I DECEMBER .50, 1950 esA.wRDAY, THE ouanman, CI-IARLOTTETOWN .. . . - .... . .. -mgaugamgmuuhmahg r house. and wondered why on earth , - he had ever been such a fool as to 1-" : - OWBRIDGES IO Outpost In China sly Val Glelsud start. sitting very straight in his sad- dle, hir face shadowed by a van! battered sun-helmet. wearing an open shirt and the ahabbieet of brooches and fieldboote. basiia Dale was none the less worth rum than : a casual glance. I- NIC .i N Chapter I The sun blazing down out of a cloudlese sky. Leslie Dole. settlnl out for his afternoon ride reined in his pony at the curve of the apology for a road which led up W .'I)7,)1;Z1x7:'I7 Pb - - n ewi i.'. txn(yncwx y Q bx Ektxxxw . I 8 93 - I 95' January 1st. 1951. mlflii all anniversdry in the history of I-hi. 3,", pmy..ighr years ago this business was established and during these years it has been our constant ambition to serve you well. at: He was a man of thirty-five. and looked a trifle older. His face was very tanned. with a formidalfie jaw. splendid teeth. and a rather craggy nose which spoiled his good looks. He had a horsemasfs figure-slim at the hips. broad at the shoulders --big capable hands. and those blue far-seeinc ms usually to be met with in navaltoffieers. His voice was curiously gentle 'mat may have been to some extent owing to disuse in its own lsmuue. rot Leslie Dale had been Agent-in Charge of the town of Tan m on the upper Yangtaekiang river for the famous Chinese firm of Her- wood end Greer for five years. And during all that time he had been the only Englishman in the place. oxoem for the local missionary and his wife, who were almost as busy as he was himself. Dale sat in his saddle and look- ed back over the weathered roof cf his square stone house -with its wooden bullet-proof shutters to the roofs of Ten Pu. the yellow humbl- ing confusion of the river. the dusty nlain on the further bank. out oi the raw jagged red hills ncrthward which stood up against the burning horizon. Frankly, the hades of a place-the very back of beyond! He knew every yard of it for twenty miles around-its stinks. its shoot- ing, its queer occasional beauty. its pecrple. He had no illusions on any point. And yet twice he had refused offers from the firm to change his station. Somehow he had come to the conclusion that the place suited him 1. '5 We' are sincerely grateful for the generous patronage that you have conferred upon us during this. long period and recognize that only through your support could this business have grown and prospered. It is our hope and purpose to make this establishment increasingly a better place to shop and TO SERVE vou win. and McLeod Ltd.. unite in MOTORS and CONTROL 7oe(44t.c((c'cc'cottdcw(cc... SEE YOUR AUTHORIZED DEALER PALMER ELECTRIC FITZRCY ST. PHONE 1444 MR. RETAIL MERCHANT HERE IS THE NEW LOW-PRICED "NATIONAL" YOU HAVE BEEN 'WAITING FOR-- 'l'l-Il-J CLASS "21", two machines in one. His snatched week or two of leaves down in shanghai had been curlcusly flavourless. He had lost touch with his kind--with pony- raclng. and scandal, and limitless drinks in the Long Bar of the Shanchal Club. He had lost touch with his friends in England. And hr had been sent up country so soon - after arriving in China that he had only a few acquaintances in the treaty-parts. and they were always on the shift. so he had got used to soliiqde-and after five years he confessed a little wryly to himself that he probably liked it. The pony stamped impatiently and twitchcd its ears under the at.- The Management and Staff of Moore wishing one and all NEW YEAR A HAPPY ” LL 2.v tentlons of the more than usuallv AN ITEMlZlNGr i u A SPEEDY persistent flies. Dale for once TAX nEcoRn- ' -. R ADDING changed his mind. turncd the beast. ING CASH MACHINE and rcdo slowly down the hill and REGISTER Bum.” hm back to his house. It really was inn hot to ride that afternoon...an:i the monthly boat with the mail was already in sight down river. puf- finz laboriously against the current. Not that leslie Dale expected any- thing much in the way of cor- resnondcnco. But there might hc instruction from Messrs. Hal-wood and Greer. who somehow would not .understand that he knew his own business-and their-best; that the . . man on tho spot was is better ,iud'rI' than men in an office hundreds of miles away. even if they believed themselves to be the elders and bet- Mm Adding Separ- ately from the Cash Register. Adding Total Capacity 59999.99 "IEIYE-'I'EMlZl4.'R" 5 And Many Ncxv w FF2A'llillll-IS Kry Board Ring-up 3990.99 MCDRE ti. MFLEOD CHARLCTTETCWH P. E. I. less you happened also to be one of the m-st time (or years it entered Call For DFZMONSTRRATION PRICED from SS520.00 of CANADA LTD. 90 Union Si.. Saint John-Phone 3-2012 37!: Archibald Si., Moncton-Phone 4288 THE NATIONAL CASH REGISTER C0. ters. Dale felt that he miglllt as well know the worst as soon as possible. and get his resulting bad temper over as rapidly as might be... lie had no intention of going ldown to the boat. Pat James. of .course. would be there with his camera and his shabby suit of white ducks. He never missed the arrival or a boat. Janet. his wife. saw to that. Dear Janet! with her face like a horse. a skin like leather. grey eyes like gimlets. and a heart of the purest gold. One of the salt of the earth thought Dale, and just about as difficult to live with-urn the salt. as Pat James undoubtedly WES. ANYTHING ON THE STEAMElt'.' Not that Dale would not he glad to see the boat arrive safely. with the new Japanese row. the whole coun- t.ry was getting into the deuce or a mess. The local bandittl everywhere were having the time of their lives, with the regular soldiery withdrawn for the def cf I-lankow and the central Government. And Tan Pu": local bandit was an outsiae at his particular Job. Leslie Dale grinned at the thought of General Wu-Tso- Ling; complete scoundrel. capital COHPDEHY. tolerable scholar, and first class soldier. He had made friends with Wu. Nothing else would have served to save Tan Pu from burning and loot and rapine months ago. But at that time Dale had a local Chinese governor at his back, who disposed of a force of tolersbly disciplined troops. Now the troops had been drafted south. And Dale. looking at the jag- ged line of red hills to the north. wondered just what devilry might not be stirring behind Wu's im- passive oriental forehead. After all there was a fortune-from .the point of view of a bandit-in the Tan Fu go-downs. Leslie Dale had made a little gold-mine of what had been considered a hopelessly unpromising station at the back of beyond, Dalc urged his pony into a trot at the thought that perhaps his last memorandum to head office might have borne fruit; that it was Just conceivable that on that river steamer might be a squad of armed police and a couple of machine- guns. He had asked for no more. just to keep Wu in his place if it became necessary... .A Chinese boy came out to take charge of the sweating pony. and Leslie Dale walked up five rickety steps, across the verandah with its tattered striped awning, and through the french window into his living-room. While he groped with- in the iese.-see of his tobacco-Jar and filled his pipe. he glanced round the room and reflected. For his head to question its comfort. and the answer was not entirely satisfactory. it was rather a. big. square 1'00?"- wlth a fine view across the rcoyfs of Tan Pu to General Wu's red lni.s. T-he funiture was the oddest mix- ture oi good solid ebony stuff with carved feet. like his big desk-piclw ed up for a. song at a sale down at Chunking-and of flimsy b-mm tables and canvas chairs. (To be continued) Management and Staff R. .T.HOLMAN Limited SUMMERSIDE and CHALRLOTTETOWN nd HOLMANiS ttittle S". o . . . . ., ..,. "F ' i ,..J”E 9.: .