i---—
-—-'
A Remarkable Story of Service
and Reward
__—
THE GREAT SYMBOL
m " \
/-;-; ” ^
By Melville Davisson Post.
Illustrated by Will Crawford.
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_ J
To Marlon Dillard there was mock
ery In the symbolism of ths night.
She was alone. On the table be
fore her was an open telegram—the
•rating fitted Into the last opening
of ths trap. She was a dark-haired,
slender girl with that aspect of
capacity and independence with
«#hich the groat ' war endowed our
'women—the high courage that no as
sault of evil fortune could bludgeon
into servility. She sat In her chair
before the table, to the eye, uncon
quered.
But It was to the eye only. In the
magnificence about her the wreckage
Impending was incredible; the great
house fitted with every luxury, the
library in which she sat, its rug the
treasure of a temple. Its walls
paneled! ,
To Marlon Dillard, In her chair be
fore the table, with the telegram open
before her, the whole setting was
grotesque. All over the city, white
with newly fallen snow, were the
symbols of this majestic celebration
of the birth of the Savior. They were
not absent In this room. Holly
wreaths hung In the windows and
the strange ivory image, representing
the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth,
which her father had always so great
ly prized, had been brought out, after
the, usual custom of this night, and
placed on the table. It sat on a
black silk cloth embroidered with a
white cross. As a work of art It was
not conspicuously excellent, but her
father prized it for the memory of a
great adventure.
Marion Dillard leaned back the
chair, reviewing the events that had
* I moved against her as though with
i some sinister design. Her*father was
dead. A cross of white marble stood
on a hilltop In Prance to his mem
ory. It had been erected by every
people in the great war, for her
father, moved by a high, adventurous
Idealism, too old for longer service
In the American army, had taken his
own fortune—and, alas, the fortune
which he held In trust for another—
and with it maintained a hospital
base on the western front for the
benefit of every injured man, friend
or enemy.
Marlon Dillard reflected: Of what
avail was it that her father had not
realized that this trust money was
going into his big conception? He had
drawn on his resources in America
until every item of his great fortune
was pledged, and by some error this
estate, in trust, had gone into the
common fund. Appalled, when she
* came to examine the accounts, Marion
had endeavored to cover the matter,
7 I hoping that the decision of the United
States circuit court of appeals in a
suit to recover a tract of coal lands
In the south would be decided In favor
of her father's estate, and thus fur
nish the money to replace this trust.
And so she had somehow managed
to go on.
This telegram on the table was the
end. "Reversed and dismissed" were
the sinister words of It. On this night
commemorating the birth of that
great founder of brotherhood, whose
- ■ t .'leallstlc conceptions her father had
always so magnificently followed, she
omst decide what site would do.
The thing was sharp and clear be
fore her. Khe must either wreck tho
majestic legend of her father, or de
grade herself! As she had carried
the thing along by various shifts
since her father's death, she could
easi'y make it appear that shg had,
herself, embezzled this trust fund.
That would leave the memory of her
father Clean, but it clearly meant that
she herself could not pscape the crim
inal courts. The heirs of her father's
friend were insistent and hostile.
They would have the pound of flesh,
now that the fortune was gone.
For a time she sat motionless, her
eyes vaguely on the carved ivory im
age on the table before her. Then,
7 she got up, and, with her hands
clasp -d behind her hack, stood look
ing down at the crucifix.
It was about 10 inehes high, rude
ly carved In the Chinese fashion out
of the segment of an elephant's tusk
four Indies in diameter. The cross
represented the trunk of a tree, the
roots thrust out for the base. The
figure, with arms extended, was nailed
to the broken limbs of this tree
trunk, forming the cross. The whole
top of the tree trunk made the head
of the figure, thrown back under a
crown of thorns. And there in the
quaint English letters cut around the
base was the legend: "Inasmuch as
you have turned your head to save
us, may He turn his head to save
[L you.”
Well, the thing was an Idle hope.
There was no help in the world: either
her own life or the memory of her
father was on the way to dreadful
wreckage!
Then desperation overcome tier. She
went out of the library through the
great hall to the door. A maid helped
her into her coat. She gave a di
rection that the servants should be
dismissed for the night, no one should
remain up, she would let herself In
with her latchkey when she returned.
