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SATURN IN VIRGO
In which Quee Long brings a complaint before the law, and George Shepard, whose personal hatred of Sook Yongsheng has grown, over time, to include all Chinese men, declines to honour it, an injustice for which he does not, either then, or afterwards, feel any compunction.
‘I do not understand what you are saying.’
Ah Quee sighed. He pointed a third time to his certificate of indenture, which lay between them on Shepard’s desk. In the box marked ‘present site of employment’ was written the word Aurora.
‘Duffer,’ he explained. ‘Aurora is duffer claim.’
‘The Aurora is a duffer claim, and you work the Aurora, yes. That much I understand.’
‘Ma
‘Ma
‘Very good,’ said Ah Quee, nodding. ‘Very bad man.’
‘Which is he—very good or very bad?’
Ah Quee frowned; then he said, ‘Very bad man.’
‘How does he make the duffer not a duffer? How? How?’
Ah Quee took his purse and held it up. Moving very deliberately, so that the action would not be lost on Shepard, he extracted a silver pe
Shepard sighed. ‘Mr. Quee,’ he said. ‘I see that the term of your indenture will not expire for some years; the term of my patience, however, reached its expiration some minutes ago. I have neither the resources nor the inclination to launch an investigation into Mr. Ma
JUPITER IN SAGITTARIUS
In which Alistair Lauderback, having now officially a
Akaroa. 22 Aug.
My dear Tom—
I expect you know already of my ambition to run for the Westland seat; but if this news comes as a surprise to you, I have enclosed an article from the Lyttelton Times that explains the a
Yours, &c.,
A. LAUDERBACK
MOON IN LEO, NEW
In which Ma
‘Misery won’t do. Misery is bad for business, whatever the business. A man won’t bet on it, and a man won’t bet against it—and it has to be one or the other, you see, in our line of work. Do you see?’
‘Yes,’ A
He was driving her to Chinatown, where Ah Sook was waiting with his resin and his pipe.
‘I’ve never had a girl murdered, and I’ve never had a girl beat,’ he said.
‘I know,’ she said.
‘So you can trust me,’ he said.
SUN IN LEO
In which Staines confides in Ma
‘There’s only one true crime upon a goldfield,’ said Ma
‘Which is considered to be the more grievous?’
‘Depends on what you call grievous,’ said Ma
Staines smiled. ‘Am I to do business with a cold-blooded man?’
‘You can decide for yourself,’ said Ma
‘Ah,’ said Staines, stopping also. They were both panting slightly from the walk. ‘Well—very good.’
They surveyed the land together. Staines perceived a Chinese man, squatting some thirty yards distant, his pa
‘What’s the opposite of a homeward-bounder?’ said Ma
‘Who’s that?’ said Staines.
‘That’s Quee,’ said Ma
Staines dropped his voice. ‘Does he know?’
Ma
‘He must think this a terribly poor enterprise.’
‘I haven’t the first idea what that man thinks,’ said Ma
ANOTHER KIND OF DAWN
In which Ah Quee, placing his hands upon the armoured curve of A
A