Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, MFR, Stephen Hutcheson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of South Florida and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Author of "The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska," "The Boy Fortune Hunters in Panama," "The Boy Fortune Hunters in Egypt"
CHICAGO THE REILLY & BRITTON CO. PUBLISHERS
Other Books in The Boy Fortune Hunters Series By FLOYD AKERS
The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska The Boy Fortune Hunters in Panama The Boy Fortune Hunters in Egypt
Cloth 12 mos. illustrated, 60 cents each.
COPYRIGHT 1909 BY THE REILLY & BRITTON CO.
CHAPTER PAGE I. A Sea Tragedy 11 II. Prince Kai Lun Pu 25 III. Smiling at Death 32 IV. A Startling Proposition 42 V. The Halls of His Ancestors 53 VI. "Old Death's-Head" 65 VII. We Become Conspirators 76 VIII. Dr. Gaylord's Proposal 86 IX. We Outwit Mai Lo. 93 X. An Unheeded Warning 102 XI. An Unexpected Desertion 112 XII. Mai Lo Makes a Discovery 121 XIII. The Elephant Train 131 XIV. The Chief Eunuch 139 XV. The Royal House of Kai 150 XVI. The Governor Shows His Teeth 156 XVII. Wi-to Proves Faithful 165 XVIII. The Sacred Apes of Kai 177 XIX. The Pearl of Kai-Nong 186 XX. "Three Little Maids from School" 199 XXI. An Unlawful Interview 210 XXII. The Secret Passage 220 XXIII. The Treasure of the Ancients 233 XXIV. The Royal Cabinet 244 XXV. The Trap is Sprung 256 XXVI. A Fearful Encounter 267 XXVII. The Battle in the Corridor 280 XXVIII. The Vengeance of the Ruby Scimitar 293 XXIX. The Severed Head 304 XXX. The Pool of the Devil-Fish 315
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.