Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-31

"
overlook her house. She had
i gone to her task light.hearted-
~, thinking how best to please
her fast.dious son. Would he find a
smoked duck to his taste. or a bit of
crisply roasted pork? Or might a
handful of dried shrimps content him?
All. these men, What sources of
genial worries they werei Who ever
heard of disturbing ones mind over a
i daughters fare? Assuredly, it was
scant satisfaction to serve feed of any
sort to a woman. She. with three
daughters, did she not know?
But to minister to the appetite Of a
male--ah, that was different Even
his disgusts were lively, putting one
on edge to please him. AS a bride.
how she had thrilled to her husband S
nlealtime ardors, For Hung Cow, in
his day, had been as lusty a diner as
any gunman in all the length and
breadth of San Franciseo's Chinatown.
And he had lived Justify. too, in the
end paying the price of certain philan-
dering with his life-a pointless
enough matter beside the fact that
he had been to his wife, Wan Lee, not
. only a male. but a mate worth feed
ing. Which made her loss the greater
at his untimely taking off, and her
profound.
Happily for her, she thought. this
= son of hers was more the connoisseur
and less the gormandizer. That he ate
gravely and without haste was to Wan
Lee a circumstance by no means as
unsatisfying as it seemed. Thus, she
argued, would he hve-calmly. mod
. erately--to ripe old age, blessing her
with. many grandchildren, or, to be
precise. many gransons to feed.
However, she had suspicion that
her husband would have found little
satisfaction in the studious decorum
of his son, in his distate for gunplay
IN his pronounced contempt for all
: nnelodrama flourishes. But. to re-
peat. all this filled the matronly Wan
Lee with large content.
Effect, to her simple reasoning, bore
: q close relation to cause: Did one
Z gather nettles from plum boughs?
Then could violence spring from tram
quillity? =, AS with us all, the wish was
father to the thought; and Wan Lee,
being passionate to have her son,
B built up a wall of reasoning for his
: preservation.
In. short, she wrapped herself so
tightly in her security that she drew
the attention of the gods. And they
speedily to our tale.
X X X y
TT was just the day for marketing
= February day with a crisp
warmth wherever the sunshine fell.
. but harboring shadows too cool for
lettering, and with the New Year
{ quarter Of moon distant, the choicest
: of wares on display, and everywhere
the contagion of holiday bartering.
Wan Lee explored fish shop first,
but found nothing that intrigued her
except a devilfish which proved quite
out of reach of her purse. Smoked
duck was equally an extravaganza,
thanks to the holiday demand, and
i dried shrimps of poor quality. But in
the meat stall of Yoke Moy she came
upon such crisp and freshly roasted
+. pig that she threw all thrift to the
wind and demanded the choicest cut
/, possible. Yoke Moy smiled blandly:
1.-The choicest cuty' he echoed. Per
haps you have guessed that meat such
as L sell brings fair price?"
To which she replied vigorously:
Think you that I have lived to my
Age without knowledge? The widow of
Hung Cow is no twittering fledgling."
He poised the wide blade in midair.
2 "The widow of Hung Cow he repeat.
ed You have a son, have you not?"
She drew in breath of pride. For
whom else do purchase the choicest
morsel your shop affords? 1 have a
son. in sooth, and if the gods be kind,
shall continue to have him until my
days are accomplished"
Yoke Moy looked away, intent upon
the pigs .quartering. This son of
DC y
AS his father was before him."
"a hazardous affihation," ventured
Yoke Moy. from all reports"
by what token?"
'Have you so soon forgotten your
ewn widowhood?"
NAY, but the worthy Hung Cow
was cast in q reckless mold His son
is of more even temper. He goes not
to extrayagant lengths to provoke en-
counters"
Yoke Moy continued to cut with Wig.
orouss strokes. II have yet to learn
that a timorous hare gains the consid-
Grafton of foxes because of it's gentle.
ness"
Two spots burned upon Wan Lees
cheeks. The son of Hung Cow has
naught in keeping with cowardice."
she fiared.
80 much the worse" replied Yoke
Moy.
Then he lapsed into cryptic and
soui-chilling silence.
Coming out from Yoke Moy's shop
into the. slanting sunlight, Wan Lee
found the street curiously emptied of
Its holiday throng. Ten minutes be.
fore, what had been a. scene of cheer
full barter was now a dreary prospect,
with here and there few belated
souls scurrying to cover. Even the
keepers OF the street stalls were clear.
ing their counters. Wan Lee, casting
about for an explanation Of this
change, lifted her eyes to the sky--not
Festtge OF a cloud. Obviously. then,
the weather was in no wise RESPONSE.
BILE for this abrupt Illumination.
&k n
"A LMOST as her mind fiuttered to.
ward an alternative, she saw a
squad Of blue-coated policemen swing
into view. Further speculation was
useless: Wan Lee had lived through
too many such situations to misread
the signs. A vivid remembrance of
the day which had accomplished her
widowhood flashed over her.
She recalled clearly how the quarter
had swarmed with police after Hung
Cows death; even in her first grief
she had felt pride at this evidence Of
her husbands importance. Yet, with
T all the laws vigilance. eight lives had
been snuffed out before the bloody war
between the Suey Sings and the See
Yups had been halted. She was Won
dertng what tongs had lined up for
battle today and whether toll Of life
already had been taken when she saw
the figure of the noseless Shoe Shee
pushing toward her.
Ordinarily, so worthy a matron as
Wan Lee would have scorned such an
infamous old nag, but curiosity arose
above responsibility. Who could gain.
say this venerable hays capabilities in
the direction Of the latest news? Thus
1t was that Wan Lee met the villain.
Gus Shoe Shoes smile Of greeting.