Chinatowns -- Pacific States -- Fiction; Chinese Americans -- Fiction; Short stories
Chee A Tae was bitterly disappointed at seeing her husband without the
babe. She arose from her couch, and pulling open the door, which the men
had closed behind them, pointed them out again, crying: “Go, find my
son! Go, find my son!”
Chee Ping the First turned upon her resentfully. “Woman,” he cried,
“that he is lost is your fault. I have searched with my eyes, ears,
tongue, and limbs; but one might as well look for a pin at the bottom of
the ocean.”
The mother began to weep pitifully. “’Tis the Gambling Cash Tiger,” she
sobbed. “’Twas he who caused you to forget your parents and ill fortune
has followed therefor. A-ya, A-ya, A-ya. My heart is as heavy as the
blackest heavens!”
“What nonsense!” exclaimed Miss McLeod, thinking it time to interfere.
“The child cannot be far away. Let us all hunt and see who will find him
first.”
A crowd of men, women, and children had gathered outside the door, most
of them in gay holiday attire. At these words of the teacher there was
an assenting babel of voices, followed by a darting into passages, up
stairways, and behind doors. Lanterns were lit for the exploration of
underground cellars, stores, closets, stairways, balconies. Not a hole
in the vicinity of the Chee dwelling but was penetrated by keen eyes.
Rich and poor alike joined in the search, a yellow-robed priest from the
joss house and one of the Chiefs of the Six Companies being
conspicuously interested.
The mother, following in the footsteps of Miss McLeod, kept up a
plaintive wailing. “A-Ya, my young bud, my jade jewel, my peach bloom.
Little hands, veined like young leaves; voice like the breath of a
zephyr. Alas, the fates are against me! You are lost to your poor mother
who is without resource and bound with fetters. Death would be sweet
indeed; but that boon is denied.”
The day wore on and evening gradually stole upon them, followed by
night. The wind blew in gusts, but the moon had risen and was shining
bright so that there was a kind of moonlight even in the dark alleys.
The main portion of Chinatown had been thoroughly scoured, and most
attention was now being given to the hills which crept up to Powell
Street. It was in a top story of a half-way hill tenement that Miss
McLeod’s room was located; a cozy little place, for all its apparently
comfortless environment. When the wind began to blow bleak from the Bay,
her thoughts drifted longingly to her easy chair and cheery grate fire;
but only for a moment. Until the baby was found she could know no rest.
The distress of these Chinese people was hers; their troubles also. Had
she not adopted them as her own when kinfolk had failed her? Their
grateful appreciation of the smallest service; their undemonstrative but
faithful affection had been as balm to a heart wounded by the
indifference and bruised by the ingratitude of those to whom she had
devoted her youth, her strength, and her abilities.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account