Josephine

Chapter Three:   Josephine

The two brothers managed to loose the men from the ship in the crowd and soon returned to their junk to contemplate their next move. They were more determined then ever to possess the red angel. If they could not bargain for her they would steal her. Sooner or later she would leave the ship or they would leave her unguarded either way the brothers would find a way to capture her. They sat on the dock and took turns watching the ship, just as a cat watches a mouse in the corner of a room, waiting to pounce. They didn't have to wait long for the next morning Eugene left the ship with his daughter in tow. Eugene called to one of the rickshaw drivers on the street and away they went. The pair did not notice as the brothers jumped into the vehicle behind them. Several blocks away Eugene and Josephine disembarked from the rickshaw followed, unseen, by the brothers.

Delighted by the ride, Josephine exclaimed, "That was fun. I think we should have those to travel in at home."
"We'll see what we can do," laughed her father. He took her hand as they walked down the street together. "I want you to stay really close to me do you hear?" said Eugene.
"Yes, Daddy," answered Josephine.

Together they went into several different stores filled with all manner of pretty things, there was china and glass and vases made from something that sounded to Josephine's young ears like "clothes and hay." She liked the tall blue and white porcelain vases the best. "Look Daddy they are tall enough for me to hide in," she said.

Eugene smiled, "If you climbed into one of those you wouldn't be able to climb out."
"Maybe not, but they sure are big and pretty," she said.
"You can add three pairs of those jardinieres to my order." said Eugene.
The clerk bowed to Eugene. ‘Yes, Sir, Mr. St. John," he smiled.

The next store was dark and smelled funny so Josephine stayed by the front. The whole opening of the stall which made up the store was open to the street. In the corner Josephine spied a large jar of what appeared to be candy. Forgetting her father's warning to stay close, she walked over to the jar. She lifted the lid to see what was inside. Just then Josephine heard a strange hissing noise, "pssst, pssst!" she looked up to see a man in a pointed hat standing just outside the front of the store. He was beckoning her to come closer. He held in his hand a brightly colored bird. She walked over to the man to look at the bird. Suddenly from behind, someone put something over her nose and face. She tried to scream, but she felt too tired, she could see clouds, flowers, and the little bird the stranger held in his hand. The little bird flew away in a burst of color, and then everything went dark.

Eugene called out for his daughter. When he got no answer, he went quite mad screaming and smashing things, over turning tables and carts. Nobody in the crowd could understand what he was yelling but they knew he must have lost something very valuable. Finally, the one of the clerks from the store where Eugene had been doing business came out to help. In English he asked, "What was the problem?" Eugene told him that his daughter was missing. The clerk asked the crowd which had gathered if anyone had seen anything. The crowd buzzed like a nest of hornets when poked by a stick. They shook their heads and talked all at once. No one had seen a trace of the young red headed girl. The clerk suggested that they return to Eugene’s ship to enlist the help of his crew to find Josephine.

All the way back to the ship all Eugene could think was, "My God, my God’ what am I going to tell her mother!
Eugene arrived back at his ship amid a great deal of activity. He rang the ship’s bell to summon his men from wherever they might be. Eugene explained what had happened and that he would give one hundred dollars to the person or persons who found his missing daughter.

One of the sailors, a man named Davis, stepped forward and told him about the two men who had tried to trade opium for the little girl and then threatened the old woman who traded spices when they didn’t get their way.
"Me and Williams here had to jump off the boat onto the dock to chase them away," said Davis.
‘Where did they run to?" asked Eugene.
"I don’t know," answered the sailor, "We lost them in the crowd, but later that day we thought we saw them get on an old junk with red sails."
"Damn it," swore Eugene. "Anytime, anything happens which involves my daughter I want to be told, no matter how trivial, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Have you seen that junk around here since yesterday?’ asked Eugene.
"Yes, sir, it was still here late this morning, I remember seeing it when I was on watch, it kind of stuck out because there was a yellow banner flying from one of the sails."
"Well, if they are onboard the junk they can't have gotten far there is no wind."
A sailor came running form the other side of the ship, "Sir, there at the mouth of the harbor there is a boat with red sails."

Eugene ran to the other side of the boat and grabbed the spyglass from the man standing there. He scanned the horizon. There, not too far in the distance sitting motionless in the eerily still waters, sat a junk with red sails, ribbons of lifeless yellow silk hung limp, from her masts, like wilted flowers in the stagnate late afternoon air. The men on board appeared to be trying to move the ship by rowing it.

"Hawkins, you launch the dory, get Davis, Williams, and four other of the strongest rowers we have. I’m going to get my pistol. Go, now!" ordered Eugene.
Within minutes the dory had been launched and its crew were rowing quickly in the direction of the junk. Fortunately, even though storm clouds had begun to appear on the horizon, there was still not the slightest breeze stirring and there was no current running through the harbor. Eugene sat at the bow of the dory, helping the other men row in the direction of the junk. They gained quickly on the ship. When there were close enough to be heard, Eugene called out in mandarin, "Stop, stop where you are."

There was no response from the men on the ship. Eugene called out to them again. The men on the junk took their oars out of the water and went to the center of the boat one of the men came back to the edge of the junk and pointed something in the direction of the dory.
"Look out he’s got a gun," shouted Davis.

Believing that they were about to be fired upon Eugene aimed his gun and fired. The bullet must have grazed the man for he dropped what he was holding and spun around as he grabbed his arm. Two men stood up holding something which the men on the dory could not identify. They threw it into the water with a loud splash. Suddenly a powerful gust of wind came from the clouds on the heels of the dory, it filled the sails of the junk and the boat began to move.
"Hurry they’ll get away!" yelled Eugene.