It looks like cover artist Remington Schuyler has his Yellow Perils mixed up. It should be a Japanese popping out of
Short Stories' red-sun icon, but Robert Carse has written something called "Tong of Death" so a Chinese it must be. I'm willing to try anything by Carse but Chinatown stuff seems like it might be outside his comfort zone. It was a tricky proposition for anyone because the temptation always was to write Chinese characters all alike, or else in one of three modes: inarticulate coolie (the worst writers replace every
r with an
l for this type), hyper-articulate but stereotypically formal (e.g. "This dishonorable person is unworthy of your attention."), or westernized Number One Son type. Carse clearly is the star of the issue, while Charles Alden Seltzer was a veteran western writer and Cliff Farrell was in his sports period before becoming a western specialist himself. South Sea novelette writer Herman Peterson was popular enough to merit a cover mention, but I don't believe I've read anything by him. The other contributors are Hal Davenport, Carmony Gove, Paul Hosmer (about whom
see Sai S. at Pulpflakes), Carlysle G. Raht, Walter Snow and Dex Volney.
Short Stories may not have been
Adventure, but I'd guess that any issue's lineup of authors was as trustworthy as that for its twice-a-month rival.
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