She went out.
At the bronze gates as she passed
% Into the street a man sauntering
along the wall spoke to her. She
knew him at once, he was a detec
tive from the secret service. So they
were already beginning to keep her
under surveillance! The explanation
of this detective did not mislead her.
He was looking for a dangerous crimi
nal. he said, who had come into the
city and had made inquires about this
house.
Marlon Dillard replied with some pn
llte appreciation of the thoughtful
ness of the police for her security,
end went on. At the end of the
bronze fence, on she passed, she ob
served another flguro crouched
against the wall ss though It also
kept guard on her house; hut It moved
nw iy ns she approached, ns though to
con- eal itself around the turn of the
wall enclosing the spacious grounds.
She smiled grimly. The watch kept
on her would he efficient; hero was
another. Khe went along the street
- to the great bridge.
W Khe paused for a moment before the
Immense stone lions on their great
pedestals at ths bridge head. They
looked old, haggard, changing Into
monsters under a draping of snow!
Then shs set out to walk across the
bridge Into th# country beyond, past
4 the cathedral on the hill, lighted,
^ and from which the melody of vague
and distant music descended. Anti the
feeling In the girls as iho moved
e
i
dreadfully In the night, became a
sort of wonder. Was this a vast de
lusion, or was there In fact a will In
the universe, determined on righteous
ness. and mbvlng events to the aid
of those who devoted their lives to
Its service?
She went on, walking stiffly like a
dead body hypnotized Into a preten
sion of life.
There was no sound on the sea. It
was a vast, endless desert of water on
which the sun lay as though fixed.
Only the chugging of the rusted
freighter broke the Immobility of the
silence. The tramp looked like a bat
tered derelict, not battered by the
stormy elements of the sea; but hag
gared by the creeping detritus of In
activities in crowded tropical ports.
The steel hull was covered with rust:
the stack leproua, and the metal de
vices of the deck newly covered with
a cheap paint.
There was no brenth of air In the
world, either to disturb the Immense
placidity of the sea or to vary the
thin ltne of smoke vaguely blending
into the distant skyline.
Two men sat against a drum on
the rear of the ship. If one had been
searching the world for types of the
worst human derelicts, the search
would have ended at the drum on the
rear of this tramp. The types were
villainous, but they were distinct—
in marked contrast. The little man
was speaking.
"Cut along with It, Colonel,” he
said. “How much did the Chink give
you?”
He was a thin, nervous creature,
with a habit of fingering his fare, as
though to remove some Invisible
thing clinging to It. It was impossi
ble to place the tpan, either in na
tionality or environment of life.. He
might have been a Cockney, born
under the Row Bells; but it was more
probable that he was a New York
gunman. He had picked up habits
of speech In every- degraded port of
the east, as a traveling rat picks up
a scurvy.
The man he addressed was big, with
a putty-colored face, dead-black hair
plastered down over an Immense head
beginning to grow bald. He was
dressed In a worn frock coat—the
clothes of ft clergyman—shiny and
threadbare, but clean. His shoes, even
showed evidence of an attempted pol
ish. He wore a clean, white, stiff
bosomed shirt and a low collar with
a black string tie. A half-smoked
black stogy hung in the corner of
his mouth: and, as he sat slackly in
a heap against the drum, he had
placed a white cotton handkerchief
over his shirt front to protect his
linen from the ash. Nevertheless,
while his body remained immobile
his hands moved; he whittled a piece
of pine board, the long sharp blade
of his knife, polished to the edge of
a razor, hovered about the piece of
wood as in some grotesque manner
of caress. He gave the appearance
of one unutterably weary. An Im
mense sagging body in which all the
fibers were relaxed.
He was devitalized with opium.
His voice, when he spoke, pre
sented the same evidence' of utter
languor. His lips scarcely moved, and
the sound seemed to creep out. in
a slow drawl.
"The Chink gave tne two yellow
boys. He had six in his hand. 'You
bring Major Dillard of the American
division here tonight,’ he said, 'and
you get the other four.’ Of course, he
didn't speak English. He spoke the
Manchu dialect. I know the Manchu
dialect. That's where I had a flock;
but I came In when the Boxers start
ed. That's how I earne to he on hand
when the allied armies began their
march under old von AValdersee . . .
