Argosy All-Story Weekly, October 7, 1922 — page 160: what you’re looking at

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

306 ‘“‘ Mashee—me freen—me savvy—can do —me chop-chop. Catchee top side—” he replied, and then, alas, in the middle of this jargon, before Sen Toy could ask him to speak in Chinese, she heard her father’s step outside the door of her bedroom. She was compelled to draw back into the room, with hope a dead thing in her heart. “ Be ready,” said Won Lung when he had entered, ‘“‘ to go to the home of O Long Lee at midnight. You are to be his.” Sen Toy broke into no flood of tears; no pleadings rose to her rose petal lips. In China a child must obey its father. There is no appeal from the parental decision. So she simply bowed her head in acknowl- edgment of the orders and turned to get ready her clothing. But when Won Lung had departed, Sen Toy watered the concubine with her tears and cried so copiously over her pet silk- worm that it had to leave off spinning in its nest and could do naught but spin around in the resulting damp of its re- treat. All hope was gone. Chink-A-Ping would not help her; he had answered her pleas in a manner evasive. The sad day drew to a close. Darkness came, pursued by lights. That weird night bird, the poppycock, began to sound its mournful note in the branches of the pongee tree in the alleyway outside. Clouds of incense rose above the wicked city to mingle with the smoke from thousands of opium pipes. And in her bedroom, helpless, alone, Sen Toy, waiting the beginning of an end which to her was worse than death. Ten o’clock struck from the tower on the joss house near by. Then the half-hour. Then eleven. But an hour then— Suddenly Sen Toy raised her bowed head. The faint squeaking of the wheels of the chow mein sounded in the court below. The squeak drew nearer, nearer, then died away below her window. ‘The chow mein must have stopped there. Sen Toy crept to the window ledge and looked over. “ Hist!”? came the voice of Chink-A-Ping from below, his black store clothes, another foreign note, rendering him naught but a shadowy figure in the dimly lighted court. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. ‘‘ Here is Wen Foo, the old fish-seller on the Boho wharf. She will help us.” The heart of Sen Toy gave a great leap. Chink-A-Ping was going to try to save her. He was talking real Chinese now. ‘“‘ Creep down and unlatch the side door,” whispered Chink-A-Ping. Sen Toy opened her door and peered into the outer room. It was empty. She crept down the stairs to the side entrance and unhooked that door. “Hurry,” ordered Chink-A-Ping when he had squeezed her hand deliciously. ‘Take Wen Foo to your room, show her everything, then—”’ Words died in his throat. Someone could be heard coming toward the back door of the den from within. Chink-A-Ping pushed Sen Toy and Wen Foo within the side door but a second before the other door opened and an attendant came out with the soiled laundry. He had heard the approaching squeak of the chow mein. In the bedroom above Wen Foo rapidly told Sen Toy further details of the plan. But as the latter turned to the door and looked into the other room, terror seized her. The details could not be carried out as scheduled. Her father had returned and now sat behind the pill-rolling table waiting the arrival of O Long Lee. And it was but a half hour until midnight! All Sen Toy could do was to go to the window and whisper, heart-brokenly, to Chink-A- Ping, waiting with his hamper of soiled shirts below, that her escape down the stairs was hopelessly cut off. So the end was to be tragic, after all. Somehow or other, one can never get away from tragedy in the East. At midnight came O Long Lee with his bearers and the sedan-chair and the purchase price. And in return for the thousand taels, the three volumes of the Sayings of Confucius, printed on silk, the jade from the throne of Ting*Chow, and the gold abacus, Won Lung allowed the pathetic looking figure, her frame shaken by sobs beneath the white costume which covered her from crown of head to tip of toe, to be taken to the sedan- chair. Unnatural father that he was, he gave his daughter not so much as a look. COMmiclboo SS C©