L. Frank Baum

“ To rob my ancestral halls would not be a sin, for you would deprive no living person of what is his at present or might be his in the future. As for the dead, my opinion is that my ancestors are very dead; and, in case their bodies resurrect at the end of the world, they won’t mind whether they are wealthy or not. I tell you, Sam, I can imagine no more foolish idea than to bury treasure with the dead, and had I lived to return to China it was my firm intention to rob the ancestral halls myself. ”

“ In the center of the alcove a light burned upon a low taboret, and near it squatted Mai Lo, absorbed in selecting and arranging a mass of jewels piled up before him.
So occupied was the governor with this pleasant task that he never looked up until after we had entered and stood in a silent row before him.
Then his body gave a twitch beneath his broidered robes, but his passive face showed no expression at all. Perhaps it was incapable of expression. Even the eyes had no more animation beneath their surfaces than shoe-buttons. ”

“ Why should I be faithful to my masters?”
“It’s your nature,” asserted Joe. “I said you were a gentleman, and so you are, as we Americans accept the word. With us a gentleman is he who behaves as a gentleman should; not a person highly born. But there is still another reason. A eunuch is of no use in the world outside of his own province. Here you have power. In Europe you would be despised and insulted. You don’t know the big outside world, and you would be unhappy there, in spite of your wealth.”
“You’d feel like a fish out of water,” added Archie, nodding. ”

“ In fact my people are not really religious at all, for they vilify and even thrash their bronze and wooden gods if they do not behave properly, and the whole ceremonial worship of China is a farce. I do not mind telling you that even before I went to Europe my heart refused to acknowledge those decayed ancestors of mine as more important than the dust to which they have returned in the course of nature. But I kept the secret of my apostacy to myself, and in order to secure ample funds to enjoy the pleasures of Europe I even robbed my ancestral halls of a portion of their treasure. ”

“ But his attention was distracted from us, who stood motionless with fear, toward the form of the governor, who was rising from the place where he had fallen. And Fo-Chu remembered that the great pain in his breast had been caused by the weapon of Mai Lo. So with a wild cry he leaped forward and swung the scimitar with tremendous power. It caught Mai Lo just above the shoulders, and the rarely tempered blade sheared through bone and muscle. The head toppled with a dreadful thud to the pavement, while for an instant the body stood erect and swaying. ”

“ Joe is rich. He could purchase a mate to the Seagull and never feel the expenditure. He could sail on our craft, if he chose, as an honored guest; but he prefers to remain a cabin-boy. Yet, in truth, there is little caste among us, and if Joe prefers to have duties to occupy him during a voyage, and fulfils those duties admirably, no one admires him less for that reason. Captain Steele slaps him on the shoulder as fondly and familiarly as he does Archie or me, and fat little Uncle Naboth locks arms with Joe and promenades the deck with him for hours. ”

“ Mai Lo, if he’s a good Shintoist, believes he himself will be condemned by the spirits of his own ancestors if he allows his master to be cast into the sea, whence it is impossible he can be resurrected when the end of the world comes.”
“But is Mai Lo a good Shintoist?” I asked.
“Mm—I don’t know. He claims to be; but the fellow puzzles me. Many of the Chinese wear a mask of expressionless reserve; but Mai Lo is the most incomprehensible being I have ever met. If he weren’t clever he wouldn’t be a high mandarin, so we can’t judge him by his terracotta face and beady eyes.” ”

“ We found ourselves in a lofty sleeping chamber that was beautifully furnished. The carved mahogany bedstead with its pagoda-like canopy towered fully fifteen feet in height, and its curtains were cloth-of-gold. Around the frieze, just above the heavy tapestry hangings, was a row of embossed golden fishes with ivory horns, set in a background of azure blue. Near to where we stood, at the left of the secret panel, a number of bronze tablets were attached to the wall, their faces engraved with Chinese characters. ”

“ The mahout in charge of the elephant which bore the casket of the Prince now urged his beast slightly in advance of our party, and, as it passed the gateway marked by the towering pillars, the members of the group prostrated themselves and with loud wails and groans grabbed up the dust from the road and scattered it over their bowed heads and bodies, until they were a sight to behold. ”

“ But here they were, finally, and Ko-Tua said to us in her simple way:
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“With no tongue a woman could not live happy, could she? So we do not care if we lose our lives. We come to you and trust you, for Nor Ghai says Wi-to is your servant, and Wi-to is almost as great as Mai Lo.” ”

