The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 27, 1898, Page 22

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, MARCH 27, 1898. ou immediately, sir,” said e of where I was in con- sation with the chief at otland Yard. Collins-Cox, Collins-Cox?"’ repeated the chief. ] at the gre merican millionaire, who ttled in London?” the men, enterin v her in at once. Wiseman,; you remain for a r Mrs. Collins-Cox came quickly the r closed after her. She was a lady seven or eight and twenty. atly excited about somethin i forward, suddenly, “I've lost beckoning her to a 1 rot worry about safely.” Did he me. It is this, & drew from d s d it dropped upon abstracted its 1ing over his e packet forme: our husband mpt to find him. ne to send you to change and inst the railings of No. 1T find a white cross on one of the flags. y all through. for the ful issue of our plan mea money falls into wrong hands, your h us another check, which you will cash and bring to us. So you will save yourself trouble by seeing it. doesn’t, and following our instructions. When we have the money, your_husband will return. “Put the bag down on the white cross, and walk away quickly. You will be followed: and if you don’t walk away, or If you look back, or there is any one spying about, you will be a widow Wwithin two hours. Be careful, therefore. To_betray us is to betray yourself and Mr. Collins-Cox. Meantime, we inclose first installment of your husband to show we mean business. “CHARLIE KIDNAPER & CO., LTD.” The chief next took the small packet, undid the paper, and suddenly recolled from it. It was a human finger, cut from the socket, and wearing a plain gold serpent ring. I took up the finger and examined it very carefully. “Do you recognize this finger and ring to be your hus- band’s?” I asked. “The ring certainly, but I can't be sure of the finger. Men’s fingers are so much alike.” “Hum! Do you remember what—er—yes, what finger Mr. Cox wore this ring upon?” “The third finger of his le “Then calm your fe one this {s not your hus hand, always. am; a million chances to finger, since it the sec- ond of some hand. Of course, it may be genui But I don’t think so. Your husband has been kidr . “Do you wish me to take up this matter? asked, turning to my chief. He nodded, and 1 turned to Mrs. Cox. *“Go to the bank, cash the check, and return home, vhere you will find me. You must do this, because you bably being watched. Stop a bit, though, madam! ed to the window to ex- It was made out, payable to Mrs. Cox, on a note-paper. The body was written out amine it. sheet of ordina in one hand with a steel pen, and the signature was in an- other. s far as T know, it is,”” she answered. ‘“But I could y for certain, though I attribute the dissimilarity not s from his usual signature to his being nervous when he wrote it.” It is dissimilar?” “Yes, my husband wrote a very firm hand, and that is rather shaky. ““Well, madam, please do what I tell you. Go to the bank, and meet me at your house. Let me lend you this black handbag. It will suit your purpose.” With that I took up my hat and went off. I walked down Carlton House Terrace to the Cox nouse. To thé footman who answered my summons I said I wished to see Mr. Cox’s valet, and in a few moments this lordly géntleman came to me with a mixed manner of cordiality and condescension. In a short time Mrs. Cox returned. ; “I guess I shall go mad before the day is out,” sald she, as she came into the room, followed by & man carry- ing my handbag. *Oh, no,” I said, cheerfully. “T want to see you alone.” She dismissed the man, and then sank into a chair. “Yes, I've got the money, after the greatest diffi- culty,” she sald, ansyering my look. “But have you dis- coveyed anything?’ “Yes, two things,” I replied. “I want these things: A plece of cream note paper—get It from your cook—a steel pen, ink, and a specimen of your husband’s signature. Pléase get these things yourself, and let no one know. Now, tell me—who is in this house?” “Myself—you mean usually? Well, Mr. Cox, the secretary, three male and five female servants. Except the secretary—yes.” This gentleman, has he been ‘Three years.” “We might get some information from him, perhaps. However, for the present I'll see no one. Will you please get me those things. Mrs. Cox went out, and returned after a few minutes with what I had askéd for. 1 smiled as I saw the note paper. Though it was not the same make, it was very like what had been used for the check for £10,000. “What are you going to do?’ Mrs. Cox asked. “I can’t do much until § o'clock, s0 I am going to try a little experiment.” I took frum her the specimen of her husband’s sig- nature, and examined it. “From my pocketbook I drew a piece of tracing-paper, and this I lald upon Mr. Cox's signature, which 1 went over carefully some thirty or forty times. Then I took the sheet of note paper and calmly forged the million- aire’s name, making a_queer little curl at the tail of the similar to what I had noticed in the signature of the 000 check, which was not to be seen in the specimen signaiure of Mr. Cox before me. Cox watched me with an air of profound mysti- as I put the sheet of paper, bearing only the Collins-Cox,” upon the table and covered it up ay that no other part of the paper was visible. T safd, “will you be good enough to summon every one in the house, and let them remam In the next room until I call them?” She went away, and a few minutes later returned, saying that every one was in the room adjoining the one in which I sat. “Very well, then. I want them to come in here one at a time. Begin with the secretary “Ask Mr. Stainer to come here,” said Mrs. Cox. Mr. Stafner came. He was a tall, gentiemanly man of 20, wearing gold-rimmed spectacles. “Of course,” I sald to Mrs. Cox, in an undertone, but myself, in your employ long?"” loud enough to be heard, as he came forward, “if it's genuine yogu must change it, and do as instructed. It will Cost you a cool ten thousand pounds, but that can’t be helped. i “Mr. Stainer,” and I turned to him quickly, “can you tell me if this is Mr. Cox’s signature? . i AR It Tac ] “Be sure, please. It's a highly important matter. Look Tyt at it closely i er it, amined it like a near-sighted e eane e et e T watened ‘mim; moticing his Dirds remping and. nis lips fwitch nervousty o his s twitc! Vi s P e e patd S LFll swear to that. But T “Yes,” he said, quietly. he was unweil when he wrote it, for it is very zKy for Mr. Cox.” - - All the others were brought in in turn, but no one else wes able to identify the signature. “1 want a cab,’ I said, smiling. A cab was called. and I went out, gave the driver a note, with instructions to take it to the Yard and awalt an answer. Then 1 returned to the room and drew Mrs. Cox aside. 2 “Don’t breathe a word to any one,” I said; “but does it not strike you as strange that the man who best knows your husband’s writing should be the one to say most em- {h dically that my forgery was written by your hus- an “Yes,” she said in 2 whisper. Ten minutes later the cab returned and landed one of our men. He was shown in to me; and at my request all the servants were recalled. When they were assembled, 1 turred to our man and said: “Chambers, you will remain in this house until 9 o'clock to-night.” You will allow no one but Mrs. Cox to leave while you are here, and you will see that nothing whatever is passed out of the house by any one to any one, and that no communication whatever 1s held by the inmates with outsiders, not even with tradespeople. You will make it your duty if anybody—I say, anybody—at- tempts to break these rules, to immediately arrest them. Ydu will understand.” At this Stainer looked the picture of confusion, and very pale. “I shall be here at 7. o'clock,” I sald, in a whisper, to Mrs. Cox.. “Have an old. dress, cloak and hat of yours ready for me, und a room at my disposal, if you please.” Then to Chambers I said, in the same tone: “Pay partic- ular attention to Mr. Stainer. He interests me.” And then 1 came away, e Ml e N in it e DLl e L SO S At about half-past 7 the same evening a woman, tall, agile, and well but quietly dressed, with a rather thick veil that hid her face, which for the first time for eighteen months had been denuded of a brown sifken beard and mustache, left Mr. Cox’s house in Carlton House Terrace, and, walking to Waterloo place, got into a cab. She gave the driver an address, with instructions for it to _be reached by a roundabout route, and placed be- side her on the seat of the cab a black handbag. The cab cventually stopped in Oxford street. The woman sprang out, paid the driver, and hurried eastward. Presently she encountered four or five cabs piy- ing for hire at the curb. With a quick glance around her, she sprang into one of these, gave the driver an address through the rooftrap, and the cab rolled off at a quick rate. ' The cab rattled eastward—past Newgate, the Ex- change, through Fenchurch street, and finaily pulled up a few yards from a small beershop in Whitechapel. The woman ted, paid the cabman, and crossed'to the oth- er side of the road, -where four laborers were standing talking together. She went up and held an animated con- versation with them for a few minutes. Then the four men moved off in different directions, leaving the woman standing alone in the shadow of a doorway. Here she re- mained until a_neighboring clock struck 8, when she is- sued from her hiding place and turned down a by-street. The street in which she now found herself was nar- row, dark, and deserted. The light was barely sufficient to enable the woman to see a ite cross upon a flagstone in front of No. 17, and upon this she put the handbag she carried. The moment she had done so, she started to run down, the street, but she did not run far, turning sharply into the deep shadow of a projecting wall. From here she could see up and down the street, the mysterious house, and the handbag. The house was apparently empty. Not . for an indication of life, when she a light was there in any window. She was attentively watching the windows o No. 17 heard a str%ng g;h;g« : made her start. No one was to een. Ege:)?:mgg“\:v?sl:xacuy as it had been before, exceyt that bag had goné! Vanished! “Fool!" she cried, T might have guessed it!” Running out of hiding, she drew a police wh(?