Evening star., 1939-02-19


sails are dyed red and orange,
colored mating. Photo
1t would ruin thir livelihood ever
quicker than the saWmill.
Once the keel was laid, one nigh
snuppose, the ribs would follow
and then they would be covered
by planks to make the hull. II
any sensible shipyard this woule
be the sequence But not in Fa1
Klaus! He put on the planks with
out any ribs, suspending them from
bamboo ropes, propping them ur
with bamboo poles. How can you
tell where the ribs should go, unless
you have the planking up flrst?'
he asked. In other words, How. dc
you know where to put the frame
of house until you have the walls
up and the roof on?"
I groaned at this demented idea
but again got the 1900 years
argument.
!
Next morning as l approached
the shipyard I saw a cloud of fame
and smoke pouring out of it. There
I felt sure, went my expensive mill
sawn keel, and all the laboriously-
gathered timbers for our junk. In
the greatest alarm I dashed through
the gate. The smoke all but choked
me, but nobody, except myself
seemed in any way concerned by
the conflagration. Though the murk
I presently saw that is was my g.
inch teak hull-planking worth its
weight in radium at such times as
these) going up in flames. Such
criminal, stupid carelessness! Such
indifference to my burning planks
and the wartime blockade
how would I get more?. why
were the Chinese such infuriating
fools!
In another moment I realized
that the fires had a purpose. Each
teak plank-20 feet long-was
stretched across two wooden saw
horses 6 feet apart. A heavy cast
iron cannon weighed down each
end. Between the saw-horses a
bonfire had been built, which heated
the wood to combustion point
Whenever it actually burst into
flames a Chinese boy spat mouth
full of water on the burning spot
The heat charred the plank an inch
deep, but with the aid of the
weights on the ends) bent the thick
plank into crescent. When the
timber cooled of it retained its
shape, and thus fitted the curved
lines of the hull. Indeed, exclaimed
Mr.. Fat Kau, how else would you
do it?
Soon after this crisis had passed
we had another one to face. I came
to the yard to find all the carpen-
ters on a sit-down strike. Their
wages had been paid: so far as
knew they had no grievance.
But apparently I didn't know
much. They were striking because
had failed to give them a party
. every self-respecting workman
in China expects the employer to
give two big parties per job-one at
the beginning and one when the
work is finished And we had given
no party at all. We were guilty of
the worst possible manners so
perhaps sit-down strike would
teach us the customs of the coun-
try.
There were something like so men
on the job at the time. Our inter-
prefer estimated it would cost 30
Hong Kong dollars-about 50 Amer
lcan-to give them all a whopping
big blowout. But don't give the
money to No. wife" he cautioned.
She will give only $40 party and
keep the difference" So we turned
the money over to No. 4 wife, who
was supposed to be less grapsing.
And when she had finished ca ajoling,
lntimidating and generally wearing
down the shopkeepers, she proudly
spread a feast that would have cost
anyone else in Hong Kong a cool
hundred. There were barrels and
of Chinese food. The rice
wine would almost have foated our
Sea Dragon. There were girls and
music. In no time at all every
one was tipsy. And then-the cli-
max OF the evening-they all helped
themselves to opium. Without
opium. so I was told, no party was
worth being invited to.
watched each of the so guests
smoke his fill of the drug. Then,
towards dawn, they climbed up onto
the unfinished ribs and scaffolding
Of the Sea Dragon and went to sleep.
Next day the men returned to
work with redoubled energy, and
The pounding, saving and mailing
could be heard all over the neigh
borhood.
Paper Plans Abandoned.
Our own ship grew by spurts and
Whims. Our carefully drawn paper
plans made not the slightest i'm
preston of Mr.. Fat Kau, so we
abandoned them and added or sub
tracted to our hearts content-as
lar, that is, as we could without
altering the ships authentic junk
lines. Cabins. storerooms and lock-
ers were torn out and rearranged
three times. The rest of the ship
went through much the same evo-
luton.
We held several earnest confer.
ences on the subject of the wooden