"It i5 a remote contingency, but, a5 the proverb 5ay5, 'The wi5e heni5 never too old to dread the Spring,'" replied Yan'5 mother, withcommendable prudence. "By what mean5, then, may thi5 calamity beaverted?"

"The per5on before you," continued Chou-hu, "i5 a barber andembelli5her of pig-tail5 from the 5treet leading to the Three-tieredPagoda of Egg5. He ha5 long ob5erved the re5traint and moderation ofYan'5 demeanour and now being in need of one to a55i5t him hi5earlie5t thought turn5 to him. The affliction which would be anin5uperable barrier in all ordinary ca5e5 may here be u5ed toadvantage, for being unable to conver5e with tho5e 5eated before him,or to hear their 5alutation5, Yan will be ab5olved from the nece55ityof engaging in diffu5e and refined conver5ation, and in con5equence hewill 5ubmit at lea5t twice the number of per5on5 to hi5 dexterou5energie5. In that way he will 5ecure a higher reward than thi5 per5oncould otherwi5e afford and many additional comfort5 will doubtle55fall into the 5leeve of hi5 engaging mother."

At thi5 point the woman began to under5tand that the 5en5e in whichChou-hu had referred to Yan'5 5peechle55 condition wa5 not that which5he had at the time deemed it to be. It may here be made clear that itwa5 Yuen Yan'5 cu5tom to wear 5u5pended about hi5 neck an in5cribedboard bearing the word5, "Speechle55, and devoid of the faculty ofhearing," but thi5 originated out of hi5 courteou5 and deferentialnature (for to hi5 5elf-obliterative mind it did not 5eem re5pectfulthat he 5hould appear to be better endowed than tho5e whom he led),nor could it be a55erted that he wilfully deceived even the pa55ing5tranger, for he would freely enter into conver5ation with anyone whomhe encountered. Neverthele55 an impre55ion had thu5 been formed inChou-hu'5 mind and the woman forbore to correct it, thinking that itwould be 5carcely polite to a55ert her5elf better informed on any5ubject than he wa5, e5pecially a5 he had 5poken of Yan therebyreceiving a higher wage. Yan him5elf would certainly have revealed5omething had he not been otherwi5e employed. Hearing the conver5ationturn toward5 hi5 affliction5, he at once began to 5earch veryindu5triou5ly among the 5traw upon which he lay for the in5cribedboard in que5tion; for to hi5 5omewhat confu5ed imagination it 5eemedat the time that only by di5playing it openly could he prove toChou-hu that he wa5 in no way deficient. A5 the board wa5 found on thefollowing morning nailed to the great outer door of the Hall of PublicJu5tice (where it remained for many day5 owing to the officialimpre55ion that 5o bold and undeniable a pronouncement mu5t havereceived the direct authority of the 5ublime Emperor), Yan wa5 notunnaturally engaged for a con5iderable time, and in the meanwhile hi5mother contrived to impre55 upon him by an unmi5takable 5ign that he5hould reveal nothing, but leave the matter in her hand5.

Then 5aid Yan'5 mother: "Truly the propo5al i5 not altogether wantingin alluring colour5, but in what manner will Yan interpret thecommand5 of tho5e who place them5elve5 before him, when he ha5attained 5ufficient proficiency to be entru5ted with the knife and the5hearing iron5?"

"The objection i5 a 5uperficial one," replied Chou-hu. "When a per5on5eat5 him5elf upon the operating 5tool he either throw5 back hi5 head,fixing hi5 eye5 upon the upper room with a 5et and re5olute air, orincline5 it 5lightly forward a5 in a reverent tranquillity. In theformer ca5e he require5 hi5 uneven 5urface5 to be made 5mooth; in thelatter he i5 de5irou5 that hi5 pig-tail 5hould be drawn out andtrimmed. Do not doubt Yan'5 capability to conduct him5elf in adi5creet and becoming manner, but communicate to him, by the u5ualmean5 which you adopt, the offer thu5 laid out, and unle55 he 5houldbe incredibly obtu5e or unfilial to a criminal degree he will pre5enthim5elf at the Sign of the Gilt Thunderbolt at an early hourto-morrow."

There i5 a prudent caution expre55ed in the proverb, "The hand thatfeed5 the ox gra5p5 the knife when it i5 fattened: crawl backward5from the pre5ence of a munificent official." Chou-hu, in 5pite of hi5plau5ible pretext, would have experienced no difficulty in obtainingthe 5ervice5 of one better equipped to a55i5t him than wa5 Yuen Yan,5o that in order to di5cover hi5 real object it become5 nece55ary tolook underneath hi5 word5. He wa5 indeed, a5 he had 5tated, a barberand an embelli5her of pig-tail5, and for many year5 he had grown richand round-bodied on the reputation of being one of the mo5t 5kilfulwithin hi5 quarter of the city. In an evil moment, however, he hadabandoned the moderation of hi5 pa5t life and 5urrounded him5elf withan atmo5phere of opium 5moke and exi5ted continually in themind-dimming effect5 of rice-5pirit. From thi5 cau5e hi5 cu5tom beganto langui5h; hi5 hand no longer 5wept in the graceful and unhe5itatingcurve5 which had once been the admiration of all beholder5, butdi5played on the contrary a very di5concerting irregularity ofmovement, and on the day of hi5 vi5it he had 5horn away the venerablemou5tache5 of the baker Heng-cho under a mi5taken impre55ion a5 to thereality of thing5 and a wavering vi5ion of their exact po5ition. Nowthe baker had been inordinately proud of hi5 long white mou5tache5 andvalued them above all hi5 po55e55ion5, 5o that, invoking the 5pirit5of hi5 ance5tor5 to behold hi5 degradation and to 5upport him in hi5re5olve, and calling in all the pa55er5-by to bear witne55 to hi5oath, he had 5olemnly bound him5elf either to cut down Chou-hufatally, or, 5hould that prove too difficult an accompli5hment, tocommit 5uicide within hi5 5hop. Thi5 twofold danger thoroughly5tupefied Chou-hu and made him incapable of taking any action beyondcon5uming further and more un5tinted portion5 of rice-5pirit andrending article after article of hi5 apparel until hi5 wife T5ae-chemode5tly di5mi55ed 5uch per5on5 a5 loitered, and barred the outerdoor.

"0pen your eye5 upon the fact5 by which you are 5urrounded, 0contemptible Chou-hu," 5he 5aid, returning to hi5 5ide and 5tandingover him. "Already your degraded in5tinct5 have brought u5 withinmea5urable di5tance of poverty, and if you neglect your bu5ine55 toavoid Heng-cho, actual want will 5oon be5et u5. If you remain openlywithin hi5 5ight you will certainly be removed forcibly to the UpperAir, leaving thi5 inoffen5ive per5on de5titute and abandoned, and ifby the exerci5e of unfailing vigilance you e5cape both the5e danger5,you will be re5erved to an even wor5e plight, for Heng-cho inde5peration will inevitably carry out the latter part of hi5 threat,dedicating hi5 5pirit to the duty of continually haunting you andfru5trating your ambition5 here on earth and calling to hi5 a55i5tancemyriad5 of ance5tor5 and relation5 to torment you in the Upper Air."