Shantung renown, his star eclipsed for the time being, hibernates. in Dairen. He bears no good will to I Liu of Chefoo, who caught his friend General Lee a year or two ago and sped him to the Wesr tern Heaven, Smouldering in the knowledge that General Liu is still a power in. the land of his birth,. Generat Chang recently collected a band of: adventurers, armed thei, and shipped them disguised as civilians from en to Weihaiwei, whence thole objective was to stir up trouble for. his enemy Liu, The band made its way through the Territory of Weihaiwei and split up on the border into two parties, one to proceed cust to attack a fortified town near the Shantung Promontory and the other tw, proceed west on a sin A day's march brought the first group to a village within a few Iiles of their objective, where they camped for the night' and spread the good news of the coming rout of the town whose fate they had settled. The villagers, however, doubtful of their saviours, sent word by night of the—morrow's programme, Contrary to precedent, the defenders of the doomed town taited to defend it, but went one better and sallied out to await—their enemy under cover. In a few hours more than half the attackers wore ready for burial and the remainder. on their way to General Liu at Chefoo, who lost no time in sending them to join their Into comrades, Group No. 2, on their way to surprise another village, found the Johnston Road on the border of}, the Territory easy going, s0 followed it, Ensier going still suggested itself when a large motor bus over~ took. them, the passengers in which were quickly decanted to way for as many of the raiders as could climb aboard. The chauffeur, under threats, was directed to drive to a point as near their destination possible and off they went. Gathering in conversation that his new passengers were not too well acquainted with the country, the driver stopped at a village, still in British territory, to fill up his radiator, which, with a judicious use of second gear, was on the boil, and while negotiating for water managed to relate the unusual situation he was in to the gentleman presiding atthe well Pilling up was proceeding tele surely when to the astonishment of the small audience the village police carbines at the "ready" apin rear and called for The passengers thus taken by allowed themselves to be di and rounded up to await order improvised village gaol, whence they: were marched to Headquarters at Port Edward the following day.
Contrary to stage melodrama, common sense and poetic justice play in the two acts already related, AN this point, however, the law, in the persons of the British police and the Crown Advocate, appears. Common sense, and no doubt the Commissioner, "would have handed over the sang to General Liu, the rest Chineve authority. The however, delved into its musty and deaveed that the bandits were political offenders, as up to the time wf their apprehension they blind committed no. crime,—except perhaps the technical one of riding. '70. on a public conveyance without kets. General Lin's protests cre of no avail and the gang, with whom sao said to be an ex: ofice of high rank, were escorted on board a Japanese vessel and inly: landed at Dairen, the pore of their departure, The episode should properly end at this point with the repentanes of the sheep who were lost and found again and their conversion to good warks. Truth, however, is blacker than fiction, for they have ved again to Shantung by at other port, and fate, having conspired once to circumvent them without result, seems now resigned to see them harry the countryside at will,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.