You understand, 1 had left the mis
sion."
Ho spoke with a nice discriminat
ing care in the selection of his words,
as though it were a thing In which
he had a particular and consuming
pride. The gunman laughted.
"You mean you had been kicked
out of it, and were livin' on the
country."
Thera was a faint protest In the
colonel's drawl.
"It’s true I wfftt not sent out by
any of the great sectarian missions.
I adopted the work, and I was not In
favor with the regular organizations
In China. They resisted my en
deavors."
"I’d say they did," his companion
interrupted. "You're the worst crook
In the world barrin’ one, not go far
away.” He laughed, "There’s a
circular posted up In every mission
In Asia givin' your mug, and tellln'
what a devil of an impostor you are.
Some vitriol In the descriptions of
you, colonel. "I've seen ’em."
The tnan was not disturbed. The
drawl continued: "Yes, Mr. Bow
Bell," he said: "quite true, quite true.
I was not In favor with the regular
organizations.”
The names which (he two derellrts
applied to one another they hnd
themselves selected, inspired by the
impression produced upon each other
at the time of their meeting on the
ship. The big man had railed the
gunman Mr. Bow Bell, and the gun
man had named his companion Col
onel Swank. They had made no fur
ther Inquiry. Men of this character
are not concerned about names.
"So you crawled out of your rat
hole, when the column started, lo
see what you could pinch. Good
pickin’, eh what?”
Colonel Hwnnk made a low, mur
mured exclamation. "History tells
us," he said, "how the rich cities of,
antiquity were looted by the soldiery
of Invading armies; but there can
harly have been a parallel to this
In any known case. The whole coun
try for a considerable distance on
either side of the line of march was
denuded of every article of value,
even the venernled images of Bud
dha In the holy temple of Ten Thou
sand Ages were broken to pieces with
dynamite, under the Impression that
they concealed articles of value. Of
course, the Chinese population con
eenled everything they could; but
they could not conceal the women,
and they were not always able to con
ceal their articles of value; such as
carved ivory, cloisonne, vases, silks,
furs and the like."
"The lid was off," said Bow Bell,
"about ns It would be In India If the
English wen! out. Cut along with
your atorv The Chink gn\n you
iwo gold twenties to bring in MaJ-j
The viceroy was too ill to rise; he asked for protection to the monastery' and a guard.
or Dillard with four more in his
hand if you put it over. You brought
him in, didn't you? Is there any
thing you wouldn't do for a $100!
Name it. Colonel, let me hear what
it sounds like.”
Swank was unresponsive to the
taunt. ‘‘Yes.” he said, "I was so
fortunate as to induce Major Dillard
to visit the monastery under my
guidance, though it required some
diplomatic effort, and some in
sistence; but the major had con
fidence in my cloth, and he was
making every effort to prevent a
looting of the country along the line
of march."
How Hell laughed in a high stac
cato.
"Confidence in your cloth!
It was Just a piece of your cursed
luck that the American officer
never heard of you. Ho thought
you were a real missionary. Well,
go on and tell me about it. You
say the old viceroy, with the Hoxers
on one side and the foreign devils
on the other was cooped up in a
monastery along tlie line of march,
with the women of all the impor
tant families in the province, and
everything of value that they hadn't
time to bury. Y'ou’d nose it out.
Johnny-on-the-spot. Tou couldn't
get it yourself—Some Chink would
have put a knife In yoa—and It
was no good to you for the foreign
devils to get It, so you took your
little old hundred and eighty, and
went in to the American head
quarters to see Major Dillard. Eh,
what!"
He went on condensing the unes
sentiais In the hope of getting
Colonel Swank forward with his
narrative. "The viceroy was sick,
and too old to travel. It was all
h« could do to sit up. His only
chance was to put himself under
the protection of the American Ex
peditionary Force. The English were
on ahead, and he knew what the
Russians and Germans would do to
him!"
Swank made a vague gesture. "It
was evening," he continued. "Night
was coming on by the time I hnd
persuaded Major Dillard to ■come
with me. f had a good deal of dif
ficulty to get him to come with me
alone, without a guard. Not that he
was afraid. This American officer
was not afraid. You could lell that
by his face. There was no way to
frighten him; but it was Irregular,
and ho hud practically to go In
cognito. The viceroy had stipulated
with me that I should bring the
American officer alone.. He did not
wlsti tlie common soldiers to know
what the monastery contained. I
had coma difficulty to convince
Major Dillard: Imt ns I have said
lie had faith In my cloth."
