For over an hour the two distracted servants walked up and down the beach, calling the names of their little charges; but there was no response.
IV
Thy grandson—the beloved of my heart, is lost, is lost! Go forth, old man, and find him.”
Liu Jusong, who had just returned from the Hall, where from morn till eve he adjusted the scales of justice, stared speechlessly at the old lady who had thus accosted him. The loss of his grandson he scarcely realized; but that his humble spouse had suddenly become his superior officer, surprised him out of his dignity.
“What meaneth thy manner?” he bewilderedly inquired.
“It meaneth,” returned the old lady, “that I have borne all I can bear. Thy grandson is lost through thy fault. Go, find him!”
“How my fault? Surely, thou art demented!”
“Hadst thou not hated Li Wang, Little Waking Eyes and Little Sleeping Eyes could have played together in our own grounds or within the compound of Li Wang. But this is no time to discourse on spilt plums. Go, follow Li Wang in the search for thy grandsons. I hear that he has already left for the place where the stupid thorns who had them in charge, declare they disappeared.”
The old lady broke down.