THREATENED VIOLENCE
The next two months passed quickly, and were full of interesting
happenings for our lads. Although the academy was closed, and many of
its students were away for the summer, there were a number of Rob's
friends left in Hatton, and these promptly taking Jo's side as against
the muckers, became his friends as well. In fact, it is doubtful if
anything could have advanced him so speedily in the estimation of the
better class of Hatton boys than his ill treatment at the hands of their
avowed enemies. It alone was sufficient to induce them to make much of
him from the outset; but in a very short time they learned to like him
for his own good qualities.
He always was a gentleman, polite, courteously attentive when spoken
to, and invariably good-natured. Then, too, his taper fingers were
marvellously deft in making things out of paper, wood, or clay, such as
dragons looking fierce enough to eat one, puzzles at once simple and
baffling, flutelike whistles, and other instruments for the production
of sounds more or less musical. He also constructed innumerable kites of
grotesque animal forms, and he always was willing to show his boyish
friends just how these wonders were produced.
They, in turn, taught him the things known almost instinctively by
every American boy, and especially by those who live in the country,
but of which our Chinese lad had no knowledge--such as swimming,
boxing, rowing, how to camp out like Indians, and, above all, how to
play the distinctively American game of baseball. To these fascinating
novelties Jo took as readily as a young duck takes to water; for, with
his hair cut short, instead of hanging in a braid down his back, and
with a radical change of apparel, his whole character seemed to have
undergone a transformation, and he now entered as heartily into the
rough-and-tumble sports of his new associates as though to the manner
born. To be sure, he was ridiculously awkward at first, and made such
funny breaks as to excite the uproarious mirth of the other fellows; but
he didn't seem to mind this a bit, and always joined heartily in a laugh
at his own expense.
The thing they teased him most about was his wife, for the fact of his
being married had seemed too good a joke for Rob to keep to himself.
Even this, however, did not appear to annoy the young husband, for a
Chinese marriage is so entirely different from one in America that there
is no trace of sentiment connected with it. The most important feature
of Chinese life is the worship of one's ancestors, and this worship may
only properly be performed by the head of a family. Thus, to provide for
the suitable worship of their own spirits, in case of untimely death,
parents are anxious to have their sons married as early in life as is
possible. Such marriages are purely business transactions, arranged by
the elders, and with which the young people have nothing to do except to
be on hand at the appointed time. Even this is not essential in the case
of the bridegroom, so long as the bride is delivered, as per agreement,
at his father's house. He may be on a journey, or undergoing a scholar's
examination, or engaged in some other important business that may not
be interrupted for so trifling an incident as his wedding, which,
therefore, is allowed to proceed without him. As he never is permitted
to see his future wife or to learn anything concerning her during their
betrothal, he cannot be expected to take a great personal interest in
her, or she in him. Thus it happened that Jo was quite as willing to
accept, good-naturedly, teasing remarks concerning his marriage as he
was those called forth by any other customs of his people that struck
his new companions as ridiculous.
He had one possession that excited their sincere admiration, not to say
their envy, and this was a wonderful memory. Having been trained from
earliest childhood to commit to memory columns and pages of Chinese
characters, and not only pages but entire volumes of the Chinese
classics, our young scholar now took up the acquisition of English as a
mere pastime. The alphabet was conquered in a single day; several pages
of short words, together with their meanings, in another; and by the
end of a week he was reading easy sentences. Rob was his first teacher,
and, of course, his knowledge of Chinese was of the greatest assistance
to Jo in gaining the meanings of the English words that he so readily
learned to recognize by sight and sound.
Thus it happened that when the time arrived for his trial in the county
court he was able to give his own version of the fracas on Hatton common
in intelligible English without the aid of an interpreter.
In spite of the fact that Mr. Hinckley had employed able counsel to
defend the boys, the case was decided against them, and they were
sentenced to pay heavy fines in addition to the costs of the trial.
"It is an outrageous and unjust decision," said Mr. Hinckley to his
lawyer, "and I will never submit to it so long as there is a higher
court to which the case may be taken. I desire, therefore, that you move
for an appeal, and continue to give it your most earnest attention."
"Very well, sir," was the reply; "of course, I will do so; but I must
warn you that there is little hope of such a suit as yours being won in
any American court. It is prejudiced from the outset by the existing
strong feeling against the Chinese. For them it is almost impossible to
obtain justice, even with the bulk of evidence in their favor, which, in
the present instance, even you must admit is not the case."
In spite of what the lawyer said, Mr. Hinckley was determined to carry
the contest to a higher court, and, the motion for an appeal being
granted, the case of State _vs._ Joseph Lee _et al._ was carried to a
superior court, in which the earliest date set for a hearing was four
months from that time.
In the mean time the muckers of Hatton and their friends were wildly
jubilant over the victory already gained. During the evening of the
day on which the decision of the county court had been rendered, they
gathered about a great bonfire at the lower end of the village, where
they listened to incendiary speeches against the Chinese and all who
befriended them. These were received with yells of applause and ominous
threats of violence.
While this was going on at one end of the village, a number of Mr.
