Adventure, August 1917 — page 115: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Old Wade Speaks a Parable paralleled the main line there came racing and screeching such a monster as even superstition-soaked Yalo never dreamed of. Slowing down on the switch now, in plain sight of Temple at his peep-hole, came the hell-demon itself, the big red dragon from Shan! Flat on his translucent belly he sprawled atop the car, lit up by electricity from his big red mouth to the curled-up tip of his long yellow tail—a truly hideous and fright- ful thing in the pitch black of a moonless north China night. ‘Even the bedridden cripples got up and galloped when they saw me comin’,” chuckled Flaherty, crawling down from the cab of the switch-engine with which he’d pushed the flat car up from Shan. “T know these Chinks—can handle ’em better than the governor—or the consuls,” he added, as he got a hammer and pounded by M.F. Brook 113 off the padlock to release the white men from their stuffy prison. “TI just grabs the big he-dragon, flat car and all, when I heard how you was sewed up here. Swiped the siren-whistle off our lit- tle fire-engine in the lumber-yard, and rigged her on as we come up the line. Sufferin’ sea-serpents, but didn’t they scoot!” Watts, tottering from the tool-house, had already climbed unsteadily up into the cab. “Come on now,” he urged, half hysteri- cally, “‘let’s get back to Shan—before those heathen show up again.” —_. ‘Why not on to Pao-ling!” grinned Fla- herty. ‘‘That’s my plan. Switch back and pick up your car—and finish the inspection run on time—save the forfeit!”’ ‘“YVou—think we could do it?’’ queried President Watts, a trifle encouraged, as he felt the big switch-engine panting. “Rasy,” asserted Flaherty. ‘‘We got the devil right with us.” ~~ S Author of “The Manhood of a Chinaman.” E had been “‘doin’ time,” as Old Wade expressed it. For three months we had been working in Last Chance and Red Rock cafions, tributaries to, or near neighbors to Jaw-Bone cajfion, out in the Randsburg District. I looked at Measles, he looked first at me, then at Old Wade, and then says: “Pard Hampton, if you-all kin keep that sleep-walkin’ burro in camp fer twenty min- utes, we'll jine the percession eastward.” : And we did. We first hiked over to Randsburg, “jest to git a touch of high life. . an’ fill up clean water-barrels,’’ Measles says, But Measles never was strong on water when he hit a town, so we knew we would have to attend to the water-wagon part of it and let Measles absorb what “high life” he could while we were restocking the out- fit for the desert. We were sitting out in front of the old Hauser eat house in Randsburg, picking our teeth and waiting for Measles to show up. He had gone ’round the corner to the post- office, some four hours earlier. We had cCoOmiclsoo CO S|