Show arx 7 ACI M ach L all P by JEREMY LANE copyright by ile caury would you in such circumstances et have kept faith and gone on with walli march instructions unread CHAP CHAPTER IV 5 the feathered needle the queen was neither tile the largest nor the newest still nl ol lont tito the pacific was inclined incline to handle tier her roughly she khe wits not long conr enough gh to be comfortable in a hrca breeze hr cc hut ut she wits was of a sturdy depth to her owners tho the wind was sharper than had anticipated nothing hns us na lie ho had planned lie went shivering to ills his cabin the fire that lurked lit in cons eveln ans not salt itly lie never knew alint fits another lind dwelt on oil the clear heights of emotion that jolin john lovington find seen till nil things with the vision of a poet even in those shabby fragrant lays in dory street toward townsil the dinst tile tho father lind mentioned tho the bounty of gods goda world riot not meant for himself and had looked to bla big little boy for answer often after flint levington glanced across tit nt chee aling in III the 1111 ing gaitin anlon or passed him on dock deck A per feet lack inck of relation was preserved between them as it if they had never net met before the queen hesitated nt at nagasaki let RO go a little of tier her burden anti and bounced onward into tile the yellow sen tito wind changed thrice hefted then died tho the shipway ship was not quieted but wallowed A thick hick lint dim mint title tile the air cold riven only by tile tho dignified warn in ins which wits repented repeated every forty leonds ids throughout the final night and dayi low craft scuttled out of her hek the rhe senco of tho the lin clent yellow mother alother the fog to us is it if creeping out from invisible shores to sniff tho the sit stranger n I 1 go r old pother joi ther china who started halt tile good of tile world but loft iiren for others to n thiloh to fili helmso tise and fowl forget somo onto of tier lier best have never been its voy covered ered sho she la Is she lie did not ask for flit alio torch of light and there elvaa wn no sorrow in tier lier vi elding dilill they aliey took look it from tier her iler her oyna eyes have ticker tit ver wept and they will viii never onille antilli ps of men inen nir front from lier her cast their upon tile dust find vaid vanish sh soil lod knows where and mother cliine walls waits tint and walls lit in tits his cabin con coll avington Uv ington tan wn sleep ilig tile the harbor nt at tong lui hu ans crowd egl qa mongrel craft of tile the world were t nattered ed heri sailing kilps ilpo had k t liverpool in tile hie of iian victoria and never re lurad erny arny japanese coasters netting tuo a filin the lie south it n tow neglected ru chaser iser for the ho ling L ing of I 1 ut tit present earr carrying yIng atti at ti cetoh chokes cs anti snit will segal it 11 Iral lill ilko tire rust rest Tb rending these were thy thi nil live river rh er bonts ed flit their anllo mere perfo perforated strum alpis tirl alist nl tha day of nf live team w would auld I 1 broin 1 0 I it chein aiom broadside ind scald tile tho olber IrR 8 ns as they came ceroc aboard with over ever a shifting background of junks illch illco verni lit siva nn nit old oft con coot t cro crooked okel tit discolored lored shapes that lint would have sunk in water thinner than limn tills ilits velho vel rel ho touti mild short cries sounded and a dim rattle of gongs A k sooty tug worried nt lit the hawser of tile the bulky queen there followed the cr enking of strained timbers BS as stio sho leaned the dock n female gulliver abild the little dirty ships of tung tong liu the tug snorted nt at her then ran rail up tho the foggy river coolies roo ran up the wot vot gangways fluman IIii ninn rat V nt at on 11 the ho cargo unit that wits presently to be loaded smoking in tile foul cold yellow all air of the ifie harbor the handful of dispa disembark illik cl cit par from being tile the last was dice clice tits his cit carriers briers trot trotting ong befaro him ailin levington war waa still asleep cons room was 1 li n disorder tile porter came on his rounds with broom all and dustpan dust pan pali all and found the sl stepper lier JIL HP roused cot con nail thou thought glit blin drunk iut but tho stupor was not that of pulse vas filoia otle otic side of lila ills wily body felt dead every was thick and tin to it lil 1 11 to touch liell and it pain ran rii deep into tits his treat head the portor porter spilled out a clars alons of brantly for hini him keeping the bottle for foil himself to up lip later Leving levington toll nit up lip tills this koument mou ment brought a prickling sells n tion lit in his Mi shoulder and tie ho tumbled there hide the tiny jabbing was repeated under tits clumsy fingers ling soft hoft it haq too it little tuft of fell titers then concealed Con coaled in tile lie tuft was the hill iorli 11 of it a dart front fur away lip lie recollect recollected el the story of andrew BIar cli and thu dart from frain desert alders A ionic to that swift weapon tind had been elang ing in it n long while to ills own shoil ller norio but clive mini could have blown it lit in through the lip window in ili sudden con coil rummaged across tits hla bre li renit asit and discovered