The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1920-02-04
Yellou Men Sleep
By Jeremy Lane.
Copyright, 1910. by the Century Co.

| his mind one word was rleam,nr
IKE an instrument Of torture, Shan
sung. And his instructions remain.
ed unread in the black bag.
Near the western gate were a
earavansary and many traveI-stores.
small houses were pressed together
like driftwood against a river
bridge. They ran up on ton of one
another, or slid down in an ASPECT
OF perennial ruin. It was dark. In
the torchlight Of the aIieyways
many humans moved in and out.
They were chilled, and had no Curl
osity' Every roof sheltered half a
snop ana half a nursery. Business
nours were without termination.
might purchase a hundred horses
or a pocketful of chestnuts ANS
from the South or figured linen
from the North. wine in stone flask.
grain In leather bags, salt, hay.
camels. drivers themselves. Con
sought out a native merchant who
spoke English. His purchases were
swift and simple after that,
In the swarm Of traders and i'd
ers he forgot himself, turned his
back upon everything except his
mission. He knew nothing of cam
els, but he felt them over carefully
by torchlight to discover any sores
or cracked pads. The English
speaking merchant, a well-fed Chi
nese. watched him soberly, and
later, with feeble protest, accepted
certain reward for his advice.
Near nine In the evening, with q
cold wind pressing in, All was
ready, and Levington's private cara
van moved forth from the city, pass
Ing under the ancient bricks of the
western Arch. Perhaps IL was
imagination only. but the air felt
inherent outside the wallis: as
though. the sky had receded to it's
normal distance from earth, Ieay-
ing much clear air and breeze in
between. The reason was more
truly that the fog had gone. Win
ter was down in earnest.
II was late the next day when
they reached the inner line OF the
Great Wall, where ARRANGEMENTS
were made to join a merchant cara
van on Its westward journey. Cons
was the sixth outfit in line. The
mead driver OF one party had half
dozen English words' which a.
pleased him to address to Leying-
ton. The young white man gave
another half-dozen to his friend. at
the same time gaining a yaluabIe
dozen OF his own. travel-phrases
that could mean the difference be-
tween food and starvation.
This small village on legs follow
ed the Icy river road, and at KaIg.n
passed the outer Great Wall. Lev.
lnston, swathed in padded robes OF
leather, viewed the old marvel with
mixed feelings. He was awed by
1t, and he hated it, this PATCHWORK
| sprawl of stones, raised TO with
/ stand the Tartar hordes, but only
hfung a long shadow across the
minds OF its builders.
For a number OF days they skirt
ed the masonry beyond the King
Lakes. now crusted with brown ice,
Beside the road, in the cracking
marsh, one trader in firearms lost
MS fortune when his cameis SHE'D.
All his cartridges were spilled and
soaked, and his Iong-barreled rifes
rusted. He diminished the caravan.
turning back eastward. The others
/ pushed on through the singing
cold. Con was somehow relieved
when the trail led away from the
sight OF that dragon barrier, the
wall.
His student of English, a dry ana
brown Kalka driver. rode every day
beside him, and Lexington received
assurance that Shan-suug was
somewhere ahead, but so far of The
tran that none but a mailman would
wish to reach ii. 1t had never been
point on the trade routes.
The sore spot below his ribs was
not healing. and he deliberately
turned his thoughts away from IL.
: day by day. The caravan did not
know Of the hurt.
Snow blew down, darkening the
air. and lining the camers eyes with
shining drops. The foolish lips of
the beasts were pesrIed with ice.
Every length of stay-leather creak-
ed with cold. Up ahead, the cara
van seemed always moving Off into
the invisible. The fields were white
Villages huddled under thin lines of
smoke, but in certain districts the
! swtrling snow hid every curved
roof. and all the mud was turned
to stone.
Coarse food, winter air, and the
long hours of camel-swaying had
darkened Cons checks. His mitten-
cd hands helped with the wood :
gathering at camp-time. or chopped
/ the ice for tea-wster. but the men
OF the caravan regarded him as a
stranger, If they noticed him at all.
IFrfendliness was winter bound. The
Kalka partner alone made speech.
Lexington kept his feelings to him
self. and set his teeth. He was lean
as Tartar. and was constantly on
the verge of fever. He had for
gotten Norma.
Snow rose to the cancels knees
and then. in the third week of
travel. thawed generally over North
China The going was slow and
monotonous. Here was said to be
grazing country, but obviously the
herdsmen had never prospered with
their skinny focks. At Sin-chen,
through a weller OF stained snow,
the rear OF the caravan, three par
ties, turned southwark. heavy with
rice and salt that grew more precI-
Gus at each days end. They were
carrying on to the province OF
origu, seat OF wretchedness. Now
at Sin-chen another party was watt
ing for the only remaining groun
with Con to join them. These two
outfits, with that of the white man,
continued over a northerly road,
and the mud was a drag at every
camels foot.
You take saints?" finally inquir.
ed the Kalka.
He wanted to know whether or
not Lexington was a Christian mis-
sionary to far Shan-sung.
No" Con shook. his head.
Half an hour later, the Kalka re-
sumed: You sell-no?"
Nothing to SELL" answered the
white man.