THE STORYTELLER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 16 April 1907, Page 4

THE STORYTELLER.

door went erasffiig down into the corridor. A mass of blue-coated police-officers burst through tin- opening, and tJio flashing of biill's.-CYc lanterns streaked the darkness. Li Chung and his attendant brought up the rear, their arms grippud by two policemen. Sergeant Payne kicked open |he door of one of smokeroom after another. All were empty. He came to that into which Lucy I'o laid vanished. He entered , followed by his in.-n. The I'mure \V» a whit,' woman reclined upon the bamboo couch. She was dressed in a long cloak, that reached to her feet, !ier hill covered her 1) 'ad, snd a heavy veil was iVawn over the upper part of her face. Her hail' hung loosely down her back. " Xail me to the mast !" cxcUrmel the burly -ci'geant, red and ruffled from his exertions, "bn( we've had a lot of work to catch one fiend—and a female one at that." He stepped to the couch and shook- the sleffier. "(Jet up and come along," he said gruffly. The woman stared, opened her eyes, and slowly rose to her feet. She swayed unsteadily, and seemed dazed. "Take her to (he patrol-wagon.'' 01-cl-rod Sergeant Pavnc. He stepped to the door of Lucy ].Vs room. "Only bov-actor li\e there." slid Li

THE .SHACKLES OF SILENCE. A STRANGE TALE OF THE OPIUM DEXS OF OLD CHINATOWN JN .SAN FRANCISCO.

Lucy Po boy, actor in the Chinese Theatre in San Francisco, divested himself of various gorgeous garments in the squalid dressing-room under the stage. He had been acting the part of Qucoiiilo Fan in a play whose performance had taken six nights. Luey Po had spoken his last lines and expired dramatically. He now wrapped up the shimnierug robi's of silk and tinsel into a bundle and left the theatre. As the Queen Mo Fan thousands had admired and appiauded him that week-to-night not only one of all the hurrying mob had word or look for him. He felt himself abandoned and alone. But that was natural enough- he was an orphan, a half-caste, an actor of female parts! His mother had been a white woman, and *he had bequeathed the Caucasian cast to his countenance. His father, an exporter of the iridescent nibalonc shells, had been very cruel to her. She had endured all patiently, aid two years ago, when he was sixteen, she passed away. It' was she who had taught him Engl'sh —but without the knowledge of bis father. Once on his birthday she gave him a copy of Longfellow's poems. He had treasured it ever since. A year laier his father was drowned at the shell fisheries, and he was left alone. One day th'e director of the Chinese Theatre spoke to him in the street and offered him a place among his female impersonators. Luey To was hungry ; he accepted through necessity. Henceforth he felt himself disgraced as one who had sold his birthright, his manhood. His few acquaintances now ignored Mm. They spoke slightly of his birth, they called him a mongrel, and criticised his features—the skin too fair, the eyes too large and round, the hair too brown and Soft. Truly he was fit only to be—or play—the woman. His head was not shaven like other oien.s because it was necessary that Ms hair be dressed like a woman's for the stage. For all that ho wore his queue, the one badge of his sex and of what dignity was still his. So with a sad and heavy heart the young Luey Po made his way through th» packed thoroughfares. It was the Chinese New Year, and the streets rang with music and rattled with fireworks. He cared nothing for the festivities, (for it was they that saddened him by force of 'their contrast with his own position. He turned into a darker and lonelier street, and a deep sigh of relief rose to his lips. ! His thoughts now turned happily to his Hfework—the translation of Longfellow's poems into Chinese. It was a sacred task dedicated to the memory of his mother, a labour of love. He had already chosen the title for his version. It was to be called "The Palace of a Thousand Lights." He had completed the translation of some hundred and thirty of the poems. The roll of manuscript lay within an inner pocket of his tunic, and he carried it about with him wherever he went. He now pressed it close against his breast, as a father might press his darling offspring. With joy he thought of the few horns of poetical toil before him. AH that evening the lines of the English originals and his own Chinese versions had been running through his head, sadly conflicting with the cues amLspeeches of the Queen Mo Fan.

