The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1913-03-06

III sndeavored to disguise, was an cpl
sode % characteristic OF her % any
that I can remember.
On entering the recepton.room-a
somewhat formally furnished, square
room. which jutted from the hall. on
the left wal mildly surprised to div
cover that one Of my visitors was mono
other than the Chinese merchant, Yup
Sing. At sight Of me he rose and
came = step, forward. the same tall.
spare. dignined Asiatic I had met In
the Mott street warehouse. rave that
he mo longer wore the dress OF his
country. but q dark. well-cut suit Of
American clothes.
"Permit me. MI. Clyde" he said. in
that chill leisurely tone I 30 well re-,
membered, ito present to you the vice
consul Of China at New York. Mr.
Chen Mok." And then I saw that his
companion, a much shorter man than
he and younger. had risen too. and
was holding out q hand in tentative
greeting.
NY first impulse was to ignore the
proner. for Of late / had come to abhor
the race he represented. but on second
thought I acceded to the most formal
Of hand-clasps.
1--WE are here" Yup Sing continued,
because we believe we have secured
for you. Mr.. Clyde, the explanation
which you recently did me the honor
to request Of me. And because we are
In hope that. through; you. some agree
Ement may be reached which will put
an end to the present detlorable out
break amongst certain Of people in
this city"
vice Consul Chen bowed gravely.
and I. In my turn, gestured my visitors
to- resume their seats. So far ! had
not spoken. but mentally l had been
busy. Frankly, / distrusted Yup Sing.
and I questioned how much Of his ex-
PLANTATION, whatever it might be. I
could afford to accept. Fortunately.
however, l now had some basis for
Judgment. I felt that. so far as it
went, the letter from Miss Clement
could be relied upon absolutely. II
the merchants story coincided. then it
would perhaps be safe to assume the
correctness Of added details. II 1t did
not coincide. I was in possession of
|, valuable material for cross-examina.
ton.
Il am an advocate Of the policy Of
reciprocity, MI. Yup." ! said at length.
If, In return for your service, l can
render q service to you, you have only
to command me-"
I chose a chair between them and
the door, and sitting down assumed an
attitude Of attention.
what I tell you." began the mer-
chant. his body erect, his shoulders
squared. his chin lifted. "Mr. Chen will
verify" And once more MI. Chen en-
dorsed his friends assertion by q
grave forward sweep Of his head.
when you came to me. Mr.. Clyde.
with the story Of your friend MI. Cam
eron's annoyance and subsequent alb
duction, I was inclined to the view
that you were. yourself. in some way
deceived. What / have learned since,
corroborates that impression. As you
say here in America. your friend. Mr..
Cameron. did not play fair with you."
Under ordinary circumstances I
might possibly have permitted this as
~sertion to go unchallenged. I I'M not
as q rule truculent; more often than
not I find it advisable to ignore pre-.
liminary Inaccuracies of narration. the
quicker to reach the vitals Of the mar
rative. But On this night l was con-
trarily disposed. The 1nscrutable coun-
tenance and the superior. almost pat
roniziRg manner Of the speaker chafed
and irritated me to the verge Of en-
durance; and 80, without hesitation, I
interrupted him with a contradiction.
If all that you have learned is no
more reliable than this confederation"
I declared. warmly. I'VE might as well
end the interview here and now. OF
Mr.. Cameron's fairness at all times
and under all circumstances there can
be no question. He is my friend, tried
and trusted. and incapable, Of deceit.
On that ! would stake everything I
hold most dear; and We may as well
have it clearly understood at the out
set"
A white man would either have in
sisted or a%pologized. But the yellow
man has q way Of his own. Yup Sing
remained. silent until I had finished.
But whether or not he heard me was
manifested neither by word nor sign.
Without change Of facial expression or
alteration Of tone. he placidly proceed
ed. choosing his phrases with infinite
care and rounding his periods with a
faculty that for an ,Asiatic was little
short Of marvellous. Had he been
any n else in the world I should
have admired him. As It was, his clev-
erness only added to my aversion.
There 10 q story" he went on, "a
true story familiar to all Cinnamon;
to some Cinnamon especially it is q
very bitter, q very pathetic story, be-
cause It has to do with the passing Of
their kinsmen-their fathers, their
brothers. and their sons. Death some
times II glorious, as we all know. To
die for ones oountrSy, or for ones hon
or. 10 to be privileged. To die Of pes
thence or famine 10 deplorable. But
to die By treachery IL to leave a poor
legacy to those who follows legacy
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