Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1901-06-14

as well as / cha; II every country ale
glance may be fought. We are stran-=
gers ina strange land. watched, for all
we know. to the contrary, by those who
do not love as. Ah Yon may prove Of
use. Unless ali greatly mistaken, he
is shrewd fellow 4 S. BE-
Almost too shrewd, thought, and l
mentioned the curious smile which
had seen play across his face. and cast
some doubt upon the genuineness Of
Mr.. Yon's endeavors. :; VI. .I4 -
80. so.' muttered Mr.. Jim quietly,
but am not Elind either. II All Yon
fails in his search tomorrow shall
double his present. =.
ADMITTED that this was the most ex-
traordinary method Of procedure Of
which had ever heard.
Jim smiled. Perhaps, but we are in
China, the land Of inverted notions, If
he fails a third time shall raise the
81 to &c." -... ..~E '"&5@ :
Aud so on" said rather mockingly.
mfr. Yon has, only to fail to earn a
comfortable competence. What will be
the reward for the fourth failure?'' -
II shall add to the dollars g sound
thrashing, and then-well, I may hand
him over to tie police for obtaining
money under false pretenses!"
But All Yon. great as may have been
the temptation, for some inexplicable
reason failed to succumb, and just be-
fore lunch Of the following day he in
formed US that he had discovered Mr..
Koon-Si. Jim patted him on the shout
der and gave him couple. Of dollars
for his good news, and we arranged to
set out for the abode Of the esteemed
carpenter al soon as we had finished
luncheon.
Calling q couple Of ricksbaws, we,
under the guidance Of Mr.. Yon, who
trotted beside my uncle's carriage,
were run out almost to the extremity
OF the native quarter, and at the bot
tom Of q narrow, dark looking street
our guide called halt. Here the rick
shaw men were discharged, proceed
ing which might have been fraught
with some trouble had not Mr.. Yon,
who seemed little inclined to handy
words, bit one Of the presumptuous
coolies a severe blow on the side Of the
head. This enectually silenced the fel-
lows garrulity, and he took the prof.
fered fare with an idiotic grin.
We were then led up the above men.
toned little dark street, and presently
we stopped before low, wide doorway
and window combined which opened
upon a room some three or four feet
below the level Of the road. Here the
smell of freshly sawed wood Immediate
ly assailed us, and after infinite peer
ing we at length made out the figures
of two men working in the interior
gloom.
All Yon said something in Chinese,
and presently one Of the figures looked
up from his work, dropped his saw and
then came slowly toward us. Natural
~ my anxiety was very great, for it
was highly probable that this poverty
stricken carpenter, living this wretched
life in this vile den of a cellar, was the
man we had come so many thousands
of miles to see, the man who might
possibly be our salvation.
Therefore L scanned him closely, and
dirty, ugly, almost repellent face it
was, but l saw with joy, with a joy
which was not unmfxed with horror,
that his broad left nostril had been slit
in two.
"It's he," said.Jim.
EYES,"
The carpenter looked up. and his eyes
were black and beady like rats.
what seeks your honorable conde-
scension?' he asked in very good Eng
lish.
Jim looked about him before speak
ing. Then leaning forward he lowered
his voice and whispered, 1.-THE writing
Of Kung is once more seen in the land"
The carpenter bowed so low that
could not see what effect these words
had on him. but from that moment his
manner became one of intelligent con-
sideration, and with many gracious ex-
cuses he begged us to enter his con-
temptible howell. This we did careful
~, for the little stair which led down
to his workshop was badly conditioned
throughout, while it's base was lost in
gloom. Our esteemed All Yon was
somewhat peremptorily ordered by the
carpenter to remain out In the street, a
command which he obeyed without the
least demur. Indeed, poor and ragged
and ugly as he was, Koon-Si was man
Of an fndefinable presence, and one in
sttnctively felt it's influence. He may
have been only carpenter, but he was
master among carpenters.
He led US through his dingy work
shop to stair at the back, and bowling
low, motioned for us to mount. It was
but q makeshift Of stairway, straight
almost, and entirely free Of hand rail,
but Notwithstanding such. slight de-
fciencies we succeeded In mounting
with safety to the room above. This,
though not in any way elegant. was a
welcome contrast to the sh0n he,loyv