loudness, and welcomed him as if he were a messenger bringing an unexpected reprieve. "Hsueh-cheng, light a lamp right away and show Uncle Ho to the study!"
Hsueh-cheng lit a candle and led Tao-tung into a side room to the west, followed by another guest by the name of Pu Wei-yuan.
"Pardon me for not going out to meet you, pardon me, pardon me," Ssu-ming came out and said, raising his clasped hands in greeting and still chewing his last mouthful of rice. "Would you deign to have a bite with us?"
"We have already selfishly preceded you," Wei-yuan said, also shaking his own clasped hands before him. "We have come to disturb you at night because we want to discuss with you the themes for the literary contest of the Ethical Literary Society, for don't you realize that it is a 'seventh' day tomorrow.?"
"Oh, is today the sixteenth already?" Ssu-ming exclaimed.
"See how stupid of us!" Tao-tung shouted.
"Then we must send the themes to the newspaper office tonight and make sure that they get into tomorrow's edition."
"I have already drafted a theme for the essay contest. Take a look at it and see if it is all right," Tao-tung said, as he fished out a strip of paper from the carry-all improvised with a handkerchief and handed it over to Ssu-ming. The latter took it over to the candle light, unfolded the strip of paper and read slowly the following:
