IVORY 
 
 CSOHOTCHKISS
 
 301U
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 0* CALIF. UBHUK, MB ****
 
 "I I thought you dead"
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 BY 
 
 CHAUNCEY C. HOTCHKISS 
 
 AUTHOR.OF 
 
 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING, 
 MAUDE BAXTER, ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS BY 
 
 R. L. RIVERA 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP 
 
 PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY 
 W. J. WATT & COMPANY
 
 Stack 
 Annex 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. ON THE NATIONAL LINE ..... i 
 
 II. AT CALLAHAN S , ...... 15 
 
 III. THE FIGHT ........ 28 
 
 IV. THE IVORY BALL ...... 42 
 
 V. THE RESPITE ....... 54 
 
 VI. THE FLIGHT ........ 60 
 
 VII. IN THE DESERT ....... 74 
 
 VIII. A CLIMAX ........ 86 
 
 IX. THE RESCUE ..... . . 103 
 
 X. IN SAN FRANCISCO ...... 107 
 
 XI. THE RECEPTION ....... 115 
 
 XII. THE TURN OF EVENTS ..... 125 
 
 XIII. THE AWAKENING ...... 139 
 
 XIV. A GILDED CAGE ....... 166 
 
 XV. THE ABYSS ........ 181 
 
 XVI. HUMILIATION ........ 194 
 
 XVII. SEVEN DAYS ....... 201 
 
 XVIII. MY LADY S CHAMBER ..... 210 
 
 XLX. AN ULTIMATUM ....... 220 
 
 XX. FROM THE FRYING-PAN ..... 227 
 
 XXI. AN INSPIRATION ....... 242 
 
 XXII. A MATTER OF FAITH ..... 251 
 
 XXIII. SUCCESS ...... ... 259 
 
 XXIV. BESIEGED ........ 270 
 
 XXV. A CORNERED RAT ..... * . 289 
 
 XXVI. SAVING His FACE ...... 299 
 
 2130147
 
 THE IVORY BALL
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 ON THE NATIONAL LINE 
 
 THE train stopped with a sudden lurch and a 
 shrieking of brakes that startled John 
 Laurens from his revery and brought him 
 to his feet on the observation platform of the rear 
 car. Bending over the ornate railing he looked for 
 ward, and at the same time the silent man who had 
 been his unknown companion since taking the train 
 at Chihuahua jumped from his chair, glanced ahead 
 and then went into the sleeper. 
 
 The train had halted in a semi-desert To the 
 west the mountains, barren save for a few dark 
 patches of post-oak, lifted high and rugged against 
 the glow of the clear evening sky; to the east the 
 land fell away into a hopeless, melancholy waste, 
 its forlorn appearance in no way relieved by the
 
 2 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 silvery half moon which was turning golden in the 
 rapidly waning light. The prospect was wan 
 lurid. 
 
 As Laurens looked forward he could see nothing 
 more threatening than a tall Mexican in the ever 
 lasting peaked sombrero he had learned to detest 
 as both unbecoming and ungraceful. The man car 
 ried a red flag and was standing on the ground by 
 the engine, gesticulating violently in Spanish fashion 
 as he talked to the engineer leaning from the cab 
 window. As Laurens looked he saw the conductor 
 run up the track and join the two and a moment 
 later he was followed by the silent man who had just 
 left the observation platform. 
 
 The air was startlingly quiet after the loud clat 
 tering of wheels more than merely quiet there 
 seemed to be an ominous quality to the intense still 
 ness, and as Laurens flung away his finished cigar 
 and looked over the country, abject in its desolation, 
 he was seized with a sudden and unaccountable de 
 pression which for a moment gave him a sense of 
 panic the panic of a lost child. It was like a dumb 
 warning a premonition of disaster which he, as a 
 mortal, was too gross to understand. 
 
 But John Laurens was no hand to long submit 
 to vapors. In quick contempt of what he considered
 
 ON THE NATIONAL LINE 3 
 
 weakness he shook his broad shoulders, and, climb 
 ing the platform railing, dropped to the track and 
 walked forward, wondering why the train had 
 stopped. Before he was half way to the engine he 
 met his late silent companion coming back. Neither 
 man had spoken to the other throughout the jour 
 ney; neither had made overtures to**become ac 
 quainted; Laurens, because he could not speak 
 Spanish, and the stranger because, as it proved later, 
 he had enough to think about without being 
 troubled by the flippancy of the average traveler. 
 
 But for all his aloofness Laurens had taken a lik 
 ing for the man; for the expression of his fine face, 
 for its clear tan, and for his well-knit figure. He 
 had hardly thought him a Mexican, and yet he bore 
 many of the ear-marks of the country. To Laurens 
 surprise he did not pass him, but halted directly in 
 his front, and then the young man knew he was no 
 native of the land of cactus. 
 
 "Say, stranger, I was just a-comin for you. I 
 takes it you belongs north o the line." The words 
 were in the soft drawl of the American cow-boy. 
 
 "Yes, I m from the North. Why?" was the 
 return. 
 
 "I savvied as much," said the other, sinking his 
 voice almost to a whisper.
 
 4 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "We re both gringos to these folks. And the 
 devil s on the rampage." 
 
 "What s up?" asked Laurens in undisguised as 
 tonishment. 
 
 "Jes step out o earshot o that sleeper car, pard- 
 ner. Damned if I don t think Mexico is sprinkled 
 over with ears." 
 
 To Laurens curprise the man burst into a sudden 
 loud laugh, as if something very humorous had 
 struck him, and, taking the young man by the arm, 
 drew him away from the track, still laughing as he 
 walked. 
 
 Under ordinary circumstances Laurens would 
 have resented both the uncalled-for laugh and the 
 air of extreme familiarity with which he was being 
 treated; but the occasion was out of the common 
 and he resented neither; instead, he permitted him 
 self to appear to be an old friend. For some reason 
 he felt that the hitherto silent man was acting a 
 part, and he would soon know why. 
 
 When the two had gone to some distance from 
 the standing train the stranger s face suddenly 
 sobered. "Pardon me, son," he began. "I wa n t 
 laughin at you. An you needn t be afeered we ll be 
 left by the caravan; that tram won t move on in a 
 hurry!"
 
 ON THE NATIONAL LINE 5 
 
 "What s the trouble?" asked Laurens. "I see 
 nothing to prevent our going ahead." 
 
 "Of course, son, you don t. I do. What might 
 be your name, sir?" The question was more of a 
 demand than a request. 
 
 "I am John Laurens, of New York." 
 
 "I took you to be of the sea, sir." 
 
 "You were right," was the return. "I was once 
 an officer in the United States Navy." 
 
 "So ! I m Tom Melton. I got a big sheep- 
 ranch down here in the grass region, an Splithoof 
 Ranch is some known in these parts. I cal lated 
 on gettin off at Las Minas, but now I reckon it ll 
 be a matter o gettin off alive from anywheres." 
 
 Laurens looked at him in wonder, and though his 
 wonder was not yet tinged with alarm he knew that 
 there was something serious in the wind. Melton 
 no longer laughed, and though his words had the 
 light air which seemed a part of his natural manner 
 of speech, it was plain that he was intensely in 
 earnest. "What do you mean? Come to the point," 
 said the young man. 
 
 "I means this," was the slow return. "I don t 
 savvy how you stands grief, sir, but there s merry 
 hell to pay right now. The insurrectos have just 
 blown up a culvert two mile north o here. It was
 
 6 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 savvied by that greaser track-walker talkin to the 
 engineer and conductor. He saw it done and he 
 legged it back here to stop us." 
 
 "You don t mean " 
 
 "I means, pardner," interrupted Melton, "that 
 the greaser says the gang is waitin for us to come 
 up. When they saw the flag bearer an knew he 
 was wise to them they tried to pot him. He made 
 out as how he was hit, an rolls down the embank 
 ment; then bein out o sight, he ups an runs again. 
 Pretty shrewd greaser, that! He deserves a hat full 
 of pesos." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "Well, son, now it s just a question of how long 
 them bandits will wait for this here train afore they 
 comes- after it." 
 
 Had the quietly speaking man suddenly struck 
 Laurens in the face he would not have staggered him 
 more thoroughly. There was no need for the ex- 
 officer to be told the seriousness of the situation, for 
 to him came the vivid recollection of the fact that but 
 the week before a party of Americans, miners and 
 oil prospectors, had been taken from a held-up train 
 on a branch road and shot off-hand for the simple 
 reason that they were "damned gringos." He was 
 also aware of the civil and military disorder of the
 
 ON THE NATIONAL LINE 7 
 
 country, but he had never dreamed of danger on the 
 National Main Line. 
 
 The ranchman looked hard at his companion as 
 if to mark how the news affected him, but Laurens 
 had been trained in the school which teaches its 
 officers to conceal anxiety. "Is it proposed to de 
 fend the train?" he asked, assuming a calmness he 
 did not feel. 
 
 "I don t know nor care," was the reply; "but 
 I m everlastin certain that I m not goin to do per- 
 lice duty for the railroad management! Say, Cap, 
 you an me is the only Americans on board this 
 train! Them devils are after loot, mainly, but if 
 they find any gringoes they ll sure rob them an then 
 be likely to make jerked meat out o them especial 
 out o me." 
 
 "Why of you?" asked Laurens, his brain in some 
 thing of a whirl. 
 
 "Because one of them land-pirates insurrectos, 
 they calls themselves came to Splithoof Ranch 
 some months ago an lets on that he s a nephew o 
 that curse o Mexico, Francisco Villa. That 
 greaser considered himself some youth, havin Villa 
 blood in him, an demands forty thousand pesos or 
 twenty thousand American dollars to insure me pro 
 tection from his kind. That happened just afore
 
 8 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 trouble broke out in this section. I was some mad 
 and acted independent, you might say. I listened 
 to him an then calmly refused. He began threat- 
 enin me, but I stopped him by nachully knockin him 
 down an kickin him off_the place. I was a fool 
 for doin it. Since thn I learned that I was a 
 marked man an I ve been warned to get out a dozen 
 times. Final I sent my wife and kid to El Paso an 
 went down to Chihuahua to try to get shet o my 
 ranch. I ve taken the warnin an mean to get into 
 God s country north o the line, if I can. Everything 
 I have is in Splithoof, an I nachully won t desert it 
 until I have to. See?" 
 
 "I see. And now what s to be done?" asked 
 Laurens, recognizing that his undeveloped sixth 
 sense had been at work in his late sudden depression. 
 "You and I look to be in a tight spot, if the insur- 
 rectos come down on us!" 
 
 "We re sure in a tight spot if we stay here. Cap," 
 was the cheerful return. "But we aint sheared yet! 
 The next collection of adobe palaces is called 
 Montezuma, an right southeast of it is Callahan s 
 ranch. I know Callahan. He aint sloppin over 
 with the milk of human kindness, but he ll sell some 
 hosses. My deal is to pull my freight right now 
 light out an hoof it to his place, then climb a hoss
 
 ON THE NATIONAL LINE 9 
 
 an ride on to my own. Savvy? I advises you to 
 cut an go with me." 
 
 Stranger though the sheep-rancher was, Laurens 
 had not the slightest doubt of his truth and good 
 faith. "How far is it to Callahan s?" he asked, 
 steadying himself in the face of the situation. 
 
 "He s in the grass section what begins about five 
 miles from here," was the reply. "His ranch is 
 several yelps an sights from this spot say ten or 
 a dozen miles north-east. Think quick, Cap. I 
 wants to sneak right sharp." 
 
 Laurens brain did some rapid work. He had no 
 desire to figure in Northern papers as a victim of 
 the Mexican outrage that appeared imminent. Not 
 that anyone would mourn for him, for he was prac 
 tically alone in the world, but he was young, being 
 barely thirty, and life in its fullness had but recently 
 opened. As an orphan he had gone through An 
 napolis, working with dogged perseverance, and it 
 was not until he had received his commission as a 
 lieutenant and made several voyages that his last 
 remaining relative, a wealthy uncle, had died and 
 left him an independent fortune. Until then he had 
 not known what it was to spend a dollar, save for 
 necessities. He at once resigned from the navy 
 and gave rein to his passion the only passion he
 
 10 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 had thus far known a love for traveling, and he 
 had lately returned from China, going from San 
 Francisco to Chihuahua to look after some doubt 
 ful mining interests in Mexico. 
 
 There he soon learned that as an American he 
 could accomplish nothing at that time, and having 
 been warned by his broker that he had better get 
 out of that country, he was on his way. 
 
 Was it all to end by a shot from a bandit s rifle? 
 He could and would fight, if necessary, but if he 
 refused the ranchman s invitation he would probably 
 be obliged to fight alone. It did not take him long 
 to reach a decision. "It is something more of an 
 adventure than I anticipated, but I will go with you," 
 he said. "It seems to be the only thing to do." 
 
 "Good!" returned the rancher, his face lighting. 
 "Are you armed?" 
 
 "I have a revolver of navy pattern in my suit 
 case. I presume I ll have to abandon my baggage." 
 
 "That s some better than abandonin your life, 
 Cap ! But a suit-case ain t no place for a gun, in 
 these parts. This is the proper action." The ranch 
 man cautiously opened his coat and exposed a big 
 revolver strapped under his armpit. "You go get 
 your iron an be foxy about it," he continued. "You 
 savvied me laughin some like an idjut, a spell back,
 
 ON THE NATIONAL LINE 11 
 
 didn t you? Well, that was for the benefit o that 
 long haired old fossil with a crutch what s in our 
 car. See him sittin at the window? You can bet 
 nothin gets by his optics without being seen. He s 
 Signor Ramon Valance. I savvy him down to the 
 ground, but him an me don t hitch for a cuss. I 
 wouldn t have him know what we was up to, son. 
 You just chassay into the car and open your box 
 easy like, an if the old thief asks you questions you 
 lie to him in United States talk. He don t under 
 stand it. Then you saunters out to the observation 
 and drops off an I ll be with you. Savvy?" 
 
 He laughed as if he were telling the best joke 
 in the world, but Laurens now knew it was done to 
 deceive the swarthy Mexican who was looking to 
 ward them, his white hair streaming over his 
 shoulders. His crutches, eloquent of lameness and 
 helplessnesss which, during the journey, had earned 
 their meed of pity from Laurens, a man strong and 
 virile, were leaning noticeably against the car win 
 dow frame. The American felt a queer impulse to 
 laugh away the warnings of the ranchman of trouble 
 from that quarter, even while he subconsciously 
 bowed to Melton s superior knowledge of the situa 
 tion. 
 
 What trouble could come from a helpless cripple
 
 12 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 supposing he did have ears? Still, with the warn 
 ing ringing in his brain, the former naval man felt 
 a bit hurried as he walked back to the sleeper, but 
 he managed to do it casually, as Melton quite as 
 casually sauntered off in the other direction. 
 
 The old Spaniard was talking to the brakeman as 
 Laurens went to his compartment, but neither ap 
 peared to notice him as he opened his suit-case and 
 slipped into his pocket his revolver and a box of 
 cartridges. Then he lounged out to the platform. 
 For all he could see, not a soul had been interested 
 in his movements. 
 
 With a perfect consciousness that he was accept 
 ing Melton entirely on faith and plunging into the 
 unknown, he quietly slipped over the railing and was 
 almost at once joined by the ranchman, who had 
 walked around the train. There was no delay in 
 the start, but before they had gone down the track 
 three hundred feet they were followed by the brake 
 man who had been talking to the crippled Spaniard. 
 "Where do the signers go?" he asked. 
 
 "None of your damned business," replied Melton, 
 wheeling on him. 
 
 "No! But I fear the signers mean to leave the 
 protection of the train," was the unruffled reply. "It 
 is the orders that all remain aboard. You must go
 
 ON THE NATIONAL LINE 13 
 
 back, signers; the management will not permit a 
 risk." 
 
 "Go to the devil," returned Melton. "We ally 
 .where we wants and when we wants." 
 
 "And where is that, signors?" asked the man, his 
 snaky smile being anything but conciliating. 
 
 "Tell Signor Valance to come and find out," was 
 the hot return of Melton as he whipped his revolver 
 from under his armpit. "Vamoose, you sneak. If 
 you follow us another foot I ll blow a hole in you ! 
 Vamoose, I tell you!" 
 
 The man bowed. "The signer will probably re 
 gret his words," he responded, still smiling. "He 
 had better have confided in me than to have spoken 
 threats. Adios, signors." 
 
 He turned and ran back, climbed the rail of the 
 observation platform and disappeared into the car. 
 
 "That s Valance s doings!" said Melton, catching 
 Laurens by the arm and dragging him from the 
 track. "Get to the sand-hills, man; a shot might 
 come from anywhere ! We ve been tagged as grin 
 gos, and Ramon Valance wants to save us for the 
 gang he has looked for!" 
 
 In a few minutes the two were out of sight from 
 the standing train. It was fearful going in the loose 
 soil. Melton, accustomed to riding, made hard
 
 14 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 work of it, and Laurens, though no weakling, felt 
 the unusual strain in less than a mile. The gulf- 
 wind, which always rises about five o clock and blows 
 until nearly nine, had gone down earlier than usual, 
 and the sailing gulf-clouds, forever a feature in the 
 afternoons, had been dissipated. The moon hung 
 in a sky absolutely clear and velvety, and the chill 
 J of the highlands a chill that comes at night, even 
 in the tropics, made exertion necessary to comfort.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 AT CALLAHAN S 
 
 IN no country on earth are there sharper con 
 trasts in topography, character and climate 
 than in Mexico. The temperate condition of 
 the plateaus is met by the torrid heat of the low 
 lands but a few miles distant; the fertile plain is sud 
 denly terminated by an arid waste in which life is 
 armed at all points; the deadly air of the coast is 
 offset by the interior which has the finest climate 
 in the world; and from the sea to the mountain 
 peaks the flora runs from the richest products of the 
 tropics to the starved vegetation of the arctic zone. 
 
 And the deserts are wonderful. There the dis 
 tances are glorious with color and the false promises 
 of the mirage, for the sun plays strange freaks in 
 the arid region. In them the conditions of contrast 
 still holds. Those vast tracts, in which rain rarely 
 falls and where the intensely dry atmosphere ex 
 tracts every particle of moisture from the earth, may 
 
 15
 
 18 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 be suddenly deluged, and the heated land show a 
 coating of ice when that dreaded storm, the 
 "norther," swoops down on it. In a day, in perhaps 
 an hour, the terrible sun reappears to find the sand 
 hag lapped every drop of water, and the hell re 
 sumes its old fiery aspect. Mexico is a wonderful 
 country, and were it properly governed and intelli 
 gently cultivated it alone might feed the world. 
 
 It was a semi-arid region over which Laurens and 
 Melton trudged. The former never forgot that ter 
 rible walk ankle deep in the loose, yielding sand. 
 Mile after mile they plodded until exhaustion turned 
 them dumb, and it was after nine o clock before 
 they found themselves in the "grass country," which, 
 through a freak of nature, had been thrown between 
 two deserts. There had been no sign of pursuit and 
 the going became easier there. Presently they struck 
 the faint trail running north and south and it was 
 close to eleven o clock when they neared the ranch- 
 house which was their destination and the first habi 
 tation they had seen. 
 
 Laurens felt ready to drop. There seemed noth 
 ing that could interest him save some place on which 
 he could stretch his weary frame and renew himself 
 for what a new day might bring forth. Long since 
 he had become oblivious to the smaller things of his
 
 AT CALLAHAN S 17 
 
 surroundings. Things that had not escaped him in 
 spite of danger were now unnoticed. Even the 
 melding of mesquite and pampas, of blue-gray sky 
 and dark-hued earth into the brunette of twilight and 
 black of night no longer insensibly roused his 
 artist s soul. Little things he usually thought of 
 them, too. But there were no "little beautiful 
 things" to a man whose feet were burning with a 
 flame ambitious to consume his whole body. 
 
 Yet he saw one thing. A little white thing. It 
 caught his eye in the clear moonlight and he picked 
 it from the bush. To his surprise it was a lady s 
 handkerchief, in one corner of which was em 
 broidered a "J." He halted and waited for his com 
 panion to come up. 
 
 The sheep-herder was tired to his soul and it was 
 only fear that still drove him forward. 
 
 "Are there any women at Callahan s?" asked 
 Laurens as his companion joined him, and speaking 
 for the first time in an hour. 
 
 "Not on your life !" was the answer. "Callahan s 
 is a stag outfit. He won t have a woman on the 
 place, not even to cook. Callahan is a beast on two 
 laigs! You ll see!" 
 
 Laurens put the little square of linen in his pocket 
 and the two dragged on. A short time elapsed and
 
 18 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Melton shouted with something like a ring in his 
 voice : 
 
 "There it is! And some eyes are open!" 
 He pointed to a single light in a low, adobe build 
 ing which stood apart from a number of others. 
 It was the main ranch-house nestled among a bunch 
 of pecans and live-oaks, and the light showed with 
 a clearness that told of its coming from an open 
 window. Behind the house was an immense sheep 
 stockade, now empty, and near it a corral in which 
 were a few horses. Around the ranch on every 
 hand stretched a fairly level country rich with grass 
 and dotted here and there with clumps of trees. The 
 place looked like heaven to the tired travelers. In a 
 few minutes they stepped on to the ramada of the 
 ranch-house and Melton knocked loudly on the door. 
 There was no delay in answering and the door 
 was almost immediately opened by Callahan him 
 self. He was a giant of an Irishman, with small 
 red eyes and a bristling mass of iron-gray hair which 
 gave his broad face a leonine expression. His im 
 mense figure was coarsely dressed in a red shirt 
 open in the neck, a pair of dungaree trousers, and 
 spurred boots. He carried a rifle ready for instant 
 use. Though he was a fine specimen of the human 
 animal Laurens was not prepossessed at sight of
 
 AT CALLAHAN S 19 
 
 him, and his prejudice became strengthened when 
 the man ripped out an oath as he recognized his 
 neighbor. 
 
 "Hell! It s ye, is it! I thought ye in the devil s 
 care these two days back!" 
 
 There was no welcome in either his manner or 
 his sullen tone. 
 
 Melton forced a tired laugh and introduced Lau- 
 rens with a word, briefly told the events of the night 
 and concluded the narrative with a request for 
 horses, the Irishman all the time keeping his eyes 
 fixed on the ranchman. He had jerked a side nod 
 at Laurens as if his presence made little impression. 
 
 "Then ye hov heerd nawthin ?" he demanded, 
 when the short story was completed. "An there 
 are things to know. Ye may come in, but by the 
 same token I don t know where ye can slape an 
 tis likely ye won t want to." 
 
 He led them into a good-sized room It was 
 sparsely and rudely furnished, there being no sign 
 of a woman s hand in the coarse interior. In the 
 center of the apartment was a large pine table on 
 which an American lamp was burning, and at the 
 table sat a youth of about eighteen dressed in a white 
 shirt and baggy riding trousers. He was evidently 
 finishing a meal, and standing by, as if attending
 
 20 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 him, was a Chinaman, his eyes like two oblique slits 
 in his fat face. Two or three saddles, an empty 
 water-skin and a corded pack were thrown in a cor 
 ner, and four or five common chairs were in evi 
 dence. A chest-like box stood on the floor. That 
 was all; there were no pictures of any kind and the 
 gray adobe wall was bare save for a large cupboard 
 and a single Winchester rifle on brackets. To this 
 room there was but one window, its inside blind of 
 heavy oak being wide open, as was the window itself, 
 and the four doors, including the one from the ra- 
 mada, were closed, the one leading from the rear 
 of the house being barred; the other two opened 
 into apartments on either side of the main room. 
 At a glance Laurens took in these uninteresting de 
 tails as he entered. 
 
 As the strangers advanced the boy half rose from 
 his chair and looked at them with wondering eyes; 
 the Chinaman, his arms folded in his sleeves, crossed 
 the room and squatted on the box. 
 
 "Well, Joe," said the Irishman, clapping the 
 youth on the back with a brutal force that staggered 
 the slight figure, u . . . here be two others like 
 ye an yer dad, flyin for loife ! Sit down, gintle- 
 men," he continued, going to the cupboard and 
 bringing out a bottle end a thick tumbler, both of
 
 AT CALLAHAN S 21 
 
 which he slid across the bare table; then he appeared 
 to notice the Chinaman. "Git out o here, ye domned 
 chink!" he suddenly roared, shaking his immense fist 
 at the Oriental, who got up and seemed to glide into 
 one of the adjoining rooms, to which he was at once 
 followed by the youth, who had not spoken a word. 
 
 Melton dropped into a chair and paid no atten 
 tion to them, but Laurens looked after the two, as 
 much impressed by the Chinaman s repulsive face 
 as by the boy s ivory-white complexion. As the room 
 door opened and closed he heard a loose, rattling 
 cough in the next apartment, but he was too ex 
 hausted to feel curious regarding it, and seated him 
 self near his companion. Callahan stood by the 
 table, his post-like legs spread wide, and looked 
 down at his neighbor. 
 
 "An now, sor, ye had better take a snifter to 
 brace ye agin me tellin ye that ye be a ruined man." 
 
 Melton, already pale from exhaustion, turned 
 deadly white. "What what are you drivin at?" 
 he faltered, looking up. 
 
 "At just this," returned the Irishman, seating 
 himself opposite the others. "Ye can climb anny 
 hoss in my corral an git to Splithoof Ranch 
 but ye had better not." He stopped, poured out half 
 a tumbler of raw whisky and drank it down without
 
 22 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 a wink. Melton looked at him dumbly for a mo 
 ment, then almost shouted: 
 
 "Go on ! Why had I better not?" 
 
 "Because," was the easy answer, "yer man Filipe 
 rode in here yesterday noon as if all hell was after 
 him. We re raided! he yells. Thim devils hov 
 killed foive tuan red shape! says, he, an drove off 
 nigh a t ousand more ! he says. Then he tears away 
 south as if afeered to look back. Sure, man, I learn 
 they hov cleaned out yer hacienda an fired ivvery 
 thing that could burn. An they do be lookin fer 
 ye this minnit. Ye can figure on what it manes if 
 they catch ye." 
 
 Melton fell back in his chair. "My God! 
 Cleaned out! It has come at last!" 
 
 The Irishman was not touched .by his distress; he 
 laughed in the face of the stricken man. Laurens 
 dislike for him turned to sudden hatred. 
 
 "That s fer bein a gringo!" said Callahan. 
 "Thank hiven, I m an English subjict! They wud 
 niwer dare do the likes o that wi me!" 
 
 Laurens was dumb from astonishment at the 
 tragic news and indignant at the inhuman manner 
 in which it had been broken. Melton looked stu 
 pidly at his host whose broad smile showed a row 
 of tobacco-stained fangs. "What s to be done?
 
 AT CALLAHAN S 23 
 
 What s to be done?" he repeated, like a man in a 
 daze. 
 
 "Faith, I dunno," returned the Irishman, with the 
 utmost cheerfulness. "I can give ye no bed here, 
 though ye may bunk in the quarters, if ye can stan 
 the vermin. Not two hours agone along comes a 
 party o three: a Major Stillwell, his son that boy 
 Joe, an the chink with eyes like knife-slits in a 
 shape s liver. I hate the sight o him! The major 
 is a sick man! I faith, he is! He fair turned me 
 out o me own house, sayin he d die on the trail 
 if I didn t take him in. Sure, but I ll make him pay 
 through the nose!" 
 
 He wagged his great head and kughed. Laurens 
 remembered Melton s telling him that the man was 
 a brute, and he would have liked to smash him in 
 the face as he sat there as if enjoying his neighbor s 
 distress. For a few minutes no one spoke, then 
 Callahan squared his elbows on the table. "Now 
 what be ye fellys goin to do?" he asked. "I see 
 but wan w r ay for ye, Melton. If ye go north or 
 south ye ll be caught an shot, sure as God made 
 lambin time but ye might make a try for Fort 
 Hancock." 
 
 "Across the Flerro desert!" exclaimed the
 
 24 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 ruined ranchman, the dazed look fading from his 
 eyes. 
 
 Tis the choice of two hells, seein ye can t stay 
 here! I ll sell ye the hosses, though I haven t 
 many." 
 
 "What <lo you think?" asked Melton, pulling him 
 self together and turning to Laurens. "The Flerro 
 desert is God-forgot ! To cross it would mean a 
 matter o sand an heat for three days, and 
 then " 
 
 He was interrupted by a loud knock at the closed 
 outer door, and before Callahan had more than 
 risen from his chair to answer it the door opened 
 and a man stepped quickly from the ramada. He 
 was a young Mexican in shabby military clothing. 
 On his head was a huge, peaked sombrero heavily 
 ornamented with silver filigree, the heels of his 
 dilapidated shoes were adorned with magnificent 
 silver spurs, their hangings jangling as he walked, 
 and thrust into a once gorgeous sash around his slen 
 der waist was a revolver. A scabbardless sword, 
 discolored with rust, hung at his hip. As Melton 
 caught sight of his rather handsome face he started 
 from his chair. 
 
 "Miguel Filial" he exclaimed; and stood staring 
 at him.
 
 AT CALLAHAN S 25 
 
 "El Capitan Miguel Villa, signor," was the calm 
 return, with an accent on the title. "I have great 
 pleasure of the meeting with Signor Melton! 
 Yes?" 
 
 The young fellow s black eyes sparkled as he 
 bowed with the grace of the Latin, twisted the points 
 of his slight mustache and looked around the room, 
 his glance taking in every object. Then he turned 
 to the Irishman. "You are the Signor Callahan? 
 Yes?" 
 
 "That s me name," was the scowling return. 
 
 "Yes? I see that the signor has the unexpect 
 company!" went on the intruder. "Two gringos! 
 I did not ah! whisky?" 
 
 Without waiting for an invitation he clanked to 
 the table, picked up the bottle, smelled its contents, 
 and airily lifting it to his lips took a long pull of 
 the raw liquor. The cool impertinence of the act 
 angered the Irishman. "By the howly powers!" he 
 began, but was stopped by the stranger who held 
 up his small hand to silence him. 
 
 "The signor would not be inhospitable? No? 
 Witness the two gringos ! Do they not have of the 
 whisky? Yes! And what is the mere ceremony, 
 signor?" He smiled, and his fine teeth gave*him a 
 lupine expression.
 
 26 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "What t hell!" exploded the Irishman, his face 
 swelling with rage; and there is no telling what he 
 might have said had not Melton cut him off. "Rope 
 it!" he exclaimed, pointing at the Mexican. "That s 
 the damned hound that marked me after I marked 
 him! Don t ruin yourself!" 
 
 For a moment it appeared as if the self-confident 
 Mexican would fly into a fury at the open insult. 
 His eyes sparkled ominously but he smiled broadly, 
 as if complimented. 
 
 "So the Signer Melton now knows that Capitan 
 Miguel Villa is not to be despise !" he said, in his 
 soft voice. "But the Signer Callahan has not the 
 fear of trouble! He is no gringo! Perhaps he is 
 the good patriot qulen sabef But, gentlemen, I 
 am somewhat of haste in my visit. Signer Callahan, 
 he is acquaint of Signer Melton s late misfortune 
 which the signor brought upon himself? Yes? Let 
 us save time to Signor Callahan. For forty thou 
 sand pesos such misfortune will not happen to him. 
 Does the Signor Callahan say mucho gusto?" 
 
 He turned smilingly to the Irishman, twisting his 
 little mustache. 
 
 "For-rty thousand divils!" roared the giant. "I 
 am an English subjict, ye young whiffert! What 
 d ye mane by comin here for money?"
 
 AT CALLAHAN S 27 
 
 "The signer knows well what I mean," was the 
 
 mruffled reply. "He is in Mexico, not in England! 
 
 He is friendly with these gringos? Yes? Then he 
 
 must pay Stop, signer!" he said, his face 
 
 darkening as the big man got from his chair and 
 stepped to the corner where he had deposited his 
 rifle. "It is best for the signor to know that I 
 have my men posted outside. Eight men, signor. 
 Men that obey. I take no chances, gentlemen !" 
 
 For all his gigantic frame Callahan seemed sud 
 denly to wilt. The Mexican grinned and went on: 
 "Now we have the complete understanding! The 
 Signor Melton think he smart him^nd his fren! 
 But " 
 
 "The cripple, Ramon Valance, has a long 
 tongue!" broke in Melton, clearing himself from his 
 chair; and now all signs of fatigue and mental dis 
 tress had vanished from his flushed face. 
 
 "The Signor Valance is a good patriot!" was the 
 reply. "This is no country for gringos, signor! You 
 should have learned."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 THE FIGHT 
 
 IT did not tax Laurens intellect to account for 
 the presence of the young Mexican, nor did 
 he fail to recognize the significance of his com 
 ing. His heart began to race. It was clear that 
 their desertion from the train had been marked by 
 the old villain with the crutches who for reasons of 
 his own had betrayed the two Americans to the ban 
 dits. It was equally plain that their undisguised trail 
 had been easily followed by moonlight. What was 
 to be the outcome? Laurens could only guess, and 
 his guess was sinister. He quietly slipped his hand 
 into the side pocket holding his revolver. 
 
 "An so ye ve brought yer gang down on me on 
 me!" said Callahan, his red eyes looking wicked. 
 
 The young Mexican shrugged his narrow shoul 
 ders. "We have long owed the signor a call and 
 the signor has the pesos as we happen to know. 
 And so has this gringo," He wheeled and pointed 
 
 23
 
 THE FIGHT 29 
 
 ut Laurens. "Signor, you are but a traveler. You 
 have not the limber tongue and the loud voice. You 
 shall be saved for one thousand pesos. Yes?" 
 
 Laurens stared at him. How did the Mexican 
 know he had just five hundred dollars in his pocket? 
 But before he could answer the demand the Mex 
 ican swung around to Melton and continued with 
 quick intensity: 
 
 "Ah! But with the Signor Melton all is different. 
 He is ruin! He cannot pay! He once kick 
 Miguel Villa, and for that there is no price ! For 
 that ah ! we will sec him outside. He shall feel the 
 heel " 
 
 He never finished the sentence. Melton, whose 
 face had been working with rage, cut him off by 
 springing at him and in an instant had him by the 
 throat, bearing him backward before the Mexican 
 could draw a weapon. But not before he gave a 
 cry in Spanish, and hardly was it uttered when a jet 
 of flame streamed through the open window, and 
 with the report of the shot the ranchman loosened 
 his hold and fell face downward on the floor. 
 
 Freed from his hold the young insurrecto sprang 
 toward the door, but was met by Callahan, who 
 planted his huge fist in the fellow s face, driving him 
 backward and well nigh across the room, though
 
 30 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 with the activity of a cat he kept his feet under him, 
 and, drawing his revolver, fired at the Irishman, 
 missing him. 
 
 Just what happened next Laurens wasn t sure. By 
 then he was en his feet and had his revolver out. 
 He knew there were three deafening explosions and 
 that a shot came from the window behind him, the 
 bullet passing close to his ear. He could remember 
 that he jumped for the shutter and slammed it tight, 
 and when he had gathered his disordered wits, Cal- 
 lahan, cursing like a pirate, was barring the heavy 
 door, and the young Mexican, stone dead, lay on the 
 floor near Melton. 
 
 The room was blue with powder smoke, and in 
 the doorway of the adjoining room stood the youth, 
 Joe, his eyes wide with fright. 
 
 As the bar of the door fell into its place the Irish 
 man turned on Laurens, his face* furious. "An* ye 
 hadn t fired that shot an saved me life by killin 
 that greaser I d t row ye out to them divils. Why 
 did he come here an bring this on me?" 
 
 The young man was seeing red. He glanced at 
 the still smoking weapon in his hand and realized 
 that he had taken a prominent part in the short 
 fracas. The fact that his brains were now on an 
 even keel did not lessen his anger toward the brute
 
 THE FIGHT 31 
 
 that threatened him and whose life he now knew 
 he had saved. 
 
 "You re a fool!" he snapped back. "I have a 
 shot or two left. Try to throw me out, if you think 
 it advisable; I d as soon put an end to you as to 
 the boy on the floor!" As he spoke he raised his 
 revolver. 
 
 Even if Callahan had not possessed policy he had 
 no time to answer the defiance, for at that instant 
 there came a shot from outside and a bullet pene 
 trated the planking of the door, showing its nose 
 through the double boards but not coming into the 
 room. It seemed to bring the Irishman to his 
 senses. 
 
 "Faith, but ye re a man of spirit!" he cried, reach 
 ing for his rifle. "Fight? Hell! I know ye will; 
 an ye ll hov fightin enough without gettin red 
 headed over me! I m mad, man! I look to be 
 mint, as was Melton ! Thim divils hov tasted blood 
 an will be afther the hearts av us. They ll run 
 ivvery horse I hov in the corral! Whist! Bar the 
 dure after me I ll out an rouse the han s, though 
 I fear they ll lay down on me. Jump fer the major s 
 room an see tis tight." 
 
 Callahan ran to the back door and, throwing off 
 its bar, disappeared. Almost mechanically Laurens
 
 32 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 fastened it behind him. Whether he had been de 
 serted from cowardice, or not, he could not know, 
 but he knew he had been left alone to face the sit 
 uation in the house and work out his own salvation. 
 There seemed but one way of doing it, and that was 
 to defend the building as long as possible. And he 
 knew he was not left alone; there was a man called 
 the "major," the boy and the Chinaman. He might 
 make a good showing, if backed by the three with 
 spirit. 
 
 After barring the door behind the Irishman, and 
 hearing nothing from outside, he examined his sur 
 roundings. First he looked into the room opposite 
 the one in the doorway of which the boy was still 
 standing like a person overcome by what he had 
 witnessed. It was a small bedroom with a window 
 in the rear, and, like the rest, had a heavy window 
 shutter. Beside a bed there was a cheap washstand 
 with a bowl on it, while on the floor was a bucket 
 of water. Nothing else was in the apartment. Lau- 
 rens fastened the shutter and brushing past the 
 youth, who in his present state appeared useless, he 
 entered the room behind him. The boy hardly 
 moved, standing like one dazed by terror, his eyes 
 fixed on the two bodies on the floor. For all the 
 prevailing quiet outside Laurens felt that something
 
 THE FIGHT 33 
 
 would soon happen. He moved quietly but quickly. 
 
 There was a single window and a back door to 
 the room he entered and to his relief both were shut 
 and fastened. This he determined at first glance; 
 the second showed him a middle-aged man lying on 
 a bed, and though the air of the place was close and 
 foul, a burning lamp making the heat intolerable, he 
 was covered with a heavy Navajo blanket. He 
 coughed as Laurens entered, and one look at him 
 showed the young man that he was an invalid far 
 gone in consumption. At the bedside was the China 
 man, his placid countenance as expressionless as a 
 pan of grease as he stood with his arms folded in 
 his long sleeves. The man on the bed turned a 
 scared, white face on the American. "What what 
 does all the shooting mean?" he gasped. 
 
 "Nothing far out of common in this part of the 
 world, I imagine," returned Laurens. "The house 
 has been attacked by insurrectos, so-called bandits, 
 in fact. You are Major Stillwell, I believe." 
 
 "Yes. Who are you?" 
 
 "Lieutenant John Laurens, lately of the United 
 States Navy; an American, and like yourself, a refu 
 gee. My companion has just been killed and I 
 have shot the leader of the gang. Callahan has left 
 us, whether permanently or not I can t say. We are
 
 34 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 beset from outside and are in a desperate situa 
 tion, sir." 
 
 "Your case is not as desperate as mine!" was the 
 feeble return, as the major laid a thin hand on his 
 chest and coughed. "I " 
 
 He was interrupted by a smashing of glass fol 
 lowed by a bang on the window shutter a bang that 
 started the oak planks, though they still held to 
 gether. The blow was accompanied by the shrill 
 shouts of four or five men. 
 
 In an instant Laurens swung around and sent a 
 bullet into the woodwork and the crash of the lead 
 was followed by a scurrying of ^eet on the ramada. 
 Then again silence fell but it brought no sense of 
 security. Through the attack and the deafening ex 
 plosion of Laurens revolver the Chinaman did not 
 turn a hair, though at the shock the major groaned 
 and nearly fainted. 
 
 Laurens knew he could not defend the whole 
 house alone and it was plain that the major could 
 be of no help nor could the apparently panic- 
 stricken boy be relied upon; but there was the self- 
 contained Chinaman. 
 
 He held out the revolver. 
 
 "Here, John! You take gun. Kill any man break 
 through window. Sabe?"
 
 THE FIGHT 35 
 
 To his astonishment the man did not move, only 
 looking at him through his slits of eyes. Yet Lau- 
 rens felt that he was understood. "You fight?" he 
 demanded, stepping toward him. The Oriental 
 slowly shook his sleek head but otherwise did not 
 stir or make an answer. 
 
 "You cursed son of a slant-eyed rat-eater!" ex 
 ploded Laurens, carried away by disgust; and he 
 was about to say more when he was stopped by a 
 touch on the arm, and turning found the boy at his 
 side. 
 
 "You will gain nothing by cursing Fung Wang," 
 he said, without the least excitement. "He will not 
 fight. Give me the revolver and tell me what to 
 do. Wang, look to the major." This last to the 
 passive Oriental. He at once turned to the gasping 
 sick man who looked like death. 
 
 Laurens wa& astonished at the boy s calmness as 
 well as his sudden change. "You are a game lad, 
 Joe," he said, wondering what kind of people these 
 w r ere, not to become excited under the existing con 
 ditions. "You have only to guard the window and 
 door. I will be in the next room." And with that 
 he handed him the revolver and went out. After 
 taking the Winchester from the wall and making 
 sure its magazine was full he bent over the body of
 
 36 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Melton, hoping against hope that he was still alive, 
 but he was as dead as the Mexican beside him. Even 
 then Laurens thought of the "wife and kid" -who 
 were doubtless waiting at El Paso for the coming 
 of the husband and father, and perhaps they would 
 never know the cause of his delay. 
 
 But he had scant time for soft musing; even as he 
 straightened from the corpse of the man he had 
 known but a few hours there came the sound of a 
 shot from the rear of the house, followed quickly 
 by another as if in answer and then two more. After 
 that silence again fell a brooding silence which in 
 itself was like a threat. Laurens nerves were on 
 the qui-vhe and inaction was unendurable. He knew 
 nothing of what was going on outside and the un 
 certainty was more than flesh and blood could bear. 
 This was not fighting; to him it savored of retreat 
 ing to a hole, rabbit-like, and waiting for the hunter 
 to be discouraged, or to his submitting to be smoked 
 out or dug out. The position did not suit Laurens 
 now aggressive spirit, and in a desire to learn the 
 course of events he blew out the lamp and quietly 
 unfastening the window shutter, which was breast- 
 high from the floor, cautiously looked out. 
 
 The moon was tipped on the edge of the distant 
 mountains, but there was sufficient light for him to
 
 THE FIGHT 37 
 
 make out the shadowy forms of a number of horses 
 picketed beyond the pecans, but not a man could he 
 see. There was no encouragement in the outlook; 
 the bandits had not retreated, nor did he think it 
 likely they would be beaten off, they knowing the 
 slight force garrisoning the ranch-house. Though 
 the young man now had a grip on himself, in his 
 heart he did not expect to escape from the trap 
 he was in; the chance of being helped was small, 
 for he knew enough of the peon character to believe 
 that not one of Callahan s men would lift a finger 
 in defense of the ranch against the insurrectos, peons 
 like themselves. There certainly had been no indi 
 cation of resistance. As for the Irishman, he might 
 have taken a horse and ridden to safety, for all that 
 Laurens knew to the contrary. He had no faith in 
 Callahan s bravery in a combat like the one in hand. 
 In the darkness he opened the crystal of his watch 
 and felt of the hands, making out that it was about 
 one o clock. There was not a sound to break the 
 heavy silence, save when the consumptive coughed 
 in the next room. The chill of the night together 
 with the long walk, no food, and the result of his 
 excitement, made him shiver in spite of himself. He 
 thought of the whisky bottle on the table and was 
 about to go for it when, just as he was in the act
 
 88 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 of turning from the window, the outside gloom was 
 cut by two flashes from a mesquite bush not ten 
 paces from the ramada, and two reports rang out 
 in quick succession. 
 
