The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1920-09-02

was q struggle for Chez Ming. he
hated Levington-which is a refined
emotion In the East. He had not by
any means forgotten the sickening
| twist delivered to his own spine when
he had met this young mountain-lion
in the Wedger pantry.
The boat began to grind internally.
The low wet wharf drew backward. A
space of muddy water widened. The
| passage to Picking was begun. There
would be a brief stop at the Tien-tsin
| front, then on to the Tartar city.
Darkness completely claimed the
river before the boat jolted to stop
| the end of her voyage upstream
Street lights were hazy around the
| quay. Coolies were lined up in order ;
all was different from the port town.
It was one of the final fogs for Pc
king, and winter was ready to harden
| down. There would be weeks Of bit
| ter weather. This was part Of the
plan, for Lexington to traverse the
known lands in the cold season, to be
| in readiness at the edge of the desert
| for his real travel-task at the first
sign of spring.
Here the streets were lighted, some
of the doorways almost western in ap-
pearance, save for the dim figures
that moved in and out of them. Roofs
were peaked, angular, swoOping down
| to wide caves. The Picking tenements
were squeezed up on top of the whole
sale houses and native godowns, and
| it looked as if only the cobblestones
10Th Of fh0Sn from
| ing the sides of a street together,
when it would be lost. The lateral
alleys seemed to have nearly grown
shut. Down one Con had q glimpse
of a fire, a red flare in the dark, sparks
standing an instant over pitiable house
tops The NOTORIOUS hurried on
amongst the darting rickshaws, but
Con could not forget the fire, its ruddy
wickedness turned loose upon close
knit city of wood and human frailty.
It was daylight when Lexington slept.
1t was still daylight when he awaken
ed Somehow, the matter of the plain
envelop came to his mind-those in
structfOns which would bind him if he
read. It was as if the thought of this
had wakened him.
The Chinese had torn the covering,
but the contents had not been what
he wanted Why, then had March
made so much of the matter? Con
wanted to reopen the envelOp here and
now. He could not say why thoughts
of the letter possessed him, and he
! felt rather ashamed of himself in a
general way.
Cd hi
He thought of burning 1t, unread, and
| then turning himself loose, to drift.
An old boyhood depression was weigh
ing him down, reaching him now
| through mere physical weakness and
sense of failure He felt IN a low
moment that March should have told
him everything frankly at the start.
Con wanted to get away, somewhere
free. forgotten, lost. He saw himself
Sinking into far dim harbors, an out
cast. He was not aware how elaborate
and unreal his loneliness was.
The hum of the Chinese city entered
at the window. like secret invitation.
The lands to the south called him, as
always, and the murky seas.
Con was all tangle, pain, confusion.
The inner thing that was himself re-
fused to let this fog close over him.
He arose, rang for brandy, and when
1t came was liberal to himself He
would not think, dared not. He dress
ed. Downstairs, in the BARRIERS chair,
he permitted himself to be shaved and
annointed In the mirror he glanced
| once at his own face-the eyes too
bright, cheek-bones pointing, brow
smooth as chalk. He held against the
tempest in his heart. They bowed
| him out Of the shop like a prince.
At the desk he cashed his credit
checks into gold. 1t was a constant
effort to hold himself erect. He took
more brandy, and something like the
| In motion. He trod across the lobby
for the last time when his sedan was
called.
The order was to the western gate
of the city, and haste. His runners
started, and Lexington sank back, very
numb and sick. In his mind one word
was cleaning like an instrument of
torture, Shan-sung. And his instruc-
| lions remained unread In the black
bag.
Near the western gate were a cara
vansary and many trayel-stores. Small
houses were pressed together like
driftwood against a river bridge.
They ran up On top of one another, or
slid down in an aspect OF perennial
ruin. It was dark. In the torch-light
OF the aIleyways many humans moved
| In and out. They were chilled, and
had no curiosity. Every roof shelter
| ed half a shop and half a nursery.
Business hours were without termfna-
ton.
Among the red shadows, one might
purchase a hundred horses or pocket
full of chestnuts, silks from the South
or figured linen from the North, wine
in stone TASKS, grain in leather bags,
salt, hay, cameIs, 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 fdlers
he forgot himself, turned his back
upon everything except his mission.
He knew nothing OF camels, but he felt
them over carefully by torch-light to
discover any sores or cracked pads.