"No," said Mr. Kit-ze, "no!" and moved nearer to Helen as though to protect her. "It must not be!"
"I can spare a strand," said Helen soothingly to Mr. Kit-ze, "without its ever showing where it has been cut."
Then she turned to Dorothy. "Help me undo the braids quickly, dear, and get a part of one of them. You will know where to cut. Get a good-sized piece," she added with a smile. "We must give her her curiosity's worth."
As the braids were loosened and the strands swept in shining waves over Helen's shoulders, falling below her waist, there was a chorus of quick exclamations, followed by prolonged murmurs of astonishment. Only Mr. Kit-ze groaned.
Urged by Helen, Dorothy severed the portion of hair, which was at once conveyed to the yangban's chief wife. They could hear the excited expressions that sounded from behind the screen.
Mr. Kit-ze looked miserable. He stood with folded hands mournfully regarding Helen. His eyes said plainly, though his lips did not, "I tried to save it. If only you had let me!"
"Dear Mr. Kit-ze," said Helen, "how I do thank you for——"
But here she stopped, for the runner, who had at length succeeded, with the assistance of another, in getting the miriok from the old mutang was now offering it to her. He was also demanding for the magistrate the yen that had been mentioned.
Helen gave them to him, then reached for the miriok. But how her hand trembled! A pang too struck her heart. How different was the feeling to that with which she had thought she would receive the miriok if only she could succeed in recovering it! Though it had been stolen from Mr. Kit-ze, yet her chief thought when pursuing the old mutang had been of poor Choi-So, and of how frantic he would be should the miriok pass away from him. Now the miriok had been given back to her. She stood there with it in her hand. But there too stood Mr. Kit-ze, and she felt, if she did not see, his burning glance fixed upon the image in her clasp. How much he had dared for her! For it is considered a serious matter in Korea to interrupt a magistrate in the midst of his court. With what earnestness and eloquence had he pleaded for her hair, seeming to forget even the precious miriok in his desire to save to her that which he knew was pleasing to herself and a delight to her loved ones. He had even used his one claim to the favor of the magistrate in her behalf.
Yes, there stood Mr. Kit-ze with burning eyes regarding her, and there too, not more than ten paces away, was Choi-So. Only the moment before she had seen him, standing at almost the same spot and in almost the same position, his eyes riveted upon her every movement. How singularly quiet he had been! But it was, she felt, the quiet of concentrated emotion—emotion that might at any moment break forth.