‘ flnnd blew it thrice, and then set about to examine t 'dng- stone. Yes: the cement around it was in loose xla ber. Some one had shifted the flag; some one in tgebcek e- low, and the bag was gone and the flag pushed bac : There was no area door, so_the only way to & la(. mittance to the house was by the front door. Shejlung But it resisted herself against it again and again. it that mo efforts, and she stopped to consider. laborer ran up. : “It's all right,” he sald. “We've got hlm—bfl&hn He had laid his plans for quick escape well at the C but ran into my arms as we entered. The house is guite empty.” “Oh, are you sure?”’ I asked, for, of course, the female was myself. “Perfectly certain. The house is absolutely emp! everything and every one.” “‘Ah, then I think I can understand. Get me a and take the chap to the station in another. Charge —but how can you? Stop! Charge him with be}ng £ upon inclosed premises with burglarious intent. Th do for the time} Ha, ha!” ) Two cabs were procured. In one we put our prison a Welldressed man of & pronounced American type— tween two of my Scotland Yard laborers, and sent I to the local stéa.tl(;{l. 'I}‘;Ie sec%nd cab I took myself, andin it I drove to Carlton House Terrace. i “When I arrived at. the Cox’s I found the footman jut paying off another cab. \ “Oh, then Mr. Cox has returned?” I said. Yes, sir; just this moment arrived.” “Where's Mr. Stainer?’’ “Your friend has him: locked in the pantry. He ar- rested him by your instructions half an hour ago. Running up the steps, I pounced right upon Mr. and Mrs. Cox locked in each other’s arms. e wore an air of mystification, while she was simply bubbling over with delight. “What does all this mean?’ asked Mr. Cox, turning upon me. “It's mystery upon mystery. Who s this wo- man “This woman,” I replied, “Is Detective Sergeant Wise- man of New Scotland Yard, who has just.discovered one of the neatest little plots ever invented. Your secretary’'s a genius’'— “I don’t understand,” he said, looking at me as if he fancied I was playing a joke at his expense. “You had a telegram yesterday?"” I asked. . “Yes, which took me to Paris on a wild-goose chase. Some one has been making a fool of me. The telegram purported to come from an old friend in Paris, and re- quested me to go to him there without a moment’s delay or a word to any one.- I went. His name was not khown at the hotel. I cabled to New York, and had an answer to say my friend was there and well, so I came back. ‘What does it mean?” “It means this,” I answered. “It means that your secretary and two men—one of whom is now in custody, the other probably in Paris—plotted to fleece you of £10.- 000. Your secretary forged your name on a sheet of note paper, which was made out as a check for £10,000, payable to your wife. This is a large sum, and the chances of getting such a check honored at short call were remote, unless the person offering it could satisfy the bankers it was all right. How to do this set the piotters \\'nnd(-dng. until they hit upon the grand scheme of getting your wife to change the check.” And then I recounted to him our adventures and their result. “The kidnaping idea was introduced In order to frighten your wife, and the finger, which was that of some one else adorned with one of vour rings, which Your :secretary found in your bedroom,/was calculated to further unnerve her. “Madam,” I concluded, turning to Mrs. Cox, with a slight evidence of justifiable pride, “‘T congratulate you upon coming to Scotland Yard. You have provided me with the only really interesting case 1 have had for years.” METAL AIRSH THAT SAILED ALOFT d and It Came to Grief, but fled That It Is Activ Scientists ng that = able to ot hd car,: off military men who lloon p: e of the the Tempelhof Field, 1 with the scientists wm balloon was & phantasy of rdered imagination. w not to be turned But the inv from his pro, He worked on it, de- veloped it, clung to it tenaciously until death overtook him, leaving the inven- tor's wife to carry on the fight against the skeptic Had Schwarz lived he | would have day. his theories win the | That, in brief, is the story of the| alumin balloon. It floated high above t -pots near the Tem- pelho 2d of Novembe: last. The idea of a balloon made of metal | was, it must be said, no new thing, for | in 1842 a madcap Frenchman named | Mares-Mo: constructed a balloon of | thin she copper. It was a fine plece of workmanship, but it would not €0 up in the air, and its short life on | earth was ended in the scrap heap. The failure of Mares-Monges gave strength | to the belief that a metal balloon was a dream and nothing more. With the increasing cheapness, how- ever, of that extraordinary light metal, aluminum, owing to the discovery of cheaper methods