Charles A. Gunnison

“ The men at work on deck, with usual Mongolian nonchalance, went about their business without giving the least notice to the events occurring. "The lady Priscilla waits you in the cabin," said Dom Pedro. "She knows my plans and though I shall not intrude upon you I have a Chinese on guard who will kill you if any attempt is made to free you. Enter." Adams stepped toward the cabin at the stern, where the usual shelf-like arrangements of a junk had been transformed into a cabin suited to European taste, with comfort and luxury. Adams entered and the door was closed. ”

“ The winding road between ruined walls of gray stone, half covered with clinging ficus, spanned by broken arches, with here and there a fallen urn, led them through picturesque turns and by mossy steps to the foot of the huge black cross erected before the empty church. Neither spoke; they did not care for words and the only expression which framed itself audibly was that oft repeated jubilate of health and youth, "How beautiful it is to live!" ”

“ He handed Adams a bit of Chinese paper on which was written in Portuguese, "Come to the Praca de Luiz de Camoens at 8 a.m. to-morrow; follow the guide who meets you, and the lady Priscilla will be found." "I do not trust anonymous communications," said Adams, "but we must clutch at a straw now." "Nor do I," replied Dom Pedro, "and I will go with you; we will go well armed." Adams glanced down at his own empty sleeve and a cruel smile passed over the face of Dom Pedro as he noticed his comrade's pain. ”

“ Death at night and sleep in the day time are the characteristics of Macao. No one seems to work, play, sing, dance or even read unless the latter indeed may be done in what Alphonse Daudet calls la Bibliotheque des cigales.
As Robert Adams stepped from the chair, the Portuguese came forward with outstretched hand saying: "What is the news Dom Robert in Hong Kong?" "Oh, Dom Pedro, you came out so suddenly I thought I was attacked. No news, unless it is that the rector of St. John's is to join me to the loveliest girl in Macao or the world, in just three weeks." ”

“ Do not move a step, but sit down where you are." Her voice was so full of pleading that Adams forgot his first impulse and obeyed her. "I know all that has occurred dear Robert, your sacrifice and pain and the pain of all my friends during these sad weeks. Do not move toward me or you will be killed. I will not look up, dare not look up. ”

“ Being so constant a visitor, Robert Adams had his own rooms at Dom Amaral's, where he found his bags unpacked and the clothes laid out by those deftest of servants, the Chinese. According to custom the dinner of Macao was served at the late hour of nine.
Dom Luiz Diego de Amaral was one of the wealthiest Portuguese in the city, having, unlike most of his fellow citizens, investments abroad which brought [Pg 13] him a considerable income after the birth of Hong Kong killed Macao and left it a city of the past, of poverty and pride. ”

“ Later, the small circle of Macao society, of which poverty and pride were the ruling features, became too dull for the young girl and her foster parents took her often to Hong Kong where she met with those of the outer world.
In that hospitable society of the "city of the fra [Pg 14] grant streams," where the dinner table seems to be the only rendezvous, save a garden party now and then, a Tarrantella dance or a Government House ball, the fair Priscilla met young Robert Adams, a native of her far away and almost unknown home. The acquaintance blossomed into friendship and ripened into love. ”

“ The 22nd of May will be long remembered in Macao and never forgotten by the family of de Amaral. Early in the morning Robert Adams was up and impatiently waiting for Dom Pedro, who appeared a little before eight o'clock and the two, after a hurried breakfast, went to the Praca de Luiz de Camoens where a Chinese sailor met them. They followed him to the shore where a sampan was waiting in which they seated themselves and were soon gliding rapidly toward a huge junk of fine build which lay at anchor some distance beyond the Portuguese man-of-war, in the direction of Taipa. ”

“ A pleasant spot, and one not often molested by visitors on account of the somewhat toilsome climb required to reach it, is the church of Our Lady of Pehna on the summit of Mt. Nillau. Built in 1622 on this high point to be more easily protected from any possible invasion of the Chinese from the main island of Heang Shang, the church serves now only as an addition to the picturesqueness of Macao, and though repaired in 1837 is again in ruin. ”

“ Robert Adams, since the night of the attack had not recovered his senses, and lay in the house of Dom Amaral apparently between life and death. The surgeons from Sam Januarius hospital had decided that to save him, the amputation of his arm would be necessary, for the dagger which had cut it had been poisoned.
In the midst of this trouble, Priscilla's absence was discovered, and Macao was alarmed. Men were sent from the Governor's house in all directions to search [Pg 25] the public houses, the fishing boats, and every possible place within the small territory. ”

“ I began to notice that the eggs grew smaller each day and I felt starvation again taking me by the wattles. To die without friends on a desert island, horrible! Alone! Why? Can I not hatch these eggs, can I not raise a brood of little pullets who shall lay eggs for themselves and me? Time passed and I brought from the shells eight little chicks, but alas they were all cocks; poor me. What are they good for on a desert island? [Pg 38] They cannot even keep themselves. Perhaps I had thought too much of Billy during the setting and that influenced the eggs. ”

“ The pressure of a button pushed out a grooved dagger which fitted so low in the sheath as to show only the head of its jeweled hilt. Dom Pedro removed the dagger, wrapped it in his handkerchief and then putting it in his breast pocket replaced the empty sheath in its old position.
III.
The government of Macao derives its greatest revenue from the licensing of gambling houses, and these form one of the principal attractions in the city [Pg 19] to the European from Hong Kong as well as the native Portuguese and Chinese. ”

“ Priscilla Harvey never regained her reason, though she found pleasure in all the beauties of nature and her life was happy during the two years before her death. Dom Pedro went to Hong Kong and soon disappeared. Robert Adams remained in Macao taking charge of the d'Amaral foreign business. He was the daily companion of the unfortunate Priscilla in all her walks and it was but a year after her death, when I visited my uncle Robert in Macao, when the tragic event occurred which is narrated at the beginning of this history. ”

“ But my complaint was punished, for all of the brood were caught one day in the current and carried away. Poor, little, posthumous chicks, how your father Billy would have loved you and taught you to crow. Again I tried; this time with more success and brought from the eggs six little, fluffy pullets. All lived and we took turns, off and on, supplying the family with eggs, till one day men passing in a row boat, saw us and took us aboard. We had been on the island for two months. All my six pullets lived and married, and are now in the yard over the fence. ”

“ That old hen is one of the toughest confidence operators in the yard, and if you take my advice, (and I have lived over four Thanksgivings,) you will keep an eye open for all black Spanish hens who have lost a husband. ”