that lint the lie hit bit of parchment ent was rone gone the leather t etliong long alone remaining lice ming hail had entered the cabin tind and taken tile the black has bag was clothing upon lipon tho the floor the envelop containing instructions to he be opened tit nt shan sung had been torn open it mattered very little that its 13 contents remained safety safely enough levington ev was var too confused to read now there seemed no end to tits ills ful failure lure tire shock of ills his loss and the gatlon that lia ho had find been feather strick on en by the chinese hastened the lie return of full faculties facilities a painful process ile iio threw oft tile tho feeling that him down dressed ns as rapidly as aa lie he I 1 0 i the stu stupor por was vaa not that of alcohol could command fingerr not yet completely controlled by tits ills own will suro that alq 11 money had riot not been toti ched tint und men lied fled froni from the I 1 tong liu hu la Is no place in ili which to stop it was cold in its streets tire alio gutters have colled up theair filth until it over overspreads spreads tin tho narrow walk coolies with their cirta patter and slop through this while their ili up find away it in the hope of getting the lie odor out of mind A passage antong the lie waterfront Is flanked with squat buildings Koenil rs Is olt old na as the selmy vittor that twists about tile tho poll pole foundations at tho tir rival of n ship amid petty confusion the coolie aarts run rim faster lovid locklier tig wheels li els unit endangering their fares the natives curme cura mirilla nal un untangle tange bevington found there bould be a bont lit in twenty minutes up tin it river to peking lie ile hie block daht and walked impatiently the upper deck if clr ans serious now n as 14 it till nil the warm enrin titles tides of life lint flooded lo odeil ninny from lilt him hla 1114 treasured malt wivi gono gone the gobi would ito bo less without it lie ile thought of the packet of 0 instruct instructions long the chinese had not wanted that hat con examined tile broken envelop and started to draw forth tile the papers within but stopped short instantly lie hs need it his coit cent nud grinned nt at himself linsell li for having so nearly islip blip ped in ive five minutes the river boot boat would clear tito sodden air was ag cloven with far hoots and near ro rollies plIes the final barrow of coal was run up the plank Lev levinston Inkton stretched stretch pd tila ills legs anti have lapsed into ao an otter after of ills nights di drugging hut just now every faculty facility ans livened if ve tied by ti 11 collision with clice chec ming tile the brown skin was wag close furled around tile eyes of jade ellee clieo mang was mas inscrutable inspru table lie ile regarded the Ani american erlean with the usual blank stare but honored lio nored him with a very falm bow the figured folds of his bi blozay 0 lisy jacket wore were damp with tile the river fog Lev higton narrowed tile freezing space between them trod lulu into tiu tire stony ies eyes i your little feather sticker sticher put tile inc to sleep 1 you liuro no business in ili asia paid tile the other steadily in ili good Et you III tilt hesitate to bonjo conjo onu ti to america remarked the white limit lidit wp we should not qu tirrel now As soon us its tit tin ropes are thrown abon t and we get out into the river I 1 i nin im go going I 1 ng to tell ICA you something Oll ething cheo sling 1 I have tin no del desire rc sald tile the chinese cin conscious selous that this white adversary id find now no anti was therefore helpless yes yu you have dont go yet you nearly early killed ili me last lant night 11 1 I would riot not kill any one unless lie he makes UK lilt trouble lo said the oriental it pleased con coil to have him talk it was interesting to watch tile the thin brown lips hold stiffly the of the words every syllable was a struggle for cheo chee ming ile he hated levington which Is a refined d emotion in ili file kast bast lie ile lint lanil not by any menus means forgotten thu tho sickening twist delivered to ills his own awit spine when lie he lind met anet this young mountain llon lion lit in the lie pantry the bont boat began to grind internally intern tilly the low wet wharf drew backward A space of muddy water widened the passage to was begun there mauld bo be a brief stop tit nt the alen tsin front then on oil to the tartar city darkness completely claimed the river before the lie boat jolted to a stop the end of tier her voyage up street lights were linzy hazy around tho the quay coolies were lined up tip lit in order all wits was different from tho port town it was one of tho the final fogs for peking and winter wits ready to harden down there would be weeks of bitter went lier cr tills this wits part of the plan for levington to traverse the known lands landa in the lie colt cold season to be in readiness nt at tie the edge of the lie desert for ills his real travel task at tile the first sign of spring hero tho the streets were lighted sonic some of tho the doorways almost western lit in up lievrance lie pe arance save for tile dim figures that moved in and out of them roofs were peaked angular swooping downs down to wide eaves the peking tenements were squeezed up on top of the