British Columbia -- Fiction; Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Revenge -- Fiction; Sawmills -- Fiction
Her lips hung piteous for the lovely thing that Pete had found and
now held up in horrid triumph. The roll unrolled: he had the
crumpled end in his hand. It was a flag of blazing silk, a tartan to
appeal to any savage. Now it cried for help.
"You damn klootchman, you," said Pete. "What for Quin he give you
this?"
He kicked the roll with his foot. The stuff unrolled more and Jenny
cried aloud as though it was her papoose that her savage man ill-used.
"I don' know why he give it me," she squealed.
"Him velly kin' man always. Oh, don' tear it, Pete, oh, oh!"
With his hands he ripped the silk in fragments.
"You damn bad woman, mesahchie klootchman," he roared. "You no take
such a ting from Mr. Quin! You look at him lika you look at Spanish
Joe the other day: I see you."
"You no see me do anyting wrong," Jenny cried, weeping bitterly. "I
don' lika Spanish Joe. 'Tis a lie, Pete. And I no can help if Mr.
Quin give me tings. I a very good woman, on the Bible I swear it. I
quite virtuous; Mr. Quin he no touch me, I swear it. Don' tear it no
more. Pete, oh, don'!"
He set his foot on the silk and ripped full twenty yards into
fragments. The room was full of shining stuff, of red and yellow and
green: the floor was gorgeous with colour, and as he exhausted his
rage upon what he had found and was quite pitiless, her little flower
of love for him seemed to die in her outraged heart, which loved
beautiful things so much. Now she had nothing left, her visions
passed from her. She sat down on the floor and howled aloud, keening
over the death of the beautiful dress. She was no longer full of
pride, and conscious of her beauty: she was no more than a poor dirty
ill-used, heart-broken little klootchman, no more thought of than
dirty old Annie and Annawillee, who mourned so sadly the other happy
night.
"Aya, yaya, hyaalleha," she cried aloud. "Hyas klahowyam nika, very
miser'ble, aya!"
And Pete ran out of the shack leaving her moaning.
"That make her know what, eh?" said Pete. He worked furiously at the
Mill, without any food, and was very unhappy, of course, though he
knew he had done quite right in tearing the silk to pieces, and in
knocking thunder out of his klootchman. He didn't believe she had
been "real wicked," but when it came to taking presents from Mr.
Quin, and lying about them, it was time to look out.
"I teach her," said Pete; "give her what for, eh?"
But he wasn't mad with Quin. It was quite natural for Quin to want
Jenny. Pete knew all the men did. She was so pretty. Even the
Chinamen knew it and said so. Pete was proud of that. "Velly hansum
litty klootchman," said Wong. Why should a man be angry because
another man wants his "litty gal?" No need to "makee bobbely 'bout
that" surely. But the litty girl had to be taught, Nawitka!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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