Sturgis advertiser. (Sturgis, Dakota [S.D.]) 1887-1???, 1891-08-20

picked at the guilt buttons on his
blouse. bling You nice close, heap
nice, you sabe? Makkee you nice CLOSE,
you dIess heap nice, sabe2 You mally
me. You hab heap money
Marry yon, John? Well, / guess
not. Me old woman would pull the
pig-tail out of your head if she heard
You maxim any breaks like that.
You mally me bimeby, said Ling,
as though he felt sure he would win.
SO long, John, she said, as she
went out munching the candy. That
was the first Of the queer ycourtship. lit
struck Maggie seriously, and She
thought she might do worse. Il don't
know but what I'll marry the Chink,
she said to herself. It'll get all ther
clothes an money I want, an I'll be the
boss, you can bet.
There was cat which used to- sleep
under Ling's counter. She grew fat on
the scraps Of chow-chop-suey and chue-
yunk which fell from the table. and alto
gether lived life OF peace. But the
day Ling proposed to Maggie Sullivan
the cats manner changed. Instead of
sleeping under the counter half the day
she took to walking on the counter,
mewing uneasily in wailing voice,
which filled the room with a distressful
sound.
Then she would pause in her walk,
and, sitting on her launches, glare at
Ling with staring eyes. Once or twice
he drove her away, but she came back
and glared until her eyes turned from
green to purple. Once he struck her
with his bamboo t'uung, and she re-
treated TO o high shelf and watched
him.
aThe evil one possessed her." said
Ling and he burned more prayer sticks
before his kashat Josh, but the walking
of the cat never ceased. She crept
under Ling's bed that night and
scratched at the mating on the floor;
she paraded the little room, aud her
big. shining eyes seemed to light MP
the dark place. From that night the
cat was never at rest, and Ling became
so stricken with silent terror that he
would go out into the street rather than
cross her path.
He forgot about the cat couple of
days later, when Maggie Sullivan came
in. She was better dressed than usual.
Hello, John, she began, / had a
row with the old woman, and I've elm
out. I'm dead sick of gittin' jumped on.
Now, If you want'er marry me on Their
square I'm with you, but / don't want
any funny business in mine.
You mally me?" asked Ling, while
smile crept over his face. @Allee lite, I
mally you.
"But I'll tell you, john" the girl
went on, you've got to cut that pig-tail
off and wear citizens clothes. You got
to be pretty near white man. You
got to be as white as clothes kin make
you, an you got to treat me white, too,
or I'll shake you"
Ling didn't want to lose his cue, and
he fought against what he considered q
sacrilege, but he found Maggie relent-
less.
II curl him up, 80, he said, as he
twisted it about his head, en- puttee
on HAT, So" and he pulled an old SLOUGH
hat down over his head, an nobledy
slice him, hal"
No. even that wouldn't do, and Mag
gle went away saying: I'm goin' up to
lady friends o. mine ter stay ter mite,
John, an I'll see you to-morrer, an if
ther pig-tail don't go don't git married,
see?"
Ling didn't quite see, but he thought
a lot. He thought Maggie was the
prettiest girl he had ever seen. There
was nothing chan about her. She had
fine blue eyes, trim figure and shock
of golden hair that attracted the China
man. The old cat jumped on the coun-
ter and howled and stared at him, and
he went out to get away from those
green eyes. He went to the Joss
house and burned thirty cents worth of
prayer sticks and paper. He made up
his mind quickly after that, and almost
ran down the dark, creaking steps and
across the way to where the taP-tou'-lo
lived and did business.
"Take off this thing" he said when
he sat down on the stool in front of the
little razors and scissors.
What" said the barber, ARE you
crazy, or have the foreign devils got
you, too?"
"Cut it off, | tell you. Are you not
here TO do such work as this?"
mo, that is wrong. / know your
mother. What would she say il I did
it? Her curses would come to me as
| well as to you, unworthy son."
Ling ran out while his courage lasted.
He went to q Kwang tung man who
lived near Pell street and had no cue.
@Cut this thing off," he said. he
did not need to beg this time.
sHa, ha, laughed the Kwang-tung
man, you are going TO be one of us,
good, and he picked up big pair OF
shears. Snip. and Ling's cue was gone,
cut close to his head. Out Ling ran,
leaving his cue behind him. He went
into his store and sat down to think,
when up jumped the cat. Her eyes were
| yellow this time and she howled mourn
fully.
Get away. you evil thing" and he
pushed her off with stick. He did not
sleep that night. He dreamed strange
| things and saw strange sights; he
| thought of his home in far-off China,
and of his mother and the little Chinese
maidens whom he had known before be
| came to the new country. He smoked
| and saw faces in the clouds. In the
morning his eyes were heavy and red
with opium, and he let his hired man
| do all the work. He lay in his cubby
bunk and smoked the opium until he
heard voice. It sounded as if it came
from great distance. 1t said:
| Hello. where's the boss? In the
back room? All right.
The curtains were pulled back and
Maggie Sullivan came in.
0IIs+t.,s Ahor Y.s,on CHI WILL that's