Tuesday,
HONGKONG. TELEGRAPH
March 19, 1940.
MAGAZINE PAGE]
SHORT STORY
by NORAH WHITESTONE
(Hongkong's Own Author)
HE DID not want to be a soldier.
One of the many millions of China's sons intent upon the task of providing the nation's food on the tiny Kwangtung farm, Wong's life was penurious, it is true, but his family had always contrived through the alternations of good harvesta and had to retain enough to fill their own rice-bowls, to clothe themselves decently and, above all, to command the respect and goodwill of their neighbours.
But it had to be, and WODE-E Kuk reluctantly marched off to the war, if by n Rtretch of the fancy the bent knees and lel- Burely, country- man's gait can be so termed,
Nor .can it truthfully be said that at the end of his mlilt- ary traming his aspect was strik- ingly martial. He loathed his drill, was dis- trustful of his
rifle and resent-
THE
EVOLUTION OF WONG
ed the necessities of its toilet.
wanton despoiling of life and pro- This unresponsive unit was by no perty, set Wong's brain fire. means "persona grata" with his
Pergeant who himself a, Norther
From that time onward no soldier
ner-gave vent to lurid expressions enemy was more violent or virulent
as
band witich found sanctuary across the border.
Indeed he had wilfully lagged in the rear hoping and seeking for an- other solution of the impasse. But, If isolated and friendless in occupied territory, he well knew what fate awaited him.
Despondent and sullen, he cepted internment.
ac-
Long days, longer wecks, and
GRIN AND BEAR IT
By Lichty
"Mr. Wattle thinks I'm very intelligent-I TOLD you I'd look a fright in this blue dress, Mother!"
interminable months of Intolerable INTELLIGENCE TEST
boredom, of enforced idleness, of futile speculation, of sulky glaring
at the world beyond was Wong's portion..
now
Then, news filtered in of the oc-
to the shortcomings of the in his methods than he; all calm, cupation of his own village, which "Kwangtung Camel". But had this all peace, all distaste of belligerance, had in truth suffered little damage, habits but this Wong did not know. Now the non-pugnacious sume Bergeant been destined to all follow the fortunes of Wong's engendered by his quiet, home ex- his brain seethed, his eyes glittered, martial future he might have intence, flew with the winds, and his speech was incoherent, but he
hideous was the end of an enemy strove to utter futile threats.
Before his flaming eyes the |mitigated his cathing verbiage.
whose unlucky fate brought him
vision of that other descerated within striking distance of Wong's
hamlet.
10
revenge
the
WONG went on active service furious enmity; his strength grew with the set-though unexpress- with the vehemence of his insensate ed-intention to do more than indignation, with his unremitting
determination he was obliged.
No patriolic fervour sustained hideous vision of the ravaged vill- him; no thought of the honour, Despite the rigours of the cam quality popularly ascribed to war, paign Wong waxed in stature, in
girth and it manhood.
justice, glory, sacrifice or other
spurred him on.
age.
*
* HE did not die EL
soldier's
In his formerly peaceful coun- tryside the villagers did not con- cern themselves with affairs be. yond a few miles radius and death. The straggling Company Wong-Kuk knew nothing of the in the chaos of sudden retire- ment before the overwhelming He continued as an unsatisfactory numbers of a ruthless foe, cut and troublesome unit of the military off from all hope of aid, stag.
gered ahend. machine until his Company occupied
martyrdom of his nation.
a village lately relinquisited by the opposing forces.
Distinctly against his ferocious The traces-only too evident of will it was that Wong.constituted a the excesses, the brutalities, the unit of the ragged, footsore, hungry
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NEAR the "witching hour of
gloom suddenly comes to vivid night" a figure crouching in the though stealthy life and races for the doubly encircling wires.
A shout! A stentoring "Halt! or I fire!" affects the fugitive not nt all.
The agile form safely reaches and squirms beneath the cruel, jagred barbs tearing the palpitating flesh. But freedom is not yet. Another and outer ring is to be surmounted if liberty is to be attained, and in feverish huste he essays the climb.
ARE YOU WEATHER
WISE?
Since we all talk about the weather, we might at least talk intelligently. Here are some common beliefs about the weather-many of them wrong. To test your weather wis- dom, check each, whether true or false, before turning to the answers. If you get as many as 19 right, your achievement is cyclonic.
1. The coldest winter weather usually comes when the days are shortest.
*
2. A ring around the moon is a algn of coming rain or snow.
3.
•
A high barometer is always a sten of fair weather ahead.
4. Snow is merely frozen rain.
5. Gardens in valleys and hol- autumn lows
receive generally frosts before gardens on hilltops.
Now the threat to fire is proved no Idle menance. A shot he never heard brought an end-to-Wong's - isn't the heat. It's the attempt to become once more a lumidity" that makes certain days. soldier.
uncomfortable,
Was
to
The unconscious figure earth and life
ended by a neutral bullet.
And another tiny farm is short of a needed and lusty hand. The old father said little when he realized that his best-loved son must rest for ever long miles away. And when the few hours of hard- earned leisure arrive, the ageing, couple sit silent, side by side, upon the doorstep and gaze upon the dia- tant, fading hills beyond which the firat-born had for ever disappeared.
of number 13. The average thanderstorms in progress through- But the world at any instant is nearer 2,000 than 200.
14. It is sometimes too cold to AIDA".
ihan warmer 15. Summer is Winter because the earth is then nearer the sun.
