The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-05-29

7 promise Of extra pay for the night work.
| with something added because Of the rain,
| was sufficient 10 lure them out again. Only
| TWO would go. and they were ridiCulously
| inadequate.
SLIPPING To THE PIER.
| II looked Il hopeless proposition. but We
| had said We would go 10 Piu@-Yang by
1 that boat. therefore II must be done. The
caiIte.-n had some tvo-whee!ca carts 20 ne
used m transporting its supplies. Two OF
these were impressed and then some or
The caEteen men t. drag them Mac went
down with the first load To So. that II vas
safely delivered at the pier and / STAYED
behind TO see that the next was started.
When ii had gone I trsiilsd along. leav-
Ing my Interpreter to see that -.e last uf
the duffle got on the first cart when It re-
turned. Npu remember the old story Cf
the cat Cl4f rIrnbed TWO feet out of the
well every day and slipped tack three feet
every night. Walking through the slir!y
streets Of the C!Iinuarlpo. settlement was
something worse than being a cat ia
well There was only one direction in
which the eat could fall. but man slid
ing over that mud could swing round the
compass and fall in any direction that
pleased him most
TIE Japanese. or somebody else. have
graded up some OF the streets in the CEN
ter. ard in that rain the slopes at the sides
were as easy Of descent aS ever the broad
way to the boutdn!ess PIT can b.. If not IS
allUring. Splashing. sprawling. and now
and then saying things, / slipped and slid
down the long clay road 20 the pier. past
the long lines OF guns beside the road and
the piles OF war stores. covered with tar
paulins and guarded by silent. statueSqus
sentries. who. AN sure. stood mufficd !n
their great coats watching me and saying
over TO themselves IN glee as they viewed
fny performance:
The rain ra!neth and the goose wInss'h.
Little wotteth the gOsIng what the goose
thnketh-
on the pie- was commotion. Mac was
raging M and down. stamping his feet
Il "a ffafH =FaHHn "a
lifting up his voice in a roar that cleft
the night and boomed back from the far
hills the cahalistic word:
''Sampan"'
a SAAIPAN AT LAST.
It was the call to arms. but there were
none to respond. Ranged along the rail-
ing of the pier there were several Ian
rerrs which. upon investigation. / found
TO be supported b. japanese of different
sizes ages and conditions OF life. All. how
ever. seemed to be actuated by the same
motive. a fervent desire 10 get on board
the 1lo-tOn palatiaI river boat Keiho Mari.
Now and then one Of them tried his
luck at calling n sarnpan. High ana low,
u re ugh all the range the calls went. and
to each the answer was the same-the
hoSTse gLrSle OF the river as IL swept
down under the impulse OF siN-knOt tide.
SsmpaRs of ali kinds lay within easy
range OF the calls and occasionally from
one or another would come an encour
aging word of response Then he who had
Uttered 1t would stick his head out from
the comfortable and dry shelter Of his lit
tie cabin. and taking note Of the night and
its cisreputable character, dodge back
again. leaving those who called TO 80 on
calling as they willed.
/ came mp TO Mac as he was leaning
over the rail and waving one hand eE-
ersettc3ily back and forth. and l per
ceived that IL held 1o-yen note. He was
10 longer shouting "Sampan'' The nature
OF his call had changed. Instead OF an i'm
periOus demand, there was entreaty and
appeal in his voice. coupled with promise. |
He waved the money again and shouted: |
'Ju yen! Ju yeni'
Then when there was no response TO |
that amazing offer, he raised his own bid /
two. and robred out:
Jul yeni'
Twelve ven fer a sampan to a shfpi II |
was Unheard of. Some of the japanese |
waiting along the rail shook heir heads in |
a way that plainly indicated their opinion |
that this foreigner was mad. Some Of 4
them came up and inquired politely II he |
would tel them his nationality. and two or /
thee soldiers walked down the pier and /
looked him over critically. But II worked. |
one hoatIEHn heard. whose aOul was not |
above the consideration Of a few paIt-y
ven. and his sImpsl drifjed down on the |
sH If tide and came in above the pier. in |
tho line Of Sampan5 that law at anchor a
few yards out In the stream there We're /
evidences Of more or less excited discns-
son. ManifeStly they came 10 the concIu-
man would make such an offer IL was |
uSelt SIS 10 answer il.
They ducked back into their foJIr-hv-fve
cabins and silence again enveloped them.
and he was all we needed. The only regret
WAS that they had not all struggled in !
to get the prize. so that there could bly. !
been some satisfaction in refusing some