of production, a hope was raised in the breasts of i that the metal balloon was a Schwarz of Agram w | couragements which marked the [P the German Government [s So Well Satis- ely Building Another. | these devices were done away with, as | adding to the weight of the ship. | Another arrangement employed by | the inventcr for securing the driving belt for the wind propeller was al | sacrificed—a sacrifice which, as we| shall see in a_moment, was most dis- | astrous. The balloon was operated by | four screws, two for horizontal move- | ment and two for vertical movement, | run by a benzine mator of ten to twelve horsepower, The ship, as sbown in the | illustrations, was an immense cylinder with cone-shaped end. The dimensions ere colossal, the body of the ship be- | ing 134 feet long, 46 feet high and 42 | feet 7 inches wide. Yet, notwithstand- the , the weight of the whole 20 pounds. With the mere ption of the driving belt and the brass bearings, the whole ship was | made of aluminum. . 0 one probably, except the im'entor! nd his wife, will ever know of the di his tory of the Schwarz balloon, notwith- nding the help lent by the military servants of the German Government. | The completion of the airship, how- | ever, and the final arrangements for a trial trip, threw discouragement into the shadow, and lent a rosy tint to the hopes of the inventor's wife. She was | the only one who knew that the mon- ster airship with its silvery cylinder, | would do the work for which it was in- | tended, and it may be believed that the first two days of November, while the balloon was being filled, were to her | days of excitement and weary waiting for victory. It was necessary, in filling the bal- loon, that all the air should be expelled from the aluminum cylinder before the gas was injected: and this operation was completed by a peculiar arrange- ment of Schwarz's own. A colossal silk receptacle, the size of the cylinder, was constructed, and this was placed inside ey il s i LEFT HANGING FOR DEAD. " cylinder, and when all the air was| driven out, the gas in the slik bag w allowed to escape into the outer recep- tacle. The inflation, if such it might be called, of the aluminum balloon, was one ¢f the last stages in the prepara- tion for ascent from the Luftschiffer Park, and as the moment approached for the trial trip the excitement was in- tense. . Already, by its vain efforts to get free from the ropes which held it to the ground, the balloon showed that the in- ventor was right and his critics wrong. Herr Jagels, the engineer under Wwhos built, although not an experienced ae: onaut, offered to make the ascent—a plucky offer, considering the feeling against the balloon, and the fact that more than one man was necessary to attend to the steering and propelling apparatus—and took his seat in the car. The presence of an east wind did not add to the pleasure of the occasion, s charge the machine had been D BISHOP ANZER e M IN HIS MANDARIN ROBES. R o’ ©0600009°° PRESENTED TO THE EMPEROR. olic priest should have risen to the po- sition held by Bishop Anzer. It was | but natural that in 1886 Pope Leo XIII | should have elevated him to the bish- | opric, for his services to the church | were well deserving of such recognition, | but that the Emperor of China should | have created him a mandarin of rank lonly second to that of the famous Li Hung Chang, makes a plain narration of facts seem like a fairy story. A mandarin he is, however, endowed with all the authority and all the rations—and to the balloon. The supreme moment came when this enormous, ugly looking and maligned airship, which had cost two hundred thousand marks and four years’ labor, | was to be let loose in the heavens, with its solitary passenger, and the hopes | of a dead inventor imbedded in every lamina of its glossy surface. Such. a work as this should have had men, and having evolved, among other things, a method cf filllng a metal bal- loon with gas—which up to this time had been one of the difficulties in the the cylinder, the hydrogen g slowly pumped into the silk this bag expanded it pelled the surrounding air from the ! As ag. gradually ex- SCHWARTZ ALUMINUM BALLOON AFTER way—he prepared to put his idea be- fore the public, amid the discourage- ments already mentioned. The German Government, which takes a keen interest in all aeronautic ventures and inventions, and never re- fuses to try an experiment, no matter how wild the project seems to be, fin- ally lent a hand, and began to con- struct the balloon. The work was in- terrupted by the inventor's death, but the widow succeeded in obtaining per- mission to complete it. The Minister of War gave orders that the work should be done under military pretection, and that the officers of the department should aid Mrs. Schwarz in every pos- sible way. This was not the first time in the his- tory of the world that men were en- gaged on a job in which they had no faith. Therefore, believing as they did that the balloon would not be able to raise itself, to say