Adventure, February 1917 — page 204: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

202 with nothing in front of him, and looking up at us wistful as we entered. After we’d bought him what he was waiting for, and had some ourselves, and repeated the dose, for those little earthen saucers don’t hold anything to speak of, Maitland leans forward on his stool and says thoughtfully: “You've lots of discipline in your outht. Maybe you can tell me what it’s for.” “Eh, what, I don’t get you,” says the _Limie, staring. “Me and my friend,” explained Maitland, ‘fare seekin’ an answer to that question, though he don’t know he is yet. What are the whys and wherefores of doing something what somebody else tells you to do a million times without any reason at all?” - I said he was only a sort of a Limie, you’llmind. Hesat therea minute gulping, and then I could see him think that he knew what Maitland wanted to hear. -'There wasn’t any use in discipline, he ex- plained, because discipline made soldiers, and soldiers were only slaves and butchers, and he wished he might die if he wasn’t proud to ’ave met two friends who thought like he did. He looked down at his empty magie-lu bowl suggestively, and up again, and then began to explain how he had the misfortune to be wearing the uniform he wore. But. “Cheebal” 1 interrupted, sharp. “What ’ave I said, matey?” asked the Limie, looking distressed. - n “Cheebal’”’ I repeated. - the Limie got. “Why didn’t you let the insect stay?” asked Maitland. “I thought I was be- ginnin’ to learn something from him.” After awhile we went to a Chinese theater. It was in a big square room, with an earth floor, filled with wooden benches without backs and little square tables. The spectators were sitting around with half their clothes off, most indecent, puffing on their toy pipes and drinking tea, and singsonging to each other, and watching the show. Maitland and me sat down well ' up in front, and sent the waiter after saujo. | Now in what happened almost immediate there’s no reflection on the attitude of the Chinese concerning the Stars and Stripes. Since Nineteen Hundred there’s no foreign flag in Pekin respected as much as that one. That’s partly because of a ten-million- dollar indemnity returned by Washington “Get out!” - ~ Adventure with the proviso that it be used for Chinese _ education, -and partly because there’s no precedent for looting in the American service, and the boys that beat the Boxers didn’t start any. The property man must’ve been fuddled, and handed out the wrong ensign by mistake. The show was some sort of a historical drama. dragon flag, and an army of about twenty, all with devil’s masks on like you see in the Pekin Temple of Blood, carrying shields and six-foot swords and spears. After the hero had spoke a long piece he began to lead his army across the stage,.and another army of about the same size came out on Aeeronae side of the stage to attack them. An “They ain’t any right to do it, have they, Nichols?” asked Maitland. And I gasped. For, by the shade of Paul Jones, the color bearer of that second army carried an American flag! Then the heroic band of ex-coolies that had first come out hurled themselves with reckless valor upon the others, yelling and stabbing and slashing, only careful to keep about three feet out of reach of their opponents. And the ones with the Red, White and Blue were reckless too, only after a minute they began to fall back. And I gripped my seat with my two hands and held myself down, but Maitland only says again— “They ain’t any right, surely.” But worse was tocome. All of a sudden the hero leaped out from among his trusty followers and straight at the gleaming steel of the enemy that parted before him to let him through. And he made a grab at the flag. Anybody would’ve done the same. I don’t remember getting to the stage at all, but once there, with a huddle of Chinese -in front of me all bristling with swords and spears, I dove low into the legs of them like a football rush. Then things became too jumbled to re- member. I expect I have reason to be grateful that Chinese slippers are soft. -When I thought I was where I wanted to be, I came up in the middle of them, like a jumping-jack, and then I got a surprise. For Maitland was there before me, with the flag in one hand and a long spear he’d snatched from somebody in the other. With that spear he’d cleared a little space, MMICLOOO (C There was a yellow hero with a. (CO) : (€(0) S