 | #081 "The Fate Joss"
Vol. 14, No. 3 Published: 07/01/35 Submitted: 01/18/35 under the same title Author: Walter Gibson Review date: Jan 03, 2003 |
THE FATE JOSS was originally published in the July 1, 1935 issue of The Shadow Magazine. The Fate Joss is a huge half-ton statue; an idol made of gold and bronze, encrusted with clusters of garnets and other valuable gems. Stolen from China, The Fate Joss has been removed from the old temple of Je Ho on the border of Manchukuo, carried thousands of miles across the sea and brought to America. Along with it came the two War Dogs; a couple of strange-looking cannons that always accompany the Fate Joss and were taken along with it.
The Chinese believe that the Fate Joss is in charge of its own fate. Nothing happens to it, that it doesn't want to happen. If the statue wants to be taken to America, thieves will steal it from the Chinese temple and spirit it off to America. If the Fate Joss wants to be taken back to China, something will occur to make that happen, too. If the Fate Joss is stolen, it's because the idol itself has willed it. It chooses its own destiny.
As our story opens, The Shadow is stealthily making his way through Chinatown. Mystery is afoot, and he's on his way to see the famed Yat Soon, the arbiter of Chinatown. The Shadow has been here before, in "Gray Fist" and "The Chinese Disks." He knows his way through the twisty underground maze that leads to Yat Soon's secret chambers. He has come to see Yat Soon about the rumors that The Fate Joss is in New York.
The Shadow presents Yat Soon with a note written on rice paper. It is from General Cho Tsing, a man whom The Shadow has helped in the past, and who now appeals to him once again. He wishes to reopen the temple of Je Ho, but cannot do so until the Fate Joss is returned to its rightful place. Yat Soon is also a friend of General Tsing and recognizes his legitimate claim. So the artiber of Chinatown gives The Shadow what information he possesses.
The Fate Joss has been brought to America by a man named Chichester Laudring. He was seen in San Francisco, then later in Chicago. More recently, a different man by the name of Raymond Roucard has been making inquiries in New York's Chinatown. He seeks those who might wish to possess the Fate Joss. This is all that Yat Soon knows. It's up to The Shadow to take it from there.
And so he does, in this wild and wonderful mystery. The Shadow must find the statue and return it to its rightful owners. To do so, he must encounter Shan Kwan, the Mandarin who has purchased the Fate Joss from Raymond Roucard for fifty thousand dollars in cash. Shan Kwan seeks to reclaim the Fate Joss and return it to China. Opposed to Shan Kwan are the purposes of another Chinaman, Doctor Roy Tam. And between them is Yat Soon, the artibter of Chinatown.
In this story, we meet, for the first time, Dr. Roy Tam. For those of you who have read of Dr. Roy Tam in later stories, you'll find the next two paragraphs of interest. Those of you who haven't encountered this character before should skip the next three paragraphs, or much of the enjoyment of the story will be spoiled for you.
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You know Dr. Roy Tam from other Shadow novels. You know he is a friend of The Shadow; he's one of the good guys. But in this introductory novel, Walter Gibson tricks the reader into believing Tam is a villain. It is only at the end of the story that the reader discovers his error, and realizes that Dr. Tam has been working on the side of right the entire time.
Knowing this as I began to read the story, it was interesting to see how Gibson tricks the reader. Everything that Dr. Tam says or does is subject to interpretation. The obvious interpretation is that Dr. Tam is an evil warlord trying to aquire a fortune and seize the Fate Joss for himself. But if you look at his words and deeds carefully, you'll see that there is a second more innocent interpretation. It's quite unique, the way Gibson cleverly manipulates the reader with all the double-meaning.
It's a technique he used several other times in other Shadow novels to introduce continuing characters.
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In this story, The Shadow is referred to as "Ying Ko" for the very first time. Although there had been previous sojourns into Chinatown by The Shadow, he had never before been called by his Chinese name, Ying Ko. In this story, it's explained that in his letter, General Cho Tsing addresses The Shadow as Ying Ko, which means The Shadow. From this point on, all Chinese started addressing him as Ying Ko as well.
The Shadow appears briefly as Lamont Cranston in our story. He also appears in a special disguise, as a tall Chinese. A disguise good enough to fool other Chinese, we're told. Also appearing in this story is Detective Joe Cardona, representing the law, and nearly all of The Shadow's agents. Clyde Burke, Harry Vincent, Cliff Marsland, Hawkeye, Jericho Druke, Burbank and Rutledge Mann are all present and accounted for. The only conspicuous absence is taxicab driver extrordinaire, Moe Shrevnitz.
A few notes of interest. Again, as in other Chinatown stories, we are told that Chinese carry their guns with an empty chamber beneath the hammers. This, apparently, was a safety measure they preferred to use. I have no idea if, in reality, this was truely a practice of the Chinese. But it's been repeated in other Shadow novels often enough that it gives one pause to wonder.
That mysterious purplish liquid makes another appearance, here. In a weakened condition, The Shadow pulls a tiny vial (or phial, as it's spelled here) from beneath his cloak and quaffs the purplish liquid therein. The strange elixir gives him immediate vigor. Today, would the FDA approve such a suspicious potion? I think not...
And speaking of phials, there's some greenish phials in this story as well. Harry Vincent and Cliff Marsland are made to drink from these greenish phials so as to take "the long sleep." It's a unique Chinese concoction that I won't describe further, because I don't want to spoil the story for you.
Yat Soon gives The Shadow a curious signet ring bearing a Chinese character in this story. It is to serve as a means of identification to one of Yat Soon's followers. I've always wondered why, in stories such as these, a ring is given as a means of identification. Wouldn't a simple note do as well? A few words like, "This guy is OK. (signed) Yat Soon" would certainly accomplish the same thing, and be a heck of a lot cheaper.
But enough picking of nits. This is a wonderfully exciting Chinatown adventure of The Shadow. And the concept of the Fate Joss is quite unique. An interesting concept of fate, destiny and self-determination.