"
"Where is the silver?" he asked.
The old woman took it from her sleeve, and he put it into his, saying:
"Leave all to me. If they should happen to come and seek a quarrel
with us, we shall have proofs against them. And, if nothing comes of
it, no one will dare to reclaim the money."
"But what shall I say if he asks me for news?"
"That you have not had time enough. Or even that the matter cannot be
arranged."
What could she do, she who was thus deprived of the money and the
pledge of love? She was surely obliged to lie.
As for Wu-han, he at once went out and spent the money on rich clothes
and a fine gauze bonnet.
In the evening, when his mother was asleep, he put on his pretty
clothes and set the slippers in his sleeve. As the great clock sounded
the first watch, he went out softly and made straight for the house of
P'an. Light clouds were hiding the moon. It was only half full.
He coughed before the house. The window opened, and Eternal Life
appeared. She tied a piece of silk to the frame, and let the other end
fall. He caught it and climbed up, making use of the projections of
the wall with his two feet. Then, with a thousand precautions, he
stepped over the sill. Trembling, the girl hastened to draw back the
piece of silk and to shut the window.
Then he took the child in his arms, and passion leaped up in their two
hearts.
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