Chapter 7: Candy is rescued

A young Chinese boy who was carrying fish from the ship saw the men and the lady. He had been told to keep an eye on what was happening. When he saw that they had tied her to the ship's wheel, he waited until they were gone. He put his fish down on the side of the pier and quietly slipped into the cold salt water. He swam over to the lady and cut the ropes off, she was conscious enough to know what was happening and she swam with him until they were under the pier. The ship had weighed Anchor and was heading out of the port. She saw how the wheel she had been tied to dipped several times under the water. She knew she would have been dead if this boy had not rescued her. After sitting for a while to catch her breath, she said:

"Thank you! What is your name?"

"I am Chin Sun, my father is Lin Sun and my mother is Toy Quan. They have told me a lot about you. You are even more beautiful than they say. I like you. After we rest, I will take you back to the Chinatown!"

"What about my friends? Are they safe?" she asked

"I don't know. But if we wait they will find you again. It is dark enough now. We need to hurry, follow me!" He stood up and started to walk toward a hollow shape. She followed; it was a tunnel used for sewage. Candy wrinkled her nose and Chin smiled.

"The pretty lady is not used to these conditions!" he thought as he guided her towards the other end of the tunnel. Once they reached the other end, he took her hand and led her through darkened streets. When he came to the shop he went around the back and knocked on the door three times. The door was opened, and they went in.

Candy had a hard time adjusting her eyes to the light. When she saw Jason and Joshua she started to cry. Toy came over and hugged her and sat her down.

"Candy, oh Candy, I am so glad you are alive!" Toy said as she hugged her again. "I will bring you some tea. You need refreshment!" she said and went into the kitchen to get the tea.

"Candy, do you know where Jeremy is?" Jason asked. Candy smiled weakly and said:

"We were taken to a warehouse. Jeremy and I were tied up. They put a helmet and blindfold on him so he could not hear anything. They gagged Aurora worried that she would hypnotize them with her singing." Candy said

"How did you escape?" Joshua asked gently

"I managed to get my ropes undone, maybe they thought I was too weak to do anything. I was not gagged just tied, so when they were undone, I yelled at Aurora to write 'no' on the paper, and they slapped my face. I fell on the floor and then they picked me up and took me outside and tied me to a ship wheel in the water!" Candy said. Toy brought the tea in and gave her some tea.

"Did you hear anything, why did they kidnap you?" Jason asked. Toy looked at Jason and said:

"Give her some time. She needs to drink some tea!" Jason backed off and Joshua said:

"Watch out for that tea, it makes you sleepy!" He smiled and he was glad Candy was safe but now they needed to find out about Jeremy and Aurora.

"Before they took me out, I saw that Aurora's gag came off and she was about to start to sing when the horrid man punched her in the jaw! She was knocked unconscious, then they took me out, I looked at Jeremy, but he was still blindfolded and did not see me! I was tied to that wheel and if your son, had not found me, I would have been dead by now. Thank you Chin!" Candy said to Chin. Toy was proud of her son and said so to him:

"Chin, thank you. Now, you need to go back to your post. Did you bring the fish you caught home?" Toy asked but Chin said:

"I forgot it, but I will go get it now." He said as he was going out the door. He took the same way back and found where he had left the fish. But he heard voices and so he crouched low and listened.

"The coach will be here soon. We will be moving the prisoners shortly!" The ugly man said to his henchmen. The lady will be left untied, but her mouth will be gagged. The man, will be gagged and his hands will be tied as well. We need him to get her cooperation!"

"Yes Boss!" The men said as the coach pulled up and they brought the man and lady out. The ugly man had the lady carried onto the coach. The driver had been paid well not to look or listen. Chin waited quietly until the coach started to move. He jumped on the back and hung on. They went through the streets past Chinatown, to another part of the bay, where there were ships and shanty's and saloons. When they arrived, they carried the lady out of the coach, pulled Jeremy out and then went into a shabby hotel. One that was most frequented by such as murderers, crimpers, thieves, and the like. They carried the lady up to a suite of rooms that the ugly man had rented. Jeremy was placed in a basement room with one door and no window. He was untied and found that there was a cot which actually had been taken over by the local rat population.

Chin Sun, dropped off about a block away from where the coach had stopped, he saw where they had taken them. He looked for another way back to Chinatown. He saw another coach leaving but just as he was about to hitch a ride he was grabbed from behind.

"Hey, you want a job, rat!" A man with almost no teeth and one eye said to him.

"Ah, not really, I am lost!" Chin said hoping the man would let him go but he said to him:

"Well, ye got one you scurvy bilge rat! You are my cabin boy!" With that, the man picked him up and practically carried him by the seat of his pants to an old wooden tub that looked worse off than the other ships nearby.

Chin found himself on a ship, that had once been a mule boat. He was in the bottom of the ship behind bars. When the ships captain came to see him Chin was not happy.

"I see by yer look that you are not happy with me!" The same man who had looked all dirty and not teeth was now cleaned up and ready to sail. Chin kept his mouth shut, he did not know who this was and he was wondering what he should do now.

"Me, name is Captain Clancy, and I am here on official business in trying to locate some friends of mine! Would ye happen to know of a Jeremy Bolt and Candy Bolt?" he asked. Chin beamed, he remembered who Captain Clancy was and knew that he was going to be able to help.

"I sure do, they just took them into the Oldtimers's Saloon. The lady is upstairs in a suite of rooms and the young man is down in the basement!" Captain Clancy was overjoyed; he had found Candy and Jeremy. When Jason and Joshua had come out to San Francisco worried about Jeremy and Candy, he had stayed to find out information. He also knew Chin, who did not realize this until Clancy said;

"Your parents might be Lin and Toy?"

"Yes, how did you know!"

"Did your parents ever talk about me to you?"

"Yes, but I forgot that you were the one to help find Joshua in Chinatown?"

"Aye I was laddie. Now, we have got to rescue Jeremy and Candy…"

"She is not Candy, she is Aurora, Candy is safe in Chinatown waiting with Jason and Joshua and my parents."

"Is that so? Well, what have you learned about what they are planning to do with them?" Chin looked at Captain Clancy. He wondered if they should not let Jason and Joshua know.

Captain Clancy, can we send a wire or something to my parents to let them know what is happening, we may need to get reinforcements?" Chin Sun said. Captain Clancy said yes. But tell me first, if you go about town, they will know who you are and you may end up getting caught again. I can walk around pretty much without a problem." Chin said Okay to Captain Clancy and told him everything. Clancy went to the telegraph office and sent the telegram. Someone who was working in the back room heard who he was sending the telegram to and immediately left to give the message to the ugly man.

As Captain Clancy came out of the telegraph office, he was hit from behind and taken to a skiff, which was then set afloat, to drift. When Clancy woke up he was very worried. Until he saw another skiff, with someone on it with a stick to steer.

"Clancy, I am glad I found you. I followed you to make sure you were safe. Lets get back to the boat and sail away to San Francisco port!" said Chin. Clancy was happy to see Chin and they made it back to his ship and set sail for the port of San Francisco.

They docked near the same warehouse where Chin had left his fish. He picked up the fish and they went to Chinatown.

"What took you so long son?" Asked Lin.

"I brought a friend home!" He said smiling then held up the bag of fish and tugged Clancy into the light.