nothing of the motor and passengers, from the ground, they cut away all the apparatus that to them seemed superfluous. There was, for instance, a clever device for regu- lating the descent of the balloon; and another for lengthening the four feet of the car in order to reduce to a min- fmum the shock of landing. Both of !l — IN THE AIR. IT STRUCK THE EARTH. ONE HOUR AFTERWARD; THE BALLOON BEING DESTROYED ‘BY A HIGH GALE OF WIND Deing | and the afternoon was chill and drear. But, as there is an end to all things, SCHWARTZ ALUMINUM BALLOON 800 FEET a long life. the silence of the crowd it was let loose, and in spite of the enormous sur- face which it presented to the wind, it rose with great speed. working at half speed, yet in less time than it takes to tell it, the balloon was at the height of 820 feet, fighting against a strong wind and ready to start forward on its trip above Berlin. Below, the spectators wondered how far the balloon would go, and the mili- tary men wondered why they had thought it wouldn’t go at all. Then came the end. stead of go- ing forward the balloon began to fall. The ship had become unmanageable. A belt had slipped—the driving belt which Schwarz had planned to secure to the wind propeller—and the inexperienced aeronaut in charge lost his head. Had he operated the end screw alone he would have been able to sail along with the wind, as in an ordinary bal- loon; but the multiplicity of apparatus which should have been in charge of several men confused him. It was an awful moment for Jagels. In that moment he opened wide the valve, and the balloon began its down- ward trip to destruction. The absence of the device for regu- lating the descent and the need of the apparatus for breaking the force of the fall were among the causes of the dis- aster. The crash of the ship upon the ground was great, and Jagels saved his life by jumping out of the car just as it reached the earth, getting little more than a shaking up. He had been six minutes in the sky, and at the end of his brief trip stood alive amid the wreck of $50,000. It was demonstrated that the balloon was not only fully able to carry its own car and motor, but was also able to carry all the parts which the engineers had considered superfluous, as well as three or four passengers and ballast. The inventor’s calculations were, in short, correct. The trial trip also proved that Schwarz knew how to fill his balloon, and that the apparatus could be controlled by the proper num- ber of men. ‘While the winds were playing with the wreck the Gérman Government was making arrangements for the imme- diate construction of another Schwarz balloon. The trial had shown them that a metal "balloon was possible, and the experts now think that the aluminum balloon is the military airship of the future. —_—e——————— Leo XIII is the 28th Pope 4 But it was not to be. Amid | The motor was | | 80 'was there an end to all these prepa- | | | MADE A MANDARIN OVER 10,000,000 PEOPLE rights and privileges, whatever they may be, of that exalted position, and he rules one of the eight provinces of China, the peninsula of Shantung, both well and wisely. As a peacemaker be- tween Pagans and Christians he has become world-renowned, and it is whispered that his influence ex- tends far outside his own domain and that he has rendered invaluable as- sistance in extremely delicate political situations to persons standing dizzily high in authority. Be that as it may, I care not, for I Story of a Young Bavarian Who Went to China as a Missionary and Barely Escaped Death From lhe Mongolian Mobs. Now He Rules a Province Richer Than Some Kingdoms. FANCIED that he looked the least little bit in the world uncheerful as he leaned over the China’s rail and waved his handsome white hand in farewell to those of his San Fran- ciscan hosts who had accompanied him down to the pier, and my only wonder was that he did not look downright miserable. His vacation was over and he was going back to his duties and responsi- bilities on the other side of the world, among a people between whom and the Caucasian races there is a gulf which may be bridged, but can never be filled in and made solid ground, and such banishment from civilization, even if self-imposed, cannot be an ex- hilarating prospect. Only a day or two before I had called upon him. He is said to be a brilliant diplomat—this courtly and powerful Bishop-Mandarin—but I am not versed enough in international politics to Jjudge of him from this point of view. I can, however, say with truth that he is quite the most brilliant man, as far as outward adornment is concerned, that it has ever been my lot to meet socially. He lighted up the severely plain little reception room of the Fran- ciscan Brothers with his rainbow-like radiance as he entered, and he seemed among his brown-robed hosts like a gorgeous-plumed ‘macaw which had flown by mistake into a dove cote. Let it be said, though, to his credit, that the gleam of gold and precious stones, the richness of fabric, and the warmth of