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"Whatever for?" asked young Withers, to whom a desire to go to America was incomprehensible. He himself had never felt a desire to go to America, and that his old compradore should be so obsessed was past his understanding.
"By Jove, I'm glad. No time to burble now, though. Off with you. Compradore has a gun for you, in the court. Collect a drink as you go by. Report to Kneebone at the northeast corner. Danger point there: we need a good man, so hurry. Devilish glad. Cut along." Rudolph, scrambling down from the pony-shed, ran across the compound with his head in a whirl.
The compradore, however, agreed with him for the hundred dollars. Every thing being at length settled, the chief ordered two gun-boats to convey us near the Antelope; we saw her just before dusk, when the Ladrone boats left us.
"Ruined!" added Withers to himself. Together they hurried back to the office and examined things. It was evident in a moment how it had been done. Withers had signed an order for the removal of five boxes. The compradore had deftly added a cipher and raised it to fifty. And so on. Done repeatedly, with neatness and precision, over Withers' own signature.
This took Withers frequently to Peking, leaving old Li in charge of the godowns in Tientsin. Withers always took charge of this end of the business, because of the opportunity it offered to get away from daily contact with his old compradore. Somehow, he felt rather uneasy in the old man's presence. There was a change in his manner, most marked.
On reaching the market, he is taxed again, and is compelled to sell to the general dealer, who squeezes him to the last cash, and re-sells at an exorbitant profit to the Englishman's compradore, who charges his master, on a moderate calculation, four times what he gave; so that, by the time the Englishman's dinner is on his table, it costs him no trifle.
"She's gone," repeated Captain Kneebone. "No boat for us." But the compradore, dragging his bundle of sharp halberds, poked an inquisitive head out past the captain's, and peered on all sides through the smoke, with comical thoroughness. He dodged back, grinning and ducking amiably. "Moh bettah look-see," he chuckled; "dat coolie come-back, he too muchee waitee, b'long one piecee foolo-man."
Ouseman, our compradore, and a rajah, told me he had three, all living peaceably together at his house. Think of that, ye of the Caucasian race, who, with more means, find it difficult to get along with one, and in a colder climate too!
"You talkee he, come topside." The messenger must have been waiting, however, at the stairhead; for no sooner had the compradore withdrawn, than a singular little coolie shuffled into the room. Lean and shriveled as an opium-smoker, he wore loose clothes of dirty blue, one trousers-leg rolled up. The brown face, thin and comically small, wore a mask of inky shadow under a wicker bowl hat.
During this grand convulsion of the Chinese empire, it was delightful to notice the regularity with which our Chinese compradore, Ayooke, supplied the ship with provisions, and how little he appeared to know or care about the matter.
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