motioned Li Dsing to control himself, quickly finished
combing her hair and tied it in a knot.

Then she greeted the guest and asked his name.

He told her that he was named Dschang.

"Why, my name is also Dschang," said she, "so we must be relatives!"

Thereupon she bowed to him as her elder brother.

"How many are there of you brothers?" she then inquired.

"I am the third," he answered, "and you?"

"I am the oldest sister."

"How fortunate that I should have found a sister to-day," said the
stranger, highly pleased.

Then the fan-bearer called to Li Dsing through the door and said:
"Come in! I wish to present my third brother to you!"

Then Li Dsing came in and greeted him.

They sat down beside each other and the stranger asked: "What have you
to eat?"

"A leg of mutton," was the answer.

"I am quite hungry," said the stranger.

So Li Dsing went to the market and brought bread and wine. The
stranger drew out his dagger, cut the meat, and they all ate in
company. When they had finished he fed the rest of the meat to his
mule.

Then he said: "Sir Li, you seem to be a moneyless knight. How did you
happen to meet my sister?"

Li Dsing told him how it had occurred.

"And where do you wish to go now?"

"To Taiyuanfu," was the answer.

Said the stranger: "You do not seem to be an ordinary fellow. Have you
heard anything regarding a hero who is supposed to be in this
neighborhood?"

Li Dsing answered: "Yes, indeed, I know of one, whom heaven seems
destined to rule."

"And who might he be?" inquired the other.

"He is the son of Duke Li Yuan of Tang, and he is no more than twenty
years of age."

"Could you present him to me some time?" asked the stranger.

And when Li Dsing has assured him he could, he continued: "The
astrologers say that a special sign has been noticed in the air above
Taiyuanfu. Perhaps it is caused by the very man. To-morrow you may
await me at the Fenyang Bridge!"

With these words he mounted his mule and rode away, and he rode so
swiftly that he seemed to be flying.

The fan-bearer said to him: "He is not a pleasant customer to deal
with. I noticed that at first he had no good intentions. That is why I
united him to us by bonds of relationship."

Then they set out together for Taiyuanfu, and at the appointed place,
sure enough, they met Dragonbeard. Li Dsing had an old friend, a
companion of the Prince of Tang.

He presented the stranger to this friend, named Liu