Ubrary, Sipreme Court,
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P
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A POPULAR orchestral programmE
on
PARLOPHONE
Overture Pt. 3. Rosamunde, Rhapsody in blue,
16. Thunderstorms
sothelimes
cause milk to sour.
0.
Open windows attract light-
ning.
•
17. Radio static is more pro- nounced in summer than at any eiher time.
E11379 E10018
Blue Danube Wallz
Minuet.
Minuet,
E10511
Serenade,
18. Rainbows may be seen at-- bight.
E10645
(Beethoven) (Haydn) (Schubert)
(Gershwin)
E10699-70 Tannhauser. Overture
E10774
Flulandia
(Sibellus)
+
8. Hail rarely falls during the winter.
19. Thunder is absolutely harm- less,
Valso Trišic.
(Sibelius)
E10751
Roses of the South.
(Strauss)
Morgenblatter,
(Strauss)
•
E11103
Meditation. "Thals"
20. Frost is frozen dew.
E11160
21. It is especially dangerous to seek shelter from a thunderstorm under a solitary tree.
E10824
E11304
22.
A red sansel usually means stormy weather next day.
23. A heavy dew is a porient of clear weather,
TSANG MARINA HOUSE
9.
A change in the phase of the moon brings a change in the wea- ther
•
10, No two snowflakes are Iden- ileal in pattern.
•
11. It is correct to say the "dew falls at night."
•
•
12. Typhoons are restricted to the Far East,
Funeral march of a Marionette. Parade of the in soldiers
Hobgoblins review.
Artistes life.
(Strauss)
Moonlight on the Alster.
Berlin State Opera Orch. Dajos Bela Orch.
Dajos Bela Orch.
Julian's Fuli's Sym. Orch, -Berlin-State-Opera-Orch. Berlin State Opera Orch.
Dajos Bela Orch.
....Paris Philharmonie Orch.
Der Rosenkavaller Walte, (Strauss)
Orchestre Mascotte.
Dajos Bela Orch. Grand Symphony Orch.
FOOK PIANO COMPANY
10, QUEEN'S ROAD C.
PHONE 24048.
AND HERE ARE THE ANSWERS PRESIDENT LINER
1. False. The shortest days are December 21, 22, and 23. Until late in January, the earth continuer to give out more heat than it re- ceives from the sun, thus warming the atmosphere. The coldest wea- ther is usually experienced after the balance has been struck.
2. True. The halo around the moon results from the presence of high cirrus clouds, composed of minute snow crystals, in the path of the moonlight. These clouds generally presage unsettled wea- ther.
3. False. The significant thing-Is not whether the barometer is high or low, but whether it is rising or falling. A steadily falling buro- meter-even though it shows high pressures-almost invariably means bad weather approaching.
4. False. It's sleet that is frozen rain. Snow falls directly as snow from snow-clouds, the flakes being formed by the condensation of moisture at temperature below freezing.
5. Truc. The heavier cold air creeps into the lowlands, frequent- ly bringing temperaturea 5 to 10 degrees below those on the hill- tops.
6. False. There is no basis In fact for this belief.
7. True. When the humidity is air, already saturated hish, the with water, cannot absorb body perspication.
8. Truc. Hall never forms un- less a thunderstorm is going on; and the conditions producing such
a storin are rare in winter.
9. False. This is one of the com- monest of mistaken weather be- that show ilcfs.
records All changes in barometric pressure.... which bring changes in the weather -go on regardless of the state of
the noon.
10. True. Scientists have never found two snowflakes exactly alike,
11. Falir. Dew never falls, but forms where it is found. When molature from warm air is dc- pusiled on something cold enough to condense it, dewy is formed,
12. False. Typhoons are cyclones.
13. Truc. Statistics indicato that during every instant an average of 1,800 thunderstorms are bellowing over the earth.
14. False. The extreme dryness of very cold air renders the likell- hood of a heavy fall rather remate because of the lack of moisture to form thick snow clouds, But that's all there in to support this com-. mon belief. A 2-Inch fall has been recorded while the thermometer registered 24 below zero,
15, Faisc, We nearest the
aro
We fail to sun on January 2nd. get full benefit of its heat, how- because the winter days are shorter, the sun's rays alanting. and as much as 80 per cent, of the hent may be reflected into space by now lying on the ground.
16. False. Hot, humid water-a condition favouring thunderstorms ikewise favours bacterial growth, The which causes milk to. sour. thunderstorm is entirely innocent.
caused by 17. Truc. Static Is weather disturbances. Because thunderstorms are so frequent in of the annoying type summer, static caused by lightning is heard more often then.
Tho
18. True.
lunar rainbow WIS observed 15 for back as Aristotle. Generally speaking, rain- bows are formed by the passage of light rays through water-drops. Moonlight, which is only reflected sunlight, will serve the purpose.
19. Truc. No records indicate anything to the contrary.
20. True. When objects upon which dew is deposited pro so cold that they can freeze the liquid de- posil, frost is formed.
21. True. Solllary trees are alruck by lightning much
often than trees in a'group.
morc
22. False. A red sunset presages clear, dry weather. The dry, dusty atmosphere which is almost always associated with good weather tran- smits the red ray of the sun In greater measure than the blue,
23. True. On cloudless nights the earth loses its heat more rapidly, and a heavier dew re-
clear Bulls, Such
okies, which make for a heavy dew, likewise mean no immediate rain. Similar- ly, heavy frosts are generally fol- lowed by Ane, clear weather.
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