A Fatal Initiation.

the idea of intruding on a lodge witliout a summons , that almost any-one of that class would have turned back . It was perfectly well known to every native in the Colony that any warning at such a place and hour meant danger ahead . As Ah-Chee took no notice of it , his interlocutor put tlie first question of tJtc ritual .

" Whence come you , then r " I come from the East , " was the reply . " And whither are you going ? " " I go to the place where I can meet my myriad brethren , " answered AJi-CJice , wlio then repeated tJie . following doggerel verse

" At Thai-ping a feast is spread , Wide the Hung gates opened , At the lodge we all shall meet , While the children at our feet Lessons learn of Loyalty . Why then need you hinder me ? "

" Pass on Brother , said the vidctte , and Ah-CJiee accordingl y pressed forward . He was in truth a little nettled at not having been recognised , for , being tolerably well-known , lie was usuall y allowed to pass without question . There were , however , two reasons for the care taken . Ah-Ohcc had been absent for ovw four montlis ,

and the vidctte had only recently been appointed . But over and above this suspicions had been aroused during his absence as to spies having watched the proceedings of the lodge on behalf of the Government . Strict orders Jnid tJiereforc been issued , tJiafc unless anyone was known beyond all doubt to hold high office in the lodge he was to be strictly interrogated .

Presently the path diverged to the right and anybody unacquainted with the locality named would have been at fault . It lead directly into a bog or morass which almost , if not entirel y barred further progress . But Ah-Chee knew what to do . At twentyone paces from the

spot where the pathway disappeared , stood a large clump of bushes . Pushing aside the vegetation and striding so as to leave as few tracks as possible he gained a pathway behind them which again in a few hundred yards passed into a sluggish looking stream . Ah-Chee took off his shoes and stockings and waded carefully across it . The

water in no place came over his knees , but a stranger would not have attempted to cross it on a dark nig ht , or perhaps in daylight either . There was just starlight enough to prevent him from quite losing his way , but it was insufficient for a novice . Difficulties of

this sort were carefully chosen so as to conceal the roads to jungle lodges , and the greatest care was taken by the members to leave as few traces of their footsteps as possible in the various roads leading to the meeting place .

Ah-Clice was now approaching the outposts of the lodge . It was then customary to place guards in elevated seats overlooking the path of approach and these kept up communication with each other by imitations of the evening cries of birds ; one of which , known to

children on account of its habit of repeating the syllables Tuk-Tuk , by that name was adopted , on the present occasion , as a warning that someone was in sight . AJi-CJice was in fact a little later tlian he intended . The lodge had already met .

Presently signs of a clearing became visible . But before emerging from the jungle , Ah-Chee was stopped by a sentinel who kept watch over an improvised hairier consisting of a thin log of wood resting on two forked pieces so as to bar advance . According to the received rules of the society a stone road leads to the first

pass or barrier called the " Heavenly screen pass , next to this comes another called the "Earthly net pass , " and beyond this comes the " Sun and Moon Pass , " otherwise the " Hung gate , " at each of which the brother is supposed to pay a sum equal to about one shilling English as a fee . After this conies a stone bridge over a

river which leads to the " Hall of Fidelity and Loyalty . " Tlie " council room" and "Court , " flank it on either side , and at tho hitter the brother is supposed to produce Jiis capital ( 3 cash , each about the one-tenth of a penny ) and his diploma . Two more barriers and several buildings interpose between the Jii . st named and

the lodge or " City of Willows . " Twenty-four miles beyond this is the " Look up and fathom " pavilion , and yet a day ' s journey further is the " Goat bead island , " where the society stores its ammunition . All this mediieval geography , however , had been condensed into two or three practicable barriers . Even the payment of barrier fees had become a mere matter of ordinary collection like any storekeeper ' s bill .

In the present instance the barriers were placed 25 to 30 feet apart , and at the last , which opened onto the clearing , Ah-Chee was called upon for his diploma , which being duly examined , ho was at liberty to enter the lodge . imagine a clearing in the virgin jungle of about an acre in extent , fairly levelled and surrounded on all sides by tall trees , amongst which towered several lofty and handsome , but useless " Kompas , "

which dwarfed into insignificance their brethren of the forest . Straggling beams ivom the moon which lay almost obscured in a bank of cloud , lig hted their topmost branches , while all below lay in gloom , ( he night being too misty to make the starlight of much use . Here and there gigantic Chinese lanterns , inscribed with the magic characters of the society , served to render yet blacker by contrast the shade in their immediate vicinity . A crowd of human beings

A Fatal Initiation.

visible in the dim half-lig ht , clad in curious and ancient costume , some being in white , while others were dressed in cvery-day clothes , clustered around what looked like skeleton door-ways and screens and altars , and above all was a dead silence broken onl y by the voices of two officers of the lodge , who repeated with monotonous

regularity the long string of questions and answers which preceded the admission of neophytes into tbe Society . As Ah-Chee entered the clearing and passed through the " Hung Gate "—a more wooden jungle barrier like that before described—he paused before the '" Hall of Fidelity and Loyalty " to scan the faces of the new candidates .

