"Pay him and let him go, my lord," she observed to her husband, who thereupon handed over the cash, and the doctor departed. When he was out of sight the old woman nodded shrewdly towards her husband, as much as to infer, "trust me for being smart," then having prostrated herself before the picture of the Kitchen god, gravely burnt the prescription, and pouring some warm tea upon the ashes, carried the drink to her daughter, and compelled her to swallow it, saying soothingly, "You'll be all right to-morrow."
"Oh, my heart, my heart," moaned the poor little girl.
"Oh, it is not your heart, A-tae, it's your brain that has become oiled by the sun. You'll be all right now, as it will congeal again;" and having delivered herself of this very Chinese opinion, the old lady withdrew, leaving the poor child to combat a disease as old as the hills, and for which there has never been but one cure since the world began. Nothing but the possession of the loved one will satisfy the poor souls, who, like A-tae, suffer from this awful affliction. No doctor can cure them,—possibly the priest may,—but not the man of medicine.
When the girl's mother saw her husband the latter did not ask how fared his darling A-tae. She was but a girl, and her death would not cause him to shed a tear, but the mother made up her mind to one thing, as she informed her help. "If that girl gets a little better, I'll take her to Nan-woo," a very sanctified Buddhist bonze, who lived in a hole in a rock situated in the Buddhist grove, distant about eight li from her house. But A-tae became worse, so they bled her. This took away what little strength she had left, and the gossips said she would soon salute heaven. Upon the afternoon of the fifth day some of the women round her bed were speaking about the hunt after the stranger who had been working with A-tae upon the day she was taken sick, and after observing that "he must have bewitched the child," they mentioned something which had a wonderful effect upon the girl, and which caused her to rally from that moment.
Jerry, having distanced his pursuers, determined to search for the caves of which A-tae had spoken. There was little difficulty about the matter, as the rocks were full of them; so having found one which he thought would suit, he quietly stretched himself upon the floor and went to sleep. As there was nothing to encourage the presence of the pulex family, he slumbered without annoyance. After dreaming of A-tae, and imagining they were about to united at the altar, with Mr. Shever acting as best man, and Miss Pferdscreptern as bridesmaid, Mary Ann being present in charge of a small family of Chinese children, one of whom strongly resembled Captain Puffeigh, the bewildered sailor woke, and upon rubbing his eyes, discovered that he was being watched by one of the police runners, who, when he saw him open his eyes, gave a loud alarm. Jerry got up, stretched his limbs, and then, walking to the entrance, took a critical survey of his position. The cave was dug out of the limestone rock and was approached by two paths, while in front was a steep decline down which it was impossible to escape. Gazing to the left he saw Corporal Pang, supported by a police runner armed with a short sword, while approaching upon his right was private Yung, similarly assisted. Thompson whistled.
Pang suddenly stopped, and called upon him to surrender.
Yung bawled to him to give up at once, or he'd kill him when he got hold of him.
The undaunted sailor only whistled all the louder. Seeing he was quietly awaiting their arrival, as if determined to give himself up, the soldiers clambered up the hill until Yung who was nearest him, stopped to breathe, upon which Thompson rushed at him, bowled him over like a ninepin, floored his attendant with a blow in the chest and then darted down the pathway and disappeared from sight; and Pang arrived at the top of the hill to find his companion in arms hors de combat. Yung being picked up by his comrade, and having acquainted him with the particulars of the assault, they again set off in search of the troublesome western devil. It was a smart chase, as the runners knew every inch of the ground; and after having sighted him several times, but to lose him again the next moment, one of them saw him disappear up a sort of ravine, from which they were certain he could not escape.
"It is the retreat of Nan-woo, a very holy bonze, and he is as safe in that hole as a rat is in a bottle," observed one of the police.
"He is a wizard, and will fly out if all other means fail him. Oh, I know we shan't catch him," grumbled Yung.