144 THE MARRIAGE MAKER 



"To wait for that miserable, ill-starred brat to grow up 

 into a, woman, and marry her, while so many charming and 

 rich girls want husbands, would surely be a piece of folly 

 that only a lunatic could be guilty of. '"No thanks," he 

 thought, "I shall employ all the professional match-makers 

 in the town to toil in my behalf as soon as I reach home; 

 I shall see that things turn out in a rational common-sense 

 way, in spite of the Gods and their decrees." 



No sooner had he formed this resolve, than those inexor- 

 able words of the old man in the moonlight recurred to him 

 with renewed force. "What must be, must be; you cannot 

 escape that which the Oods have ordained for you." The 

 more he tried to forget those haunting words, the more 

 they persisted to ring in his ears ; and the more he pondered 

 over them, the more they irritated him. Disgusted, and full 

 of resentment, he determined to defy all the powers that be 

 and forthwith arrange his marriage to his own liking, cost 

 what it may. 



While all this was passing through his troubled brain, 

 he was accosted by a ruffianly looking fellow who asked him 

 for money. "Money, you misbegotten, good for nothing 

 egg of a turtle !" he exclaimed; "Yes, you shall have money 

 if you go down to yonder tou-fu shop and slay the infant in 

 the arms of the old hag; I promise you fifty taels, you object 

 of mean countenance ! ' ' 



The fellow leered, and without a word, started off on 

 his dastardly errand. Wei Ku stood at the end of the street 

 and watched the proceedings. 



As soon as the ruffian came to the shop, he called to 

 the old woman; and just as she approached, he picked up 

 a heavy iron tou-fu lifter, from the stand and dealt the 

 infant a tremendous blow on the head. The old woman 

 screamed for help, and in an instant there was a wild commo- 

 tion. People hurried to the shop from all directions, eager 

 to know what had happened. In the noise and confusion 

 the ruffian disappeared; but the excitement grew so intense, 

 when it was known a child had been killed, that in a few 

 seconds the narrow street was blocked by an angry mob, 

 yelling and gesticulating like demons let loose. Where all 

 the people came from in such a short space of time is a 

 mystery. 



Wei Ku, half -stunned by the cowardly deed he had 

 prompted, and hearing that the child was dead, escaped 

 from the locality as fast as his trembling legs would carry 

 him. By the time he reached home he had become very 

 depressed; the thought of having instigated a murder 

 weighed heavily on his conscience. All his valiant designs 



