Synopsis

“Yes! What is it?” “Hist, boy! Jump up and dress.” “Oh, it’s you, father!” said the newly aroused sleeper, slipping out of bed—or, rather, off his bed, for the heat of an Eastern China night had made him dispense with bedclothes. He made a frantic dash at his tros, feeling confused and strange in the darkness, and hardly knowing whether he was dreaming or awake, as he whispered: “Is anything the matter?” There was no reply, and the lad became conscious of the fact that his father had ed out of the room after awakening him.