"My word," said the gunman,
"you were 1n luck! . . . Did
they send a yellow chair?”
Tha placidity of Swank was un
moved. "No.” he said. “As It hap
pened. the chairs were red It was
some of the chairs In which the
women had brought in. You know,
a bride in China is always sent to
the house of her husband In a red
chair. All the red chairs In the prov
ince had been commandeered to
tiling in tiie young daughters of the
high Chinese residents, to the pro
tection of the viceroy.
How Hell Interrupted with a sort
of vehemence.
"Curses, man, get on. How far
whs it to the monastery?" Hut the
deliberation of Hwank's narration
was not to lie hurried Ills hand
moved the long sharp hinds along
tlie piece of soft wood, removing a
shaving like a ribbon, lie went on
in ills slow drawl:
"The monastery was a few miles
west of the ndvan>'lng column The
American division had Just come up;
behind it was ri smart reglnnmt
from Berlin; and behind that,
farther down, were the Russians
You see, tin* whole expeditionary
force in Chinn had been put under
tlie command of Count von Wnliler
The tji'i'inan emperor had In
trlgm d for tills mipicme command,
had, in fact openly solicited it from
tlie chancelleries of Europe. The
I)
German emperor thought he would
make a great point In the world If
the supreme command of the allied
forces In China should be put under
a, German officer.”
Swank paused as from the weari
ness of effort. "Von Waldersee was
a big, purple-faced German, wear
ing a helmet with a black eagle
on the top of It, and a white chin
strap; and he always rode a black
charger. The theatrical conceptions
of the emperor must be carried out
In detail. And the officious von Wal
dersee was overlooking no occasion.
An orderly ted Just arrived from
the German high command as X
entered to Interview Major Dillard,
and ns It happened the American
general put the message that this
orderly carried Into his pocket as he
came out with me."
Bow Bell cursed under his breath.
"I know all about that," he said.
I'ndlsturber. unmoved and delib
erate, Colonel Swank continued
with his narrative. "We set out in
the red chairs. We traveled for
about three miles west to the mon
astery. We passed first under that
queer thing whleh Is to be found in
a door at the rear of the shrine, and
we were at once in an Immense, low
room. '
"One was not able to sec what dec
orations tho walls had contained, as
they were heaped on all sides to the
ceiling with hales of silks, furs and
embroideries: and about were chests
and boxes piled In some confusion as
though they had Just been brought
in. The whole chamber was a ware
house, and It was filled to the ceiling,
except for a narrow passage through
tho middle. This wo traversed, and
coming to the end of It, passer!
through a yellow door Into another
chamber. We entered here a room
of lesser dimensions; hut It was fitted
up after the usual Idea of Chinese
luxury—great mirrors around the
walls: rlrh rugs on the floor; a
variety of clocks, all going at a dif
ferent hour; and many screens and
tapestries.
"In the middle of the room. In a
chair padded with silk cushions, ait
the viceroy. He was an ancient man
evidently at the end of life. His face
was like wrinkled pnrehment. The
white, straggling heard remained; but
I
r \ I™ ^ • I*" f
The thief wax Intent on xinne uiulertaUins "itli the crucifix.
I China—a sort of gateway and tri
umphal arch: but without any sup
porting wall about It. This arch had
now a big tarpaulin stretched across
it on which was painted an Im
mense while cross. Through this
arch on a flag paved mud w»* ap
proached the main strucluraAf the
monastery. TWmo us, as we enter
ed the paved court, was a double -
roofed square tower, with a door on
either side.
"We got down, from the choirs
and went In. At the door stood the
old Chinese official who had given
me the two yellow bnvs He now
I handed me the remaining four, and
we entered the monastery. Within
there w an an Immense Image or
ltuddha. covered with gold leaf. A
circular stairway mounted around the
inner walls of the temple so that
one might go up to the very face
of the TluddhA, sitting In his eternal
calm.
