Chester B. Fernald. The Cat and the Cherub
and Other Stories (1896) 250 pp.
A series of short stories set in San Francisco’s Chinatown, some of
which involve crime. In “The Gentleman in the Barrel,” wise, old Dr. Wing
Shee (with the assistance of American Snubby Taggerty) gets revenge on
his greedy landlord by infiltrating his tong and breaking up a counterfeiting
operation. In “The Man Who Lost His Head,” a poor laundryman plots to murder
a wealthy merchant and steal his wives; things do not go as planned. And,
in “The Pot of Frightful Doom,” Dr. Wing Shee rescues a young man, Sum
Chow, who has been kidnapped by the evil Sing Song Tong.
Hubin