whirled
the pot from her hands, sending it
spinning right iAt0 at4Hung'sI lap.
She sprang .tdiif1er feet, her eyes
blazing indignation, the lid of the
receptacle still between her fingers,
but the newcomer swept her uncere-
moniously aside and stood, his shout
ders STOPPING, the blue barrel of an
automatic flashing IN the sunshine.
["Sit perfectly still, Mr.. Chat
Hung" came the cool tones of Chi
1ese Pennington. 1T may interest
You to knoG that suddenly decided
to alter my plans for your capture
and rounded up your people this
afternoon. There were no casualties
on our siSe, my friend!"
But the bandit was not looking at
Pennington's, weapon. >The metal
case lay open on his knees, display
ing only white spout to which noA
pot was attached-and the writhing,
sinuous body of snake that was
swiftly uncoiling itself, \ its head
drawn back to strike!
"The. Passing Of Zara-Khan," the
next episode Of this gripping series,
will start in our next issue.
ERMINE AND FOX
One of the most luxurious fur