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

zee Sam Ling was lonely one. He
had friends, of course, In plenty, and
relatives, too, for that matter, whom he
saw every day Of his life right on the
Mott street pavements. But Ling had
his own views on matrimony and he
didn't believe anybody could be happy
without wife. It was strange why he
should have suddenly taken on that be-
lief, for hadn't he lived fifteen years
away from his own foWery land? OF
course he had.
He first came to the Golden Hills and
went to work in the mines. but he
couldn't stand it, for he used to feel the
strange white devils at night punching
him in the back. That was because he
wasn't strong enough to do his share of
the work. So he gave his claim in the
Golden Hills to relative and travelled
across the continent to New York, curled
mp like mink on seat OF the smoking
car.
He was idle for awhile, and then he
started in to sell soap to the laundrymen,
until he finally got enough of the Amer
Jean mans cash to rent store. He put
out his red sign, with the huttering red
streamers on it to keep the evil ones
away, and he became merchant. That
was long while ago, when he came to
look back over it. Every night for years
he had crawled into his little bunk, cur-
tanned off at the back of the store, and
after comforting himself with the opium
he loved so we'll, he had fallen asleep, to
dream OF pretty Chinese girls tottering
on pink clouds across the water and
stretching their arms out to him.
He often thought of China and the
home life there, and he used to count the
money in his trunk and wonder when he
would have enough to go back and buy
q koon-foo's rank and wear cap with
the red button of the third degree.
Then, he thought, he would buy with
some of his money the prettiest girl In
the province, and she would have feet
so small that she couldn't walk at all
unless she had q strong servant holding
each hand.
He often played the lottery in the
hope that he would win, and he burned
prayer-sticks before his kat god that he
might have sluck, but he might just as
well have saved the sticks, for luck
never came, So persistentlY did he
lose that more than once he was tempted
to let one of the burning prayer-sticks
fall over against the god and burn it,
but he was afraid lest his deceit should
be discovered and the god seek just
revenge.
One day there came into his store q
white girl who lived on the top floor of
the tenement around the corner. She
1xslr II
to dig out of the Golden Hills.
Say, John, she said, @me mothers
run out O. soap, an she's up to her neck
In washin'. Gimme bar"
Ling was smitten with Q great love.
He remembered having seen this girl
go past his store many times, but he
never had such chance as this to
speak to her.
You nominee want sope?" he asked.
!" She washee?"
Yes; want er bar. an want 1t
quick"
ALE lite,' said Ling. and he clat-
tered behind the narrow counter and
pulled out from shelf two bars of
soap.
You takkee two," he said. @No
n'gant'sin, you takkee; you sabe2" and
he pushed the soap and the five pennies
she had laid down away from him.
Then he went on: Il lakkee you; you
heap nice. Lat you name?"
Gee, what graft. said the girl. So
get the sope fur muffin, do ], John
Well, me names Maggie Sullivan, if yer
wanter know.
Ling looked at her with admiring
eyes. Then he pointed to the soap and
pennies and said, simply:
You takkee. I heap lakkee you,
sabe? You clum 'glain ?"
Yes, / sabe, john" said the girl,
sand I'll come again.
So she went out, and Ling went to
the door and looked after her until she
had disappeared around the corner.
/ Then he went back behind the narrow
counter and sat down on stool. He
rested his elbows on pile of paper,
sunk his chin in his hands and thought
very hard. His thinking amounted to
something, for he went to the little
cubby room curtained of at the back Of
the store, and out Of the big camphor
wood chest he pulled some carefully
folded clothes. He was new man
when he came out into the store again,
and o couple of his countrymen, who
had dropped in to have friendly chat
and smoke, began to chat him.
His old cloth blouse, with the shiny
place on the back where his well-oiled
cue had hung, lay in heap on the
floor with his old pow-tai and coarse
trousers. Instead he wore clothes oil
hrnao,I nd dorIr hlun cil1 md his rand ! Il