Found this EXTREMELY interesting:
http://adventuresfantastic.blogspot.com/2010/11/long-looks-at-short-fiction-skull-face.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull-Face
Adventure fantastic said:And it may well be that last ingredient which has made it less popular; I don't know. There is certainly a great deal said about RACE in the story, from more than one point of view. And Skull-Face, or The Master, or The Scorpion as he's also known, doesn't fit the traditional Yellow Peril mold completely. For one thing, Skull-Face isn't actually an oriental, but beyond that I'm not going to spoil the fun.
http://adventuresfantastic.blogspot.com/2010/11/long-looks-at-short-fiction-skull-face.html
Wikipedia said:Skull-Face is a story written by Robert E. Howard, which appeared as a serial in Weird Tales magazine, beginning in October 1929, and ending in December, 1929.[1] The story stars a character called Steve Costigan but this is not Howard's recurring character, Sailor Steve Costigan.
Wikipedia said:The story begins with Steve Costigan drearily waking in Yu Shantu's Temple of Dreams, a hashish den in the city of London, England. He has been re-occurring dreams of something he calls "Skull Face", and is puzzled about their meanings. He is broke, and in need of more hashish, the drug he is addicted to. When confronted by the doorman, Hassim, Costigan informs him of his lack of funds. Hassim promptly throws him out through the front door to the den. Bruised and bleeding, Costigan is helped to his feet by a young woman, Zulieka.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull-Face