| Show g I ree mc oi 1 u n ui mATto TRA IiO sy ry f MEA SERVICE SERVICE- fv v lc Il L Copy 1923 ma Ino rIno KEA NE- Service I f r nEIN TODAY 1 Captain John Hewett commissioner abner ot of of police at lInt Brit British ish North Borneo asks aska help from Hune Chal Influential Chinese In Inthe Inthe Inthe the recovery of ot jewels stolen from flom Lady while she ho Is 19 Po a guest at the commissioners commissioner's homp bom Peter Pennington known as ELS Chi nese neso Pennington because of hi hla I slant eyes ereo Is 10 hired by tho the govern govern- government I ment mOnt to run to earth The ollow ellow Seven a gang g-ane of Chinese bandit MonIca Viney beautiful wIdow I living wIth her lier brother brothel Captain Hewitt rOW JiOW 00 O ON ov rm TUn STORY STOny Monica gasped The Tho Tho noli of oriental cunning knows s no bottom continued Pen Pen- Pennington Pennington Pen and yet I flatter In m self Jve Ive learnt to probo probe Into It deeply I r ha e ben been working quietly but st steadily on this rath rather 1 unusual l jew jaw jewel jew jew-el el robbery I I found no difficulty In the original thief to earthon earth I t v son on the point of closing closing- with him I when 0 t a singular l complication oc- oc oc occurred As Ao I 1 lay on my tummy In the undergrowth he lie was wai wa knifed oc-I oc completely and anti be effectively effectively be before fore foro my eye eyes Hewitt HeItt Hew He lit Itt bent forward suddenly Good Lord I I r 1 collared the assassin low and wo we fought like wild cab cat lie Jle had the of a bison and It If he left his knife In the back backof backof of his hia victim I 1 shouldn't bo be home homeno hoi e eno no Anyhow ho broke away and got clear leaving me with nith this Ho held tho torn halt half of a yellow strip of paste-board paste before the astonished e ces cies es nor a 1 second Hewitt seemed do- do dc ed of tho the power of speech and It was l tas Monica s Voice roice that launched the question But Mr dr Pennington If It he ere nerea ere erea a why confederate confederate why did he kill his hIli friend T 7 Because suggested her broth brother or er once having got the pendant he decided to keep its it No No said sad P Pennington nn with eon eon- con conviction I I fancy youre you're wrong there thero he assassin didn't trouble to search March the dead man but I 1 went vent over him very thoroughly The booty had passed from his hands bonds long beto before re I 1 overtook hims him's him Monica drew drow In n a deep breath I r x still dont don't so see see- ace I 1 our ouI friend a was as as guilty of a serious Indiscretion iii H leaSIng loa Inc behind the thO token that had I been en- en entrusted en entrusted trusted to the him him the yellow seven I 1 dont don't see that cre v t ero ere much for rader declared HewItt moodily What do you suggest doing doln ln Turning for a spoil spell said PennIngton In the meantime watch esery e ery port search everone ever one l ho tries to everyone embark embark everyone you understand Cheerio He lie mado made his way nay toward the tho back of the tha house lens leaving ing Monica bubbling over oar with curiosity Hewitt H anticipated the question that 1 was tas as forming Itself on her lips That's That'll about tho most moet remark remarkable able teller feller In eastern Maters aters lie he told her Chinese Pennington they call him You saw his hia ees c His Hlo pedigrees pedigree's faulty but some somo eC ex extraordinary freak of ot fortune or fortune fortun r It If iou ou like decreed he should o go through lookIng life life looking like that I fancy locality has haa a big biff effect on appearance people have havo been merchants ts In Shanghai Tt TIN He lie only fired once for ItIs generations Anyhow there thele It Is To alt all Intents and purposes hc's hc as whito as yo you or 01 me but theres there's no getting away from the fact that he lie has the coes e es of ot an I oriental Ho He knows knos Chinese char char- character character acter Inside out He can talk like them Ho can get himself up to look like em He hold a sort of 10 Ing commission Hes He's streets ahead of the tho ordinary native detec- detec the detec-the tl the tle e The queer thing Is 10 that the natives know of Pennington but they've never neier ne el managed to nail him They regard hi his as something al- al almost al almost most superhuman They call him Jis Jle who ttO no sees in the tho dark JIow delightfully thrilling commented Monica He ne fe 1 must be bo I frightfully brave e Tho commissioner smiled grimly tackle the devil I Incarnate The presence of a young oung I beautiful ful ui and undeniably attractive wIdow Is bound to cause something more quarter than a mild sensation In any ny I ter Of ot the globe where there hap hap- happens hap happens pens Dens to be a preponderance of un- un un unattached attached males It was perfectly I natural therefore that Monica Viney at such times when whon her brother was M occupied with his f af affairs f fairs faire was rarely at a II a toss lois for fol a cAvalier to accompany her on her I herI habitual excursions In search ot of knowledge after aftel the sun was waa wa down herI I I At these times however Pen Penning Penning- nine nine- ton eat as never I He camel camol I I land and went and aDd yet she he had I 1 cither olther his ls arrival or 01 do- do doI de departure I I I It was 15 during one bt bf those eve eve- evening evening eve evening ning walks that she sho persuaded a son a local district officer to officer take her to a n gambling den They had been strolling leisure leisurely re- re rely ly through the tho nath nathe e quarter stop stop- stopping stopping stop stopping ping at innumerable stores and purchasing an Inordinate Quantity of pam pel useless articles They halted presently before a n Ion long from which at Intervals came bursts of guttural chattering Ii At At ono end a door dool stood open halt a patch of ot yellow light failing falling on Ithe the tho Sho She caught his arm and tried to drag him toward the entrance but lUt Da Dawson son and Immovable as granite waited until