r
themselves, they preferred looser bonds, with less responsibility.
They said this to each other between drinks, and there was then, as
now, much drinking in Shanghai. A few even said this to each other
quite seriously, as they lay in pairs on opium divans, smoking opium,
with little Chinese girls filling their pipes--girls who would
afterwards be as complaisant as was required. One man who had lost his
last cent at the gambling wheels, professed great astonishment at this
departure from the usual track, a departure quite unnecessary since
there were so many ways of amusing oneself out here in the East. Of
course such unions were common enough, heaven knows--there was nothing
unusual about it. But then such fastidious people did not as a rule go
in for them. It was not the menage, it was the fact that this
particular young man had set up such, that caused the comment. The
comment, however, was short-lived. There was too much else to think
about.

Rogers liked his new life very much. Never for a moment did he think
of marrying the girl. That, of course, never dawned on him. Recollect,
he was in all things decent and correct, and such a step would have
been suicidal. Until the time came for him to go Home, she was merely
being made use of--and to be useful to the ruling races is the main
object in life for the Chinese. They exist for the profit and benefit
of the superior races, and this is the correct, standard opinion of
their value, and there are few on the China Coast, from Hongkong
upwards, who will disagree with it.

In time, a son was born to Rogers, and for a while it filled him with
dismay. It was a contingency he had not foreseen, a responsibility he
had not contemplated, had not even thought he could afford. But in
time he grew used to the boy, and, in a vague way, fond of him. He
disturbed him very little, and counted very little in his life, after
all. Later, as the years rolled by, he began to feel some
responsibility towards the child. He despised half-breeds,
naturally--every one does. They are worse than natives, having
inherited the weakness of both ancestries. He was sincerely glad to be
rid of the whole business, when, at the end of about fifteen years, he
was called home to England. It had all served his purpose, this
establishment of his, and thanks to it, he was still clean and
straight, undemoralised by the insidious, undermining influences of
the East. When he returned to his native land, he c