Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine, Vol. 107 No. 3 — page 91: what you’re looking at

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

-_—.— — wre -_—— — ~ = HE SWALLOWS GOLD. | 433 long, narrow room which contained a great. many queer little bottles, many of them old Chinese flasks carved from agate or ame- thyst, and a long table; the room did not appear in the least like a laboratory. When he had laid the candles upon the table Li Mow Gee carefully cut the wrap- pings, but left each candle lying in its cradle of bamboo. Then he took a large glass bottle from the corner, and poured oil over each candle until the bamboo cradles Were filled. When he lighted a match and ignited the oil one realized that the table was of ironwood. Li Mow Gee stood placidly watching -while the three candles became reduced to scorched and smoking masses of black grease, then blew out the lingering flames, cleaned the débris from the table into a brass jar, and returned to his own apart- ment. When he had emptied six ‘cups of wine he clapped his hands four times, and promptly the venerable Mr. Chang ap- peared, removing his spectacles and blink- ing candlestick of our lodge,” said Li Mow Gee, ‘and I thank you for the loan, ven- erable master.” “ Are the spirits of the dead satisfied?” queried Mr. Chang. Li Mow Gee poured himself another cup of wine and positively grinned. “Tf they are not,” he said, this time in English, ‘they are damned hard to please!” | It will be observed that Li Mow Gee was out nothing whatever—except certain obscure labors— for While he had paid Huber Davis nineteen florins, Carefrew had paid nineteen florins to agents of Li Mow Gee. And this, according to Oriental notions, was the acme of honor and pro- priety. V. THE Royal Mail boat, the ‘ through packet ” on which Ruth Carefrew was coming, held due for Sabang late in the afternoon. Upon the morning of that day Huber Davis went to the wireless station and sent a message to Ruth, aboard the 6 ARGOSY “« { return to your keeping the honorable steamer, to prepare to leave ship at Sabang and cancel passage. Then Huber Davis returned to his own bungalow, and met Dr. Brossot as the latter was leaving. “Well,” inquired Huber Davis quickly, “‘what’s the trouble?” The physician shrugged his shoulders. ‘“‘ It has come, that’s all. Java has been swept, the west coast of Sumatra has seen them die by thousands, and now—it is here.”’ | “The influenza?” said Huber Davis. “It can be nothing else. High tempera- ture, and you say he had chills yesterday; much pain, everything according to the ritual. I am sorry, Mynheer Davis; his room had better be quarantined, of course.” “You think it is dangerous?”’ ‘No. The danger, of course, lies in the pneumonia afterward. We must wait and see,” hurried message from Huber Davis. An hour later the two men sat in the study of Davis. ‘“‘ But, Brossot,” said the latter, staring at the doctor, ‘‘ what the devil was it, then? You say there was no pneumenia—”’ The honest Dutchman shook his head. ““ Mynheer, upon my word of honor, I don’t know! I shall call it heart-failure; that’s what we all say, you know, to conceal our ignorance. The Chinese would say that he had swallowed gold, another polite way of saying the same thing.~ If you want an autopsy-~—” Huber Davis rose, paced up and down the room, his brow furrowed. ‘“ That’s not half bad, that Chinese say- ing,” he muttered. ‘‘ No, Brossot, nd aue topsy. His wife arrives this afternoon, you know; my sister Ruth. Swallowed gold, did he? I believe it’s the truth, at that!” But he never thought again about the red grease-paint om those candles, and he did not know anything about Li Mow Gee having a little laboratory—in the Chinese style—opening off his apartments. No- body knew about that laboratory, except Li Mow Gee; and Mr. Li never boasted of his methods. After this, events moved fast. At noon | ‘the docter arrived again, in response to a NOO (C(O) S Co mM