Show I ADVNTJR th f V ACA JlOU i BY EARL ASHLEY WALCOTT Copyright 1SS9 by Earl A Wolcott Ah Kim was a coward with the curiosity cu-riosity of a magpie Both these things he know for he had been told them often of-ten by the mouth 01 his friend the shrewd Wong Chee and his Inner consciousness con-sciousness assured him that Wong Chee spoke the truth It was due to both that he had the adventure of devils dev-ils night It happened thus On tie night of the adventure he stood in the dark doorway two houses from the corner of Pacific street on the edge of Chinatown China-town in the city of San Francisco and It was here that he saw a Chinese pass across the way with a sack upon his shoqlder Now there was nothing In this to attract his Idle attention had not the bearer of the sack stopped looked cautiously about him and then as cautiously opened the door of the third house from the corner that bore the To Let sign of the white agents This was remarkable enough for no man takes the fourth hour of the night to examine a house that he would rent So Ah Kim speculated Idly on the matter mat-ter and had but reached the conclusion that It was none of his business when he observed another Chinese to saunter saun-ter along also with a sack upon his shoulder and after the same precaution precau-tion to see if he were watched open the same door and disappear in the darkness Now Ah Kim not being bright of mind was unable to think what this might mean and after a tudr decided decid-ed that it was a case to lay before his friend the shrewd Wong Chee He was therefore about to move from th6 door Aay to put his idea into execution when he observed a third Chinese to come along also with a sack upon his shoulder and after the same precautions precau-tions to enter the same house Ah Kim at this was partly in fear for If the three sackbearers thought it so important that they should not be observed they might think it of enough importance to attend to the si K nc ing of one who had observed them and for all his slowness of mind it was In his thought that before he thh ontbe iooJ E > ught the sbrewd Wong Chee it would be well to knowhow many men with sacks went through that door So he waited and watched with care and kept himself within the shadow that none might see him There were now and then men passing along but none of them bore sacks upon their shoulders and none of them passed through the door with the To Let sign upon it Yet as he watched he was startled on a sudden to see the To Let sign itself it-self disappear like the handkerchief that the juggler throws into the air And Ah Kim having watched vainly fir further signs of the men who had gone through the door joined a party of three who passed and becoming one cf the crowd went on hisvay to find Ins friend the shrewd Wong Chee It is well said Wong Chee when the case was explained There are m ny things in life that we do not understand un-derstand We should therefore en deaor to learn them from those whorl who-rl re nance may know more than we Said you that these men were of a n slz illustrious Wong Chee I had not said But as I remember them one ws tall and thin and one was tit mid d size and stout and the third was sm U and spars 0 Did the tall man have a scar from bs Eve to his chin And did the stout man have a wart on his cheek AT il was the small man lame in the right leg indeed my wise Wong Chee I could nN see the scar nor the wart for the c ai kness but as I remember the small iran did have the traceof 3 limp You have done well my inquisitive Kim And if you go to the Joss tonight pray to him for your friends for there Is mischief afoot Do they threaten my friends asked ATi Kim in an awestruck voice Play that it b none of your fri ils said Wong Chee with a mys teiious shake of his head for when tbise three men went through that d > < r it meant no good to the man who Pcses through it after them Then I shall not pass it said Ah Kim with a shiver and I shall stop at the house of the Joss a I go home and pray that none of my friends seek the place Then after a moment of Bienre in whish his curiosity rose sup su-p n r to his fears he continued Ines your most profound wisdom inform in-form you of the names of the three men who went through the door Wong Chee considered and answered with halfclosed eyes Is there one among the tongs who ha not heard of the Three Brothers of the Hatchet who are a tong by themselves them-selves We do not speak their names Yes J have heard said Ah Kim with a shudder But were they ever known in our tons I you had been present at the meet inc yru would haverehlembered my gwil Kim said Wong hee I was in the tenth year of Kwong Suey not three years since when Mow Yip Ting refused to pay his dues t the long and his case was brought before the meeting of the association Then we sat in the dark and the Voice of the Tong read the charge against low Yip Ting And we listened in since and when it was asked if we would forgive