Chung: "act woman's part in Chinese Theatre." The sergeant towered into t!«' liny doorway, a giant clad in bine. He saw a (igiire huddled upon a chair in one corner. The bright spot-light of Ids lantern singled out the brilliant Chinese robes and tinsel ornaments and revealed a pale, uiniappv face wilh startled eyes, half hidden beneath the ornate head-dress. lie sniffed the air. There was no scent or opium there. The picture was distinctly and genuinely Oriental. The sergeant glane.-d about the room, then left it with the remurk: "There's only a Chinese kid there." Luey Po, wearing the hat, cloak, and veil of Hiss Menthain. was taken to the patrol-wagon waiting outside. He had pulled the veil completely over his face. Dunber Alley was congested with a curious and jeering crowd, through which the policemen sturdily forced their way. The white cover of the patrol-wagon loomed up over the mob. Inside the wagon were several white women and,' two men wdio had been captured in t. raid upon some other opium "joint." The wagon drove away rapidly to the prison at the Hall of Justice. Here their names were entered upon the Detention Book. Li Chung was charged with maintaining an opium-den, the others with opium-smoking in defiance of the law. Li Chung, being Chinese, was removed to a special cell. He walked away with an inscrutable smile upon his saffron-coloured face. i

"Your name," asked the official at the desk, turning to the boy actor. '•Luey Po," lie replied in his perfect English. The clerk, with a flourish, wrote it down—Louie Poe. Two of the women, who by manner and appearance were certainly ladies of refinement, requested that a certain person be communicated with, by telephone. Tile seven prisoners were then taken into a large temporary cell which had been reserved for them. Here fluey were to remain till the morning. The front of the coll was open from floor to ceiling, but shut off by iron bars from the corridor. There were six chairs in the cell. His fellow-prisoners immediately possessed themselves of these. Luey Po walked to a dark corner of the eell and leaned against the wali. U would be but a few hours before morning: came. A sleepy attendant dozed and nodded in his chair under .1 flaring pas-light in the Jiallway. The two cleanly-dressed ladies whimpered to each other in frightened tones audible to Luey Po.

< The lodgings of Luey Po consisted of a single small, bare room in the celiar of an old house in Dunbar Alley. It was very damp and dark and cold, but when Lucy Po was rapt in the ecstasies of translating from his beloved book he noticed none of these things. It was then that he wandered, a king in his own "Palace of a Thousand Lights." He reached the ailey. It was filled With a jostling crowd that elbowed each other in all good nature. Luey Po entered a narrow passage between two houses and disappeared down an area. From this he entered a hallway, made various turns, and ascended and descended several short flights of stairs. A middle-aged Chinese, his neighbour, Li Chung, sat smoking on a chair before a massive door of oak. He nodded to the boy as he passed through. There were two more of these heavy doors in which small, square openings were cut protected by iron ibars. Enormous bolts were fixed on the inner side. A thick and pungent odour filled the air. He passed a room the door of which stood open. The dim light of ;. smoky oil-lamp disclosed its showy Oriental* interior. Outstretched on a bamboo couch Luey Po saw a beautiful wh'tc girl deep in slumber. Her right hand, fallen to the floor, held an extinguished opium-pipe. Beside her on a stool of ebony glowed the tiny lamp at which the sticky balls of opium arc lighted. .She lay smiling in her lethargy: the magic of {he poppy had east its spell over her senses. Tlie. sight was nothing new to Luey Po, but the door had cxidently been left open by mistake. "So he closed it gently, and entered his own room which adjoined.

"Oil, the disgrace of if. Alice," exclaimed the older one; "whatever shall we do?" She broke down into a fit of despairing tears. Her young companion placed an arm about her, and stared before her in a stony silence. Tiie two men chatted and smoked. Four o'clock boomed out from the tower high above. At six a gentleman came hurrying up the corridcr and peered between the bars. nig face was full of grief and anxiety.

