THE LAND OF PEACH BLOOM 119 



party, and once more thanked them profusely for the great 

 kindness they had shown him. "Our parting will only be 

 for a little while," said he, "for I shall return as soon as 

 my affairs are put in order." 



With these words he stepped into the tunnel and walked 

 forward as fast as the uneven ground permitted. 



When he came out into the open air again at the other 

 end, it happened to be a raw, cold day, with a dull leaden 

 sky overhead. A bleak wind blew from the north and chilled 

 him to the bone. The peach blossoms had gone, all the 

 trees were bare, and not a trace of springtime was to be seen 

 anywhere, for it was winter. In his scant clothing he stood 

 shivering with cold in the biting blast, mystified and startled 

 beyond measure at the complete change that had taken 

 place in his brief absence. He did not realize that he had 

 been to a land w r here time has no* significance, where moments 

 do not fly and years never roll by. To him his absence 

 seemed but only a day and a night; in reality two seasons had 

 passed. Little wonder then that he could not account for 

 the desolate sight that met his eyes, nor the piercing cold that 

 almost paralysed his limbs. Eemembering that his home 

 was not far off, he drew his thin jacket tightly about him, 

 and with shoulders bent, ran with all his might to the edge 

 of the stream where he had left his boat. The boat was 

 there, though in a very dilapidated condition; every article 

 in it had been removed, except a rotten remnant of the net 

 which hung over the side and draggled in the icy water. It 

 was useless to bother about the boat under the circum- 

 stances, so he quickly made his way home on foot. 



On arrival at his hut he met with another unpleasant 

 surprise ; his neighbours had taken full possession of all his 

 property. These good people never expected him to return 

 after the unsuccessful search made at the time of his myster- 

 ious disappearance; they thought he was dead. When he 

 suddenly burst in upon them in his out-of -season garments, 

 shivering with cold, panting for breadth, his teeth chattering, 

 his eyes starting from their sockets, and a wild expression of 

 amazement in his face, they were alarmed, and took him for 

 the incarnation of an evil spirit. But when he began to 

 expostulate and insisted that he had only been absent one 

 day, they all agreed that he had lost his senses, and that 

 the 'proper thing to do was to march him off to the Magis- 

 trate 's Yamen at Wuling before he committed any violence 

 upon them; so closing round him in a ring, they seized him 

 bv the arms and led him off. m 



kb the yamen the hapless fisherman was consigned to 

 the not very tender mercies of the chief gaoler, a slouching, 



