Page:Oriental Stories v01 n01 (1930-10).djvu/12

 His blood coursed through his veins with new energy.

bar-room was almost in darkness. The faces of the men loomed up grotesquely. Many of the gaunt, haggard faces seemed whiter than ever. The men who were sunburned and unshaven looked as black as negroes. Lew's single eye kept up its ceaseless quest. Bourse McGill, bent low over the piano, sang My Mother Was a Lady in a drawling monotone. The squeaks and discords of the piano blended eerily with the clanging din of Chinese music from the house next door. Dick gazed at his glass of golden wine. In the fantastic light it seemed to glow with a splendid insistence. The wine he had already drunk had gone to his head. It was a mad moment. Singapore was mad, life was mad, everything was out of key, all sounds echoed in falsetto notes. Mr. Isaacs crept over and seated himself at the table opposite him. He laughed gratingly.

"Did I disturb you?" he asked.

"You always do," replied Dick. He did not bother admitting that he was really glad of his companionship. He longed to fathom the mystery of Mr. Isaacs. With such an education what was he doing in the very dregs of Singapore?

"I am unwelcome," said Mr. Isaacs, "because you think I am a Jew."

"You are wrong," snapped Dick. "You are unwelcome because you do not appeal to me. I may be a bit crude in my speech but I do not believe in wasting words."

"You hold me in contempt because I am a Jew."

"Rot!"

"It is true. You loathe me because you fear me. It is so the world over. A Jew is a composite type made up of all the races of the world. He has no country because he is of all countries. When necessity forces him to it he can live as cheaply as a Chinaman, or he can save as clutchingly as a Scotchman. On the other hand, there is no one in the world who can entertain so lavishly, who understands drollery and humor so well. He is a better trader than an Arab. He knows ivory better than an Abyssinian, and pearls better than a Ceylonese diver. He is a connoisseur of diamonds and other precious stones. He will deprive himself of every pleasure to obtain an education. He is often crafty and untrustworthy in his business dealings because he knows that the survival of the fittest is governed solely by the caliber of individual wits. He has been harassed and oppressed for centuries. He is disillusioned. His faith in everything, except himself, is ruined. He is disliked because he is feared. He adapts himself to any environment and every condition. He is a universalise He flourishes in any climate. He has most of the vices of earth and all of the virtues. His home life is ideal. He is a good husband and a loving father. His children look up to him. He is progressive and therefore misunderstood." Mr. Isaacs spoke with great vehemence. His earnestness made him truly eloquent despite the shrill, guttural tone of his voice. "And yet you hate me because I am a Jew."

Dick was amazed at the torrent of words. He was impressed. Not for a moment had he imagined that Mr. Isaacs was capable of rising to such rhetorical heights.

"For the last time," he said in a voice far more amiable than it had been before, "let me assure you that you are absolutely wrong."

As Dick spoke Mr. Isaacs whipped out a revolver with an alacrity that would have done credit to a boy of twenty. He levelled it at Dick in a horribly deliberate manner.