Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1930-08-14
A Woman's Jeweled Earrings
By Achned Abdunah

And the men and women and chill
dren running up TO the bridal couple
with a Babel OF sing-song monosyl-
tables.
"You sam XII no nj, nj :"
mi vat. heung no la :"
mi MN hau, chan no lok ="
"Ngo i'll t'ung nj, lai sau chau hu :"
And Fanny Nag replying to curious
questions:
'Had / not given oath that whoever
came to me first with eighty thousand
dollars. him delightful Si-Si should
marry? Ah-Shen Mok came first
with the cash
"But-how did he get 1t p"
They found out late that night when,
in the Honorable Pavilion of Tranquil
Longevity, the priest said to them:
Here were those two, Cheng Sung
and Kee Wong, their love turned to
hate because of matter-because of the
f1e~sh-becauSe of a woman'S tinkly,
jeweled earrings. And I grieved-and
I thought. I thought left and thought
right. You. oh Yung Long" addressing
the grocer, persuaded me that matter,
too. has to be considered. l did con-
slider this matter"-he laughed softly
eighty thousand dollars worth Of mat
ter-eighty thousand dollars which
might, belize, save two human souls.
And l thought left and thought right.
l thought that here was 1, a priest, but
a bad priest. For had I not boarded
matter myself? I took it-nine thou
sand dollars of savings. And 1 re-
membered other matters-some trinkets
and Jewels which 1 possessed-and I
pawned them. And then I went to the
Greek usurer on Mulberry street and
l borrowed hayah! may he
be born as a dirt digging. dirt feed
ing insect for many future lives to
come!-for he charged me a most out
rageous rate of interest and
still / was a little over forty thousand
dollars short and so I stole . :"
"You-you-what . 2"
Il stole!"
From whom?"
"From the Buddha. I stole from
him. from his altar, a set of pale blue
Suen-tih Ming bowls with red fish
nodded as handles. I stole, too, from
his altar, bits of jade and I
sold it all to a certain foreigner called
Parrish Jones . :"
He stopped. The Chinese smiled.
They looked at each other, without
speaking.
Then the door opened to admit Cheng
Sung. opened, a moment later, to ad-
NIT Kee Wong. They saw each other;
and. strangely, in that second, it
seemed as if they were alone in the
room.
II remember" came Cheng Sung's
dragging, halting, slightly embarrassed
accents, when we were children-in
Il remember when we took ship-to
San Francisco :"
II Observation-Disclosures things"
Silence. Then Kee Wong went IN:
I am old. My bones creak. My
teeth can only chew soft food. What
would l do with a young woman's love?"
"A young woman now married to a
young mani"
"A young Observation-Disclosures
tient. willful, unruly!"
young women are like that!"
$50 I have been told"
Once more silence-broken by Cheng
Sung'S words:
will you come to my entirely worth
less house and sip a cup Of quite
wretched tea?"
Gladly, oh wise and older brother!'
There is also some business which
1 would like to talk over with you"
YES i. . ?"
II have less money than 1 used to
have"
80 have II"
II Speculated-and lost"
80 did II"
I'VE might ah again be part
Indeed, oh brother very wise and
very old!"
They left, arm in arm. They walked
down Pell street.
They reached Cheng Sung's house
He opened the door; bowed; invited,
'Deign to enter first"
How would l dare to?" retorted Ket
Wong, bowling still lower, and quoting
a line from the Diamond Sutra which
proved that the ann is the heart!
i, inner feeling.
please deign to enter first" Chen&
Sung insisted; and again Kee Wong
gave the correct reply: How shoult
l dare?"
Then, after a final request, a ina
! refusal and protest, they entered arm
i IN arm, side by side.
The door was narrow. They had tx
j squeeze through.
Two passing Bowery toughs watched
and laughed.
Say" exclaimed one, "ain't then
Cninks funny?"
we've said a mouthful!' replied tn
other.
i Copyright: 1880: BY Achmed Abdullah)