Evening star., 1924-08-31

*'Sornething to Their Advantage"
Leigh Having Been Found Receive Puzzlng
Legacy

Tented toward Joe in his old age an6
tried to pick up some trace of him
and the only news he could garner
was that Joe was dead and had left
twins behind him. Here We are-Jant
and Dudley. Are you hating us?"
mot If YOU let us share in the thrill
of whatever we find in the cabinet.
It's thrills we want mostly, not cash.
l told Thyme that it's not likely that
the old curmudgeon. our sainted
grandfather, would take all that
trouble to bequeath an empty Chi
nese lacquer cabinet, so we were just
hunting for the secret drawer when
you so dramatically appeared on the
thresh old"
Lets all hunt together" sug-
gested Dudley Leigh Stanton, whose
captivity in the magic of Thyme's
prettiness was well nigh as clearly
visible as though she had tripped him
in meshes of fine gold net.
So together the. cousins searched
through the lacquer cabinet. pulling
out the innumerable little drawers OF
sweet-Smelling wood and the drawers
within drawers that slid like silk, but
held only emptiness. pressing each
ivory knob in the carving that might
perhaps guard the invisible spring.
The tiny. pig-tailed ladies and gentle
side of each cupboard door-and there
were dozens of minute cupboards
buried in that old Chinese cabinet
seemed to grin on their baffied i'm
patience.
Till at last Dudley gave great
shout of JOY as Thyme'S fingers, wan
dering over smooth polished surfaces
suddenly released an unexpected flap
| that fell away and showed a hollow
q ntrt
folded oblong of paper.
The room was now mysterious with
the twilight of a huge black purple
cloud. So the cousins eagerly carried
their find over to the window and
poured over the few dimly, penciIed
lines The old mans hand must have
been shaker than he knew, and the
pencil blunt, for his message was
wholly worn away except for name
and address:
''Wu Fung, 216h Pennyfields."
And then, Don't let '' the
name was undecipherable) get hold
OF and presently a word that
struck richly at the imagination, as
though it were jeweled sword;
struck and awoke it:
TreaSure-"
No more
But-treasure,
r CSTL1NGS and stir in the
shadowy corners of the room
old stories come alive again-old
stories of treasure-buried treasure
hidden treasure-where hiddeno yell
low face could tell-yellow faces
from the slippery lacquered East.
Treasurer Ivory then, and the CLEAN
of sapphires and "a wise little idol
a-squat upon its cleaning hoard.
Cruel gods and knives that curved
the better to slay: but heap up the
treasure and let no one know-Wu
Fung knows, and he lives down in
Pennyfields-how the lantern lights
dance and flicker on the precious
stones. Don't let-an enemy-get
hold of-treasurer
Well" said Dudley, this fellow
WI Fung is apparently the guardian
of treasure, whatever it is: or, at
any rate, he can tell us all about it.
Considerate of the old man to leave
US his address. We'd better forth
with haul him out" He looked at
Jane for appreciation, and she curtly
nodded:
"Pennyfelds is down Lmehouse
way"
'Limehouse?" cried Terry. "Oh,
we may come too, mayn't we, Thyme
and I? 1t sounds as though it were
going to be exciting"
Thyme's eyes were dark and fright
ened:
'Iimehouse - and a Chinaman -
they're not our kind, are they? One
can't tell beforehand. And grand
father doesn't say he's the guardian
Of the treasure at ALL or whether we
-you-must fight to get it away from
him. The treacherous East, you
know
The Yellow Peril! The bland, in
scrutable Oriental" her sister teased
her. You're just the victim of
phrases. Thyme"
Thyme murmured ITS all SO queer
- and Jane Unexpectedly backed
her up.
The infant is the most sensible
of the lot of u.s." she snapped And
in spite of your looking all broad
shouldered and protective, Dudley
melad, we haven't really any clue
as to whether the atmosphere of 216b,
Pennyfields, is going to be altogether
friendly to us, or to our gentle re-