Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-04

and separated from the prison by lake
overgrown with huge lilies and moon-leaved
water growths, stood the shaded palace of
Yen How. The imperial palace itself was
half mile away by the broad avenue, but
there was also O short cut to it from the
palace of Yen How
1t was the quiet hour of the evening time,
and the Sumptuous landscape of the inn
perial city seemed to faint and doZe in a
dream of lotus peace.
Leaning over one Of the marble bridges
that spanned the prison moat was an old
man. 1t was Ni-cning-tang, the father of
Foo-chee. His days work was over, and
he was looking sleepily upon the dark and
sluulbrous water of the moat.
AS he leaned so. Sin-wan approached him,
passing to his duties in the prison. Nj
ching-tang would not have heard the tread
of the thick-felted slippers; but Sin-wan
spoke.
give good to you, Ni-ching- tang he
said. Has his might the governor passed
this way YETI"
and his eyes smiled; fear nothing. He
will not know
THAT you are late-again.'
Sin-wan leered.
ut comes of going to seek a little WIFE -
he said.
''Pohl it is nothing-if you are not seen.
But a wife,"
ter of Lansing and Nan-lin, his wife. We
will marry this moon. She is well formed.
both In face and body"
What, with small feet too2"
mo small feet but well formed in face
and body
And she lives where?''
I'm the third quarter, and the main
street"
"Why I have a son who lives near the
main street of the third quarter"
"And what is your sons name, Ni-ching-
tang?''
Sin-wan did not notice that Ni-ching-
a no q answered..
MY son is called Cheng-lu,'' he said.
Then Sin-wan passed on, and entered the
prison.
small cylinder of ebony, round which chung
roll of silk paper.
On the paper were six lines of writing,
each starting from the top and going down
to the bottom. Each line started with a
date and underneath the date came the in
Structons for that day..
This document had been painted by Yen
How with his own hands.
| Yen How had stood over John Hardy,
with watch and stethoscope in his hands.
John had lain bound on his back on the
marble floor.
Yen How had examined him from head
to foot He had felt the texture of his
muscles had paipated the calves OF his
| legs had held his pulse, watch in hand.
He had applied the stethoscope to joins
chest and heard the wheeZe; he had laid it
over his heart. and made an estimate of
! the exact tinbre of the beats, systile and
diastoIe venous and arterial.
When it was over, he knew the precise
| truth about Hardy's vitality, its quantity,
| its intensity, its whole diathesis; he knew
| lust how much mental and physical torture
| the lad could bear. and for how long, with
ont an actual cessation of life.
| He was not In hurry. He waited
Hardy was we'll fed and noarished, 1t was
over a week before the torture began.
Now when Sin-wan opened the door be-
hind which John lay In sleep, Ada Seward
would no longer have recognized the pretty
how who had sat beside her In the music
hail nor Miss Jay the gallant fellow who
| had mace her start in an alarm of self
retention
Broad streaks or absolute white mingled
| with his long fair hair. His bony hands
| cfutehed and trembied in his sleep like the
| hands of some aged miser.
Cro be continued tomorrow)