The hall , like tho gate , was of course a make-believe . Four flagpoles marked the corners , and a red coloured rope round three sides ( about 20 feet each ) , from which depended cotton cloths so as to hide things , marked the place of imaginary walls . He then passed into this and toolc Jiis scat amongst the Councillors .

Occupying an elevated chair to tlie riglifc sat tlie chief of tho lodge , Lo Kwan . As already said lie was a man who impressed others with a sense of power . A somewhat bloated though coirngated

face was redeemed by linos of unmistakable decision , while his eyes , despite their Chinese characteristic , denoted thoughtfuhicss of no moan order . He formally welcomed Ali-Chee , and in a few minutes it was announced that the candidates were ready for introduction .

Now amongst these candidates was a coolie in Ali-Clieo ' s own employ . Like a good many cf his class " he had left his country for his country ' s good . " Li hum Kwai , as he was called , was in effect a fugitive from Chinese justice tit Canton , and this fact farmed his

master with enormons power over Iiim , owing to the curious system still prevailing by which pressure can always be brought to bear on a fugitive ' s famil y in China . Newly imported coolies in those days were virtually slaves .

Beyond this Ah-Chee had been any thing but a kind master , and Luni Kwai , who had been soundly flogged by his orders for some peccadillo , had often meditated revenge . When , therefore , Ah-Chee told him before starting for the lodge that if he would manage to introduce ii certain poison he would give him into Lo Kwan ' s rice at the feast

which was to follow the holding of the lodge , he should be freed from service and receive a handsome reward besides , Luni Kwai ' s little bendy eyes sparkled . Here was a chance of revenging himself upon his muster with almost certain impunity . Ah-Chec ' s

death would set him free in any case , and lie mi ght secure all or a portion of the promised present in advance . " What will you give ine ? " he asked . " Twenty-live dollars , " replied Ah-Chee . Lain Kwai shook his head .

"If I . give it you in advancer ' " observed Ah-Chee . "Make it fifty . " After a certain amount of haggling , Luni Kwai promised to do as suggested for fort y dollars , cash in advance , anil his freedom on tho day Lo-Kwan died .

At first sight such a scheme would have seemed sheer madness But Ah-Chee knew of a Malay poison which inflicted certain death without arousing suspicion of its action amongst the most skilled European physicians . That most useful of Eastern plants , the bamboo , has concealed

beneath the sheath leaf of eacli joint a substance , which to the uninitiated eye looks like a minute black dust . The microscope shows it to be a tiny dart with serrated edges , which will force itself through any portion of tlie luimaii or animal frame b y the mere ordinary movement of the muscles , if once introduced into ( ho

system . It has for ages been known to the Malays as the most effective though secret means of disposing of { an enemy existing . It acts in a mechanical way only , setting up inflammation of the stomach and intestines , and causing death in from three to seven days , There was and is no known antidote . Luni Kwai was told to place

the contents ot a small package ot this powder in the rice handed to Lo Kwan at the banquet which followed the closing of the lodge As a neophyte no suspicion would be entertained of his good faith , and once the master had swallowed the fatal dose his death within si few days was , humanely speaking , assured .

As one of the initiates on tbe occasion described , it would be Luni Kwai ' s dut y to wait upon the senior officers of the lodge , and it would be easy to introduce the deadly poison into the bnsin of rice

set before Lo Kwan . As most of the rice used in Singapore is speckled with black ( being indeed preferred to the pure white grain sent to Europe ) , the little tiny grains of powder would not be visibly except on very careful examination ,

* - * a * * * * * * * « As Lain Kwai with the other candidates appeared at the outer barrier each man was questioned as follows : — Q . — " Whence do you come ? " A . — "From the East . "

Q .- " Why Y " A . — " I come lo meet brethren . " Q . — "If the brethren cat rice mixed with sand will you eat if r " A . — " Yes , 1 will , " and so on .

Going on to another doorway of the same sort one of the guards showed him a short sword and said : " Do you know what this is ' r " A . — "A knife . " Q . — "What is its use '/ "