* * * * *
A trio of Europeans might have been seen on the morning of Monday, May
10, 1909, leaving Tong-ch'uan-fu on the road to Yuen-nan-fu, whither the
author was bound. Mr. and Mrs. Evans, who, as chance would have it, were
going to Ch'u-tsing-fu, were to accompany me for two days before turning
off in a southerly direction when leaving the prefecture.
It was a fine spring morning, balmy and bonny. It was decided that I
should ride a pony, and this I did, abandoning my purpose of crossing
China on foot with some regret. I was not yet fit, had my broken arm in
splints, but rejoiced that at Yuen-nan-fu I should be able to consult a
European medical man. Comparatively an unproductive task--and perhaps a
false and impossible one--would it be for me to detail the happenings of
the few days next ensuing. I should be able not to look at things
themselves, but merely at the shadow of things--and it would serve no
profitable end.
Suffice it to say that two days out, about midday, a special messenger
from the capital stopped Mr. Evans and handed him a letter. It was to
tell him that his going to Ch'u-tsing-fu would be of no use, as the
gentleman he was on his way to meet would not arrive, owing to altered
plans.
Pages:
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237