“ I cried, resentfully.
“An outrage against the most sacred institution of China—the harem.”
“Fiddlesticks!” said Archie. “Don’t be an ass, Mai Lo. You’ve traveled a little and you know you’re talking rot.”
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“This is not America; it is Kai-Nong,” said the governor, grimly. “You have violated the sanctity of my family relations. You have disgraced Nor Ghai, the daughter of the princely and royal Kais. For this our laws have provided a relentless penalty—death!”
“It is so,” wailed the little Nor Ghai, bursting into tears. “You will die—you will all be sliced! And I knew it and warned you.” ”

“ Always at night the mandarin selected a native house and turned the inhabitants out that we might use it for our own accommodation. I suppose his authority as a governor allowed him to do such arbitrary things, for even the fierce Tartars humbly submitted to his will. Sometimes we passed the night at villages, where there may be always found comfortable inns; but wherever we slept Nux and Bryonia by turns guarded the slumbers of us three Americans, while the withered little imp of a Chinaman who rode with Mai Lo upon his elephant performed the duty of guarding the mandarin. ”

“ The floor was tiled and covered here and there with costly rugs; the woodwork everywhere was elaborately carved, and every nook and corner was crowded with rare ornaments and bric-à-brac, art treasures which would have filled the soul of a collector with envy. On one face of the wall was a display of ancient armor and weapons inlaid with gold and silver and set with precious gems. At either side of the entrance stood a huge bronze figure of the Sacred Ape, its grinning jaws filled with ivory teeth and its eyes set with immense rubies. ”

“ No one can gain any adequate idea of the magnitude of the Empire of China until he has journeyed up that great waterway, the Yang-tse-Kiang, and observed the millions upon millions of natives that throng both the river and its banks. For the first four hundred miles of its twisting, serpentine course, the Yang-tse seems to wind through one successive village, back of which the skilfully cultivated gardens and fields are visible. The people as a rule seem peaceful and plodding ”

“ He smiled.
“More than half the wealth of China—the accumulated wealth of centuries—is tied up forever in this absurd manner,” he replied. “My family was old at the time of the Tartar invasion, and it has always been wealthy. In my ancestral halls, in my province of Kwang-Kai-Nong, lies a mass of treasure that would startle the world if it were to be unearthed and publicly displayed. ”

“ You can wear that when you become a widow, Ko-Tua.”
“A widow!” said I. “When will that be, Ko-Tua?”
“I do not know; but before long, Sam. My husband must soon kill himself, you know.”
“I’ve heard something of the sort. Will it make you unhappy to become a widow?”
“No, I shall be glad. I hate Mai Lo,” she replied, simply.
I glanced at Mai Mou.
“And you, little Pearl?” I inquired.
“I do not like my father, either,” she replied. “But I do not know him very well. Perhaps he is better than he seems.”
“No, he is worse,” said Archie, positively. “I’m sure of it.” ”

“ The eunuch smiled as if suddenly enlightened, and accepted the task cheerfully.
“‘Wishing to die, as it is my duty to do,’” I dictated, “‘I have loosed the Sacred Ape and trusted myself to his avenging hand. If I am dead after we have met, all the world will know that Mai Lo, Governor of Kwang-Kai-Nong and the trusted servant of Prince Kai Lun Pu, who lies with his ancestors, has done his full duty.’”
Wi-to nodded like an automaton and wrote with much skill upon the paper, beginning at one of the bottom corners of the sheet and working up. ”

“ Then he turned his face toward me and asked:
“Cannot the friend of Prince Kai trust the promises of his friend’s servant?”
“No,” I replied. “The Prince himself told me to trust no one.”
“You have his letter of authority and his ring.”
“He is dead,” I answered, with a shrug. “I am not sure the commands of the dead Prince are as powerful as those of his living servant. I am told you are all-powerful in Kai-Nong, Mai Lo.”
“We who worship our ancestors obey the commands of the dead without question, even if it costs us our lives,” said the mandarin. ”

“ Mai Lo now summoned us to the feast in a voice that I thought a trifle impatient; but the eunuch paid no attention. He was examining Archie as he had me, and asked him how he liked China.
“I don’t want to be impolite,” said the bluff Archie, “and perhaps this country is all right for the people who live here; but for my part I prefer America.”
“That is natural,” returned Wi, laughing; “and curiously enough, Prince Kai had the same idea, or rather he preferred any part of Europe to his old home. ”

“ In a corner was an old scimitar with plaster and mud covering its surface. I rubbed away the filth and found upon the handle the Seven Rubies of Persia, which one of my ancestors won in battle. Each ruby is said to contain a drop of blood from the heart of a king, and whoever wields this scimitar is considered invincible, for the spirits of the seven kings fight for its champion. This treasure I could not leave buried, so I have brought it to my chamber and concealed it in the lower drawer of my cabinet. No one now alive will know where I got it. ”

