Adventure Magazine Cover

Three Thieves by Charles Gilson is an adventure tale set in China centered on the pursuit of a rare artifact. Dr. Arthur Hungerford, a scholar-historian in Kweifong, discovers a picture of the Tsin seal—a green jade tortoise seal from two thousand years ago—in an ancient Chinese book. He offers payment for the original artifact. Tatar merchant Yuan-shi-wen agrees to locate it, offering to sell it for four thousand dollars. Yuan-shi-wen contracts with Taoist priest Yang-wu at Wei-hei-wei for six hundred dollars to retrieve the seal from the Blue Temple monastery. A pirate named Tung-li overhears their negotiation and forces Yang-wu into partnership, demanding half the profit. Yang-wu travels to the Blue Temple, gains access, and steals the seal from a devil-temple within the monastery before fleeing. The narrative establishes a three-way scheme involving deception and theft surrounding the artifact's acquisition.