Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1892-10-13
MRS. GORDON AMAH
STORY OF THE CHINESE RIOTS.

The great bell of the Honam temple
was toilling the hour for service. This
bell, twice the size of man, of ponder
Gus tone and eXasperating harshness, was
being most energetically pounded by a
shaver and cowlless priest; yet a woman
standing under its shadow seemed, in
spite of its deafening roar, to be uncon-
scious of this metallic thunder, so alb
sorbed was she in thought. She was q
slender woman, her deep coloring show
ing her to be of the Sampau class, but
the fineness of her coat, the white sheer
ness of her long, flowing undersleeve,
the beauty of the chasing on a gold ring
she wore, and the ring of gold watch
peeping out from her breast pocket
proved her either the wife of foreigner,
or favored servant in European
family.
She was leaning eagerly forward,
watching the carven door from which
the procession of priests was to enter,
and pressing in her small, olive nailed
fingers two chopped" silver dollars,
greatly to the interest of the bell-ringer.
The temple was crowded, for it was q
fete-day, and the woman and the bell
ringer were thrown nearer and nearer to-
gether, when at last, at given signal,
the priests door was opened, the rank
and file of yellow gowned acOlytes en-
tered, and the bell ceased its clamor with
a hoarse and resonant groan. The young
woman pressed yet more eagerly forward
toward the altar.
Last in the row of acolytes came a
l.. n 4 l.
low robe, proclaimed him Buddhist
neophyte. After salaming ten times.
with forehead to the floor, before the
great idol of Buddha, he withdrew with
his companions to the side of the altar,
and then gazed with apparent careless
ness over the audience. His challenging
gaze met that of the young woman, who
at once began slow and toilsome pill
grimage through the crowd toward
him. He, in turn, as the service pro-
crossed, dropped away from his com
panions little, and at last the two met
ut the base of huge pillar, which par
TALLY concealed them from the mass of
the people.
"See, All Ye," she said, 81 have
brought you the silver. Is there news of
the tanqui uprising? Tell mel"
The young neophyte cast his eyes
heavenward, and placing the palm of one
hand over the back of the other, stretched
them in front of him with gesture pecul-
larly Chinese, but made no answer.
eff you can tell me nothing, I will
keep my silver" said the woman, as she
drew smnll purse from her breast and
dropped therein her two dollars. The
neophyte watched their disappearance
and shrugged his shoulders, Chinese
fashion,
They would kill me il they knew
he said, glancing toward the priests,
but look there J" He thrust his sister
forward, so that through the temples
portico she saw the sky cleaning with a
lurid, red light. "That is the fire on
Shameen," he said grimly. "They be-
gin with the French Concession.
"And the English Concession-and
Keecheong hong-must that go, too 2"
All-all ! Even the servants of the
fanqui foreign devils who remain with
their masters will perish. There is only
one English gunboat of the ool-foreigner
in port, and the Viceroy, noble son of
heaven, has placed distractions in the
stream, so that is only little one. They
will crush the foreign devil SOL" he
stepped on a beetle which had run out
from the stones. His sister looked on, un-
moved.
go home, Emui; go back to Canton, -
he added, as the girl placed her dollars
in his palm and was fastening away.
''It is bad night for amahs on Sha-
meen."
Emui made no answer. She looked at
him an instant, then caught his hand I'M
der the folds of his long robe, and pressed
it. After all, he was her brother.
He drew his shoulders forward, and
again made the Characteristic gesture
with the lowered palms. at is all one
to me, he said, "fanqui or no fanqui /
am priest of Buddha."
But the girl had fled.
Emui tore down the long stone paved
walk, which runs from the temple portico
to the rivers edge. Tlerew no one in
sight but an empty sampau was anchored
to the stones. Whose, she knew not.
But she did not pause. She glanced
around second to see II possible
owner was in sight, to dispute her ac-
ton, then kicked off her shoes, stepped
lightly in, deity united the sampau, and
lifted the huge yellow, or sampau oar.
Luckily she had grown up In one Of these
boats, and propelling sampau was sec
ond nature to her. Without backward
glance, she steered the stolen craft
straight for the crimson-lighted bend Of
the Shameen