Americans, in spite of their
foreign ways, and they had seemed to like him; but now all at once they
was looking on him as a yellow peril. He still kept his rose to smell of.
He said it was a sweet comfort to him at a time when the whole world had
turned against him for nothing at all.

He made for Chinatown by the quietest streets he could pick out, though
even on them hardly escaping the lawless mob. But at last he got to the
street where Doctor Hong Foy's office was. It was largely a Chinese
street and lots of his friends lived there; but even now, when you'd
think he'd get kind words and congratulations, he didn't.

His best friends regarded him as one better let alone and made swift
gestures of repulsion when he passed 'em. Quite a crowd followed at a
safe distance and gathered outside when he went into Doctor Hong Foy's
office. It was a kind of store on the ground floor, so Lew Wee says, with
shelves full of rich old Chinee medicines that had a certain powerful
presence of their own. But even in here Doctor Hong Foy should of known
beyond a doubt what his friend had brought him.

It seemed the doctor had to make sure. He wasn't of the same believing
nature as the street-car people, and the German and others. He wanted to
be shown. So they undone the sack and opened it down to where Doctor Hong
Foy could make sure. But their work was faulty and the wild animal didn't
like handling after its day of mistreatment. It had been made morbid, I
guess. Anyway, it displayed an extremely nervous tendency, and many
impetuous movements, and bit Doctor Hong Foy in the thumb. Then the first
owner tried to grab him and the pet wriggled away on to a tray of dried
eel gizzards, or something, and off that to the open door.

The little thing run into the front of the large crowd that had waited
outside and had a wonderful effect on it. Them in the centre tried to
melt away, but couldn't on account of them on the outside; so there was
fights and accidents, and different ones tromped on, and screams of fear.
And this brought a lot bigger crowd that pressed in and made the centre
ones more anguished. I don't know. That poor animal had been imposed on
all day and must of been overwrought. It was sore vexed by now and didn't
care who knew it. Lots of 'em did.

Of course Lew Wee dashed out after his property, hugging the sack to his
chest; and, of course, he created just as much disturbance as his little
pet had. Policemen was minglin