At first genuine sorrow controlled the Celestial. And indeed the onset was so furious and determined that the Chinaman had enough to do in fending blows, and was not a little alarmed. But when Joe, in closing, clutched him by the head, and essayed to unwind his pig-tail, alarm yielded to horror at this unexpected indignity. An ominous glitter came into his eye, and a string of curses in his native tongue flew from the angry heathen.
The boy, having loosened the tail, wound a coil of it round his hand, and began to give fierce tugs. Passion in an Oriental may take any turn. A passion-fired Chinaman, however well-disposed and peaceably inclined at other times, will wreak his vengeance regardless of moral issues. With a yell of mingled pain and rage the maddened man executed a Chinese edition of Jiu-jitsu, sending his youthful antagonist whirling through the air, to come down with a rattling bump that shook the breath from his body. Fortunately for Joe, the part of his anatomy which bore the brunt of the contact was that least susceptible to damage.
This act would have been followed by one severer still had not Mrs. M'Intyre at that moment run into the kitchen, and, seeing the fallen boy at the mercy of the rage-possessed Chow, who was in the act of assault and battery, made for the man with a shrill scream, and hauled him off the prostrate lad. All the while, John Chinaman was in a state of wild excitability, sending forth a torrential stream of pidgin-English.
Joe tumbled to his feet none the worse for the bout save a bruise or two. The sight of Ah Fat with flowing pig-tail and grotesque gesticulation sent the lad into fits of laughter. This only the more incensed his adversary, who made another effort to get at him, being hardly prevented by Mrs. M'Intyre. In this hilarity Joe was joined by Jess, who had followed her mother and stood first in terror, but now with hearty laughter.
"Joe Blain, get out of this kitchen this moment, you wicked boy! Be quiet, Ah Fat, or I'll call for one of the men! Stop laughing at once, Jess, you bold hussy, or I'll box your ears!"
Both Joe and Jess disappeared in a flash, and this had the effect of calming the Chinaman, who told the tale to his mistress as well as his perturbed condition and broken English would allow.
"Me thlo dirtee watah outa window. Joee comin' plast. Me no see him. Watah 'it 'im head and soljer. He jumpee tloo window, pullee hair, welly angly. Me get angly too, and thlo 'im down."
"Quite true," said Joe, who suddenly appeared at the window. "It's all my fault. He didn't see me, I'm sure, when he pitched the stuff out. My paddy got up, an' I went for him like a terrier. I think the terrier's got the worst of it, eh, Ah Fat?"
The quick acknowledgment of wrong produced an immediate effect on Ah Fat. There was a winning grace about Joe that few could withstand. Hitherto he had been the cook's favourite. And now, no sooner did he express his sorrow for the summary proceedings, and own his defeat, than the mantling frown of anger on the Chinaman's forehead vanished, and his dingy and stolid countenance lit up with a smile.
"Me welly solly——"