The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1903-03-12

| anu nau asked nerSelI what, a1Jer all.
was the great advantage of being a
''little-foot" woman, anyway. Old
Bangs iron grating, Notwithstanding
all his precaution, was not high
enough or strong enough to keep out
the microbes of discomfort that fill
the air. Sorrowfully she saw the
shadows growing longer and watched
the minute hand on the clock tower
catching up with the hour hand. All
her life she had lived in two bare
little rooms and one high-walled
porch, and had been out one day each
year, as on this occasion. By and
by some one would buy her, then
there would be a change of homes,
and she hoped, devoutly, the new bal
cony might not be so high, but there
would still be only that one day in
all the year worth living. If she
should live to be an old woman, say
60 years, that would make just
60 worthwhile" days. Two months
of an American girls year would rep
resent a whole lifetime to her, for
| just to be out in the sunlight, to feel
to come and go as she chose, to know
what was around the corners of the
streets below, was all her hungry lit
tie soul craved.
Thus she unused as her carriage
slowly moved along. Then she raised
her eyes in response to a steady look
fixed upon her from the opposite
side of the street and through mist
of rebelliOus tears saw Kee. In an
instant the clouds of discomfort were
cleared away, and in defiance of the
stupid custom that had hedged her so
| closely about all her life, she frankly
returned his look. A moment later
she deliberately went him one bet
ter, and smiled with a sudden burst
of mischief that seemed to well up
! from the depth of a merry little
heart, sparkle in her eyes till it bub
bled over and dimpled down her
cheeks and lost Itself around the cor
ners of her mouth. At this sign of
encouragement Mr.. Kee walked
| straight up to the carriage, raised
his hat, and extending his hand, took
hers in the American way he had
! often seen people do, but the look
that went with the act was original,
and had neither to be learned nor
copied.
This was bold emancipation. Toy
felt the eyes of the world must be
upon her, but was not dismayed in
the least; she quite enjoyed it. She
even tried to %riggle her poor little
tortured toes to see if they, too were
not becoming emancipated from their
stupid imprisonment. The other oc-
cupants of the carriage looked at
her in horror. but she was now
across the Rubicon, and flung def
ance at everything on the thither
side. She didn't even care what the
consequences might be, for her one
| day was almost over, and she was
| bound to make the most of it. So
she laughed and chatted with HUE
Kee in a pretty little Cantonese sing
song, as she had seen the American
girls do, while the "eagle-bird'
screeched loudly over her head.
Then, when his dragonship was
lost to view, the crowds began to
move toward the scene of the bomb
casting. In an incredibly short time
| the streets were cleared and the open
between the joss house and the levee
| filed with a swarm of excited con-
| testants.
| KEGS soul was fired with a determi-
nation to catch one of the bombs,
| for that would insure the success of
| his every undertaking during the
year. And poor Kee had dire need
of all the help it could give him,
| for while h had stood chatting with
the emancipated Toy, her father,
| Chew Bang, as is often the way of
| fathers, had watched them from an
opposite doorway. Such conduct on
the part of his carefully brought-up
| daughter was almost beyond belief,
and as he watched her talking boldly
| to a man on the street, knowing the
| eyes of the world were upon her, in
Mortified surprise his little bias-cut
eyes grew wicked looking. Every
minute of this scandalous behavior
was bringing down Toys selling
| PilSS, anu lNCC, Vic hllSCl dDlC, INV
born pauper, knew it. Perhaps he
was doing it to make her an unsafe
able chattel, Bang told himself, in
order that he might get her at bar
gain. Yes, that was undoubtedly the
reason, he decided, and Toy, poor,
misguided little fool, had not wit
enough to see it. But he was pre-
pared to nip such an unheard-of
Irritation in the bud in an effectual
way. And his teeth met with vi
cious click as he started off down the
alley on noiseless little trot.
| When the bomb-casting began Kee
took a reluctant leave of Toy. and
was soon lost in the crowd, but Bang
followed him closely. The bomb is
projected high in the air, while the
men struggle to catch it as it comes
down. The squabbling and yelling
and actual fighting over it show how
firmly their faith is pinned to this
superstition. and the victor is borne
away with shouts and cheers, while