Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-02-03
THE STONY r r4t STOLENIDOL;
By George BNFtON.

his assistant who was slow to realize that
this was the very object for which the vet
eran had been angling. They passed out
of the theater going through a passage
way which had on one side the educated
horse and on the other a French cafe
where catfish and waffles were the chief
gastronomic attractions. They elbowed
their way through the crowd. and An Sin
finally landed them in a low one story
wooden building. which served as the dining
room of the Chinese artists. The members
of the troupe were already seated around
a long, wooden table, drinking tea and
chattering away like magpies.
Barnes, intent on his secret quest mo-
ticed that Lew Pang, the stage villain;
Woo Tong. the colorless hero, and his be-
loved, the heroine OF the drama. sat at the
head Of the board intent upon one another
and oblivious of their surroundings. Ten
other Cinnamon were there. Ave on either
side of the table All had smooth yellow
faces, triangular eyes, ellstenng white
teeth, expressionless countenances and a
gravity of demeanor that was terribly de-
pressing. The face and manner of each
one of them. the blue cotton blouses; the
white drawers. the heavy wooden shoes
with their brocaded uppers, and the long
shining, plated pigtalls, were so precisely
alike that a blbulous spectator might have
been pardoned for believing he was seeing
the same man ten times over.
When Barnes identity became known
the Gathering conversation ceased with
nerve racking suddenness The Mongo-
lians were all very reverent in the pres
ence of a representative of the United
States government The interpreter, who
gloated over his work. insisted upon pre-
senting the chief to the actors. He began
with the fond parent in the drama, who
bowed low to Barnes and gave vent to a
series of shrill CALCULATIONS lasting for
half a minute.
HE say" remarked the Interpreter
blandly, "he velly glad to see you"
TITS fortunate" whispered Clancy to
Barnes, "he didn't wish We the compli-
ments of the season. He'd be talking yet"
Barnes noticed that the girl at the head
of the table was in high spirits, but saw
that the men on either sire of her, the
villain and the hero, were alternately raised
to the highest heights Of hope or plunged
into the deepest depths of despair The
sight Of her childish face, framed in a
mass Of coal black hair, melted the antag-
onistic heart of Clancy, and he muttered
some familiar quotation about a rose be-
tween two thorns. But to Barnes she looked
The pinkish cheeks against the tawny
skin, the tiny dots of eyes peering out of
the heavy lids under the arched brows;
the waxen ears. like the most delicate of
shells; the fiat nose. the small, straight
mouth with the blood red lips, all helped
the illusion, A pearl comb was thrust care
lessly into a glistening coil of her jet black
hair She wore the costume that had done
service in the play. a richly trimmed gar
ment with gracefully draped train. The
light blue waist was kimono shaped, and
the large flowing sleeves contrasted oddly
with her small hands, which seemed alto
gether too dainty and transparent to be
real.
= She held a rose coquettishly in the doll
like fingers, and the two men struggled for
1t with a pretense at boyishness which was
belied by the glitter in their usually dull,
ftlmy eyes. Lew Pang whispered very
earnestly to her, but she answered with
an Indifferent shrug and a laugh. His face
hardened, and jumping up with an angry
gesture, he STROBE from the room. After
that the coal black head OF Ching Moy and
the shaven' crown Of Woo Tong got very
close together Presently there was
flutter in the room. One Of the stolid faced
Cinnamon on the side Of the table made
NhNONSiys LhO hltiC GU VI lONctk uONtTltlS
above them-op was 1t Woo Tong?-had
softly dropped something on the table. 1t
was exquisitely simple. A paper dragon
was before the man and a paper phoenix
in front of the woman. They were sewed
together with two pieces of red silk. Every
one in the room-except Barnes and Clancy
recognized the meaning of the ancient
symbols. Woo Tong and Ching Moy were
betrothed! All were happy over this beau
tiful bit OF imagery, and no one gave any
thought to the absent Lew Pang, thus
worsted by his rival in real life, as he had
repeatedly been on the mimic stage.
Nothing would do but that Barnes
should stay for the evening performance
and then participate in genuine Chinese
dinner to celebrate the real engagement
of the hero and heroine, contamination
which had been eagerly looked for by the
members of the company, who had par
ticipated in the stage AFFAIR so many hun
dreds OF times. Clancy threw out hint
about going home. but the positiveness
with which Barnes said Were going to
stay" convinced the young man that the
veteran had something up his sleeve, and
that he too, would be compelled to re-
main and see the game to the end.
Barnes conversed with the Cinnamon and
gradually led up TO the disappearance of
the idol, and showed the newspaper clip
ping TO the interpreter. That person be-
came interested at once, and amid a
wealth of detail told what he knew of the
occurrence which had mystifed the col
ony so much. He said the idol had dis
appeared not once, but several times.
Barnes asked where 1t had come from in
the first place. Lew Pang, who had orig
inally procured the joss for the company
In China, was not present so the query
could not be answered. While the inter-
prefer was talking Ching Moy watched
the American intently from the depths OF
her beady little eyes. After All Sin finished
his story. Barnes fell into one of his char
acteristic reveries, from which he was
aroused by plucking at his coat sleeves.
He looked around and saw Ching Moy
beckoning to him with half mocking smile
She walked out OF the room and he fol
lowed her Once outside she pursed up heI
ruby lips and genuhecting reverently
spread her flowing sleeves until they looked
like the outstretched wings of a beautiful
bird.
do custom house men want TO find ou
about Chinese joss?" she said, pronouneing
each word quickly and sharply.
He nodded eagerly.