The Boy Fortune Hunters in China E-Book

L. Frank Baum

• Herausgeber: L. Frank Baum
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

The Boy Fortune Hunters in China written by American author chiefly famous for his children's books L. Frank Baum. This book is one of many works by him.  Now republish in ebook format. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy reading this book.

Leseprobe

The Boy Fortune Hunters in China

By

L. Frank Baum

Table of Contents

FOREWORD

CHAPTER I.A SEA TRAGEDY.

CHAPTER II. PRINCE KAI LUN PU.

CHAPTER III.SMILING AT DEATH.

CHAPTER IV.A STARTLING PROPOSITION.

CHAPTER V.THE HALLS OF HIS ANCESTORS.

CHAPTER VI.“OLD DEATH’S-HEAD.”

CHAPTER VII. WE BECOME CONSPIRATORS.

CHAPTER VIII.DR. GAYLORD’S PROPOSAL.

CHAPTER IX. WE OUTWIT MAI LO.

CHAPTER X. AN UNHEEDED WARNING.

CHAPTER XI.AN UNEXPECTED DESERTION.

CHAPTER XII. MAI LO MAKES A DISCOVERY.

CHAPTER XIII.THE ELEPHANT TRAIN.

CHAPTER XIV.THE CHIEF EUNUCH.

CHAPTER XV.THE ROYAL HOUSE OF KAI.

CHAPTER XVI. THE GOVERNOR SHOWS HIS TEETH.

CHAPTER XVII. WI-TO PROVES FAITHFUL.

CHAPTER XVIII.THE SACRED APES OF KAI.

CHAPTER XIX.THE PEARL OF KAI-NONG.

CHAPTER XX.“THREE LITTLE MAIDS FROM SCHOOL.”

CHAPTER XXI.AN UNLAWFUL INTERVIEW.

CHAPTER XXII.THE SECRET PASSAGE.

CHAPTER XXIII.THE TREASURE OF THE ANCIENTS.

CHAPTER XXIV.THE ROYAL CABINET.

CHAPTER XXV. THE TRAP IS SPRUNG.

CHAPTER XXVI.A FEARFUL ENCOUNTER.

CHAPTER XXVII.THE BATTLE IN THE CORRIDOR.

CHAPTER XXVIII.THE VENGEANCE OF THE RUBY SCIMITAR.

CHAPTER XXIX.THE SEVERED HEAD.

CHAPTER XXX.THE POOL OF THE DEVIL-FISH.

FOREWORD

Those readers who have penetrated far into the Chinese Empire, as has the author, will be quick to discover that he has substituted for the name of the Thibetan Province one that will not be recognized.

The reasons for this are evident. Ancestor worship is still the prevailing creed of the most numerous class of Chinese, and a violation of the sanctity of any ancestral chih, or underground tomb, would naturally be resented if it disgraced a family so important as that of a royal prince of the realm.

The Chinese characters presented in the story are drawn from life. Prince Kai Lun Pu is a well-known type of the liberal-minded, educated young men who are the best guarantee of the future expansion of the Celestial Empire. The rule of the Chief Eunuch still dominates every palace in China, and even the efforts of the late Dowager Empress could not restrain the encroaching powers of these masterful creatures.

The manners and customs herein described will serve to acquaint those who have not visited China with some of the most curious traditions of that ancient race, while the adventures related, startling as they are, are fully within the bounds of possibility.

The Boy Fortune Hunters in China

CHAPTER I. A SEA TRAGEDY.

The sinking of the first-class passenger steamshipKaramata Maru in the neighborhood of Hawaii on June 17, 1908, has been the subject of so much newspaper comment that doubtless the reader imagines he knows all the circumstances connected with the fatal affair. But I have carefully read these newspaper reports and am astonished to find them quite perverted and unreliable, the result of carelessness or ignorance on the part of correspondents, the desire of officials to shield themselves from blame and the tendency of editors to amplify scant material into three-column articles with numerous “scare heads.”

I may well speak with authority in this connection, because it was our ship, the Seagull, which first arrived at the scene of the disaster and rescued the passengers and crew of the ill-fated Karamata Maru from their imminent peril So I shall tell you the story in my own way, as it has an important bearing on the extraordinary events that afterward took place—events which have led me to write this book, and place on record a series of adventures so remarkable as to have been seldom if ever equalled.

To begin with, I beg to introduce myself as Sam Steele, of Chelsea, Massachusetts, eighteen, years of age and filling the responsible position of purser and assistant supercargo on the trim little merchantman yacht, the Seagull. Indeed, I am one of the three owners of our ship, the others being my father, Captain Richard Steele, and my uncle, Naboth Perkins. My father is a seasoned and experienced seaman, who has sailed in nearly every navigable part of the world. My uncle is an expert trader and an honest man—a combination that accounts for his great success in his profession.