guests had retired and the hotel was closed. At the gate, the
watchman lay asleep beside his lantern, and when Rivers let himself in
with his key, he found Liu in the lounge, also asleep. He cursed Liu,
but submitted to the steady, supporting arm which the boy place around
his waist, and was led to bed without difficulty. Liu assisted his
master to undress, folding up the crumpled, white linen clothes with
silver buttons, and laying them neatly across a chair. He was an
excellent servant. Then he retired from the room, listening outside
the door till he heard sounds of heavy, stertorous breathing. At that
moment, the contempt of the Chinese for the dominant race was even
greater than Rivers' contempt for the inferior one.

When the proprietor's breathing had assumed reassuring proportions,
Liu opened the door cautiously, and stepped lightly into the room. He
then locked it with equal caution, slipped quietly across to the
verandah, and passed out through the long, wide-open windows. The
verandah was a dozen feet from the ground, and the dark passage below,
leading to the gate, was deserted. At the other end sat the watchman
with his lantern, presumably asleep. Liu had not heard his drum tap
for an hour. A shaft of moonlight penetrated the room, and a light
wind blowing in from outside gently stirred the mosquito curtains over
the bed. Liu tiptoed to the bed, and with infinite care drew the
netting aside and stood surveying his victim. Rivers lay quite still
with arms outstretched, fat and bloated, breathing with hoarse,
blowing sounds, quite repulsive. The moonlight was sufficient to
enable Liu to see the dark outline upon the bed, and to gauge where
he would strike. He hovered over his victim, exultant, prolonging from
minute to minute this strange, new feeling of power and dominance.
That was what it meant to be a white man--to feel this feeling
always--always--all one's life, not merely for a few brief,
exhilarating moments! And with that feeling of power and dominance was
the ability to inflict pain, horrible, frightful pain. That also was
part of the white man's heritage, this ability to inflict pain and
suffering at will. And after that, death. Liu also had the power to
inflict death. Leaning over the bed, with the long, keen knife in his
steady clutch, he was for those glorious moments the equal of the
white man! He prolonged his sensations breathlessly--this sense of
superb power, this superb ability to inflict