the debt there was no voice raised for i the merchant for he had made his i rii hes through the favor and protection J of the tong and he would evade the 1 dues that even the pores must vav So when the Voice of jthfr Tong snake 1 thraugh the darkness and said that we had choice to forgive the debt or to in j lllct the pulshment therewas amutt as of the thunder thatjspunds Inthe distance and i was the sentence of I death to Mow Yip Tins Mheij i was j I spoken In the darkness that It was not fit that one of the Tong should do the deed and a whisper ran through the I air that this was work for the Brothers of the Hatchet So it was said and the reward was fixed and I was made the voice of the tong to speak to the Three Brothers Yes I know the Three and have seen them but I do not speak their names nor turn my eyes to their face when I meet them on the street You know the fate of Mow Yip Ting Who does not asked Ah Kim Who Indeed echoed Wong Chee placidly For many men have given up their lives In Chinatown yet but three have suffered death In the manner man-ner of Mow Yip Ting And Sam Suey was hanged for it by the police of the white devils said Ah Kim The art of the Three Brothers is past the power of the police to search ut For though the white devils are clever with machines they are but children In the subtle workings of the mind a know not falsehood from truth Your wisdom is great Wong Chee yet is it great enough to say who goes I through the door of the house that the Three Brothers have taken tonight It is great enough to say to you not to concern yourself with such thoughts Think not of who the man may be Pray that he be none of your friends Make sure that he be not yourself Wise Wong Chee your counsel Is of the best I will go to the house of the Joss to pray for my friends and dismiss the Three Brothers from my thoughts I And so saying he left Wong Chee and turned his steps toward the shrine of the Joss that is in the tong house in Commercial street Yet on the way his thoughts were only of the Three Brothers of the Hatchet and in the darkness he could see with the eye of the mind the face of the Tall Brother with the scar running trom eye to chin and the Stout Brother with the wart on his cheek and the Small Brother who limped with his right leg And the thrre glowered as they floated before I be-fore him through the atmosphere of thought and threatened him with silent si-lent words as he walked So it was with alarm that came almost to consternation I con-sternation that Ah Kim found that his I I feet had brought him once more to the doorway from which he had seen the Three Brothers go with such mystery mys-tery into the vacant house and he halted as a man struck to stone To his excited vision the three faces peered menacingly at him from every dark window and told him that even in the obscurity of the doorway to which his feet had brought him he was observed I yet he could not fly from the danger and watched the house as the bird watches the snake He looked intently for a sign of life yet none was to be seen Xo light glimmered from the windows Men came by in ones and twos and he shrank back into the shadow Then on a pudden he saw a figure glide along the walk across the street and disappear in the fatal doorway Now Ah Kim shook as with an ague and was alert for what might happen Was this the man for whom the three brothers had laid their snare 110 victim would go so unsuspectingly to such a house and alone Yet curiosity curi-osity was strong upon him and he wished that he dared vepture to the door and listen and perchance learn something of the dreadful deeds of the Three Brothers of the Hatchet As he looked and listened and trembled trem-bled two men came along the walk He was relieved to see that they were white devils and listened to their talk I was sure that was the number said one Now thats quare said the other and Ah Kim was stricken with fear to see that this was one of the white devils dev-ils policemen for he had been arrested for the awful crime of holding a lottery ticket and had been kept thirty days in jail Yet he was not too much Infer in-fer to hear the policeman as he said That house has been to rint iver since I came on this bate I Is Snot so strange said the other with a laugh for houses are sometimes some-times rented Now Ah Kim trembled again for at these words he knew the voice and it was the voice of the good doctor for whom he worked who had stood by him when he was In trouble and had given him back his place after he had come from the jail I would keel < ut of there if I was you said the policeman Its an old servant who is hurt to death and has sent for me said the doctor and I couldnt refuse A doctor doc-tor you know must go where hes calledWell Well thats the first Chinaman I I iver heard of askin for a white doctor doc-tor said the policeman and he bade the doctor good night and went his way I Now Ah Kim wished to cry out for he had found