Pao-yu gazed intently at her for a long time. "Do set your mind at ease!" he at length observed.

At this remark, Lin Tai-yu felt quite nervous. "What's there to make my mind uneasy?" she asked after a protracted interval. "I can't make out what you're driving at; tell me what's this about making me easy or uneasy?"

Pao-yu heaved a sigh. "Don't you truly fathom the depth of my words?" he inquired. "Why, do you mean to say that I've throughout made such poor use of my love for you as not to be able to even divine your feelings?

Well, if so, it's no wonder that you daily lose your temper on my account!"

"I actually don't understand what you mean by easy or uneasy," Lin Tai-yu replied.

"My dear girl," urged Pao-yu, nodding and sighing. "Don't be making a fool of me! For if you can't make out these words, not only have I ever uselessly lavished affection upon you, but the regard, with which you have always treated me, has likewise been entirely of no avail! And it's mostly because you won't set your mind at ease that your whole frame is riddled with disease. Had you taken things easier a bit, this ailment of yours too wouldn't have grown worse from day to day!"

These words made Lin Tai-yu feel as if she had been blasted by thunder, or struck by lightning. But after carefully weighing them within herself, they seemed to her far more fervent than any that might have emanated from the depths of her own heart, and thousands of sentiments, in fact, thronged together in her mind; but though she had every wish to frame them into language, she found it a hard task to p.r.o.nounce so much as half a word. All she therefore did was to gaze at him with vacant stare.

Pao-yu fostered innumerable thoughts within himself, but unable in a moment to resolve from which particular one to begin, he too absently looked at Tai-yu. Thus it was that the two cousins remained for a long time under the spell of a deep reverie.

An e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n of "Hai!" was the only sound that issued from Lin Tai-yu's lips; and while tears streamed suddenly from her eyes, she turned herself round and started on her way homeward.

Pao-yu jumped forward, with alacrity, and dragged her back. "My dear cousin," he pleaded, "do stop a bit! Let me tell you just one thing; after that, you may go."

"What can you have to tell me?" exclaimed Lin Tai-yu, who while wiping her tears, extricated her hand from his grasp. "I know." she cried, "all you have to say."

As she spoke, she went away, without even turning her head to cast a glance behind her.

As Pao-yu gazed at her receding figure, he fell into abstraction.

He had, in fact, quitted his apartments a few moments back in such precipitate hurry that he had omitted to take a fan with him: and Hsi Jen, fearing lest he might suffer from the heat, promptly seized one and ran to find him and give it to him. But upon casually raising her head, she espied Lin Tai-yu standing with him. After a time, Tai-yu walked away; and as he still remained where he was without budging, she approached him.

"You left," she said, "without even taking a fan with you. Happily I noticed it, and so hurried to catch you up and bring it to you."

But Pao-yu was so lost in thought that as soon as he caught Hsi Jen's voice, he made a dash and clasped her in his embrace, without so much as trying to make sure who she was.

"My dear cousin," he cried, "I couldn't hitherto muster enough courage to disclose the secrets of my heart; but on this occasion I shall make bold and give utterance to them. For you I'm quite ready to even pay the penalty of death. I have too for your sake brought ailments upon my whole frame. It's in here! But I haven't ventured to breathe it to any one. My only alternative has been to bear it patiently, in the hope that when you got all right, I might then perchance also recover. But whether I sleep, or whether I dream, I never, never forget you."

These declarations quite dumfoundered Hsi Jen. She gave way to incessant apprehensions. All she could do was to shout out: "Oh spirits, oh heaven, oh Buddha, he's compa.s.sing my death!" Then pushing him away from her, "what is it you're saying?" she asked. "May it be that you are possessed by some evil spirit! Don't you quick get yourself off?"

This brought Pao-yu to his senses at once. He then became aware that it was Hsi Jen, and that she had come to bring him a fan. Pao-yu was overpowered with shame; his whole face was suffused with scarlet; and, s.n.a.t.c.hing the fan out of her hands, he bolted away with rapid stride.

When Hsi Jen meanwhile saw Pao-yu effect his escape, "Lin Tai-yu," she pondered, "must surely be at the bottom of all he said just now. But from what one can see, it will be difficult, in the future, to obviate the occurrence of some unpleasant mishap. It's sufficient to fill one with fear and trembling!"

At this point in her cogitations, she involuntarily melted into tears, so agitated was she; while she secretly exercised her mind how best to act so as to prevent this dreadful calamity.

But while she was lost in this maze of surmises and doubts, Pao-ch'ai unexpectedly appeared from the off side. "What!" she smilingly exclaimed, "are you dreaming away in a hot broiling sun like this?"

Hsi Jen, at this question, hastily returned her smiles. "Those two birds," she answered, "were having a fight, and such fun was it that I stopped to watch them."

"Where is cousin Pao off to now in such a hurry, got up in that fine attire?" asked Pao-ch'ai, "I just caught sight of him, as he went by. I meant to have called out and stopped him, but as he, of late, talks greater rubbish than ever, I didn't challenge him, but let him go past."

"Our master," rejoined Hsi Jen, "sent for him to go out."

"Ai-yah!" hastily exclaimed Pao-ch'ai, as soon as this remark reached her ears. "What does he want him for, on a scalding day like this? Might he not have thought of something and got so angry about it as to send for him to give him a lecture!"

