CHAPTER VII.
THE HEATHEN CHINEE.
This third party belonged to that peculiar race immortalized by BretHarte. He was a heathen Chinee! His face was smooth and bland, and worean expression of childlike innocence which was well calculated todeceive. Ah Sin possessed the usual craft of his countrymen, andunderstood very well how to advance his worldly fortunes. He belonged tothe advance guard of immigrants from the Central Flowery Kingdom, andwith a companion, Ah Jim, was engaged in mining in the immediateneighborhood. His gains had not been great thus far, but then hisexpenses had amounted to little or nothing. He and his friend hadbrought two bags of rice from San Francisco, and they were wellsatisfied with this solitary article of diet.
Ah Sin, from a distance, had seen John Miles encamp for the night, and,impelled by curiosity or a more questionable motive, had approached totake a view of the stranger. Before reaching him he caught sight of BillCrane, and his almond eyes straightway watched the movements of thatgentleman, while he himself kept sufficiently in the background toescape observation.
When he saw Crane stealthily remove the bag from under the sleeper'shead, he became very much interested, and a bland smile overspread hisface, while his cue vibrated gently with approval.
"'Melican man very smart," he murmured to himself. "He steal hisfriend's money while he sleep."
My readers are probably aware that our Mongolian visitors find adifficulty in pronouncing the letter _r_, and invariably replace it by_l_.
"Suppose other 'Melican man wake up, he make a low," continued Ah Sin,softly.
But the other 'Melican man did not wake up, and Bill Crane got away withhis booty, as we already know. Cautiously the Chinaman followed him,and ascertained where he intended to pass the night. It was at amoderate distance from the cabin which the two Chinamen had selected fortheir mining camp.
Bill Crane jumped from his horse, stretched his limbs, and gaped.
"I'm powerful sleepy," he soliloquized. "I can't go any fartherto-night. I don't like to rest so near Miles, but I can be on the roadbefore he wakes up. I guess it will be safe enough."
Crane, having made up his mind to rest, rolled himself up in hisblanket, and stretched himself out, first tying his horse to a sapling.The place was retired, and he felt moderately confident that, even if heoverslept himself, he would not be discovered.
"I'd like to see Miles when he discovers his loss," he said to himself,smiling at the thought. "He'll be ready to tear his hair, and won't havethe least idea how the gold-dust was spirited away. You excel me inbrute strength, John Miles, but one thing I am pretty sure of, youhaven't got my brains," and he complacently tapped his forehead.
"There must be at least two hundred dollars' worth in that bag," hereflected. "It isn't a great haul, but it will do. It will last me sometime, and perhaps start me in something in Frisco. Bill Crane, you'vedone a good stroke of business to-day. You are entitled to a goodnight's rest, and you shall have it."
First, however, he concealed the bag. He did not think it safe to placeit under his head as Miles had done. He scooped a hole in the earth nearby, deposited the bag, replaced the dirt, and spread a few leaves overthe top.
"No one will think of searching there," thought Crane. "Even if Mileshimself surprises me here, he won't suspect anything."
Bill Crane felt that he was unusually sharp and crafty, and felt greatcontempt for the stupidity of the man whom he had overreached. The timewas not far off when he had occasion to doubt whether he had notoverrated his own artfulness.
A pair of almond eyes, lighted up with mild wonder, followed closelyall the movements of William Crane. When the bag was concealed, andCrane lay down to sleep, the Chinaman nodded blandly, and remarkedsoftly, "All light! Me go find Ah Jim."
Ah Sin had to walk but half a mile to find the partner of his toils. AhSin and Ah Jim, though not related to each other, were as like as twopeas. The same smooth face, the same air of childlike confidence, thesame almond eyes, a pigtail of the same length, a blouse and loose pantsof the same coarse cloth, were characteristic of both.
When the two met, they straightway plunged into a conversation in whichAh Sin had most to say.
Ah Jim listened attentively, and was evidently well pleased with whathis companion said. I am afraid my young friends are not well up in theChinese tongue, and would not understand the conversation, howeverfaithfully reported. They must infer what it was from what followed.
The two Chinamen bent their steps towards the resting-place of BillCrane. Ah Sin carried a bag of about the same size as the one Crane hadstolen, which he carefully filled with sandy earth. With stealthy stepsthese two innocent heathen drew near the spot, and looked searchingly atthe recumbent form of the eminent representative of Americancivilization.
Ah Sin turned to Ah Jim with a pleased smile.
"All light!" he said. "'Melican man asleep."
A similar smile lighted up the face of Ah Jim. "'Melican man sleepsound," he said; "no wake up."
Quite unaware of the honor done him by the special Chinese embassy whichhad taken this early opportunity to call upon him, Bill Crane slept on.There was a smile upon his upturned face as if he were dreaming ofsomething pleasant. He should have been a prey to remorse, if hisconscience had done its duty, but Bill's conscience had grown callous,and gave him very little trouble. It was only when he was found out thathe became sensible of a kind of mental discomfort which came as near toremorse as he was capable of feeling.
Reassured by the deep, regular breathing of the sleeper, Ah Sin and hisfriend proceeded to their work. The former drew a slender stiletto-likeknife from a fan which protruded above the collar of his blouse, and,stooping down, began skilfully to remove the dirt which covered the bagof gold-dust. From time to time he stole a glance at the sleeper to markthe first indications of returning consciousness. It was well for Cranethat his sleep continued. A Chinaman does not set a high value uponhuman life, and the long stiletto would have been plunged into the'Melican man before he was well aware of what was going on. Bill Crane'sgood genius saved him from this sudden exit by continuing the profoundslumber in which he was repairing the ravages of fatigue.
The Chinamen therefore met with no interruption in their work. They drewout from its place of concealment the buried bag, and emptying thecontents of their own poured into it the combined treasures of Miles andpoor Tom. Then they filled the first bag with the worthless dust whichthey had brought with them, and carefully reburied it in the ground.
They did their work so carefully and well that no one was likely tosuspect that the bag had been tampered with.
Having done their work, Ah Sin and his friend smiled upon each other inbland satisfaction, which was further expressed by a low gutturalchuckle.
"All light," said Ah Sin, with a nod.
"All light," chimed in Ah Jim, nodding in return.
A consciousness of lofty virtue could not have produced a happierexpression upon any face than appeared on the mild countenance of theChinamen.
"'Melican man much supplised when he wake up," remarked Ah Jim.
"Chinamen make much money," returned his friend.
The two enterprising visitors returned to their quarters, and concealedtheir booty in a safe place. Then they too lay down and slept the sleepof confiding innocence.
Bret Harte has not told us whether the heathen Chinee has a conscience;but if he has, neither Ah Sin nor Ah Jim experienced any inconveniencefrom its possession. Neither they nor Bill perhaps can fairly be takenas fair representatives of the different religious systems under whichthey were trained. Bill Crane could hardly claim any superiority overthe heathen Chinee in point of honesty.