Page:Frank Owen - Rare Earth, 1931.djvu/176

 their going. He was rather glad. Just to see the boy around, so strong and well-looking and yet so helpless was an awful ordeal for him. There must be hope. Perhaps Hung Long Tom in his wisdom could untangle the snarls into which the skein of their lives had been flung. For Hung Long Tom was a mystic. If Scobee was to be saved it must be through him. Jethro never stopped to consider why he felt so about Hung Long Tom. Nevertheless he believed him to be somewhat of a magician. Under his guidance that house had always been well-run. Yes, it was probably a good idea for him to take Scobee to China. There was a pressing need for change.

And then there was Dallis. Scobee told her about the long pilgrimage on which they were about to set out.

"Hung Long Tom," he said, "believes that a trip to China may do my eyes good. For years he has lived in my country, now for a brief interlude I will go to his. We have not planned our wanderings with any degree of certainty. Perhaps we will start from