Page:Frank Owen - Rare Earth, 1931.djvu/231

 and much of his dickering was done in the English tongue.

"Before you leave China," he said, "you must visit me for a few moons at my home in Peking. I believe there is sufficient of interest there to prevent your stay from being irksome. China, you must know, is a mighty rug of which Peking is the centre. If a man is to be saved from the wrath of Dragon Gods, Spirits of Earth, of Air, of Fire, escape only can be found by seeking the centre of the rug, by making sacrifices to spirits of unknown forces. For China will be China when all the earth falls back to ruins, even as China was China before the cities of men outside had come into being. China is a rug of which all else on earth is the fringe. China is a rug of which Peking is the jewel that illumines the centre."

During his few remaining days in Canton, Loo Zoo passed a large part of his time with Scobee. He was sorry for the boy and somehow drawn to him. Scobee was interested in his quaint line of reasoning. He, too, like