The Weber Literary Journal pipe and sat down, his back to the statue some two yards away. The black boy took his first chance to slip his hand around the curtain and place the ring in the statue's mouth glad to be rid of it once and for all. The Chinaman sat still, smoked some horrible stuff", and did not turn around. The minutes dragged on for poor Rastus. Without yet looking around the Chinaman spoke. "Black boy, come out from behind that curtain do you hear Chang?" The curtain began to shake. "Come out. Chang knew you would bring back the spirit ring." No answer. The curtain continued to shake. "All right, Chang make black boy come out." The Chinaman reached up on the wall and took down one of the jagged knives from the wall, and started towards the curtain. The black boy shrieked. "Oh Lawd, save me oh save me ah'll go to church ah'll mind mah mammy ah'll nevah shoot craps again ah'll say mah prayers every night an' mornin'," he prayed, then made a mad dash for the door. It refused to open. The Chinaman seized him. "Where is Wong-Lee did he run away from Chang did he did he?" The furious Chink yelled, "He didn't come home to help Chang tonight black boy knows where he is black boy must tell Chang or black boy die." "Ah doesn't know ah doesn't," screamed Rastus, truthfully, for he was not sure which wagon carried Wong away the undertaker's or just the ambulance. "Black boy is devil-child just like Wong." Rastus, overcome by the foggy drugged incense, fell to the floor unconscious. The Chinaman gave up in disgust, and after carrying the boy out into the hall, threw him down into a damp cellar to let him come to. Later he would force him into telling of Wong-Lee's whereabouts. Chang judged it would take the boy at least six hours to come to, and Chang's judgment was usually correct. Otherwise, the boy might come to and explore the cellar. But Chang had no other place to put him. At length Rastus woke. He looked around himself. A clock outside somewhere struck two. The boy realized he was cold. He felt around him for something to crawl under. Suddenly his hand shot back. He sidled away in horror, stumbling over something as he did 38 The Weber Literary Journal so. With the thought of a cellar filled with dead men he gave one loud shriek. There was a rush of feet outside and then a familiar voice called, "Who's down there?" "Oh offica is it you can ah b'lieve mah ears ? Chang has got me locked down heah. Please get me out o' this devil's hole," Rastus pleaded. "Really, Snowball, really is it you?" "An' ah has found a dead man it's it's Chuck Darrell his ol' self he's dead cold awful." The officer lifted up the grating and jumped down the hole himself. Rastus pointed in the direction of the corpse and then climbed to the window where he sat perched ready to fly. "It's him, all right. Snowball, do you know that thousand bones reward is just about as good as yours right now? How did you get down here anyhow? H'm I smell some o' that Chink's spirit snow h'm, got the goods on him at last;" he whispered. "Yes, offica, it's upstairs Chang's dope pawty, ah means." "Come on, Snowball, let's get out o' here. We'll let the chief tend to this an' then we'll run up to the Examiner office and collect the reward." The next day, Officer Daws and Rastus A. P. Johnson were seen talking to Wong-Lee, a patient in the East Side Central Hospital. "Ya say, doctaw, he'll be out in a day or two?" The doctor confirmed his previous statement. "Well, when he gits out, we got a s'prise for him." Wong-Lee looked up. "Heah is that five hundred bones reward imagine, Wong, yo can start a tea shack of yoah own." "Chang he kill me someday." remarked Wong, "Me cause him all harm because me take ancestor spirit ring and now he in jail." "No, he won't hawm yo yo jes stick to me. He's gwine to jail. Anyhow, mammy says we is gwine to sunny Georgia nex' week wheah they ain't nobuddy but niggahs and watah-melons an' you comin' along and Chang'll nevah find yo in the wide world. "Me come can me?" "Say, you lil heathen, jes' you leave it to Rastus." 39