SHORT STORY.
DINNER AT EIGHT
BY
SAMUEL MERWIN
a
(Continued from last Saturday.) man brandished a cloisonne A orowd of sailors had poured (pium-pipo so close that she had out from one of the low buildings to draw her head back. and taken possession of the atrest. The big sailor wound up his A brief glance was enough to speech in what was evidently assure even an extremely ex- wild peruration.
It sont tho perienced young American girl jostling, drunken group into a that they were very drunk and ecstay. They doubled over with in a distinctly riotous mood. At laughter; they embraced one & the moment they were amusing tur; they shouted with delight. themselves by speeting the cuts Then the leader bent forward, and stands of the fond vendors, throw aside the rickshaw robe, and pelting one another and the seized one small foot, held it up bystanders with fruit and cakes, iu his twisted, knotted fingers, One was einging in a frenzied and kissed the toe of her shoe. manner and benting time with a
THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 1913.
Prepaid Advertisements
FROM
ONE CENT PER WORD
FOR EACH INSERTION."
TO LET.
ROM 1st February, MEIRION, No. 10, l'eak, furnished or unfar- nished. 6 Rooms.
The EYE" No. 13 Tak, To let faraished.
No. 55 CONDUIT ROAN, 6 room aafarnished, Electric Light, from Ist May, 1913.
No. 21, SRELLY STREET. To let or for sale, GLENSBIEL,' Barker Band, No. 124, Peak, 5 rooms from 1st March, 1913.
༣་
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CRAIG RYRIE,' No. 4, the Peak
to let; fine situation; 8 rooms; tennis And enquet lawns.
No, 8, DES VEUX VILLAS, No, 52, Peak, 6 moma.
FOR SALE BARTING and RD. GATE, on pattor Kowloon Inland Lot
No. 1154,
•
LYEEMUN," Barker Road No. She tried to draw it away, le 184, Post, to let furnished or aufor bottle. Three others had advanced raised his head, fixed his blood-nished to 30th November 1913, 6 rooms. close to her 'rickshaw, and, for shot eyes on hers with a gaze that
Apply to some reason of their own, wore was horribly hypnotic, and, gria-
LINSTEAD & DAVIS, savagely thrashing a yellow man. ning, lot her struggle, She could. 3rd Floor, Alexandra Building.
Edith felt herself growing cold not so much as move his hand, Hongkong. 25th Feb. 1918. and faint. Looking hurriedly He bowed with mock courtesy,
211
about, she saw that another, rick and led his grip. TO LET IARGE substantially ballt shaw was drawing near through Shuddering, she wrapped the Godows, situated on water front, the orowd. Its accupant was robe about herself and sank back East Point. For further particulars apply" a man who lifted his hat and in bar ecat; limp, white of face, Property Office, Jardine, Matheson & bowed cermoniously. She poor her tortured eyes looking sbɔnt, Co., Ltd.
od eagerly at him through the this way and that, over the white
uncertain light; then her heart caps of the sailors. She wanted
er
of her need of him,
[588,
TO LET,
TO LET on 2nd Floor No. 3, Fed-
der Street. L.
One roomed Office. Apply Property Office, Jardine, Mashmon & Co., Ltd.
-F885 FFICE TO LET:-One or two
rooms in good central locality. Immediato possesion. Apply to:~~ "Bela" care of "Hongkong Telegraph"; Hongkong, Uth Mar., 1918, (242
-258
LET:A House in Kuntsford THE HONGKONG LAND INVESTMENT AGENCY COMPANY, LIMITED. Hongkong, 27th Mar., 1913. TO LET BREEZY VILLA,“ No. 2, Park Road, 4 Room- ed Bungalow with Tennis Court, Commands splendid View of Harbour. For Rent, etc., pleaso apply to YAP HOK LING, No. 4, Ripon Terrace. Hongkong, 28th Mar., 1913. [264
WANTED.
WANTED. An English As-
sistant Mistress for the Diocesan Boys' School-Apply to The Headmaster,
FOR SALE
FOR SALE.-Birds of Paradise, Ready for Hate. Apply H." "Hongkong Telegraph.'
Bank. It was the young foreign to sorcam, but could not have They will not understand. They into his voice and manrer-"I who had effered her the uttered a sound. Some China-will not permit. It will not be so think it will not be difficult. He magazine. He was smiling, now, men on the sidewalk were laugh-bad. in a way that was perhaps meant ing. Was it true, then, that a though so drunk, are what you you say, stayed six rounds with You will see that they, is so drunk. And I-I love, as to be reassuring but that, in fact, girl must not appear along in call the good sport."
the great Carpentierat Paris." was subtly alarming, and was Shanghai. the dreadful cole The sailors who had been argu- She looked, with a curiosity bobbing his head toward the of this part of the world ing and gesticulating now set up that was struggling out through brawling sailors as if in emphasis "anything might happen a wild shout, apparently of agree her dazed mind, about, the ring. A young man with athleticment Edith iced her hands Within the ropes all was clear. Somehow she must get back shoulders and waxed moustaches over her ears for a moment. to the Bund. Iler frightened was elbowing through the crowd.
But preasing against them. eyes sought an opening through He reached a wheel of the it was quieter; "I can't-you shouting, laughing, white and "But," she tried to say, when stood a crowd of jostling, the surging crowd that nearly rickshaw, gripped it with mustn't" filled the street. There was a close fone hand, and, with an aston- to the farther curb, She urged ishingly quick and powerful her coolie towards it. Ile hesita thrust and swing of the other ed.
jerm, swept the crowding sailors The young foreigner stepped book. Then he came leaping down from his, rickelaw and over the step of the vehicle in a dareality, she sat passively while made his way to her side. "Par-rush so sudden and so determined a dozen hands seized the 'rick- don, miss," he said, "but not that the big sailor simply gave shaw and ran with it a little way that way. If you will permit, Iway before it. There was the along the street. Her Parisian will show you how to get around sound of quick, clean blows handed her out; she could feel by another atroot,"
driven straight to their mark; him olose at her side, gripping and the sailor fell backward over her arm and fending off the "Bat it is not safe, mad-the shafts. The Parisian was crowding sailors as they crossed
11
She shook her head.
said.
