Lemuel de Bra. Ways That Are Wary (1924) 303 pp.
A novella and eleven short stories set in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The title novella tells the story of Lee Quan, an artist who has been educated in an American college, who is in competition with a wealthy butcher, Bo Ch’at, for the hand of Ah Chee in marriage. Bo Ch’at, who really makes his money smuggling opium and dealing morphine, tries to gain the upper hand by planting drugs in Lee’s room and then calling the cops. Agent Harry Brown, leader of the narcotics squad, investigates and with the help of Ah Chee and one of Bo Ch’at’s hatchetmen—an opium addict who is related to Lee Quan and objects to framing him—gets to the bottom of the plot, but not before Bo Ch’at pays the ultimate price for his evil ways.
Setting: San Francisco (Chinatown)
Baird & Greenwood 620
Hubin