“Now,” broke in Nor Ghai, wiggling expectantly in her seat, “tell me of Lun Pu—all of Lun Pu—and how he came to join his ancestors, and how you foreign dev—you, you——”
“That’s right. We’re foreign devils.”
“How you came to Kai-Nong?”
“Let me see,” I rejoined; “you are the Prince’s sister, I believe; Nor Ghai by name.”
“How did you know?” she exclaimed, clasping her hands with a little gesture of pleasure.
“And this must be Mai Mou, the governor’s daughter, called by all the world the Pearl of Kai-Nong,” added Archie.
“How strange,” she murmured. “Do you know everything?”
“Not quite,” laughed Joe. “For instance, we do not know who Ko-Tua is. Will she tell us?”
Now Ko-Tua was not the least charming of the little maids by any means. Her features were not quite so regular as those of Mai Mou, nor so merry and winning as those of Nor Ghai; but she was sweet and dainty as a spring floweret and her eyes had a pleading and wistful look that was hard to resist. So we were all greatly astonished when Mai Mou answered Joe’s question by saying:
“Ko-Tua is my little mother; she is my father’s new wife.”