 In an instant Laurens raised his rifle and fired at 
 the spot, immediately slamming closed the shutter, 
 the crash of the wood being followed by a cry and 
 a heavy fall in the next room. 
 
 Instinctively the young man seemed to know what 
 had happened and he hurried to the adjoining apart 
 ment. As he threw open the door he saw that the 
 lamp was still burning, the window shutter was 
 thrown open, and on the floor, near the bed, lay the 
 boy. The Chinaman was crouched in a corner. As 
 the boy saw Laurens he tried to rise but fell back 
 unconscious. The ex-officer s mind being trained for 
 emergency, he acted almost instinctively. Instantly 
 blowing out the light he ran to the window and 
 carefully lifting his head above the sill, looked out. 
 The figure of a man was rolling on the grass near 
 the mesquite bush and two others were running to 
 ward the horses. As quickly as he could pump the 
 rifle he sent two shots after them, then refastened 
 the shutter against a return volley. 
 
 But there came no return volley. A few minutes 
 of intense waiting passed, then he relighted the lamp
 
 THE FIGHT 89 
 
 and bent over the fallen boy. The man on the bed 
 moaned; the Chinaman remained motionless and im 
 perturbable. He had risen to his feet and stood 
 against the adobe wall. With an effort the major 
 tried to sit up but failed. "Is is he dead?" he 
 gasped. 
 
 "No," snapped Laurens. "How in the devil did 
 this thing come about? Who opened that shutter 
 while there was a light in this room?" 
 
 "I I don t know," was the return. "I I was 
 speaking to Joe when the shots came. Before God, 
 I don t know. I I think " He seemed to col 
 lapse, for his voice trailed off to nothing and he 
 closed his eyes. 
 
 Laurens had no time to attend to him. "Loolc 
 after your master, you cursed image," he shouted 
 to the unmoved Chinaman, and, lifting the slight 
 figure of the boy, he carried it out and into the little 
 bedroom. A few minutes later, there being no fur 
 ther alarm, he got the lamp going and looked for 
 the boy s injury. 
 
 He found it readily enough a clean bullet hole, 
 like a blue mark, through and through the fleshy 
 part of the left shoulder. It was by no means a 
 serious wound, and it showed that the youth had 
 fainted only from shock. But when the young man
 
 40 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 tore down the shirt to get at the wound to dress it, 
 he gathered his brows, bit his lip and looked sharply 
 into the unconscious face. The line of the shoulder, 
 the delicate flesh, and the rounded curve of the 
 breast told him a story. Laurens was a trifle 
 startled. 
 
 For the boy was a girl! 
 
 A girl of about eighteen; the blood-stained bosom 
 clearly proclaimed the fact. 
 
 Here was a mystery, but the young man lost no 
 time in trying to penetrate it. Washing the w r ound 
 with water from the bucket on the floor he ban 
 daged it with strips torn from the pillow-case and 
 had barely completed the hurried dressing when he 
 heard Callahan thundering at the front door. He 
 knew then that the stress had passed. Throwing a 
 sheet over the unconscious form he ran from the 
 room and admitted the Irishman into the house. 
 
 Callahan was excited. "They ve gone!" he 
 shouted as he entered. "Iwery domned greaser 
 has pulled his freight! I saw thim go north 
 
 an What s this?" he demanded, as he marked 
 
 the light moved to the little room and caught sight 
 of a figure on the bed. 
 
 Laurens briefly told him what had happened, but 
 suppressed his recent discovery. Callahan gave an
 
 THE FIGHT 4>1 
 
 uninterested grunt. Going to the table he took a 
 drink from the bottle, then stepping to the body of 
 the dead Mexican he gave it a vicious kick. "Ha, 
 ye dog! Ye got yer pesos, didn t ye!" He turned 
 to the disgusted American. "Ye be a dead shot an 
 a quick wan," he said. "I got two o the gang at 
 the corral though they managed to run three hosses, 
 an there s wan o your work lyin out front beyant 
 the bush. That makes nigh half o thim !" 
 
 "Then you think we are safe?" 
 
 "Safe hell!" roared the other, fixing his red 
 eyes on Laurens. "Open the dure an lave me t row 
 out this coyote meat." With that he caught the two 
 dead men by their collars and dragged them from 
 the room with no more consideration than though 
 they were the bodies of slaughtered sheep.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 TT AURENS dared not protest at the man s in- 
 _j humanity, realizing that he was more or less 
 at the Irishman s mercy. His own posi 
 tion rendered him politic, while the plight of the 
 major and the pseudo boy would be made worse if 
 he came into open conflict with his host. Of the 
 Chinaman he gave no thought. He shut his teeth 
 hard and when Callahan disappeared and did not 
 at once return he went back to the little bedroom 
 and managed to get a few drops of whisky between 
 the lips of the still unconscious girl. As he marked 
 signs of returning life he heard a slight noise and 
 looked up to see the Oriental standing in the door 
 way, his arms still folded in his sleeves, his fat face 
 as blank as ever. Laurens had only a feeling of 
 disgust for the man and yet there was something 
 about the fellow which made him think of a vol 
 cano with hidden fires ready to burst out and over 
 whelm an air of intense repression something 
 
 42
 
 THE IVORY BALL 43 
 
 beyond mere calmness. The American could not see 
 into the eyes masked in rolls of fat lids. 
 
 "Major-man, him belly sick," said the Chinaman, 
 barely moving his thick lips. "Wantee see doctler- 
 man. You go?" 
 
 Laurens had an inspiration. "You know boy is 
 girl?" he asked. The Celestial gravely nodded. 
 
 "Then no tell Callahan. He hates towkina. No 
 place here for towkina. Sabe?" 
 
 Again the unemotional nod. 
 
 "Then you take chair and stay here by girl. You 
 call me chop when she wake. Sabe?" 
 
 Something like a spasm went over the placid face, 
 but the man nodded again. 
 
 Laurens went into the sick man s room. At a 
 glance he saw that the major had been having a 
 hemorrhage. The dying man looked up, but was 
 unable to speak; his pulse was fairly fluttering from 
 weakness artd death was on his haggard face. The 
 ex-officer read the signs plainly, but there was little 
 he could do nothing, in fact, but give him a stiff 
 dose of whisky in order to revive him temporarily. 
 This he did and waited for the effect. Presently 
 Major Stillwell felt the lift of the stimulant. 
 
 "I have had another hemorrhage," he whis 
 pered.
 
 44 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "It is quite evident, sir." 
 
 "Is is my son dead?" 
 
 Laurens had no desire to probe into the mystery 
 surrounding the sex of the girl, nor had he any wish 
 to conceal the truth. "Major Stillwell," he said, 
 going straight to the point, "there can be no use in 
 attempting to deceive me. Your son is a girl. I 
 discovered the fact while dressing her wound which 
 is in itself superficial. As for the rest, I know noth 
 ing save that the attack on the house has ceased and 
 the bandits have gone." 
 
 His words seemed to help the sick man. "Thank 
 God for that!" he exclaimed; then after a moment: 
 "I I am glad you know about Josephine. It 
 makes it easier to tell you." His voice grew 
 stronger as the whisky worked, 
 
 "To tell me what?" 
 
 "Sir," was the return, "you are a man of experi 
 ence. I must trust you. I am dying, sir. What 
 will become of Josephine in this land of anarchy?" 
 
 It was a problem the young man was in no posi 
 tion to answer. Major Stillwell looked up at him 
 with appealing eyes and presently went on with more 
 vigor: 
 
 "Fung Wang is well, you know the Chinese 
 nature; it is intensely selfish and I would not trust
 
 THE IVORY BALL 45 
 
 a woman with him. And Callahan God! What 
 an unfeeling brute!" He stopped to cough, and 
 then continued: "But you are a gentleman, educated 
 and refined. You will not wholly desert her. For 
 the love of God, promise me to protect her until she 
 gets from this cursed country." The man was be 
 coming agitated. 
 
 "I can only promise to do my best for her, sir. 
 I will not desert her, Major," answered Laurens. 
 The dying man grasped his hand, his own being 
 already cold. "Then I have your word of honor. 
 But but I am no major, sir. A title commands re 
 spect in this country. Little else does. No matter! 
 I am only a business man a jeweler an expert on 
 precious stones. I I Could I see Jo 
 sephine for a moment? My God, I must! I must 
 confess to her I must tell her!" 
 
 Laurens marked the man s growing excitement, 
 and it was plain that something was troubling his 
 mind. 
 
 "It is impossible to see her at present, sir. She 
 is unconscious from shock." 
 
 "And I cannot go to her! Oh, my outraged 
 Heavenly Father! Give me the box under my 
 pillow." 
 
 Laurens had seen men die, but never one with
 
 46 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 his conscience galling him, and the mental distress 
 of the sick man was more tragic than his impending 
 dissolution. But the cause was not the business of 
 the American. He reached under the pillow and 
 found a small, plain teakwood box; it was some 
 three or four inches square and had a brass handle 
 on the cover. As Stillwell saw it he snatched at it 
 and hugged it to his chest, his thin hands clutching 
 it with the grasp of a miser. "My God!" he ex 
 claimed. "How can I let it go! How dare I tell 
 you!" 
 
 "You are not obliged to tell me anything, sir," 
 returned Laurens soothingly, though his curiosity 
 was fairly roused. 
 
 "I must I must!" whispered the other, shak 
 ing as if palsied. "The the stone is of fabulous 
 value ! It is for Josephine. You must give it to her, 
 and you must tell her " 
 
 "What shall I tell her?" asked Laurens, as the 
 man hesitated. He feared the invalid would pass 
 away before he could deliver his message. 
 
 "The the secret. I I will show you. Open 
 it open it!" He held the box toward the young 
 man ; his hands were shaking, his eyes shining. Lau 
 rens began to doubt his sanity. 
 
 The cover was fastened with a lock, the key being
 
 THE IVORY BALL 47 
 
 attached to the handle by a light chain. Laurens 
 unlocked it and the top was thrown up by a con 
 cealed spring, exposing an ivory ball embedded in a 
 bed of crimson velvet. But it was not an exact 
 sphere, being slightly ovoid, and its substance was 
 black with age. Laurens took it out, the dying man 
 rubbing his hands in subdued ecstasy. 
 
 On one end of the semi-sphere and ornamenting 
 the head of a wonderfully carved dragon was a fair 
 sized diamond of unusual cut, but the young man, 
 who had traveled in the East, could see nothing of 
 remarkable value in the gem which he figured might 
 be worth five hundred dollars, at the most. The 
 major s rhapsody regarding its fabulous value he 
 took to be due to mental weakness. 
 
 But, aside from the stone the ball itself was a 
 wonder, the beautiful work on it being too delicate 
 to follow without the closest scrutiny. Laurens had 
 seen many remarkable Oriental carvings, but none 
 like this; it was the most exquisite that had ever 
 come under his eye, and it needed a strong magni- 
 fying-glass to bring out its details. Each tiny scale 
 on the writhing dragon stood clear from its fellow, 
 and the tracery of vine and flower was beautifully 
 defined on the polished background, though there 
 was but little that had not felt the tool of the carver.
 
 48 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Along an intricately twisted scroll were some fine 
 Chinese characters and the whc4e was a mass of mar 
 velous work the puerile work of some Oriental 
 artist who must have devoted his life to it. 
 
 "It is a wonderful ojimi!" he exclaimed, for a 
 moment forgetting the imminence of death. 
 
 "It has a a secret!" whispered the dying man, 
 as he stretched out a claw-like hand for the ball. 
 "I must tell Josephine! I have deceived her! 
 I cannot die before she knows!" 
 
 "It is impossible," returned Laurens. "I will be 
 frank with you, sir. If you have anything to say 
 you must say it at once. I am an honorable man and 
 will serve you, if possible." 
 
 The other looked up with a pitiable expression in 
 his dimming eyes. "Tell her Tell her " 
 
 He stopped as he was attacked by another fit of 
 violent coughing which racked the emaciated body. 
 Laurens passed his arm under him to lift him to a 
 sitting position, and as he did so the ball fell from 
 his lax hand, his head sagged forward and his jaw 
 dropped. With a glance Laurens knew the man had 
 passed away. 
 
 He was neither surprised nor shocked. He eased 
 the dead man to his back, picked up the ball, re 
 placed it in the box and was about to leave the room
 
 THE IVORY BALL 49 
 
 when the Chinaman appeared at the door. As he 
 saw the box in the young man s hand he halted, then 
 suddenly bent so low that his shaven head almost 
 touched the floor, his black queue whipping out like 
 a lash. 
 
 "Your master has just died," said Laurens, with 
 out appearing to notice the deep salutation. "Cover 
 his face." But the fellow made no immediate move 
 ment to obey and the American passed out without 
 being aware of the repeated genuflexion made by 
 the Celestial, nor was he aware of the snake-like 
 glitter of the narrow eyes. 
 
 Not greatly to his surprise Laurens found the girl 
 leaning on the edge of her low bed, one hand play 
 ing over her bandaged shoulder, a dazed look in her 
 fine eyes. 
 
 "I am con confused," she began. "I must have 
 fainted." 
 
 "You did," returned the young man, smiling. 
 
 "I I don t understand how " 
 
 "It is not necessary that you should, at present; 
 but you were shot through the shoulder." 
 
 "And you did this?" she asked, her pale face sud 
 denly flaming, as she touched the bandage. 
 
 "I did," was the blunt retort. "And I learned 
 you were not a boy. I have no apology to make
 
 50 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 under the circumstances, but you need not let my 
 knowledge trouble you. I advise you to continue 
 being a boy as long as you are here. Discussion 
 of my reasons is not so important now as what I 
 must tell you. Your father just died. I was with 
 him." 
 
 If Laurens looked for an outburst of surprised 
 sorrow or tears he was disappointed. The girl did 
 not start; she did not even show regret, to say noth 
 ing of grief. 
 
 "Did he tell you he was my father?" she asked 
 calmly. 
 
 "He called you his son." 
 
 "But he was not my father; he was my father s 
 half-brother. I had no affection or even regard for 
 him, nor he for me. We both understood. For the 
 time each was necessary to the other." 
 
 "Yes ! I can surmise that from a few words of 
 his at the end when he tried to speak. But it came 
 suddenly when he was trying to tell me something 
 regarding this " Laurens held out the box con 
 taining the ivory ball, and the girl s eyes opened 
 wide at sight of it. Before she could speak, could 
 question, the man went on: 
 
 "He told me to give it to you, and intimated 
 he had something to confess. He gasped something
 
 THE IVORY BALL 51 
 
 about a secret connected with it, and I am certain the 
 confession was @n the tip of his tongue when he 
 was taken with the final hemorrhage which took 
 him off." 
 
 The dilated pupils of the girl s eyes as she had 
 first looked at Laurens and the box he held, nar- 
 "owed to pinpoints of questioning. 
 "He had this?" she asked. 
 
 "He had it under his pillow and " 
 
 "Then he had stolen it! It is mine! I thought 
 I lost it weeks ago!" 
 
 "In that case of course you know the secret." 
 "No, I do not," she answered. "I know little 
 more than that my father obtained it while we were 
 in China shortly after the Boxer troubles. I was 
 very young then too young to be taken into any 
 confidence of his. When we met my uncle Stillwell 
 in Guanajuato, he was traveling for his health. I 
 know my father told him of some secret he had dis 
 covered in connection with the ball. He was about 
 to tell me, too, when he died suddenly from a stroke 
 of apoplexy. I know, too, that the man, a drunken 
 German, from whom my father purchased this for 
 a small sum, was killed soon after parting with it. 
 Fung Wang, who has been with us ten years and 
 remembered all the circumstances of our Chinese
 
 52 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 trip, told me that. There is something strange 
 about it. My father hinted that some day it would 
 make my fortune, but how " 
 
 She broke off with a mirthless laugh and a shrug. 
 
 "Well," declared the man, "if there was a secret 
 that would romantically come up to what fictionists 
 tell of Chinese ojimls, and such, and make your for 
 tune, I m afraid you re due to lose it, for it looks as 
 though the secret had finally died with your uncle, 
 Miss Miss " 
 
 "My name is Josephine Dalzell," she volun 
 teered. "My father was a retired colonel of the 
 United States Army, and had a passion for travel 
 ing. I have no mother, and now no relative. As for 
 the secret dying I believe Fung Wang knows some 
 thing of it. Once he saw the ojlml in my father s 
 hand and at sight of it he bowed to the floor, but 
 he would never tell us why." She spoke with a 
 naivete that was feminine and attractive. 
 
 "When Fung Wang saw it in my hand he did the 
 same to me," said Laurens, handing the box to the 
 girl. "May I now ask why you adopted boy s 
 clothes?" 
 
 "My uncle advised it, and I was willing. We 
 were in a rough community and a rough country and 
 had much riding to do. There were both danger
 
 THE IVORY BALL 53 
 
 and inconvenience in my own costume. I fare 
 better " 
 
 "I see!" interrupted Laurens, as he marked the 
 increasing color in her cheeks, and was about to tell 
 her to talk no more, when he heard Callahan on the 
 ramada. 
 
 "Lie down! Quick!" he exclaimed. "You had 
 better not be open to that brute s insults. And you 
 have not recovered you are feverish." 
 
 The girl obeyed, and Laurens left the room, clos 
 ing the door behind him.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 THE RESPITE 
 
 CALLAHAN came in, his face black with 
 anger, but before he could explode Laurens 
 spoke. "The major is dead," he said. 
 
 "Thin th major should thank God fcr that 
 same !" returned the Irishman. "D ye know what 
 we re up ferninst?" Without waiting for a rerly, 
 he burst out into a recital of his own troubles. 
 
 "Not a man left on the place save me runt av 
 a cook, an he s scared stiff. Me foreman, Domi- 
 nick, an ivvery peon, except thim out on range, have 
 desarted an gone off wid thim divils. To-morrow 
 I ride south after the rest of me han s. Do ye want 
 to go wid me?" 
 
 "But the boy can t travel, and " 
 
 "Damn the boy!" was the scowling return. "Lave 
 him an the chink take their chances wid me cook." 
 
 Laurens did not hesitate. The thought of leav 
 ing the wounded girl to the mercy of the Chinaman 
 
 54
 
 THE RESPITE 5 
 
 decided him. He did not have to remember the 
 promise he had given to the man lying dead in the 
 next room. "I will stay here, Mr. Callahan." The 
 Irishman looked him up and down. "Ye be a domn 
 fool !" he exclaimed disgustedly, and swung from the 
 room. 
 
 Laurens was in no shape to meet any new emer 
 gency that night, and fortunately none arose. In a 
 state of utter exhaustion he threw himself on the 
 floor and slept the sleep of health and fatigue. And 
 all the following day his brain was fogged with 
 drowsiness. He saw little of Callahan; he ate some 
 thing brought by a diminutive Mexican with a face 
 more like a monkey s than a man s, and paid him 
 liberally for future attention, for which the dwarfish 
 peon was ready to kiss his feet. He attended the 
 girl and marked her increased fever, but in spite of 
 it she refused to remain in bed. When at noon the 
 pseudo major was buried with the help of the cook 
 there was no other ceremony than a simple kiss on 
 his white forehead, given by his half-niece a kiss 
 of forgiveness, she said. 
 
 Then Callahan went off without even a farewell, 
 careless alike of the comfort and safety of his un 
 invited guests, and for three days Laurens prac 
 tically owned the abandoned ranch, his only respon-
 
 56 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 sibility being the girl s health, and that was improv 
 ing, in spite of her lack of caution. 
 
 Under the conditions the two naturally became 
 friendly, and it was then that Laurens wondered 
 how he could ever have mistaken his companion s 
 sex, for even in her male attire she now showed the 
 feminine traits and graces which characterize the re 
 fined woman. That she was both his social equal 
 and his equal in quick intelligence Laurens was not 
 long in discovering, and it was a delight to him when 
 she sensed some fine point or smiled a wan smile at 
 some joke he made for her entertainment. She was 
 still very weak as a result of her fever and the 
 young man treated her as if she were a child; but 
 he would sit at the table and look at her, mentally 
 picturing her with her dark and wavy hair grown 
 to normal length, her lithe person clothed in proper 
 costume, her round cheeks again aglow, and her 
 brown eyes lighted with interest. It was an attrac 
 tive vision and the basis of it was there. At those 
 times Laurens felt a strange warmth around his 
 heart. 
 
 During those three days the two grew to feel 
 as if they had known each other as many months. 
 They told of the main events of their lives and 
 travels; they talked of almost everything under the
 
 THE RESPITE 57 
 
 sun, avoiding only the personal touch of things that 
 were so near both of them without them realizing 
 it. It was understood that the first concern was for 
 her to regain her strength; the second for both to 
 get into the United States; but the time to consider 
 how best to get there had not yet arrived, seemingly. 
 
 Laurens had not had time to consider his real 
 opinions concerning Josephine Dalzell. He would 
 have laughed at the idea, put bluntly by any one, 
 that she could, and did, in this short length of time, 
 mean more in his life than any other woman he had 
 ever known. He knew that she interested him a 
 great deal. He knew that they were comrades in 
 distress, and that she had aroused all his chivalry 
 by her helplessness. But he had no real knowl 
 edge about the girl. All that he really knew of 
 her from her slight confidences and his own obser 
 vations was that she was an attractive and edu 
 cated young lady, confessedly alone in the world. 
 She had friends in San Francisco, she had said, and 
 felt sure she would be amply provided for on her 
 arrival there. 
 
 What Miss Dalzell knew was that her comrade 
 was a gentleman a man of the world and at home 
 anywhere in it, knowing England, France and Ger 
 many as well as he did his own country, and having
 
 58 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 more than a smattering of China and Japan; that 
 his friends were few, his acquaintances many, and 
 she surmised from her own instinct and his conver 
 sation that he had probably never been entangled 
 in any affair of the heart. She appreciated his treat 
 ment of her, too, and the fact that he had made no 
 attempt to push her confidence. 
 
 They were sitting on the ramada on the evening 
 of the third day, watching the flight of the gulf 
 clouds and the changing colors of the distant moun 
 tains. Both were inclined to be silent. Those days 
 and such evenings were making a halcyon epoch in 
 their lives. Finally Laurens pointed to where a 
 bullet had drilled a hole in the adobe wall of the 
 building, and indicated the smashed window in what 
 had been the "major s room." 
 
 "How came that shutter open at the time you 
 were wounded?" he asked. 
 
 "I hardly know," she replied. "My uncle had 
 called me to him and I spoke to him. Then I heard 
 the shutter open. As I turned to learn the cause I 
 was shot. That is all I remember." 
 
 "Do you think it was the Chinaman who deliber 
 ately opened it, to take a chance to peek out or some 
 thing?" was Laurens query.
 
 THE RESPITE 59 
 
 For a moment she seemed to be in deep thought, 
 and her forehead wrinkled as though those thoughts 
 were not welcome ones. 
 
 "I ve been thinking," she said finally, "thinking 
 and wondering. If Fung Wang opened that shutter 
 purposely for me to be killed, I cannot make out 
 
 his reason, and yet it seems Oh, I can hardly 
 
 believe that," she added wearily. "Why should he 
 have wanted me killed?" 
 
 Before Laurens could express his indignation of 
 the suspicion she had roused against the Oriental, 
 he was stopped by the sight of two horsemen who 
 came tearing along the trail beyond the pecans. 
 They were coming at full speed and he instantly 
 recognized one as Callahan, the other being a Mexi 
 can, as he knew by the flying serape and uncouth 
 sombrero. The young man s heart jumped. Men 
 do not ride like that unless something serious urges 
 them. The Mexican turned from the trail, speed 
 ing toward the corral and quarters, but Callahan 
 came straight on to the house, reining in on reach 
 ing the ramada, his horse sliding in the abruptness 
 of his halt.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 THE FLIGHT 
 
 HE did not dismount, and his face was aflame 
 with hurry and excitement, as it had good 
 cause to be. 
 
 "So ye re still here! Hurry!" he shouted. "Yon 
 der goes me foreman, Dominick. He overtook me 
 two miles down the thrail, him ridin like the wind. 
 He tells me that the divils do be comin back this 
 night to clane me out, kill ivvery soul an bur-r-n 
 iwery buildin to pay for the work ye did to young 
 Villa! They re but tin miles off fifty o thim!" 
 The words poured from him in an unpunctuated 
 stream. 
 
 Laurens sprang to his feet. 
 
 "What are you going to do?" said he, his tones 
 tense. 
 
 "Do? There be but wan thing to do. We can t 
 defind the house agin the rush av thim ! We ve got 
 to git out an domned sudden! And there s but 
 one chanct," he yelled, wheeling his horse. "We ve 
 
 00
 
 THE FLIGHT 61 
 
 got to aim fer Fort Hancock. Tis across the hell 
 o the Flerro desert." 
 
 "Across the desert!" 
 
 "Aye, where else? An iwery wan fer himself. 
 There ll be no chuck-wagon, so ye ll hov to rustle 
 yer own grub, if ye can find it. I ve no horse for 
 ye, but the bhoy has the major s outfit an he ll loan 
 ye the old man s mule." 
 
 He spurred his mount and disappeared behind the 
 house. 
 
 The suddenness of it all came upon Laurens like 
 a clap of thunder. He turned to the girl. Her face 
 had lost its last trace of color and she was trembling. 
 
 "We must get ready at once," said the young man, 
 speaking sharply. 
 
 "Can can I make the ride?" she faltered. "I 
 am very weak; it is over the desert, and Flerro is 
 terrible." 
 
 "I know. But it would be more than terrible to 
 remain here," returned Laurens, tingling with ex 
 citement as he pictured the bandits hurrying toward 
 the ranch. "Neither hell nor high-water can shake 
 off the devils this time ! The place is doomed ! You 
 must go or I must stay here with you. I prom 
 ised your uncle not to desert you, and and I have 
 a selfish interest. Will you trust yourself with me?"
 
 62 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 As he spoke the color came back to her cheeks 
 in a rush. She gave him one glance. "I will go," 
 she said. 
 
 The tragic situation was one to which the ex-naval 
 officer had been schooled to meet. He knew that 
 there were but few preparations which could be 
 made for the flight, but he was on edge for fear 
 the Irishman should go before he and the girl could 
 get ready. With his own hands he raided the cook s 
 quarters, everything being thrown open; with his 
 own hands he filled the sheepskin water-bag and 
 fastened it on the pack-horse belonging to Miss Dal- 
 zell. He was aware that unless the party struck a 
 water-hole the supply would last but twenty-four 
 hours, and Melton had mentioned the journey to 
 Fort Hancock as being a matter of three days. 
 
 In what he did he had no help, for the calm- 
 faced Chinaman would not lift a finger for him. 
 Laurens cursed him up and down as the fellow went 
 about providing for himself, doing it without hurry. 
 The unmoved Celestial completed his own arrange 
 ments and before his mistress was mounted he came 
 from the house, got on his horse and took the reins 
 of the pack animal, looking as stolid and undisturbed 
 as an ox. 
 
 It was nearly eight o clock when the last thing
 
 THE FLIGHT 63 
 
 was done. Laurens lifted the girl to her saddle, and 
 then Fate put a question into his head. "Have you 
 the ivory ball?" he asked in a low voice. 
 
 She looked startled. "No," she whispered. "In 
 my hurry I forgot it. Last night I hid it under the 
 mattress of my bed." 
 
 Laurens looked toward the corral where he saw 
 Callahan gesticulating to his foreman and the mon 
 key-faced cook. They had not yet mounted and he 
 knew he had a few moments to spare. Without a 
 word he ran back into the deserted ranch house and 
 by the sense of feeling, for the interior was dark, 
 he found the box. Why he opened it at that time 
 he could not have told, the box not being his, but 
 open it he did, and his fingers felt only the velvet 
 lining. 
 
 The box was empty. The ball was gone. 
 
 As Laurens realized this he was suddenly seized 
 with the same sense of impending disaster which had 
 beset him on the stoppage of the train. For a mo 
 ment he stood in the dark room trembling like a 
 frightened child, and then he heard the Irishman 
 calling. With a curse for his own weakness he thrust 
 the box into his wide pocket, ran out and climbed 
 into the saddle of the great Spanish mule which had 
 belonged to Josephine s uncle.
 
 64 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 He did not once speak of his discovery. In the 
 face of the tragic outlook the loss of the ball did 
 not appear to be a matter of paramount importance. 
 
 A few moments later the group of doomed build 
 ings was left behind, every window and door being 
 closed to make it appear that the place held its 
 garrison for defense. It was Laurens idea. The 
 bandits would approach cautiously, and the longer 
 they maneuvered around the empty house the longer 
 their delay in pursuit. 
 
 To save their horses for the future they went over 
 the grassland at an easy pace, Callahan riding well 
 ahead and forever looking back as if in fear. It 
 was a fair country through which they passed under 
 the mellow light of a nearly full moon swimming 
 in a deep blue sky. 
 
 Mile after mile they went without a sign of being 
 followed by the bandits and with hardly a word 
 spoken, and when it at length became certain that 
 they could not be overtaken that night the young 
 man drew his mule close to the girl s mount. "I 
 have the box you forgot," he said, in a guarded 
 voice. "Are you sure the ball is in it?" 
 
 "Absolutely. I was looking at it last night. You 
 found it under the mattress?"
 
 THE FLIGHT 65 
 
 "Yes. Would you care very much if the ball were 
 lost?" 
 
 For a moment she appeared embarrassed, wetting 
 her lips, then, as if in desperation, she answered: 
 "I would, indeed. It was my father s only legacy 
 to me. To be frank with you, Mr. Laurens, I hope 
 and expect to find its true worth and sell it. I will 
 need the money. I have less than a thousand dollars 
 in the world." 
 
 "Pardon me but your uncle " 
 
 "Had exhausted his means and was traveling on 
 the money I loaned him. Of course that is lost. He 
 promised me great things as soon as we reached 
 New York." 
 
 It was too delicate a subject to pursue with good 
 taste. Laurens changed it. "Did you make your 
 own bed this morning?" he asked 
 
 "No. Fung Wang offered to and I let him. He 
 is not my servant, you know; after my father s death 
 he became my uncle s valet." She suddenly turned 
 to him. "Mr. Laurens, you are hiding something 
 from me ! You did not find the ball !" 
 
 "No. The box was empty." 
 
 "Then Fung Wang has it ! He has stolen it, else 
 He would have told me." 
 
 "I believe you ara right," returned Laurens, "and
 
 66 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 if he has it, as he probably has, it is far from being 
 lost. Trust me ; I will get it from him if I have to 
 take his fat life with it." 
 
 "You will use force? But Fung Wang will not 
 fight." 
 
 "I don t care what he does," said Laurens, setting 
 his teeth. "If he has the ojimi I will have it from 
 him." 
 
 Laurens had an intense dislike for the Oriental 
 and would have welcomed a bout with him, though 
 he could not force one. That he had taken the ball 
 the young man had not the slightest doubt; the 
 Chinaman .s actions at sight of the box had showed 
 his great interest in it; but what it was to him and 
 why he ran the risk of almost openly stealing it 
 were mysteries. 
 
 Four mortal hours they rode on without a halt. 
 Gradually the trees became scarcer and smaller, 
 giving place to stunted shin-oak. Patches of sand 
 and bunches of cacti appeared, while the grass grew 
 thinner and poorer and the skinny grease-wood be 
 came a feature. They were nearing the arid land 
 lying east of the sheep country, which stretches its 
 inferno clear to the banks of the Rio Grande. 
 
 Absolute silence had fallen on the whole party. 
 The air had grown fairly cold but was without brae-
 
 THE FLIGHT 67 
 
 ing quality. Several times Laurens saw the girl reel 
 in her saddle, but she always greeted his inquiring 
 look with a wan smile and a shake of her small 
 head. He admired her grit, for he knew she must 
 be suffering from weakness, if not pain. 
 
 At midnight, to the great relief of all, Callahan 
 halted to let the animals have the last of the grass; 
 and it was full time, as it had become plain to the 
 man from the north that the girl could not hold 
 out for another mile without rest. Her face in the 
 moonlight was like chalk, and as he lifted her from 
 the saddle she almost fainted. She was completely 
 exhausted, but not a word of complaint passed her 
 white lips; and she almost instantly fell into a deep 
 sleep under the blanket he tucked around her. 
 
 But there was no sleep for Laurens just then. He 
 had his work cut out. After picketing the mule he 
 looked around for the Chinaman, who had always 
 trailed, but he was nowhere to be seen. Thinking 
 he might have staked out his own horse and the 
 pack animal near where Callahan had settled down 
 he walked over the low divide. The Irishman, 
 Dominick and the cook were there but Fung Wang 
 was not. Laurens noticed that the Chinaman s 
 mount was missing with its owner. He went up to 
 the busy cook who was bustling over a pack, Calla-
 
 68 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 ban and his foreman being some distance away. 
 "Where s that chink?" he asked, and there was 
 something in his voice which demanded the Mexi 
 can s attention. "I no see heem for long time, 
 boss," he returned. "He taka hoss he go thata 
 way." He pointed toward the low sand swells to 
 the north. 
 
 Laurens did not lose a second. Running back to 
 his mule he flung saddle and bridle on it, and with 
 the risk of following a lost scent, but hot with in 
 dignation, he drove into the semi-desert. The 
 Chinaman had the ball and he had deserted from 
 the party; Laurens knew it as surely as if the man 
 had told him. 
 
 He would not have accomplished his end had it 
 not been for the clear moonlight and the patches of 
 barren sand. With them he was able to pick up the 
 careless trail, but it was so long before he sighted 
 the Chinaman that he was almost in a panic. At 
 last he caught sight of the fat figure as horse and 
 man crossed a hillock, and he instantly sent out a 
 hail to halt. The surprised Oriental obeyed and a 
 moment later Laurens reached his side. He began 
 without preface. 
 
 "Fung Wang, you no like me I no like you. 
 You run off like one damn dog. I know why. You
 
 THE FLIGHT 69 
 
 want little ivory ball hid in bed you go way with. 
 Now I want " 
 
 From his years spent in China, Laurens had come 
 to the conclusion that Chinamen of the obvious type 
 of Fung Wang could only understand that variety 
 of English known as "pidgin." Though not versed 
 in its intricacies, he believed that he could make the 
 stolid Chinaman understand his meaning better if 
 couched in simple words as nearly approaching 
 pidgin English as possible. So he held out his hand 
 with an unmistakable gesture. 
 
 "Give me!" he demanded. 
 
 The -Chinaman sat still on his horse and looked 
 at the young man silently for a few moments; then 
 there passed over his face the same sort of spasm 
 Laurens had noticed once before when talking to 
 him. 
 
 "Mr, Laurens v if you will consent to speak in your 
 native language I think we will get along better." 
 The words were in as clear and correct English as 
 Laurens himself could have used; it was like hear 
 ing an animal suddenly talk. 
 
 For a moment the American felt foolish, but the 
 next instant his anger flamed higher, though at the 
 same time he felt a certain respect for the man. 
 
 "Then you are no common coolie !" he exclaimed.
 
 70 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "You are quite correct, sir. I received much of 
 my education in your country." 
 
 "And you have been masquerading! Why?" 
 
 "My purposes are my own affair," was the an 
 swer, but there was nothing of the defiant in his 
 attitude as he sat in his saddle. Laurens wondered 
 if his confidence came from his being armed, but it 
 made little difference to him. 
 
 "Let your purposes be what they may; you have 
 the ball belonging to Miss Dalzell." 
 
 "Well, sir?" 
 
 "Have you not?" 
 
 "I refuse to answer." 
 
 "But had better not refuse to act. Get fron-\ 
 your horse or I ll pull you from it." As he made 
 the demand he drew his revolver. 
 
 The Chinaman at once obeyed and stood on the 
 sand while Laurens dismounted and stepped near 
 him. He was rather puzzled at the Oriental s quick 
 compliance with orders. Had the fellow offered to 
 draw a weapon he would have shot him like a snake. 
 
 "Now, you thief, I want the ball you took from 
 this." With one hand Laurens held out the teak- 
 wood box, the other being ready for any act of 
 treachery. The apparently calm Chinaman made 
 no return, only looking at him through his slits of
 
 THE FLIGHT 71 
 
 eyes. There was absolutely no emotion on the fat 
 face, and the man s whole attitude was one of con 
 temptuous insolence. Laurens slipped both box and 
 revolver into his pocket and threw off his coat. 
 
 "You damned pagan, you cannot pretend to mis 
 understand me when I tell you that if you don t 
 produce that ball in ten seconds I will take it from 
 you." 
 
 Not a word was returned. The Chinaman simply 
 stood there in the moonlight as unmoved and un- 
 moving as though he were a fixture in the landscape. 
 His continued silence brought the American s temper 
 to a climax, and without warning he leaped for him 
 and caught him with the force of a football tackle. 
 
 And then Laurens was astonished. The China 
 man did not even raise a hand when he was grappled 
 and the athletic man threw him to the ground as 
 easily as he had many a time upset a dummy on the 
 gridiron, and the Oriental lay where he fell. And 
 still without the least resistance he allowed Laurens 
 to go through his clothing. There was no weapon 
 but a closed clasp-knife, but the ball was found. It 
 was wrapped in a piece of fine Chinese silk. 
 
 Once the thing was in his possession Laurens 
 straightened himself and cursed the prostrate Celes 
 tial as few men are ever cursed, damning his ances-
 
 72 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 tors along with him. "Get up," he finally com 
 manded. 
 
 The other did not move. 
 
 "I don t know who you are," Laurens went on, 
 tempted to kick him if only from disgust at his 
 supineness, "but you are not what you seem a 
 servant. Your assumed position is a gigantic lie! 
 Have you anything to say?" 
 
 The Chinaman looked up at him and spoke 
 calmly: "Confucius says: He who lies on the ground 
 cannot fall far. You will remember, sir, that I have 
 not raised my .hand against you, even in self-defense. 
 You have used violence." 
 
 "I am not likely to forget your mushiness ! Will 
 you tell me about this ball you stole?" 
 
 At the question something like animation came to 
 the Chinaman. He raised himself to his elbow and 
 pointed at Laurens. "I will tell you nothing, sir, 
 at least at present, and never at your demand. I 
 have submitted to force, but your God may pity you 
 from this day forward. Confucious says: He who 
 takes an ox must return a horse. Go from me, Mr. 
 Laurens. You think you have won, but remember 
 another axiom of Confucins : A living gnat is more 
 dangerous than a dead serpent. 
 
 It was a thinly veiled threat for the future. "You
 
 THE FLIGHT 73 
 
 had better see to it that, gnat as you are, you keep 
 out of my way in future." 
 
 Even as he spoke Laurens wondered who this man 
 was. Why did he tamely submit to being assaulted? 
 He was certain that cowardice alone did not account 
 for it. If the Chinaman had intended to let him 
 have his way why had he not given up the ball and 
 saved himself additional humiliation? They were 
 questions he could not answer. But he had a final 
 word for him. 
 
 "Fung Wang, or whoever you may be, from now 
 on you will shift for yourself. I wish nothing fur 
 ther to do with you; and if you again approach the 
 young lady who is under my care you will regret 
 it more than you do that which has just happened. 
 You understand me?" 
 
 There was no answer. Laurens remounted his 
 mule and rode off some distance before looking back. 
 Fung Wang was still on the ground, face down, his 
 arms extended and his fingers clutching the loose 
 sand an attitude of deep despair.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 IN THE DESERT 
 
 IT was still dark when camp was broken and the 
 party again started. The moon had set and 
 the air was bitterly cold. The girl seemed 
 some better for her rest, but she did not appear 
 greatly interested when Laurens told her of his ad 
 venture with Fung Wang. She was too weak to do 
 much talking. "He has no fight in him," he said, 
 in conclusion. "He is a mush of softness. I could 
 have stabbed him with a feather without ruffling its 
 
 beard! And yet " He stopped as he thought 
 
 of a certain dignity in the man as he lay on the sand 
 and quoted from Confucius. 
 
 "I think you did well in ordering him to keep 
 away," was about all the girl said in reply. 
 
 Laurens gave her the ball, and not wishing to be 
 trammeled by the empty box, and not caring to 
 throw it away, he tied it to the horn of the girl s 
 saddle. 
 
 74
 
 IN THE DESERT 75 
 
 When the sun sprang up in a brazen sky they had 
 advanced well into the desert proper, there now 
 being nothing in sight but sand, cactus, greasewood, 
 and a little sage and bunch-grass. They were well 
 past the indefinite line where the inferno of scarcity 
 merges into the veritable hades of the Flerro Desert, 
 the sister of the great American waste north of the 
 Rio Grande. There is an actual horror to the land, 
 but it is a horror that is fascinating; and it holds 
 a peculiar beauty of distance, of form, of color, 
 which has lured many a curious victim into its capa 
 cious maw. 
 
 It is a tragic part of God s footstool. The few 
 living things which spring from the earth take an 
 early look at the world and cease growing, then put 
 on thorns to meet the conditions of scarcity and save 
 themselves from annihilation. Treachery is every 
 where. It lurks under a sage brush in the shape of 
 the venomous side-winder; it is in the white dust, 
 the alkali of which sears like a hot iron. It is even 
 in the sky. At night the heavens draw very near 
 and the stars shine with a brightness peculiar to the 
 region; it is like the smile of a lovely woman. But 
 by day the terrible sun lashes the land; the sky 
 changes its humor; it is no longer feminine in its 
 softness; it is a fury.
 
 76 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 The travelers found these conditions. When the 
 sun rose the chill of the night was almost instantly 
 dispelled and the heavens blasted them. Laurens 
 had known heat in the tropics, but it was as nothing 
 to that of the Flerro Desert; and his thirst was in 
 tolerable. He had looked for the Chinaman and 
 failed to see him; but when broad day came and 
 there was no sign of him the young man was worried 
 a trifle, for he had not meant to drive him to perish 
 alone in that horrible land. The girl showed little 
 interest in anything, and before half the morning 
 had passed she looked as if she might faint and fall 
 from her horse at any moment. Laurens watched 
 her carefully, giving her quantities of water, and 
 undoubtedly his attention saved her from complete 
 collapse that day. He dreaded to think of the day 
 to follow. 
 
 At sunset they came upon a water-hole, but it 
 was as dry as a sun-baked stirrup-leather. Even 
 Callahan looked blank and Laurens was fairly 
 frightened; his store of water was two-thirds gone 
 and it would be two more days to Fort Hancock. 
 He feared for the girl; he feared for himself, and 
 began to feel sure that his charge would never get 
 to the Rio Grande, even if the already dragging 
 animals did not give out. He hunted up the Irish-
 
 man to ask hirrt about the next water-hole and found 
 him standing over the clean bones of a human skele 
 ton lying a few hundred feet from where they had 
 camped for the night. 
 
 It was an uncanny sight, under the conditions. In 
 the center of the forehead of the bleached skull was 
 a hole the size of the young man s thumb and he 
 knew it had been made by a bullet. 
 
 "Apache work?" he asked, speaking to the Irish 
 man for the first time that day. Callahan turned 
 his bleary red eyes on him and Laurens saw he had 
 been drinking. 
 
 "Not on yer life!" was the growling return. 
 "Injuns don t work that way, an they s been no 
 Apache outrage fer two year! Ye can see that the 
 slats o this felly lie on top o the ground, so tis 
 not long since he croaked." 
 
 "Was it murder?" 
 