The Parisian smiled again." "It will not be so much," he We can do nothing. We will humour them."
With that same queer sense of
emoiselle. You must let me stay after him and on him like the sidewalk and entered one of with you. Those men are mad bulldog.
with bad whisky. If you have "Quick, miss!" be was shont
the low buildings. She was hur- ried down a long passage and
dimly lighted room that was hazy with smoke and close with an odd, choking odour.
yellow men. They were betting, evidently, and were arguing hotly (Continued on Page 10).'
Notices
THE TURCO-FILIPINO
CIGAR
AND
escort, it is something. But aling, without for an instant turn-into a large, low ceiled room, a beautiful woman she must not being his bead, "Your coolie-try alone here at night. They will to get away not understand it, these men.' She looked helplessly about With white face and compresod The coolie bad disappeared. All lips, she again shook her head around the rickshaw the Pailors ing, with a sense of grotesque "Wait, she found herself say- and waved him aaide. "Go were pressing, struggling to get inadequacy to the occasion" I there!" she called again to the at the fighters. Certainly it was can't breathe! Won't they open coelie.
better to stay where she was than a window?" The bare-legged Oriental wa- to step down into that little riot. vered, glanced about, then Here was a situation, indeed, with Along the walls of the room wheeled and made an effort to which he could not matend to an grouped about the pillars in oboy her. But the opening she cope. It had passed far beyond the centre were, couches. On had indicated was suddenly her experience and capacity, and many of these lay men-Chinese closed by a tall sailor with a was now developing much more and white-tuak in alumber, or flushed face and a drunken light rapidly than she could think, propped on an elbow puttering in his eye. His white cotton cap She fell a perverse impulse to over little lamps with steel in- was pushed far back on his head, laugh. Surely it was not so, this struments like knitting-needles. disclosing a scar that ran from extraordinary bit of melodrama She saw one man raise what she his right temple nearly up to the Buch things do not happen. She knew to he sa opium-pipe, and middle of his forehead. His passed her hand slowly across her with the knitting-deedle work up nose was crooked and flattened. ores.
a soft brown pellet on the flat OSMAN V ́ CASUM.
His lips were thick and shapeless In some way the fight was surface of his pipe-bowl. above a heavy chin. Hel ughed stopped, and there was an argu The sailors were routing the insolently at her; then turned to meat in which evory body ppear smokers from the central couches shout at his companions and also ed to be talking at the top of bis and clearing the floor. From saw that his ear was a filled-out lungs. The Parisian was gestur- somewhere appeared ropes, which solid thing like a small pining vehemently; the sailors were were ran rapidly around the four cushion on the side of his head. jeeling at him and waving their central pillara and made fast, He was shouting in a foreign loot in his face. All was conforming a roped-in square. Into tongue-Frenoli, she thought, fusion. It made her bead. ache. this arena was tossed a cluster of though it was rougher and more! The Parisian appeared close at thin brown boxing-gloves. guttural than any French she and her side, talking rapidly in En- The Parisian was speaking into heard. He sang in a booming glish. She caught a phrase hero her ear voice anatokea of a gay little and there, looking the while at a
"It is a famous place for the song; and the others laughed bruise under his eye from which fights of sailors, miss. Each ship, boisteroualy and looked at her, a little blood was trickling slowly you will know, has ite champions.
The coolie had stopped again, down upon his cheek, nd she was calling to him to go
with the scar and the pin cushion
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The Advancing Prices 7
It will not, perhaps, be easy for which prevail in almost every line of business should If you had baon with me me, but I will win. Indeed, I on. Suddenly the big sailor.. they know you were aloue, munt. This man is a heavy-produce alertness all round. As a business house of The big man says you will weight, and he is a fighter of wide operations we are watching for every available ears came swiftly forward, grip dine with him spend all his experience; he has the bearing, ped him by the shoulders, and, pay... I can not make them and thewhat do you say?the opportunity of bringing to the public generally the swinging bis feet clear of the understand-it is no are while cauliflower ear. Iam but a mid- ground; threw him sprawling into they are drank.... It is as Idle-weight. I must give him best possible value. This officient service is made pos- a group of Chinese who were have said to you no good woman twentythirty-pounds. But he
Sa demolished cake-booth, Then town... Thoy think it is I who I am not in condition. It is 50 for cash. We invite the enquiry aud court the com- timidly gathering the contents of, is alone at night beru in French- is drunk; that is it he is drank, sible by the fact that we are large buyers and sellers the big sailor stepped in between seek you for myself. Tin here at Shanghai; one is not the shafts of the rickshaw and that we fight, the big eailor and I. osreful. But his quick, eager parison of the keen-buying householder. made a speech in his booming If I win it will be permitted that talk, was beginning to reach voice, bowing extravagantly be I take you that you dine with her consciousness and find a ree fore her, and gesturing with a me
vas ponse there" but, mim, though primitive sort of grace. The Thon his face expanded in an but an amateur, I am, I may say, others Folosed in about them, folmost boyish smile. It is not, truly expert at the box. Ithink cheering' and' waving their caps, I think, so serious" he added his eye roved sorom the ring and the bits of loot, they had gently,But it is that I simply and slowly monsured his adver picked up. One grimacing little can not take you away now, sary, and a lonch of vanity came: Tel; 498
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