the man who was to pass I the door that hid the Three Brothers of the Hatchet Yet his voice refused to I come for he was in fear of the white policeman And sham with the double apprehension for his employer and himself I him-self he did not recover power of voice I or movement until the doctor had crossed the street and was swallowed I up in the dark doorway Then he hastened has-tened after him with a cry in his throat that was stilled when he saw the door I opened and a tall Chinese usher the doctor within He halted as the face I of the tall Chinese stamped Itself on his mind for i was a face of much evi and it bore a scar that reached from eye to chin and there was a malignant I ma-lignant pleasure under its polite air a the tall man received the doctor and closed the 4 1 beMnd him Ah Kim leaped against the pqst without with-out the door faint and shivering and put forth all his strength to keep his teeth from chattering He was in mor tat t1or lest the sharp eye of the Tall Brother had spied him and the shadow of death was even now upon him Two or three minutes passed and his heart steadied its fluttering beats Yet instead in-stead of following his impulse to fly he crept closer to the door and crouched in the corn r that he might listen and think and be out of the observation of any one who should come along the street Itwas near the middle hour of the night yet belatedwayfarers passed now and then What Idea was in his mind he could not have said Gratitude he did not know ana friends one does not have among the White devils Yet i was before be-fore him that he ought to save the white doctor rom his doom for he was a kind master and it is not fit that one should see a man go thus to his death when one eats his bread And then there was curiositythe eager wish to know the work of the Three Brothers Thus Ah Kim crouched against the doorpost and strained his ears to catch a sound trom the mysterious myste-rious house Yet listen as he might the only sounds that came to him be sided the smooth purring of the distant cable that draws the white devils streetcars street-cars were the loud beats of his heart and the breathing that he tried to repress re-press As he lay straining his ears at the door it came to his mind that this was f i r ilP i H Li t I 1 t qi S S I s = z ± J a c 7 I THE STOUT ROTH FUG BACK HIS ARMS WITH A SCREAM a case for the shrewd Wong Chee and he started to rise and go and seek him I Then he sank back for he feared what might happen while he should be away and that Wong Chee might come too late Whatever was to be done must be done by him alone The heartsick enlng fear that followed this thoughts thought-s med to give him strength that was gve not from himself He rose laid off the Chinese shoes that he wore listened intently in-tently again and then put his hand cautiously on the door knob No sound had come from the house while he had lain there and he felt assured that the Three Brothers were elsewhere than in the hall It was his fear that the door was locked but to his surprise and relief re-lief it yielded as he turned the knob and no sound followed as inch by inch he opened it He drew his knife from his blouse and listened again then he slipped through the narrow opening and closed the door without sound The darkness of the street was as the light of day to the darkness of the hal when the door was closed yet It gave I him courage for he could not see neither could he be seen unless the I Brothers had the gift of the devils to see In the dark He stood for a minute min-ute Then a murmuring sound that came from overhead confirmed him In the opinion that the Three Brothers and their victim were up the stair A crepuscular glow the very ghost of light came to his eyes from above and he divined that there lay the ascent His fears asked him if one of the Brothers did not lie between him and the source of that light But reasoning that the grip of death would by then have been at his heart I one of the Brothers had been on the watch he staked his life on the desperate trust I that the crime for which they ha come had taken the attention of the Three I and that none was left on guard SO he moved forward step by step I and almost inch by inch the fingers of hthl I the left nlJC touching I the ng as his guide his right hand gripping the knife and eye and ear strained to catch the faintest hint that his presence was suspected sus-pected Thus noiselessly he came to the head of the stair and saw that a middle room was alight and that no one stood outside The door was but an inch or two ajar and Ah Kim crept to i with noiseless progress though the murmur of voices or which he could catch a word now and then would have covered his steps had he proceeded boldlr boldWhen When he looked within the room he shook with astonishment as well a terror ter-ror for not only did he see the white doctor with arms and feet bound stand between the Tall Brother and I the Stout Brother