Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1901-06-21

81.
yards &c 40 along tie water ~ md
then. stopping for a minute and look
Ing round as if to locate the exaet spot,
he uttered the cry OF q night Bird
Waiting little while, he signaled
again. but this time. the cry wae Varied
there being three distinct calls. Almost
Immediately a sound like an echo came
over the water. and this was followed
shortly after by the soft swish Of a.
steering scull. Then from the gloom. !:
which lay like cloak upon the river.i
l saw darker shadow emerge, and
presently q boat grated on the single
at our feet. r" M - ss.
.Aboard quickly" said Koon-SL .sThe
wind Is fair, and the current Is strong.
y two or three hours we shall be-
abreast Of Ching-hi:" Ez=
The boat was steadied for 10, and we
instantly scrambled aboard. The car.
penter followed, one Of the men showed
of, and presently we were spinning
down the great river.
= Jim and I sat In the little cabin aft.A
structure. with which every Chinese
sampan is rugged. Koon-Si sat on the
after thwart, facing us, and seizing an
oar laid to with q will A man on the
bench forward also rugged like gal.
ley slave. A second sat still forward
Of him and kept a good lookout All
Yon, our worthy servant, stood aft, the
long steering scull in his hand. --.,,
1t was strange journey, that rush
down the dark river, and IL the pecut
lar conditions were not without their
effect on me 1t is small cause for won
der. Jim was significantly mute, and
felt keenly that this was no occasion
for the use of idle words. knew that
his thoughts had Travelled no farther
than the island Of Ching-hi and. that
they; wandered there at large. Ching
hi and Kung and the society, what a
black world Of thought those three
words conjured up! 1t seemed to me
as though the whole misery Of life waa
concentrated in them, and as the boat g
rushed on and On, swinging blindly, AZ
it were, toward destiny, thought Of
Cecil, of my s.as and of such things as I:
stir the imagination. when q great
event Is foreshadowed. Truly we We're
In the hands of fate, and prayed and
hoped. ~-fS ~-... >. Ia
For some time nothing but the swirl
Ing of the waters, the rising and falling
of the oars, the dirgelike soughing Of
the wind as it swept down the. great
black waterway, beat an accompani-
ment to our thoughts, but presently up
on the canvas tilt which rooted our lit
tie cabin I heard sound not unlike
that which the rubbing of finger NAH
would produce.
For time paid little heed to It, but
as it continued without cessation Il
>pricked UP my ears and listened still
more intently. The sound came at reg.
ular intervals, and after little hesita-
. ton l connected it in some manner
with the swing of the big steering
scull aft. Then the thought of the
sculi conjured up vision of the man.
who was working it, and Mr.. All Yon
: Immediately stood before my minds
eye. 3 - - =. III
Ever on the alert and but sure of one
thing, that the unexpected always hap1,
pens, / instantly made up my mind
that All Yon was signaling me, and
further to test the truth of this sur.
mise l got up, opened the flap at the.
back of the little cabin and looked out.
All Yon's face was but darkly seen,
yet his figure stood out distinctly,
darker shadow against the dark back.
ground of the sky. As he saw me be 1
stopped, his finger to his lips, but at
that moment the voice of Koon-Si was
heard, and Yon Immediately stood up
right and stiffened himself to his work. !
But the carpenter, continuing to SPEAK
and somewhat excitedly, l thought, the
man who had been keeping the lookout
latter scrambling forward in. turn.
Then for space the" wa; peace on
the boat, and we swung "a. On. 49,
Though at the momti!; Li.i3ught the
occurrence little strange. fuller
mental investigation failed to lay bare
any important fact. That All Yon had
meant to communicate with me was
was of any moment it would be diff i.
cult to say. That he had been relieved
from his post aft was only natural,
considering the time he had stood
there. Nevertheless mentioned the
incident to Jim, who could make nc
more out Of it than |. Among friends
the uttered word is not always big
with meaning; the word unuttered is
easily forgiven. f ~: VA ..=#z
No incident Of any importance mark
ed the continuation Of our journey. It
was long and dull to a degree, and the
only satisfaction we received from.
Koon-si, whom we importuned with
queries as to distances, etc., was the.
invariable reply. Presently" Every
thing was presently" and for want q
q fuller answer we were forced to pos L
sess our souls in patience.
V1,,ky ~