Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-12
Dodglng Death in War Stricken China

among the soldiers who had stood by him SO
well. The rest he took as two months pay In
advance in lieu Of notice and loaded it on q
powerful motor boat which he kept the river
ready for emergencies. In the first glimmer Of
dawn Sutton and one Chinese boy started up
the engine and the motor boat slipped out into
the stream. 1t was too frail to carry them far.
especially as both banks were in the hands Of
the enemy, who would certainly spot them when
full daylight came, but he hoped to find a
steamer which they could board. His luck was
in, for he sighted British cargo steamer in
midstream and got aboard
Those were the days when British and other
foreign vessels were being shelled daily along
the YangtSe River by the Southerners and the
ship in which Sutton returned to civilization
was fired on continuously for miles. Finally
they reached Ichang with the tunnels and upper
deck looking like pepper pots. At Ichang Frank
Sutton heard that his late employer Yang Sen,
had been defeated and was on the run, SO it was
evidently hopeless to expect further work from
him. After looking around he decided to make
his way to Mukden. where Chang Tso Lin, the
x-bandit and Manchurian war lord, was show
ing himself to be something like real soldier
and declaring that he would fight anarchy TO
the death.
60 one day the adventurous Englishman pre-
sented himself at Chang Tso Lin's head
quarters at Mukden and explained to the war
lords son. who spoke fair English that he could
make better guns and shells than any other man
in China.
Young Chang needed little convincing for
Sutton had lost his guns plans and papers in
his previous adventure But perhaps news OF
events in Szechuan had reached the Northern
ers. At all events they gave him control of
another mint that had been turned into an
arsenal and he set to work again. After four
or five weeks he produced a gun which prom
ised to give q satisfactory performance and
Marshal Chang TSo Lin announced that he
would attend the test in person and see what
this stranger could teach him about guns. The
forthcoming Sunday was fixed for the big
event, which was to be held on q plain five
miles outside the city
The following morning, when 1000 troops
were already lining the streets, Frank Sutton
knocked over and smashed his mirror while
shaving. This meant bad luck so he telephoned
to Chang Tso Lins headquarters to say that
the test was on. It was eventually held the
following day and everything went splendidly
until it came to question Of terms. The willy
Chang Tso Lin said that Suttons price for
making guns much too high. He further
informed the Englishman that Chinese gun
merry expert who had worked under him at hts
factory at Szechuan and learned all about
trench mortars and shells had offered to control
the arsenal for much lower salary.
very WELL" replied Frank Sutton. Let this
man and fight duel at thousand yards
range with respective guns and you give
the job to the survivor
The site chosen for this strange combat was
a plain outside Mukden. from which rose q
little hill. The hill would hide the duel lists
from each other and reduce the duel to test
Of range finding Frank Sutton felt quite happy
about the result, for he had some extra special
'singed" shells with fantaiIs on them saved uD
for the usurper from the South-shels that the
World War had taught him to lob" with great
accuracy.
Who would have proved the victor in this
strange fight, in which trench mortarS were
to have been used instead Of pistols viii remain
. matter Of doubt, for some one gave Sutton's
rival the tip that the Englshman was deadly
at gunnery Of this sort, and the day before the
duel was to have taken place he packed up his
traps and cleared OF to Shanghai
Frank Sutton settled down to his real task
OF making shells, hoping to prove to Chang that
the only thing he needed to win the war he was
waging with the Southerners was real NUM-
lions expert. A large new factory was built
and for year life proceeded busily and peace
fully. apart from the fact that Sutton had
found it wise to paste paper over all the win
dows of his house to avoid being shot at during
meals by those who objected TO his success.
In that time between 200 and 300 guns and
some hundreds of thousands of shells were
turned out. Chang Tso Lin arranged q full
dress parade of the Sutton guns, and they looked
very impressive. 1t was useful piece Of prop
uganda for q month later war was renewed
between Chang and WI Pei Flu, one of the
Southerners, and the Northern forces needed
every gun and shell they could lay their hands
ON.
by this time the one-armed foreign giant
who according to rumor. was turning out
hundreds of guns day for Chang Tso Lin had
become legend among the Southeners. and
naturally Changs spies spread by every means
in their power these reports about the mystery
man who made the finest guns ever seen in