The Florence daily tribune. (Florence, Colo.) 1898-1903, 1899-02-13

which-and the pther knows of it at
last and is hunting him down. He
: sends me word that he viii come here
tonight ana that must hide him
In spite ~ her horror All Lon thrilled
with tine Grst excitement which had
come INTO h,r life.
lie will conner she gasped.
"Yes. but he shah not stay When
I the highbinders follow, they can have
I him.
All Lon had never contradicted her
mother indeed. she had thought her
second in wisdom only to the priest in
I the josshouse. But the inherited in.
stinct rose in rebellion. and she said
timidly
HE is my father. l should like to
protect him.
Wo Ling sprang to her feet, and
catching All Lon by the shoulder hur
ried her out to the little balcony and
I pointed downward to a large shop,
whose windows glittered with masses
of rich stuifs and delicate china
You see that. she said hoarsely.
at is owned by the rich merchant,
I Wong Tee Such another would your
father have been had he not loved opium
more than the girl who followed him
from China-cast forth by her parents
to grow old and bent and weary in
an attic And | was rs beautiful when
! he left me rs you are today--and at 80
you, too. will be old and bent and
weary She wheeled All Lon about
and pointed 10 the little dingy, i'll fur
nishe-d room with the holes the rats had
made and the great pile of work. lit
viii be like that as long as You live,
she said "Shall l not take vengeance
ON the man
All Lon. deeply impressed. did not
know what answer TO make, so she fell
to weeping bitterly. Her mother releas-
ed her and prepared the evening meal
of rice and sausage. Soon after. ALI Lon
went into tine small room adjoining
and crept into her bunk, knowing that
she hould not sleep that night
Twice she peered through crack in
the door and saw her mother sitting
there her hands pressed hard against
her knc. 3, her head strained forward,
her ewes wild. A town clock was boom
ing when Wo Ling, without moving
her head callcd in loud whisper;
"Ah Lon
Her daughter ran to her.
He is coming. said Wo Ling. 600
down stairs and bring him safely here %
All Lon marveled at what she could
not understand in her mother : voice
and forgot hpr fear of rats. She slipped
hastily down through the black well Of
the stair stopping several times to listen
intently At last she heard some one
painting as If in terror, and n moment
later stumbled over an i'll smelling heap.
Ling Tang she asked rapidly u
am All Lon, your daughter. Wo Ling
waits you, and viii give you food We
have sausaRes and rice -
! She turned and ran mp stairs The
heap gathered itself together and fol
lowed slowly.
ale coutes, she said to her mother
And She waited. trembling with curiusi-
1 ty. Wo Ling raised herself to her full
height which was shove that of most
| Chinese women.
The man entered. He had nothing in
! common with his moon faced conpa-
trioj- of the streets. who looked com
! paratively clean and well fed, and All
Lon could not know that underground
( there We're many like him. He was in
rags, and what they covered might
/ have ratified, he was so hcshless His
/ face was wrinklcd hide and bony struc-
ture, and sparse gray hair fell ahout it
| and from his cheeks and chin. He look
i ed 100, and he may have been 81. All
1 Lon gave cry and fled to the bedroom
/ slamuing the door behind her. But Wo
+ Ling took the wreck in her arms -
Gertrude AtheIton in Lady's Realm.