Hinckley's friends were discussing the situation in the parsonage at
the other. All at once Rob, who had been doing some scouting on his own
responsibility, broke into the room where these gentlemen were sitting.
"They're coming, Uncle Will!" he cried, breathlessly, "and they swear
they'll run Jo out of the village. They are talking about tar and
feathers, too."
Mr. Hinckley sprang to his feet. "My friends," he said, "if you will
stand by me in this emergency I think the evil may be averted; but
if you cannot see your way to so doing, I must hasten to remove the
innocent lad committed to my charge beyond the reach of danger. What do
you say? Speak quick, for there is not a moment to lose."
"We will stand by you," replied one and another, "and there are plenty
more who will do so, too. Our village must not be disgraced by scenes of
lawless violence."
"Then," said Mr. Hinckley, "hasten and gather the neighbors. Let each
man be back here within five minutes, bringing another with him. I will
try to find Constable Jones, and urge him--"
"Here I be, parson," interrupted a voice from the doorway, "and I've
telegraphed the sheriff that there's a show for trouble. He's answered
that he'll be here inside of an hour, and for us to try and keep 'em
entertained till he comes."
"Good!" exclaimed Mr. Hinckley. "I rather think we can."
Five minutes later, when a noisy throng of men and boys came surging up
the street, the lower part of the parsonage, opposite which they halted,
was so brilliantly lighted that they could see a numerous company of
gentlemen assembled inside. They barely had time to realize that the
house thus was occupied, when, suddenly, every light was extinguished
and it stood in silent darkness. For a moment the new-comers, just now
so valiantly loud-mouthed, waited in silence to see what would happen
next. Then they began to murmur, and the murmurs grew into shouts of:
"Fetch out your Chinee!"
"We'll teach him English!"
"Down with the rat-eaters!" and a confusion of other cries, at once
derisive and threatening.
As the mob, inflamed by these utterances, and urged on by its
self-constituted leaders, crowded about the entrance to the front yard,
it was met by Constable Jones, who leaned negligently against one of the
gate-posts.
"Hello!" he exclaimed. "What do you fellows want here?"
"We want to see Parson Hinckley," answered a spokesman.
"Well, you'll have to call again to-morrow, or some other day, for he's
busy just now and can't see you."
"Oh, he carn't, carn't he? I rather guess he'll see us before we git
ready to leave. Come on, fellers!"
"Stand back!" shouted the constable as the crowd surged towards the
gate. "I have instructions from the owner of these premises not to admit
any one to them this night. As this is private property, and I'm bound
to protect the owner in his rights, the first man attempting to enter
will be arrested for trespass."
This announcement was greeted with howls of derision, and it seemed
as though Constable Jones was about to have on his hands the job of
arresting the entire mob, when another halt was called by the voice of
Mr. Hinckley, who came from the house to the front gate as though to
investigate the trouble.
"What is going on here, Constable Jones? Who are these people, and what
do they want?" he asked, loud enough for all to hear.
"Want to see you, parson; so they say."
"Well, my friends, what is it? I am too busy for an extended
conversation; but if you can tell me in a few words what you desire, I
am ready to listen."
"Yes, we can," answered one of the leaders, gruffly. "We want the
murdering, heathen Chinee that you're a-keeping in your house agin the
law. We're agoin' to have him, too, an' run him out er town."
"Against the law!" repeated Mr. Hinckley. "What do you mean? I am not
harboring any person against the law, that I know of."
"Yes, you be, fer the law says all Chinesesers must be excluded, and
we're going to enforce it, by excluding the one you've brought to Hatton
in spite of the law."
For ten minutes Mr. Hinckley held the crowd at bay by his arguments,
and his exhortations not to disgrace themselves, their State, and their
country, by committing an act of lawless violence; but finally they
would listen to him no longer, and again a rush was made for the gate.
This time it was checked by a new voice, the stern tones of which were
well known to all of them, for it belonged to the owner of the great
shops in which so many of them earned their daily bread. "Hold on, men!"
he cried, "and listen to me. I don't think I need tell you who I am,
or that I will do as I say, for you all know me, and you know that I
never yet broke a promise. For many years you and I have lived in this
village of Hatton. In all that time we have carried on business together
in orderly fashion, to my satisfaction, and, I hope, to yours. We have
had differences, but always have managed to settle them without calling
in outside aid. Now, however, you are threatening me, as well as this
entire community, with something to which I cannot and will not submit.
You are threatening this village with mob rule, a condition under which
no community can exist and no business can be conducted. Therefore I
give you my solemn word that if a single act of lawless violence against
life or property is committed this night by a man or woman, boy or
girl employed in the Hatton shops, those same shops shall be closed
to-morrow, never to be reopened."
"That's all bluff!" cried a voice from the crowd, as the speaker uttered
this threat.
"What do we care fer him or fer his talk?" demanded one who had
constituted himself a leader. "There's a-plenty of us here as don't work
in his shops to see this business through; so come on, lads, and don't
fool away any more time talking. Hurray for American rights, and down
with all Chinese scabs!"
At this the mob uttered a howl and leaped forward, not only putting to
flight the little group holding the parsonage gate, but tearing down the
fence and swarming up to the very door of the house.