Argosy All-Story Weekly, June 13, 1925 — page 143: what you’re looking at

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

THE FOURTH CIRCLE, Norry writhed in his agony; sweat dripped from his face as he saw the China- man pass on. Fifty seconds later he ob- served the stooping figure of the old bank messenger emerge from a side street carry- ing a black bag. The bag was chained to his wrist. ‘ He’s got the cash!” Norry choked as the messenger hobbled into the bank. The young pearling master checked an impulse to hurry forward and collect the money from Gibbs. Ty Foo’s movements were too uncertain. At any moment he might appear outside the bank. Yet Den- ham forced himself to remain inactive. One false movement on his part might turn Gibbs’s attention to the police. Up and down the pier he snailed, staring blindly at the water, the schooners across the straits, at his watch until his brain grew sick and the tension of waiting threatened to smash his nerve. Gibbs was reading a week-old newspaper when he entered the bank. But Gibbs had witnessed the brief interview with Norry and Ty Foo. To him the talk had seemed full of smiles and pleasant understandings. Any feeling of suspicion that had lurked in his mind was dispelled. ‘Hello, Mr. Denham!” he called out cheerfully. ‘Sorry to keep you waiting. Please indorse the check. Ill pay you the cash.” Denham wrote his name on the back of the Chinaman’s check, whistled airily as he counted the pile of bills before him, sepa- rated them into hundreds and _ fifties, snapped an elastic band over them, and with a brief nod to the cashier left the bank. Once outside he walked briskly in the di- rection of the pier. His plans were made. He would post money bills now to each of his lugger hands at their bungalows on Barren Head, where they lived with their families while ashore. He would give them a surprise in the way of an extra five hun- dred dollars each. They had wives and families, and the struggle to feed women and babies during the off season was pretty fierce. Then he would go aboard his own vessel and tell Elean to make ready for a pleas- ant little trip to Port Darwin. With a cou- 615 ple of Manila boys they could make the crossing in a few days. The Sea Witch was the best little craft on the banks. He turned the corner of the busy Parade and collided with the fast moving Ty Foo. The big pearl buyer was in a violent hurry. He paused only to emit a passing word. ‘Sorry, my dear boy! Im all out in my appointments. The bank shuts at three, eh? I'll see you soon!” He was gone in the fetch of a breath. Norry stood rooted, then swung round in time to see the whalelike figure of the Chinaman disappear through the wide open doors of the bank. ‘And that’s that!” Norry declared under his breath as he fanned his burning cheek with his cap. It would take Gibbs about twenty seconds to lift the veil for the hard breathing Ty Foo. After that the deluge! The big Chinaman would walk straight to the police commissioner’s office, the re- ceipt for six thousand dollars in one hand and the check for sixty thousand in the other! Norry’s thoughts flashed back to the stories he had heard of the convict gangs at the island prison, and how they wel- comed new arrivals in their midst. The next moment a soft blast of wind whirled a cloud of dead leaves into his face. A sulphur hued bank of clouds was sweep- ing over the island, piled up masses of wind and steam from the hot, monsoon lands in the north. Before Denham had gained the pier steps a thunderous rush of air had struck the town, scattering lean-to sheds and houses across the deserted thoroughfares. A green wall of water rose from the levels of the heat-whitened skyline and broke in squad- rons of foam along the beaches. In that moment of screaming wind and shouting voices, he saw the bulging figure of Ty Foo scurrying toward a powerful steam tug lying in the shelter of the bay. It belonged to one of his compradores and was hurricane proof fore and aft. Into this the big Chinaman scrambled, followed by a dozen Malays and Tonquinese sailors. Lying flat on the rocking, gale- swept pier, Norry saw the tug move out into the mountainous slopes of brine. Her en- cComiclbooks Conn