 "Divil a bit o murder! He was plugged t rough 
 the brain by some wan who wanted to do him a 
 favor. Likely he was dyin o thirst or fever, an* 
 his party couldn t wait, seein the water-hole was 
 dry. Twould have finished thim all if they had to 
 play nurse to a helpless man." 
 
 "And they killed him rather than desert him 
 alive?"
 
 78 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "Shure !" said Callahan. "An I wud do the same 
 fer ye or anywan. There ll be no waitin fer 
 thim that goes down; let me tell ye that. 
 
 "Hav a dhrink." He held out a flask of whisky. 
 
 "No," said the young man, recoiling. "Where is 
 the next water-hole?" 
 
 "God knows I don t," was the ready return. 
 "We ve a chanct to come to wan; that s all I can 
 say." He laughed and put the flask to his lips. 
 
 In utter dejection Laurens went back to camp. 
 Within an hour Callahan was drunk, and Dominick 
 and the cook went to sleep in fine disregard of the 
 conditions. After seeing that the girl was well 
 wrapped up, Laurens flung himself on the ground 
 and followed suit. 
 
 They were up early next morning and greatly to 
 the young man s relief the young woman looked 
 some better, though she was but the shadow of her 
 self. Not a word of complaint did she utter, but 
 it was clear that her vitality was low. After a few 
 mouthfuls of food Laurens hustled to start and on 
 going to the water-skin to lash it on the pack-horse 
 he made a discovery that nearly bowled him over. 
 
 For the water-bag was gone. He had filled the 
 girl s individual bottle, and his own, the night be 
 fore, and had given a little to the animals, then
 
 IN THE DESERT 79 
 
 placed it on top of the pack. But it was no longer 
 there. He thought that perhaps the Mexicans had 
 stolen his supply and he quietly searched the camp 
 for it, but could not even find the empty skin. He 
 was panic-stricken, but said nothing to Callahan, who 
 glowered at everything as he sat on the sand, his 
 red eyes like fire. It would be useless to face the 
 explosion which would come if he accused anyone 
 of the theft of his water supply. "Where s that 
 domned chink?" asked the Irishman, roaring out the 
 question. 
 
 "I don t know. I haven t seen him since night 
 before last," returned Laurens, his heat turning to 
 ice as a glimmer of the truth came to him. 
 
 "The divil fly off wid him, wherever he is!" 
 laughed Callahan. The young man turned away. 
 He knew that practically the same indifference 
 would be shown if he told the Irishman of his loss. 
 He went back to the girl, sick at heart, but he dared 
 not tell her. Tragedy seemed to lay close ahead. 
 
 And into it they drove. There was nothing else 
 to do, and all that day was like a horrible dream to 
 Laurens. The night had brought its usual cold, but 
 by noon the heat was at least 130 degrees and the 
 excessively dry, hot air sapped all moisture. The 
 young man was half crazed by thirst, but he had
 
 80 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 sense enough to cherish the last of the nauseous 
 fluid in his bottle though he was beset by an over 
 whelming desire to drink it all at once. His only 
 hope was to come upon a water-hole. To stop now 
 meant death. 
 
 No one spoke without necessity. Lips were 
 cracked and tongues were like dry bones. Miss Dal- 
 zell sat on her drooping horse like a corpse lashed 
 to the saddle, her eyes without expression, her face 
 like stone. The first animal to fall was Laurens 
 pack-horse. It went down with a groan and was 
 soon followed by one of Callahan s, but on they went 
 without attempting to shift the burdens, leaving the 
 beasts to the vultures. 
 
 But for all the young man s misery he was not 
 entirely dead to the sinister beauty of the terrible 
 land. The distances were glowing with purples and 
 delicate crimsons, and the mirage shifted its alluring 
 pictures on the screen of the quivering, superheated 
 air; but it did not deceive him. They were now 
 strung out far apart, Laurens and the girl half a 
 mile in the rear of the others and often losing sight 
 of them. The great Spanish mule, a giant of an 
 animal, showed signs of distress, while the girl s 
 mount stumbled along with its head hanging low.
 
 IN THE DESERT 81 
 
 Even in the dimness of his brain Laurens knew it 
 must soon give out and then what? 
 
 He was too far gone thoroughly to realize con 
 ditions; nothing lay heavily on his numbed mind and 
 much of his suffering was already sub-conscious. But 
 his objective agony was keen enough; he cursed the 
 blinding, sweltering, blasting sun, and at times was 
 cursed in turn by visions of coolness watermelons 
 with beads of moisture standing out on them, the 
 pink pulp dripping lusciously. He saw bunches of 
 wet water-cress, and again, blocks of clear ice lay on 
 the sand in front of him. He knew they were de 
 lusions and that he was failing mentally. He would 
 have given all his wealth to have wallowed in the 
 filthy, March slush of a New York gutter. He saw 
 himself doing it. 
 
 The man was dreaming, but never in his dreams 
 was it borne to him that not a great way behind, and 
 sometimes momentarily in sight as he came over a 
 swell of sand, was the Chinaman, imperturbable and 
 calm-faced, sitting on his horse whose nostrils he 
 frequently wet from the supply of water held in the 
 two bags lashed to his saddle. His eyes were 
 almost always fixed on the specks of humanity he 
 sometimes saw in the distance, and if one could have
 
 read those eyes they would have seen in them 
 tenacity of purpose. 
 
 The end came suddenly enough. It was late in 
 the afternoon and the girl had, without knowing it, 
 drawn near to Laurens. The party ahead had long 
 been out of sight. For some reason the man awoke 
 to the fact that there had come a change in the sky 
 though not in the heat; he realized in a dull way 
 that there was a sign of coming relief, but he was 
 too far gone even to thank God for it. He dimly 
 knew the meaning of the low, blue-black bank of 
 clouds which had lifted above the northern horizon, 
 its top as straight and level as though ruled. At 
 first he had thought it a mesa, blue in the distance, 
 but a few minutes later he recognized it for what 
 it was a coming storm a "norther" one of the 
 violent tempests peculiar to those latitudes and 
 which turns the tropics to the arctics, in an hour 
 perhaps. He knew it would bring wind and possibly 
 hail and rain on the following day, but would he live 
 that long? He existed in the present only; to him 
 there was no future. He had forgotten the things 
 of the day before; he had forgotten the Chinaman, 
 the ivory ball, the fight with the insurrectos. The 
 dull tragedy of the hour obliterated all else. 
 
 The sky was like a demon as it smote him. His
 
 IN THE DESERT 83 
 
 mule stumbled. He vaguely remembered getting off 
 and walking by its side to ease the animal to lose 
 which meant the end of all, and he had come upon 
 an outcropping of living rock jutting from the bot 
 tom of a swale. His poor beast made a piteous 
 noise in his throat, and at that instant Laurens 
 heard the sound of running water. It was no freak 
 of his brain; it was the noise of gushing, bubbling 
 water, and it was flowing rapidly as if over a 
 rocky bed. 
 
 He stopped and looked around, locating the 
 source of the wonderful music in an instant. A cleft 
 not two fingers wide lay at his feet and from the 
 opening came the subdued roar of a fast running 
 stream. Such anomalous conditions are not infre 
 quent in the desert; the land above may be aflame 
 but under its surface may run a sluice of water and 
 give no sign. 
 
 Laurens tried to shout but his baked tongue and 
 dry throat did not permit a sound. He dropped on 
 his knees and laid his ear to the cleft and then 
 knew that the water was far beyond his reach; it 
 was a sunken river from twenty to fifty feet below 
 and there was no way of getting at it. He had been 
 more than half crazed before, but now the suggestive 
 sound made further endurance impossible. No mor-
 
 84 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 phine fiend ever reached for his drug with half the 
 fervor he reached for his water-bottle, willing to 
 sacrifice the future to the present. In a frenzy of 
 haste he tore out the cork and the violence of the 
 act jerked the flask from his hand. He saw it whirl 
 from him and strike the rock on which he stood; he 
 heard the splintering of glass, and the next moment 
 he was stupidly looking at the fragments of the bot 
 tle and the damp spot where the trickle of water had 
 almost instantly disappeared. 
 
 Then he went to pieces. He tried to give one 
 mighty yell, and tearing off his cap flung it far from 
 him, the first clear sign of a desert-locoed brain, and 
 then he became aware that he was clutching a bottle 
 and swallowing great gulps of a warm, slimy fluid 
 which tasted like nectar. 
 
 When a man is demented by desert thirst, water 
 is a quick remedy, even moistening the tongue turn 
 ing him from madness to sanity almost instantly. So 
 the slimy water he had taken acted like magic on 
 Laurens. He came to himself and saw the girl 
 standing by his side. 
 
 And then he knew. He stared at her and at the 
 empty bottle in her hand, but he did not even thank 
 her. Her beauty was gone, her eyes sunken, her 
 cheeks fallen in, her lips swollen, cracked and dark.
 
 IN THE DESERT 85 
 
 She tried to speak to him but only a clacking noise 
 came from her throat, and as Laurens looked at her 
 she slowly reeled sidewise and fell on the sand by 
 the edge of the rock.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 A CLIMAX 
 
 A her fall Laurens became keenly alive. He 
 bent over her but she was entirely uncon 
 scious. He chafed her hands; he called her 
 by name, but by every outward sign he believed her 
 to be dying, for her breath was feeble and the slow 
 rise and fall of her bosom almost imperceptible. He 
 looked around in despair. Nothing was in sight but 
 the swells of the desert and the two animals, each 
 with its muzzle close to the cleft in the rock. Like 
 one beset he mounted the mule and raced after those 
 ahead. The water had revived him and for the 
 moment he felt all his old strength. 
 
 He now knew what the girl had sacrified for him. 
 His own selfishness seemed colossal and the fact that 
 what he had done was done unconsciously did not 
 relieve his sense of shame. 
 
 In less than a mile he overtook Callahan and the 
 two Mexicans. The Irishman, far gone himself, 
 was in no aggressive mood, and when Laurens told 
 
 86
 
 A CLIMAX 87 
 
 him that the boy was down Callahan only nodded 
 and crossed himself. "God help us all!" he mut 
 tered thickly. 
 
 "But a little water may save him !" exclaimed Lau- 
 rens, on fire with hurry. "Let me have it, or, by 
 heaven! I ll take it if I die for it!" 
 
 The Irishman drew in his horse and looked at 
 him with something like despair in his eyes. 
 "Wather, is ut! God knows ye might have it, were 
 there a drop. Wan skin was used an is as dry as 
 me tongue, an the other well, sor, this marnin 
 twas found wid a thorn hole in the bottom an is 
 as empty as the head av the man we saw lyin in 
 his bones. Where s your own wather?" 
 
 Laurens told him of the unexplained loss. Calla 
 han looked at him blankly for a moment then 
 brought his great hand down on his thigh with a 
 blow like a pistol shot. Twas that domned 
 chink!" he exclaimed. " Twas Fung Wang! He 
 hates me as he hates ye. He stole yer bag in the 
 night, an by the same token it could have been no 
 thorn that emptied mine!" 
 
 The information was no great surprise to Lau 
 rens, but his heart went to his boots. "And the boy? 
 What " 
 
 "There is but wan thing I can do for the lad,"
 
 83 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 interrupted Callahan. "Stay here." And with that 
 he drove his horse to where Dominick and the cook 
 had halted. Laurens saw him beckon to the fore 
 man and speak a few words in a low voice. The 
 man nodded, and turning his horse rode back in the 
 direction from which the young man had come. Cal 
 lahan returned. "Where is Dominick going?" asked 
 Laurens. 
 
 "Ye had better stop here an ask no questions," 
 was the reply, and then the anxious man knew. 
 
 "Do you mean that you have sent him back to 
 murder the boy?" he demanded, his blood suddenly 
 surging. 
 
 "Ye ve an ugly name fer a favor," was the an 
 swer. "D ye mind the slats o the felly by the dry 
 wather-hole? The only chanct ye hov to reach the 
 Rio is to kape movin ! Do ye look to me to lay 
 by an nur-r-se the lad? He s past nur-r-sin , me 
 frind! Dominick is the only doctor fer him!" 
 
 If he said more Laurens did not hear him. His 
 answer was an oath flung at the Irishman as he dug 
 his heels into the ribs of the mule and urged him 
 after the Mexican who had already disappeared. 
 When he gained sight of him Dominick had reached 
 the rock and dismounted and Laurens saw the sun 
 flash from the barrel of the revolver he carried in
 
 A CLIMAX 89 
 
 his hand. A minute more and he would have been 
 too late, but he raised his voice in a last despairing 
 shout which seemed to have no power like one s 
 shout in a dream but it carried. Dominick looked 
 up and saw him coming but continued his walk to 
 ward the prostrate body. He was standing look 
 ing down on it when Laurens threw himself from 
 his mule and reached his side. "Heem almos* 
 gone, said the Mexican. "Why you come 
 
 back?" 
 
 "Were you going to kill?" demanded Laurens, 
 stepping between him and the girl. The man 
 shrugged his shoulders. "Eet is the signer s orders, 
 my fren," he returned in a low, musical voice. 
 "Turn away, signor. Eet will soon be of the past." 
 He cocked his revolver and made as if to step 
 around the young man but he was pushed aside. 
 Laurens thrust his white face into the dark one of 
 the other. "If you attempt to shoot that boy I ll 
 put a bullet into you ! Sabe ?" 
 
 "The signor he object?" replied the Mexican, 
 opening his black eyes as if in wonder. "But, my 
 orders, signor!" 
 
 "Damn your orders ! It is my order that you get 
 back to your master at once or stay here forever." 
 As he spoke Laurens drew his revolver.
 
 90 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 The Mexican understood the threat even if he 
 failed to follow the words. With a feeble smile and 
 another indifferent raising of the shoulders he 
 walked to his horse, mounted it and rode away with 
 out looking around. It was the last that Laurens 
 ever saw of him, Callahan, or the cook. 
 
 He turned his attention to the girl. She was still 
 alive and he thought her partially conscious, but she 
 was unable to speak or even move her lips. In the 
 hope that she understood him he poured out words 
 which he never would have dared to utter had the 
 conditions been different. He believed she was 
 dying, and beyond this short outpouring of his soul 
 he could do nothing but wait for the end. And then? 
 He did not trouble himself about the future; that 
 appeared plain enough. 
 
 John Laurens was not the kind of man to indulge 
 in heroic moods. His motives, as they concerned 
 Josephine Dalzell, had scarcely been influenced by 
 his promise to the girl s uncle not to desert her. 
 From first to last he had acted from pure impulse 
 the impulse that arises at the call of sex to sex; or 
 perhaps it was the finger of Fate which had guided 
 him. But he knew that if he had allowed the Mexi 
 can to free the girl of her suffering and relieve him 
 of his self-undertaken responsibility he would have
 
 A CLIMAX 91 
 
 had murder on his soul. It would have been the 
 same as if he had gone on with Callahan, leaving her 
 to die alone. 
 
 He sat by the girl s side with his bare head in 
 his hands until the sun went down, only once look 
 ing up and noticing that the bank of clouds had 
 grown perceptibly higher. Night fell, and it falls 
 suddenly in that region. The full moon rose, and 
 then came the chill a chill that struck to his mar 
 row. It aroused him to a sense of his situation, and 
 it probably revived the girl, for as he got to his feet 
 he saw her eyes were open. Once she moved, shift 
 ing her body slightly as if uneasy, but she could not 
 speak. Laurens took off his coat and spread it over 
 her, the blankets being miles behind on the dead 
 pack-horse, then he walked up and down to keep his 
 blood moving. His thirst was again intense, but he 
 tried not to think of it. 
 
 The moon was glorious, the sky tender, the bril 
 liant stars swung low. In the north the black pall 
 crept slowly aloft, so slowly that from hour to hour 
 the man could not mark their lift. There was no 
 wind and the stillness was more like a thing than a 
 condition; it was a relief to hear the crunch of sand 
 under foot and the movements of the animals still 
 nosing the rock-cleft.
 
 92 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Laurens must have walked miles in the night, and 
 that within a space of three hundred feet, always 
 watching the clouds and wondering when the storm, 
 his only hope, would break. It was toward morn 
 ing and he was just turning at the end of his beat 
 when he was astonished to see the girl sit up. He 
 ran toward her, but before he could reach her she 
 fell back and became as rigid as the rock near which 
 she lay. 
 
 Laurens went to his knees beside her, but the 
 sudden hope he had entertained was at once obliter 
 ated when he looked closely into her face. To him 
 it was plain that her attempt to rise had been the 
 final and spasmodic effort of nature. She was dead 
 dead by every test he could make. Not a breath 
 came from her swollen mouth, not a heartbeat or 
 pulse flutter could he discover, and her wide-open 
 eyes were like glass in the moonlight. 
 
 He was free at last free to take up Callahan s 
 trail and follow him free to follow her free to 
 do anything. Save for the girl s body and the two 
 animals he was alone in the hellish desert. 
 
 For a time he looked stupidly at the figure before 
 him, then did what he had not dared do before. He 
 bent and kissed her white forehead, and then he
 
 A CLIMAX 93 
 
 knew and fully knew why he had been stanch and 
 considerate. 
 
 Laurens manhood had been sorely tried and the 
 last of it seemed to desert him. He dropped on 
 the sand beside the still body and his own shook 
 under dry sobs, for there was no moisture for tears. 
 He was like a stricken child, but he was no longer 
 frightened, his mental and physical misery being 
 too abject for fright. Finally he drifted into forget- 
 fulness or imbecility, and when he again came to 
 have a partial sense of things it was because the 
 risen sun was blasting his bare head. 
 
 He looked around like one awakened by a blow. 
 The clouds had risen until they reached to near the 
 zenith, a vast slate colored curtain which would soon 
 eclipse the sun. Far to the south a few specks 
 drifted across the still glaring blue, growing larger. 
 Laurens knew what they were. The vultures were 
 gathering. 
 
 Nothing else had changed. The girl still lay near 
 him, her eyes wide, staring at the sky. They troubled 
 him. He got from his coat the handkerchief he 
 had found, and which he now knew had been hers, 
 and spread it over the upturned face, doing it rever 
 ently. After that he took out his card, wrote on it 
 her name and the date of her death and placed it
 
 94 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 between her stiff fingers. It might be found some 
 day, but at present it was her only gravestone. At 
 least he thought he wrote the meager record of her 
 death, but none could have made out the scrawling, 
 meaningless characters. He had done all he could 
 and he felt that he ought to leave, even then recog 
 nizing that he owed a duty to himself. 
 
 He went toward the animals. The girl s horse 
 was already down, having died in the night, the 
 teakwood box still dangling from the saddle-horn 
 where he had tied it. As for the ball, he was as 
 far from thinking of it as an insane man could be. 
 
 He staggered toward his mule, then suddenly 
 stopped in wonder. For the great animal had lost 
 its head. It seemed very funny to Laurens and he 
 laughed aloud, but it was the cackling laugh of an 
 idiot. He sat on the ground and began tossing sand 
 into the air, like a child at play. Finally he saw the 
 Chinaman appear from behind a swell. As he came 
 on silently with long strides he grew taller and taller 
 until his head reached the sun and darkened it. And 
 then Laurens got to his knees, grovelled before him 
 and prayed that he end his suffering. Suddenly he 
 lurched forward and lay still. 
 
 For moments deathly silence reigned there in the 
 burning desert, with no slightest move from either
 
 A CLIMAX 95 
 
 of the stark, staring figures lying on trie sand. Then 
 from over a hummock there appeared the head and 
 then the full figure of Fung Wang as he drew himself 
 up to full length from the crouching position of wait 
 ing he had assumed and cautiously surveyed the 
 scene before him. His slippered feet slid over the 
 space between him and the body of Laurens and he 
 stood looking down on it, in his slits of eyes a light 
 of triumph and vindication. He did not bend over 
 the body to see if there was one remaining spark of 
 life. Instead, he suddenly spurned it with his foot 
 and muttered: 
 
 "Dog! Dog of a Christian! May you find your 
 Christian hell!" 
 
 Then he turned his attention to the girl. But 
 there was a different light in the eyes as he bent 
 over her, every faculty alert to see if life still re 
 mained. There was even much of tenderness in his 
 manner, a manner that would have turned Laurens 
 to a fury could he have seen it tenderness and an 
 air of proprietorship, as though he had been wait 
 ing for this time. He unslung his water bottle and 
 poured some of the nauseous fluid between her set 
 lips. Then he patiently bathed her face, chafed her 
 hands and again and again moistened the baked 
 lips. But the girl did not stir; she gave no sign of
 
 96 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 life. It seemed that the ministrations of the Chinese 
 had come too late to be of any aid to her. 
 
 Still Fung Wang persisted in his attempts to re 
 vive Josephine Dalzell. A slight sigh and a flutter 
 ing of the white eyelids at last told him he was being 
 rewarded. 
 
 As suddenly as she had fallen into her state of 
 coma, the girl, under the life-giving influence of the 
 healing water, came back to life. She struggled to 
 sit up and looked dazedly at the Chinaman who bent 
 over her, all expression that he may have had a 
 personal interest in keeping her alive now gone from 
 his face. 
 
 "Fung Wang!" she cried. "You here? 
 What " 
 
 Stolid as ever the Chinaman s tones held their 
 usual note of subservience. 
 
 "All light, now, Missy," he said, and his manner 
 was soothing and consoling. "All light. Melican 
 go daid, Fung Wang he come, give water, save 
 Missy." 
 
 Something like a sob came from the throat of 
 Josephine Dalzell as she listened to her servant s 
 explanation. Her feelings underwent a rapid 
 change. How she had misjudged this faithful man ! 
 Only a few hours it had been since she had virtually
 
 A CLIMAX 97 
 
 accused him to Laurens of deliberately wanting to 
 have her murdered and now he had saved her life ! 
 There was real gratitude in her eyes as she glanced 
 up at Fung Wang. 
 
 "Thank God, you came in time, Fung Wang!" 
 she murmured fervently. "I thought I was dying 
 was dead, perhaps. If we ever reach safety, and 
 there is ever any thing I can do for you " 
 
 The Chinaman s head was turned away from the 
 girl, and she could not see the look of vile animal 
 passion that crossed his ugly face as she spoke. 
 When he again turned toward her, his countenance 
 was as bland and uncompromising as ever. 
 
 "You better?" he asked, aiding the girl to sit up. 
 "We go now." 
 
 "But but Mr. Laurens!" She looked about her 
 wildly and the horror came back as she saw the piti 
 ful figure lying nearby on the sand. 
 
 "Missy not look," was the Chinaman s reply. 
 "Laurens, he go daid. We no can do good." 
 
 In a flash it all swept over the girl what Laurens 
 had done for her. She remembered his self-sac 
 rifice, his patient attentions, his determination never 
 to desert her. In that same flash it was brought 
 to her what the man had really meant to her, and 
 her cup of bitterness was full- He had meant so
 
 98 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 much could have meant so much more I And now 
 he was dead! She wondered if there could be any 
 slightest hope. She struggled to her knees and then 
 to her feet, and tottered over toward the man, but 
 the Chinaman gently pushed her aside as he knelt 
 beside the body of Laurens, lifted up his eyelids, 
 shook his head after he had felt the pulse and mur 
 mured regretfully: 
 
 "No can do." 
 
 Fung Wang pointed out the gathering clouds to 
 the girl, and the fact that it was growing late in 
 the day. They must go on. They could do no good 
 by remaining here with a dead man. With all the 
 sorrow of the world in her eyes dimmed with tears, 
 Josephine Dalzell realized that her servant was 
 right. She could serve no purpose to the dead by 
 remaining here to die in the desert beside him. Ten 
 derly she lifted the coat, his coat which he had put 
 over her, and laid it gently across the man s body. 
 At least she could not leave him uncovered here in 
 the desert. Her tears came freely in spite of the lack 
 of moisture in her racked body as she tottered 
 above him. Then she closed them as she muttered a 
 prayer for this friend she had known so short a 
 time, still had known so long. As she opened them, 
 the man s mute dead face looked up at her. It
 
 A CLIMAX 99 
 
 seemed to be pleading. She turned away, but the 
 face still haunted her. At least she could do as much 
 for him as he had done for her when he must have 
 thought her dead. She took the little handkerchief 
 with her initial on it and gently laid it across his 
 face. 
 
 In a dream she seemed to be hearing Fung Wang 
 urging her to hurry. She tottered and would have 
 fallen as he led her toward the horses had it not 
 been for his supporting arm. He had bodily to lift 
 the girl into the saddle of one of his horses, and 
 there she sat unsteadily, clinging to the pommel, 
 while Fung Wang looked about finally as though not 
 to overlook anything. Suddenly his eyes caught sight 
 of the box tied to the saddle of Josephine s dead 
 pack animal. With an air of gloating that the girl 
 was too overcome to note or to care about if she 
 had, he quickly unfastened the box and tied it to 
 his own saddle. He mounted and they prepared to 
 start, but Fung Wang saw that Josephine could not 
 go on without aid. He rode his horse as near hers 
 as possible and with one arm he held her up in her 
 saddle, as the patient, nearly done animals once 
 more plodded on their weary way across the desert. 
 
 A hundred yards further on, the girl with an effort 
 painfully turned her head and glanced back at the
 
 100 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 figure on the sands, as her dry lips once more mur 
 mured a prayer. It was her good-bye. 
 
 Then she faced the horizon far in front of her 
 and Fung Wang, and they two rode on out toward 
 it toward the country of the Rio Grande, and 
 safety. 
 
 Though he had for hours lain in a state of 
 coma that was an exact counterfeit of death a con 
 dition that it would have taken the expert and minute 
 examination of a physician to prove not death, John 
 Laurens had not passed over the line. Hours went 
 by as he lay there. 
 
 An adventuresome vulture swooped down and its 
 wings brushed the handkerchief across the man s 
 face. Some uncanny instinct of the foul bird told 
 it its time was not yet and it settled down on a sand 
 hummock to its death watch. It could not be long. 
 
 The clouds that had been gathering, banked 
 themselves and hid the sun. Their blackness was 
 ominous. The watching ghoul bird cocked a specu 
 lative eye at their piled up murkiness, fluttered a 
 wing and mounted, slowly, regretfully. It knew that 
 the time had come for it to seek shelter. 
 
 Then the "norther" broke broke in all the fury 
 that the elements seemed to have reserved for
 
 A CLIMAX 101 
 
 that particular corner of the world. Rain, heal 
 ing, reviving rain poured down on the sun-baked 
 desert; it drenched the stiff, stark figure of the man 
 whose parched, distorted lips were hidden by a filmy 
 bit of linen. He stirred after a time. And then he 
 came back slowly back from the edge of the dark 
 valley where his spirit had been hovering. 
 
 When he came to himself he realized he was 
 lying on the sand and his clothes were soaked with 
 blessed water; he was shaking with the cold of it 
 and something was sticking to his face, blinding him. 
 He sat up and pulled the thing off, perfectly sane 
 for the moment, and he at once recognized it as the 
 handkerchief he had laid over the eyes of the dead 
 girl. A curtain of rain and hail was being driven 
 on a strong wind and his clothing was stiffened with 
 ice. With difficulty he got to his feet and looked 
 around. His mule was no longer in sight, but the 
 carcass of Josephine s horse lay where it had fallen, 
 now glazed with the sleet of the "norther" which 
 had saved the man s life. Was it all a dream? He 
 walked to where he had left the dead girl and then 
 dug his fingers into his eyes. 
 
 For her body was gone ! 
 
 He tried to pull his poor wits together with the 
 result of concluding that she must have been trans-
 
 102 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 lated, for there was no track, not a footprint, lead 
 ing from the spot. It did not occur to him that the 
 driving rain might have obliterated every sign of 
 her going. The coat he had thrown over her lay 
 water-soaked where he had lain it. That was all 
 he saw. The next moment he was again prone on 
 the wet sand.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 THE RESCUE 
 
 COMPANY F, of the th United States 
 Cavalry, was returning to Fort Hancock 
 after a raid on the Villistas who had pro 
 faned United States territory in a sortie across the 
 Rio Grande. They had been practically successful and 
 was going back in the teeth of one of the most severe 
 "northers" any of the band had ever experienced. 
 The wind was a biting hurricane, the rain froze as 
 it fell, and gusts of hail caused every head to bend. 
 Behind the company struggled an ambulance drawn 
 by four mules and beneath its sleet-covered canvas 
 were two men who had been slightly wounded. 
 Ahead rode a squad under Lieutenant Finch. 
 
 Despite the storm the lieutenant was wide-eyed 
 and curious, for it was his first season at a southern 
 post, and he was the first to catch sight of two black 
 spots on the sand near a ridge of rock jutting from 
 the bottom of a swale. He sent a corporal to inves 
 tigate and received the report that there was a dead 
 
 103
 
 104 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 horse and a live man in the swale; that the man 
 was clean crazy and was sitting on the rock counting 
 his half-frozen fingers and laughing. 
 
 Laurens had been found, but he did not know it. 
 When the main body came up he was lifted into the 
 ambulance and the surgeon worked over him with 
 stimulants until he dropped into a deep sleep. A 
 search was made of the vicinity but nothing was 
 found but a water-soaked card on which was the 
 name of "John Laurens," and a jumble of letters 
 written on its back, and a coat. A cap was found 
 some distance from the rock. The cavalcade 
 went on. 
 
 In the hospital at Fort Hancock Laurens raved 
 for twe weeks under as severe an attack of brain 
 fever as the surgeon had ever known, and when at 
 last the disease was overcome the young man was 
 but a wreck of himself. Weeks more passed before 
 he would talk, and then all they could get from him 
 was the simple story of how he, with a young lady, 
 an Irishman and two Mexicans, had fled from the 
 insurrectos and attempted to cross the desert. He 
 said that the three last had deserted him and the 
 girl, w r ho had died, but he made no mention of where 
 she had died, so that his rescuers had no reason to 
 wonder that they had not discovered her body. His
 
 THE RESCUE 105 
 
 benumbed brain had not sufficiently reacted to re 
 member anything of the Chinaman and the ivory 
 ball. 
 
 As a former United States officer he was given 
 the best of care, and when at length he had grown 
 stronger and some two months had passed, the post 
 surgeon came to him with a bundle. 
 
 "Of course we went through your few effects, 
 Lieutenant," he said. "Here are your wallet with 
 several hundred dollars in it, a silver match-box, 
 and a woman s handkerchief which you had stuffed 
 into your shirt. And there is an ivory ball wrapped 
 in Chinese silk. It is the most wonderful bit of 
 Oriental carving I have ever seen, and the diamond 
 in the dragon s head must be worth considerable." 
 
 Laurens started. "My God! Where did you find 
 that?" 
 
 "In a side pocket of your coat. You had thrown 
 it off, along with your cap, when you went locoed." 
 
 "In my coat?" 
 
 "Yes. Would you mind telling me where you got 
 such a superb bit of virtu?" 
 
 "Thanks for returning it," said Laurens, wearily. 
 "I thought it lost, if I thought at all. I will tell 
 you about it some time." 
 
 But he never did.
 
 106 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Laurens brain had suddenly cleared. He now 
 remembered everything, but he could not under 
 stand how the ball could have been found in his 
 coat. It was more than strange. He perfectly 
 recollected that the last time he had seen it was 
 when he gave it to Josephine, after taking it from 
 Fung Wang. How had it come to be in his pocket? 
 How came her handkerchief over his face? What 
 had become of the poor girl s body? He worked 
 himself into a fever trying to clear the three mys 
 teries, but with no other result. 
 
 He finally tried to cease thinking of it; and the 
 curiosity of the surgeon was never satisfied, for 
 almost at once after returning Laurens belongings 
 he was ordered to another post.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 IN SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 A YEAR passed a whole year, and one that 
 marked little or nothing in Laurens life. 
 He had recovered his health and strength, 
 but his experience had left its mark; his natural 
 lightheartedness was a thing of the days gone by. 
 He was quiet, self-possessed, undemonstrative, and 
 had lost his passion for foreign travel. He sought 
 no close companions though he soon joined the ex 
 clusive circle of the Wanderers Club of San Fran 
 cisco, in which he was well received both for his 
 wealth and his social position, though he was hardly 
 popular because of a certain aloofness in his 
 character. 
 
 He was not a man to be passed unnoticed; there 
 was an air of quiet dignity about him which was 
 made more effective by his fine figure and finer face. 
 All his club-mates and acquaintances agreed that 
 John Laurens must have had an interesting history, 
 
 107
 
 108 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 if he would tell it, but none ventured on questioning 
 him; he did not appear to be the kind of man who 
 would either welcome or satisfy curiosity regarding 
 himself. 
 
 He had no particular object in life and was bored 
 as only one with wealth but without a definite am 
 bition can be bored, but he plunged into no dissipa 
 tion to offset the monotony of his days. Once in a 
 while he dipped or was forced into some social func 
 tion, but he had no taste for gay society, though he 
 became fairly well acquainted in the "set" which 
 struck the fashionable pace, and by it he was looked 
 upon as a desirable but rather hopeless parti. 
 
 He had elegant apartments and lived at ease on 
 the product of the past labors of his uncle, who had 
 been a hard man riding rough-shod over his fellows 
 without considering their rights. His nephew and 
 heir had little love for his memory. 
 
 From the day he left Fort Hancock, Laurens 
 recognized that as a man of honor he had one duty 
 to perform, and that, to do justice to the heirs of 
 Josephine Dalzell and place in their possession the 
 curio he held and which might, or might not, be a 
 valuable asset. As for looking at it in the light of 
 treasure-trove and keeping it for either its worth 
 or association, the idea never entered his head.
 
 IN SAN FRANCISCO 109 
 
 But the more he thought about its history, as he 
 knew it, and the more he examined the wonderful 
 piece of work, the more he was persuaded that it 
 possessed a value far greater than was represented 
 by the diamond in its end or the marvelous delicacy 
 of its carving. That the beautiful but harmless look 
 ing bit of art might be a cursed thing did not seri 
 ously occur to him, though he recognized it as seem 
 ing to have had a malign influence on its former 
 possessors. He recollected that the soldier, who 
 had sold it for a song to Colonel Dalzell, was killed; 
 that the colonel himself was dead; that his half 
 brother, Stillwell, who had held it, was dead, and 
 that the girl was dead, as was probably the China 
 man who had stolen it from her. Before leaving 
 Fort Hancock, Laurens had pushed inquiries for 
 Fung Wang, but could learn nothing whatever, and 
 his conclusion was that of those who had handled 
 the ball he alone was alive. 
 
 He had twice been to New York on his errand 
 of discovering the Dalzell heirs. He had also been 
 to the War Office in Washington, but all he could 
 learn was that Colonel Dalzell had been retired 
 from the army more than ten years before; that 
 he had been a widower, that he had one child, a 
 daughter, Josephine, and that his next nearest rela-
 
 110 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 tive was a half-brother, James Stillwell, present resi 
 dence unknown. Further efforts to discover a Dal- 
 zell heir or a Stillwell connection ran up against a 
 blind wall. 
 
 Still, he did not entirely abandon the search. He 
 placed the matter of tracing the family into the 
 hands of a reliable lawyer in New York and re 
 turned to San Francisco, where he set about finding 
 something of the worth of the ball itself. 
 
 The leading jewelry house of that city employs 
 a well known expert in precious stones and articles 
 of virtu, and to him Laurens went. He showed the 
 ball to Mr. Drouski and asked him his opinion of 
 its value. The expert looked astonished as he saw 
 the thing, but in a short time it became apparent 
 that he knew little more of it than did Laurens. He 
 examined it carefully under a glass. 
 
 "We haven t the slightest notion what this egg 
 can be," he finally said, speaking as if he were an 
 editor. "It is an extraordinary piece of work, sir, 
 but we cannot even say to what epoch it belongs. 
 That it is ancient very ancient we believe; the 
 cut of the stone shows us that; we have never seen 
 its exact like." He took the glass from his eye. 
 "Do you wish to sell?" 
 
 "No," said Laurens.
 
 IN SAN FRANCISCO 111 
 
 "We might offer a thousand .dellars and take a 
 chance, sir." 
 
 "I do not care to sell. I am here for your opinion 
 only." 
 
 "Perhaps we might offer more if we were allowed 
 to remove the stone and weigh it. Will you re 
 consider?" 
 
 "No," returned Laurens. "The ojimi is not mine. 
 Moreover, I doubt if the diamond could be removed 
 without injuring the tracery around it." 
 
 "I have the same doubt myself," returned Mr. 
 Drouski. 
 
 Laurens efforts ended here, for the time. He 
 had a new box made for the ball, placed it in a safe- 
 deposit vault, and thought little of it as the days, 
 weeks and months went by. 
 
 It was a September afternoon when the tide of 
 his aimless existence took a turn he was far from 
 expecting. He was walking from his apartments 
 toward his Club when a passing limousine drew 
 up ahead of him, and a small, gloved hand shaken 
 from the window attracted his attention. He 
 looked closely and recognized the lady behind it. 
 She was the young wife of a club companion, the 
 man with whom he had been the most intimate, if 
 that word can express their mutual liking. Laurens
 
 had several times accepted the hospitality of his 
 home, and, bachelor-like, had envied him in his hap 
 piness. A dazzling smile welcomed him as, with hat 
 in hand, he went to the side of the limousine. 
 
 "Mr. Laurens, it is an age since you called on us! 
 And you are just the man I wish to see! Where 
 have you been?" 
 
 "Only up the coast for a few days," he answered. 
 "What is it that I can do for Mrs. Merrifield?" 
 
 "Oh, any number of things!" returned the viva 
 cious lady. "But chiefly one. Jack has gone fish 
 ing and won t be back for two weeks, and I want 
 an escort Excepting yourself the desirables are out 
 of town!" 
 
 "Is it possible that the queen of society is reduced 
 to " 
 
 "Nonsense!" interrupted the lady. "Be serious. 
 I have been invited to a reception at the Somersets 
 and am deserted and disconsolate. You know the 
 Somersets?" 
 
 "Yes. I have received an invitation, but had not 
 thought of accepting. I forget the date. And you 
 wish me to escort you? Beside yourself, what will 
 be the attraction?" 
 
 "Probably none for you, you iceberg!" was the 
 return. "But I wish very much to go. It is the
 
 IN SAN FRANCISCO 113 
 
 Somerset s first blaze for the season, and I believe 
 there are several buds to be blown into blossoms and 
 laid on the social altar. Will you sacrifice yourself 
 forme?" 
 
 "You call it a sacrifice ! Nothing can give me 
 greater pleasure. And when does this felicity 
 eventuate?" 
 
 "To-morrow night. I know it is short notice. 
 Everyone is aware that Jack is away and they know 
 what friends we are, so we won t be scandalized. 
 Don t look so serious, Mr. Laurens ! I know how 
 you detest society! Are you afraid of meeting your 
 fate at the Somersets?" 
 
 Laurens smiled. "Fate doesn t usually linger 
 around to be found, does it? However, I will meet 
 it bravely, when it attacks me." 
 
 "I don t believe you, sir. You would submit as 
 tamely as Jack did. But I thank you for your rescue. 
 I will send the limousine to-morrow at nine. Won t 
 you ride? No? Well, good-bye." 
 
 Laurens felt himself booked for an evening of so 
 cial formality, but he had not cared to refuse doing a 
 favor to one who had so many times been his host 
 ess. As he walked on to his destination it was with t, 
 
 * 
 
 no anticipation of pleasure in the coming function,
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 though he was aware that the Somersets never did 
 anything by halves. Few beside himself would have 
 been willing to miss the brilliant entertainment which 
 made no appeal to him.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 THE RECEPTION 
 
 THE Somerset mansion on Nob Hill was a 
 blaze of lights when Laurens, with the radi 
 ant little Mrs. Merrifield on his arm, went 
 up its broad steps. The great balloon-like dome of 
 the conservatory attached to the house glowed with 
 the irridescence of a soap-bubble and strings of col 
 ored Chinese lanterns swayed from the trees on the 
 extensive grounds. It was a gay scene, but its gaiety 
 had little effect on the man. There was no novelty 
 about it to him; he had often seen its like. 
 
 He went through the proper formalities in the 
 proper way. He met the people he knew he would 
 meet. He danced with many women and with a 
 grace and ease which few possess, and worked his 
 way through the brilliant crush, a part of it, but 
 not partaking of its spirit; he would have infinitely 
 preferred a pipe and a good book in his own rooms. 
 The hours dragged to him. The music, the scent of 
 flowers, the humming of many voices, and the gay 
 
 115
 
 116 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 laughter, never for a moment quickened his pulse. 
 The aimless chatter of his last partner had bored 
 him, and when he finally disposed of her to a callow 
 youth who wished her for a fox-trot he stood aside 
 and watched Mrs. Merrifield as she floated through 
 the dance as happy as a young girl. Then he turned 
 and made his way out of the crowd and into the 
 large conservatory, thanking fortune that the even 
 ing was almost gone. 
 
 The place was deserted so far as he could see 
 through the mass of palms and tropical growths 
 which made it a beautiful jungle. He walked down 
 the marble-floored center aisle, past a fountain over 
 which a bronze nymph reigned, and at the end of 
 a side passage came to a glass door opening into 
 the illuminated grounds. Close by was a cluster 
 of colored electric lights cleverly entwined among 
 the boughs of a blossoming orange tree. 
 
 The odor of the flowers was oppressively strong. 
 Laurens determined to go outside for a smoke and 
 a breath of fresh air. He took out a cigar and as 
 he saw the lanterns tossing in the strong night wind, 
 to save his light he struck his match and held it to 
 the end of the havana. 
 
 At that moment the door opened and a young 
 lady came in from the grounds. She was alone and
 
 THE RECEPTION 117 
 
 the two met face to face. But this was no casual 
 meeting in which there was a bow, a smile, and a 
 way made for her to pass. Instead, the girl stopped 
 short, and man and woman stared as if each were 
 seeing a ghost. The flame of the match had eaten 
 its way to Laurens fingers before the pain of the 
 burn brought him to his senses. 
 
 "Almighty God!" he exclaimed, forgetting the 
 proprieties. "Are you Josephine Dalzell, or or 
 her spirit?" 
 
 The girl stepped away as if she were frightened 
 at hearing his voice, but her distended eyes did not 
 leave his as with one hand she groped for the 
 back of a rustic seat by the door. Her face was as 
 white as when he had last seen it as dead in the 
 desert, and her large, dark eyes had the same stare. 
 
 "John John Laurens!" she almost whispered, 
 and sank to the bench in time to save herself from 
 falling to the floor. 
 
 Laurens unsprung himself and with his heart rac 
 ing was at her side in an instant. "It is you! You 
 have come back! How are you here? What is the 
 meaning of it? I I thought you dead!" He was 
 a trifle incoherent, but his surprise seemed to steady 
 the young lady. 
 
 "You ! I thought you I saw you dead !" she
 
 118 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 returned, with a look of incredulity in her eyes and 
 a slight drawing away of her slender figure as if 
 she were still doubtful of the man as being flesh 
 and blood. He noticed the shrinking and the emo 
 tion betrayed by her white face. He laid his hand 
 on hers. 
 
 "It is a miracle! God works in a mysterious 
 way !" he said softly. "We are both alive, each hav 
 ing thought the other dead! I was saved by the 
 storm and rescued by a squad of United States 
 cavalry. And you?" 
 
 The touch of his hand reassured the girl. "Oh, 
 the wonder of it! I was found by Fung Wang." 
 
 "Fung Wang?" 
 
 She nodded, then as her nerves gave out she put 
 her hands to her face and sobbed. It was the one 
 thing needed to restore her balance and Laurens 
 allowed her to cry without interruption. His own 
 nerves needed steadying. Presently she quieted. "It 
 is like waking from an awful dream!" she said. 
 
 "Thank God, this is no dream!" returned Lau 
 rens. "Can you tell me just what happened?" 
 
