Frank Owen

“ Li Hsein alone remained, Li Hsein and the gorgeous yellow, carmine-splashed fan. Now as she sat by the doorway and the night blackness was drawn by the gods of the mountains like a great blanket up from the plains, the alley in which she dwelt almost vanished into the night mystery which is Canton. Only one shaft of light from within the house still cleft the blackness as though struggling for life. ”

“ Naught remained to him now but to rescue that girl, to carry her off to some jewel-like coral isle where he could spend his days in poetry and his nights watching her dance in the moonlight upon the coral beach. His thoughts were wild and mad, though no madder than life itself had grown to be. Nothing real existed any longer. All was fantasy and wraiths. Ghosts are only the dreams that men have had.
Lee Goona glanced up quickly as there came a soft step on the deck beside him. He rose to his feet and stared in rapture at the lovely golden girl. ”

“ Now many years have passed but Paul Benoit still lives in the yellow house by the yellow pool. He is old and poor. All his friends have fallen away from him. He is neglected, forgotten; but he does not care, for every night, at eventide, he goes to the yellow pool and sits for hours crooning wild, weird love songs to the golden girl whom he imagines he still sees poised nude on the brink of the water like a figure of burnished bronze. ”

“ Before him lay the purple sea, white breakers booming softly upon the coral sand.
He rose to a sitting posture and rubbed his eyes. Gradually the truth dawned upon him. For hours or maybe days he had lain delirious upon the beach. The ship of the golden sails, Jimber Jawn, the lovely girl, all were but figments of his imagination, of his delirium. None of them existed. It was devastating to realize that he had fallen in love with an exquisite girl who existed only in his delirium. His life was ruined. He had returned to reality. Reality was a curse. ”

“ In the distance a fringe of palm-trees could be faintly discerned in the moonlight. Together they set off for the distant shore. Whatever the future might hold for them, they would not return to the black ship of the golden sails. Better to risk death in the purple sea than to face death at the hands of Jimber Jawn. Lee Goona knew that his life would be the penalty if he ever encountered the irate captain again. ”

“ It was as though the fan resented the light and flung it back into the alleys. And Li Hsein, a shapeless mass, sat and crooned, forever waving the fan, crooned in a cracked harsh voice, broken melodies, unintelligible gibberish which might have been curses or prayers.
The shifting cycles of time are rather odd to contemplate. A few years and one is flung from one cycle of existence into another. The change is almost as great as the transition from one planet to another. In China the position of woman is on a very low plane, not much better than that of cattle or dogs. ”

“ Although I was born in San Francisco and have never been in China, the Yellow River flows through my blood. I have fallen under the spell of your eyes, the spell of their dark brooding mystery. There is far too little beauty in this world for any of it to be destroyed. ”

“ So hand in hand they walked back to Sam Wong's apartment on Pell Street. But now the stairs did not seem dark as they mounted. There was a pale blue glow as though a lantern had been lighted.
As Sam Wong pushed open the door of the apartment, Li Po greeted them with a song so beautiful it seemed as though the city had paused and stood on tiptoe to listen.
Barby placed her hand on Sam Wong's arm. "But I thought Li Po was dead," she whispered.
Sam Wong smiled reassuringly. "Not dead," he said softly, "living. Now we are all—living." ”

“ He kissed her warm lips, and the very breeze paused as he did so. It was the divine moment when their souls reached out to grasp each other. It was more than physical desire. There was something deeply spiritual about it.
Suddenly as they stood thus the girl uttered a frightened cry. She sprang away from him as Jimber Jawn reached their side. His face was working convulsively. The muscles stood out in knots on his bared arms. Lee Goona had no time to defend himself. He was caught unmercifully in those crushing arms and lifted high in the air as though his weight had been infinitesimal. ”

“ It was true that the sails still gleamed golden, but the ship and the deck itself were painted a dismal black, as though they had been painted with tar or road oil. Still he was on board, and that was much. He did not expect a private yacht.
As Lee Goona surveyed his surroundings the captain came ambling toward him. He was a great giant of a man. His face was not ugly, but strong. His square jaw betokened an indomitable will. His eyes were shaded by eyebrows bushy and black. They perhaps emphasized the piercing blackness of his eyes. ”

“ She had faith in Sam Wong. He was a genial philosopher. He never tried to force his favors upon her. One may bow down in worship before a goddess, but one should not presume beyond obeisance. Perhaps Sam Wong was foolish in his attitude. Certainly he was not a moralist, for his stock in trade destroyed the souls of men.
They never went out to dinner. All meals were sent in from near-by restaurants. Every conceivable luxury graced their table.
Barby was glad Sam Wong never urged her to appear upon the streets with him, although she was surprised that he did not. ”

“ Other times there were when his face was black and somber and Lee Goona was afraid to address him.
"It is interesting to have someone to talk to who has at least a glimmering of intelligence," declared Jimber Jawn. "The rest of the animals on board can not visualize anything above gluttony."
Just when a great fear commenced to grip Lee Goona it was hard to say. Perhaps it was the logical result of endless days at sea in that reeking black hulk with the gorgeous golden sails. ”

