Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 146 No. 4 — page 99: what you’re looking at

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

re on the part of that white devil wasn’t in the game at all. For a shocking second _ he saw the writing on the wall. It read, in Chinese, “ Finis.” At that instant Mac- paonald pulled the trigger. There was no repert, no sound. Mac- Donald had forgotten to reload the rifle. Fang Wu mentally and fervently prom- ised an oblation of one thumping tou of "joss sticks to his favorite deity, and made a grab for Miss MacTavern. _ By the time MacDonald had the rifle reloaded, his target was little more than a head, grinning amicably at him, from be- hind a highly indignant and uselessly wrig- gling heiress. He flung the rifle down onto the deck. Fang Wu murmured soothingly to his squirming bundle: “ These delightful white men, sO crass, so savage in their lives, and yet so exquisitely idealistic in this one re- spect—their attitude toward women!” Not that he would have it otherwise for worlds, for any number of worlds. It was so convenient. However, it might be just as well to give them something to think about—a little antepast of the great deal that was to come. He fluttered his handkerchief twice to Captain Tsin, who was standing on the _ bridge deck of the Yung Swei, watching him. The disappearing guns of the Yung Swei rose slowly above her bulwarks, trashed a single round, and disappeared from view. Both from an artistic and a dramatic point of view it was quite a success—a g success. The effect was tremen- - dous. Fang Wu, from his box seat in the Stern of the lifeboat, delightedly took in ibaa immediate confusion that prevailed the China Queen. . One shell had struck just forward of her ‘Stack. A mass of splinters, fume, smoke— _ Jetted for a flash with flame—rose high into the air, trembled into a ball, and floated _ away on the breeze. The other three shells had passed harmlessly over her superstruc- ture and, after a ricochet, had plunged into ee. DIRTY WEATHER. sion, and with a brave brandishing of fire axes and slice bars. By the time the smoke and fumes from the discharge of the four guns had cleared away from the deck of the Yung Swei, Fang Wu and Miss MacTavern were aboard her and had gained the bridge deck. Captain Tsin hurried toward them. As they met, a highly excited sailor, blood streaming from a gun wound in his cheek, dashed up to them and, omitting all cere- monials, announced in Chinese that a white devil, with fire shooting from his nose, eyes and mouth, had barricaded himself in the wireless room, and was sending out mes- sages at the rate of one a minute—having first indubitably eaten alive the operator of the Yung Swei, who was nowhere to be found. Fang Wu was the first to be struck with the full importance of this lurid and highly colored announcement. He stripped it of its Oriental embellishments, and came to the disturbing conclusion that that young squirt from the China Queen had managed to put a crimp in his bonnet, was, technic- ally speaking, foiling him—not alone him, but a good slice of the population of China as well. “ Lower the aériel to the deck!” The sailor, having again witnessed the miracle of a calorific mouth, clattered off. Fang Wu, dropping the role of pyrotech- nist, turned to Tsin. “That is the most serious check we have encountered yet. Flight, immediate flight at full speed is our only hope. We can waste no time amusing ourselves with. the China Queen. Sink her, and order full speed ahead!” “The men in the boats? They are al- ready lowering them over the side.” “Sink her! The boats are of no conse- quence.” Tsin gave a rapid order to the gun crews below. Three furious rounds crashed. The China Queen, vaguely seen through the drifts and eddies of the smoke, shuddered; her stack crashed forward; she began to settle swiftly at her bow. Tsin rang the Yung Swei full etree ahead. Very aintinedy, , and Wy leas: nl ;! antly, through the =eaprinbooks: cbr