 "I am not likely ever to forget it," she answered. 
 "I think there were but a few minutes of that fear 
 ful time in which I was thoroughly unconscious. I 
 must have been for a little when I thought you were
 
 THE RECEPTION 119 
 
 going crazy and I gave you my water-bottle. There 
 is a blank there." 
 
 "And you sacrificed yourself? You would not de 
 sert me?" 
 
 "Did you desert me?" 
 
 "But I am a man, and " 
 
 "And I am a woman," she returned. 
 
 "Go on, please." 
 
 She looked straight into his eyes as she continued: 
 "I came to myself when you and the Mexican ar 
 rived, but I was too far gone to resist him. I know 
 you drove him away; I knew you thought I was 
 dying; I knew you spread your coat over me; I 
 heard you talking to me, but I could make no sign." 
 
 "You heard!" Laurens caught his breath as he 
 remembered what he had said. 
 
 "Yes. Later I knew you were walking up and 
 down. I wondered how long I would live. I won 
 dered what you would do when I died. My mind 
 was active but I could not stir a finger. Bye and bye 
 I became conscious that something was galling my 
 side, and the pain grew to be intolerable. I thought 
 it out and was sure it was caused by the ivory ball 
 I had put in my blouse when you gave it to me. It 
 had worked around and I was lying on it. It must 
 have been the pain that brought back the last of my
 
 120 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 force. Suddenly I found I could move. I sat up, 
 took out the ball and pushed it into the pocket of 
 your coat. See how I remember details !" 
 
 "Yes," said Laurens. "The ball was found in the 
 coat. I have it." 
 
 She did not appear to hear him. "And then 
 comes a momentary blank again," she went on, no^ 
 with a far-away look in her eyes, "but that soon 
 passed. I knew I had fallen, but from that moment 
 until Fung Wang found and revived me I was again 
 utterly powerless to speak or move even to close 
 my eyes. I was in a state of suspended animation. 
 Under different circumstances I would have been 
 buried alive. I knew you thought me dead. I re 
 member everything you did, even to putting my 
 handkerchief over my face. I wondered where you 
 found it. I heard you go away. I heard you laugh. 
 I knew your brain had given out. Oh, it was hor 
 rible horrible!" 
 
 She broke down and sobbed again. Laurens did 
 not stop her though he would have comforted her 
 after the manner of a man with a maid. "I believe 
 I can guess the rest," he said, reassuringly. "Fung 
 Wang had followed us. He knew when to appear. 
 I have a recollection of seeing him, as in an awful 
 nightmare. He probably revived you with the very
 
 THE RECEPTION 121 
 
 water he stole from us." In a few words Laurens 
 explained. 
 
 "And you kepr that knowledge from me?" 
 
 "The situation was too tragic to worry you while 
 in your state." 
 
 "Well, you were right he did revive me, and I 
 came back to life with more strength than I had 
 when I fell. You lay on the sand. I thought you 
 dead, and so did Fung Wang. He cursed you in 
 English. Then the storm broke suddenly fiercely. 
 Wang forced me away, but I did not leave with 
 out covering your face as you had mine. Oh, you 
 looked terrible!" 
 
 She paused, with something like a shudder at the 
 memory. Laurens had watched her as a man. 
 watches the play of emotion on the face he loves., 
 She had changed, and yet she was the same, though 
 it was hard to reconcile this superb creature with his 
 recollection of the figure in male clothing. Her face 
 was both more mature and more beautiful. The 
 year had rounded her delicately, and the line of chin 
 and throat fell into the curve of her bosom wittt 
 bewitching grace. Since the shock of their meeting 
 a faint glow had tinted her cheeks, and her eyes were 
 like stars. The ball-dress she wore gave her the 
 finishing touch. To Laurens she was a picture.
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "And then?" he said. "I would like to know 
 it all." 
 
 "There is but little more," she returned, "and 
 that is not tragic, in comparison. Fung Wang made 
 me mount your mule, and I remember that he took 
 the box from the saddle of my dead horse. He 
 thought the ball was in it, and when later he dis 
 covered it was empty I never witnessed such an 
 agony of rage and disappointment. He cursed me 
 like the beast he is or was, but it was then too 
 late to go back. Finally we reached a little settle 
 ment on the Rio Grande and while there Fung Wang 
 disappeared and I have never heard of him since. 
 I was nursed by a Mexican woman for a few days, 
 and finally crossed the river. I had money enough 
 to get to San Francisco, and went to a friend. I 
 am still with her. That is all my story." 
 
 She stopped. From the ball-room came the sub 
 dued sound of music, and the air was heavy with 
 the scent of the orange blossoms, but the two were 
 dead to outside influences. Laurens impulse was to 
 clasp the girl in his arms and tell her again what 
 she had once heard when she lay on the sand and 
 he thought her dying, but he could take no unfair 
 advantage of the unusual situation. "My story is
 
 THE RECEPTION 123 
 
 much more prosaic," he said. "May I ask where 
 your friend s house is?" 
 
 "Why, only across these grounds! I had been 
 to the reception here; I ran back to the house for 
 a moment, and returned through the park when 
 w hen " 
 
 "When we met. It has been providential!" 
 
 "It has been more than wonderful!" she ex 
 claimed. "You will come and see me and " 
 
 She had no time to finish the sentence, nor he to 
 answer, for they were interrupted by footsteps on 
 the pavement, and the cry: "Oh, there he is!" and 
 Mrs. Merrifield appeared with an escort. She 
 laughed as she came up. "I am dreadfully sorry 
 to end your tete-a-tete, Mr. Laurens," she said gaily, 
 "but do you know the time? People are going and 
 I am tired to death. I have been looking for you 
 for half an hour. Pardon me; this is Miss Dalzell, 
 I believe ! I met you some months ago, my dear." 
 
 When Laurens was about leaving Mrs. Merrifield 
 at the door of her home she held out her hand and 
 looked roguishly at him. "I never saw two people 
 so engrossed in one another as were you and Miss 
 Dalzell. Had you ever met her before?" 
 
 "Yes; something over a year ago," was the care 
 less return.
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "Then I was wrong when I said you might meet 
 your fate to-night meaning, of course, the first 
 time. You did not act like an iceberg toward that 
 young lady. Or, at least, the iceberg was rapidly 
 melting." 
 
 "I never was an iceberg, Mrs. Merrifield," he re 
 plied seriously.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 THE TURN OF EVENTS 
 
 WHEN Laurens awoke the following morning 
 he came to himself in his old world, to 
 all appearances; but as his brain cleared 
 he suddenly became aware that he had emerged into 
 a new one. He dressed himself with a spirit he had 
 not known for months, and even caught himself 
 whistling. 
 
 As he sat at breakfast he picked up his newspaper 
 and while glancing at the headings his eye caught 
 sight of a small paragraph which commanded his 
 immediate attention: 
 
 Professor Paul Woodstock, curator of New York s 
 largest museum, who has been traveling in the Orient 
 for the past sixteen months, arrived yesterday from 
 China and will stay at the Palace Hotel for a time 
 before going east. The scientist had trouble regarding 
 the landing of his Chinese servant, but the difficulty has 
 been arranged by the immigration authorities." 
 
 Laurens at once become alert. Paul Woodstock
 
 126 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 was one of the few men with whom he was really 
 intimate. He had known him well in New York and 
 had last seen him when the two met in China just 
 as Woodstock arrived and Laurens was about leav 
 ing. There was no man in the world Laurens would 
 have preferred to see. The two had been veritable 
 cronies in the old days, and the young man s regard 
 for his friend was like that of a brother; he would 
 have trusted Woodstock with his life. He deter 
 mined to go to him at once, and with the determi 
 nation it came to him that the curator, antiquarian 
 and scientist, would be the very one to enlighten him 
 regarding the character and value of the mysterious 
 ivory ojimi. It would be fitting to be able to give 
 Miss Dalzell a definite knowledge concerning the 
 ball when he returned it. And he would return it 
 that night; in the circumstances there was no neces 
 sity of waiting, and he looked forward to seeing her 
 much as an accepted lover might have done, though 
 the word "love" did not cross his mind, nor did he 
 attempt to analyze his present feeling toward the 
 girl who had come back from the dead. 
 
 Immediately after breakfast he went to the safe- 
 deposit vault and took out the box containing the 
 ball; half an hour later he was at the Palace Hotel 
 where he sent up his card to Professor Woodstock.
 
 THE TURN OF EVENTS 127 
 
 That gentleman was in and welcomed him with 
 an effusiveness which spoke of their intimacy. While 
 the two sat together Laurens told Woodstock his 
 story, and told it fully for the first time since his 
 rescue, only omitting more than a casual reference 
 to the young lady as a prominent actor in the drama. 
 Regarding her he held back all enthusiasm, knowing 
 that his practical bachelor friend would have 
 laughed at any sentimental attitude toward a girl 
 he had known for scarcely a week and of whose 
 real history he knew next to nothing. The curator 
 listened to the tale with the enthusiasm of a boy, 
 and there was much of the boy in Woodstock. 
 
 "A devil of a close squeak for you and Miss Dal- 
 zell!" he exclaimed, when the account was finished. 
 "And you say she is in town?" 
 
 "We met last night by accident, for the first time 
 since the experience in the desert." 
 
 "And what became the beast of a chink?" 
 
 "She has no idea, nor have I. Fie disappeared. 
 As for Callahan and his men, I fancy they are all 
 dead." 
 
 "Aye, it s more than likely! Now let me see the 
 ball." 
 
 Laurens opened the package and produced the 
 semi-sphere about which had gathered so much
 
 128 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 trouble. Like all who had seen it Woodstock was 
 warm in his admiration, but, as with the rest, it was 
 beyond his knowledge though he frankly posed as 
 an expert on curios. "A marvelous thing!" he ex 
 claimed, after a close examination. "I should not 
 care to say how old this is, but it would not surprise 
 me if it dated back to before the Manchu dynasty. 
 Certainly, nothing equaling it has been turned out 
 in China in two hundred years ! I know something 
 of modern Chinese characters, but those on the 
 scroll are beyond me! However, I know one man 
 who can tell us about it." 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 "Count Lito-See, a Japanese Orientalist. We 
 came over in the same steamer and I suppose I got 
 as close to him as a Jap ever allows an Occidental 
 to get. He can translate anything ever written in 
 Chinese, Korean, or any Eastern dialect. He is a 
 profound scholar and delicate in health, like most. 
 He can tell you just when this was carved, and prob 
 ably, who carved it. He was of the greatest help to 
 me when I was troubled about the landing of my 
 servant, Mow-Sing. By the way, you must remem 
 ber Mow-Sing ! He applied to me the very day you 
 left China, and told me he had been your boy." 
 
 Laurens recollected. "Yes, I remember him
 
 THE TURN OF EVENTS 129 
 
 well," he returned. "A faithful chap! I did him 
 the questionable service of pulling him out of the 
 Pei-Ho when he was about to commit suicide on 
 account of his poverty, or his having lost caste, or 
 something of the sort. I think I gave him a new 
 idea of life; anyhow, he appeared thankful when I 
 took him on. He was superior to any coolie I met. 
 I would like to see him again." 
 
 "He will be in presently," said Woodstock. 
 "Now as to the count. We three will have a little 
 dinner together and go over this ball. To-day is 
 Wednesday. Suppose you meet us at Callamere s; 
 we can have absolute privacy there. Say six-thirty 
 to-morrow night. I will see the Count and make 
 all arrangements." 
 
 "Where is Callamere s?" asked Laurens. "I 
 have never heard of the place." 
 
 Woodstock s blue eyes widened. "A resident of 
 San Francisco, and never heard of Callamere! 
 Well, perhaps it isn t strange! He doesn t blow a 
 trumpet. But, my dear boy, if you have never ex 
 perienced Callamere you have never dined! He is 
 several pegs above the ordinary table d hote pro 
 prietors. Pegs! Miles! He s unique, is Calla 
 mere! He won t serve more than six to a party, 
 nor less than three, and demands full dress. But
 
 ISO THE IVORY BALL 
 
 his dinners! Ye gods of Olympus! You will find 
 an exact mingling of comestibles and the different 
 jig-waters which will produce the supreme effect 
 without reaction, and Callamere would be highly 
 insulted if you disturbed the gastronomic balance by 
 eating or drinking less than he puts before you. You 
 can t even smoke your own cigars. The Frenchman 
 has reached the acme of evolution in gustatory 
 progress and has struck nature s secret of both 
 quality and quantity, the result being a feast which 
 expands the soul and does not clog the brain." 
 Woodstock threw his arm affectionately across his 
 friend s shoulder. Laurens laughed. "Callamere s, 
 by all means! Where is it?" 
 
 "On one of the most exclusive residence streets in 
 San Francisco; and you could no more get in with 
 out a proper introduction than you could have an 
 off-hand interview with the Dowager-Empress of 
 China. Here ! I ll give you my card. I know him 
 personally. And bring a lens with you, and Hello ! 
 Come in here, Mow-Sing. A gentleman wishes to 
 see you." 
 
 Laurens turned around. In the curtained door 
 way to an adjoining chamber stood his former ser 
 vant and as their eyes met the yellow face of the 
 young Chinaman broke into a broad smile. He
 
 THE TURN OF EVENTS 131 
 
 greeted his old employer with a demonstration 
 rarely seen in one of his race. After a few minutes 
 Woodstock reached for the box containing the ball. 
 "Mow," he said, "you sabe old Chinese writing, If 
 see?" 
 
 The boy shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps 
 can do." 
 
 "Then look at this." 
 
 The professor snapped open the cover. The young 
 Chinaman stepped toward the table and bent over 
 the box, then he suddenly drew back as if it con 
 tained a live snake. Absolute consternation was ex 
 pressed on his face as he stared at the ball in its 
 crimson bed, the diamond sparkling in the light, and 
 the next instant he went to his knees as Fung Wang 
 had done at sight of it, bowing his head until it 
 touched the Wilton carpet. 
 
 Both Laurens and Woodstock were astonished, 
 and the latter looked his amazement as he jumped 
 to his feet. "What in the devil do you mean by 
 such pagan actions !" he exclaimed. "Get up." The 
 boy obeyed. 
 
 "You know that ball?" demanded his master. 
 
 "Me sabe me sabe! Where you get?" replied 
 Mow-Sing, and Laurens noticed he was trembling 
 violently.
 
 132 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "It belongs to Mr. Laurens, and it came from 
 your country. What is it?" 
 
 There was no answer. 
 
 "Tell me at once." The professor s hitherto mild 
 eyes were showing irritation. The boy raised his 
 bent head and looked at him. "Perhaps allee same 
 you killee Mow-Sing, you no makee speak. Me go." 
 And without waiting for permission the boy backed 
 into the next room, his eyes fixed on the box until 
 the curtains fell over him. 
 
 "What do you think of that?" asked Woodstock, 
 his face red with anger. 
 
 "About as much as I make of the rest of the coil," 
 answered Laurens. "It begins to look as if every 
 Chinaman knows the ball and is afraid of it! It is 
 strange that you or I never heard of it while we were 
 in China!" 
 
 "It may be a talisman of one of the Six Com 
 panies," said Woodstock, "but that doesn t excuse 
 Mow-Sing. I don t like his attitude ; just a sight of 
 the thing made him forget his duty and respect. The 
 ball surely has a history, and it may get you into 
 trouble." 
 
 "It certainly exerts a peculiar influence on the 
 Oriental mind," returned Laurens, rising to go. "I 
 only wish I could tell what the ojimi really is."
 
 THE TURN OF EVENTS 133 
 
 "You ll know to-morrow night," replied Wood 
 stock, and then added: "Why not include the young 
 lady in our party? As the owner of the ball she 
 should be with us. Give her the invitation. I would 
 be delighted to meet her." 
 
 "And she would probably be equally delighted to 
 go," said Laurens. "I will see her to-night. If 
 you don t hear from me in the morning you may 
 consider the invitation accepted." 
 
 "Good! Remember, six-thirty, sharp! Mow- 
 Sing!" 
 
 At his call the boy instantly appeared. 
 
 "Show Mr. Laurens to the door. 
 
 The order was obeyed. Through the length of 
 the apartment the young Chinaman walked back 
 ward, bowing at every step, his eyes fixed on the box 
 in Laurens hand. At the hall door he made a pro 
 found obeisance. It was unusual exaggerated. 
 
 Laurens called on Miss Dalzell that night but was 
 far from having the quiet talk he had anticipated; 
 instead, he found himself something of a lion in the 
 elegant house, the wealthy maiden lady who had 
 taken Josephine in charge being so curious to hear 
 of his adventures that she was blind to his desire. 
 He told of his interview with Woodstock and openly 
 gave the young lady the invitation for the following
 
 134 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 evening, an invitation quickly accepted, and when it 
 grew late he left. 
 
 Between his desire to meet the Count, to learn the 
 secret of the carving and to be with Josephine for 
 a few hours, together with his curiosity regarding 
 the unique restaurateur, Callamere, Laurens passed 
 the following day with the novel feeling of pleasur 
 able anticipation. He was not ennuied, as was usual, 
 and that day of easy existence stood out strongly in 
 his memory. He looked for plenty of diversion for 
 that evening, and it was a welcome change. 
 
 At five o clock he was dressed; at half-past five he 
 was at Miss Dalzell s house and at quarter past six, 
 with the girl, a radiant beauty in his eyes, he was at 
 Callamere s. 
 
 There was nothing to suggest a public house in 
 the fine building before which his limousine halted. 
 At the door Laurens gave V/oodstock s card to the 
 liveried flunky, and the two were ushered into a salon 
 where several people in full evening dress were gath 
 ered. A few minutes later Monsieur Callamere 
 came into the room, looking more like an European 
 diplomat than a restaurateur, his white hair and 
 mustache giving him a distinguished appearance. 
 From him it was learned that Woodstock and his 
 friend had not yet arrived and that every prepara-
 
 THE TURN OF EVENTS 135 
 
 tion had been made for a dinner for four. The 
 professor s tardiness did not surprise Laurens as he 
 was notoriously careless as to time. 
 
 But at six-thirty he had not come, and though Lau 
 rens began to get a bit nervous, Miss Josephine 
 showed no impatience; she talked to Laurens, and 
 even struck a few chords on the magnificent grand 
 piano in a manner which showed she was familiar 
 with the instrument. Then they wandered around 
 the splendid room looking at the paintings on the 
 walls. They were admiring a genuine Corot on an 
 easel when the flunky who had admitted them ap 
 proached with a note in his hand. "M sieu Lau 
 rens?" he asked. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "For you, m sieu. The man, he is waiting." 
 
 Laurens turned and saw a Japanese, a high silk 
 hat in his hand, standing between the hall portieres. 
 Instinctively he knew the note had come from Wood 
 stock. He excused himself, opened it and read: 
 
 My dear Laurens: 
 
 The Count is too indisposed to go out to-night and 
 suggests that we forego Callamere and that you and 
 Miss Dalzell join us at his temporary home, the 
 Villa Sarto. You will enjoy him, and the propri 
 eties will not be outraged as the Countess, a 
 modern lady, will be of the party. With this he sends 
 his secretary and a limousine. He is very anxious to
 
 136 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 see the ball. Pardon the tardiness of this and come 
 at once. 
 
 WOODSTOCK, per K." 
 
 That the note was not in Woodstock s writing 
 was explained by the "per K" after his name, and 
 Laurens had no doubt that it was the work of the 
 Count s secretary from the dictation of the professor. 
 He was disappointed at missing Callamere s dinner, 
 but there was no help for it, and neither Miss Dal- 
 zell or himself thought of questioning the sudden 
 change of programme. 
 
 As they moved toward the door the waiting Jap 
 advanced with a low bow, and never was politeness 
 more graceful or more nearly perfect than that dis 
 played by Mr. Kimeo. It takes a well-bred Oriental 
 to make the conventional manners of Occidental so 
 ciety appear crude in contrast with his own. The 
 secretary s English was as correct as that of a pro 
 fessed grammarian. 
 
 Would the honorable lieutenant and the beautiful 
 lady he was escorting condescend to enter the poor 
 vehicle sent for them, and make glad the heart of 
 the Count, who was all impatience to meet them? 
 And the profound and honorable professor was 
 waiting. 
 
 The Honorable lieutenant and Miss Dalzell ex-
 
 In less than three minutes Laurens was in a state of 
 profound bliss
 
 THE TURN OF EVENTS 137 
 
 pressed the desire to gratify the Count, and there 
 was much bowing, and much subserviency in getting 
 the lady into her wraps and Laurens into his light 
 overcoat, after which they entered the waiting limou 
 sine, the chauffeur sitting at the wheel like a block 
 of wood. 
 
 They moved off, Mr. Kimeo chatting constantly 
 and displaying the soul of polite affability. Pres 
 ently he produced a gold cigarette case. Would the 
 lady indulge? It was not uncommon in his country, 
 and the limousine s windows were all open; more 
 over, there was nothing like the flavor of his own 
 tobacco to be found in America. 
 
 Miss Dalzell gracefully refused but insisted that 
 the gentlemen should smoke. Laurens accepted one 
 of the tiny cigarettes, the secretary placed another 
 between his smiling lips and the two lighted up. 
 
 In less than three minutes Laurens was in a state 
 of profound bliss; the swaying of the limousine was 
 like the rhythmic swing of a hammock, and the pur 
 ring of the fast-moving machine turned to gentle 
 music. Through the window he saw the avenues glide 
 by like a beautiful panorama; every color became 
 intensified and glorious, and commonplace objects 
 took on a new and entrancing aspect. He became 
 dimly conscious that the ride was longer than he
 
 138 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 had anticipated, but he did not care; why should he? 
 By his side sat his lovely companion, the warmth of 
 whose body was like a caress, while opposite, for 
 ever talking like a poet, was the most polite and 
 fascinating fellow he had ever met. Laurens was in 
 a state of profound mental peace a peace such as 
 he had never known. He drifted into an exquisitely 
 langorous state, and finally a golden veil seemed to 
 fall over and envelop his brain, blotting out every 
 sensation.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 THE AWAKENING 
 
 WHEN John Laurens opened his eyes to prac 
 tical facts he discovered that he was no 
 longer in a limousine but was lying on a 
 carved bed covered with silk and canopied with the 
 same material. He sat up and looked around in 
 amazement. The room he was in was large and 
 lavishly furnished, in Chinese style for the most 
 part, but he noticed a grand piano, a magnificent 
 book-case, * carved buffet and a few American chairs 
 in rich upholstering; the rest, from the thick rugs 
 on the polished floor to the great bronze lamp, which 
 was lighted and hung from the high ceiling, were 
 all of the Orient. Several pieces of heavy bric-a- 
 brac were set around the room, and a wonderful in 
 laid censer breathed out a delicately scented vapor 
 which lay in a strata on the stagnant air. In the 
 exact center of the apartment was a large carved 
 
 130
 
 140 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 table of polished teakwood, and directly above it a 
 long skylight, its several sections closed. 
 
 Laurens noted these things slowly and with be-" 
 wildered senses, then he became alive to the fact 
 that he was clothed in a voluminous silken robe, 
 while on his feet were felt-soled sandals decorated 
 with colored stones matching the gorgeousness of 
 his gown. 
 
 Though mentally at sea he v:as not worried. He 
 knew by the unnatural taste in his mouth that he 
 had been under the influence of some drug, and as 
 his mind cleared so did his recollection and he was 
 aware that he had been the victim of a doped cigar 
 ette. It did not even remotely occur to him to won 
 der why Mr. Kimeo had given him a drugged 
 smoke. It was so undoubtedly a mistake of some 
 kind. The cigarettes must somehow have been acci 
 dentally placed in the secretary s case. It was not 
 unusual for Orientals to have such things in their 
 possession. Doped cigarettes sometimes came in 
 handy. But there could not possibly have been any 
 intention of giving him, John Laurens, one of them. 
 He wondered what kind of a head Mr. Kimeo had 
 to keep his wits. On himself the effect had been 
 tremendous, and he figured that on his arrival at 
 the villa where the Count was staying he was in
 
 THE AWAKENING 141 
 
 such a helpless condition that he had been put to 
 bed to sleep off the effects of the drug. It had been 
 done with Oriental thoroughness and hospitality. 
 Doubtless Woodstock would soon appear. He 
 hoped his friend had properly apologized for such a 
 display of unseasoned weakness. And what had 
 Miss Dalzell thought of such an exhibition? 
 
 Beyond the staleness of his mouth he felt per 
 fectly well. He got to his feet and shuffled around 
 the sumptuous apartment, then made a discovery 
 that startled him: His own evening dress and under 
 clothing had been removed and with them had gone 
 the lacquered box containing the ivory ball, and at 
 the same time he became aware of the fact that it 
 was morning instead of evening; that the light was 
 growing stronger. Was it possible that the night 
 had passed? He must let it be known that he was 
 awake at last. And what had become of Miss Dal 
 zell? What an opinion she must have of him! 
 
 He soon discovered a heavy double door behind 
 the tapestry-draped walls, but they were locked and 
 he searched the apartment for some other means of 
 egress, only to learn that there was not even a win 
 dow behind the hangings and that, save for the sky 
 light high above, no means of ventilation. It was 
 little wonder that the air was heavy.
 
 142 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 He had hardly completed his leisurely examina 
 tion when he heard the click of a lock and saw the 
 drapery swing over the folding doors; the next 
 instant a Chinaman appeared from behind them. 
 
 "Where am I?" he asked; but instead of answer 
 ing the man glided noiselessly around the room, 
 covered the exhaling censer, extinguished the light 
 in the bronze lantern, which showed only a gleam 
 of rainbow colors, and opened a section of the sky 
 light by means of a rod behind the draperies. Lau- 
 rens followed him with his eyes. "You speak 
 English?" he finally questioned, surprised at the 
 manner in which he was ignored. 
 
 If the man heard him he did not heed him, for 
 instead of answering he bowed low and glided 
 behind the hangings; a second later Laurens heard 
 the door open and, not to be played with any longer, 
 he jumped for the entrance. But he was too late; 
 the heavy mahogany was closed and fastened; it 
 would not even rattle when he grasped the silver 
 knobs and shook them. 
 
 And then his growing suspicion that there was 
 something radically wrong in the conditions crystal 
 lized into absolute certainty. By what right had any 
 one to lock him up in this luxurious apartment? 
 Why had he been insulted by the continued silence
 
 THE AWAKENING 143 
 
 of a servant? He hammered on the door with his 
 bare fists, but no notice was taken from the outside. 
 With an outspoken oath he turned from the door 
 and as he did so he heard a faint click and the yet 
 gloomy room was suddenly swimming in the soft 
 light of indirect electrical illumination. Then Lau- 
 rens saw that he was not alone. A man a China 
 man was standing by the table in the center of the 
 room, quietly regarding him. 
 
 The man was dressed in a flowery robe of em 
 broidered silk and on his head was a silk skull-cap 
 with the coral button of a mandarin on its top. As 
 he stood there motionless, his arms folded in his 
 flowing sleeves, he made an impressive figure. 
 
 Laurens was relieved. He was sure that here was 
 his unknown host, Count Lito-See, overlooking the 
 incongruity of the fact that there was a Chinese 
 mandarin s costume on the back of a Japanese aris 
 tocrat. He thought only of having a satisfactory 
 explanation of the situation, at the same time won 
 dering why the Count should have come at that early 
 hour and alone. 
 
 It was the Chinaman who spoke first. "Well, 
 sir," he began quietly, "it appears that my honored 
 guest is greatly excited over something!" His Eng 
 lish was perfect.
 
 144. THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Laurens bowed politely and stepped toward him, 
 but as he came within two paces he staggered back. 
 "You! You!" he exclaimed. 
 
 "So the honorable Laurens remembers me?" 
 
 "Remember you ! Fung Wang !" 
 
 The Chinaman smiled. "It was a name I chose 
 to go under for a time and for a purpose, sir." 
 
 "Good God! I thought you dead until " 
 
 "And doubtless wished I was," came the interrup 
 tion. "Sit down, my honorable friend. You will 
 find that chair easier than the sand. You have much 
 to ask, perhaps, and I have something to explain." 
 He spoke in a smooth voice and there was nothing 
 to resent in either tone or words. 
 
 "But I have much to demand," returned Laurens. 
 "Where am I? And how came I here with you?" 
 
 "It is a natural curiosity couched in your old com 
 manding manner," was the light rejoinder. "As for 
 the first; you are my honored guest in my house; 
 for the second, well, you will soon surmise." 
 
 "In your house! I am decidedly bewildered! I 
 never dreamed I knew I had been drugged, 
 and " 
 
 "At my orders," was the quiet interruption; 
 "therefore you already know the how of your being 
 here. You undoubtedly wish to know the why of it."
 
 "Kidnaped ! and by your orders !"
 
 THE AWAKENING 145 
 
 Laurens stiffened. "Kidnaped! And by your 
 orders!" 
 
 The Chinaman bowed, "My tactics were not 
 yours at the time of our last encounter but they 
 were as successful." 
 
 "And your motive is plain enough now, sir! You 
 did this for the purpose of stealing the ojimi I took 
 from you stealing it again." 
 
 For an answer the man drew a hand from his 
 voluminous sleeve and opening it showed the ivory 
 ball. "Sir," he said, "this is not yours, nor did it 
 belong to Miss Dalzell, nor to the consumptive fool 
 who stole it from her, nor to the fool s half-brother, 
 nor to the German who looted it from the temple 
 of the Eye of God. Sit down, sir, and become less 
 excited; you will better appreciate what I am about 
 to tell you." 
 
 There was something both persuasive and au 
 thoritative in the voice, and Laurens dropped into a 
 tufted chair by the table and stared at the Chinaman 
 as if he were a perfect stranger. He could hardly 
 believe his senses. The fat face was the same and 
 there was the same inscrutability in the narrow, 
 slanting eyes, but the man s manner had changed 
 mightily; all its previous subserviency had gone and 
 there was now a dignity about the quondam servant
 
 146 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 which had never been shown but once, and that in 
 the desert. The young man was not as much aston 
 ished at what had been said as at the metamor 
 phosed coolie himself; he had never seen him in this 
 mood, and there was something about him which 
 commanded a feeling he was unused to; that of fear 
 of a fellow man. The poise of Fung Wang was per 
 fect, his calmness unruffled, and that he considered 
 the American infinitely his inferior was as plain as if 
 the feeling had been set to words. He seated him 
 self on the opposite side of the table and opening a 
 humidor took out a handful of cigarettes. 
 
 "Try these, sir. No, you need not be afraid 
 they are harmless. I shall not attempt to take away 
 your senses again in that way. I have accom 
 plished most of my purpose; the rest depends upon 
 yourself." 
 
 "Your depth is profound," returned Laurens. "I 
 think an explanation is due me. Fung Wang, you 
 masqueraded as a coolie once, now you mask 
 as a " 
 
 "I beg your honored pardon," came the quick in 
 tervention. "I am not en masque. I am a mandarin 
 of China. My house is that of the Flying Dragon. 
 My name is Chow T su." 
 
 "Delighted, I m sure!" was the sarcastic return.
 
 THE AWAKENING 147 
 
 "I suppose it would be useless to ask why you posed 
 as a coolie, or, perhaps as a coolie are posing as a 
 person of distinction." 
 
 . "It would not be useless," was the purring re 
 joinder. "Come sir, I would not insult you. I will 
 play my game with all my cards face up." 
 
 "Where is Miss Dalzell?" 
 
 "That in good time, sir, again depending on your 
 self. As for you, you are my honored guest." 
 
 "Then bring me my clothing and terminate your 
 hospitality. I fail to value it. How long have I 
 been here?" 
 
 "About twelve hours, Mr. Laurens; and the door 
 will open for you in the near future, I hope. I 
 have tried to provide for your comfort even to giv 
 ing you these, my private apartments." 
 
 "What in the devil s name are you driving at?" 
 demanded the young man. "You have the cursed 
 ball, which at least is not yours ! What more do 
 you wish? How did you know I was alive?" 
 
 "Sir, your manners need correcting," was the calm 
 return. The Chinaman lighted a cigarette, inhal 
 ing its smoke. "Your spirit is far too rough," 
 he continued, exhaling the fumes in a cloud as he 
 spoke. "Witness your attack on me in the desert! 
 It will be my pleasure to correct that."
 
 148 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "What in hell do you mean?" 
 
 "You are crude," was the soft return, "yet, doubt 
 less, you would boast of the superiority of your 
 breed. Look!" he continued, holding out the ball. 
 "This ivory was carved during the dynasty of She- 
 T su, known to history as Kubla-Kahn, the Mongol, 
 and that which it contains belonged to Kong-fu-sie, 
 whom you know as Confucius. It is the Eye of God, 
 and for fifteen hundred years it has been revered 
 by his house, which is mine, the house of Fei-Lung, 
 the Flying Dragon. 
 
 "Until a few years ago it lay in the temple which 
 had been built for it by my ancestors in Tientsin 
 lay there until the boasted civilization of the West 
 invaded my country. Then a weak priest brought 
 down a curse on me and mine, himself succumbing 
 to the curse written on this sacred relic. The temple 
 was looted. I witnessed the outrage." 
 
 For a moment, the Chinaman paused, and into 
 his little eyes there came a look of hatred and fury 
 as his words seemed to conjure up that picture out 
 of the past which proved to the waiting Laurens 
 that it was no small matter to the fanatical Oriental. 
 Then slowly, reminiscently, with venom in each 
 word, Fung Wang, or Chow T su, began to speak. 
 
 It was almost as though he had forgotten he had
 
 THE AWAKENING 149 
 
 an auditor. He seemed to be recalling tne scenes 
 of that distant time as a cherished memory of 
 hatred. But as he spoke, and with an eloquence that 
 Laurens would never have suspected him of pos 
 sessing, with a might of descriptive power, there 
 envisioned itself before the eyes of the American s 
 mind a vivid picture of the temple s looting and the 
 events that led to it. 
 
 It was high noon in the city of Tientsin on a July 
 day in 1900. The willows, pines and walnuts in 
 the grove of the Temple of the Eye of God 
 trembled under the jar of distant heavy guns. 
 
 For Tientsin, the Beautiful, was being besieged by 
 the "Allied Armies of the West" English, French, 
 United States, Russian, Italian, Japanese, and Ger 
 man. The uprising of the I-Ho-Chuan, or Society 
 of Righteous Fists, otherwise the "Boxers," had 
 brought Western civilization to the rescue of its 
 children. In Pekin, the white and Christian popu 
 lation had fled to the uncertain protection of the 
 legations and none knew their fate none could 
 know until the way was opened to the Imperial City, 
 and Tientsin was its gate. 
 
 History tells of that day s combat of the breach 
 ing of the ancient walls by the allies of the mas-
 
 150 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 sacre of Chinamen, and the subsequent looting which 
 disgraced the Powers and their boasted civilization. 
 
 But in the grove, on the far side of Tientsin, save 
 for the portentous roar of artillery, it was very quiet 
 that noon; even the birds were still beneath the spell 
 of fear and the hot sun. 
 
 The Temple of the Eye of God was of itself 
 small, but like all Oriental places of worship, it 
 was ornate with gargoyles, grotesque carvings and 
 wide projecting eaves. The box-like huts of the 
 beggar-priests of the order stretched out on either 
 hand, insignificant hovels without interest, and domi 
 nated by the central structure which was itself almost 
 dominated by the flight of wide steps leading to the 
 entrance from an avenue lined with ancient stone 
 lanterns. The whole was the embodiment of Chi 
 nese spirit four thousand years old, and was dedi 
 cated to Confucius, who erected a code of morals 
 which has advanced, or declined, into a religion. 
 
 The dim interior of the temple was characteristic. 
 There was the usual array of hideous gods, teak- 
 wood carvings black with age, gilded scroll-work, 
 smouldering joss-sticks, beautifully embroidered silk 
 banners, jade ornaments, porcelain jars of fabulous 
 worth, black rafters beginning and ending in dark 
 ness, and nooks buried in deep, mysterious shadow
 
 THE AWAKENING 151 
 
 from which anything might come. It was a perfect 
 nightmare of a place to the Occidentalist a place 
 suggestive of secret orgies and revolting ceremonies. 
 The cold, set faces of the grotesque idols seemed to 
 have a repellent intelligence. One had the desire to 
 look on the tesselated floor for traces of old blood 
 stains. 
 
 The exceptional feature to this interior was some 
 thing which resembled an altar in a Christian church. 
 It was of elaborately carved teakwood inlaid with 
 ivory darkened by time, and built high upon it was 
 a pagoda-like reliquary the compartment which 
 held the Eye of God itself. 
 
 Travelers in China have remarked that a real 
 worshipper is rarely seen in any temple, but on this 
 day there were two in the sanctuary of the Eye of 
 God, one prostrate before the altar, his shaven fore 
 head pressed to the checkered pavement in an atti 
 tude of extreme devotion. His dress, his long, pol 
 ished finger-nails and his silk-entwined queue showed 
 him to be an aristocrat, while the broad, black 
 squares on the breast and back of his silk robe, 
 squares in which was embroidered the figure of a 
 crane, and the coral button on top of his silk cap, 
 showed him to be a Civil Mandarin of the First 
 Class. Behind him bent a young man, or boy, bear-
 
 152 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 ing the white wand of a majordomo. By the closed 
 door of the reliquary stood a tall priest in ancient 
 ceremonials, his head bent, his hands crossed upon 
 his breast, but his attitude of humility did not hide 
 the fire in his oblique eyes. Two or three minor 
 priests stood in the shadowy background, all in pos 
 tures of devotion. 
 
 Presently the mandarin arose and the boy stood 
 by his side. At that moment the rumbling thunder 
 of guns suddenly ceased. The priest let fall his cere 
 monial attitude, and spoke : 
 
 "Does Chow T su bring news?" he asked in a 
 colloquial voice. 
 
 "I bring warning," was the mandarin s return. 
 "Li-Hung-Chang is a fool! No argument but that 
 of victorious force ever appeals to him. Now he 
 will have to bend before the foreign devils. They 
 "will win. Do you mark the sudden silence?" 
 
 The priest bowed. "And your Highness s warn 
 ing?" 
 
 "Though its secret is not known, the Eye of God 
 is in danger. The sacred relic is no longer safe, and 
 once it is lost my house will fall my ancestors will 
 sorrow my life be undone." 
 
 "But the written command " 
 
 I know," interrupted the other, something like
 
 THE AWAKENING 153 
 
 a spasm passing over his fat face. "... the 
 written command is that no violence must be used 
 in defending it. But the priests of the temple must 
 
 protect it. It may be hidden in holy ground 
 
 Hark!" 
 
 The exclamation was caused by a distant cry 
 which was not repeated. 
 
 "After all," continued the mandarin, "what is 
 there to fear. Kong-fu-cie will protect his temple 
 as well as the honor of his house, Fei-Lung, the 
 Flying Dragon ! I would look upon the relic once 
 again. Let me see and worship." 
 
 The priest bowed in silence and advanced to the 
 front of the altar where he prostrated himself, then 
 arising, opened the door of the reliquary. Within 
 was a jade box which he took out and placed upon 
 the altar. As he lifted the cover Chow T su again 
 bowed low, his forehead touching the floor. 
 Straightening himself he looked reverently at the 
 thing within the box. Like one under an inspiration 
 he began to whisper, addressing his attendant: 
 
 "Mow-Sing, behold the Eye of God upon which 
 none but those of the house of the Flying Dragon 
 have ever looked and lived!" He spoke in the sing 
 song of a Chinese ritual, his eyes fixed upon what, 
 in the dim light, appeared to be a black ball of about
 
 154 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 the size and shape of a small egg. In one end of it 
 something glittered. 
 
 He went on, his voice rising. "Once it belonged 
 to the great Kong-fu-cie. It has rested in his hand 
 and felt the dew of his divine breath. It is the talis 
 man of his family, of which you are one and I am 
 the head.* Upon it is carved his command, and 
 his curse follows the mortal who disobeys it." 
 
 The man was growing excited. His slits of eyes 
 enclosed in fat glowed like a miser s as he counts 
 his increasing hoard, and his voice had risen, when 
 above it came the crack of a rifle close at hand, the 
 shot being followed by the sound of running feet 
 and the shouts of men. 
 
 It was the mandarin who first gathered the im 
 port of the sudden interruption. "The city has 
 fallen!" he shouted, and stretched out his arm for 
 the ball; but the priest was too quick for him. Strik 
 ing up the advancing hand he snapped down the jade 
 cover of the miniature chest, pushed it into its re 
 pository and closed the door. He had hardly done 
 so when the entrance of the temple was burst open 
 and several panic-stricken Chinese soldiers rushed 
 in, closely followed by a disorderly squad of German 
 
 *At this day there exists in China about two hundred and fifty 
 lineal descendants of Confucius.
 
 THE AWAKENING 155 
 
 yagers. Without listening to appeals for mercy they 
 cut down the fugitives, then looked around the dim 
 interior. 
 
 But they saw little. By then the mandarin had 
 disappeared, the boy, Mow-Sing, was crouched in a 
 corner, the lower priests had fled shrieking and only 
 the Chief of the Temple stood to confront them, 
 his thin figure drawn to its full height, his back 
 against the sacred altar and in his hand the ancient 
 Chinese battle-ax which had been for years sleeping 
 beneath the shrine. 
 
 More Germans came running in, and one of them 
 tilted his broad bayonet against a wooden idol near 
 the priest, the blow splitting the hideous head from 
 brow to chin. The man lived only long enough to 
 catch the gleam of a descending ax and a pair of 
 fiery eyes. 
 
 His death was all that was needed. Half an 
 hour later but little remained of the interior of the 
 Temple of the Eye of God. The altar and the 
 reliquary were overthrown and splintered, the 
 ancient jars demolished, the banners torn, the carv 
 ings destroyed, the gods defiled. Everything that 
 could be wrecked was wrecked and over the wanton 
 destruction glared the few idols which were too 
 heavy to be more than marred.
 
 156 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Amid the debris lay the bodies of the slain China 
 men, and among them was that of the devoted 
 priest. Mow-Sing, with the cunning of his kind, had 
 saved his life by feigning death, and lay face down 
 on receiving a stunning blow from the butt of a Ger 
 man musket. 
 
 After its complete demolition the place was de 
 serted as suddenly as it had been entered, but the 
 last soldier to leave, a German sergeant, noticed 
 something lying on the floor among the green frag 
 ments of a jade box. He picked it up. It was a 
 carved ivory ball black with age. Dropping it into 
 his pocket as a souvenir he ran out and joined his 
 looting companions. 
 
 He had not seen the mandarin who, having 
 thrown off his robe, had climbed to a shadowy rafter 
 and witnessed the entire outrage, horror and fear 
 in his cowardly heart and hate in his narrow eyes. 
 He saw the German take the sacred talisman from 
 the floor and go out, and then, when the place be 
 came quiet, he climbed from his perch and grovelled 
 on the blood-stained pavement in an ecstasy of men 
 tal suffering and spiritual degradation. Finally he 
 crawled to the remains of the dead priest and knelt 
 beside it. "Even you a priest of the temple have 
 fallen under the curse!" he muttered. "You dared
 
 THE AWAKENING 157 
 
 to raise a weapon in defence of God s Eye ! You 
 have disobeyed!" Then, like a man half demented, 
 Chow T su sent up a vow to his ancestors a vow, 
 the sacredness of which can be understood only by 
 a Chinaman. In his own conscience Chow T su, 
 mandarin, pagan, rich, powerful, and as cruel as a 
 Chinese hell, had lost caste to himself through the 
 loss of the talisman of his family, and he, the leader 
 of the house of the Flying Dragon, could not hold 
 up his head again until his honor was vindicated by 
 its recovery. Oriental ethics decreed that his pres 
 tige had gone and could not be restored until he 
 had "saved his face" by restoring the Eye of God 
 to the temple which had been its resting place for 
 more than a thousand years. 
 
