Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-08
TIE YELLOW DANGER
BY NJ. P. SHEL,
STORY OF THE WORLDS GREATEST WAR.
Copyright. 1899. by R. F. r.nno a Co.,

see him, the malice of fiend worked and
twisted In the facs of Ni-chang-tang He
| took Stn-wan's knife, and he ran the edge
Sin-wan's throat. and over his face. and
round the roots of his pigtail, reveling in
| his sense of power. wallowing in that sweet
lust OF cruelty which brings to the China
man the same keen delight which bodily
forms Of enjoyment bring to the western.
He ran the knife edge along Sin-wan's
skin; but he had not the least intention OF
hurting him. The pleasure of self-restraint
with which he kept his itching fingers from
violence was exquisite.
The Chinese theory OF vengeance is not
| tooth for TOOTH; 1t is, two eyes for an
eye, and thirty-two teeth for tooth
Nf-ching-tang could easily have killed Sin
wan as he slept there; but. had he done
SO, he would have despised himself as a
weak and bungling boor
For vengeance to be complete and sat-
| isfying, the victim must know who
1t is that is taking vengeance upon
him, and why he is doing 1t; and
the avenger must know that the victim
knows. Under these conditions the longer
the period which the vengeance occupies in
its accomplishment. the sweeter the cud
OF satisfaction which the avenger Chews
Nf-ching-tang intended that, for the
murder of his son, Sin-wan should suffer
weeks of torture before death. And al
though it was beyond his power to irfiict
those tortures with his own hand Gas he
would have wished), yet he knew that 1t
! was easy for him to cause them to be in
melted by hands stronger than his own.
He did not lose much time in the self-in-
diligence of running the knife-edge over
Sin-wans throat. Presently he put down
the knife and he Owed his hand into Sin
wan bosom. From thence he took out Sin
vans permit to pass in and out of the i'm
perial gates, and also an imperial mandate
ordering the keeper of the prison keys to
deliver certain key to the presenter of
the mandate
With these two rolls in his own bosom,
Ni-ching- tang assembled the narrow earthen
steps, and at the entrance above met the
keeper of the drink place yawnlng his eyes
into invisibility against the door. Ni-ching-
tang told him that man, holding position
in the imperial precincts. was asleep below
and did not wish to be reused.
Let him sleep; he will wake himself"
said Ni-ching-tang.
Then he sailed forth. He twisted at a
steady trot among a number of alleys. and
stopped at a gaudy bamboo umbrella booth
where an early-mornng merchant was
| lounging desolately. Ni-ching-tang spoke
some hurried words in the merchants ear
and the merchant nodded, listening, then
disappeared down court. and in three
minutes returned, leading mule by rope.
Ni-chns-tang scrambled onto the back
of the mule, tossed his hand in token of
thanks, drove his heels into the outstand-
ing ribs and went galloping away.
He traversed in this way two lengths of
Intervening street and, still galloping,
passed through the city gate which he had
lately entered with Sin-wan. He turned
the mules head eastward toward Tung
chow.
Tung-ckow. as we have said, Is a village
about four possibly five, miles from Pc
king. 1t is as it were, the port of Picking,
fer 1t stands on the Peiho, Picking itself not
being river city.
At Tung-chow. Ni-ching-ta tang had neph-
ew. And this nephew was the owner of
three river boats. two of them fitted with
junk sails the third mule boat. all three
traders down the Peiho with Tientsin in
millet, rice, and barley. In twenty minutes
Ni-ching-tang, at the river side, was talk
ing to his nephew from the mules back.
And Nf-ching-tang said:
Which of the three boats are here, Ii
kien?'
And Li-kien replied:
The mule boat is here, and also the
Tahu. which lies there where you see
The Taku has junk-sail, Li-kien?"
Yes"
Then I will buy the Taku from you
II cannot sell the Taku, Ni-chng-tang.'
ut is lie Li-kien; for you can. and you
will AT the waning of the next moon l
will pay you for her three hundred taels,
which is a good reward, in silver pieces.
For your cousin, Foo-chee, is dead-and
there will be no more Foo-chee any more
now at all, Li-kien; for he has been muir
dered by five stabs, and ugly wounds all.
And it is necessary, in order that his slayer
should die with horrid tortures. that you
sell me your boat, the Taku, without much
lie in saying that you could not, Li-kien."
1T was a lie admitted Li-kien.
and the part which you shall take in
ayenging your kinsman,' went on Ni-ching-
tang, shall be this. Li-kien: You will put
on board the Taku rice, and spirit, and
ter, and fuel, and a rudder oar, and every
thing which a man may want for a voyage
down the Peiho, and voyage over the sea,
during a week, or more. This you will do.
And this also: You will wait here near the
Taku, all the forenoon If it is to be so, till
you see young man come riding on a
mule; he will be wrapped up from head to
foot in great mantle. so that not
much of his face, and nothing of
his head shall he seen His face shall be
yellow like a Chinamans, but give a keen
look into his eyes and you Will see that
Re is no Chinaman, but an English dog.
You Will put him hoard the Taku, Ii
kien, and you will hoist the sail for him,
for he is without strength, and you will
send him ON his way alone. And, as you
send him on his way, burn an incense, that
for, ii he be recaptured Sin-wan, who slew
your cousin will be tortured, but not
killed; but, If he escape wholly, then Sim
wan will be killed after he has been hor-
ribly tortured"
Li-kien pondered and then objected:
But one man in the Taku, he must needs
be cast away, unless he be-
He is a sailor, Li-kien, and do not fear.
And be sure you place in the Taku draw
ing of China, and instruments such as are
used by seafaring men as the sign-posts of
the ocean. For he can doubtless read such
things; and Ii Is necessary for him to arrive
at Kiao-Chau, where he will meet with his
countrymen and be slain with them when
they are slain: but none will know that 1t is
he: and Sin-wan will die. The mule you
will keep till l send for it,
Cro be continued tomorrow