Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-09-14

the censor of the game, a fat roll of
Hongkong bank notes. The sleek and
oily receiver of money took the roll
from the gamblers hand. but before
he said a word in acknowledgement
Of its receipt he laid out every separate
bill before him, examined it's surface
carefully through his round horn
epectacles, held it up to the light,
peered through it-as If suspicious of
Its interior structure-rubbed it be-
tween his thumb and long-nailed
fingers and then deposited it in an
old-fashioned iron chest which Ire held
securely between his knees.
Sam hal ching cheng talk folk"
cSam truly adds a thousand more'D
he cried to a peck marked cripple
bending over an open account book at
his side. and the latter promptly noted
down the fact in the column under the
name of the brave and reckless Sam.
Come now, Hop Hoy" he said, ad-
dressing the central figure of an in
terested group on the other side of
the ring, where's that valiant spirit
of your ancestors Of which you and
SOoA AubhAly arc always TAKING.
You're surely not going to allow
bean-cake to balk lump Of sugar
that way. are you?" At this outburst
of native wit the assembled crowd
broke out into loud and good-natured
laughter, recognizing at once the
pointed allusion to the fact that the
party named was a dealer in sugar,
while his opponent was shipper of
the ever-popular bean-cake.
Now, ridicule-even in its most
good-natured form-being something
which the Chinese mind cannot toll
crate. the remarks of the cashier, es-
pecially his clever reference to the
ancestors. at once called forth from
the excited Hop Hoy the retort, by
the noble spirits of my ancestors, L
will 'sweeten the mixture with twelve
hundred dollars more" And. suiting
the action to the word, he drew forth
from his sleeves the requisite amount,
which disappeared in regular order
through the opening in the cover of
the iron chest.
These two were the largest wagers
of the evening on the spirited con-
test being waged between two local
champions OF the manly art In care
fully guarded cellar some ten feet
or moro beneath the surface Of one
OF Hongkongs crowded alleys. OF
course, there were smaller bets, even
as low as the twenties and the tens
ana the fives, but no copper or brass
was admitted in the moneyed trans
actions Of this most aristocratio
club-even the current Mexican silver
having been tabooed and the mini
mum limit placed at a five-dollar note
1--WE are all ready for the next and
flnal round Of the night" said the
master Of the bets, as no more money
seemed forthcoming. whenever his
majesty shall give the word" adj
dressing pompous and brutal-faccd
individual who occupied the most
prominent seat in the circle.
The king Of the contest" as he
was known to all the patrons of the
: establishment, bowed in acknowledge
men and replied, I'm accordance with
T.. the ancient customs and in obedience
to the traditions Of our ancestors, We
win first pay our tribute to Tx Yok
k, Wang, the third ruler Of hades, who
i. presides over all the gods Of the cell
. lars. Let the candles and the in
I. cense be lighted and the wine and
rice cakes be presented"
+. 1T is already done as his majesty
. has commanded" replied Sung Ling.
who acted in the capacity Of door
. keeper and acolyte.
= 4, Then let the honorable trial of
strength begin" announced the king
In his most majestic tones. "and may
the august decree of heaven decide
between the merits of Spotted Back
and yellow Legs cloud cheers
from the hackers of these two cham
pions greeted the royal remarks.) Are
the red lacquer clamps firm beneath
the waists"
'"They are! They are" shrieked
the room in one great chorus.
'Then all is ready-go" and with
the word Spotted Back" and "Yel-
low Legs" stripped of every rag Of
/. clothing and held only around the
waist by the clamps of the polished
rel lacquer, new at each Uther and,