 The West does not comprehend the thought of 
 the East, and it is doubtful if it ever will. For the 
 West believes in the body politic, the East in the 
 individual. China has no patriotism; it even has no 
 national air; every man is for himself and the devil 
 may and does take the hindmost. 
 
 For that reason Mow-Sing lay neglected by his 
 master; and when that master finally crept away in 
 the twilight the boy awoke to full consciousness and 
 found himself alone. His wand of office was broken. 
 He knew he was an outcast. He, too, crept away.
 
 158 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 And so night fell over Tientsin. 
 
 Once more Chow T su paused and this time Lau- 
 rens knew the man was scanning the years that lay 
 between the time of which he had spoken and the 
 present. And his thoughts were not pleasant. The 
 cruelty that shone from the little eyes, the obvious 
 desire for vengeance, spoke as plainly as any words. 
 He suddenly seemed to remember that he was ex 
 plaining for the benefit of Laurens was, as he had 
 expressed it, "playing the game with his cards face 
 up." Well, he had explained. Now Laurens knew 
 the significance of the ivory ball, and there v, as that 
 confidence in the relator s manner that showed that 
 it could not matter now that Laurens would never 
 be in a position to make use of his knowledge or to 
 impart it. Chow T su looked at his unwilling guest 
 confidently and went on: 
 
 "That soldier of an empire based on a rotten 
 foundation who discovered the Eye of God knew 
 nothing of its value. Later he sold it to an Ameri 
 can a Colonel Dalzell for a mere nothing. But 
 he paid for his crime against the house of Fei-Lung, 
 as all must do who touch the ivory ball for that 
 night the soldier was killed in a drunken row." 
 
 Another pause; then Chow T su took up the
 
 THE AWAKENING 159 
 
 thread of his narrative, but a change had come in his 
 manner. Almost it were as though he pleaded for 
 understanding and compassion. 
 
 "Sir," he said, holding up the ivory ball," my soul 
 died with the loss of this. Over the body of that 
 murdered priest I made a vow, and a Chinaman is 
 true to his vows. I have carried mine to a finish, 
 It was easy for me to trace the ball to the colonel, 
 who recognized it as a rare work of art, if nothing 
 else, and then I, of a great house, demeaned myself 
 to becoming a servant to a foreigner. 
 
 "The day came when Colonel Dalzell accidentally 
 discovered the secret of the Eye of God, and he 
 foolishly told it to his half-brother. You wonder 
 why I did not kill the colonel when by doing so I 
 could have possessed myself of this more than 
 precious thing. Sir, I would have done so, as I 
 would have killed you, only for the command written 
 here. It is not permitted to obtain or retain the 
 relic by violence, though stealth is always justified. 
 Through those years, however, I had no chance. 
 The ivory ball was always too carefully guarded 
 for even my cunning to obtain possession of it with 
 out using force. I even would have had to use force 
 with the pitifully sick man you saw, for he was the
 
 160 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 worst of them all. See ! Here is the command dic 
 tated by my noble ancestor!" 
 
 With his long finger-nail Chow T su traced the 
 obscure characters running through the carved scroll, 
 the characters Professor Woodstock had not been 
 able to read, and the Chinaman s voice was reveren 
 tial as he translated: 
 
 "He who holds me unlawfully shall fade like the 
 leaves of summer. He who uses violence to possess 
 me shall die accursed." 
 
 "The curse has worked. The priest, the soldier, 
 the colonel and his criminal brother, are dead. You 
 took it from me by violence and " 
 
 "And I am still alive," interrupted Laurens. 
 
 "Your saving grace was that you did not take it 
 for yourself. However, you will bear witness that 
 I have not used violence on you." 
 
 "You make a cursed fine distinction," was the re 
 turn. Laurens looked at the ball in the man s hand 
 and could not help feeling a species of reverence for 
 the object which, from the Chinaman s statement, 
 was older than the Christian religion. That Chow 
 T su was a fanatic admitted of no doubt, though 
 the fact seemed inconsistent with his evident educa 
 tion. Laurens believed his story; the man had en-
 
 THE AWAKENING 161 
 
 dured suffering, insult, and had even risked his life 
 to obtain the ball. It was hard to realize, and for 
 the moment the young man forgot his own treat 
 ment. 
 
 "Do you have faith in the occult powers of a bit 
 of carved ivory, however old?" he sneered. 
 
 "Do you believe in wealth? In ambition?" asked 
 the other, in a peculiar tone. 
 
 "They have their uses." 
 
 "They have, indeed! Sir, I am rich. Where you 
 can lay down one dollar I can lay down three, yet 
 our gold combined could not begin to purchase either 
 the power or the glory of this ball at which you are 
 inclined to scoff. Even from your Christian standard 
 of values you will confess this. Look, sir!" 
 
 As he spoke the last words he pressed, then 
 twisted, the diamond on the head of the dragon and 
 the semi-sphere fell apart lengthwise. The China 
 man bowed low as he laid the segments on the table. 
 
 Laurens was more than astonished at the fact 
 that the ball could be opened. He had thought of 
 the possibility and had examined it closely for a 
 hidden joint without finding one; however, as Chow 
 T su bowed before the segments of the ball Laurens 
 forgot the matter of its opening by its content. In 
 voluntarily he came to his feet.
 
 162 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 As a child of the twentieth century, in which the 
 unacknowledged god is the Almighty Dollar, he 
 might well have bent low himself; for snugly fitted 
 into the center of the ovoid was an enormous uncut 
 diamond somewhat larger than the great Koh-i- 
 noor, the counterfeit of which Laurens had seen re 
 produced in glass. But unlike any uncut diamond he 
 had ever known it seemed to have an internal light 
 of its own a white radiance which penetrated the 
 dull surface of the stone and gave to it the effect of 
 a human eye overspread with the veil of a cataract. 
 In short, the thing looked like a white eye and it was 
 easy to understand why it had been called the Eye 
 of God. 
 
 To Laurens, who at once recognized the value of 
 the gem, it was no wonder that Fung Wang, or who 
 ever he might be, had devoted years to its posses 
 sion; it was no wonder that the pseudo-major, an 
 expert, had hated to die and leave it. The innate 
 cupidity within the young American within every 
 man came to the surface as he bent over the won 
 derful stone. "By Jove!" he exclaimed, carried 
 away by the gem s magnificance, "I am not surprised 
 that you took a risk for such a thing ! Why did you 
 not tell me instead of letting me maul you?" 
 
 Before answering Chow T su arose to his feet
 
 THE AWAKENING 163 
 
 and taking the halves of the container pressed them 
 together with a faint snap, after which he placed the 
 ball in his bosom and folded his arms. 
 
 "Would you have believed my right to it?" he 
 asked. "Would you have quietly passed back to 
 me that which is worth the world to the house of 
 Fei-Lung, and to you and your kind more than a 
 half a million of dollars? I distrust your veneer 
 of civilization. More than a year ago I bowed 
 before your insults, I bowed before your will and 
 waited. I have not waited in vain. In assaulting 
 me you perhaps thought you were doing your duty. 
 You were not; no principle was considered; you 
 were merely playing the part of a Don Quixote, for 
 the favor of a girl." 
 
 Laurens colored. "I was ignorant of the facts, 
 as you give them, and " 
 
 "Does God or man condone ignorance of the 
 law?" cut in the Chinaman. 
 
 "ChowT su," returned Laurens, rising, "I believe 
 all you have told me. I understand your motives, 
 and respect them. I apologize for my unwarranted 
 assault on you. Is that not enough?" 
 
 "No," was the quiet reply. 
 
 "You are taking an absurdly tragic view of a 
 small matter!"
 
 164 THE IVORY; BALL 
 
 "Absurd! A small matter!" broke out the Ori 
 ental, his inscrutable eyes emitting something like a 
 flash. "Sir, my family dates from an era, not a year. 
 My pedigree is one beside which the aristocracy of 
 Europe has the lineage of an hour. Beside outrag 
 ing my person you derided, laughed at and cursed 
 my ancestors. Do you not know what that means 
 to a Chinaman?" 
 
 "But, sir, I have tendered an apology." 
 
 "Confucius says: He who rides a tiger cannot 
 dismount. 
 
 "I catch your meaning," returned Laurens, his 
 temper rising. "You admit being implacable. Per 
 mit me to leave your house. I am intruding." 
 
 The Chinaman looked at him, a slow, evil smile 
 spreading his thick lips and disclosing his yellow 
 teeth. "Free sitters at the play always grumble 
 most!" he said, with a plain expression of contempt. 
 "Sir, a year ago I lay prostrate before you, cut to 
 the soul; in your turn you shall sink your pride to 
 the dust." 
 
 "To you? Submit to you? Show me out of this 
 cursed place instantly," demanded Laurens, taking a 
 threatening step toward the man. Chow T su backed 
 a pace and clapped his hands, and as he did so the
 
 THE AWAKENING 165 
 
 curtains behind him parted and two of his country 
 men, armed with bare yataghans, advanced quickly 
 to his side. The mandarin smiled broadly. 
 "You see, my friend!"
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 A GILDED CAGE 
 
 E.URENS did see. The significance of the atti 
 tude of the still smiling Chinaman and his 
 armed retainers came to him with the nature 
 of a shock. He saw that the matter was one not to 
 be treated lightly, condoned by mere apology or im 
 proved through personal violence. It became plain 
 to the angry American that the treacherous Oriental 
 was terribly in earnest; and with the full realization 
 there was a quick appreciation of his own serious 
 situation a knowledge that he had become the prey 
 of a revengeful fanatic. And what of Miss Dal- 
 zell? In his consternation his face might have re 
 flected his thought for his tormentor seemed to 
 read it. 
 
 "Mr. Laurens," said Chow T su, "the feeling I 
 have for you does not extend to any other. The lady 
 is safe. I hate your nation. I hate its overbearing 
 attitude of superiority, and have taught others to
 
 A GILDED CAGE 167 
 
 hate as I do. But for you there is an added, per 
 sonal animus which I hold for no one else. The 
 fate of the woman you love will largely depend upon 
 your behavior. Do you wish to see her?" 
 
 "Is she in this house?" 
 
 "She is, as a respected guest." 
 
 "Take me to her at once." 
 
 "Do you demand it as a right, or ask it as a 
 favor?" 
 
 Laurens flamed, forgetting the advantages of 
 policy. "I demand it as a right. Why should I ask 
 a favor of you?" 
 
 "For the purpose of obtaining it, I should 
 imagine," was the cool return. "Your present spirit 
 makes it impossible for me to comply with your 
 wish. You will have to acquire both patience and 
 respect two qualities you conspicuously lack. It 
 will be my happiness to become your teacher." 
 
 The words were uttered with a calm insolence 
 that was staggering, and had it not been for the 
 presence of the armed retainers Laurens would have 
 thrown himself on the grinning Oriental. As it was 
 his impotent rage fairly choked him. The China 
 man looked at him for a moment, then turned the 
 knife in the wound. 
 
 "Let me assure you that the lady in question has
 
 168 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 no expectation of seeing you. It may be that she 
 will lose faith in you. Later, I may perhaps bring 
 you together; in the meantime you may enjoy life 
 here at my expense." 
 
 "You mean that you will lie to Miss Dalzell?" 
 The other bowed. "You might truthfully say that 
 I have." 
 
 "Good God! And you make us your prisoners?" 
 "Pardon me! You are my honored guests. 
 Would you have me use unnecessary violence? You 
 did that once, and for it you must pay." 
 "But the lady why did you trap her?" 
 "Sir," answered Chow T su, "I did not know 
 which of you held the Eye of God. I took you both, 
 and to a man of your penetration it must be plain 
 that Miss Dalzell can not be freed at present. She 
 would immediately make my plans abortive." 
 
 "Curse your soul!" exploded Laurens. "You 
 lured us to this house through a lie, and now you 
 hope to work out your petty vengeance on me for 
 doing what any real man would have done under the 
 circumstances! How did you know of my exist 
 ence?" 
 
 "I did not know until lately," was the calm an 
 swer. "Until two days ago I thought you had es 
 caped me by dying in the desert. As I have told
 
 A GILDED CAGE 169 
 
 you, I will play my cards openly. You went to your 
 friend, Woodstock. You met your old servant, who 
 is of my house. You discussed your plans with 
 your friend, but you forgot that a Chinaman has ears 
 and wits and knows their use. Having rediscovered 
 the talisman what should Mow-Sing do but come to 
 me? You will surmise the rest." 
 
 Laurens ground his teeth. "You overlook the 
 fact that Professor Woodstock will look me up!" 
 
 "I think not," was the quiet rejoinder. "The 
 honorable Woodstock received a note yesterday 
 afternoon. It was from the honorable Laurens who 
 regretted that the indisposition of Miss Dalzell and 
 his own sudden call from town would compel him 
 to postpone meeting Count Lito-See who, by the 
 way, could not have furnished the knowledge you 
 have already acquired." 
 
 "Your ingenuity is hellish!" shouted the young 
 man, now beside himself. "Send off your guard, 
 you coward, and meet me on an equal footing. I 
 will teach you a lesson." 
 
 "I have had mine. You forget that I am to be 
 your teacher now." 
 
 The tone was exasperating in its smoothness and 
 ease. An unholy but helpless rage possessed the 
 young man at the insulting attitude of the Chinaman.
 
 170 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 He could hardly think coherently, and his strength 
 and nerve force had been so played upon by the drug 
 from the effect of which he had recently recovered, 
 and the enormity of the conditions surrounding him, 
 that he felt fairly sick. But he had sense enough to 
 know that another verbal explosion would be met by 
 the sang froid of his tormentor, and as an indica 
 tion of a chafing spirit it would be enjoyed. He 
 staggered back to his chair and sank into it. 
 
 "I will leave you for a time," said Chow T su, 
 after a moment of quiet contemplation of Laurens 
 lax figure. "You have here all the necessities of life 
 and many of its luxuries. There are cigars and 
 cigarettes in the humidor, wines in the sideboard and 
 books in the case. I recommend you to the study 
 of Confucius. If you wish attendance you have but 
 to strike the gong." He pointed to a bronze disk 
 hung from a bracket, then with a low bow backed 
 through the hangings, followed by his silent guards. 
 Laurens heard the door open and close, and he 
 heard it lock. 
 
 Long he sat alone in his elegant prison unheeding 
 the passage of time long enough for him to get his 
 thoughts into something like order. Though the 
 conditions were monstrous, he realized that he must 
 make no attempt at violence until it could be done
 
 A GILDED CAGE 171 
 
 on a firmer basis than had yet been offered him. He 
 saw, too, that whatever vengeance the Chinaman 
 had planned it might be taken with but small risk. 
 No one but Woodstock would much care where he 
 was, and Woodstock had been provided for. As for 
 the young lady; if Chow T su had not lied she was 
 in the house and would be missed from her home. 
 And certainly she would be searched for, though 
 Laurens considered that the chances of her being 
 found were not great. Doubtless her wily captor 
 had provided for that contingency as he had for 
 others. 
 
 The young man made up his mind to one thing: 
 Until force could be used to advantage he would 
 meet his oily host on the latter s chosen ground of 
 formal courtesy and a diplomatic concealment of 
 real intentions. 
 
 It was with a suffocating feeling of desperation 
 that Laurens arrived at these conclusions, and by 
 then physical action had become necessary if he was 
 to retain his mental balance. To relieve the terrible 
 tension of his nerves he arose and set about examin 
 ing his prison. 
 
 A short inspection proved that his jailer had not 
 deceived him regarding the luxuries of the place, for, 
 beside the main apartment, there was an elegant
 
 172 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 bathroom, a small dining-room, perfect in its Ori 
 ental appointments, and in another but smaller 
 apartment was a den, or completely furnished opium 
 joint, with its lamp, pipes and a divan, beside a 
 quantity of the drug itself. These rooms were sepa 
 rated by movable screens some eight feet high, the 
 entire suite being lighted only by the skylight and 
 the electric fixtures hanging from the ceiling, the 
 latter still glowing though it was now broad day. 
 
 Laurens again examined the walls behind the 
 hangings and discovered a small door he had pre 
 viously overlooked. It led from the opium den but 
 it was knobless and immovable. He figured that 
 Chow T su had made his dramatic appearance by 
 its means, but it offered no chance for escape. Sud 
 denly the solution of the character of his quarters 
 dawned on the young man. He was in what had at 
 one time been the picture-gallery of the mansion; 
 the undecorated and nail-scored walls, together with 
 the long skylight, told him that. And it was equally 
 clear that the great room had been altered to suit 
 the Oriental taste for compactness and elegance. 
 
 Having finished a general inspection the young 
 man went into details, examining each piece of fur 
 niture and testing its weight. A teakwood cabinet 
 near the piano brought him hope. In one of its
 
 A GILDED CAGE 173 
 
 drawers he found his watch and pocket accessories, 
 and in pulling open a small cupboard he discovered 
 a revolver lying on a shelf where it had probably 
 been forgotten. In a flash he transferred it to the 
 folds of his gown and continued his examination. In 
 a large, tray-like drawer he came upon an array of 
 drugs laid in perfect order, each vial clearly labeled 
 with such names as: "Chloroform," "Sat. Sol. Hyd. 
 Chloral," and "Potasse Cyanide." It was a deadly 
 array of virulent poisons, and he wondered why 
 they were there. In another drawer was a set of 
 razors and shaving essentials, and in still another 
 he found a rope of silk, one end of which was fast 
 ened into the hangman s conventional noose. 
 
 There was little else to interest him. In the buffet 
 were wines of various kinds, together with brandy 
 and whisky, enough to last a toper for months, and 
 its polished top was set with filled decanters and 
 sparkling wine glasses. 
 
 Having satisfied himself that there was no one 
 concealed by the draperies, but with the fear that 
 there was an eye on him from some loophole, he 
 lay down on the bed like one aweary, as indeed he 
 was, and with his hope fixed on the revolver, en 
 deavored to discover if it was loaded. He soon 
 found that it was. He could feel the ridges of the
 
 174 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 five cartridges in the chamber and on extracting one 
 felt the pointed bullet which capped it. 
 
 The possession of a charged weapon gave Lau- 
 rens courage and the steadying effect he needed, 
 and with the quieting of his nerves he discovered 
 that he was ravenously hungry. Remembering 
 Chow T su s directions he arose and banged on the 
 gong. The summons was almost instantly answered 
 by the same Chinaman who had previously been 
 deaf to his questions. 
 
 "Bring breakfast," he demanded, as if he were 
 master. The man bowed and retired. In something 
 like twenty minutes he appeared at the hangings of 
 the opening of the dining-room, though how he got 
 there was a mystery to Laurens. Bowing, he pulled 
 the drapery aside and the prisoner saw a low table 
 on which was a plentiful supply of food. He ate 
 heartily in spite of the fear that he might be 
 drugged, his attendant quick to fill every want, 
 though not a word did he speak. And Laurens did 
 not speak; neither did he threaten. His line of 
 action was not yet clear and, moreover, he felt it 
 would be useless to attempt to deal first with a ser 
 vant; Chow T su was the only one to whom an ap 
 peal to arms would prove effective. 
 
 The young man finished his meal without any of
 
 A GILDED CAGE 175 
 
 the ill results he had feared, and returned to die 
 larger chamber. And there he sat smoking and 
 thinking while the hours went by and until the sun 
 went down and the skylight dimmed. The Silence 
 was oppressive; not a sound came from outside, nor 
 did anyone intrude on him, and he was so wrapped 
 in his thoughts that he took little note of time 
 until the coolie came in again, lighted the lamp, 
 turned on the electric illumination and stood bowing 
 before him as if waiting for orders. By then Lau- 
 rens had come to a fixed determination and knew 
 about what he was going to do. 
 
 "Tell your master I wish to see him," he com 
 manded. 
 
 The man made a profound bow and departed. 
 Presently the door opened and Chow T su strode 
 into the room. "You sent for me?" 
 
 "I did. As a host who makes a virtue of his hos 
 pitality you are remiss; you should at least dine with 
 your guest, and he is starving." The words though 
 quietly spoken were hardly conciliatory. 
 
 "I hope I know my duty as a host," was the soft 
 return. "I was awaiting your honorable pleasure 
 and had begun to think you washed to starve me. I 
 fear the day has been monotonous to a degree. I
 
 176 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 invite you to a change. You will dine with me in 
 another apartment." 
 
 "What time is it?" asked Laurens. 
 
 "Eight o clock. By the way, you will find your 
 watch and valuables in the cabinet. I will escort 
 you, if you are ready. We will be quite informal." 
 
 Laurens set his teeth to curb his tongue, bowing 
 his acquiescence. The Oriental clapped his hands 
 and at once the doors were thrown open and the 
 young man saw the hall for the first time; he also 
 saw three Chinamen standing just outside of the 
 entrance and thought it well that he had not acted 
 hastily and threatened Chow T su when he first 
 came in. 
 
 With the obsequiousness of a servant his host 
 bowed before him as he led the way into the hall. 
 It was a great corridor with a number of tall doors 
 opening into it, and on either side was a row of 
 Italian marble pillars. The floor was of marble and 
 in the middle of it was a board on an easel. It was 
 covered with Chinese characters and at its foot was 
 a deep cushion. Laurens recognized it at once as 
 the ancestral record of the house which is usually 
 set in the main passage of a Chinaman s dwelling 
 and daily worshipped by the family. Beyond this
 
 A GILDED CAGE 177 
 
 there was no furniture but a chair and an earthen 
 tray by the door from which Laurens emerged. 
 
 Preceded and followed by his guards he went 
 down the hall with Chow T su by his side until they 
 came to a small room. Its window was draped and, 
 like the hall, it had little furniture. Beside the low 
 table, the cushions surrounding it, and an inlaid 
 stand on which stood a telephone there was nothing 
 in the way of fittings though the walls were banked 
 with potted palms. In the ceiling was a cluster of 
 shaded electric lights. 
 
 As Laurens saw the telephone he saw what he 
 considered a new chance. When the time came to 
 act he would shoot Chow T su, if necessary, dispose 
 of any henchman present, barricade the door with 
 the heavy palms and send a message to the police. 
 It would be very simple, and the law would justify 
 him for killing the Chinaman, if he remained obdu 
 rate. The picture of subsequently freeing Josephine 
 flashed through his mind, and it steadied him in his 
 purpose. 
 
 Without further ceremony Chow T su motioned 
 Laurens to a seat at the table and squatted his own 
 fat figure opposite, then clapped his hands; the 
 guard disappeared and two waiters came in loaded $\ 
 with dishes from which they served the meal. It
 
 178 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 was all silently and swiftly done with military pre 
 cision and without a word being spoken. Laurens 
 ate with the appetite of a healthy animal but drank 
 little of the wine offered, not wishing to muddle his 
 brains. The dinner was prosaic enough, its courses 
 differing but little from those to which he had been 
 used. 
 
 "You will observe that I have altered my national 
 custom on your honorable account," said Chow T su, 
 indicating the dishes and the knives and forks set 
 with each plate, instead of the usual chop-sticks. 
 Laurens made no reply and not another word passed 
 between them until the last dish was removed and 
 cigars were brought in. The attendants were then 
 dismissed and the two were alone. 
 
 "Hereafter the honorable Laurens will dine by 
 himself," said the Chinaman. "His irregular hours, 
 his coarse appetite and coarser style are too eccen 
 tric for my taste." He blew a cloud of smoke from 
 his lips. 
 
 "The honorable Laurens can easily forego your 
 company," returned the young man feeling strong 
 and confident after his meal. 
 
 "And have you no request to make one not 
 couched in the terms of command?" 
 
 "You are pleased to be facetious," was the return.
 
 A GILDED CAGE 179 
 
 "I have no request, but I have a direct command to 
 make, and make it even while a prisoner." 
 
 "You are not euphemistic; say, rather, while you 
 are an honored guest. Indeed, I have rarely taken 
 so much trouble for anyone as I have for you." 
 
 "I will give you either more or less trouble in the 
 immediate future," said Laurens, quickly getting to 
 his feet and drawing the revolver. "Have done with 
 your dramatic nonsense and set me at liberty at 
 once. Show me the way from this house." 
 
 The Chinaman looked at the weapon without be 
 traying the least emotion. "Occidental heroics!" he 
 observed. As he spoke his cigar fell from his lips 
 to the floor. "Pick it up and hand it to me," he 
 commanded, without raising his voice. 
 
 "Go to hell!" was the vociferous rejoinder. 
 
 "So!" returned Chow T su. "That was but a 
 test. Your answer and your threatening attitude 
 prove that your apology to me was but lip service ! 
 What would you do!" he asked, recovering his cigar- 
 and pacing it to his lips. 
 
 Laurens spoke with passion. "I will shoot you 
 like the dog you are if within one minute you do not 
 rise and show me out. I will shoot you if you are 
 treacherous if you dare call for help." 
 
 "Yes? You appear to be in earnest!"
 
 180 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "I am in deadly earnest." 
 
 The Chinaman looked at him and deliberately 
 clapped his thick, ring-bedecked hands. It was the 
 last straw. Laurens instantly covered him with the 
 revolver and pulled the trigger. But the only result 
 was the snap of the falling hammer. Twice, thrice 
 he cocked the weapon and attempted to shoot. And 
 then he noticed the smile on the face of the undis 
 turbed Celestial. For a moment his heart seemed to 
 stop beating. In a frenzy he broke open the weapon 
 and in an instant saw the cartridges were but dum 
 mies. With a burning face he flung the weapon 
 from him and sank to his cushion just as the door 
 opened and a young Celestial came in bearing the 
 white wand of a tnajordomo. Laurens gave one 
 look at him. "Mow-Sing!" he exclaimed. 
 
 The boy appeared not to have either seen or 
 heard him and his face seemed as blank as a stone 
 as he turned to Chow T su. "You call?" he calmly 
 inquired, as he bowed low. 
 
 "I did," was the return in English. "Show the 
 honorable Laurens to his own apartments. He has 
 become offensive."
 
 THE ABYSS 
 
 WITH his first sense of utter defeat Laurens 
 was escorted back to his room. Most of 
 the night was consumed in walking up and 
 down like a caged animal. In the morning his 
 breakfast was served by his dumb attendant and it 
 was hardly completed when Chow T su appeared. 
 He came alone, but Laurens was perfectly aware that 
 his guards were within instant call, and while he felt 
 like flying at the man, he met him with a quietness 
 that astonished himself, though his spirit was as yet 
 unbroken. 
 
 "I am pleased to see that my guest has regained 
 his mental balance," said the Chinaman. "His ex 
 perience last evening showed he has little control 
 over his passions; he also exposed his entire lack of 
 penetration. Permit me to send a lesson home. 
 Confucius says: He who fights should not wield a 
 leaden sword. 
 
 "Curse your aphorisms!" began Laurens, but the 
 other interrupted him. 
 
 181
 
 182 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "You are enthusiastic and dramatic. Allow me 
 to finish. That revolver with which you threatened 
 me was placed where I knew you would discover it. 
 It was not like this." As he spoke he drew a small 
 automatic pistol from his robe. "Had you really 
 assaulted me I should have used this weapon, there 
 being no command against self-defense. I am some 
 thing of a student of human nature, sir; I am some 
 thing of a mind reader and might qualify as a seer 
 of some sort. I knew what it would be natural for 
 you to attempt, and counted on your superficial ex 
 amination of the revolver you were doubtless de 
 lighted to find. One of your weaknesses is that you 
 are prone to jump at conclusions you are too 
 impetuous. I must correct this." 
 
 He spoke with exasperating good humor. Lau- 
 rens was inwardly furious but he knew that to ex 
 press his impotent rage would only please the China 
 man. With all the ease he could command he took 
 a cigar from the humidor, lighted it and sat down. 
 Chow T su followed suit, rolling the havana be 
 tween his coarse lips. After looking at his silent 
 prisoner for a moment he asked: "Are you not satis 
 fied here?" 
 
 "I am satisfied that you are an insatiable brute
 
 THE ABYSS 183 
 
 an inhuman monster," was the reply. "When is this 
 going to end?" 
 
 "You may end it at any time, my friend." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "I think I have left opium enough in the smoking 
 room, but you would find the contents of the cabinet 
 more speedy. Beside the lethal liquids there are 
 razors or perhaps you may prefer the rope. For 
 give me for these details." 
 
 Laurens bounded to his feet. "You mean that 
 you would drive me to suicide!" 
 
 "Nirvana, my friend," said Chow T su, throwing 
 back his head and sending a thin line of smoke 
 toward the ceiling "nirvana ends all troubles, even 
 feng-dhuy. Do you believe in feng-shuy f But of 
 course, in your superior enlightenment, you do not." 
 He spoke without the least emotion. 
 
 Laurens could not answer him; for the moment 
 he was dumb from shock. 
 
 "Feng-shuy!" continued the Chinaman. "Ah, it 
 is the spirit of ill luck! It hounds some men to their 
 graves. Yes, it exists in your ultra-civilized country, 
 often in the shape of poverty. You, John Laurens, 
 are accounted rich. Did you ever lift feng-shuy from 
 a human being? I ll warrant not! How many 
 deaths lie at the door of the thousands you inherited
 
 184. THE IVORY BALL 
 
 from your uncle 1 You are perhaps astonished that 
 I know of your affairs. Let nothing astonish you ; 
 my arm is long. Did those dead men men of the 
 mines, the factory, the sea, ever wrong you or yours 
 as you have wronged me? No. They died, sapped 
 of means and spirit that you might prosper. Had 
 you a live interest in them? No. You were passive. 
 And I am passive." 
 
 The quiet, even, unimpassioned tone of the man 
 filled Laurens with horror. He was suddenly look 
 ing into a bottomless pit the abyss of death. It 
 was clear that the Chinaman was bent on no small 
 revenge; he wished nothing less than the young 
 man s life, and was hounding him into taking it him 
 self. 
 
 "So you are bent upon my killing myself !" he said, 
 and spoke the words almost mechanically. 
 
 "I see the idea is new to you," was the calm reply. 
 "I was hoping it was not. Personally, I would not 
 shed your blood, at present your pride being my 
 great concern." The Chinaman arose to his feel. 
 "I have sworn to my ancestors to humble it, and 
 failing in that the rest would be in vain. Your own 
 taking off would prove that I had succeeded. Action, 
 my friend; action and nothing less, for your apolo 
 gies are worthless; you have already disproved
 
 THE ABYSS 185 
 
 them. By the glory of Confucius, whom you de 
 ride, you have caused me to feel degraded, but now 
 I hope soon to look my family in the face. I can 
 hardly return to my native land until my soul is 
 clean before my ancestprs. 
 
 "I have been open with you. I will still be open. 
 My household is large, though you have hardly 
 glimpsed it; my men faithful. I lack for nothing I 
 desire. In bodily comfort I suffer from nothing 
 greater than the circumstance of your presence here. 
 You alone alter my life. With you here I cannot 
 enjoy the freedom I wish. I cannot enjoy my 
 schooner which lies in the bay; I cannot enjoy my 
 automobile journeys. It may interest you to know 
 that this estate was purchased by me on speculation. 
 I shall place it on sale at once and remain here only 
 until your generosity sets me free to return to my 
 own country. Sir, I wish but one look at your dead 
 body, self slain, and promise you it shall not be 
 defiled. As the French say voila tout!" 
 
 Laurens could only look at him. "Come, sir," 
 said the Chinaman, "you have forced me to appear 
 discourteous in being obliged to give you blunt facts, 
 your comprehension not being set on a sharp edge. 
 I will leave you to your own reflections." And he 
 went from the room.
 
 186 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Laurens remained like one under a spell, but he 
 could think. He saw it all now; the whole scheme 
 had come to him with the suddenness and force of 
 an explosion. The curse of the ivory ball had at 
 last struck him. To the end of obtaining it and 
 compelling his suicide he had been lured to that 
 house, and he was horror-struck as he contemplated 
 the future. The terrible silences, the solitude, the 
 studied degradation and the confinement, together 
 with a long and active sense of resentment would 
 finally unbalance him, and there was no knowing 
 what he might do then. Monotony has killed many 
 men and his surroundings were not of the kind to 
 stimulate hopeful imagination. The suffocating ele 
 gance of his apartment and the luxuries at his com 
 mand tended to smother even that. 
 
 He looked after the departing monster but did 
 not move for some time, then, like one bereft of his 
 senses, he leaped up with the intention of doing 
 something to bring Chow T su back. He would 
 throttle him at sight, let the consequences be what 
 they might. He ran to the entrance and grasping 
 the silver knobs shook them with all his force, when 
 to his astonishment the door opened under his hand. 
 And to his greater astonishment there was no guard 
 outside. The hall was empty.
 
 THE ABYSS 187 
 
 At this discovery his heart gave a great bound. 
 It was evident that at the Chinaman s departure the 
 fastening of the doors had been overlooked. No 
 one was in sight and there was not a sound to alarm 
 him, but that the guard had but recently left was 
 shown by the still smoking cigarette stump in the 
 earthen tray on the floor. 
 
 A sudden sense of exultation sent the blood surg 
 ing through Laurens veins, and his nearness to 
 liberty was like a choking hand taken from his 
 throat. Instantly his nerves quieted, but he realized 
 that he was far from being out of the lion s den; 
 the guard might return at any moment. To make 
 a blind dash without knowing where he was going 
 would be worse than useless, but it behooved him to 
 get to some cover and lay out a line of action. 
 
 Not daring to go back to his now hateful room 
 for fear of being locked in, he quietly closed the door 
 and hurrying across the wide hall opened the door 
 of the nearest room, or that directly opposite his 
 own. It let him into a great gilded salon absolutely 
 barren of furniture of any kind and lighted only by 
 slits in the closed shutters of the tall French win 
 dows. The crystal chandeliers, brackets and wall 
 mirrors were swathed in white and the polished 
 floor was thick with the dust of months.
 
 188 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Laurens discovered that the windows could not 
 be opened and so went back to the door. The hall 
 was still empty and he sped over the marble floor, 
 his felt soles making no noise, trying other doors as 
 he went, but they were fastened. He was becoming 
 hopeless when upon trying the last door in the cor 
 ridor he found that it opened into familiar quarters; 
 it was the room in which he had dined with Chow 
 T su the night before. 
 
 But now there was no table set for a meal and 
 the character of the place had changed; the decora 
 tive palms had been removed, the heavy curtains 
 drawn away from the wide window, which was open, 
 and a large desk and several chairs had been intro 
 duced, giving the apartment the effect of a plainly 
 furnished office. Like the hall it was empty of man 
 kind. 
 
 Laurens ran to the window only to see that it 
 might as well have been barred for all the good it 
 would do him; for it opened upon a small, closed 
 court, or well, around which arose the window- 
 pierced walls of the mansion which he saw could be 
 hardly less than a palace in size and appearance, 
 and the distance to the concrete pavement was 
 something more than twenty feet. Even in his des 
 perate state he recoiled against such a drop, but his
 
 THE ABYSS 189 
 
 disappointment was not as keen as it might have 
 been, for there was the telephone on the stand which 
 he had noticed the night before. It was the key 
 that would open his prison. 
 
 With nervous haste he grasped the instrument 
 and, snatching the receiver from its hook, placed it 
 
 to his ear, but instead of the indefinite buzzing 
 caused by electrical induction, showing the wire to 
 be "alive," there was no sound at all and no response 
 came from the central station, though he worked the 
 lever for fully five minutes. The thing appeared 
 to be as dead as Caesar and as useless. He was 
 about to throw it down in despair when, like music 
 from heaven, there came a click and the sound of a 
 man s voice. 
 
 "Hello! What is it?" 
 
 "For God s sake send for the police!" returned 
 Laurens, his nerves tingling. "I am imprisoned in 
 a house!" 
 
 "Imprisoned! In what house?" 
 
 "I don t know where I am. I think the place is 
 in the suburbs." 
 
 "What number is your phone?" 
 
 "It has none that I can see. Ah! Connect me 
 with the Palace Hotel."
 
 190 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 The Palace Hotel!" came back the voice. 
 "Where do you think you are?" 
 
 "Somewhere near San Francisco. I was drugged 
 and " 
 
 The interruption came sharp and quick. "Your 
 keeper had better have an eye on you ! This office 
 is in Sacramento." The words were followed by a 
 chuckling laugh which Laurens plainly heard. After 
 that came the click of a hook and the wire passed 
 into its old condition of deadness. 
 
 Laurens was frantic, too frantic to recognize that 
 the speaker at the other end of the line was entirely 
 different in manner from the trained employe of the 
 telephone company that it could not have been a 
 central office which had answered him. And he was 
 in Sacramento! If so he had been insane or was 
 insane now. Certainly, at that moment he was far 
 from being well balanced. 
 
 With a groan he slammed the instrument to the 
 floor and in desperation strode to the door and flung 
 it open. They might do with him as they would; 
 he could no longer help himself, and for one single 
 instant he thought of settling the whole business by 
 going back and satisfying the murderous Chinaman. 
 He could no longer stand the strain. 
 
 But this was but a momentary weakness and a
 
 THE ABYSS 191 
 
 sight of the still empty hall changed his thoughts, 
 though it did not cause him to be more cautious. In 
 his new mood of carelessness and anger he moved 
 up the hall, passed the ancestral record on its easel, 
 passed his own door, and so on until he came to a 
 broad, marble-stepped, bronze-railed stairway lead 
 ing upward. He was about to take to it without 
 knowing why, when he suddenly saw his way to free 
 dom as he noticed that to his right, and just beyond 
 the flight of stairs, was a short but broad passage 
 at the end of which was a heavy glass door guarded 
 by a bronze grill. It was the main entrance to the 
 mansion; the door stood half open, and through 
 the space came the rippling purr of an automobile 
 engine in action. 
 
 The sight of this egress brought a new and sudden 
 hope, and gathering up his robe Laurens ran to it. 
 A limousine with its curtains drawn and its door 
 flung wide stood in a covered court as though wait 
 ing for someone, and at the end of the court was 
 an intricately patterned wrought-iron gate. It, also, 
 was open, as the whole place appeared to be, and a 
 Chinese attendant stood by it, his back toward 
 Laurens. 
 
 The young man halted and took observation. 
 Beyond the gate were the trees of a park and
 
 192 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 through them he caught sight of the glass roof of 
 a conservator) 7 . Beneath the trees the lawn was 
 green, and over all was a sky as blue as the waters 
 of Lake Como. The air was loaded with the odor 
 of flowers and the scent came to him like a breath 
 from Elysium. From some distant steeple there 
 sounded the musical beat of a bell striking the hour 
 of eleven. It was all entrancing to the eye and ear. 
 Never had the outside world appeared so won- 
 drously beautiful. 
 
 Laurens thrilled, but his gaze did not remain on 
 what lay beyond the gate; it fell to the man stand 
 ing by it and to the driver at the wheel of the wait 
 ing machine. In the latter he thought he recognized 
 the stolid chauffeur who had driven him from Cal- 
 lamere s to his prison. Like a hound pointing his 
 prey he looked from the open door and saw free 
 dom save for the stiff attendant and the motionless 
 chauffeur. Should he make a dash for liberty and 
 risk all? But to where? Here was a mansion in 
 an extensive private park, but Laurens had no idea 
 of the direction of the public street, while to follow 
 the broad driveway would be foolish; he would be 
 overtaken in a minute, and to make a fight of it 
 would be useless; he had no weapon, and in his
 
 THE ABYSS 193 
 
 weakened state would be no match for either of the 
 robust men before him. 
 
 Though he knew that mere muscle would not ac 
 complish his liberty he was not entirely hopeless, 
 though by then he was shaking from fear of dis 
 covery and excitement. Knowing that each moment 
 he remained at the door lessened his chances he 
 acted at once, his actions being almost automatic and 
 based on the fact that the driver of the automobile 
 was expecting someone and that the door of the 
 machine stood wide open. Without an instant of 
 further hesitation he drew himself up and without 
 hurry walked down the marble steps and entered 
 the limousine. No one appeared to have noticed 
 him and his only self-put question was: Had the 
 chauffeur been given his directions? or would he 
 turn for instructions and recognize him? He was 
 in for it whatever happened, and, pulling the door 
 smartly after him, as a signal to start, he dropped 
 into the back seat. 
 
 The automobile did not move but the fact was 
 lost on the young man; for as he fell back on to the 
 yielding cushion he found he was not alone; the 
 drawn curtains of the machine had concealed an 
 occupant.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 HUMILIATION 
 
 IT was Chow T su. If the Chinaman was angry 
 he was far from showing it, for he only smiled 
 as he looked into the appalled face of his vic 
 tim. "I was becoming a trifle impatient," he re 
 marked as casually as if Laurens had been a friend 
 for whom he had been waiting. "I really thought 
 you would have arrived sooner." 
 
 Laurens stared at him. "You you expected 
 me!" 
 
 " Absolutely. I was certain you would do what 
 you did. You are no enigma, my friend, and, as I 
 have before intimated, I am familiar with human 
 nature. Let me add that I have little respect for it, 
 as being guided by selfish interest. All men are self 
 ish; I am selfish, but, unlike you, I am broad enough 
 to recognize the fact and so have a touchstone to 
 the actions of others. It is very simple, is it not? 
 Come, you wish to ride? You shall." 
 
 194
 
 HUMILIATION 195 
 
 He picked up the dangling speaking-tube and 
 spoke a few words in Chinese. The limousine 
 sprang into life and swept out of the court, the 
 standing attendant bowing low. 
 
 To Laurens the turn of the tables had been com 
 plete, and his sudden hope so quickly dashed that 
 he was too crushed to make a return to the tyrant 
 at his side who, with affected deference, offered him 
 a cigarette. It was waved away. For one moment 
 the young man thought of the desperate expedient 
 of throwing himself on the fat villain but had sense 
 enough to know that he was too nerveless to suc 
 ceed even if the man had not provided against attack. 
 There was but one recourse left: When the limou 
 sine reached the highway he would dash open the 
 door and leap out, rislTmg broken bones; he would 
 scream or otherwise attract attention, and so, with 
 out wasting words on the unctuous Chinaman, he 
 waited, believing that he would not have to wait 
 long. 
 
 Through the park swept the elegant vehicle; 
 down an avenue of limes, past the conservatory, past 
 a trim lawn on which two men were working, past 
 a small grove of eucalyptus trees, past beds of roses, 
 past a miniature lake, and along a high, dressed 
 stone wall, draped with vines, which marked the con-
 
 196 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 fines of a magnificent estate. At length the vehicle 
 swept toward a lodge by a gateway in the wall at 
 which stood another Chinaman. It was closed, and 
 instead of waiting for it to be opened the machine 
 turned sharply and entered an intersecting drive 
 way, the attendant at the gate bowing as it passed. 
 A moment later it stopped in front of a large, low 
 building of white stone. 
 
 At once the door was thrown open by another 
 bowing Chinaman and Chow T su stepped out. Dur 
 ing the ride of five minutes he had not spoken a 
 word; now he held out his hand and invited Laurens 
 to descend. 
 
 More like a child than an adult the young man 
 obeyed and marked that the limousine had halted 
 before what was plainly a garage. He had been 
 again fooled and was too heartbroken to more than 
 look around hopelessly, being conscious that there 
 were several Orientals about the place. There was 
 no animosity in Chow T su s attitude as he took 
 Laurens by the arm and led him along a narrow, 
 flower-bordered path at the end of which rose the 
 white walls of the mansion. As if in the grasp 
 of a snake the young man jerked his arm away. 
 "Your pleasure comes through my humiliation, you 
 villain!" he said.
 
