Evening Star Newspaper, July 25, 1937, Page 78

12 “Some of the most palatial dwell- ings on earth,” he answered, grateful for the quickness of her wit. “‘I'd be willing to bet the Metropolitan Mu- seum would give a million for the contents of any one of half a dozen.” “I can’t beheve it,”” said Tracy. At a grunted order Captain Wong's puller again moved to the head of the line. The long string of rickshas rounded a corner. With their boys uttering sharp cries of warning, they darted along an alley so narrow their wheels almost grazed its sides, bore sharply to the left and piled to a halt before a solid gateway, hermetically closed. Wong executed a peculiar knock on its lacquered polished front and stood back. The ponderous doors opened without a sound. The moment the huge doors swung shut behind Wong's party, Tracy had the sensation of having passed out of the known world. Here was a life apart, a hidden life within life. Abruptly Red’s extravagant state- ment as to the sort of dwelling behind the low irregular walls of the Hutung became reasonable. Peace, affluence, comfort and luxury, buttressed by silent retainers and drenched with beauty, produced a strange air, never before breathed. Lacquer work and carving, gnarled trees and uptilted roofs, the spirit screen, the lodges on right and left, the quarters for women and even the gate itself, rose in soft harmony to the diapason of the cen- tral edifice into which they were presently ushered. They entered a room noble in its sweep though low. Tracy’s feet caressed rugs caressed by the feet of genera- tions and her eyes dwelt on priceless cossus older still upon the walls. Panels and screens, creations of jade. Black jade, spinach jade, lettuce and white jade — pieces on which some work- man had spent half his life hunched in a cubbyhole over a water-cooled lathe. Giving sense and reason to a back- gr(;und built out of the stuff of cen- turies, an old man sat in skullcap and robes of silk on a ponderous carved chair of ebony. His slanted eyes were deeply pouched and his skin had the appearance of parchment kept flexible by constant use. He spoke in excellent English, his voice modulated yet clear. “Yin-Tsao- Feng is my unworthy name. I am ‘"thanks, Mother! THANKS FOR THAT OLIVE OiL POWDER" OTHER, you guard your baby against “diaper rash” when you use Z. B.T. Baby Powder. For Z.B.T. contains olive oil—hence provides a moisture-resistant coating that protects and soothes the | skin for bours longer than other pow- ders. without caking. Free from zinc stearate, leading hospitals use it. 2Z.BT. Oleve O BABY POWDER LONLFALS BLEMISHES INSTANTLY! ON'T et a sudden skin . blemish spoil your Sum- mer Fun. Be clever—use ‘‘Hide-it!"" Instantly con- ceals pimples, freckles, birthmarks, scars, bruises and any oloration. Waterproof. Won't crack or peel. Four flesh shades Lo mateh your skin. Use the Cream for areas; Stick for touch-ups. $1at Orug and Dept. Stores 10c size at Ten Cent Stores NER CO., 2 St. Clair $t., Dept. 25-H, Chicago 1 enclose for ‘‘Hide-it”’ ( ) Cream ( ) Stick. hade: ( ) Light ( ) Medium ( ) Brunette ( ) Sun Tan. THIS WEEK All Blood Is Red distressed that through the efforts of my most illustrious friend, Ma-Sun-Li of the great city of New York, you should have come to my country only to collide with tragedy. Madame Bynne, Captain Aldyreff, Miss Lloyd, Mr. Long, will you be seated?”’ Obeying his gesture the four sank upon chairs and benches. Behind them stood Captain Wong and farther away Di-Di, surrounded by Wah-Ling, Feng and Fu-Ming. ‘“‘Madame Bynne,” continued Yin- Tsao-Feng, ‘I am sure your strength must have been severely taxed. May 1 offer you food or drink?” “‘Nothing,” said Mrs. Bynne, then leaned toward him tensely. “‘I don’t know who you are but I have a feeling you can help me. My husband, Major Bynne, has been killed. His murderer is in this room. I beg you to help me.” Yin-Tsao-Feng threw out his hands in a wide, graceful gesture. ‘‘Ah, Madame, I have every reason to be- lieve you are wrong. It was the inten- tion of Captain Wong to take you to the police station and subject you to a painful and unnecessary routine. I dis- suaded him. I urged him to bring you directly here that I might offer my condolences and still your fears as to your immediate future.” “I have no fears,’’ said Mrs. Bynne hoarsely. ‘I want justice — only jus- tice.” ““Alas, Madame, justice is all I am prepared to give. It had been our am- bition to employ your late husband’s genius in the conquering of the Hwang-Ho, China’s undying sorrow. Unfortunately that hope is at an end.” He motioned to his steward, standing at his right. The man stepped forward and opened a huge wallet hanging by a heavy silver chain from his neck. “Justice is all I can give,” repeated Yin. “To you, Madame, two months of your husband’s promised pay and expenses back to your home. The same, in proportion, is accorded Miss Lloyd and Pilot Long whose stipends are known to us.” Abruptly he pointed a long nail at Di-Di. “Come hither.” Di-Di rushed forward, sank to his knees and with clasped hands bowed again and again, the back-scratcher dangling from his wrist tapping the floor at each bow. ‘‘Illustrious and high born,”” he wailed, ‘‘command thy miserable and unworthy servant whose execrable name is Di-Di.” “You too,” said Yin. “l am in- formed that though but lately em- ployed, your service was faithful to the end. What was your wage?”’ “] had none; only what the gener- osity of my poor master should have ordained.” Yin motioned to the steward. ‘“‘Give him a hundred dollars — Mex, of course.” To each was doled out his share and Long found himself staring unbeliev- ingly at a heap of currency amounting to something over three thousand dol- lars — American, not Mex. He ar- ranged the bills and stuffed them with difficulty into his hip poekets. The four arose, Mrs. Bynne reluctantly, ignoring her portion. Aldyreff stepped quickly to her side and undoing his silk cummerbund swiftly made a neat package of her money. Tracy rolled the notes before her tightly and thrust them into the pocket of her coat. Captain Wong stepped forward. ““We will go now.” But instead of leading them out by the route they had come he waved them to a door the steward was in the act of opening. ““This way, please.” The next instant Tracy and Red had the sensation of having been hurled into icy water and even Mrs. Bynne was startled out of her abstrac- tion by the shock of passing from the peak of luxury into stark and un- garnished simplicity. Four walls, un- broken save by the door through which they had entered, surrounded them. The floor was of beaten earth and the ceiling of solid plaster. There were no rugs, no furnishings of any kind save a grotesque four-spoked wheel six feet in diameter and fitted with a crank at the back. Dazed, they ranged away from the door as two coolies came through it, bearing the carved ebony chair. They placed it at right angles to the wheel Continved from preceding poge in the exact center of the room. Yin- Tsao-Feng then swept by to occupy it. He faced Mrs. Bynne, Tracy, Aldyreff and Long. Scarcely conscious of how the arrangement had come about, the four Europeans found themselves backs to the wall but separated. The order was as follows: Captain Wong next the door, then Long, Wah Ling, Tracy, Feng, Aldyreff, Mrs. Bynne and finally Fu-Ming. Almost against the wall on the left stood the wheel; in the center sat Yin-Tsao-Feng, slowly opening a fan. The door clanged shut and while the echo of its closing still resounded, the two coolies hurled themselves on Di-Di, dragged him to the wheel and lashed one wrist to a spike, the other hand to another and one ankle to a third. From his remaining dangling foot they ripped felt shoe and sock, then held the foot up. Brutally spread- ing out the big toe they spat on the telltale mark that showed long use of the Japanese geta with its bruising thong. They tied a weight to the loose foot, sprang behind the wheel and grasped the crank. Captain Wong gently drew a Luger from the side pocket of his robe and held it against his thigh. The coolies bent to the crank; the wheel began slowly to turn. Red made a horrified movement forward. With- out appearing to stir, Captain Wong Photo by John Bransby MONTE REGER ON BOBBY'S BACK - A Trick Steer by EMMA.LINDSAY SQUIER ESTERN cattlemen will tell you that steers, gen- erally speaking, are of the genus marked ‘‘dumb.” “Only one in a thousand has any sense, or shows any affection,” a rancher informed me. But Monte Reger, of Buffalo, Oklahoma, maintains that any steer, properly handled, will become as devoted as a horse or a dog, and will show intelligence in a big way. ‘“‘Bobby,”” whose horns measure fifty- one inches from tip to tip, is the living proof of his assertion. The big steer spent the first years of his life on the Reger ranch, just as wild as any of the others and in no way remarkable except for the unusual length and spread of his horns. Then Monte began trying to tame him by offering him pieces of dry bread, for which Bobby had developed a passion. Gradually the “wild’’ steer became tame. Then too tame — a nuisance, in fact. He hung around the ranch- house and insisted on following his master about. Once, when Monte vaulted over a fence to escape his importunate pet . . . Bobby took the same jump, without even ‘‘touching wood.” That gave Monte the idea of train- ing the steer for exhibitions at state fairs and rodeos. He saddled Bobby and rode him, which in itself is a rare achievement. He taught him to jump fences of breath-taking height. But when he tried to urge his pet to leap over an old touring car chassis . . . Bobby balked. When a steer that weighs 1,225 pounds says “‘no’’ . . . both tact and finesse