tively, probably nesting early because the clouds had hastened the twilight and because there was no food to be found on the snow-covered ground.
"It was not until I reached Tsinan," he said, after looking out the window for a while, drinking another cup of wine, and taking a few more puffs at his cigarette, "that I got those flowers. I don't know that they were the same kind of flowers for which she was spanked, but they were made of the same material. I did not know whether she liked deep or light colors, so I bought one of brilliant red and one of pinkish red and brought them here with me.
"This afternoon, immediately after dinner, I went over to see Chang-fu. I stayed over another day just for this. His house was still there, though I seemed to sense a gloom over it, probably because of the state of mind I was in. Chang-fu's son and his second daughter. Ah Chao—both grown up now—were standing at the gate. Ah Chao was not at all like her sister. She was more like a ghost. She fled into the house when she caught sight of me. I questioned the boy and found that Chang-fu was not home. 'And your elder sister?' I asked, finally. Thereupon he glared at me and asked me what I was asking about her for, as if about to pounce on me and eat me up. I stammered some excuses and retreated; I am very diffident and easily discouraged nowadays . . . "
"You may not know that I am even more timid about calling on people than I used to be. I know very well that I am an eye-sore—I am an eye-sore even to myself—so why should I deliberately go out of my way to cast a gloom upon others? After some hesitation I went to the firewood shop opposite. The mother of the shopkeeper. Grandma Lao Fa, was still living. She recognized me and asked me to go in and sit down. After we had exchanged greetings, I told her
