Page:Weird Tales Volume 12 Issue 06 (1928-12).djvu/100

 He finished eating his almonds and the cold turnip. The almonds were very good, the turnip was very good, life was very good.

and interesting were the adventures which Li Kan experienced during the next few weeks. Drolleries galore passed before his comprehension. He laughed much, though there were times when he was greatly saddened by the poverty of the dwellers in the bleak, desolate country through which he was passing. Only a universalist can have any perspective, can appreciate his own comparative lack of importance as compared with the immensity of existing things.

One day on the fringe of a strange city he chanced upon an open gate leading to a great garden. There was no one about. The place seemed deserted. He realized that he was trespassing, but he ventured in. The white walks were deserted. In among the oaks and willows he wandered, past gorgeous flower-beds of wisteria and peonies. The scent of peach-blossoms was in the air. But there was no one about. The garden was beautifully cultivated but deserted.

As he walked deeper into the garden he approached a long, low, rambling house with a red roof. At the corners were fantastic designs and carved figures. The entrance-door was open. He stood before it, not knowing how to proceed. But the strange house beckoned, so he entered. What a profusion of beauty and charm greeted his eyes! The sudden change from bright sunshine to the soft-lighted rooms dimmed his vision for a moment, but as it cleared he gasped at the wondrous tapestries, the silken hangings, the gorgeous rugs of velvet softness, the marvelously carved vases and urns. Never, he thought, had such a display of splendor been spread out before him. On the air floated a suggestion of musk and old roses, perfume of magic that struck him like a drug until his senses reeled. Through room after room he passed, each more beauteous than the last, all hung in riotous colors reflecting from the silk draperies. But nowhere was there a sound. Not a footfall disturbed the tranquillity. Still here and there were lanterns burning, so the place could not have been long deserted.

At last he came to a room larger than all others. It was of immense length and completely draped in what appeared to be soft, dark carpet and a thronelike structure at the far end. Above it hung a cluster of soft-toned orange lanterns. Upon the throne a lovely woman was seated. She, too, was dressed all in black, black that blended into the draperies until it appeared as though she had no body, just a white face and hands heavily bejeweled.

Li Kan gasped as he gazed upon her. She seemed very young and yet there was a suggestion of age about her. Her pungent lips were as fragrant as honey. Her eyes were somber, dreamful and dark as the velvet draperies. They glistened like black opals in the mellow orange light. Her hair was smooth and clung close to her cheeks. Even with the severity of its arrangement she was marvelously beautiful. Behind one ear she wore a small orange chrysanthemum.

At Li Kan's approach she rose to her feet.

"Welcome," she said in a voice that was like hushed music. "It is lonely in this great house and I am indeed gratified when chance passersby are able to tarry here awhile. Life is a great wide road. To attain complete harmony and peace one should pause at intervals by the wayside. Come, talk with me. I have almost lost the power of speech, so long it is since I have been honored by conversing with a stranger."