About n* ns we entered the temple
wera crowds of Tluddhlst priests, the!
heads shaven, and wearing tong >el
i low robes confined to the waist bv
i t s r h. and f* It soled slippers. The
i Chinese official went oil, and we fol
lowed behind hint. He passed through
the whole dome of hi* skull was bald
and yellow with Age.
"nut the most striking thing In the
place wan the women* The whole
room was llterully crowded with them
-the daughters of the Important men
of the province, flitting about on the
priceless carpets, clothed in exquisite
silks, they looked like quaint dolls.
Their hair was knotted In the usual
Chinese fashion with gum. and thru**!
through with ornaments of Jade, and
gold pins; their mouths painted."
The victory was too til to rise;
hut he made a salute with his hand
when Major Dillard entered; and he
began at once to nddre-s the Amer
ican through the Chinese official
who accompanied us, and whose Eng
lish wag 'as good as my own. He
asked for protection to the mon
Marry, and a guard, and extending his
hand to the great storeroom through
which we had passed, he offered the
American anything that he wished
in payment for this protection. Major
Millard endeavored to explain that
the allied armies were not on n quest
of loot; hut were merely endeavor
lug to relieve the legations st Pekin,
and establish uidej hi thu country.
that they could receive no compensa
tion for this service: and that he
would endeavor to protect the mon
astry.
“But he was disturbed about a
guard. The American Kxpcdltion
ary force was not large, and he was
easily able to see the International
complications that might arise if he
left here an American guard to clash,
perhaps, with the German division
behind him.” J
Swank moved slightly in his poal
tion against the drum of the freight
er. “At this moment*” he snid. •‘while
Major Dillard was'engaged with the
difficult problem before him, an ex
traordinary event occurred. There
was a clamor of voices outside. A
Chinese guard hurtled through the
door and fell on the floor before the
viceroy. There was a sound of heavy
footsteps, the dang of sides.:ms, the
ec ho of guttural voices, and u dozen
German officers entered the room.
"They were young Prussian under
officers f: *i the portion of the Ger
man company behind the American
division. -Th ■ y stopped inside the
door, lost for a moment in wonder
at the very miracle of the thing they
were seeking. Then they noticed
Major Dillard, standing beside the
viceroy's chair. They brought their
heels together and made him a for
>na! military solute: but it was clear
they regagrded him as of no particu
lar Importance—as merely a soldier
from the American division to lie ac
corded the usual amenities.
“There followed a brief, verbal pas
sage at arms. M ijor Dillard explained
that the monastery was under the
protection of the American division;
that it must not he disturbed, an 1
requested the German officers to with
draw. They replied with a courtesy
in which there was a high contempt
that as the American division had
passed on. and the German company
arrived on the ground, the monastery
was under the protection of the Ger
man expeditionary force, and thsv
must Insist on their right of control
"They were all under the influence
of liquor: one or two of them were
plainly drunk. It was evident that
Major Dllfard could not control them,
and It was clear that their contention
of their right of control over the
Chinese territory adjacent to their dl
vision was In point of legal virtue
superior to that of the American divi
sion that had Missed on. and from
which Major Dillard had returned
here. They spoke with an exvggernt
ed courtesy to the American; hut they
were dearly Intending to seize the
monastery, to Ignore any claim of the
1 Americans over it, and they made
Ihnt Intention insolently evident. The
old Chinese viceroy understood it av
once. Despair enveloped him. IBs
chin dropi*-d on his bosom, and lie
put ovit his bands like one resigned to
the Inevitable, it was at this mo
ment the dramatic sequel arrived."
Clay Colonel Swank paused be
mad* a slight gestur* with the band
In which the long sharp Made of
his knife moved on the soft wood
"1 have' mentioned." he said "how
In character were the acts of \\ 11
helm 11 In this International affair,
and now one of these theaterical ge*
lures Intervened with a shattering de
nouenient Major Dillard offered no
further argument. He took out of
his pocket the niosnge which he had
received from von WaMenm* as we
were setting out and read It It was
an order of the high Command put
time '* ponton uf ft Ofiwin company
under the commend of that foi«Un
general whn«t* ill vision It followed
and thvi* thi* order put the Herman
advance fsunrd. of which th**e I*rue
I Miami were officer;!, under th* com
| mnnd of the American **n«ral. It
wag the emperor’* araeioua return
' for the *rant of the supreme com
jn.ind to Von Wrtldefeee. Major 1 Hi
I laid made no comment. He grave «
! curt order a* though he were ad
dredging »\ aerueant'a eouad
•'The Pnieelnn* were to remain and
itimrd th■» mennetrr* during the whole
of the r* lll«ii oi ip.itl--n T^dhtnu
ehotiM !'«• dlatutlveil tin v \\ imiM he
held responeitdtt for exeiv life and
t
every article, and for the rigid preser
vation of order. It was a hard, clear,
qomprehensive direction: And they
were to report to him in Pekin.