“ The bright eyes regarded me intently for an instant, after which he turned to the Death’s-Head.
“Leave me, Mai Lo; I would converse with my host,” said he.
The attendant again prostrated himself, this time to his Prince, and retired without a word of protest. But almost immediately the Doctor came hurrying in, and there was protest in both his words and demeanor.
“Look you, Prince Kai,” he said, “this is no time for reckless folly. I gave you morphine to quiet your pain and enable you to sleep, and you positively must not excite yourself and neutralize the effect of the medicine.” ”

“ I explained. “His travels have made him a renegade and taught him to despise the religion of his ancestors. He has no intention of committing suicide, according to the traditions of your people. Nor will he allow the vast treasures of the House of Kai to remain sealed up in the burial halls when he has the power to enrich himself with them. His power as governor of this province will enable him to make secret arrangements to fly to Shanghai or Hong-Kong, and from there to leave China forever and carry his stolen wealth with him.” ”

“ Eh, Joe?”
“Exactly,” answered Joe, in his quiet voice.
“I like the chap, too,” said Archie, “but our sentiment won’t alter the facts in the case, will it? Here’s a treasure—and a whopper, too, I imagine—calling to us to come and take it, and——”
“And here’s Mai Lo, who wants it himself,” added Joe.
“Oh, him!” cried Archie, scornfully.
“Joe’s right,” said I, thoughtfully; “Mai Lo is a power to be reckoned with. Even the Prince fears him.”
“I don’t,” declared Archie, “the man’s a dummy. Anyone that’ll kow-tow and get on his knees the way this fellow does, is a coward and a sneak.” ”

“ I am quite certain I must find an excuse to behead both father and son, that I may free myself of this incubus of the House of Kai.
“The Fuh-yin of the city of Kai-Nong is even a worse scoundrel than Mai Lo. I have proof that he murdered his own brother, in order to become mayor and rob the city of its revenues. Some day when I have time I shall accuse and condemn my Fuh-yin, and invent a horrible execution worthy of his sins.”
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“In the palace the one power is the Chief Eunuch, who might make things very unpleasant for me were he not by nature faithful and obedient to his master. ”

“ So, if I was willing to rob the ancestral halls myself, and approve of your robbing them in my place, now that I am prevented, you need have no scruples on the plea of morality. Listen, friends: I present to you three—to Sam and Joe and Archie—all of the treasure contained in my ancestral halls. It is yours—I give it freely—but you must go and secure it, and that will be a dangerous expedition.”
“Why so?” asked Archie.
“Because you won’t have me to assist you,” he replied. “Because you must oppose the ancestral devotion, amounting to a religion, of the entire Chinese nation. ”

“ The doctor had not yet arrived by the time the elephant was loaded, and we began to be impatient. Mai Lo came to me to inquire why the noble physician was delayed, but I could not tell him. Messengers were sent back to the hotel, and in the meantime I watched two of the puffing, flat-bottomed little river steamers leave the bank a few rods away and begin a race down the river toward Shanghai. They had disappeared around the bend of the river a full half hour when a native touched my shoulder and stealthily handed me a soiled bit of crumpled paper. ”

“ Archie seized the scimitar and hacked away a section of the tapestry, and while I wondered what he was going to do he picked up the severed head of Mai Lo by its queue and dropped it into the cloth, gathering up the corners to form a bag.
“What is that for?” I asked, wonderingly.
“Why, it’s proof that the governor is extinct,” he said, with a grin. “No one is allowed to enter this place, so we must establish the demise of our dearly detested enemy in the upper world. Are you fellows ready?” ”

“ And now, to my surprise, the elephant of the Chief Eunuch pressed forward and that officer took the position of honor in the procession—immediately following the casket. The guards, too, fell away and remained outside the walls, while only the elephant of Mai Lo and our own were permitted to pass the gateway.
But once inside the gardens we saw that a new escort had been provided for the royal remains. Sixty gorgeously appareled men, armed with scimitars and broad axes, formed a circle around the elephant that bore the casket and prepared to guard it. ”

“ It did not matter that we were acting according to the Prince’s expressed wishes.
“Mai Lo must have suspected why we wanted to go to Kai-Nong, and so have put in that dangerous clause,” I said to the doctor.
“True; the fellow has entrapped us very cleverly,” replied Doctor Gaylord. “Yet he may be innocent of any intent to do so.”
“I’m not going to bank on that,” said I. “The consul knows the Chinese, and he says they are crafty. Mai Lo seems to have no more intelligence than a lump of putty, but for that reason he’s doubly dangerous. You can’t tell how much he knows, or what he thinks.” ”