"Alice! Ethel!" he called. The two women gave a cry of joy and ran towords the man. They extended their bands to him from behind the bars. "Father!" cried the younger, "take us away from this terrible place-!" The elder dung to his hand and wept and said nothing.

"lU.y poor wife, my poor daughter,' exclaimed the new-comer. He present ed a slip of paper In (lie warder. Ti was an order of release; he had furnish ed bail. The secret of that select fain ily was safe: they had been spared th< terror, of publicity. Xo newspaper, would serve up that respected name h a succulent dish of scandal in the scorn fill populace. The heavy door opened and clanged shut again. Husband wife, nnd daughter vanished into tin shadows. Then from without came (he rolling of carriage-wheels.

l-ucy Pi) tool; on,- of the vacated chairs and sat tlipvc lost i„ abstraction. The stoic quaKties of the Chines:. Wood <>f his father now manifested themselves. IT- was indifferent to his surroundings mid impending f.ito. His mind roved delleiously iimid the beauties ami melodies of the '-Pa Inc. of a Thousand Lights. The manuscript lying against his breast seemed to communicate a thrill to his blood. New lines sprang into his fancy. Those he had formed a tew hours afro sang themselves to him. At eight o clock a meagre breakfast of porridge, bread, and coffee was brought to the weary prisoners. "You are all to appear at ten o'clock n Department S"ven," said the turnkey. _ I„oy for (he first time closely examined Ins cellmates. The two men were well-dressed hut dissipated lookJjiif. both '■bends" long accustomed to file use of the poppy. One of f| lc ~.,. inainmg women was a poor, forlorn creature wit'h a haggard and woifegouc Mee. | he other was a young girl of evident respectability, who seemed too crushed by her misfortune to think or

The opium den was kept by Li Chung. Most of his patrons were white women of the upper social circles who in one way or another had fallen victims to the dream-creating drug. Li Chung had been a cook in the family of .Judge Jicntham, one of the sternest and most respected judges of tjie Police Court of Sin Francisco. . Madeline, the judge's only daughter, had, in an evil hour of curiosity, asked Li Chung to teach her the use of the pipe of oblivion. The narcotic drug had claimed her for its own. As yet no one suspected that the lovely and accomplished girl had acquired the. accursed habit, Li Ciuing, scenting danger from afar, found it wise and profitable to retire to Chinatown. Here he established secret and exclusive smoking-rooms under the very nose of the police.

Madeline Benthani and others became his patrons. The unfortunate girl had endeavoured to resist the awful fascination of the drug, bus in vain. .Sometimes she came for several days, sometimes but once a week, according as opportunity presented itself. Luey I'o knew her by. sight and name. Her eyes were like those of his mother, he thought, and so his heart was Smitten with a great pity for her. Luey Po struck a light and seated himself at a rickety table. He brought forth his roll of manuscript, placed the volume of the original [lOems before him and began writing. His face glowed with joy in the yellow rays of the candle. his eyes sparkled as the inspiration fell upon him. Now and again he jumped to his feet and strode rapidly up and down his narrow-, celi-likc room until the proper word, or image came. He had been writing for an hour when a great and sudden commotion arose outside. It was the siamming to of the heavy oak doors and the falling into place of the iron bolts and bars. Hjej heard the thunder of blows and the shouts of men. Opening the door be recognised the voice of Li Chung raised in shrill protest at the farther end of the eorrider. The police were now at the second door. The hollow blows of the heavy sledge-hammers resounded furiously; the axes swung by the brawny arms of the raiders were making matchwood of the stubborn oak. There came another loud crash ami the fall of a heavy body. The door had been broken down.

