Argosy All-Story Weekly, October 7, 1922 — page 131: what you’re looking at

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

THE YANGSTE HORDE. And sooner or later the keen thrust would pierce his heart. But for these few days—what harm could come? My conscience had smitten me when I put him off the ship in Shanghai. My heart had bounded with gladness when the officer of the deck had brought the news of his stowaway and the captain had shown him- self a man. Sing had fixed that, I had no doubt. Yet I would never punish Sing. A movement came at my side. One of the lookouts. “‘ A sampan almost brushed our side, sir,” he whispered. “fT noticed it,” I returned. And I had— although the flitting shadow of the thing had made little impression on my conscious- ness. I peered out into the misty blackness of the-river. “There’s another one drifting down on us, sir.” The lad’s arm stretched out to port. “They can see our lights,” I answered. “Their boats cost ‘em too much to risk bumping en iron ship.” I paused a mo- ment, then nodded to starboard. “There's another over there.” The lad rubbed the moisture from his eyes. I waseglad of the opportunity of talk- ing a bit. “The river’s alive with ’em in the day-: time, sir, ain’t it?” the boy ran on. “ Mil- lions of ’em. I didn’t think they was people enough in China.to man ’em.” “We don’t know China,” I replied, mus- ingly. ‘ There’sa couple more.” What a lonely little island we were in the. far blackness of the night. i drew my sheepskin closer, and shuddered slightly. We did not know China. Its mystery for- ever overhung. Our little ship—alone. I pointed to two ghostly black sails. al- most dead ahead. Even as I pointed, an- other broke from the gloom. Then another and another—and. others still, appear- ing like dismal phantoms upon a gloomy screen, silently sweeping down upon us with the power of wind and stream to urge them on. And for a moment I wondered if they saw us. 277 I was about to order the lookout to give a few taps at the ship’s bell to warn them, when the line of them parted to starboard and to port. In the open space between came other tall sailed ghosts. These, also, parted. Then almost before we could sense it, the river before us was a mass of sails, and a chorus of’ creaking rudder oars and the faint odor of fish fetched to us on the breeze. To the right and left the mass parted— only to discover the apparition of still others upstream, all slowly, silently, almost aw- fully, sweeping down upon our ship. Then suddenly my heart gave a quick throb. The ship was entirely surrounded by these phantom craft. We could make out the misted forms of the Chinese crews. Came a bump somewhere on the ship’s side. And then, before my unbelieving eyes, the lines of sampans and junks closed in upon us, and even as my hand leaped to the general alarm the decks were alive with half-clad and silent natives—silent, but ac- tively leaping in scattering proups—as though bent upon a.purpose preconceived. More junks closed in to make a second lines Scores more. of silent figures leaped irom high bow and poop to a place upon our decks. The lad at.my side gave a sud- den yell—and the horrid screeching wail of the siren brought me to: full comprehension that this. was not,an outlandish nightmare, but an unheard-of and terrible reality. By Heaven! My hair prickled—what helpless fools we were! In China—trusted China. Captured! An American de- stroyer! I leaped for thesladder, a heavy long- glass.in my hand. But before. I could swing upon the half- naked native climbing’ to the bridge, I heard a shout behind; then my arms were seized, and struggle as I would I shortly lay well- nigh unable to wriggle hand or foot, a pris- oner on my own ship! Muffled sounds from below echoed with the hideous, shrill, prolonged sound of the general alarm. Good God! Captured! And I—-I, had seen the, first ghostly spy An American destroyer! comicboooks C©