When Tigers Are Hunting: The Complete Adventures of Cordie, Soldier of Fortune, Volume 1 (The Argosy Library) by W. Wirt

Author:W. Wirt [Wirt, W.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Action and Adventure
Publisher: Altus Press
Published: 2015-10-06T00:00:00+00:00

That Fish Thing

“Shall not a friend act as a friend always?” Red Dolan and Jimmie Cordie thought so—and when a friend sought their aid, he found them heeled and ready for what turned out to he the wildest adventure of their wild careers.

“WAIT a minute, Red,” said Jimmie Cordie, swinging in toward the window of a native shop in the Street of Benevolent Wisemen, Hongkong. “I want to see those jades.”

The big Irishman grinned and turned with Jimmie to the window. “Look at that now,” he said. “Let’s go in and see them closer.”

A young Chinaman, who was talking to the old proprietor looked up as the two white men came in.

“Led! Jimmie!” he shouted, running to meet them, holding out both hands. His clean-cut young face, with its aristocratic features, was lit up with joy.

Jimmie and Red both smiled.

“Hullo, Liu-hsia!” Jimmie said, shaking one of the hands held out, as Red grasped the other. “What are you doing down here, oh honorable cadet of the magnificent house of Yin?”

At the same time Red Dolan was saying, “Sure, ’tis me little fighting cock of the North, himself. What the devil now—are ye here steppin’ out, ye omadhaun?”

Liu-hsia, prince of the ancient house of Yin, smiled and patted Red’s big arm. “I come for blizness—stlictly blizness, Led.”

“Business? And what the hell kind of business do a spridhouge like ye—”

“Give Liu-hsia a chance to talk a little, you big ape,” interrupted Cordie. “Use your mouth more to eat with!”

“What? Sure I’ll take four shrimps like ye—”

“See, there you go—still talking. Take a rest, then you can tell me how many Cordies you think you can take.”

“That’s right, Jimmie, alanna,” grinned Red, who loved Jimmie Cordie better than anything on earth. “Go on, ye little bantam!” to Liu-hsia.

Three years before, Jimmie Cordie and Red Dolan, with Grigsby and Putney, the other two members of the quartet that had fought together in the French Foreign Legion, in the A.E.F., and for the years after in the Orient, had fought for Liu-hsia’s father in North China. His father had been one of the generals in the Army of the North and had been educated in England. Liu-hsia could understand English better than he could speak it, although when not excited he could speak very good English in the way his father had taught him.

Now he smiled and said, “We go somewhere and I tell you, Led and Jimmie. Maybeso, now I flind you—can do much better.”

“All right, Liu-hsia,” said Jimmie. “Come on, we’ll go to Grigsby’s—Putt is there also.”

He called the proprietor up from the rear. “One thousand li,” he offered, pointing to some of the jades.

“Won hundled tlosand li,” answered the old man, indignantly, “Jlade of Tzu-kung.”

“You have my royal permission to keep them,” answered Jimmie gravely.

The old man evidently intended to do so as he promptly removed himself to the rear once more, talking to himself.

Liu-hsia’s story of how he came to be in Hongkong was briefly told after they reached Grigsby’s apartment, where they found both Grigsby and Putney.

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