color, became him well The glowing reddish purple of his robe with its broad crimson facings suited his florid complexion and dark hair and eyes; the massive gold chain wound about his neck, each heavy link a marvel of cunning workmanship— the immense jeweled cross flashing on his breast—his belt with its gem-en- crusted buckle, and the great seal ring surrounded with a frame of pearls that made my heart fairly ache with ad- miration—all seemed to be, after one’s eyes became accustomed to them and their wearer,not merely extraneous or- namentation but a necessary and in- alienable part of his own decidedly vivid personality. I had been curious to see this man, not because I wished to possess myself of any of the political secrets of which I am assured he has many hidden in his trustworthy breast, nor because he has dined with Kings and Emperors and talked with the Pope, and been loaded down, as it- were, with divers orders and worldly and spiritual hon- ors. I wanted to see him simply because a man who has given up his life to the conversion of the heathen—and such unpleasant heathen as the lower class Chinese are—and has endured torture almost to death at their hands, and still kept on imperturbably laboring in the same stony and thorny field, is well worth seeing always. And then, besides, the story of Bishop Anzer's life makes of him a gost striking and interesting figure in this prosaic nine- teenth century. Forty-six years ago a Bavarian fam- ily of ancient and honered name was gladdened by the birth of a son who, after receiving an excellent education in the best institutions of his native land, decided to become a Catholic priest, and, becoming specially inter- ested in the subject of missions to the heathen, was the first one to be re- celved into the “Order of the Word of God.” Three years after he was sent from Bavaria to the Hongkong district, where he did missionary work, and at the same time learned the language thoroughly, and made himself fully ac- quainted with the social, spiritual and political conditions of the country. Studying the best interests of his adopted people in all things he soon gained the confidence of both those in authority and those beneath them, and by sheer force of his somewhat ag- gressive individuality, his impartiality, good gudfment aénd h:ltrength of charac- er, he has made himself t.hle g a power in t seems marvelous that in where the opposition to torelmg,m::'- pecially foreign missionaries, has been most bitter ever since she was forced to open her doors to outsiders, a Cath- am not “in politics” myself, but there was one little incident in his career which gave him a particularly firm hold on the. consideration of the more superstitious of his subjects, and of this incident I particularly wished him to_speak. ‘Was it true that in 1879 he had been tied to a tree head downward by some of his Pagan enemies, then riddled with shot and left there for dead? Yes, it is true, and the Bishop smiled amiably at the recollection. Southern Shantung, he explained, was a very lawless section of country and was, be- sides, the holy land of Confucius. Of the 10,000,000 inhabitants only 30,000, even at the present time, have re- nounced their Paganism for Christian- ity, and eighteen years ago they were a very dangerous people to live among. “They did not like me,” he explained, simply—his English is a trifle obscure, for he had used only Latin and Chinese for the past eighteen years—"and so they tried to get rid of me. They cap- tured me at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and they treated me very unkindly until about 9 that evening. But,”—and he smiled forgivingly— “after the first I was mercifully un- conscious, so it did rot matter. They thought I was dead and so left me, and then some of my converts came and untied me and carried me to a hid- ing place, where they nursed me back to health. And when I went back to my work”—with apparently ,no idea that ‘going back to his work’ under such circumstances was anything ex- traordinary—‘the poor ignorant crea- tures believed that I had been raised from the dead and that I was a super- natural being. “From that time they were ready to adore me if I would allow them, and they have treated me well ever since. I need not have suffered at all had 1 promised to cease preaching Christian- ity, but I was obstinate and so were they, and so they made away with me as they thought. But they were fright- ened when I apparently came back ta life, so frightened that they have never troubled me personally again. Since 1 came away though,” here the smiling face grew suddenly grave, “I have re- ceived word that two of my missiona- ries have been killed, Father Henle and Father Nies. A politico-religious sect, formed about three years ago for the overthrow of the present relgning family of China, became incensed with Father Henle because he would not al- low members of his flock to join in ths conspiracy, and they have taken ad- vantage of my absence to kill him and revenge themselves.”