„ A ' '", I 0?* t,,f ' of the co, t tailed the prisoners. H ( , nOt j PP(l hat. Luey Po held something concealed t"ca , h:,s tuniie. "What have von We.' he afi |- c ,,. T| „, , >lrcw •is manuscript. ",\ translation of KnIsh poems.-' h 0 replied. "You mean lottery tickets,- returned ar cM, "n,''"*, " |X>n thp "^ • liaucteis -hi ~,,,,, ( . h , of " ,i '"'»; Jt wili.be a lint,, more evi- "'"«•. He marched then, upstairs and aiong the marble halls where the court-rooms lay. He -t0,,,,,.,! |,„f 01 . 0 the swinging door- of IVpartuicit Seven «■'« lung (he,,, open. Judge Jjenlha,,, "us the mum; thai >|,one j„ ~0 1u, .n ;,,. tcrs m a panel over Ihe door DesniHthe early hour, the courl-r0,,,,, was 'filled wi.h the usual crowd of idle habit- j ues and loafers. The live prisoners' were taken into the dock.

A single barrier separated thi- raider from the smoking-rooms.

The thoughts of Lucy IV) were all lor the hapless daughter of .Incite Heniham. At that moment the girl appeared in the doorway of her room. lfer eyes were wild, her manner distracted. The effects of the opium had worn oil', and she was alive to the noise and (lie danger. There was no means of exit ai the rear of the building. In her right, hand she held a long cloak, a hat, and a vol. "My Cod! A raid! The police!" «he cried, turning towards Luey Vn. "Save mi'—hide me!" "hi here." cried tin- hoy-actor, and thrust her info his own room. He tore open the parcel containing the costume <>f Q ii Mo Fan. -Quick! I'u! these on. Sit down on thai .hair in the corner and pretend to sleep. Tlon'l speak, whatever you do. Cm. me votir hat and coat—and the reU.''

The girl handed these to Mm. and he made for the door. A, 1„. pass>d ) u \ writing-table he snafcieal np his precious manuscript and thrust it into his jacket. IJe dosed the door of his own room and entered the opium den. The Wows were still falling upon the ;,ns(. door that separated them from Hie police, nnd the deep voic,. n f Sergeant Payne, the terror of (,'hinest law-breakers. wa~ heard above the clinionr.

"Tlin« away: my men." lie rn.-iml. "we'll liavi- lii-r ilnv.n in n jilTv.' - There was a -.oiiii.l of splittimr ltd sr>li:i(«,ii!;. wood, of iron ]iiiipr« r.ud holts living from their hoy, and then (he ponderous

■fudge lientham towered' above them old, stern, and haughty. He was i man of fifty-live, grey-haired and blackI'.ved. A close-cropped, pointed beard -oin'ewiiat. softened the ri-id oe'iines . hi- face.

He was noted and feared Inr (he , ■ Ueiiie harshness of his sentences 'The <weet plant of mercy found littl,. soil "herein to llouer in that bv.ast of his. His sense of justice „,,.- J>,.„ ian , ;,mii' f.ble to the pleadings of compassion alter the preliminary readings were o'-cr lie the aceased in cold an'

•|'ri:-...H-r; at ;lie tar. you an; ■Vir-'-ilh a vile, soui-destioy'iug vice Yon :ivi; broken Ili L . law tn'it ']',rbi,|s wh.-i.-

opium-den- o! Chinatown. Yoi, havf. deliberately lirok-n (hat law. There is no defence for tin; Jifil.it, of opium-sum];, ing. It can be eomjuere.| and overcome. All dial is required is determination and strong will. II is our dutv to stamp mil this evil thai is eating it's way into our homes and families. '~\Ye must isolate tin; users of Ihe drug ns we would lepers. They are moral' lepers. If we do no! enforce the full penally, we shall never he able to roof, out, I his plague, this canker of our cilv. It lias already conlamiiialed the sanctity of our homes. The accused were, taken in the act. and have Mile or no defence to oli'cr. AW will proceed with Ohe

Jcll'crson l.aviie and ll'enry Tnmlin, being old oll'enders, were sentenced (o three months in the House of Correction. The bedizened young woman was iriven n month in the name place. The girl, Harriet Marlowe, was sent for a month to the Magdalen Asylum. It was her first offence." The men and the elder women received their (sentences without a sign of emotion. The girl broke down and was led away, sobbing bitterly.