are necessary to overcome his objections. It-wasn’t the height of the jump that bothered him, it was the width. He simply wouldn’t try it. After weeks of patient coaxing, Monte almost gave up in despair. Then Mrs. Reger had an idea. She re- fused Bobby his rations of dry bread for several days. Then she came and stood on the opposite side of the chassis, and held out a tempting loaf to the bread-hungry steer. Bobby gazed longingly at the deli- cacy, stared speculatively at the car; maybe, after all, he could make it. He gathered himself together for a mighty leap . . . and cleared the obstruction without touching a hoof to it! After that there were no more refusals on his part. And even when the tires were inflated, increasing the height of the jump considerably, he still took it, calmly and cleanly. His car-leaping record to date is 265 times, with only twelve touches. It certainly is a proof of what kind- ness, plus patience . . . plus dry bread . will do! Moagazine Section fired a bullet into the clay between his feet. Red jerked back. Tracy and Mr 7 Bynne sank against the wall. Aldyreft seized Mrs. Bynne's hand and pressed it violently. As the wheel revolved Di-Di uttered a horrible sound, too raucous to be called either a cry or a moan. The eyes of the four Europeans were dragged to his contorted face, now almost upside down. Yin did not look around; his eyes were glued to the faces directly before him. Slowly he waved his fan. “Kwai ch’u!”’ snapped Captain Wong. The wheel whirled, throwing Di-Di’s weighted foot in a wide arc and then abruptly stopped when he was at the perpendicular. Tears poured in a steady stream from the corners of his eyes, but in the moment of alleviation his tortured lips ceased their writhing. Wong took one step forward. “How did you kill Major Bynne?"’ he thundered. *“No! No kill master,” gasped Di-Di hoarsely. “‘Good master for Di-Di. ~ No, no kill!”’ “Turn!’ commanded Wong. The wheel started on another revo- lution, slower than before. Mrs. Bynne stared, shocked into callousness by Wong's implied accusation. Tracy closed her eyes but she could not shut her ears against the unnamable sounds issuing from Di-Di’s throat, strangled by agony. Red began to swear under his breath. Aldyreff gulped loudly, and apologized. With a high piercing cry Di-Di arrived at the perpendicular position and momen- tary surcease. “Come now,’’ said Captain Wong softly, ‘“‘how did you kill Major Bynne?"’ Di-Di’s lips and eyes seemed to clash in a terrific struggle; his eyes were glassy, fixed in an unseeing stare, but his lips jerked and rippled like the muscles of a horse about to bolt. They did bolt. Abruptly words poured from him. “Not Di-Di. Missy Bynne! Master Long! Ask Missy and Master Long. Missy Bynne kiss Master Long on train. Master Long kiss Missy." Tracy opened her eyes wide. Where was she? What had she heard? Her blood turned cold in her veins. She wanted to look at Red but pride stopped her; she looked at Mrs. Bynne instead. All she saw was a mask, strangely enlivened by a disdainful smile. Long stopped swearing. Cap- tain Wong, momentarily disconcerted, glanced at him over his shoulder. “Yes?”’ he questioned. “‘Sure,” said Red furiously. *‘She kissed me and I kissed her. What of jtae Wong shrugged his shoulders and faced toward Yin-Tsao-Feng. Yin flut- tered his fan. *‘Turn,”” ordered Wong. Again the wheel started on its in- exorable revolution. Red began to fumble in his pocket, striving with one hand to open his clasp knife; twice the point of the long blade slipped from his fingers. The muscles of Di-Di’s loose leg could actually be seen through his padded trousers, jerking with the foolish gyrations of Mexican beans under a cloth. They were answering the summons to a super- human effort. Hold the weight ! Lift it! Clamp heel to toe! They popped un- der the strain, yet triumphed; heel clamped to toe. With his chin, one of the coolies knocked the feet apart. The weighted ™ leg swung downward. An unearthly sound seemed to rend the thick walls of the room as Di-Di screamed. In that instant Red felt the master blade of his knife snap into place. He clutched the handle but his palm was slippery with sweat. He drew out his hand and wiped it on his trousers. Yin-Tsao-Feng was fanning himself gently, his eyes darting from Mrs. Bynne’s face to Tracy’s, from Aldyreff’s back to Long’s. The plan was so sim- ple, Yin thought, that it couldn’t pos- sibly go wrong. In all probability Di-Di had killed Lancaster Bynne. But what if he hadn’t? In that case one of these four watching faces would inevitably betray itself. But the plan did go wrong. Mrs. Bynne shuddered from head to foot, turned and cast herself on Aldyreff. Tracy sank to the floor as though her legs had melted, and Red sprang. His lifted knee thudded into Captain Wong’s back and sent him sprawling. (To Be Concluded Next Week) ————-————‘