This story by William P. McGivern, published in 1946 in Mammoth Adventure, inspired a magazine cover which in turn provided the cover art for this anthology. This is yet another adventure story that, like the vast majority of pulps, is competently constructed yet forgettable. Nonetheless, it appears in this collection as an example of a type, and it serves that purpose well.
The story involves some espionage and intrigue: The narrator, a regular at a bar in Shanghai, receives a parcel from the bar’s owner shortly before that owner is murdered. He soon after encounters an alluringly exotic beauty before he and she are both targeted by spies who are willing to kill them for the package our narrator carries. A humorous character introduced at the story’s beginning becomes key to the climax and resolution.
The construction is generally competent and, again, workmanlike, even if the tale offers nothing particularly original. The exotic setting adds flavor but has no particular bearing on the plot—simply change the names and the specific political situation, and this same story could be played out anywhere. It is in this anthology largely because it represents an example of adventure stories set in the far east.
Our editor warned at the beginning that the stories here were chosen to be representative rather than for quality. Although nothing in the collection is truly bad, this is another story that is not a standout.
