Page:Weird Tales Volume 7 Number 6 (1926-06).djvu/9

no evil; hear no evil; speak no evil'. Those little ivory ones, now———"

The Chinese youth padded down the aisle, his black slippers emphasizing the vivid colors of his split sham. He was smiling now, clearly a trade smile which only curved a gash in his graven face.

"Very pretty, Miss," he said, stooping and reaching into the showcase. "Ivory. Very good. Six dollars." He handed the monkeys to June. His cold fingertips touched her hand and she dropped the carving to the floor.

"Oh, we'll take it," she said to cover her confusion and unwarranted repulsion. "Dad, you pay for it."

"We have some new pretty slippers," the Chinese salesman said, almost as though he had been trained in an American school of salesmanship. "Come."

He raised one yellow hand aloft, and, smiling, as though promising great pleasure, beckoned the girl to the back end of the store. "How foolish of me!" June thought. "I really am feeling a little shivery. Come, dad," she said aloud and then whispered, "Don't you dare leave me! There are spooks here!"

The Chinese youth pulled aside a yellow silk curtain; from a low shelf he took some silk slippers, tied together with red cord. He fingered the delicate footwear, staring impersonally at June as though deciding a color scheme. Then he carefully selected a pair of soft blue bedroom slippers with pink and white flowers embroidered in the toes. "Please you sit down," he said, motioning to a massive-armed teak chair glistening with inlaid pearl peacocks.

"The princess on her throne," June said with nervous flippancy.

The Chinese youth pulled off her tan walking shoes. His little eyes studied June's face. "Yes," he said simply. "Princess on throne. That throne once was for Woo Loo ahmu. Ahmu is word for wife, mother-wife. You know? Woo Loo had many wives, but the princess,—she was wife of whole pu, whole tribe, angel of whole pu. Princess of the Sacred Foot, you would call her name. Up in Gobi; Hill Country. She was a child of the gods and——— This slipper goes nice like silk glove! See!" The long yellow fingers smoothed the slipper over June's foot, caressed the soft silk. Suddenly the delicate hands of the Chinese half-clenched; his body grew rigid. For a moment it seemed that he would fall forward on his face. He gained control of himself only with great effort. His fingers were resting over an irregularity on June's instep; his eyes were fixed on a jagged outline which showed through the silk stocking. Suddenly he rose, backed away, disappeared between the red curtains in the back of the store.

Impulsively June kicked off the blue slipper and reached for her walking shoe. "Let's get out," she whispered to her father. "I've had enough. He's crazy! He saw that mark on my foot and———"

Mr. Hubbard nodded. "Opium, maybe. Thought I smelled it here. Hurry! Don't stop to lace your shoe!"

Tſ turned to hurry away and almost fell over two old Chinese men who had mysteriously appeared from some side opening in the tapestries. The aged Orientals bowed, smiled ingratiatingly, their black skull caps almost touching the floor. They sensed the fear of the Americans and subtly strove to overcome it.

"Please do not hurry," begged the older man, tucking his arms in the sleeves of his orange sham and bowing low. "My son, he not well. He leave you and come to me. He say you like blue slipper. I know better. I have cloth-of-gold slipper for miss. Sit down just one minute." The other