"If it isn't this," added Hsi Jen laughing, "some visitor must, I presume, have come and he wishes him to meet him."

"With weather like this," smiled Pao-ch'ai, "even visitors afford no amus.e.m.e.nt! Why don't they, while this fiery temperature lasts, stay at home, where it's much cooler, instead of gadding about all over the place?"

"Could you tell them so?" smiled Hsi Jen.

"What was that girl Hsiang-yun doing in your quarters?" Pao-ch'ai then asked.

"She only came to chat with us on irrelevant matters." Hsi Jen replied smiling. "But did you see the pair of shoes I was pasting the other day?

Well, I meant to ask her to-morrow to finish them for me."

Pao-chai, at these words, turned her head round, first on this side, and then on the other. Seeing that there was no one coming or going: "How is it," she smiled, "that you, who have so much gumption, don't ever show any respect for people's feelings? I've been of late keeping an eye on Miss Yun's manner, and, from what I can glean from the various rumours afloat, she can't be, in the slightest degree, her own mistress at home!

In that family of theirs, so little can they stand the burden of any heavy expenses that they don't employ any needlework-people, and ordinary everyday things are mostly attended to by their ladies themselves. (If not), why is it that every time she has come to us on a visit, and she and I have had a chat, she at once broached the subject of their being in great difficulties at home, the moment she perceived that there was no one present? Yet, whenever I went on to ask her a few questions about their usual way of living, her very eyes grew red, while she made some indistinct reply; but as for speaking out, she wouldn't.

But when I consider the circ.u.mstances in which she is placed, for she has certainly had the misfortune of being left, from her very infancy, without father and mother, the very sight of her is too much for me, and my heart begins to bleed within me."

"Quite so! Quite so!" observed Hsi Jen, clapping her hands, after listening to her throughout. "It isn't strange then if she let me have the ten b.u.t.terfly knots I asked her to tie for me only after ever so many days, and if she said that they were coa.r.s.ely done, but that I should make the best of them and use them elsewhere, and that if I wanted any nice ones, I should wait until by and bye when she came to stay here, when she would work some neatly for me. What you've told me now reminds me that, as she had found it difficult to find an excuse when we appealed to her, she must have had to slave away, who knows how much, till the third watch in the middle of the night. What a stupid thing I was! Had I known this sooner, I would never have told her a word about it."

"Last time;" continued Pao-ch'ai, "she told me that when she was at home she had ample to do, that she kept busy as late as the third watch, and that, if she did the slightest st.i.tch of work for any other people, the various ladies, belonging to her family, did not like it."

"But as it happens," explained Hsi Jen, "that mulish-minded and perverse-tempered young master of ours won't allow the least bit of needlework, no matter whether small or large, to be made by those persons employed to do sewing in the household. And as for me, I have no time to turn my attention to all these things."

"Why mind him?" laughed Pao-ch'ai. "Simply ask some one to do the work and finish."

"How could one bamboozle him?" resumed Hsi Jen. "Why, he'll promptly find out everything. Such a thing can't even be suggested. The only thing I can do is to quietly slave away, that's all."

"You shouldn't work so hard," smiled Pao-ch'ai. "What do you say to my doing a few things for you?"

"Are you in real earnest!" ventured Hsi Jen smiling. "Well, in that case, it is indeed a piece of good fortune for me! I'll come over myself in the evening."

But before she could conclude her reply, she of a sudden noticed an old matron come up to her with precipitate step. "Where does the report come from," she interposed, "that Miss Chin Ch'uan-erh has gone, for no rhyme or reason, and committed suicide by jumping into the well?"

This bit of news startled Hsi Jen. "Which Chin Ch'uan-erh is it," she speedily inquired.

"Where are two Chin Ch'uan-erhs to be found!" rejoined the old matron.

"It's the one in our Mistress,' Madame w.a.n.g's, apartments, who was the other day sent away for something or other, I don't know what. On her return home, she raised her groans to the skies and shed profuse tears, but none of them worried their minds about her, until, who'd have thought it, they could see nothing of her. A servant, however, went just now to draw water and he says that 'while he was getting it from the well in the south-east corner, he caught sight of a dead body, that he hurriedly called men to his help, and that when they fished it out, they unexpectedly found that it was she, but that though they bustled about trying to bring her round, everything proved of no avail'"

"This is odd!" Pao-ch'ai exclaimed.

The moment Hsi Jen heard the tidings, she shook her head and moaned. At the remembrance of the friendship, which had ever existed between them, tears suddenly trickled down her cheeks. And as for Pao-ch'ai, she listened to the account of the accident and then hastened to Madame w.a.n.g's quarters to try and afford her consolation.

Hsi Jen, during this interval, returned to her room. But we will leave her without further notice, and explain that when Pao-ch'ai reached the interior of Madame w.a.n.g's home, she found everything plunged in perfect stillness. Madame w.a.n.g was seated all alone in the inner chamber indulging her sorrow. But such difficulties did Pao-ch'ai experience to allude to the occurrence, that her only alternative was to take a seat next to her.

"Where do you come from?" asked Madame w.a.n.g.

"I come from inside the garden," answered Pao-ch'ai.

"As you come from the garden," Madame w.a.n.g inquired, "did you see anything of your cousin Pao-yu?"