I told of what I had seen.
"Highbinders," said the policeman. "I thought it was time they was breakin' out again. Oh, murther, but there'll be killin' over this before the day's at an end. Hullo! what's this?"
An old Chinaman came forward at this moment, wringing his hands and chattering like a monkey. His face was stricken with signs of heart-breaking woe.
"He says it was his daughter," said the other policeman.
"Yes--all same daughtah--my gell--you sabby?" wailed the old man. "She go down store one minute all 'long boy--all same my boy--you sabby? One man come, say 'you come 'long me.' She heap cly. Boy heap cly. Two men come 'long--catch gell--so. One man hit boy 'long side head. Tlee, fo' men thlow cloth over gell's head--she no cly no mo'. Tlee, fo', fi' men take gell. Boy lun home. All same I sabby no mo'. Gell all steal." And the old man wrung his hands with mournful cries.
"H-m! the old girl-stealing trick of the highbinders," said the first policeman, whom I took to be a sergeant of the force.
"Does he suspect anybody?" I asked.
The old man caught the idea.
"Maybe--I no know," he cried. "One day two men come. All same they say heap like my gell. I say no got gell. One man say all same give me t'ousand dolla'. I say I no want t'ousand dolla'. Othe' man he say twel' hund' dolla'. I say all same I no want twel' hund' dolla'. Two men say bad word, all same Clistian, you sabby?"
"What men were they?" asked the sergeant.