Cargo of Coffins (12 page)

“
Chinwangtao
.”

“Up next to
Manchukuo
, right? What’s he own in Manchukuo?”

“I’m not certain.”

Jimmy smiled a swift smile. “Then he
does
own something. Why did—?”

“Wait, Mr. Vance. We’re wasting time here. I came up for just one reason. I came here to see Jimmy Vance to offer him a job. I’ve been told and I know for myself that if anyone can find George Harley Rockham and do the job quickly, it would be Jimmy Vance. Speed is your name.”

“Why speed?”

The girl’s voice was low and earnest, “Because Rockham isn’t as steady as a rock the way the advertisements read. He holds his industrial empire together with one finger, but when that finger slips . . .” She reached into her handbag and threw a cable report of stocks on Wall Street on Jimmy’s typewriter keys.

“See those stocks?” she said, tensely. “They’ve lost points! And Rockham isn’t here. Because he’s gone, they’re selling him out. If we don’t find him in four days and tell the world he’s safe, George Harley Rockham will be on the relief rolls. That’s not for publication, Mr. Vance. That’s truth. We’ve
got
to find him!”

To find out more about
Loot of the Shanung
and how you can obtain your copy, go to
www.goldenagestories.com
.

Glossary

S
TORIES FROM THE
G
OLDEN
A
GE
reflect the words and expressions used in the 1930s and 1940s, adding unique flavor and authenticity to the tales. While a character’s speech may often reflect regional origins, it also can convey attitudes common in the day. So that readers can better grasp such cultural and historical terms, uncommon words or expressions of the era, the following glossary has been provided.

afterdeck:
the part of the ship’s deck between the midships section and the stern.

Alphonse XIII:
(1886–1941) king of Spain from 1886–1931.

anchorage:
that portion of a harbor, or area outside a harbor, suitable for anchoring, or in which ships are permitted to anchor.

Aragon:
a region and former kingdom of northeast Spain.

bales:
large bundles or packages prepared for shipping, storage, etc.

bandolier:
a broad belt worn over the shoulder by soldiers and having a number of small loops or pockets for holding cartridges.

bearder:
one who boldly confronts or challenges (someone formidable).

before the mast:
the forward part of the ship, where common sailors have their quarters.

bells:
the strokes on a ship’s bell, every half-hour, to mark the passage of time.

benj:
(Persian) marijuana; also called
bhang;
in one of the stories of
The Arabian Nights,
it is used to drug a wine, producing a deathlike sleep.

Bias Bay:
body of water off the coast of China, fifty miles northeast of Hong Kong, and notorious as a base of operations for Chinese pirates.

binnacle:
a built-in housing for a ship’s compass.

blackguard:
a man who behaves in a dishonorable or contemptible way.

book:
(cards) in bridge, the number of tricks (usually six) that a side must win before it can score by winning subsequent tricks.

bridge wing:
a narrow walkway extending outward from both sides of a pilothouse to the full width of a ship.

Burma:
country in southeast Asia on the Bay of Bengal now known as Myanmar.

Canary Islands:
a group of islands off the northwestern coast of Africa belonging to Spain.

Cape Frio:
coastal city in Brazil located in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Carioca Range:
a small coastal mountain range running east to west through the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Casablanca:
a seaport on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.

Cayenne:
a seaport and the capital of French Guiana. It was the location of a French penal settlement from 1854 to 1938 and was known as
la guillotine sèche
or
the dry guillotine.
Devil's Island, another French penal colony at that time, was located nearby.

cayman:
a reptile related to the alligator but smaller and slimmer and with a proportionally longer tail. Native to tropical America.

Chinwangtao:
port city of northwest China on the Bo Hai Sea, an inlet of the Yellow Sea, 186 miles (300 km) east of Beijing. It was formerly a treaty port where foreign trade was allowed.

clipper:
a sailing ship built and rigged for speed, especially a type of three-masted ship. Used in trade winds in which speed was more important than cargo capacity.

coasting:
sailing along or near a coast, or running between ports along a coast. A coasting vessel is employed in trade by water between neighboring ports of the same country, as distinguished from foreign trade or trade involving long voyages.

Coast Pilot:
official publication giving descriptions of particular sections of a coast and usually sailing directions for coastal navigation.

Cossack jacket:
cherkeska;
a military coatlike garment with silver cartridges lined across the chest. The cartridges are a reminder of the times when the Cossacks were armed with muzzle-loading guns. At that time, each cartridge contained enough gunpowder for one shot. When breech-loading weapons came into use, the holders were retained as part of the costume.

de Milo:
Venus de Milo; famous Greek sculpture of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty.

Devil’s Island:
an island in the Caribbean Sea off French Guiana and location of a notorious French penal colony, opened in 1854 and closed in 1946. Used by France, its inmates were everything from political prisoners to the most hardened of thieves and murderers. Conditions were harsh and many prisoners sent there were never seen again. Few convicts ever managed to escape.

dodger:
a canvas or wood screen to provide protection from ocean spray on a ship.

drill:
a strong, twilled cotton fabric.

dynamo:
a machine by which mechanical energy is changed into electrical energy; a generator.

ennui:
a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from a lack of interest; boredom.

fidley:
an area above ship boilers designed for the intake of fresh air. Fidley grates prevent people or objects from falling into the boiler room.

five-spot:
a five-dollar bill.

flotsam:
vagrant, usually destitute people.

fo’c’s’le head:
forecastle head; the part of the upper deck of a ship at the front. The forecastle is the front of a ship, from the name of the raised castlelike deck on some early sailing vessels, built to overlook and control the enemy’s deck.

French Guiana:
a French colony of northeast South America on the Atlantic Ocean, established in the nineteenth century and known for its penal colonies (now closed). Cayenne is the capital and the largest city.

gangway:
a narrow, movable platform or ramp forming a bridge by which to board or leave a ship.

Gávea:
peak in Rio de Janeiro located by the sea between two beaches and rising 2,762 feet above sea level.

G-men:
government men; agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Grand Banks:
shallow section of the Atlantic Ocean off southeastern Canada that is an important fishing region. The mixing of cold and warm water currents and the relative shallowness of the water has made this one of the richest international fishing grounds in the world.

gumshoes:
sneakers or rubber overshoes.

hawser:
a thick rope or cable for mooring or towing a ship.

hooker:
an older vessel, usually a cargo boat.

Hunchback:
peak in Rio de Janeiro, on top of which stands the famous statue of Jesus Christ that watches over the city.

Indochina:
the former French colonial empire in southeast Asia, including much of the eastern part of the Indochinese peninsula (now Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia). French influence extended from roughly 1862 through 1954.

Jacob’s ladder:
a hanging ladder having ropes or chains supporting wooden or metal rungs or steps.

knot:
a unit of speed, equal to one nautical mile, or about 1.15 miles, per hour.

lighters:
large open flat-bottomed barges, used in loading and unloading ships offshore or in transporting goods for short distances in shallow waters.

Manchukuo:
a former state of eastern Asia in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia. In 1932 it was established as a puppet state (a country that is nominally independent, but in reality is under the control of another power) after the Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931. It was returned to the Chinese government in 1945.

Mannlicher:
a type of rifle equipped with a manually operated sliding bolt for loading cartridges for firing, as opposed to the more common rotating bolt of other rifles. Mannlicher rifles were considered reasonably strong and accurate.

Mann-Scho:
Mannlicher-Schoenauer; a rifle introduced in 1903 that proved very popular with big-game hunters worldwide. Its main feature was the use of a magazine that automatically rotated the rounds into the feeding position while the gun was being fired.