“ The cellar was absolutely unfurnished, unless the cobwebs of a century can be classed as drapery. Down the stone steps the night rain dripped monotonously.
"Look!" fairly shrieked John Rust, "look at these diamonds, sapphires, carved jades, rare corals, tourmalenes, emeralds and gorgeous lapis lazuli! Has ever mortal man gazed on a finer collection than this? Here is more wealth than even Midas dreamed of. The Gaekwar of Baroda by comparison to me is without jewels; the Dalai Llama of Tibet is a pauper when the light of my wealth shines upon him. ”

“ In Chinatown I am a man of mystery. It is right therefore that I should shelter a girl of mystery. Be assured that I am actuated by honorable motives. Sam Wong is but a humble merchant, a merchant who deals in beauty, a merchant of dreams. How then can I stand idly by while beauty is destroyed? ”

“ Materialists are wrong when they say there is no meaning in color. There is witchery, an allure as seductive as hashish.
I don't know when it was that we began to realize that the golden girl was enameling her face in an effort to make it white and was putting just a touch of carmine in the center of her cheeks. It was that touch of red that shattered the harmony of Paul Benoit's life. ”

“ He clutched at the bits of ashes, coal and pebbles which were falling through his fingers, the wealth which the Gods had lavished on him so prodigiously.
"Tell me," he cried hoarsely, "are your eyes not blinded by the brilliance of my stones?"
"My surprise at what you tell me is acute," I declared truthfully. "I can scarcely find words to express my thoughts."
"Don't try," said John Rust grandly. "The greatest rhetoricians the world has ever known have never invented words even to suggest their true magnificence. . . . . Nor is this treasure all I possess. I own the world! ”

“ Many people are color-blind; they can not distinguish one shade from another; but Paul Benoit was color-mad; he was madly in love with yellow. Except for this one peculiar twist to his mind, he was sane enough. ”

“ At the top of the harp is a single square blue diamond of forty carats, the finest in the world. It represents the Morning Star. The strings of the harp are the rays of the sun. The pink diamonds represent the individual kingdoms over which I reign."
As he spoke, we came to a hole in the ground, a filthy ancient cellar. I must confess that I had a twinge of terror as I followed John Rust down a flight of slippery stone steps, more treacherous and steep than the facade of Gibraltar. ”

“ If I had been the dust beneath her feet she could not have been more disdainful of me. In looks, she was a thing glorious to behold, tall and slim and molded like a Grecian goddess. Her almond-shaped eyes seemed to glow with the fires of golden passion ”

“ Has one not noticed the profile of a flower,
The lovely clear Line of a tea-rose
Laughing in the sun,
Or of a pale pink peony
Lush with morning dew?
Is there a music more exquisite
Than the perfume of a rose? ”

“ Why, those are not even fit to be thrown to the swine which grovel in a thousand pens more than a mile from my castle. Come with me and I will show you gems more wondrous than the Crown Jewels of Old Russia, more gorgeous than the collection of Cleopatra and more luxurious than the famed necklace of Helen of Troy. After you see my jewels, you will laugh at what is obviously but a collection of baubles. ”

“ Splashing and foaming
On the shores of other countries.
It is a Yellow River.
The yellow is a reflection
Of the sun
That shines upon the people,
Though sometimes
It is due to the gold
That lies within the man. ”

“ The fondness of Chinese for birds is traditional. In China it is no uncommon sight to see a rich man walking along the street, carrying a canary in a cage, taking the little songster out for a walk to enjoy the sunset. Sam Wong had always regretted that the custom of Manhattan precluded his walking about the streets with Li Po. ”

“ Once a great slimy rat scampered across his hand, leaving a streak of nauseating dampness upon it. He had been crouching on the floor, but at the touch of the dank skin he sprang to his feet with a startled cry. ”

“ But it would direct attention to him and he did not at that particular stage of his nefarious career care to be the target for the eyes of men. Better to be a shadow, for a shadow is indestructible, with nothing to dread or fear. ”

“ As he did so he beheld a figure coming toward him, the figure of his gorgeous golden girl. She waved her hand to him and she was smiling. What it meant, he could not tell. Had the thread of his reason snapped again? For now the fantasy had become the real. He could not explain it, nor did he try, for the wondrous girl was nestling in his arms and he was kissing lips more fragrant than wild cherries.
"We are saved," she whispered softly. "There is a friendly settlement of pearl divers on the other side of the island, and once a week a trading-schooner stops there en route to old Canton. ”

“ Lin Sing had fought the beast with his bare hands and had succeeded in keeping it back until she escaped, but he paid with his life. The wailing of the women who knew her continued until the body of the scholar was found. ”

“ She is never allowed to walk beside her husband on the street, seldom is permitted to eat at the same table with him, and if she displeases him he is quite within his rights to beat her into insensibility. But none of these customs applied to Li Hsein. She looked down upon men. ”

“ Ivory Girl," he murmured, "but enemies are pursuing me and if we fell into their hands the consequences might be dreadful. I was a fool to subject you to disaster. But you will be quite safe if you follow my instructions." ”