Argosy All-Story Weekly, October 7, 1922 — page 32: what you’re looking at

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

178 “ Him hit. “Who hit? “No know.” “The three of you were together, weren’t you? You and those two boys?” “Kes, sair.” “ Well?” “ Sair?” “One of you must have seen it happen. The three of you couldn’t just have been knocked down like that without some knowledge of the man who did it. Stop lying to me!” Hong Wing, with a superb upward cast- ing of the eyes, implored the Celestials to witness this gross injustice. He then as- sumed a charming expression, intending to impress his questioner that he was the very soul of truth, honor, and the seven illus- trious virtues. Harris made a mental note of it. “Him put lights out, sair, first place.” Hong Wing threw them this sop, candor beaming, radiating from his whole face. “He struck you in the dark?” Me no know.” Who’s ‘ him ’?” “¢ Kes, salir.” “But didn’t you defend yourself? Couldn’t you hold him? Couldn’t you do something?” ‘“‘ Him very proper quick, sair. Me know nothing.” Hendriks riveted him with his eye. “Hong Wing, answer me this. “ Who turned those lights on again? ‘They were on when we found you.” Hendriks leaned back in his chair. His whole attitude expressed a complacent “ An- swer me that now, if you can.” Hong Wing certainly could. He answered immediately, as if the answer were obvious and the ques- tion itself quite stupidly absurd. “ Me no know, sair.” ‘You expect me to believe this?” Hong Wing strove to intimate with his eyes that he did. “ Me no know, sair.”’ Hendriks rose in his wrath. “ Go below!” he yelled. ‘ Get out!” And for the first time during the inter- view Hong Wing sincerely smiled. “Mr. Harris, continue on deck watch below.”’ “Ves, sir—you see I, well, I told. you.” ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. After Harris and Hong Wing had left the cabin, Hendriks stormed to Rutledge. ‘“‘ The only thing that makes me think I may be wrong, the only defensible point to his whole story is the fact that all the doors below were fastened from the outside. I don’t trust him, any of them—don’t like them. I hate them for their smugness, for their everlasting air of reserve, as if they had the whole world tucked up their sleeve and could pull it out of a silk hat for you. They are masked, always masked, and yet, what can I do?” “ Put them in irons, sir!” Rutledge took a hack at this Gordian knot. He had a penchant for irons, and as for having the steward clapped into them, that was fast becoming an idée fixe. “Why? On what grounds? If I could get something definite, something that pointed to him personally, I wouldn’t hesi- tate a minute. But just because we think, just because we want to think that a China- man is at the bottom of it— Don’t you see how it isP How my hands are tied? We aren’t on a ‘ windbag’ in the eighties you know. A fine yarn he’d make of it to the first consul he ran into, clapped into _irons by his skipper for—for nothing.” Hopper entered. The three turned to him. He stood by the closed door, his back resting against it, looking down at them. . “Well,” he said, “things are hot, cap- tain, yes, sir, getting pretty hot.” ‘You mean aft?” “T do, and down below. You see, the men don’t know what’s up, any more than we do, so they’re imagining everything. They’ve worked themselves up into a state of doing anything, too. That blessed sec- ond mate of yours has been shooting off a lot of ‘safety of the vessel’ stuff at the deck force. They expect us to roll over and sink any minute. By the time the rumors stop flying around they’ll believe we are sunk.” T4 B ad! ”? “Tll say it is. You know what sheep the men are. Led by the strongest person- ality, whether right or wrong, into all sorts of devilments or heroics. Led, sometimes, just by the loudest voice.” comiclbooolx C©