there was a lull In the tho stream ot of He lIe guided her through the tho doorway door and Into a narrow cubical screened from the entrance entrance- hall entrance hall ball by a heavy curtain An elder elder- elderly elderly elderly ly Chinaman hump-backed hump and left the tho stool on which ho he hd been seated nodded to Dawson and went tent nt out Her liar escort placed the tho stool In front of a II narrow slit silt cut In the woodwork Monica Monico peered cautiously through There was a II table running the whole length of the tho hall ball a round dozen of smaller ones oneo and the entire walls walla seemed to he be beCO CO ered colored with crudely colored plc- plc pictures pic pictures tures without frames The rite whole holo atmosphere throbbed with h activitY the tho mattling of ot dice and sp Inarticulate grunts that I she could not decide whether In- In intended In Intended tended for fol signs of ot pleasure or I dc-I do- do de despair I There Thoro were ore clerks In white duck nath native e overseers In greasy reasy suits coolies with Ith broad hats of ot plaited cane and wearing only loin cloths A Chinaman wearing rimmed horn spectacles sat at the tho far end It dt a II bl big table before bet oro what hat appeared to be the Inverted halves or of cocoanut shells Whenever these were ere lifted there arose a D I I I of the discordant babel she sho had ha h hard ard a as they approached All AllI long both sides of 0 e ery I elMS clas and distinction thronged tho thoI rocking forms forma E Every ery n now w and th-na th I a man rose seemingly emotionless tid mcl left the table tho the novelty or of o th's scene scone holding her Ier en- en enthralled en enthralled allowed ed her gaze to wan wan- wander wander der del round th the room Presently It Cull inon the tho form of ot an oriental In Ina Ina Ina a quit lull of gr greasy blue whoso whose face so seemed mod med peculiarly familiar Every Ever time the a pIa el from the tho top va vacated his seat this enthusiastic ambler manI gambler moved Into It In this man man- roan roan-n I nd r getting gradually nearer to the nan with tho the hoi n spectacle spectacles cle cles who manipulated the tho shell Presently he looked up at nt the swinging oil lamp and lamp and Monica a II little cry In rn spite ot of o the disguise there was some some- something something thing In the tho se set of ot the mobil mouth something In the poise ot of the tho shoulders that betrayed him Ste Sie found her lips forming the tho words words- Chinese Pennington A moment later lator and he lied reached the apparent zenith of his desire His elbow touched the sleeve of the man who presided but hs h's eye eyes were staring Ing straight before him at nt an nn enormous China China- Chinaman Chinaman man who ho sat opposite both hands resting on the table the fingers slightly closed For Fol ome reason that she could I not quito quite define a II mental picture I bl forming In her hel m mind nd II 0 a plc- plc pic-Iture pic I lure luro that the tho vividness of to is toia description had Impressed ed on onh r memory She saw saw a glade In Inthe inthe Inthe the night shrouded d Jungle wastes a huddled form with a 0 lonG lone knife protrudIng from between Cen hunched hunched- hunched up up houlde blades and blades and he ho who mee in the dark struggling for dear dar life life- I In n the malted under under- under Her vivid Imagination hij hJ al- al already al already ready established the Identity of o the nina who now faced the nil helo of hII br romance Behind her she sha hoard heard strike a match and putt purt strenuously at nt his pi pipe po And then through the nebulous smoke haze smoke the three principal figures smoke at the too tun end of or the long table tabia stood out in n bold old relief from the tho surging d of ot su supers pel's in a II moment of time the thing happened The man opposite Pen Pen- slid a yellow hand hond toward tol the Chinaman in the horn i cl cl q ag as If It trying to pass him hi the something over men which the power power- I ful tul powerful fingers were wro closed Like a 1 I h arm shot out out sending coins clinking to the dust dusty hoards scattering little heap heaps ot payer nyel money like autumn leaves In Ini r m sudden gust Swift a a as the e mont ment had been the Iho action of the listless oriental who ho presided was WUI wrapped package Tho mysterious package package- wrapped Ina In a broad green gro n leaf se- se secured se secured cured by Strand of tv twisted Isted ham barn bamboo boo boo Into some hidden pocket beneath the wide sleeved wide J A score of swarthy forms ton Penning to their feet and feet and Penning Penning- ton was lost loot to view In a wrIthing swaying swaying- circle above which flashed I a foret or t of naked blad blade Wed better get got out of this said Dawson at Monicas Monica's elbow A As Aa hi his hlo arm arrn slipped through lions aie 10 cast eat one ono last glance Into the tho soothing seething den The circle dissolved to tho the form of an n Irregular horel sloe soo soe She saw sa the central 0 fla bade the horn slipping clipping from his hlo face saw the long arm anna oriental of the powerfully built orien orIen- tal outstretched the Index finger eloquent of a hoarse hoano denunciation that t was liS lost In the tho tumult of and caught thc tio glint of ot the blue PenIngton barrel of an Pen thel swung completely round on J one uno heel his pistol sending send In his an antagonists stumbling over one an ot Otiler len lenIn In him a channel channe w to escape But he only fired once With astounding he ha shattered tho the glast giase chimney of 01 the swinging lamp tho building Into darkness T Thirty y lr second seconds a later Monica toun found herself leaning against a a under a II jot dome sprinkled lIh stars star Dawson gasping for tor breath tood at her hel side Bide Bhe She was 00 wonder In lug wonder whether had fought clear cleal whether ther It had actually been Ie ly ays ay's diamond p pendant contained In the queer package the transit of which the had en to Intercept Continued in Our Lw |