wholesale houses and native godowns unit und it looked as it if only the ho cobblestones kept tire thu weight of these from pressing the sides of a street together r when it would be lost tho the lateral alleys seemed to have nearly grown shut down one con toil had a glimpse of a alre a red flare dare lit in mhd dark sparks standing an instant over pitiable housetops the motorbus motor bus hurried on amongst the darting rickshaws but con could riot not forget the fire its ruddy wickedness turned loose upon a close knit catt of wood and burnan frailty it was daylight when levington slept it was still mill daylight when lie awakened somehow Soine liow the matter of the plain envelop cacno to ills his mind those hose instructions which would bind film blin it if lie be read it was wi as if tho thought of tills this had find wakened him the chinese lind had torn tile the covering hut the alie cou contents tents lind not been what lie wanted why then lind had i march mado so much of tile ni matter atter con coil wonted wanted to reopen the clive develop loll here und and now lie could not sax why thoughts of tho the letter possessed po ss eod hlin billand ho felt rather ashamed of in a general wity way tile tho closed document haunted him ile he thou glit of burning it unread and then turning himself loose to drift an old boyhood depression was weighing iani clown reaching him now through mere inere physical weakness woul aless and sense of failure ral lure lit felt lit in a low moment that barcli alarca should have told him everything frankly nt at tile the start cori coi wanted to get away somewhere arb arili forgotten forgot lm lost lie he saw himself tuft into far alm harbor on an outcast ili not aware how elaborate will and unreal lila ills loneliness wits the lium hum of tile chinesa city enwood at tile tho window like secret tin the landi to the sti knitli called jitni a always and hie murky seas lon cot wa was till tangle liala tl tle e aliner tiling thing that tunit was litin himself self refused to 0 o let this fog celoso over him lie ile arose rang or for brandy and when it caino cain was anil to himself rio in would not think dared not ile he dressed downstairs in the lie barbers chair lie he permitted himself to bo be shaved ond and in the mirror tic lie glanced once nt at ills his own ecce fact the ha eyed too bright cheekbones cheek bones haiim pointing brow einloth as chalk ile ho held field against thel tempest in ills his heart beart alwy bowed him film out of 0 tho shop like a prince at tire desk ho bo cashed his credit chocks checks into gold it was uns a constant effort to ro hold himself erect lie ile took morti moro brandy ind something lika ilka the titles of life were released anil and set in motion ile he trod across tile hie lobby for the lie last time when his sedan wits called the order w was Is la to the western gate of the city and haste balite ills his runners started and levington sank bank back very numb find and sick alck in tits ills mind one vord was gleaming like an instrument of torturer torture shan shanning Sh anming sung and ills his instructions remained unread in tile bluck blacic bag near the western gate were a earn vati sary and runny many travel stores small houses were pressed together like 1119 driftwood against it river HUT bridge abey alie ann up on oil top of 0 one tie another or slid down in ili tin an aspect of I 1 perennial wrent ilal i aln it ft was as dork dark in the lilt torch forth light of the alleyways 11 inina Illy moved 11 in and out iiley wen clil lied d find and lind had no curiosity pa nuby very root roof sli shelter elter pd cd half a shop and halt half it nursery ti s alness hours vero without tenn lna flu 1 i among the lie red shu shadows dows ono one might purchase it hundred horses borses orn or a pocketful of chestnuts diest nuts silks from tile he south or d linen illien from tile north alno in ili stone flacks flasks grain in ili leather angs salt milt bay amen camels drivers themselves con sought out a native nathe merchant wlm who spoke ills purchase s were swift and rid simple after that in ili the swarm of traders and idlers term lie he forgot himself turned ills 1119 back upon everything except hist his mission ile iio knew nothing of camels hut but tie he felt cf lt thein over oer enre fully by lorch torchlight to discover list over any or cracked craLl pads pad the english inglish speaking merc merchant hunt a well hell fed chinese watched hirn soberly and litter later with feeble protest accepted at a certain reward for ills advice near nine tit in the evening will ith 0 cold wind pressing in nil all MIS as ready at and Leving tons private caravan moved moed forth from tile the city passing ns ii under iler thoi ancient bricks of the lie western arch perhaps it aris imagination only but the air felt different outside the tha walls valls na as though dougli tile sk sky had find receded to iti ili normal distance front earth leaving iglich clear air anti breeze in between tire reason reabon was aa more t truly ru ay tit that a t tile the fog had gone winter was wag down in III earnest it was vas late the next lay day N ft lien they readied reached the inner line of the great wall chero arrangements vere mado to join n merchant caravan on its westward vo journey |