 HUMILIATION 197 
 
 "You mean you do not relish the lesson I set 
 myself to teach you that of humility the humility 
 you once witnessed in me," was the return. "I trust 
 that before you are ready to enter your impossible 
 Christian heaven you will have been reformed in that 
 respect. And you are not analytical. I will prove 
 it. You found your door open and your guard 
 absent?" 
 
 "I did. I now know why." 
 
 "Admirable! You are becoming enlightened! Of 
 course it was by my orders; you should have sus 
 pected that at once. Were I in your place I would 
 have known." 
 
 Laurens bit his lip. 
 
 "And you received but little satisfaction from the 
 telephone, I judge. You lost time in finding it, 
 though I thought I made it sufficiently conspicuous 
 last evening. I knew you would go to it. Again, 
 selfish human nature!" 
 
 Laurens felt like a school-boy under the lash of 
 a master s tongue. The Chinaman went on: "And 
 you had a short conversation with my secretary, who 
 could see you plainly; for that purpose the curtains 
 were drawn back and the window left open. He 
 will enjoy giving me the details. Allow me to add
 
 198 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 that the instrument is not connected with a station; 
 it is for domestic use only." 
 
 He spoke in a voice as smooth, silky and free 
 from anger as though the man at his side was his 
 best friend, but Laurens recognized his malicious joy 
 as he showed how the play had been staged for his 
 discomfort and disappointment. His wrath against 
 the Chinaman was almost an insane passion; he 
 could have killed him without the least compunc 
 tion, and even looked around for some weapon of 
 offense, but with devilish ingenuity Chow T su 
 seemed to read his thoughts. 
 
 "Being impossible of success, were I you I would 
 not even attempt it, sir," he said, without in the least 
 altering his colloquial tone. "Ours is a war of wits; 
 if your brains get the better of mine I will be forced 
 to surrender. I have used no violence on you and 
 your desire to use it on me is always provided for. 
 Look behind you, sir." 
 
 Laurens turned his head. A few yards in his rear, 
 and following, were the two stalwart men Chow 
 T su had summoned to his side once before. "Come, 
 sir," said the Chinaman, "let us return to your apart 
 ments." 
 
 Laurens whole soul rose in revolt against going 
 back to his luxurious hell. He stopped and faced his
 
 HUMILIATION 199 
 
 jailer. "Chow T su," he said, trying to check the 
 tremor in his voice, "have you no mercy? Have 
 you not punished me enough? You have won. I 
 have confessed my fault and apologized. I have 
 had my lesson." 
 
 "This is better!" blandly returned the Chinaman. 
 "You are improving under my guidance. But Con 
 fucius says: Some study some correction usually 
 shows the need of more. Do you think that it is I 
 who cry for revenge? You know me but little, if 
 you do. Your curses of me were as nothing. But 
 my ancestors appeal to them; when they forgive 
 and send a sign I will open my hand." 
 
 "You mean to press me to to the end you men 
 tioned?" 
 
 "You are rapidly becoming prepared for it," was 
 the cryptic answer. "I shall endeavor to be patient. 
 Come!" 
 
 "What if I refuse to move from here?" 
 
 "You are not quite a fool, I trust. You would not 
 be roughly used but you would be carried to where 
 you must go. And consider your loss of dignity; 
 consider the scene before my servants ! A China 
 man of caste would never confess failure; he might 
 fall but he would save his face before the world. 
 Death is not disgrace !"
 
 200 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "I shall beg no more," was the rejoinder. 
 
 There was nothing for Laurens to do but submit, 
 and submit he did. Ten minutes later he was alone 
 in his hateful prison. He threw himself on the bed 
 in the depths of mingled rage and despair.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 SEVEN DAYS 
 
 THAT day passed as did the next and the next 
 until a week went by, and no one came near 
 him save the single silent attendant who 
 served his meals and glided ghost-like about the 
 rooms, setting them in order. The monotony of the 
 hours was terrible and Laurens knew he would go 
 mad if he passed them in introspection. At times 
 the awfulness of his situation came upon him with 
 overwhelming force, then he would fall into a dull 
 apathy as his mind reacted from the strain. That 
 he was always guarded he was perfectly aware. 
 
 He suffered no lack of physical comfort but men 
 tally, consciously and unconsciously, he was ago 
 nized. To save his sanity he would seat himself at 
 the piano and play for hours, and he was no mean 
 performer for one without practice. He smoked 
 innumerable cigars, drank moderately, but began to 
 eat less and sleep less. His confinement was injur- 
 
 201
 
 202 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 ing his health, and he knew it. He read the English 
 books in the bookcase, especially a translation of 
 Confucius, and its correct moral teaching and cold 
 philosophy maddened him though many of the apho 
 risms burned into his brain and remained there. He 
 attempted to engage in conversation with his silent 
 servant, but the man would not second his efforts 
 even when he openly tried to bribe him to help gain 
 his liberty or carry a note to Miss Dalzell. Was 
 she still in the house? He did not know, but when 
 the terrible stillness grew unbearable, as it often did, 
 he would go to the piano and play to her hoping 
 that the sound would reach her and she would under 
 stand. At all events, the piano was occupation for 
 his brain and hands and undoubtedly it saved him 
 from madness and self-destruction. 
 
 On the seventh day of his imprisonment he was 
 improvising at the instrument when on turning away 
 from it he found Chow T su standing in the middle 
 of the room. 
 
 "You are quite a genius!" said the Chinaman, 
 smiling and speaking as if he had seen him only the 
 hour before. "And you are a trifle thinner; you do 
 not look as well as you did. I do not wish you to 
 fail physically and think you would be better for a 
 little relaxation."
 
 SEVEN DAYS 203 
 
 Laurens glared at him. 
 
 "I would not have your few remaining days made 
 too hard," continued Chow T su. "That would be 
 poor hospitality even as poor as was yours to me 
 when you practically ordered me to die in the desert. 
 I have been most liberal toward you but will offer 
 to place you under further obligations. Would you 
 like to see Miss Dalzell?" 
 
 Laurens fairly leaped from the piano-stool. "Is 
 she still here? Is she well?" 
 
 "Absolutely and remarkably." 
 
 "You will really take me to her?" Laurens 
 eagerness was unconcealed. 
 
 "I congratulate the lady on the warmth of her 
 lover," responded Chow T su, with a slight frown. 
 "I also commiserate her as she will never know your 
 embrace. However, you shall dine with her." 
 
 "Dine with her and speak to her?" excitedly asked 
 Laurens. 
 
 "With restrictions, yes. But you will say no word 
 to her derogatory to me. You will ask for no ex 
 planation of her being in this house, nor will you 
 even remotely hint that your treatment has been any 
 thing but delightful. In short, you will contradict 
 me in nothing I say in her presence. You will give 
 no tongue to your affection, but, as for that, I do
 
 204 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 not think you would wish to. And last, you will 
 substantiate any statement I may make. If you fail 
 in these conditions it will be at Miss Dalzell s peril." 
 The Chinaman s voice had taken on a harsh tone. 
 
 "I don t think I understand," returned Laurens. 
 
 "But you agree?" 
 
 "Are you preparing some fresh humiliation or dis 
 appointment?" 
 
 "Humiliation at seeing the lady you love? You 
 astonish me. I said you should see her, dine with 
 her, talk with her, but unless you agree to the con 
 ditions the offer is withdrawn, and if you break them 
 you will have the pleasant reflection of having made 
 the lady suffer. Are you agreeable?" 
 
 "The conditions are monstrous, but I will meet 
 them. I must." 
 
 "Confucius says: One must bend his head when 
 the eaves are low. I will take your honorable word. 
 But, my friend, your robe has grown shabby. I shall 
 return you your own clothing; as the dinner is for 
 this evening they will be appropriate. I will call 
 for you promptly at six. In the meantime you will 
 probably be interested to reflect on the stir you have 
 made in the world." 
 
 He took from his voluminous sleeve a folded 
 newspaper and handing it to Laurens, bowed himself
 
 SEVEN DAYS 205 
 
 from the room. The young man opened the journal 
 at once. It was a San Francisco daily dated the day 
 before and he did not have to search for the matter 
 in question, the broad stripe of Chinese ink marking 
 the item. 
 
 "Nothing has been heard from John Laurens, formerly 
 a lieutenant in the U. S. Navy, and Miss Josephine 
 Dalzell, daughter of the late Colonel Dalzell, of the U. S. 
 Army, who eloped a week ago. They were last seen 
 at Callamere s exclusive restaurant. The elope 
 ment is clouded in mystery as it is understood that 
 the two had known each other for but a few days. Mr. 
 Laurens friend, Professor Woodstock, now at the 
 Palace Hotel, and lately returned from China, scoffs at 
 the idea of an elopement. He maintains that on the 
 date of the couple s disappearance Mr. Laurens was out 
 of town. He knows little of Miss Dalzell excepting her 
 name, and strongly hints at some foul play about which 
 he will say nothing at present!" 
 
 Laurens laid down the paper and his tense nerves 
 relaxed, for he saw one gleam of hope. Woodstock 
 was suspicious of foul play, and knowing his energy 
 the young man knew he would leave no stone un 
 turned in order to get at the bottom of the mystery. 
 
 The newspaper and his hope of seeing Josephine 
 that evening put life into him a life he had not felt 
 for days. He now looked at conditions under a 
 new stimulus. Suicide? He? Never! Rather he
 
 206 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 would waste away in confinement, dying of a broken 
 heart, but while sane he would not lift his hand 
 against himself for the satisfaction of Chow T su. 
 He lacked the Eastern idea of "saving his face," and 
 to him it was perfectly clear that the Chinaman 
 wished him to kill himself in order to save his own, 
 and that while he lived he had the fanatical Celestial 
 at a disadvantage. 
 
 With a fillip to his spirits he set about preparing 
 for the evening, determined to outwit his jailer. At 
 four o clock his clothing came. It had been newly 
 pressed, his linen freshly laundered and his patent 
 leather shoes cleaned. By signs the dumb attendant 
 offered to help him dress but Laurens abruptly dis 
 missed him and dressed himself, not wishing a wit 
 ness to his actions. At five o clock he felt civilized; 
 he was ready. At six Chow T su appeared, being 
 robed in the gorgeous gown of his rank, and with 
 him came Mow-Sing, bearing the white wand of a 
 majordomo. The boy looked very serious and he 
 would not allow his eyes to meet those of his old 
 master. 
 
 "You are quite a handsome man and really a 
 credit to your order," said Chow T su, looking Lau 
 rens over in the enigmatical manner of the Oriental. 
 "Of course my honorable friend will remember my
 
 SEVEN DAYS 207 
 
 instructions to him I mean my suggestions, for one 
 does not instruct a guest," he went on. "And as 
 we will appear to be on the best of terms he will 
 condescend to permit himself to take my arm as we 
 enter Miss Dalzell s presence. Do you agree? A 
 refusal might imperil the lady." 
 
 "I am ready to follow you," was the return. 
 
 "And obey? Of a surety! But first, before we 
 leave this room, the honorable Laurens will give me 
 the note he has written and hoped to pass to his 
 inamorata." 
 
 The Chinaman smiled and held out his hand. Lau 
 rens face suddenly flamed. The man was a mind* 
 reading devil. "How how " 
 
 "How did I know? I did not know, my friend, 
 but I do now. I merely surmised that you would at 
 tempt to do a most natural thing. Remember my 
 knowledge of human nature. The note, if you 
 please." 
 
 Laurens took the paper from his immaculate cuff 
 and threw it to the floor. Mow-Sing picked it up 
 and presented it, kneeling. The fat Chinaman 
 calmly opened it and read aloud: 
 
 "I have been a prisoner since the night we came 
 here, made so by the devil who poses to you as my 
 friend but who wishes my death. Believe nothing he
 
 208 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 tells you of me. I am obliged to play a part in order 
 to protect you. When possible notify the police or 
 get word to Professor Paul Woodstock at the Palace 
 Hotel." 
 
 "So!" said the Chinaman, tearing the paper into 
 small bits and scattering them on the floor. "You 
 choose to defy me!" 
 
 "I have the right of self-defense," Laurens re 
 turned. "Even you will not deny that." 
 
 "Sir, your act was constructive disobedience. You 
 agreed to my wishes. See how your honor totters 
 under selfish interest! Come, sir! I will at once 
 free Miss Dalzell and sail for China on my yacht 
 on one condition." 
 
 "What condition?" 
 
 "That you show your unselfish devotion to the 
 lady by going to the cabinet and mixing yourself a 
 lethal cocktail. In wine I will drink to your health 
 I mean, to your passage over the Styx. The lady 
 shall never know." 
 
 If for a moment Laurens thought of consenting 
 if he was tempted to make an end of it all it was 
 not because of any heroic sentiment for the girl but 
 for the reason that he became suddenly hopeless. 
 Had he not hated the purring Chinaman so deeply 
 he might have fallen during his temporary weak-
 
 SEVEN DAYS 209 
 
 ness, but the weakness passed. He forced a laugh. 
 "I have no faith in your word," he returned. "You 
 have acknowledged your own selfishness and ad 
 mitted that you were not above lying. I must refuse 
 to give you satisfaction." Chow T su threw out his 
 arms in a gesture of disappointment. "I regret your 
 decision, sir as you will regret it, later. Come! 
 we will now go to the lady." He led the way from 
 the room, Mow-Sing behind him. 
 
 Past the kow-towing guards they went, up the 
 bronze-railed marble stairway and into a broad 
 upper hall at the end of which a leaded oriel window 
 splashed the bare wall with a confusion of rich 
 colors as the setting sun shot through its stained 
 glass. Coming to a door Chow T su stopped and 
 presented his arm, giving his captive a significant 
 glance. Laurens laid his hand in it; Mow-Sing 
 threw open the door and the trio entered.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 MY LADY S CHAMBER 
 
 THE apartment was large and entirely different 
 from the one Laurens had just left in that 
 it was almost entirely furnished in Western 
 style and had but few Oriental touches. That it was 
 a part of a magnificent suite was evident from the 
 many doors leading from it. Though not yet even 
 ing the heavy draperies of the windows were already 
 drawn together and the place made brilliant by elec 
 tric lights. A modern table elaborately furnished 
 with glass and silver was set at one side of the room, 
 and opposite was a deep couch. On it reclined Miss 
 Dalzell dressed in Oriental costume, and by her was 
 a Chinese girl waving a long-handled fan. The lady 
 might have been a Cleopatra attended by a slave, 
 and a recollection of a similar picture came to Lau 
 rens mind as he recognized the woman he loved. 
 
 Dropping the Chinaman s arm he stepped for 
 ward. As the girl saw him she started up with an
 
 MY LADY S CHAMBER 211] 
 
 exclamation of astonishment, but Chow T su inter 
 posed before she could speak. 
 
 "This, madam, is the little surprise at which I 
 hinted," he said unctuously, as he bowed. The lady s 
 face flushed as she half rose, and for an instant 
 Laurens thought she would cry out; but she did not; 
 she merely extended her hand. He took it. Her 
 fingers were like ice and he was tempted to raise 
 them to his lips but thought of Chow T su s warning 
 in time. That she was unlike her own self came as 
 a painful shock to the young man, though to him 
 she was still a flower of beauty which was in no way 
 lessened in effectiveness by the gorgeous robe she 
 wore. Her hair had been put up in Chinese fashion, 
 but even that hideous style seemed to be becoming. 
 But there was little to assure her lover of her pleas 
 ure in seeing him. She looked at him with an air 
 of constraint. 
 
 "Mr. Laurens is welcome," she said, withdrawing 
 her hand from his and sinking back to her former 
 position. "He has been very long in coming." 
 
 There was an indifference about her that puzzled 
 the young man, in the face of what he had looked 
 for, and her reference to him in the third person 
 rather stung his pride. Chow T su prevented his 
 making a return. "I have prevailed on the honor-
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 able Laurens to do his duty," said the Chinaman. 
 "I found him in a luxurious apartment I will not 
 say whose. He admits he has been deficient in atten 
 tion to his old friend, and at my earnest desire he 
 has come to see her. He will remain my guest for a 
 few days." 
 
 "He is very kind, I am sure," was the perfunctory 
 return. 
 
 "Permit me to add," said the smiling Celestial, 
 "that Mr. Laurens and I are no longer enemies. We 
 comprehend each other perfectly, and he has apolo 
 gized and made amends for our recent misunder 
 standing. As you are aware, our point of difference 
 lay in the possession of a certain ojimi, or ivory 
 ball. He admits my right to it and has given it to 
 me without reservation." 
 
 "Yes?" returned the young lady, as if the matter 
 was of small importance. 
 
 Laurens dared not give the lie to the smooth vil 
 lain, who smiled as he spoke. He could not allow 
 his passion to jeopardize the frail girl who, for all 
 he knew, was acting a part under compulsion. "Miss 
 Dalzell has been ill?" he said, finding his voice. 
 
 "Very ill," she returned, looking fixedly at him. 
 
 "So ill," put in Chow T su, "that it has been 
 thought inadvisable to move her to her friend s, who
 
 MY LADY S CHAMBER 213 
 
 is content to have her remain here until her health 
 is fully restored. She has every attention and is 
 guarded from all harm. Come it is late ! Permit 
 me, mademoiselle." 
 
 He approached the couch and offered his arm; 
 the girl s pale face flushed but she arose, took the 
 proffered arm and was escorted to the table, walking 
 like one to whom exertion was an effort. In a mo 
 ment they were seated. 
 
 An awkward silence followed and to Laurens 
 surprise it was Miss Dalzell who finally broke it. 
 "I I trust you will enjoy your stay in in Menlo 
 Park, Mr. Laurens." 
 
 The name caught him. At last he could locate 
 himself. "Thank you," he returned. "I I expect 
 to have the time of my life." 
 
 "It is but the prelude to a long journey, he in 
 forms me," remarked Chow T su, as the dinner was 
 being served. 
 
 "Yes!" returned the girl, with her first show of 
 interest. "And to where?" 
 
 "I I have not yet settled that point," answered 
 Laurens, inwardly cursing his grinning host. 
 
 "He will not be definite even with such a good 
 friend as I," said the Chinaman, rubbing his fat 
 hands together.
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "No?" Then with a palpable effort the girl con 
 tinued: "Is this not a strange meeting after a 
 stranger parting! What a turn in the wheel of cir 
 cumstance. Once our friend was my servant; now 
 I am indebted to him for everything even life." 
 
 "And happiness, I hope," interrupted the Ori 
 ental, his grin suddenly vanishing. "Such changes 
 are not uncommon," he went on. "Once Mr. Lau- 
 rens was arrogant; once he assaulted me, mistakenly, 
 as he admits; now he is my honored guest. I owe 
 him much." 
 
 Laurens made no return, being dumb with rage 
 against Chow T su and fearful that the girl would 
 be made to suffer if he disobeyed the Chinaman s 
 commands. It was more than evident that he had 
 been brought into the presence of Miss Dalzell as 
 much for the purpose of making him suffer as for 
 anything he could determine. It was simply another 
 mode of humiliating him. His intention of explain 
 ing his position to the woman whom he had little 
 doubt was a captive like himself had been frustrated 
 by his own blunder in unthinkingly admitting having 
 written a note. He could not be open, but it might 
 be possible to convey the situation to the unhappy 
 Josephine, if she were bright enough to understand, 
 and he had no doubt of her mental acumen. He
 
 MALADY S CHAMBER 215 
 
 hoped for an opportunity, and it came rather sooner 
 than he anticipated. 
 
 The courses were served mostly in silence a 
 silence Chow T su did not seem to relish. "We 
 appear to be rather lacking in interesting topics," 
 he finally remarked. The girl laughed lightly and 
 Laurens knew it was a forced effort for it was evi 
 dent that her nerves were at high tension; her eyes 
 had grown bright and there was again a trace of 
 color on her usually pale cheeks. "It is more than 
 strange," she returned, as if reverting to the former 
 conversation, "that one is often deceived by appear 
 ances unless one is forever probing for its cause. 
 Mr. Laurens, for instance, hardly realizes the nature 
 and extent of your hospitality to me. He doubtless 
 thinks " 
 
 "Mademoiselle, he thinks profoundly," inter 
 rupted Chow T su, swinging toward her as if in 
 warning. 
 
 Laurens understood. If the girl had told him the 
 bald facts in bald language they could not have been 
 plainer. It was his chance. In his turn he would 
 explain that he was in a false position. "Indeed our 
 host is right," he remarked lightly. "I have thought 
 profoundly and have arrived at the conclusion that 
 appearances, like circumstantial evidence, are not to
 
 216 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 be relied upon. It is only the superficial mind that 
 gives snap judgment. For instance, to be personal, 
 I am known to be wealthy. I am supposed to be 
 free and independent, and to those ignorant of con 
 ditions I am perhaps envied. Let me assure you 
 that the facts are otherwise. I am far from happy 
 and my money avails me little in the face of bitter 
 disappointment. Even the lavishness of my host s 
 attentions give me but slight relief. It may be a 
 poor compliment to him, but even here and sur 
 rounded by the luxury he so generously furnishes I 
 have to admit suffering from intolerable ennui. Is 
 that not your own experience, your Highness?" he 
 asked blandly, turning to the Chinaman. "Have 
 you not permitted disappointment to alter your life 
 and affect your happiness?" 
 
 "Yes," returned the mandarin, darting a malig 
 nant look at his smiling guest. "I have known dis 
 appointment, but I rise superior to it. And I usually 
 know how to punish those who cause it." 
 
 "I am not so fortunate," said Miss Dalzell. 
 "Under disappointment one s character should 
 strengthen, but but you must remember the adage : 
 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick. 
 
 "I would draw Mr. Laurens attention to one by 
 the great Confucius," said the Chinaman, mean-
 
 "Madam," broke in Chow T su, "remember that you have been 
 warned ayainst this excitement"
 
 MY LADY S CHAMBER 217 
 
 inglv. "It is to the effect that when in a morass one 
 
 O J 
 
 should keep closely to the path. Disappointment in 
 itself is a slight thing. It is the result that smarts. 
 And one often brings the result on himself." 
 
 "God knows it smarts!" returned the young lady, 
 speaking with sudden animation. "But much can 
 be saved by bravely meeting a reverse. That is 
 trite. Mr. Laurens, once you saved me, and " 
 
 "Mademoiselle," broke in Chow T su, "remember 
 that you have been warned against this excite 
 ment." 
 
 The girl seemed to shrink like a corrected child. 
 The Chinaman turned to speak to an attendant, and 
 taking advantage of the moment Laurens laid a 
 finger on his lip. He saw that she understood, and 
 he was satisfied. 
 
 Thereafter the dinner progressed without the 
 light conversation approaching dangerous ground, 
 and it was just as dessert was concluded that the 
 door opened and Mow-Sing entered. Going up to 
 his master he dropped on one knee, presented a roll 
 of paper wrapped in silk, and spoke a few words in 
 Chinese. Chow T su appeared interested; he took: 
 off the silk and flung open the roll which Laurens 
 could see was covered with Chinese characters. As 
 the mandarin read he noticed him catch his thick
 
 218 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 under-lip with his yellow teeth, but whatever it was 
 that troubled him it did not throw him off his poise. 
 
 "So!" he said, in his usual calm voice. "It is 
 unfortunate to be obliged to obtrude business at such 
 a time, but it may interest my guests to know that 
 in this my agent informs me that this house, which 
 has been in the market, was contracted for and sold 
 yesterday. It is still more unfortunate that I must 
 give almost immediate possession." 
 
 Was this part *bf a stage effect? Laurens won 
 dered; but before he could come to a solution of 
 what it might mean Miss Dalzell started from her 
 chair, a look of absolute consternation on her face. 
 "Where will you go?" she cried. 
 
 "Mademoiselle," returned Chow T su softly. 
 "You know my plans." 
 
 The effect of his words amazed the young man. 
 Slowly the girl got to her feet as if she had lost 
 sight of her surroundings and was looking at a 
 vision, her eyes becoming vacant. Throwing out her 
 arms in a gesture of despair she moaned: "Oh, my 
 God!" and pitched to the floor. 
 
 Laurens jumped to lift her, his heart suddenly 
 racing, but Chow T su laid a hand on his arm. "Not 
 you," he said. 
 
 "Go to the devil!" shouted the young man, shak-
 
 MY LADY S CHAMBER 219 
 
 ing him off and carrying the lax body to the couch. 
 The Chinaman clapped his hands and at the sound 
 the door was thrown open and the two guards ap 
 peared. The Chinaman spoke rapidly in his own 
 language and without warning Laurens was seized 
 and carried struggling from the room. Before he 
 could regain his wits he found himself in his old 
 apartment.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 AN ULTIMATUM 
 
 RAGE is not the proper word to describe Lau- 
 rens state of mind, but gradually he gained 
 a measure of self-control and finally noticed 
 a thing he had not marked in the wildness of his rav 
 ing. During his absence someone had been busy. 
 The lights had been turned on and the black rope 
 he had seen in the cabinet was now suspended from 
 a bar in the skylight, its noose dangling a few feet 
 above the chair which had been placed beneath it. 
 It was a gruesome looking thing, but its sinister sug 
 gestion changed the young man s thoughts and he 
 almost laughed at the puerility of his jailer. Then 
 he became alive to the fact that the curtains con 
 cealing the entrance to the little dining-room had 
 been drawn back as if in invitation to enter. Curi 
 osity moving him he went in, only to receive a shock 
 as he discovered a coffin on trestles where the table 
 had been, and that it was to act as a table was shown 
 by the way its end was spread with the furnishings 
 
 220
 
 AN ULTIMATUM 
 
 usual to his meals. The coffin was empty, its head 
 board resting against it. 
 
 Laurens stared at the thing and his wrath rose 
 to the height of insanity. With a wild yell he ran 
 to it and kicked it from its supports. No one 
 entered at the sound of the crash, and taking out 
 his pocket knife he slashed the somber covering into 
 strips and scattered them around. His very violence 
 relieved him, but his despair was unfathomable, the 
 refinement of Chow T su s cruelty showing his deter 
 mination. He had gained nothing by seeing Joseph* 
 ine, unless it was a knowledge of the location of 
 his prison and the fact that she understood his sit 
 uation. He had been beaten at all points that were 
 essential and there was but one end in sight. He 
 returned to the main room and sat down with his 
 back to the dangling noose, trying to forget it. 
 
 But he could not forget it; the thing haunted him 
 and he suddenly swung around and faced it as 
 though it were a serpent against which he must 
 guard himself. He tried to read but his book might 
 as well have been upside down. He flung it across 
 the room and settled himself t^ face the thing he 
 could no longer ignore. But its fascination grew 
 with the minutes. He spoke to it as to a sentient 
 being which understood and which forever invited
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 him. He cursed it, then pleaded to it, then spoke 
 words of terror, but always there was a silent appeal 
 in the black line, a horrid suggestion which the man 
 was in no condition to cast aside. He no longer 
 laughed at it. 
 
 Laurens was becoming self-hypnotized. Men 
 tally he saw himself slowly swinging at its end, a 
 heavy pendulum marking the seconds of eternity. 
 The horror of it seemed to attract him. Like the 
 altitude fascination, which compels some men to 
 jump from high places, the black rope drew him as 
 a magnet draws a bit of steel. 
 
 And he almost succumbed to the lure of his mor 
 bid imagination. Like one walking in his sleep he 
 threw off his coat and got to the top of the chair. 
 He even placed the noose about his neck and in a 
 moment more would have kicked away his support 
 had there not come to him two visions; one of the 
 helpless girl, the other the smiling face of Chow 
 T su as he looked at his swinging corpse. 
 
 They broke the spell. With a sudden horror of 
 what he was about to do Laurens ripped out a 
 saving curse at his own weakness, flung the noose 
 from his neck, and with his knife cut the rope as 
 far up as he could reach; then jumping to the floor 
 he grasped the chair, rushed into the adjoining
 
 223 
 
 room, and with his late support as a club he made 
 a wreck of both chair and coffin. 
 
 That done he suddenly calmed; his energy had 
 spent itself. He threw himself on his bed and 
 almost instantly fell asleep from pure nervous ex 
 haustion. 
 
 Three days passed and no one came but his old 
 attendant who removed the debris from the dining- 
 room as if splintered coffins and broken chairs were 
 matters of daily occurrence. But on the fourth day, 
 when he was walking the floor for exercise, and 
 smoking, Chow T su unexpectedly appeared, fol 
 lowed by Mow-Sing bearing his usual badge of 
 office. The mandarin s voice was hardly as bland as 
 usual; there was a slight ring of irritation in it, but 
 his manner was not harsh. 
 
 "I would have your attention, sir," he said, as 
 Laurens continued his walk without appearing to 
 have noticed him. 
 
 "Well," returned the young man, halting and 
 facing the Chinaman. 
 
 "Sir," said Chow T su, "certain of those inter 
 ested in you have become greatly agitated at your 
 unaccountable absence from your home and club and 
 have been taking steps to find you. Your friend 
 Woodstock has coupled your disappearance with a
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 certain ivory ball and the sudden resignation of his 
 servant, and he has called upon the police for aid. 
 Do you imagine, my friend, that you may have hopes 
 or that I have fears? I have known these things 
 for several days and said nothing, but the expected 
 sale of this house has put a climax to matters. I 
 trust that you appreciate my openness." 
 
 "What hellish scheme are you concocting now?" 
 demanded Laurens. 
 
 "Your language is more clear than elegant!" was 
 the return, "and to equal its clearness I will say that 
 you have six more days to meet my wishes. I see 
 you have ignored my late suggestion," he went on, 
 glancing at the shortened rope yet hanging from the 
 skylight. "I will only say that at the end of six days 
 I shall be obliged to make a change regarding you, 
 if you persist in existing." 
 
 "You mean you would murder me?" 
 
 "No," was the reply in the same even voice. "I 
 might fairly argue that the command on the out 
 raged Eye of God does not apply to your punish 
 ment for cursing my sacred ancestors, but I prefer 
 to be on the safe side. However, your final dispo 
 sition will be effectual. You will die. I will 
 add " 
 
 What he would have added Laurens did not then
 
 AN ULTIMATUM 
 
 learn for at that moment Mow-Sing stepped in front 
 of the mandarin, dropped to his knees, and with up 
 turned face and outstretched hands spoke in Chinese, 
 the sing-song words pouring from him in a rapid 
 stream. 
 
 The mandarin appeared to be wonder-struck and 
 as he listened his eyes took on an expression Laurens 
 had never seen. With a sudden exclamation he 
 strode forward and struck the kneeling boy a violent 
 blow on the side of the head, the force of it sending 
 the youth into the wall hangings where he lay half 
 stunned. Stooping for the white wand of office the 
 Chinaman broke it into pieces and flung the frag 
 ments at his prostrate kinsman; then he clapped his 
 hands. Instantly the well-known guards appeared 
 and as Chow T su thundered something in his own 
 language the fellows picked Mow-Sing from the 
 floor and carried him from the room. Not a word 
 did the outraged boy utter; not a whimper came 
 from him though blood was freely flowing from a 
 cut in his temple. 
 
 "You are a coward as well as a brute!" exclaimed 
 Laurens, as the door closed. 
 
 "Sir," said the Chinaman, his voice now trembling 
 with anger, "he had the temerity to plead for you, 
 as if my will was to be questioned."
 
 28 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "God bless him for it ! I have been doing him the 
 injustice of thinking him one of your familiars," re 
 turned the young man. 
 
 "He knew the probable cost of his daring, sir. 
 Everyone does, who knows me. Even you, stubborn 
 as you are, will finally bend low before me." 
 
 "I have more respect for the Miltonic Satan than 
 for you, you swine!" was the defiant rejoinder. 
 "Bow to your will ! By heaven ! you may kill me 
 but you will never force me to that." 
 
 The Chinaman looked at him, his heavy face 
 lowering, then without another word he turned 
 abruptly and marched out.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 FROM THE FRYING-PAN 
 
 IX days more of this terrible existence, and 
 then the end!" thought Laurens, as he went 
 on pacing the floor. "Some change, at least, 
 and almost any will be welcome." He wondered 
 what would become of Josephine, and if she was 
 being punished because he carried her to the lounge; 
 but everything pertaining to her was conjectural. 
 
 Four of the six days passed without the slightest 
 alteration to his monotonous life, but on the fifth 
 day things began to happen. A gang of Chinese 
 workmen entered the room and commenced dis 
 mantling it; when they had finished nothing was left 
 of former luxuries of the apartments; in fact little 
 of anything was left save the bare, undraped walls 
 scored with nail holes, a single chair, the bed, 
 cleared of its hangings, a box of cigars and a bottle 
 of wine. All else had gone, even to the screens that 
 divided the rooms. 
 
 227
 
 228 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 The great change was a relief to Laurens. He 
 had grown to hate everything Chinese, from his per 
 secutor to the least article of Oriental manufacture. 
 Even the air seemed easier to breathe. But it had 
 become a barn of a prison, and the electricity having 
 been cut off it became pitchy dark soon after sunset, 
 the only remaining gleam being that from a fixed 
 star Laurens could see through the open skylight. 
 It was no star of hope to him. That he was about 
 to be moved or murdered he was sure, and either 
 event would obliterate Woodstock s chance of trac 
 ing him. Laurens idea was that he would be taken 
 to some gloomy hole in or near San Francisco where 
 harsh treatment and close confinement would do the 
 work he refused to do. 
 
 The fateful sixth day arrived but nothing hap 
 pened until evening and by then the young man had 
 become hardened to his fate and looked at it as a 
 criminal looks at his coming execution. As the sky 
 light darkened Chow T su appeared followed by 
 three men, one bearing a lighted lamp, another a 
 large cloak. 
 
 "You have again disappointed me," said the man 
 darin, though he did not appear angry. "I have to 
 inform you. that the time has come." 
 
 "For what?" returned Laurens, bracing himself
 
 FROM THE FRYING-PAN 229 
 
 and determined that if it were to come to murder 
 he would die fighting. 
 
 "For your removal, sir. You need not take a 
 truculent attitude ; there will be no force used unless 
 you resist. You will put on this coat and accompany 
 
 me." 
 
 "To be murdered?" 
 
 "By no means, sir. Had I contemplated that I 
 could have accomplished it long ago. This house 
 is emptied of its furniture and is no longer habitable. 
 I give possession to its new owner to-morrow, but 
 you will still be my guest and in more comfortable 
 quarters than are these at present." 
 
 Laurens thought rapidly. He had never known 
 the Chinaman to deliberately break his word though 
 he had twisted his meaning. Anyhow, it would be 
 useless to refuse to go; he knew he would be car 
 ried out in that event. "I will trust to your remain 
 ing sense of honor," he returned. 
 
 "You do well, I think," was the rejoinder. 
 
 He spoke to the cloak bearer who immediately 
 threw the garment over the young man s shoulders, 
 and the mandarin took him by the arm. Passing 
 through the barren hall preceded by the man with 
 the lamp they traversed the passage to the door 
 opening into the entrance court and there stood the
 
 230 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 same limousine he had entered twice before. He 
 made no resistance as he was led to the machine. 
 Chow T su seated himself at his side, two of the 
 guards sat opposite, and the third took his place by 
 the chauffeur; the curtains were pulled down and the 
 vehicle sped on its way. 
 
 Not a word was spoken during the long ride 
 and Laurens thoughts were uninterrupted. He tried 
 to figure out his whereabouts, but the curtains pre 
 vented a look outside. He was certain of only one 
 thing and that: he had not yet reached San Fran 
 cisco, as he should have done had it been his destina 
 tion. There was no sound of traffic, no shuffling of 
 feet on sidewalks, no human voices, nothing, indeed, 
 but the very occasional honk of a horn indicating a 
 passing automobile; even the latter finally ceased. 
 He had nerved himself for one wild dash when the 
 vehicle reached the city, but of a city there was not 
 the first indication. 
 
 The road at last changed from the smooth surface 
 over which they had been running; the machine pro 
 ceeded more slowly and occasionally lurched as if 
 on a country highway, then it labored as it went 
 through loose sand. When it halted it had been 
 going for nearly two hours. 
 
 Hardly had the limousine ceased moving when the
 
 FROM THE FRYING-PAN 231 
 
 door was opened by a waiting Chinaman who bowed 
 low before the mandarin. "Is all ready, Captain?" 
 asked Chow T su, in English. 
 
 "All leddy," was the low-voiced return. A few 
 words were passed in Chinese and Laurens was 
 handed out with almost as much deference as had 
 been shown to his tyrant. He looked about him and 
 saw that the machine had halted close to the waters 
 of the bay. No habitation was in sight, but a dull 
 glow to the east showed him that he had been taken 
 around San Francisco by a back road and that he 
 was now in one of the stretches of barren sand which 
 skirt the shore. The moon, lately past its full, was 
 just rising like a ball of blood. The waters of the 
 bay looked black under the clear, starlit sky. 
 
 Without being told he now knew why he had been 
 brought to the place, for his quick eye sighted a little 
 pier jutting from the shore, a small boat swinging 
 at its end, and less than a quarter of a mile from it 
 lay a large schooner, its loosened fore and main sails 
 jerking in the brisk wind. In an instant he sensed 
 the situation. He was being taken to Chow T su s 
 vessel, of which he had heard him speak. And to 
 what end? To be drowned? The Chinaman seemed 
 to read his thoughts as readily as he had several 
 times before.
 
 232 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "Water being the element of your former profes 
 sion you love it, doubtless." 
 
 Laurens drew in deep breaths of the fresh air but 
 made no answer. 
 
 The Chinaman continued: "It is the one means 
 I have hitherto been unable to furnish you. Perhaps 
 it will appeal to you. A single plunge, sir, and then 
 the oblivion of Nirvana." 
 
 Still no answer. 
 
 "The honorable Laurens remains silent. Is he 
 considering the suggestion? I will escort him aboard 
 my yacht, which will be his home for a time. I wel 
 come him, but I trust he will not wear out his wel 
 come. Come." 
 
 Laurens glanced across the wide waste of sand. 
 Could he possibly escape by running? The idea was 
 given up as soon as formulated; he was weak and 
 there were now five stalwart men close at hand. He 
 had never seen one unguarded avenue of escape and 
 he saw none now. There was no help for him, and 
 it were as useless to beg or cry out as it would be 
 to resist. He followed the mandarin down the pier 
 and into the waiting boat in which there were two 
 coolies at the oars. As he took his place astern he 
 saw his late guards enter the limousine and watched 
 the machine melt away into the shadow.
 
 FROM THE FRYING-PAN 233 
 
 When later the boat swept under the stern of the 
 schooner he caught a glimpse of her name in gilt 
 letters, the level moonbeams bringing it out. The 
 Royal Consort" he read. And to him, familiar 
 with things of the sea, it seemed a fitting title. The 
 vessel s bends were clean and graceful; in her lines 
 she looked like a racer and her length fitted the 
 height of her towering bright-wood spars. Her sails 
 showed like snow in the uncertain light, and her 
 brass rail glistened. 
 
 When Laurens boarded the schooner by a set of 
 mahogany steps he found a coolie crew drawn up 
 to receive the master, and his first sight of the deck 
 confirmed his impression of the elegance of the craft. 
 He had heard of palatial yachts in San Francisco 
 Bay yachts owned by Chinese nabobs and manned 
 by coolie crews, but he had never before seen one 
 and had not credited the report. He knew it now, 
 and felt that he was to know it to his sorrow. 
 
 Every man bowed low as Chow T su stepped to 
 the flawless deck. The mandarin waved his hand, 
 the captain spoke a word in Chinese and the as 
 sembled crew dispersed. Chow T su turned to 
 Laurens. 
 
 "This is my captain, sir," he said, indicating the 
 officer. "Captain Foo-Was, this is the honorable
 
 234 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Laurens, who is to have our especial care and 
 respect." 
 
 The captain did not smile, but he bowed without 
 speaking, giving the young man a glance that was 
 anything but friendly, and went off to his duty. 
 Chow T su stood seriously contemplating the silent 
 young man. "Sir," he said at last, "take your final 
 look at your native land. You will never see it 
 again. I assure you, sir, that for a man of sense you 
 have less consideration for others you are more in 
 tensely selfish than any one I ever knew. Again 
 you are going to deprive me of my own quarters 
 which, as my guest, I must insist on your occupying. 
 Come, I will pay you the honors of my yacht." 
 
 Laurens bowed helplessly and hopelessly. They 
 passed down the broad companionway and into a sa 
 loon where a table was being set. Turning from it 
 his guide threw open a mahogany door and bowed as 
 he waved his fat hand. "Here are your quarters, 
 sir." 
 
 There was no gainsaying the fact that the room 
 into which the young man entered was elegant. It 
 was in the stern and extended the full width of the 
 vessel, and though it was comparatively small its 
 fittings were as luxurious as had been the apartment 
 he had just left, and his rapid glance took in some
 
 FROM L THE FRYING-PAN 235 
 
 familiar features, the chief one being the cabinet of 
 poisons which was set against the case of the rudder- 
 post which came through the deck above. The side 
 board, or buffet, was missing, but in its place was a 
 large wine-locker, its contents displayed through 
 heavy glass doors. 
 
 "I will leave you to compose yourself and prepare 
 for supper," said the Chinaman. "We will have 
 the pleasure of each other s company on this occa 
 sion." And with that he bowed himself out with 
 mock deference. Laurens noticed that he did not 
 lock the door, even the key remaining inside. The 
 fact did not encourage him; he was now more iso 
 lated than when in the mansion, so far as outside 
 communication was concerned. 
 
 As he turned from looking at the man whom he; 
 hated with his whole soul he caught sight of himself 
 in the only mirror he had seen for two weeks and 
 was staggered by the change in his appearance. The 
 hair on his temples had grown gray, and his face, 
 which he always kept clean shaven, save for a mus 
 tache, had become pale from confinement and he 
 bore a haggard expression in spite of the fact that 
 his eyes were still bright and indicated an active 
 brain. And his appearance was not improved by 
 his dress. He was still in the evening suit he had
 
 236 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 worn since his dinner with Josephine Dalzell, and it 
 showed the deterioration of constant wear, while his 
 linen was far from immaculate. That he had weak 
 ened physically was plain in the forward droop of 
 his broad shoulders and the general laxity of his 
 whole figure. 
 
 As he stood taking note of himself he heard the 
 running of felted feet on the deck overhead, a few 
 calls in Chinese, the creaking of pulleys and other 
 familiar sounds of a vessel getting under way; then 
 there was a gentle heeling of the craft as she fell off 
 the wind. The Royal Consort had started, but to 
 where? Laurens fancied the point to be in South 
 America, or at least somewhere beyond the jurisdic 
 tion of the United States, but it seemed to make 
 little difference to him; he felt that he would never 
 be allowed to leave the schooner alive, save to 
 plunge overboard, and yet, deep within him, was the 
 spirit of the old adage: "While there is life there 
 is hope." 
 
 He was very tired. He lay down on the brass bed 
 hung with a silk valance and bolted to the deck, and 
 it was there that Chow T su found him when he re 
 turned to take him to supper. 
 
 The fittings of the saloon were in keeping with 
 the general elegance of the schooner, and they were
 
 FROM THE FRYING-PAN 237 
 
 i 
 in excellent taste. Under a stained glass skylight pro 
 
 tected by bars to prevent damage by anything fall 
 ing from aloft was a large mahogany table above 
 which hung a bronze lamp. The table was set for 
 but two, and as Laurens mechanically took the place 
 indicated to him he was astonished to see that the 
 single attendant was Mow-Sing. The youth had 
 been stripped of his former regalia, having been 
 degraded from the office of majordomo to that of 
 a cabin boy, and his face might have been made of 
 wood, for all expression of recognition of his former 
 master. Laurens noticed that on his temple was a 
 half-healed wound. 
 
 Supper was eaten in the usual silence and it was 
 not until wine and cigars were served that Chow 
 T su spoke: "I have been waiting for you to express 
 your curiosity regarding this, your last move," he 
 said, lighting his cigar from the match held to it by 
 Mow-Sing, who took station immediately behind 
 his chair and stood like a statue. 
 
