Adventure, December 3, 1920 — page 124: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

114 “Yes, they have their uses after all,”’ said the porter, still grinning. ‘‘What would you say now if I told you I was about to buy a sampan of my own?” And as his companions gazed at him in silent wonder he continued: “Yes, a fine new sampan with an awning of green and yellow matting; behind, a little garden on the deck, and in front a scarlet dragon whose imag is reflected in the water.” His companions continued to stare in wonder, secretly fearing for his reason; and as the little green bowls were long since empty they fol- lowed him into the street, too astonished even to question. Houling however presently drew them into an alleyway with mysterious nods and signs, Here two jutting wooden walls formed an angle into which he pushed his friends, at the same time effectually shutting out all view from the street with his broad back; and diving into his loin-cleth he produced a round shining object like a small cheese, only it was glittering gold and ticked gently. To the end of this object was attached a heavy chain also of gold and at the end of that on a shorter chain dangled a seal, a key and a little golden fish. It was a ae the watch of a White Devil! “My sampan,” laughed Hoiiling, showing his teeth, Then he again secreted the strange object in his loin-cloth and trotted off with the short stiff strides of a porter. At the mouth of the alley he once more faced about and cried— “When Kushan returns from the mountains with a bag of money he can lodge on my 3? sampan. . | THE two friends remained staring at £9 each other some moments longer, their BY mt hearts filled with envy; then the rice- cook, squinting at the sun’s position through his slits of eyes, considered it time to resume the cares of his occupation, so they sauntered down the main thoroughfare to his place of business. This consisted of a» rough fireplace of brick built directly in the road with a fine disregard for traffic, together with an old iron kettle, now upside down with legs pointing heavenward to indicate that for the present at least cus- tomers might look elsewhere. This kettle, together with the ragged and threadbare clothes on his back, constituted the sum total of Kushan’s worldly possessions; but even then he cooked the rice for those who were still poorer and had not even a pot to cook in. When ‘absent for any cause, the umbrella- mender, who occupied a tiny shed on the corner, kept an eye on the precious kettle, a service which was reciprocated on the part of the rice- cook by an eye on the umbrella-stand whenever its owner temporarily betook himself elsewhere. Adventure Here the two separated. Tong leisurely pursuing his way through the jostling, pushing throng. Was it the rice-brandy or the bright sunshine that made his head so clear, his thought so nimble—usually so sluggish? He felt exalted, lifted up as it were, and though a man of puny stature he seemed imbued with the strength of a giant. Some- thing was working within him, seeking for ex- pression, action, he knew not what. His thoughts returned to the doings of the White Devils and a vague feeling of resentment took possession of him and absorbed him so that he wandered as if in a dream. Suddenly he felt a violent push, and a volume of curses was showered upon him. He had unwittingly collided with a stout European clothed in spotless flannel—alas, no longer spot- less, for a great smudge of grimy coal-dust be- fouled its once immaculate surface. Tong had in all his thirty years been bred in dumb submission, submission to all above him, but doubly, trebly so to the white strangers. And yet now that he stood confronted by the irate and much feared gentleman something new quickened and stirred within him. He held his ground and answered back, yea, even cursed glibly in return. It would be difficult to say which of the two was more amazed at this unexpected resistance. But the stout gentleman, now furious at such unheard-of impudence, raised his cane to strike; yet his intention came to naught, for there was that in Tong’s blazing eye which bade discretion, The throng, which had stood still in wonder for an instant, presently moved on again, and Tong was quickly swept out of sight of the irate one, his feeling of strength and indepen- dence still further stimulated by the encounter. He had not held his ground through any will of his own, for he possessed none, but prompted by some alien force which controlled and dominated his personality. As he passed slowly along his attention was for a moment diverted by a street conjurer who stood on a small plat- form and entertained a gaping crowd. He was fantastically dressed, his face hidden by a hideous red mask, giving him the appear- ance of a demon or evil spirit, and as Tong gazed, it suddenly flashed upon him that this was ‘Ancestor Day” and a proper observation thereof was due to ghosts of the departed. He still possessed a few brass coins, the wage of his morning’s labor, and with these he wended his steps toward the Temple of the Seven Winds. He ascended the stairway and slipped into the interior, dark at any hour but doubly so after the bright sunshine without. On the walls he could just discern the glint of gold from the numerous ancestral portraits of the rich. Tong possessed no ancestral paint- ing; the ghosts of his forebears, together with ten thousand other spirits, dwelt in the park DOOKS (E@)