"All
is discovered now."
When he heard this, Ya-nei's body was frozen with terror as if he had
received a drenching in cold water. His teeth chattered.
"Do not be afraid. I have asked my mother to speak for us. If my
father is angry, there will be time enough for us to die then."
The woman meanwhile had hurried to her husband, but there was a slave
with him, putting the cabin in order. So she waited, and the tears
rolled from her eyes. Ho Chang thought she was anxious about her
daughter's health, and reassured her:
"She will be better in a few days. The doctor said so. Do not disturb
yourself."
But she sneered at him:
"You have been listening to the flower words of old Wise-Wand. Better
in a few days! She would have to be ill first!"
"What do you mean?"
Since the servant was no longer there, she told him in a low voice
what she had seen and heard. Ho Chang's anger was such that his sight
was troubled. She begged him to calm himself.
"Enough! Enough!" he thundered. "This worthless daughter fouls the
very air upon our threshold. We must kill them both in the night, so
that none may know."
The woman's face became as the earth.
"We have already reached a ripe age, and this is the only flesh and
bone we have. If you kill her, what will be left to us? As for
Ya-nei, he is of a good family, he is intelligent, and well-built.
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