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Show The Story of J Wan Lung $ By MORRIS SCHULTZ (. 14, Wiitttn Nwpaper Union.) "WAN Ldxgi Oh, bother that v Chink I Smoking the pip again, I suppose, instead of attending to his business!" A bleary-eyed Chinese tottered out of the back room, took the red ticket, grunted, and handed Mrs. Charlson her laundry. Back to the Inner room, diffusing the faint aroma of the poppy. "Quite a good-looking Chinaman," sugmted Mrs. Charlson's companion. "Well, nil Chinks look aUke to me," that ludy answered. Wun Lung had come to the town year or two before. His father was a naturalized American In the days when this was legal. lie had been born In China, after his father's departure, de-parture, lie came to America when he was ten. The father, who was proud of his son, sent him to the university. uni-versity. Wan Lung was twenty-three when he came to the town. There was a mission to the Chinese. Wan Lung was already a Christian. Perhaps he pretended not to be, for the sake of studying under pretty Elsie El-sie James, who conducted the class. An Innocent enough deception. At any rate, nobody knew he was a university uni-versity graduate, and Wan Lung made amazing progress In English. "My star pupil," Elsie James would say to her friends. "It Just shows what we can do among these Chinese." wnai you can ao, my aenr," saia her father, looking at her pretty face. "Tnke care, Elsie, and don't let him fnll in love with you," her mother warned her. Elsie laughed. A week or so later she hnd hlra to the house. Wan Lung created quite a sensation among the guests, with his good English and his Intelligent ways. "I declare, I think those Chinese are Just too cute for words," said Minnie Hawthorne, Elsie's chum. "His manners are so good. But then all foreigners are." Wan Lung, In short, was voted a success, and thenceforward he was a star at church fairs and festivals, and a great favorite with the ladles. Did Elsie know that the heathen was falling In love with her? Of course she did. And did she lead him on? Well, most girls would, and Elsie was no exception. Though, of course, everything was done according to the rules established from time Immemorial among Anglo-Saxon womanhood. wom-anhood. Then came the flare-up. Wan Lung asked her to marry him. "Oh, Wan I" said Elsie reproachfully, reproachful-ly, feeling a thrill of delicious Inward triumph nevertheless. "I never thought that you would misunderstand my friendship for you like that." "But you love no one else?" "No. Wan," Elsie admitted. "Then can there be no "hope? Too understand, I am an American citizen. citi-zen. I bnve lived so many years In this country. I shall never go back to China." "It Isn't that," said Elsie. "What is It, then?" "Why, Wan, It's because you're yellow, yel-low, of course." Wan was about to leave the room, but Elsie's mother had suspected something and had not been Idle. She pounced npon Wan Lung. "The Ideal" she cried indignantly. "It's the most disgraceful thing I ever heard of, your presuming to dare to make such a suggestion as that to my darling daughter." "You will forgive me. I didn't understand," un-derstand," paid Wan Lung humbly. "Didn't understand? You should have, then I Elsie, darling, It never pays to have anything to do with these Ortentnls. They simply can't understand under-stand our American ways. They only Insult you." , Then Wan Lung made his little protests pro-tests "I do not think I Insulted Miss Elsie," El-sie," he said mildly. "I was good enough to teach, to have to your house to tea, and I I suppose I bad forgotten that I was yellow." And he went out. Hut now. If you go to Wan Lung's laundry shop, you will have to wait quite a while before he stngeers out of the little back room with bleary eyes and the faint aroma of the poppy about him. But Elsie's mother was correct. Wan Lung Is yellow. |