"T,diiii' Vw." enlled Judse Tienflnm. •'•Tom's is the most serious case of the five You ii-M-p found in the opium-den of 0110 r.i Oiiinpr. insensible, with (lie pipe in your liniuK It lias also Ijooh discovered th;i( you had in your possession a pili; of Chinese lottery tickets. Do you know, young woman, that that is a

serious violation of the law You stand [charged with two offences. What have you to say for yourself?"

"Against the iirst charge—nothing, your Honour," said Lucy Po in a very low voice. "But I'm not guilty of the second charge. Those are not lottery tickets, hut the Chinese translation of English jioeius,''

•liidge Hentham stared al the manuscript. "Sergeant Payne," he called That officer approached the desk. "Sergeant. ~1-e these lottery tickets or no! ■''■ "They don't ioolc much like the ordinary kind, your Honour." remarked Hie nllirer as he inspected the vertical lines .of mysterious characters. -But the Chinese have become very cunning of late, your Honour, and disguise the t'ekels .11 all sorts of ways, I'm pR ,Uy certain Hint these ai- L - lottery slips."' "That is my opinion too," said (he judge. He turned toward Luev Po '"S oung woman," said he, "have you no friends or relations who will give hail for vmi> Yon seem very young." "1 have no friends or relation* 1 ' re turned the hoy. ruining his fin-ers through his long hnir. ".VI that f wish islJ):n ,nv po-ms 1,,. ,/,„,„ |,. u . k ,„,„„„ It is the custom to d.'Sfrov all lottery tickets seized. Tn default or hail, it JS my duty to inlliet. (he penalty l,v law made and provided for the offences o| which you arc niiillv. T.onio Poe Ih s Court decrees flmf y ou be sentenced lo two monllis 1 1, :11 ., i ];,|,oi, r ~t ,<<.,„ I,'ecnlin.-'

Taiey I'o ma,l,, „„ j,,,, f . uv r.urliful to many a trial „„ (]„, 5f.,,,.,' betrayed no eiuolion. His one ihotHit rested Willi his -Palace of a Thousand bights.

I. " beg your Honour to find out the truth concerning these siips of paper. ,'. "' } !11 '; > I'ot'ins. yon,- Honour—it is niy life-work." , Judge Bentham deigned no reply. -Next case!" he called in curt, sharp tones. *

A policeman motioned Lucy Po from the dock. As the hoy turned and walk«d away, the eye of the judge fell suddenly upon his retreating foirm. He started slightly. Something about that hat and coat struck him a's peculiarly familiar as he scanned the hack of the ■woman. What was it? It flashed upon l.im ,„, ani instant The cloak- and hat Hcie hke, Jus daughter's-nay, (hey were his daughter's!-his own gift lo her. Call back the prisoner," he cried sharply. The court-room was hushed into instant silence. Once more Lucy Po stood in the dock.

lhe cloak and hat you are weariim--_ wlicre did you get them?" asked tlio judge m stern, intense tones. Luov Po was silent. The judge repeated' his question more loudly and harshly than before. Lucy Po ratsed his head. "I did not steal them, ronr Honour," he said. "I got them in Chinatown." Sergeant, have the prisoner remove her hut and eoat ami hand them up to me." The sergeant relieved Luce Po of the long, handsome cloak that'had so effectively concealed his own shabby clothes. The boy stood there in his blue drill tunic ami wide Chinese trousers. A luml rumour of astonishment ran through the court-room. His feminine features and long hair still made the 'ex of the prisoner a matter of uncertainly. Was it a man who had been disguised as a woman who was now disguised as a man? Was he—or sheCaucasian or Chinese V The sergeant handed him Hie cloak ami hat. Judge fientham examined the label of the maker under the collar. He read the name of his daughter's dressmaker, and his face became as a mask of east-iron. •'This ease is 'becoming criminal," he sold. He bent his pitiless eyes upon Lucy Po. ''Prisoner, who and what are you? What is the disguise «ou are wearing?" ".My name is Lucy Po," calmly replied the boy. *'f am not wearing a disguise —not now. lam an actor at the Chinese Theatre"—then, as If to erase the ignominy of the confession, lie added proudly—"and a poet." His appearance and his faultless English perplexed the judge.