 "You would have waited for that as you will wait 
 for another thing," returned the young man. "How 
 ever, all things are possible. I will admit my curi 
 osity now." 
 
 "Then I will explain. I had only been waiting to 
 sell my house before leaving your detestable country
 
 238 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 for Chili. My yacht has been in readiness for some 
 time. When I learned from my young relative that 
 you were alive and possessed the Eye of God my 
 plans changed. I obtained the ojimi, but to my sur 
 prise and disgust you would not relieve me by oblit 
 erating yourself. Mark how frank I am. Shortly 
 before the sale of my house I became aware of the 
 - activity of your friend Woodstock and freely con 
 fess that he worried me. Sir, had you been rescued 
 I would have done that to myself which you are too 
 cowardly to do to yourself. I would have saved my 
 face. Let that pass. 
 
 "A few days ago I learned that through the 
 treachery of someone who had been trusted with a 
 knowledge of my affairs part of my plan to lead 
 Woodstock astray had failed. The detectives had 
 not gone to Portland on the wild goose chase I had 
 arranged for them, and in some manner it had been 
 intimated that you were being held in a house in 
 Menlo Park. This quickened my pace. I broke up 
 at once, leaving my secretary to settle small affairs, 
 he to join me by steamer. Unfortunately my hurry 
 obliges me to leave shorthanded as to crew; my 
 captain, Foo-Was, having no mate." 
 
 "Yes!" returned Laurens, with assumed indiffer 
 ence. "And what is your present destination?"
 
 FROM THE FRYING-PAN 239 
 
 "We go to China, sir. The ban which has long 
 kept me from my country has been removed. As a 
 naval man you probably recognize that we are 
 already under way." 
 
 "I am aware of it. May I suppose that Miss Dal- 
 zell has been set free?" 
 
 "You may suppose as you please," was the slow 
 return. "I regret that her illness prevents her join 
 ing us at supper." 
 
 "My God!" exclaimed Laurens, half rising. "Is 
 she aboard this schooner? Are you taking her to 
 China?" 
 
 The mandarin bowed and puffed his cigar. 
 
 "But she is no longer a menace to your safety, 
 you devil ! You once gave that as your reason for 
 holding her!" 
 
 "You are deeply interested, are you not?" re 
 turned the mandarin, unmoved by the young man s 
 excitement. "Are you willing to admit that you love 
 the lady?" 
 
 "I admit it. You know it." 
 
 "I do," was the reply. "But the honorable Lau 
 rens thinks only of himself, as is usual; he should 
 think of me. He says he loves her. He has known 
 the lady in question, actually known her, for abouc 
 two weeks, if my memory serves me. That is a mere
 
 240 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 acquaintance. I have known her for nearly ten 
 years. I have seen her grow from what you call a 
 bread-and-butter Miss to a woman a woman fit 
 even for me." 
 
 "God in heaven! And you are taking her away 
 for your own purposes?" 
 
 "Sir, I am a man," was the short reply. 
 
 "You are a dog, and " 
 
 "Be careful, sir. You are being watched from 
 the deck." For Laurens had left his chair and stood 
 in a threatening attitude. He glanced up. A Chi 
 nese head showed from behind a wing of the lifted 
 skylight. He dropped back into his chair, covered 
 his face with his hands and groaned. The mandarin 
 smiled. "It is fitting that I now lay all my cards 
 face up on the table," he continued. "We will not 
 refer to the lady again, but as for you, sir, this is 
 my determination after mature consideration. I 
 dare not risk offending my great ancestor s spirit by 
 disobeying his edict, but if you are still alive when 
 we reach China if you have one spark of hope re 
 maining I will extinguish it by delivering you over 
 to the priests of the temple of the Eye of God. All 
 responsibility will then be upon them, but your end 
 will be certain, and, let me add, by no means as 
 pleasant as the ones you have hitherto refused."
 
 FROM THE FRYING-PAN 241 
 
 Laurens took his hands from his face and looked 
 in horror at the Chinaman. He was about to break 
 into a torrent of useless vituperation when to his 
 astonishment he saw Mow-Sing lay a finger on his 
 lip and shake his head. The unlooked-for warning 
 came like a dash of cold water in his face. "Let me 
 out of your sight!" he exclaimed. "Let me go to 
 my room!" 
 
 "With pleasure, sir," returned Chow T su, rising 
 and drawing back the young man s chair. "You are 
 free to come and go as you please. You are free 
 to the deck, sir. Hereafter I shall have the pleasure 
 of calling on you each day, each time hoping you 
 can no longer greet me. I bid you good-night." 
 
 With his old and maddening mock deference he 
 escorted Laurens to his room, bowed profoundly, 
 and retired.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 AN INSPIRATION 
 
 NEVER had Laurens been as depressed as he 
 was the following morning. Life itself 
 seemed ebbing strongly. Chow T su would 
 win, for the young man felt that he never could 
 stand the long voyage by sail without being mentally 
 exhausted. And if he survived it would mean final 
 torture at the hands of a superstitious priesthood to 
 whom the word "mercy" had no meaning. There 
 was no comfort to be gathered from considering 
 either present or future, but Laurens knew one thing, 
 and that was, he would kill the mandarin somehow 
 before his own execution. 
 
 Like an automaton he appeared in the saloon 
 when the gong sounded for breakfast, though he 
 hated to meet his enemy. But Chow T su did not 
 appear at the table, though Captain Foo-Was took 
 his place. He was a giant of a Chinaman with the 
 face of his kind, and his studied ignoring of the 
 
 242
 
 AN INSPIRATION 243 
 
 young man was a plain insult. He did not even look 
 up as Laurens took his seat, but though he paid him 
 no attention he bedeviled the subservient Mow-Sing 
 in Chinese, the flustered boy not daring to answer. 
 
 Nor did Mow-Sing show the slightest indication 
 of friendship for the prisoner whom he had 
 warned the night before. Laurens had wondered 
 what he could have meant and could find no reason 
 for the act; neither was he surprised at the boy s 
 present attitude toward himself; he was a China 
 man, and being one was considering only his own 
 advantage. 
 
 The young man ate little. The sight of the big 
 captain guzzling his food with chop-sticks, and the 
 repulsiveness of his coarse face, disgusted him, and 
 he abruptly left the table and went on deck, no move 
 being made to prevent him. 
 
 It was evident that the breeze with which the 
 schooner started had gone down in the night for 
 the vessel was but just outside the Golden Gate when 
 Laurens went out. He gazed longingly at the hills 
 of the coast already blue, and though he was aware 
 that no hand would be lifted if he leaped overboard 
 there was an impossible stretch of water between 
 him and the nearest land. The dying wind had 
 little weight and the great sails were barely filled.
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 The sky was not blue, neither was it cloudy, and 
 the face of the ocean was a series of long swells, 
 their surface barely rippled by the sluggish air. To 
 the man s experienced eye the weather had the ap 
 pearance of a coming calm. 
 
 His first sight of the open sea did not move him 
 as it would have done under different circumstances. 
 The horror of what he had learned the night before 
 still sat on him like a nightmare, and, save that he 
 was innocent of all wrong, he felt like a condemned 
 man awaiting execution. It was no longer a novel 
 feeling to him. He was in the profoundest depths 
 as he stood holding on to the edge of the cabin house 
 and looking over the vast expanse like one but half 
 awake. 
 
 And it was then, when there was no ray of hope 
 in sight and when death had become a familiar 
 thought, that a sudden and God-sent idea leaped 
 into his brain a thought that might be his salva 
 tion; and it was based upon Chow T su s lack of 
 faith in humanity through his boasted belief in the 
 selfish basis of all human motives. Why had he not 
 thought of it before, he wondered. 
 
 But the method might not bear fruit; it might be 
 too late, and there was a tremendous risk, though 
 if it proved successful he could at least save the
 
 AN INSPIRATION 245 
 
 girl from outrage at the hands of the mandarin; 
 it might even be possible to again get the ivory ball 
 into his own possession, and with it, through the 
 superstition of the crew, have command of the sit 
 uation. In any event, his scheme would bring on 
 an immediate settlement between himself and Chow 
 T su; he would kill the mandarin if his plan failed, 
 though it brought him death at the hands of others. 
 He still had his pocket-knife. He would cut the 
 fellow s fat throat, which was always exposed. 
 What the consequences of failure would mean to the 
 girl he put aside. In the supreme moment even she 
 would have to be risked; worse than death faced her, 
 as matters stood. 
 
 The very thought of having a chance changed him 
 and he looked around like one waking from sleep. 
 Forward the crew was lounging around in the true 
 Chinese fashion of doing nothing without real occa 
 sion; the sea heaved, but to him its face had a new 
 expression ; the wind was rapidly going down and the 
 sun was half obscured. A raw-boned Chinaman, 
 really the boatswain, stood by the wheelman acting 
 as first officer, and though Laurens knew he had 
 been seen, the man, like the captain^ ignored him, 
 doubtless according to instructions. The spotless 
 deck stretched unbroken save by the cabin-house
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 against which the young man was leaning, the masts 
 and the galley forward. All was quiet and peace 
 ful. An inbound steamer leaving a trail of smoke 
 was the only vessel in sight but it was too far away 
 to help him; and no one on its deck could have sur 
 mised that the beautiful schooner housed a coming 
 tragedy. 
 
 Braced by the air and his new hope Laurens 
 straightened himself, and then it came to him that 
 if there was ever a case in which playing a part 
 was necessary that case was his. He at once allowed 
 his shoulders to droop again and dragged himself 
 over to the starboard shrouds from which he looked 
 landward as if in the deepest dejection. 
 
 And it was well that he did for a moment later 
 Chow T su and the captain came on deck. As the 
 relieved boatswain passed the mandarin he made a 
 deep bow, to which no notice was taken; the captain 
 stood by the helmsman and looked at the sagging 
 sails, and Chow T su made his leisurely way to 
 where Laurens was standing. He was dressed in 
 a nondescript, semi-yachting costume, his silk shirt 
 open at the throat, a white cap on his head, his 
 queue dangling from it. Under different circum 
 stances Laurens would have laughed at the figure 
 he cut.
 
 AN INSPIRATION 247 
 
 "The honorable Laurens is not looking bright this 
 morning!" said the mandarin briskly, sending a 
 glance over the sea and offering a cigar. 
 
 "You are discerning," was the spiritless reply. "I 
 did not sleep well last night." 
 
 "Ah! Some deep thinking?" 
 
 "Some very deep thinking," answered Laurens, 
 like one weary. "May may I see Miss Dalzell?" 
 
 "On no account," was the prompt and decisive 
 answer. 
 
 "I was afraid so. How long will the voyage be?" 
 As he spoke the young man sank down on a coil of 
 rope as if too tired to stand. 
 
 "For an eternity, at this rate," was the cheerful 
 answer. "But, really, you 3o not contemplate 
 finishing it after what I told you last night!" 
 
 "Have you no mercy for a beaten man? I have 
 cried peccavi." 
 
 "Not for you and your cry is of no avail. You 
 know of my oath to my ancestors. It cannot be 
 withdrawn. Come! Cast yourself over." 
 
 Laurens drooped as if utterly crushed, then rose 
 to his feet as if the act were an effort. He looked 
 at the water lapping along the run, as though he 
 were about to obey, Chow T su watching him like 
 a hawk. "I I cannot do it that way," he fal-
 
 248 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 tered. "I I cannot stand the strain. I I will go 
 below." 
 
 "Do so, and finish your thinking to some purpose. 
 I will call on you shortly." 
 
 Laurens made no reply as he fairly staggered 
 toward the companion stairs, but his heart gave a 
 mighty leap. The time was at hand, and the matter 
 required but little preparation. He cut a poor figure 
 in his disordered dress, and like an aged man he 
 felt for the rail and went down. No one was in the 
 saloon. He wondered which of the numerous doors 
 hid Josephine, and was tempted to try one or two, 
 but it was a needless risk and he had none too much 
 time for what he was about to do. 
 
 He entered his own room and locked the door. 
 As he did so he heard dishes rattling and knew that 
 Mow-Sing had returned to the saloon. 
 
 Then Laurens hurried, his weakened heart beat 
 ing like a trip-hammer. Going to the cabinet he took 
 out the bottle of chloral hydrate and into a wine 
 glass from the locker he poured a teaspoonful of 
 the colorless but powerful soporific. This glass he 
 replaced on its rack in the locker, put back the bottle 
 and closed the door of the cabinet. Then he went 
 to the finely appointed desk standing under the star 
 board port, and folding a sheet of blank paper
 
 AN INSPIRATION 249 
 
 placed it in an envelope which he directed to "Chow 
 T su, otherwise, Fung-Wang," and left it lying 
 where it could easily be seen. 
 
 These things done the stage was set and ready 
 for the chief actor. What would come of it? God 
 only knew. All that remained was to put on an air 
 of extreme dejection and wait for the curtain to rise. 
 Seated in a chair with his head in his hands he lis 
 tened for Chow T su s coming. 
 
 He had not been in his assumed position for two 
 minutes when he heard a rap on the panel. As he 
 called, "Come in" in a feeble voice he remembered 
 that he had locked the door. Going to it he threw 
 it open, but instead of the fat mandarin facing him 
 it was Mow-Sing. He slipped noiselessly into the 
 room his smooth face aglow with excitement. 
 
 "You!" exclaimed Laurens. 
 
 "Speakee low down," said the boy, putting a 
 finger to his lip. "Him killee Mow chop-chop if 
 sabe Mow here. Me play hatee you! Me likee 
 kill he! See!" He pointed to the scar on his 
 temple. 
 
 "Well for God s sake " 
 
 "Speakee low down. You one time savee Mow- 
 Sing; me savee you if can do."
 
 250 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "You save me! You! What can you do?" de 
 manded the astonished man. 
 
 "Not much maybe. Me come tell you captain- 
 man, Foo-Was, belly bad felly. You watchee. He 
 tell Chow T su he stickee knife in you if say so." 
 
 "He said he would stab me?" 
 
 "Yeh-yeh. Me hear. Chow T su he say not yet 
 byme by perhaps, if no killee sef." 
 
 Laurens understood as plainly as if the words 
 were in the most elegant English. "So the captain 
 would kill me ! Chow T su says he is going to give 
 me to the priests of the temple, and " 
 
 "Me know," interrupted the youth, in a whisper 
 as he glanced apprehensively at the closed door. 
 "He no dare givee to pleasts. He tell captain-man 
 pleasts take away ivly ball and keep. Chow T su 
 no wantee lose. Me see Flesser Woodstock. Me 
 
 say 
 
 He stopped abruptly and stood staring at the 
 door, stiffened by terror. For as he spoke his last 
 word a knock sounded, an aggressive knock, and 
 there was no doubt about its character.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 A MATTER OF FAITH 
 
 FOR a moment both were paralyzed by the 
 interruption, but it was the boy who first 
 recovered and took action; before Laurens 
 could move he dropped noiselessly to the floor and 
 snaked himself under the bed, the hanging valance 
 protecting him from sight. As he disappeared Lau 
 rens pulled himself together and going to the door 
 opened it. "Come in," he said, and Chow T su 
 entered. 
 
 There was now no counterfeit emotion on the 
 young man s face; he was deathly white and as he 
 backed to the table and leaned against it he looked 
 as if about to faint; the narrow escape of being dis 
 covered with Mow-Sing had unnerved him for the 
 moment. The Chinaman advanced into the room, 
 closing the door behind him. 
 
 "Something appears to be on your honorable 
 mind," he remarkedj as he looked suspiciously 
 
 251
 
 252 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 around the apartment; then, seeing the open desk 
 he walked over to it and picked up the envelope 
 addressed to himself. "For me!" he said. 
 
 Laurens came to life then. "Sir, that is for you, 
 but I am not quite ready to deliver it. Do not open 
 it yet." 
 
 "Not open it!" 
 
 "You will respect my final wish. The envelope 
 contains a note together with my last will." 
 
 The Chinaman tossed the paper to the desk and 
 his face lighted. "You have come to a determina 
 tion, perhaps." 
 
 "I have come to a determination to the inevit 
 able," returned Laurens, sinking into a chair. 
 
 "You encourage me," said Chow T su, seating 
 himself on the edge of the bed and looking hard at 
 his apparently hopeless victim. 
 
 "You may take it that way," was the return. "I 
 am where, after all, every man must come, you with 
 the rest. I am worn down past resistence. Will 
 you promise to give the enclosed document to the 
 United States consul at Amoy? He is a friend of 
 mine." 
 
 "You greatly relieve me, sir!" said the mandarin, 
 rising from the bed and taking a chair on the oppo 
 site side of the table. "If the document you refer
 
 A MATTER OF FAITH 
 
 to carries no reflection against myself I shall be 
 happy to see that your wish is carried out. Is there 
 anything more that the honorable Laurens desires?" 
 
 "May I not see Miss Dalzell for a moment be 
 fore I " 
 
 "Not for an instant. Is there anything else?" 
 
 "Nothing," was the reply. "I am broken. I 
 could not endure the torture you have in store. It 
 is useless to struggle. I no longer hope. I am 
 ready. Now is as good a time as any." 
 
 "Your wisdom does you credit, though late in ar 
 riving, and your decision is more than welcome," 
 responded the Chinaman; and there was nothing 
 suspicious in his manner. 
 
 "Call it wisdom or weakness it does not mat 
 ter," Laurens returned. For a moment he seemed 
 to fall into the abstraction of mental exhaustion as 
 he stared at the floor. Presently he raised his head. 
 "I have one other request: You will bury me at sea 
 with proper respect?" 
 
 "Sir," replied the Chinaman, looking fixedly at 
 him. "Once you held the sacred relic of Confucius 
 in your hand, and no man so favored shall have any 
 thing but respect from me. Have I not shown it? 
 You will be wrapped in silk, Mr. Laurens, and if 
 I had a copy of the mummery of your service I
 
 254 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 would read it over your remains. I will drink to 
 your passage into Nirvana, as I once promised to 
 do. Is there anything else?" 
 
 "You will drink to your own damned success!" 
 returned Laurens. "But I need the stimulus. I 
 accept your offer. Express to the unfortunate lady 
 in your power that my greatest regret is that I could 
 not save her from a colossal brute." 
 
 Chow T su laughed. "I will deliver your mes 
 sage. May I ask your method of crossing the 
 Styx?" 
 
 "Potassium Cyanide." 
 
 "A wise choice. It is quick, cleanly and compara 
 tively painless. It will not distort your features. 
 You can meet your ancestors with pride. Will you 
 act at once? I will remain and be an interested 
 witness." 
 
 Laurens made no answer. He was afraid of over 
 playing his part. If it failed there was the open 
 knife in his pocket, though it were a poor weapon 
 against the pistol he was sure the Chinaman always 
 carried. He got to his feet and went to the wine 
 locker. Hope was strong within him, but failure 
 and success were at a delicate balance; a few min 
 utes more would determine which scale went up. 
 Knowing that the Chinaman s narrow eyes were fol-
 
 A MATTER OF FAITH 255 
 
 lowing his every movement Laurens actions were 
 apparently open. Taking a clean glass from the 
 rack he stepped to the poison cabinet and poured out 
 enough cyanide of potash to have killed ten men. 
 This he set on the table. 
 
 Returning to the locker he opened a bottle of 
 port and filled two glasses, one being that which 
 held the dose of chloral. He did this without the 
 least attempt at concealment, confident that from 
 where Chow T su sat he could not see the colorless 
 poison. With the two glasses he advanced to the 
 table and set the harmless wine before the mandarin, 
 retaining the drugged potation in his own shaking 
 hand! There was no pretended weakness now; he 
 felt as if he were about to collapse. The final act 
 was on. 
 
 "Chow T su," he said, in a trembling voice, "I 
 take my leave of you and place my technical murder 
 on your black soul. I will first drink with you, then 
 will submit to the cyanide which will relieve us both. 
 I shall die like an American." He lifted his glass. 
 "I drink to the God who created me, to the memory 
 of my mother, to the girl I love. Will you join me? 
 or will your lack of faith your fear that your wine 
 is poisoned prevent that small token of magna 
 nimity?"
 
 256 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 The Chinaman showed his teeth in a sarcastic grin 
 and shrugged his fat shoulders as he lifted the glass 
 from the table and held it to his eye, as if in admi 
 ration of its color. Then he brought it slowly to 
 his lips. Would he drink and ruin all? In his in 
 tense interest Laurens almost forgot the part he was 
 playing. 
 
 But Chow T su did not drink. He slowly re 
 placed the glass on the table and looked at the young 
 man. "You are shrewd, sir," he said, with an open 
 sneer, "shrewd, with the shrewdness of your kind, 
 but awkward, coarse and without true finesse. You 
 evidently think I am an infant in intellect, though 
 you should know me better by this time, and that 
 conception of me amounts almost to an insult. 
 Listen, sir! One small crystal of cyanide of potash, 
 previously dropped into this glass, would allow you 
 to triumph over me, were I to drink it. I gave you 
 credit for more imagination. Your plan was fairly 
 laid, had I been a fool, but you did not count on 
 my knowledge of human nature. I read your pre 
 tended emotion, your counterfeit weakness and ner 
 vous tension. You did not deceive me for an instant. 
 This wine is poisoned! And now, sir, I am ready 
 to drink to your passage to your heaven or your 
 hell, to your mother, and your sweetheart who will
 
 A MATTER OF FAITH 257 
 
 remain in my care, as well as to the God you have 
 doubtless called upon and called in vain. I will 
 drink, as promised, but it shall be from the glass 
 you hold, and you shall drink from mine. We will 
 exchange, if you please." He got to his feet and 
 held out his hand, a malicious grin of cunning on 
 his face. 
 
 Laurens heart almost stopped as he recognized 
 the Providence behind him. Hesitating as if nerv 
 ing himself he passed his glass to the Chinaman. "It 
 will make no difference in the end," he said. 
 
 Chow T su smiled more broadly as he took the 
 proffered glass. Laurens lifted the other from the 
 table. The two formally touched rims. 
 
 "Suspicion is the guardian of individuals as well 
 as nations," the Chinaman remarked. "It is another 
 name for that eternal vigilance so often quoted. I 
 will myself prepare your next dose, if this fails. I 
 wish you a pleasant journey. Will you drink?" 
 
 "After you." 
 
 "Together, then." 
 
 Both bowed and drank. Laurens staggered back 
 and fell into the chair he had lately left. There 
 was no deception in his weakness; his wondrous 
 exaltation made him dizzy. He closed his eyes and 
 shuddered, as though the draft was already work-
 
 258 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 ing on him. The Chinaman stood immovable by the 
 table, his teeth still showing in a sardonic smile. 
 
 The seconds seemed like minutes to the young 
 man as he pretended to feel the effect of the poison 
 the symptoms of which he was not familiar with, and 
 during the time the unsuspicious devil looked down 
 on him without stirring. But presently, through his 
 half-closed eyes the writhing victim saw Chow T su 
 pass his hand over his shaven forehead, as if puz 
 zled. A second or two later he probably compre 
 hended that something was wrong with him, for he 
 uttered a Chinese exclamation and started for the 
 door, an unmistakable change already on his fat 
 face. But he did not reach it. His time had come 
 and so had Laurens .
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 SUCCESS 
 
 BEFORE the mandarin was more than half way 
 across the room the young man had leaped 
 from his chair and was upon him. Chow 
 T su opened his eyes with a snap and from them 
 shot a gleam of sudden intelligence; he evidently 
 saw the trap into which he had fallen, but saw it 
 too late. He made an effort to shout but Laurens 
 clapped a hand over his thick mouth and forced him 
 to the cushioned locker, it being now an easy matter 
 to handle the fast-dazing man. Holding the China 
 man down he undammed the flood of his hate. 
 
 "Now, by the glory of your Confucius, you are 
 done for!" he cried, in a hoarse whisper. "Your 
 cursed suspicion, your eternal vigilance, your false 
 knowledge of human nature, have been your ruin! 
 Pull yourself together and listen to me, you viper! 
 The wine I offered you was harmless; that which I 
 held was dosed with chloral! I banked on your 
 unfaith. You insisted on the exchange, as I hoped 
 you would. You will soon be unconscious and at 
 
 259
 
 260 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 my mercy. Wake up and hear me out! Don t go 
 
 off yet. Wake up and Not on your life!" he 
 
 cried, as the Chinaman tried to reach a pocket. 
 "You are helpless, you damned snake !" 
 
 Laurens knew the man heard and comprehended, 
 and it gave him an unholy satisfaction. He knew, 
 too, what Chow T su was after, but before he could 
 get his hand on the automatic pistol the young man 
 had gained possession of it, the mandarin being 
 powerless to resist. Laurens shook him fiercely in 
 order to keep him awake a moment longer while 
 he poured venom into his deafening ear. But it was 
 useless; the fat figure relaxed, the head fell for 
 ward, and as the young man stepped back to look 
 at him Chow T su fell sidewise and slipped to the 
 floor. 
 
 Up to then the American had been in a frenzy 
 of excitement and his late weakness seemed to turn 
 to strength, but with the complete collapse of his 
 enemy he suddenly calmed. Stooping over the fallen 
 body he hurriedly went through the man s clothing, 
 hoping to find the ivory ball, as with it in his posses 
 sion he might strengthen his position, but the ball 
 was not on his person. As he rose from his search 
 he saw Mow-Sing on his knees beside him. "What 
 you do?" asked the boy, his oblique eyes wide.
 
 SUCCESS 261 
 
 "I poisoned the villain. He cannot harm us now," 
 panted Laurens. 
 
 "Himgodaid?" 
 
 "I don t know, nor care. Are you going to stand 
 by me, Mow-Sing?" As he spoke he took out the 
 automatic. 
 
 Instead of at once answering the boy crept to 
 the prostrate Chinaman and looked closely into the 
 unconscious face, then he got to his feet and gave 
 the body a vicious kick. "Him no daid. Me killee, 
 if say so." 
 
 "No. He s safe enough. I want no killing. 
 What will you do?" 
 
 "Me hatee him," responded the boy, with a 
 half sob. "Me do anything for you." And he fell 
 on his knees. "What you makee next?" 
 
 The question brought Laurens to a full sense of 
 his situation. "I don t know what to do." And 
 it was the truth. His plan had been carried out, 
 but he had not thought of what lay beyond his imme 
 diate success. The boy arose to his feet. 
 
 "You waitee," he said, his mouth close to Laurens 5 
 ear, his earnest face working. 
 
 "Me sendee word Flesser Woodstock. He come. 
 Sabe?" 
 
 "No. I don t understand."
 
 262 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "Me sendee word Flesser Woodstock. He come. 
 He come with big boat, maybe. Allee same tell him 
 bout big house." 
 
 Laurens eyes widened. "You mean that you sent 
 word to Woodstock that I was a prisoner and was 
 being taken away on this schooner?" 
 
 The boy nodded violently. "Yeh." 
 
 "You turned against that devil! When?" 
 
 "One two day. Told bout house told bout 
 ship. Me write letter, like you show me. Chow 
 T su, him hit Mow-Sing. Makee mad." He 
 pointed to the Chinaman s body that was rolling 
 back and forth with the heave of the vessel. 
 
 Laurens caught the boy s meaning and thanked 
 God for his having versed the youth in the rudi 
 ments of writing; he also thanked heaven that Chow 
 T su had struck the blow which lost him a hench 
 man. "God bless you, Mow!" he said, laying a 
 hand on the boy s shoulder. "If ever we get out of 
 this I ll make your fortune." 
 
 Mow-Sing caught the hand and kissed it. "If 
 Flesser no come we no get out. If captain-man 
 catchee Chow T su daid, he killee you he killee 
 me. Him bad man!" 
 
 Laurens understood. He had rid himself of the 
 chief, but the captain was as great, if not a greater
 
 SUCCESS 263 
 
 menace, in that he was ready to murder him at any 
 time. Should Foo-Was discover what had happened 
 in the cabin matters would rapidly reach a head, and 
 he would certainly become suspicious if the manda 
 rin was missing for long; he would be searched 
 for, and when found, as he would be, there would 
 come another tragedy, and one tinged with blood. 
 
 Laurens thought rapidly. If Paul Woodstock 
 could decipher Mow-Sing s letter and learn that he 
 was aboard the Royal Consort he would move 
 heaven and earth to overtake the schooner, and the 
 young man wondered why he had not already come 
 to his rescue, not realizing that the authorities to 
 which his friend would have to appeal were not 
 keyed to a nervous tension on his account, and that 
 certain lengths of red tape were essential in gov 
 ernmental actions. 
 
 One comfort was that when a rescue party once 
 started it would not have far to go; for by the 
 sounds penetrating the cabin the young man was 
 aware that there was no progress being made 
 toward open water. The vessel rolled sluggishly 
 in the trough of the sea; there was a clatter 
 ing of loose blocks overhead, and an occasional 
 thunderous flap of the swaying mainsail. The rud 
 der kicked violently to the swells, and the becalmed
 
 264 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 schooner swung to and fro with the regularity of a 
 metronome. No; they would not have to look far, 
 if they had started. 
 
 Under the conditions Laurens realized that there 
 was but one thing to do, and it appeared easy. He 
 would make his position below as safe as possible 
 until the Royal Consort was reached and boarded. 
 As he stood in the room he figured how he might 
 hold the captain and crew at bay. His first idea 
 was to get Foo-Was into Chow T su s room on the 
 plea that the mandarin wished to see him, and lock 
 him in. But he saw the plan was weak in many 
 respects; it would end in his being obliged to deliber 
 ately kill the man, and he did not relish the idea 
 of bloodshed; he would shed none unless absolutely 
 necessary. To barricade and hold the saloon seemed 
 the most feasible plan and he decided upon it. 
 
 Knowing that there must be a passage from the 
 saloon to forward he turned to the boy, who had 
 remained silent. "Is Foo-Was on deck?" he asked. 
 
 "Yeh." 
 
 "Is there a door at the end of the passage a 
 door with a lock?" 
 
 "Yeh," was the prompt answer. "Door by 
 pantly allee samee big bolt." 
 
 "Fasten it chop come back chop."
 
 SUCCESS 265 
 
 "Yeh. Alice samee lock big door by compan- 
 lion?" The boy s quick brain had caught the idea 
 before it was explained. "No," whispered Laurens. 
 "I ll look to the companion doors. We must hold 
 the cabin until Woodstock comes. Sabe?" 
 
 "Yeh." Mow-Sing was out of the room in an 
 instant, running to the door which separated the 
 after quarters from forward. Laurens work was 
 now clearly cut out. Without waiting for the boy 
 to return he walked into the saloon and up the stairs 
 to the deck. 
 
 It was as he had anticipated. The wind had fallen 
 to a flat calm, but the ocean was still a series of low, 
 unruffled swells that rolled from the west and passed 
 under the schooner to break in thundering surf on 
 the rocks of the California coast. By this the Royal 
 Consort had drifted south of the Golden Gate, the 
 entrance of which could not be seen. The sky was 
 almost white, the sun murky, and the horizon ap 
 peared to have drawn in. By experience Laurens 
 knew that the calm would not be protracted; he 
 looked for a dazzling sun and a powerful wind from 
 the north in less than twenty-four hours, and he 
 hoped he would then be alive. Two or three steam 
 ers were in sight, inward bound, but they were far 
 away and could be of no assistance to him.
 
 266 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Not a soul was on the quarterdeck, the steersman 
 having deserted the useless wheel, but in the waist 
 of the idle schooner stood Captain Foo-Was talking 
 to his boatswain mate. Farther forward the watch 
 on deck was lying around in the easy fashion of the 
 Chinese sailor when not driven to action. 
 
 The captain saw the young man as he came up 
 and stopped by the cabin doors, but he gave no sign 
 other than a venomous glance, which was lost on 
 Laurens, who only marked him through the tail of 
 his eye. Presently the Chinaman swung his back to 
 him and continued his talk with the boatswain. 
 
 The moment was auspicious. Ducking into the 
 companion-way Laurens quickly drew the slide over 
 the wide hatch and closed the heavy doors, bolting 
 them, at the same time hooking the latch cover. 
 Not without an ax or a battering-ram could entrance 
 be made to the cabin from that direction. Run 
 ning down the steps he met Mow-Sing. "Are there 
 arms on board pistols guns?" he demanded of 
 the alert boy. 
 
 "Fistol in Foo-Was place. Me know. Me 
 makee bed." 
 
 "Get it for yourself. Can you shoot?" 
 
 "You see if makee." 
 
 "Good! Which is Miss Dalzell s room?"
 
 SUCCESS 267 
 
 The boy pointed to a door on the starboard side, 
 himself running to the one opposite. Laurens 
 rapped, but there was no answer. Again he 
 knocked, and when there was no return a great 
 fear clutched him. He now shook the door and 
 guardedly called her name. At once he heard a 
 muffled cry and a moment later the key was turned 
 in the lock, the door thrown open, and she stood 
 before him. 
 
 Laurens uttered an exclamation. The girl was 
 the ghost of her old self. White and drawn she 
 looked at him with great, gaunt eyes, then ejacu 
 lated: "Thank God! I I thought you dead!" 
 With that she tottered and would have fallen had 
 he not caught her in his arms, and she was uncon 
 scious when he carried her to her bunk. He looked 
 around. The room was fair sized but there was 
 none of the luxurious fittings of his own quarters; 
 it was almost perfectly bare, the only furniture being 
 a washstand and a chair; and it was lighted by a 
 single, round port. A door communicated with an 
 adjoining room, and Laurens more than surmised 
 that it was Chow T su s cabin into which it opened. 
 A trunk was against it, braced by the chair, and the 
 young man quickly guessed the motive for the slight
 
 268 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 barricade. Over the door was a narrow, ground- 
 glass transom, closed and fastened. 
 
 Laurens could do nothing for the girl but chafe 
 her hands, wet her forehead and wait for her to 
 recover. Presently she opened her eyes. "Where 
 where is he?" she asked wildly. 
 
 "Out of the way of doing harm for the present. 
 Why are you here and in this condition?" 
 
 "He he was starving me," she returned, looking 
 at Laurens in wonder. 
 
 "Starving you! For what?" 
 
 She was trembling from weakness and nervous 
 shock. "He told me you were dead; that you had 
 jumped overboard without without a word." 
 
 "But why starve you to punish me?" 
 
 "No, it wasn t that. He wanted me to be 
 
 Oh, I cannot tell you !" And she sobbed convul 
 sively. 
 
 "You need not tell me. I know," said Laurens; 
 and with his love for her mingling with a great pity, 
 he bent and kissed her on the lips. He knew, though 
 he could not have told how he knew. He could 
 play the part he so long wished, for there had been 
 more than mere relief in her eyes. Like a lost child 
 who had found its home she threw her arms around 
 his neck and held him close, and for a moment for
 
 SUCCESS 269 
 
 many moments, Laurens forgot the surrounding con 
 ditions. He forgot the danger hanging over them; 
 he forgot Chow T su, Mow-Sing, and the devil on 
 deck, only feeling that he would now be equal to 
 meeting anything even death.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 BESIEGED 
 
 TIME passed. The two exchanged confidences, 
 and in as few words as possible Laurens told 
 what had been done and what were his 
 hopes. And he learned the girl s simple story, tem 
 pered in the telling, but between her words he could 
 read the passion of the villain who had little respect 
 for man and none for woman. To force her to his 
 purpose Chow T su had been starving her. She had 
 been taken aboard the yacht the day before Laurens 
 came, and placed in what was practically a dungeon, 
 and nothing save water had passed her lips for 
 forty-eight hours. She had finally locked herself 
 against the Chinaman, barricading the door to his 
 room. She thought she was dying when she heard 
 her lover s voice, and could hardly believe her 
 senses. Laurens learned that she had been quick to 
 catch the situation on the day Chow T su permitted 
 
 270
 
 BESIEGED 271 
 
 them to meet, but why he had brought them together 
 save to pique the girl with Laurens indifference, an 
 indifference which had been commanded, neither 
 could understand. She, too, had been threatened if 
 she indicated dissatisfaction with her position. It 
 had been a clumsy subterfuge of the otherwise astute 
 Chinaman. Each had been played against the other, 
 and when the mandarin had stated that the house 
 had been sold she was perfectly aware of what 
 would happen that she would be taken to China, 
 so Chow T su had told her, and she had fainted 
 under the shock. 
 
 During the recital the girl clung to Laurens as a 
 woman clings only to the man she loves, and he, 
 at last realizing that kisses make poor food for a 
 starving woman, was about to provide for her when 
 Mow-Sing appeared at the door. 
 
 "He come tiffin soon perhaps," said the boy, 
 without seeming to notice the intimate relations of 
 the two. 
 
 "You mean Foo-Was?" asked Laurens, starting 
 up and realizing that his passion had made him 
 remiss. 
 
 The boy nodded. "How do, Missy? No feaE 
 Mow-Sing. Him fliend." 
 
 "A better one than I in my selfishness !" said Lau-
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 rens. He looked at his watch; it was nearly noon. 
 "Can you get something to eat? Missy is starving." 
 
 "Plenty glub in pantly," was the quick return. 
 "Me get." 
 
 He ran down the passage and before he came 
 back Laurens grew alive to the fact that he had 
 been a poor general and that there were two serious 
 matters to be overcome. First, the stained glass sky 
 light was wide open, allowing a clear view from the 
 deck of the saloon s interior, and it could not be 
 closed from below; not only was it a point of ob 
 servation, but also one for offensive action, lor 
 though it had transverse bars they were not as heavy 
 as Laurens wished they were. Second, that the girl 
 could not remain in her own room; it was too small. 
 If matters came to a fight and the crew gained access 
 to the cabin she would be in terrible danger. Her 
 room could not be defended as effectually as could 
 his, which commanded a full view of the saloon as 
 well as the passage from end to end. 
 
 Laurens had little fear that the companion-way 
 doors would not hold against any ordinary assault, 
 but the forward one he was far from being sure 
 about. The skylight could not be closed, but he 
 would remove Josephine to his own quarters and 
 have her directly under his eye.
 
 BESIEGED 273 
 
 I Taking advantage of the continued quiet he ex 
 cused himself. Running from the room he tore 
 down the curtain across the passage. He then ex 
 amined the forward door, passing the pantry where 
 Mow-Sing was engaged, and found the door was 
 fastened by a heavy bolt, but the wood was not of 
 the strength of that in the companion-way. If it 
 were broken in and a rush made there would be 
 nothing to do but fire from his own room and count 
 on the assault being repulsed, he having reason to 
 believe that the crew had no firearms, though each 
 one possessed a knife. 
 
 From the passage he went to his own cabin. Chow 
 T su still lay where he had fallen, his fat body sway 
 ing with the motion of the vessel. He was appar 
 ently dead, but his slow, faint breathing and flutter 
 ing pulse told Laurens that he was yet alive though 
 profoundly unconscious. With no more compunc 
 tion than though the Chinaman were a bale of goods 
 he dragged him out; his door, next to Josephine s, 
 was locked, and without stopping to search for the 
 key and examine his berth Laurens hauled him to 
 the further end of the passage, depositing the pon 
 derous body against the dangerous door, its bulk 
 helping to barricade it. A few minutes later he had 
 the girl in his own room and saw her eating the food
 
 274 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Mow-Sing had brought. So far as provisions were 
 concerned they might stand a siege of many days. 
 
 Though relieved of one great load Laurens had 
 taken on another, and the tension of his nerves was 
 even more pronounced because of the nearness of a 
 new crisis. It was now well past noon and nothing 
 had happened; the companion-way doors had not 
 even been tried. The calm of the elements still pre 
 vailed; the vessel swayed to and fro with monoto 
 nous regularity, the blocks rattled, the rudder kicked 
 spasmodically, and the woodwork creaked. 
 
 It was with a mingling of feelings that Laurens 
 walked up and down the room, one eye on Josephine, 
 who was visibly stronger after a glass of wine, the 
 other on the open skylight. Save for the complaints 
 from the racked vessel there were no other sounds, 
 and the absence of them seemed portentous to the 
 man. 
 
 The girl, released from a terrible danger, became 
 buoyant instead of being depressed, the contrast be 
 tween her late and her present position acting as a 
 tonic, and her boundless faith in the ability of her 
 lover to protect her kept her from realizing the un 
 certainty that tightened the nerves of Laurens and 
 held his spirits in check. If Mow-Sing, who wa;; 
 now crouched on the top step of the companion
 
 BESIEGED 275 
 
 stairs, revolver in hand, had any doubts regarding 
 the future, he kept them to himself. 
 
 The minutes dragged. It grew to be one o clock, 
 and the fact that tiffin hour had been passed and no 
 notice taken of it, troubled Laurens. But he was 
 ready. He had examined both the automatic, and 
 the revolver taken from the captain s room, deter 
 mined not to be the victim of another false cart 
 ridge. He found the weapons perfect and fully 
 loaded, but wished he had more than the fifteen 
 shots both contained. 
 
 He was becoming as nervous as a hysterical 
 woman, being sure that those on deck had somehow 
 become alive to the situation below. He drank a 
 glass of wine and smoked a cigar, but could eat noth 
 ing. He had become sure that something would 
 soon happen to break the damnable suspense and 
 permit definite action. 
 
 And something did happen. 
 
 He had stepped out into the saloon and was about 
 to speak to Mow-Sing when he heard the companion- 
 way door tried, then it was shaken and afterward 
 kicked upon. Laurens beckoned to the boy and they 
 both took station behind the trunk of the mainmast 
 which came through the deck at the head of the pas 
 sage. From that position they had perfect command
 
 276 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 of the companion-way door and the entire length of 
 the skylight. As they stood there the girl appeared, 
 but Laurens laid a finger on his lip and motioned her 
 back. She instantly obeyed and had hardly retired 
 when the skylight opening showed the head of Cap 
 tain Foo-Was. He looked down and on seeing the 
 apparently empty saloon he shouted in Chinese 
 through the opening. Receiving no answer he went 
 away, and again silence fell. But it was only for a 
 moment. The silent watchers heard the passage 
 door being tried, and a minute later the head of 
 Foo-Was again appeared at the skylight. Now he 
 shouted, calling for Mow-Sing. 
 
 Laurens knew that whatever might happen noth 
 ing would be gained by keeping the captain in the 
 dark; if he was not warned he would certainly chop 
 his way into the saloon. "Does Foo-Was under 
 stand English?" he whispered to the boy at his side. 
 
 "Only little pidgin," was the low return. "First 
 time in Melica." 
 
 "Then tell him that his master, Chow-T su, is 
 dead; that he cannot come down. Tell him I boss 
 the cabin and will shoot the first man who tries to 
 break in. Sabe?" 
 
 The boy evidently understood, for he nodded and 
 began shouting in a sing-song absolutely unintelligible
 
 BESIEGED 277 
 
 to Laurens but having a decided effect on Foo-Was, 
 who looked as astonished as a Chinaman can. As 
 the boy ceased, his words were taken up by the cap 
 tain and repeated to the crew, who evidently stood 
 near. A great jabbering was the result and several 
 heads appeared at the opening, but they were in 
 stantly withdrawn. 
 
 "What did you say?" asked Laurens. 
 
 "Allee samee what you tell. Say Chow T su go 
 daid. Say you got ivly ball. Say you makee me 
 servant man." Mow-Sing grinned as he spoke. 
 
 "You were fairly accurate, except for " 
 
 He was stopped by the reappearance of the cap 
 tain s head. Foo-Was hurled a volley of words 
 below. Mow-Sing spoke in return, and there was a 
 cross-fire of questions and answers. The boy s last 
 remark was very short. 
 
 "Well?" said Laurens, when the captain with 
 drew. 
 
 "Him say no believe. Alice same big lie. He 
 say you damn yang kueitzu allee samee foreign- 
 devil. Say he killee you he killee me if no open 
 door." 
 
