Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1923-03-21
your little feather-stlcker put

the other, steadily IN gOOu EnStish'
"You didn't hesitate to come to
America" remarked the white man.
But we should not quarrel now. AS
soon as the ropes are thrown aboard.
and we get out into the river, | am
going to tell you something, Chez
Ming"
~ have no DESIRE said the Chinese,
conscious that this white adversary
had now no map and was therefore
helpless.
eyes, you have. Don't go yet. You
nearly killed me last night"
81 would not kill any one, unless he
makes me trouble" said the Oriental.
1t pleased Con to have him talk. 1t
was interesting to watch the thin
brown lips hold stiffly the formation
of the English words. Every syllable
was a struggle for Chez Ming. He
hated Levington-which is 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 Peking was begun. There
would be 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.
1t 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
Ia readiness at the edge Of the desert
for his real travel-tasE at the first
sign of spring.
Here the streets were lighted, some
Of the doorways almost western in APP
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
kept the weight of these from press
ing the sides of a street together,
when it would be lost. The lateral
Il Ill
shut. Down one Con had a glimpse
of fire, a red flare in the dark, sparks
standing an instant over pitiable house
tops. The notorious hurried on
amongst the darling rickshaws, but
Con could not forget the fire, it's ruddy
wickedness turned loose upon close
knit city of wood and human frailty.
1t 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
structions which would bind him it he
read. 1t was as if the thought of this
had Weakened him.
The Chinese had torn the covering,
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 ne
felt rather ashamed of himself in
general way.
The closed document haunted him.
He thought of burning it, 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 gel 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
it 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
Amounted. 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 prince.
At the desk he cashed his credit
checks into gold. It was a constant
effort co hold himself erect. He took
more brandy, and something like the
tides of life were released and set
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