but on the floor I tied with ropes and bleeding from the head lay a Chinese and the face of I that Chinese was the face of the shrewd Wong Chee Between wonder that so wise a man should have been taken by the Brothers fear lest his friend was dead and the lack of a plan I by which to rescue the two from the hands of the Dreadful Three i was not until Wong Chee stirred and groaned the words that that were spoken came to his understanding Then he observed ob-served that the Small Brother with the lame leg stood before the doctor grinned evily and spoke in English while the Stout Brother with the hatchet qnd the Tall Brother with a running noose held to the captive made silent threats of death You will be hanged he heard the doctor ear If they catch us said the Small Brother showing his teeth That is easy said the doctor The police have only to find out the man who rented this house and they will lay hands on you at once The house not rented returned the Small Brother with his evil grin more nronounced than before Why how are you here then asked the doctor One man he go one time he get key said the Small Brother with a silent laugh that was terrible to see We make key all same this key Then same man he take key back He not like house That long time ago We have key We come here In dark tonight No man see us come No man see us go You not do all same we tell you we leave you heah And the Small Brother pointed to the floor and made suggestive gestures as though the body of the doctor lay there dead But the police will find me and they will know that It is murder argued ar-gued the doctor Police no catch us replied the Small Brother with pride and scorn mingled In his voice Some day catch you this place catch Wong Chee that pjiice pointinG to the floor AH samq say Chinaman fight white man fight both set hill That will not be the end of i said the doctor in a tone of menace and warning I was In Los Angeles when your highbinders killed two of the white police Then the white men came with guns and knives and tire and they shot and stabbed and hanged all the Chlnnmen they could find and they burned their Chinatown oft the face of the earth Many were lulled and many hundreds were hurt and all Kin for their lives Do you remember that thatNow at these words the face of the Small Brother lost something of its look of diabolic pleasure Fr ev n the Three Brothers must tremble at the name of that awful night in the south em city where the Tall Brother had got his scar and the Small Brother had acquired his limp and the Three had barely escaped with their lives I We not want to kill you said the Small Brother with a smile that was meant to be conciliatory but succeeded only in being ghastly You do all the same we say you go home all lite Now the doctor knew that his fate was sealed for the Three Brothers had let him know too much and must kU him for their own safety He saw they but played with him t make their pleasure yet he bore himself a though the Brothers but jested with himWhat would you have asked the doctor I I I tell you before The heart of Wong Chee answered the small brother I I cannot take i The man is still alive aliveHe all same dead replied the Small Brother White devil doctor man he like cut up dead man why he not like cut up live man Why do you want me co cut up alive a-live man asked the doctor We like see Sometime maybe we like do 1 I cannot kill him He ha done me no harm Oh you think him good man exclaimed ex-claimed the Small Brother contemptuously contemptu-ously You think him all Ue Heal He-al same come tonight to say we get one thousand dolls kill Wing Lee You think him good man eh He no sab b one tong say we get two thousand f hund dolla all same kill him And at this humorous situation the Small Brother went off into a fit of diabolic hter laughter Then did one tong ton you to kill me asked the doctor I db not know the tongs and never banned them The Small Brothers face took on a look of preternatural cunning and he appeared to consider what excuse to giveNever one time kill white devil he said A last And his eyes snapped eagerly ea-gerly as though this had been the long desire of his life and the bodies of the Tall Brother and the Stout Brother bent toward tht doctor as though they were eager to have his blood We kill white devil doctor now if he do not what we say Give us the heart of Wong Chee The Small Brothers tone at this became be-came so menacing that the doctor gave himself up for a lost man Ah Kim marveled at his coolness in the face of death for though he was but a white devil his voice changed not a whit I cannot take it with bound hands he said The Three Brothers consulted In Chinese Chi-nese for they were unwilling to loose the hands of the doctor I was true that he could not cut the heart from Wong Chee If his hands were tied yet If his hands were free and the surgeons knife was put in them they had to fear the rashness of despair Then the small brother