'•now do you speli your name?" he asked, glancing at the'list before him. "Are you Chinese or white? A man or

a woman?" "T.-V-K-Y r-Of r|M uracil the b'oy. "1 am neither Chinese nor white. lam both. lam a man m the daytime—a woman at niirlit." He spoke with a dramatic, deliberate intonation, as if lie were delivering the lines nf n. set speech. "How came 'i hii( hat and cloak into J«)ur possession?"

All the craft and artifice of his Mon-

golian ancestry now claimed (hoi,- s b : , V e of i.ucv Po's conscience. "Kay you round them." these far off voices whispered in his ears. Tint the noble precepts his white mother had taught him laid their hands upon his tongue and forbade the falsehood. Yet to tell the (ruth would menu ruin for another. Suddenly lie remembered the beautiful

instance of a noble, self-sacrificing Ho in oil" of the poems he had translated. That was (lie only path for him to fol-

"T found (hem lyiii'; in a room—in a tea-room in China town," he sn'd. "f took tliuni—when no one was looking" A look of si-ini satisfaction spread over the fixtures of .Tiiiljw TVntham. "Mr Cleric," said he. '-please enter gainst the prisoner's nanie-whicli has been misspelt—two additional cliari'Ps—<rraml larceny and masquerading in'remain attire. The prisoner Has confessed the one charge and stands solf-conv'cted of the other. The first sentence stands reversed. Tt is the order of this Court that T.uey Po. Chinese, actor hv profession, he sentenced to hard laliour for the period of one year at Sen Qnentin." f.uev Po <r aZl .,i ~almlv ~0 f0, .( , ]lim The original ini)iulse that had led him |o save the daughter of the man before him from public disgrace still tied his tongue. VoUiing that concerned his own power to protect the welfare of another.

1H his silence confirm his guilt—what vliil it ™tt«rv So he uttered no word. I'll I. followed (1 10 officer o|lt of (hp Tm)m _ llifi lust words lie heard fell from ./ml™ P.entham-s lips: "Next case.!" That evening, when Judge Jtentlimn returned to his elegant home on Pacific Heights he immediately soughl out his daughter Madeline.

"Madeline," he said, "how d : d vou happen to come home without a, hat'or cloallast night? Where did you lose them?'' The girl grew pale. "Why. father—T— I went shopping— In Chinatown. I " "Yes, and you were very careless } on took off your things in «. tea-room' eh ? And they were stolen y Well, I had the thief before me this mornin". sin—l mean be—was arrested i„ your coat and hat. Said he was an-actor -it the Chinese. Theatre—n mere boy-a half-breed. They caught him in one of those vile opimn-dens. He had a. pile of lottery tickets on him, too. which he insist nl were poems. It was a bad case, and I gave him fuli measure—but what is the matter with you Madeline i" The girl had risen, uttered a faint crv and had collapsed into the chair. The judge hurried from the room, callim-for 11s wife. Madeline lientham crept" to her bed and fell upon it in an uneontrollajne agony of shame and sorrow Ihe next day Judge lientham appeared m court, looking very old very ■weary and very sad. The stern ' line's around his mouth were softened and reaxnl. |, 15 voi , |su , |]]y so | . l . ni i|n|| fill , w.as low and even faltered now and then, 'that day a strange «entio--111.111 appeared before the clerk of (he court and offered bail for the release of Luey I'o.

Luey l'„ was seen no more „pon the hoards oi the Chinese Theatre ill San . .ueisc.,. A }'<•<"■ lalf-r a publisher's cireular m ilu- Chinese; newspaper announced the translation of Longfellow's l>™™» mto the The work "as called the "Palace of a Thousand Lights, nnd was ''Dedicated to the sacred memory 0 f ,„ v evcr-iamenlot •tuiigc li.nry Jlentham."