 "Ah! And what did you tell him?" 
 
 "Tellee go hell." 
 
 Mow-Sing spoke with perfect seriousness, and in
 
 278 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 spite of the situation Laurens laughed for the first 
 time in days. He realized the faithfulness of the boy 
 who stood by him and against his own countrymen, 
 and he swore to himself that if Providence permitted 
 him to get from his present coil, such devotion would 
 receive a rich reward. "Can they shoot?" he asked, 
 as the clamor on deck again began. 
 
 "No Volvers. Chinaman no likee fistol. Got 
 knife." 
 
 "Then we are safe!" exclaimed Laurens. "Will 
 Woodstock never come !" 
 
 "Him come," returned the boy, confidently. 
 "Melican yaman slow. Flesser say damn. Melican 
 yaman hurry. Send big boat soon." 
 
 Laurens understood the reference to the law s 
 delay, and the words comforted him though he 
 feared a reverse of fortune before Woodstock ar 
 rived. He knew the cabin would be attacked, and 
 that, soon, but was in the dark as to which point. 
 
 He did not wonder long. After a short interval 
 of silence there was a sudden renewal of the shouts 
 on deck, as if the crew were applauding some speech, 
 and almost immediately the wings of the skylight 
 were lowered. Hardly had they settled into place 
 when the whole affair was beaten in, the fragments 
 of stained glass flying into the saloon in a shower:
 
 BESIEGED 279 
 
 a moment later the work of art lay scattered on the 
 floor and nothing but the bars opposed entrance 
 from overhead. 
 
 Laurens saw that Foo-Was was at least a man 
 of action, though he wondered what such an appar 
 ently useless movement could mean. He raised his 
 pistol to fire a warning shot at the first head that 
 should appear and meddle with the remaining pro 
 tection, but no target presented itself and he soon 
 learned that the Chinese captain, beside being a 
 man of action was one of resource. After a deal of 
 jabbering a spar appeared over the opening, its end 
 being lowered to engage the bars, and then came a 
 word of command. In an instant the powerful lever 
 tore out both bars and frame, and with their going 
 went the hope of holding the cabin, there now being 
 nothing to prevent a dozen men from leaping 
 through the gaping hole. 
 
 Laurens had hardly grasped the full meaning of 
 this unforseen disaster when he heard an assault on 
 the forward door and became aware that from 
 where he stood he was menaced from both front and 
 rear; his position had become critical, and to remain 
 where he was meant ruin. 
 
 Catching Mow-Sing by the arm he ran across the 
 cabin and into his own room in order that from his
 
 280 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 door he would have his enemies in front. It would 
 be his last stand. 
 
 The girl was sitting on the edge of the bed, her 
 hands over her heart, her eyes wide with excite 
 ment, but if she were frightened she did not show 
 it by either screaming or by questions; she only 
 looked at Laurens enquiringly and he smiled in an 
 effort to reassure her, but it was a feeble smile and 
 one which would not have deceived a child. "We 
 can hold them," was all he said in comfort, as he 
 swung around and faced the open door. Mow-Sing 
 had crouched against the lintel, his cocked revolver 
 pointed toward the saloon. And thus they waited. 
 
 Laurens concluded that for stragetic reasons no 
 assault would come through the skylight until the 
 passa ge door had been broken down and a rush 
 made from practically two directions, and by the 
 regular and heavy strokes of what seemed to him 
 a spar used as a ram, he knew that it would soon be 
 accomplished. 
 
 Finally it went, and as it collapsed with a crash 
 and splintered, it half jammed against the body of 
 the unconscious Chow T su and prevented a clear 
 opening. As two or three men squeezed through and 
 rushed down the passage Laurens fired. He saw the 
 first man fall, and as Mow-Sing let go a shot the
 
 BESIEGED 281 
 
 others turned and ran back to safety, standing 
 beyond the opening and yelling as only excited 
 Chinamen can yell. 
 
 But if Laurens thought he had repulsed the in 
 vaders for good he was mistaken. The shots and 
 the shouting appeared to act as a signal to those 
 on deck, for hardly had the American recovered 
 from the stunning effect of the explosions in close 
 quarters when he saw three men leap through the 
 skylight. As they struck the table, sending the 
 broken glass flying, he marked that each man had a 
 club in his hand and a knife in his teeth. 
 
 Instantly he fired at the trio, and heard the boy s 
 revolver bark at the same moment. He saw one 
 coolie drop and roll to the floor; he saw another sink 
 to the table; the third man appeared uninjured, and 
 as Laurens covered him and again pressed the 
 trigger, he saw another batch leap down from the 
 deck. Both he and Mow-Sing fired again and again, 
 not stopping to mark results, then both the defend 
 ers became aware that the passage was filled with 
 others bearing down on them. 
 
 Knowing that in an instant he would be over 
 whelmed by numbers Laurens hauled the boy back 
 into the room and slammed the door, bolting it just 
 as the devils outside reached it. In a moment he
 
 282 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 had piled against it every piece of movable furniture 
 in the cabin, and at length stood panting in the 
 middle of the room and awaiting the last act. 
 Josephine had thrown herself on the bed and lay 
 still, her face buried in her hands. 
 
 After a few thumps on the heavy door the attack 
 ceased, but to those in the cabin the fact brought 
 little hope; it was only an interim until something 
 effective could be brought to bear on the obstruction. 
 In the ensuing silence a silence so profound that it 
 was worse than the late bedlam, Laurens and Mow- 
 Sing stood waiting, and the wait was so long that 
 they became puzzled at it. Hoping against hope, 
 he stepped to a port and looked out. Nothing but 
 the rolling sea and white sky were visible, the drift 
 ing schooner having swung so that not even the coast 
 could be seen. He turned and spoke for the first 
 time to the girl who still lay in an attitude of despair. 
 He knew that with his final defeat her fate would 
 be worse than his, and his would be bad enough. 
 
 "Josephine," he said. The girl lifted her head 
 and looked at him, and there was a strange expres 
 sion in her eyes. "This is the end," she returned, 
 but not at all wildly. "What were you going to 
 say?"
 
 BESIEGED 283 
 
 "Nothing, but to tell you what I fear. We are 
 driven into a corner, and " 
 
 "I know I know," she interrupted. "And I am 
 useless. You need not tell me the rest. How many 
 shots have you left?" 
 
 "A dozen between us, perhaps. I think " 
 
 "Save one for me at the end. Kiss me now, 
 John and promise." 
 
 Laurens was staggered. "Do you mean it?" 
 
 "Would it not be the best way? I would rather 
 die than face those outside. You will promise?" 
 
 He did not answer, for just then he heard a blow 
 on the deck above him and by its character he knew 
 what was coming. The stroke was that of an ax; 
 they were cutting through the deck, and at the same 
 moment a similar assault began on the door. To 
 Laurens the end was at hand. Stepping to Mow- 
 Sing he said: "They will get us, my lad. If I am 
 killed first, you shoot Missy. Sabe?" 
 
 Mow-Sing looked at him, his eyes winking fast. 
 "You die for Missy?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "No have to perhaps." 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "Mow-Sing, him go out. Say killee me let you
 
 284 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 and gal go. You savee me once; Mow-Sing savee 
 you, perhaps." 
 
 "Sacrifice yourself for me? Not by a damned 
 sight!" returned Laurens, touched by the boy s de 
 votion. "It would be a useless attempt, anyway! 
 No, we ll save ourselves by dying Chinese fashion ! 
 There s enough poison here to finish us all! I ll 
 have it ready. But I ll send some one to hell with 
 my last bullet !" 
 
 Tearing open the door of the cabinet he took out 
 the bottle of cyanide and was about to pour three 
 doses into as many wine glasses when he was brought 
 to a stop by Mow-Sing shouting: 
 
 "You see! You see! Look! Look!" He was 
 dancing and pointing to a port. Laurens dropped 
 the poison and ran to the round opening, and at the 
 same moment the chopping on deck ceased. What 
 he saw lifted his spirits and set his blood on fire. A 
 United States cruiser lay across the stern of the 
 schooner. It was less than a quarter of a mile away 
 and had come into sight immediately after he had 
 looked out a few minutes before. But it was not 
 that alone which set his blood bounding; it was the 
 large launch which had put from the side of the 
 war vessel and which he could plainly see was filled 
 with men. With a white bone in its teeth it came
 
 BESIEGED 285 
 
 tearing over the swells, straight toward the 
 schooner, and Laurens felt that they were saved. 
 He did not stop to wonder how it was that an Ameri 
 can war vessel, evidently from sea, could know of 
 his dilemma and come to his rescue; he only knew the 
 fact, and the sudden reversal of fortune made him 
 act like one demented. Catching the girl in his arms 
 he covered her face with kisses. He could not speak. 
 He pointed to the open port and his long over 
 strained nerves gave out as between laughing and 
 crying he tried to explain. 
 
 But his justifiable weakness was only temporary. 
 He soon realized that the assault on the door had 
 also stopped and that the shouts on deck had been 
 followed by a scuffling of feet and then by the old, 
 uncertain silence. He waited, but the wait seemed 
 hours long, and at last he heard a thumping on the 
 companion doors. It was followed by a voice a 
 voice in good, sound English. 
 
 "The cabin, ahoy! Mr. Laurens, are you 
 below?" 
 
 With an answering yell he and the boy tore away 
 the barricade, threw open the door and rushed into 
 the saloon. The floor seemed covered with men, and 
 an officer in uniform was looking down through the 
 demolished skylight.
 
 286 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 It took Laurens but a moment to get on deck. At 
 a glance he saw the launch fast to the starboard 
 chain-plates, and forward were huddled Captain 
 Foo-Was and what was left of the Chinese crew, 
 held there by six armed marines. The officer who 
 had hailed him came forward with extended hand. 
 
 "We seemed to have arrived in time to interrupt 
 some sort of a circus!" he said, smiling. "I am 
 Lieutenant Homer, of the United States cruiser 
 Connecticut. You look to have had rather a strenu 
 ous life, sir!" He glanced at the other s shabby 
 evening clothes. 
 
 "Thank God for your coming!" returned Lau 
 rens, effusively shaking the proffered hand. "An 
 hour later and you would have probably been use 
 less, so far as I am concerned. Is Professor Wood 
 stock aboard you? But, of course not! I m fairly 
 muddled." 
 
 "I don t know who you mean, sir," returned the 
 officer. "Coming along the coast from Chili we 
 picked up a wireless to look out for the schooner 
 Royal Consort, rescue Lieutenant Laurens, arrest 
 all Chinamen on board and bring the vessel to San 
 Francisco. From what my captain told me I gath 
 ered that there was another party out in search of 
 you. We were not certain that this was the craft
 
 BESIEGED 287 
 
 indicated until the launch neared her. When I saw 
 her name and a Chinese crew chopping the deck I 
 boarded prepared for trouble. There was not much 
 resistance. I presume you are the party we want, 
 and you look as if you might have a story to tell." 
 
 "I am here what is left of me," returned Lau- 
 
 rens. "As for a story Come below and I will 
 
 show you a sight." 
 
 They went down. Four dead Chinamen and one 
 badly wounded lay on the cabin floor, and three 
 more were in the passage. Chow T su, still alive 
 and still unconscious, was dragged into the light. At 
 sight of the ghastly array the officer whistled. "All 
 this your work, Mr. Laurens?" 
 
 "Mine and the boy s, sir," returned Laurens, pat 
 ting Mow-Sing on the shoulder. 
 
 "My orders to arrest all Chinamen must include 
 him, I fear." 
 
 Laurens flared, then laughed. "I don t think you 
 will include him after hearing my story, sir. Come 
 into the cabin; there is a lady in this case." 
 
 They went into the disordered room, and after 
 introducing the officer to the half hysterical Joseph 
 ine, who was at first taken to be a Chinese woman, 
 Laurens gave a brief account of the tragedy. "And 
 now, sir, what will you do about the boy? To herd
 
 288 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 him forward with the crew would mean his death; 
 they would tear him to pieces." 
 
 "I think I can leave him to you," was the hearty 
 return, "and I think that you and Miss Dalzell had 
 better return to the Connecticut with me." 
 
 "And I think not," was the decisive rejoinder. 
 "Miss Dalzell will, of course, decide for herself, but 
 here she will be no curiosity to numberless eyes. The 
 danger has passed and on the schooner she will have 
 every comfort. As for myself, I shall remain 
 aboard the Royal Consort. Chow T su cannot be 
 easily transhipped in his present condition, and I 
 do not care to lose sight of him while he is alive." 
 
 "You are your own master, of course," was the 
 polite return. "I will clear the dead from the cabin; 
 as for the rest, I must first report to the command 
 ing officer. He will probably send the surgeon, and 
 
 a few more men to guard the crew. I cannot 
 
 Well?" He addressed the marine who entered and 
 saluted. 
 
 "A revenue cutter out o the Gate, coming along 
 side, sir," said the man. "Looks to be jammed with 
 people." 
 
 Laurens jumped to his feet. "Woodstock, by all 
 that s holy!" he cried, and ran to the deck.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 A CORNERED RAT 
 
 TWO hours later the Royal Consort, in tow of 
 ihe revenue cutter, was forging toward San 
 Francisco. Chow T su s room had been 
 broken into, his ponderous body deposited in his 
 bunk, and the Connecticut s surgeon had just de 
 parted in a launch. 
 
 "It is nip and tuck with him," the doctor had said, 
 after examining the eyes of the unconscious manda 
 rin. "But if he don t die he will recover and be him 
 self entirely himself, in a few hours. He had an 
 enormous dose. There is little I can do at present." 
 And he had gone off. 
 
 Laurens had searched the room quietly and dis 
 covered the ivory ball in the Chinaman s luggage. 
 Dizzy with fatigue he had shown the stone to his 
 astonished friend, and told his story, hitting only 
 the high places. Woodstock had listened but had 
 said little as he marked the condition of the man. 
 
 289
 
 290 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 "I, too, have something of a yarn which will interest 
 you, but I won t inflict you with it now," he said. 
 
 "I have grown old over this matter, and when I 
 finally hit your trail through the most remarkable 
 letter I ever received, I thought the authorities 
 would never move. We got to the house in Menlo 
 
 Park too late But you ve had enough for one 
 
 day. You d better rest or you ll collapse." 
 
 Laurens had gone to a spare room and, dressed 
 as he was, fell into a heavy slumber. Josephine re 
 mained in the after cabin and was also asleep, the 
 doctor having given her something to quiet her. 
 Mow-Sing was curled up in the pantry, and Wood 
 stock sat on deck, the prisoners having been taken 
 aboard the cutter, no one but the helmsman being in 
 sight. In the cabin not a soul was awake but the 
 marine stationed at the door of Chow T su s room. 
 
 It was early morning when Laurens was brought 
 to his senses by Mow-Sing shaking him. "Chow 
 T su him wake up," said the boy. "Flesser want 
 see you." 
 
 Laurens felt refreshed. He jumped from his 
 bunk and went into the saloon, where he found 
 Woodstock waiting for him. "Sorry to disturb you, 
 old man," he greeted, "but the devil has come to 
 his senses. He must have the stomach of a goat to
 
 A CORNERED RAT 291 
 
 throw off that dose so soon. I looked in and saw 
 him." 
 
 "How is he?" 
 
 "Weak, but otherwise normal, I fancy. He has 
 the eyes of a snake with a broken back. I have 
 reason to think we had better have him out before 
 reaching port. I have something to tell him that I 
 wish you to hear. The man s fat is in the fire in 
 more ways than one. I wish I might dictate as to 
 his disposal." 
 
 "I wish you might," returned Laurens. "I con 
 fess I would not know what to do with him. I leave 
 it to the law." He turned to the marine. "Bring 
 him in. Watch him like a cat; he s a treacherous 
 beast." 
 
 The man saluted and went to the Chinaman s 
 door. Presently Chow T su stalked into the saloon. 
 To Laurens astonishment he seemed but little the 
 worse for wear, perhaps because of the gorgeous 
 gown of his order which he had put on, now being 
 in full regalia, even to the buttoned cap denoting his 
 rank. He was smoking a cigarette and to all ap 
 pearances had entirely recovered from the effects 
 of his dose of chloral. But he was not the same as 
 he had been; his pallor was intense, his lips were 
 compressed, and his slit-like eyes were barely open.
 
 292 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 Laurens bowed mockingly, a salute which was not 
 returned. 
 
 With something of his former dignity, but more 
 of an insulting confidence in himself, Chow T su 
 walked to a chair by the table, seated himself with 
 out invitation, crossed his legs and blew a cloud of 
 smoke toward the open skylight, at the same time 
 throwing a contemptuous glance at his former 
 prisoner. At that moment Mow-Sing came in. As 
 he saw him the mandarin s eyes opened and some 
 thing like a flash was emitted. The boy cringed and 
 edged toward Laurens, but the Chinaman did not 
 offer to speak; he did not even look at Woodstock 
 or the marine. 
 
 It was Laurens who broke the silence. "I trust 
 you have had a comfortable nap," he began. 
 
 "The honorable Laurens is pleased to be ironi 
 cal," was the return, in the old, smooth tone. 
 
 "Not at all ! I would only remind you that Con 
 fucius says: No needle is sharp at both ends! 
 
 The Chinaman stiffened perceptibly as he took a 
 puff at his cigarette. "You are trite, sir. You 
 lowered yourself to traducing my servant." 
 
 "I beg your distinguished pardon," returned Lau 
 rens. "The initiative was his. You drove him from 
 you by your cruelty. I have studied your Confucius
 
 A CORNERED RAT 293 
 
 well. He states that a distant relative is of less 
 value than a near friend." 
 
 Chow T su threw his cigarette to the floor and 
 shifted uneasily. "You think you can afford to 
 smile," he returned. 
 
 "Yes! If fortune smiles, who does not? Con 
 fucius again!" 
 
 "Is it part of your ethics to bait a prisoner?" de 
 manded Chow T su, with his first flash of temper. 
 
 "Say, rather, an honored guest. You may thank 
 me that you are not an inmate of a United States 
 cruiser s brig. I am responsible for you. Is there 
 anything of which my charge complains?" Laurens 
 was filled with an ugly joy as Chow T su winced on 
 being reminded of his own words under different 
 circumstances. 
 
 "Sir," he : turned, "I think our differences are 
 now well balanced. You are clear, though brutal. 
 I have studied our case, and 
 
 Laurens interrupted: "I have it from your Confu 
 cius that some study usually shows the need of more. 
 Can I enlighten you in any way, my friend?" He 
 spoke as blandly as Chow T su had ever done. 
 
 "You might tell me what your intentions are," 
 was the quick return. 
 
 "Well," said Laurens, "I do not thirst for your
 
 294 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 life, even at your own hands, as you did for mine ; but 
 considering the boasted length of your arm I shall 
 never consent to your freedom. Have you anything 
 to propose? If you insist, I might give you a knife, 
 or a rope, and there is always a razor or there 
 are still things in the cabinet, if you desire something 
 more speedy. Forgive me these details; you have 
 forced me to appear discourteous to a guest." 
 
 The badgered Chinaman evidently remembered 
 his own words. He bit his lip before answering. 
 
 "My arrest was not legal. I was beyond the 
 three-mile limit of your, country s jurisdiction " 
 
 "You certainly are within it now," interrupted 
 Laurens. "But what were you about to remark?" 
 
 "That we compromise this matter. I will waive 
 all claim to everything if you will return my relative, 
 Mow-Sing, to me. I will even pay you for " 
 
 "Not on your miserable life!" answered Laurens, 
 hotly. "There is not that much money in the 
 world." 
 
 "I shall appeal to the Chinese minister, sir." 
 
 "Not after I m through with you," put in Wood 
 stock, speaking for the first time. 
 
 The Chinaman ignored him, but the archaeologist 
 advanced to the table and struck it sharply with his 
 knuckles to command attention. "You will alter
 
 A CORNERED RAT 295 
 
 your superior air in a moment, sir," he said, speak 
 ing slowly and clearly. "My friend here, whom you 
 have more than outraged, has said that, outside the 
 law, he would be in a quandary as to what to do 
 with you." 
 
 "Yes?" returned the Chinaman, producing and 
 lighting another cigarette. "He may well be, having 
 been treated with the greatest distinction." 
 
 "But I am in no doubt," snapped Woodstock. "I 
 have but lately returned from China. You have an 
 axiom there that the tallest towers fall hardest and 
 make the greatest ruin. Sir, you will soon alter your 
 insolent attitude. Listen attentively. You are Chow 
 T su, of the house of the Flying Dragon, an upper- 
 class family, but poor. Do you remember how For 
 mosa was lost to China?" 
 
 Chow T su s jaw fell and his narrow eyes snapped 
 open, but he made no reply. Woodstock went on: 
 "When you saw the strength of Japan and knew 
 that its aim was to get Formosa, in order to expand, 
 and that it would probably be successful in overcom 
 ing the opposition of your government, you secretly 
 cast your lot with them, little dreaming at the time 
 that the Dowager Empress would ever return to 
 power. For the services of your brother and your 
 self you were granted large estates on that island
 
 296 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 and you put your miserable soul into gathering yen, 
 by a method of extortion, from your tenants. You 
 finally sold your grants for an immense sum. You 
 returned to China enormously wealthy and, being 
 educated, you were made a mandarin by the throne 
 you had hoodwinked. Am I not right, so far?" 
 
 There was no answer. The Chinaman only stared 
 at the professor. The scientist went on: "But you 
 are not wholly a fraud. Conservatism is the curse 
 of your country, and undoubtedly your worship of 
 the Confucian relic was genuine, else you w r ould 
 never have endured the hardships and degradation 
 to which you submitted. To you it brought its curse, 
 if it has any. Immediately after its loss you dis 
 appeared from China, a victim to your fanaticism. 
 Not until two days ago did I learn of these passages 
 in your life." 
 
 "From whom?" asked the Chinaman, attempting 
 to hide his intense interest. 
 
 "From your confidential secretary, Mr. Kimeo," 
 answered Woodstock. "Listen a moment longer," 
 he continued, as Chow T su was about to speak. 
 "Through a letter from your mistreated major domo 
 also a member of the house of the Flying Dragon, 
 I discovered where you had imprisoned Mr. Laurens 
 and Miss Dalzell, and I notified the police. With
 
 A CORNERED RAT 297 
 
 a force I went to your house and found you and 
 your victims were gone, but we rounded up your re 
 maining household, among them your precious sec 
 retary, who is a renegade Jap, as you are a traitor 
 ous Chinaman. He is a coward. He broke down 
 under close questioning, and confessed the whole 
 business your antecedents, your political position, 
 and your motive and manner of beguiling Miss Dal- 
 zell and Mr. Laurens into your power." 
 
 Laurens listened in amazement but did not inter 
 rupt. Woodstock paused a moment. Chow T su 
 looked stupidly at him, his half-consumed cigarette 
 dropping from his fingers. 
 
 "Sir," went on the professor, "you had no inten 
 tion of returning to China- -vou dared not. This 
 schooner, loaded with your household effects, was 
 cleared for Valparaiso, .where you hoped to settle 
 and live a life of grandeur. You are perfectly aware 
 there are no priests of the temple of the Eye of God 
 that the order has been dissolved for nearly ten 
 years, after the temple was destroyed during the 
 Boxer riots. You intended having Mr. Laurens 
 murdered before reaching Valparaiso, if he did not 
 commit suicide before. You intended to force Miss 
 Dalzell into disreputable relations with yourself. So
 
 298 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 confessed your secretary, and I believe him, for his 
 story fits your character. 
 
 "And now, sir, for your disposition. If the au 
 thorities do not send you to prison for twenty years 
 it will be because the Chinese minister will insist on 
 your being deported to your own country, where the 
 Dowager Empress will doubtless welcome you as she 
 welcomed your brother, who lost his head within six 
 hours after appearing in court. Did you not know 
 that? Have you anything to say?" 
 
 The Chinaman could not reply; certainly he did 
 not. With Woodstock s reference to his being de 
 ported the last of his arrogant air departed; his 
 head fell forward and he was apparently staring at 
 a vision in the glass-scored mahogany table, his fat 
 face suddenly drawn. 
 
 "What is it?" asked Laurens, struck by the abject 
 wretchedness of the man. 
 
 "Let me let me alone," was the scarcely 
 audible reply. A moment later the fallen Chinaman 
 seemed to come to a sense of his surroundings. He 
 straightened himself, got unsteadily to his feet, and 
 like a man recovering from a blow, but still with a 
 feeble effort at pride, he walked into his room and 
 closed the door.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 SAVING HIS FACE 
 
 IT was growing dusk and the Royal Consort had 
 dropped her anchor off the Customs Dock in 
 San Francisco. Mow-Sing had been at once 
 dispatched to Laurens apartment for clothing, and 
 that gentleman, feeling something like his old self, 
 was sitting under the rigged awning on the vessel s 
 quarter-deck with Josephine. Woodstock had gone 
 ashore to attend to some government formality and 
 they were awaiting his return. 
 
 "It is a quiet ending for such a wild beginning," 
 remarked the young girl, who, though still in her 
 Oriental costume, made an entrancing picture, de 
 spite her worn expression. She gazed pensively at 
 the lights of the city. 
 
 I never knew so foul and fair a day, " quoted 
 Laurens. "I think we are alone together for the 
 first time since we met in the conservatory. I would 
 like to act, but propriety forbids ; there are eyes f or- 
 
 99
 
 300 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 ward. You say I saved your life? Granted, for 
 the sake of argument. When am I to receive my 
 reward?" 
 
 The girl turned to him, and her eyes were won 
 derful. "Oh, my dear my dear," she said, with 
 an abandon that astonished him. "I have brought 
 you nothing but trouble since we met. Do you wish 
 to be rewarded by more?" 
 
 "Josephine," he returned, taking her hand; "in 
 spite of his injustice Chow T su has taught me a les 
 son. I shall no longer be useless and self-sufficient. 
 I have an object in life which is to welcome trouble 
 when it arrives in the form you put it. When 
 shall it come?" 
 
 She was about to answer, but the officer who had 
 charge of the marines appeared from the saloon and 
 went up to them. 
 
 "Mr. Laurens, the steward reports that some 
 thing is wrong in the Chinaman s cabin. He cannot 
 get in to serve supper, and neither he, nor the guard, 
 nor myself can get an answer from him." 
 
 "What s the matter?" 
 
 "I don t know, sir. The prisoner sent for Mow- 
 Sing an hour ago, and I let the boy see him for five 
 minutes, in my presence. They spoke in Chinese." 
 
 Laurens leaped to his feet.
 
 SAVING HIS FACE 301 
 
 "Break down the door, sir. Dollars to cents he 
 has made away with himself!" 
 
 Josephine turned white and shivered, and at that 
 moment the deck was hailed by Woodstock, who was 
 returning with a couple of police officials. Laurens 
 explained his fear and the men hurried below. 
 
 The guards, of which there had been two since 
 the Chinaman s recovery, maintained they had heard 
 nothing unusual since the boy left the room. They 
 had seen Mow-Sing go into the room next the 
 prisoner s, but he had not stayed there more than 
 a minute. They had not seen him since. 
 
 There was nothing to be done but break down the 
 door, and the marine s heavy shoulders soon tore 
 it from its fastenings. Laurens did not have to 
 step in to see what had happened. Chow T su 
 lay on his tack on the floor. He was quite dead, 
 and one glance at him showed how he had caused his 
 own terrible end. 
 
 "Hiri-kirif" exclaimed Laurens. "How did he 
 get the knife? Find Mow-Sing, someone." 
 
 But no search was necessary. At the call of his 
 name the Chinese boy seemed to slip through the 
 legs of the assembled group. He fell on his knees 
 before Laurens. 
 
 "Me givee knife!" he cried hysterically. "He
 
 THE IVORY BALL 
 
 tell Mow he killee him he folly him hundled years 
 he folly you hundled years if me no catchee 
 knife and give. If he gettee knife he no killee any 
 mans. Me catchee knife me push over transolm in 
 Missy room. Mow-Sing run away. Now you safe 
 Mow safe!" 
 
 "You were afraid of him, got the knife and 
 pushed it over the transom of the next room?" asked 
 Laurens. 
 
 "Yeh." 
 
 "You poor little duffer! I cannot blame you. 
 You were in more danger than I!" 
 
 Later, as he went on deck, the girl leaned for 
 ward with inquiring eyes. 
 
 "Well, he has saved his face," said Laurens. 
 
 And she understood. 
 
 Locked securely in a safe-deposit vault in New 
 York is the ivory ball, and once in a long time Lau 
 rens exhibits it to some deeply interested archaeolo 
 gist. He considers it as belonging to his wife, but 
 she refuses all title to it. 
 
 When he happens to speak of the thing Josephine 
 shudders. And then he tells her that the evil influ-
 
 SAVING HIS FACE 303 
 
 ence of the ojimi with its priceless stone must have 
 been dissipated, as it had certainly brought the best 
 of luck to him. 
 
 At which she smiles again. 
 
 END
 
 THE NOVELS OF 
 
 MARY ROBERTS RINEHART 
 
 May ba had wherever bocks ara sold. Ask far Crossst & Dunlap s list. 
 
 "K." Illustrated. 
 
 K. LeMoyne, famous surgeon, drops out of the world that 
 has known him, and goes to live in a little town where 
 beautiful Sidney Page lives. She is in training to become a 
 nurse. The joys and troubles of their young love are told 
 with that keen and sympathetic appreciation which has 
 made the author famous. 
 
 THE MAN IN LOWER TEN. 
 Illustrated by Howard Chandler Christy. 
 
 An absorbing detective story woven around the mysteri 
 ous death of the "Man in Lower Ten." The strongest 
 elements of Mrs. Rinehart s success are found in this book. 
 
 WHEN A MAN MARRIES. 
 
 Illustrated by Harrison Fisher and Mayo Bunker. 
 
 A young artist, whose wife had recently divorced him, 
 finds that his aunt is soon to visit him. The aunt, who 
 contributes to the family income and who has never seen 
 the wife, knows nothing of the domestic upheaval. How 
 the young man met the situation is humorously and moat 
 entertainingly told. 
 
 THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE. Illus. by Lester Ralph. 
 
 The summer occupants of "Sunnyside" find the dead 
 body of Arnold Armstrong, the son of the owner, on the cir 
 cular staircase. Following the murder a bank failure is an 
 nounced. Around these two events is woven a plot of 
 absorbing interest. 
 
 THE STREET OF SEVEN STARS. 
 Illustrated (Photo Play Edition.) 
 
 Harmony Wells, studying in Vienna to be a great vio 
 linist, suddenly realizes that her money is almost gone. She 
 meets a young ambitious doctor who offers her chivalry and 
 sympathy, and together with world-worn Dr. Anna and 
 Jimmie, the waif, they share their love and slender means. 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
 
 RALPH CONNOR S STORIES 
 
 OF THE NORTHWEST 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap s list 
 
 THE SKY PILOT IN NO MAN S LAND 
 
 The clean-hearted, strong-limbed man of the West leaves 
 his hills and forests to fight the battle for freedom in the 
 old world. 
 
 BLACK ROCK 
 
 A story of strong men in the mountains of the West. 
 THE SKY PILOT 
 
 A story of cowboy life, abounding in the freshest humor, 
 the truest tenderness and the finest courage. 
 THE PROSPECTOR 
 
 A tale of the foothills and of the man who came to them 
 to lend a hand to the lonely men and women who needed a 
 protector. 
 THE MAN FROM GLENGARRY 
 
 This narrative brings us into contact with elemental and 
 volcanic human nature and with a hero whose power breathes 
 from every word. 
 GLENGARRY SCHOOL DAYS 
 
 In this rough country of Glengarry, Ralph Connor has 
 found human nature in the rough. 
 THE DOCTOR 
 
 The story of a "preacher-doctor" whom big men and 
 reckless men loved for his unselfish life among them. 
 THE FOREIGNER 
 
 A tale of the Saskatchewan and of a " foreigner " who 
 made a brave and winning fight for manhood and love. 
 CORPORAL CAMERON 
 
 This splendid type of the upright, out-of-door man about 
 which Ralph Connor builds all his stories, appears again in 
 this book. 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
 
 THE NOVELS OF 
 GRACE LIVINGSTON HILL LUTZ 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap s list. 
 
 THE BEST MAN 
 
 Through a strange series of adventures a young man finds 
 himself propelled up the aisle of a church and married to a 
 strange girl. 
 
 A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 On her way West the heroine steps off by mistake at a lonely 
 watertank into a maze of thrilling events. 
 
 THE ENCHANTED BARN 
 
 Every member of the family will enjoy this spirited chronicle 
 of a young girl s resourcefulness and pluck, and the secret of 
 the enchanted barn. 
 
 THE WITNESS 
 
 The fascinating story of the enormous change an incident 
 wrought in a man s life. 
 
 MARCIA SCHUYLER 
 
 A picture of ideal girlhood set in the time of full skirts and 
 poke bonnets. 
 
 LO. MICHAEL ! 
 
 A story of unfailing appeal to all who love and understand boys. 
 THE MAN OF THE DESERT 
 
 An intensely moving love story of a man of the desert and a 
 girl of the East pictured against the background of the Far West. 
 
 PHOEBE DEANE 
 
 A tense and charming love story, told with a grace and a fer 
 vor with which only Mrs. Lutz could tell it. 
 
 DAWN OF THE MORNING 
 
 A romance of the last century with all of its old-fashioned 
 charm. A companion volume to " Marcia Schuyler" and 
 "Phoebe Deane." 
 
 Ask for Complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
 
 "STORM COUNTRY" BOOKS BY 
 
 GRACE MILLER WHITE 
 
 Hay be had whatever books are sold. Ask for Brosset & Dunlap s list. 
 
 JUDY OF ROGUES HARBOR 
 
 Judy s untutored ideas of God, her love of wild things, 
 her faith in life are quite as inspiring as those of Tess. 
 Her faith and sincerity catch at your heart strings. This 
 book has all of the mystery and tense action of the other 
 Storm Country books. 
 
 TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY 
 
 It was as Tess, beautiful, wild, impetuous, that Mary 
 Pickford made her reputation as a motion picture actress. 
 How love acts upon a temperament such as hers a tem 
 perament that makes a woman an angel or an outcast, ac 
 cording to the character of the man she loves is the 
 theme of the story. 
 
 THE SECRET OF THE STORM COUNTRY 
 
 The sequel to " Tess of the Storm Country," with the 
 same wild background, with its half-gypsy life of the squat 
 ters tempestuous, passionate, brooding. Tess learns the 
 " secret " of her birth and finds happiness and love through 
 her boundless faith in life. 
 
 FROM THE VALLEY OF THE MISSING 
 
 A haunting story with its scene laid near the country 
 familiar to readers of " Tess of the Storm Country." 
 
 ROSE O PARADISE 
 
 " Jinny" Singleton, wild, lovely, lonely, but with a pas 
 sionate yearning for music, grows up in the house of Lafe 
 Grandoken, a crippled cobbler of the Storm Country. Her 
 romance is full of power and glory and tenderness. 
 
 A*k for Complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
 
 JACK LONDON S NOVELS 
 
 Hay ba had whtraver books are sold. Ask for Grosset t Dunlap s list 
 
 JOHN BARLEYCORN. Illustrated by H. T. Dunn. 
 
 This remarkable book is a record of the author s own amaziag 
 experiences. This big, brawny world rover, who has been ac- 
 ,quainted with alcohol from boyhood, comes out boldly against Johm 
 Barieycorn. It is a string of exciting adventures, yet it forcefully 
 ! conveys an unforgetable idea and makes a typical Jack London book. 
 
 THE VALLEY OF THE MOON. Frontispiece by George Harper. 
 
 The story opens in the city slums where Billy Roberts, teamster 
 and ex-prize fighter, and Saxon Brown, laundry worker, meet and 
 love and marry. They tramp from one end of California to the 
 other, and in the Valley of the Moon find the farm paradise that is 
 to be their salvation. 
 BURNING DAYLIGHT. Four illustrations. 
 
 The story ot an adventurer who went to Alaska and laid the 
 foundations of his fortune before the gold hunters am ved. Bringing 
 his fortunes to the States he is cheated out of it by a crowd of money 
 kings, and recovers it only at the muzzle of his gun. He then starts 
 out as a merciless exploiter on his own account. Finally he takes to 
 drinking and becomes a picture of degeneration. About this time 
 he falls in love with his stenographer and wins her heart but not 
 her hand and then but read the story! 
 A SON OF THE SUN. Illustrated by A. O. Fischer and C. W. Ashley. 
 
 David Grief was once a light-haired, blue-eyed youth who came 
 from England to the South Seas in search of adventure. Tanned 
 like a native and as lithe as a tiger, he became a real son of the sun. 
 The life appealed to him and he remained and became very wealthy. 
 THE CALL OF THE WILD. Illustrations by Philip R. Goodwin and 
 Charles Livingston Bull. Decorations by Charles E. Hooper. 
 
 A book ot dog adventures as exciting as any man s exploits 
 could be. Here is excitement to stir the blood and here is pictur 
 esque color to transport the reader to primitive scenes. 
 
 THE SEA WOLF. Illustrated by W. J. Aylward. 
 
 Told by a man whom Fate suddenly swings from his fastidious 
 ,Kfe into the power of the brutal captain of a sealing schooner. A 
 novel of adventure warmed by a beautiful love episode that every 
 leader will hail with delight. 
 WHITE FANG. Illustrated by Charles Livingston Bull. 
 
 <; White Fang" is part dog, part wolf and all brute, living in the 
 frozen north ; he gradually comes under the spell of man s com- 
 panionship, and surrenders all at the last in a fight with a bull dog 
 Thereafter he is man s loving slave, yj 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
 
 NOVELS OF FRONTIER LIFE BY 
 
 WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. I Ask for Grosset & Dunlap s list. 
 
 MAVERICKS 
 
 A tale of the western frontier, where the " rustler " abounds. One of the sweetes. 
 love stories ever told. 
 
 A TEXAS RANGER 
 
 How a member of the border police saved the life of an innocent man, followed a 
 fugitive to Wyoming, and then passed through deadly peril to ultimate happiness. 
 
 WYOMING 
 
 In this vivid story the author brings out the turbid life of the frontier with all its 
 engaging dash and vigor. 
 
 RIDGWAY OF MONTANA 
 
 The scene is laid in the mining centers of Montana, where politics and mining in 
 dustries are the religion of the country. 
 
 BUCKY O CONNOR 
 
 Every chapter teems with wholesome, stirring adventures, replete with the dashing 
 spirit of the border. 
 
 CROOKED TRAILS AND STRAIGHT 
 
 A story of Arizona ; of swift-riding men and darinSr outkwi ; of a bitter feud be 
 tween cattle-men and sheep-herders. 
 
 BRAND BLOTTERS 
 
 A story of the turbid life of the frontier with a charming love interest running 
 through its page*. 
 STEVE YEAGER 
 
 A story brimful of excitement, with eough gun-play and adventure to suit anyone. 
 A DAUGHTER OF THE DONS 
 
 A Western story of romance and adventure, comprising a vivacious and stirring 
 tale. 
 THE HIGHGRADER 
 
 A breezy, pleasant and amusing love story of Western mining life. 
 THE PIRATE OF PANAMA 
 
 A tale of old-time pirates and of modern love, hate and adventure. 
 THE YUKON TRAIL 
 
 A crisply entertaining love story in the land where might makes right. 
 THE VISION SPLENDID 
 
 In which two cousins are contestants for tke same prizes ; political honors and the 
 hand of a girl. 
 
 THE SHERIFF S SON 
 
 The hero finally conquers both himself and his enemies and wins the love of a 
 wonderful girl. 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
 
 B. M. BOWER S NOVELS 
 
 May be had whorever books are sold. Ask for Grossat and Dunlap s list 
 
 CHIP OF THE FLYING U. Wherein the 1 ove affairs of Chip and 
 Delia Whitman are charmingly and humorously told. 
 
 THE HAPPY FAMILY. A lively and amusing story, dealing with 
 the adventures of eighteen jovial, big hearted Montana cowboys, 
 
 PER PRAIRIE KNIGHT. Describing a gay party of Easterner! 
 who exchange a cottage at Newport for a Montana ranch-house. 
 
 THE RANGE DWELLERS. Spirited action, a range feud be- 
 two families, and a Romeo and Juliet courtship make this a bright, 
 jolly story. 
 
 THE LURE OF THE DIM TRAILS. A vivid portmyal of the 
 experience of an Eastern author among the cowboys. 
 
 THE LONESOME TRAIL. A little branch of sage brush and the 
 recollection of a pair of large brown eyes upset "Weary" David 
 son s plans. 
 
 THE LONG SHADOW. A vigorous Western etory, sparkling with 
 the free outdoor life of a mountain ranch. It is a fine love story. 
 
 GOOD INDIAN. A stirring romance of ife on an Idaho ranch. 
 
 FLYING U RANCH. Another delightful story about Chip and 
 
 his pals. 
 THE FLYING ITS LAST STAND. An amusing account of Chip 
 
 and the other boys opposing a party of school teachers. 
 THE UPHILL CLIMB. A story of a mountain ranch and of a 
 
 man s hard fight on the uphill road to manliness. 
 THE PHANTOM HERD. The title of a moving-picture staged in 
 ~ New Mexico by the "Flying U " boys. 
 THE HERITAGE OF THE SIOUX. The " Flying U" boys stags 
 
 a fake bank robbery for film purposes which precedes a real one 
 
 for lust of gold. 
 THE GRINGOS. A story of love and adventure on a ranch is 
 
 California. 
 STARR OF THE DESERT. A New Mexico ranch story ot my* 
 
 tery arid adventure. 
 THE LOOKOUT MAN. A Northern California story full of action; 
 
 excitement and love. 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
 
 JOHN FOX, 
 
 STORIES OF THE KENTUCKY MOUNTAINS 
 
 May be had wherever bocks are sold. Ask for Grosset and Dnnlap s list , 
 
 THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE. 
 Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. 
 
 The "lonesome pine" from which the 
 story takes its name was a tall tree that( 
 stood in solitary splendor on a mountain 
 top.^ The fame of the pine lured a young 
 engineer through Kentucky to catch the 
 trail, and when he finally climbed to its 
 shelter he found not only the pine but the 
 foot-prints of a girl. And the girl proved 
 to be lovely, piquant, and the trail of 
 these girlish foot-prints Ie4 the young 
 engineer a madder chase than "the trail 
 of the lonesome pine." 
 
 THE LITTLE SHEPHERD OF KINGDOM COME 
 Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. 
 
 This is a story of Kentucky, in a settlement known as "King 
 dom Come." It is a life rude, semi-barbarous; but natural 
 and honest, from which often springs the flower of civilization. 
 
 " Chad." the "little shepherd" did not know who he was nor 
 whence he came he had just wandered from door to door since 
 early childhood, seeking shelter with kindly mountaineers who 
 gladly fathered and mothered this waif about whom there was 
 such a mystery a charming waif, by the way, who could play 
 the banjo better that anyone else in the mountains. 
 
 A KNIGHT OF THE CUMBERLAND. 
 Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. 
 
 The scenes are laid along the waters of the Cumberland* 1 
 the lair of moonshiner and f eudsman. The knight is a moon 
 shiner s son, and the heroine a beautiful girl perversely chris 
 tened "The Blight." Two impetuous young Southerners fall 
 under the spell of "The Blight s " charms and she learns what 
 a large part jealousy and pistols have in the love making of ths 
 mountaineers. 
 
 Included in this volume is "Hell fer-Sartain" and other 
 stories, some of Mr. Fox s most entertaining Cumberland valley 
 narratives. 
 
 Ask for complete free list of G. & D. Popular 
 
 Fictio 
 
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