"The amazement of the young
Prussian officers was beyond any
word to express. They recognized
the black eagle and the signature of
(he German high command. Von
Waldersee's was an ukase of All
Highest. They formed In r line be
fore the American, clicked their heels
and saluted. And he set them about
I ihe outside of the monastery as a
-Uaid; and went away In his chair."
Mr. Bow Bell threw himself forward
; ‘ Ith a great cackle of laughter.
"Ho, ho!” he cried. "And they
j -ouldn't touch a girlie or a cash piece.
; tnd what did you do, you fat old
, 100k?"
1 Colonel Swank resumed his naira
ive as though there had lieen no In- |
terruption. "I remained." he said,
though not entirely.at my own Initia
tive. The old viceroy had drawn the
-onciusion from some remarks of
Major Dillard that the white cross
which the monks had put up before
the gate of the monastery was a
protecting symbol of the great
I Christian religion, and that in some
manner its effect on Major Dillard
had produced the result which fol
lowed. The viceroy began to inquire
of me why the cross was a sacred
symbol in our religion?
I explained it to him: that Jesus
of Nazareth, the Messiah of the Chris
tians, had been crucified on a tree,
anil that tills cross was symbolical
of that crucifixion—of that vicarious
atonement for the sins of the world.
He did not understand; but he under
stood its physical essentials: that the
God of the Christians had been cruci
fied on a tree, and that this concrete
representation was, therefore, sacred,
as the images of Buddha in his eter
nal calm, with the lotus flower in his
hand; that the cross meant to all
western religions what the image of
Buddha meant to Asia. He understood
crucifixion. It was a torture of death
known to the Chinese; b^t reserved
only for the lowest criminals. - He in
terrogated me minutely upon the de
tails of the crucifixion, and I gave
him an accurate picture of it! But
in the translation I made use always
of the Chinese word for tree. A lack
of precision In language which had
presently a definite result.
"For a week J remained In- the
monastery as a guest of the viceroy.
I was treated like a prince; and then
I was given a present for Major
Dillard, and sent on to the American
division. 1 traveled in a chair like
an envoy, parallel, but at some dis
tance from the line of march, and
i overtook him .before he reached
Pekin."
"And what was the present?" said
Bow Bell. "Twelve she asses laden
1 with gold'.'"
“No," replied the colonel in his
weary drawl, “it was not. It was a
carving in Ivory representing the
crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth as
I had described it. wrapped in a piece
of black silk, embroidered with a
w hits cross, not worth a pound and
six pern e. The carving, a mediocre
work of art. might have iieen worth
a hundred dollars in America.
"You will recall that I used the
word tree in my desi ription to the
viceroy, and this carving represented
an ivory tree made of the whoie seg
men; of an elephant tusk. It was
about four inches in diameter, and 10
inclie« high. The base represented
the roots of the tree spread out. so
that the thing would stand in balance.
Broken limbs represented the cross
piece* to w hi. li the hands of the fig
ure were nailed. The feet were
spil:cd together on the trunk; the
head thrown tack, and encircled with
a crown of thorns, made the entire
top of the arving. that Is. the top
of the tree."
“Well, for heaven's »ake." said Bow
Bell. "A piece of carved elephant's
tusk for a Job like that! . . Bid you
steal It?” ,
t’donel Swank went on. “And It
was carved In tiny Knglish letters
around the t«ase with a legend, not
badly worded for a pagan imitation
of the Scriptures: ‘Inasmuch as you
turned your head to save us. may He
turn His head to save you.' . . .
No. I didn't steal it. How could 1
steal it” There was a Chines* runner
on each side of the chair. I was
never out of sight of them, and they
each had a knife. I delivered It to
the major."