advised that the doctor be made to kneel before his hands were loosed And thereupon Ah Kim saw him forced to his knees by the body of Wong Chee and the Tall Brother Broth-er flung the noose about the neck of the kneeling man and the Stout Brother Broth-er lifted the hatchet while the Small lfed Brother slipped the cords that bound his arms Now Ah Kim breather hard and gripped his knife fast for he feared that the life of the shrewd Wong Chee was lost He had a wild wish to cry out to the doctor that there was a friend at hand and that he should make an effort for life and freedom Yet he knew that to cry out was folly and would be death to him wlong with the shrewd Wong Chee and the good doctor and he had to use all his strength to keep his teeth from chattering chat-tering What was that suddenly asked the Small Brother pricking up his ears earsI hear nothing said the Stout Brother A step on the stair I though said the Small Brother I locked the door said the Tall Brother with an evil smile It Is Vong Chees devil come for his soul Now at this Ah Kim could scarce keep himself from sinking for it is evil indeed to be between the Three Brothers Broth-ers of the Hatchet and the dev > s that come for the dying And the Three Brothers themselves lost a little of their confident air for even the Brothers win feared not the Joss liked not to i think of the devils But Ah Kim smiled in the midst of his fears at the mistake of the Tall Brother in thinking think-ing that he had locked the door Well let us make haste said the Small Brother that the devils may finish their work And with n move he shook the bonds from the doctors arM and put in the doctors right hand the surgeons knife Now cut he sold At this word the doctor flung his arms about the Small Brother and dashed him to the floor and at the same time made a mighty effort to rise Strike Brother cried the Small Brother to the one with the hatchet The hatchet was in the air and the doctors brains would have scattered over the floor but that Ah Kim nerved by the danger of the men before him and by the noise of devils on tho stair behind him had flung open the dooi and with one leap buried his knife In the throat of the Stout Brother with the hatchet The Stout Brother flung up hs arms with a scream his blood spurted over the bald head of the doctor his hatchet fed to the floor his knees giving I giv-ing way he fell heavily against the Tall Brother and they went down together gether The noose tightened In the hands of the Tall Brother el doctor was brought over with a jerk and assassins sassins and victims lay In n heap Ah Kim alone standing with bloody knife and shaking knees crying out in the extremity of terror For the brothers struggled before him and the noise of devils was behind him and he stood still far want of way to fly Then the devils burst into the room seized upon Ah Kim with an oath and in the maze of confused Impressions he thought he saw them strike the Small Brother and the Tall Brother with clubs till they lay still bring the doctor to his feet and wipe the bipod from his head and his ear told him that they all talked at once And at last hf saw that the devils were not of the air but of the white devils police and he learned that he and the Tall Brother and the Small Brother were under arrest ar-rest and that the Stout Brother had gone where the Joss and the devils deal with Ills kind And dimly came to his mind the words of one of the policemen police-men I was that unalsy about you that I got these men and came back for I found that tho house was vacant up to sundown We was afraid of mischief afoot and bedad weve found I Then the terrorstricken Ah Kim when he found that he was arrested as one of the Three Brothers fell upon the floor and howled and called out his name to the doctor And the doctor having now recovered his shaken wits knew Ah Kim See here officer he said youve made a mistake This fellow Is my cool and If It hadnt been fQr him Im afraid you would have been a minute lateAnd And the doctor explained as much as he know of theaffairin which he had played so great a part aad Ah KIn > tf i 1 t pieced out the tale of the Three Brothers j I Broth-ers with a sad disarray o the English language So A Kim was released on the doctors promise to bring him before be-fore the court and Wong Chee was brought to consciousness and the surviving sur-viving Brothers were taken to the I prison and loaded with many crime on the book of the police And the policemen police-men praised the courage of Ah Kim and marveled at i as the strangest I thing they had known Oh said Ah Kim nonchalantly as In explanation Wong Chee he my flen docto he heap good ma No wan em kill I think sid Wong Chee a he I nursed his broken head that It was I Just a well that you did not stop in the houso of the Joss to pray You are not so much of a fool a I look And Ah Kim took this for much praise for he had ever kncwn him as the shrewd Wong Chee i |