"Well, he didn't get much for his i
trouble," said Bow Bell. “It s no good I
to l«e good"’ His voice descended Into j
a confidential note; he leaned a little I
toward his companion "Now. you
said y ou had a notion about this thing !
at tile beginning of your talk. What
was that notion, colonel? You said
you were going to America. You anal
you were going to find that crucifix.
You said you had a notion about It.
What is your notion?" For a mo
ment Colonel Swank did not reply.
His hands moved; the long, sharp
blade of the knife peeling off ribbons
of pine from the piece of soft wood
There was no one in sight on the
rear of the des k of the freighter; but
at the moment Swank began to speak
one of the Chinese crew appeared.
The colonel lowered his voice, and
what he said jvassed In a whisper to
Ids companion Bow Bell looked
quickly about the deck. The indi
vidual of the Chinese crew had pass
rd behtnd the leprous stack of the
freighter. Mr. Bow Bell spoke softly
and leaned over toward his coni pa n
ion. "You're going to pet a lot
of ash on your shirt, colonel." he
said: and. taking hold of the hand In
which Ills Companion held the knife,
he brought it up with a firm grasp
and drove the long blade .into the
man s chest just under the heart.
For a moment the huge body- of the
man did not move. Then, hi* eye*
widened and hi* mouth extended In
a sort of wonder. “Why. you dirty
little beast!” he drawled. "You dirty
little beast!’’ Then his head fell for
ward, the great, slack body quivered,
shuddered and was motionless.
A little later Mr. Bow Bell Uft*d
the apparently opium-drunken body
of Colonel Swank to bis feet and help
ed him to the rail of the ship. There
the two stood for a moment close to
gether as In confidential talk, until,
as the gunman turner away, the
opium drunken colonel, by aome loss
of lwilance, fell forward over the rail
Into the sea. With a cry Mr. Bow
Bell ran forward to report the acci
dent.
it was midnight when Marion Dll*
lard returned to the silent house. The
door to the library was open. Bh#
turned from the hall Into the room;
hut on the threshold she stopped. The
figure of a man leaned o’ver the li
brary table, a cap pulled over his
eye*. a dark handkerchief tied around
tile lower part of his face. He held
the massive, carved-ivory crucifix in
his ham's, and he was Intent on gome
undertaking with it.
The girl took a step forward, and,
at the sound, the figure turned, and *
weapon flashed in it* hand. Imme
diately the sllenre in the room was
shattered by the explosion of a shot.
Marion Dillard Imagined that the
burglar had fired at her; but, if
so, why did the creature come to
sway, to put out a convulsive hand,
to drop hi.* weapon clattering on the
rug, and to crumple In a heap? The
voice of the detective whom she had
found on guard nt the gate as she
went out gave the explanation. The
man came forward from behind the
curtain of a window,
"Bad gunman," he said, “wanted
ell over the world. I had to kill
him." And he indicated the crura led
body of Mr. Bow Beil.
"But what was he doing to that
ivory crucifix. It looked like he was
trying to twist It."
Marion Dillard went forward and
took up the heavy piece of carved
Ivory. The head, crowned with
thorns, had been twisted around un
til It faced backward. It was loose,
and she lifted the head out of the
carving. The whole interior of the
ivory tree was hollow, and packed
with rice powder. Hard pellets were
embedded in the rice powder, and
when she released them, great ori
ental pearls appeared—huge, magni
ficient. a double handful of them,
matchless, priceless, worth the ran
som of a province.
And at the moment, the clocks
sounded above the city, commemorat
ing the hour of the Jiirth of the Sav
ior of the world.
(Copyright. 1*24 >
A Scotch Trader.
This story w.as told by Lord Lever
hulme at a recent dinner: A Scotch
man fell overboard. A brother Scot
tried to save him and shouted:
"Here. Sandy, pie me yer haunt”
“Sa. na." said Sandy, “it has been
apainst ma preenciplea a‘ ma life tc
pie onythlng, no to save ma life will
I break ma preenciples.”
'Here. Sandy, ta' mine,” said an
other Scot coming to his assistance
“Noo ye are talkin'.:' replied Sandy
"Hand it out:”—Boston Transcript.
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