missionary wives to accompany their cooks, number-one boys, or amahs to market, Grace thought that a rare expedition of this sort was acceptable. She had been holed up in the compound for she couldn't recall how long, and on a cool midautumn day like this, she positively needed to walk and feel the crisp air.
She tugged her wool coat tighter around her middle, although it would no longer button shut, and held Mai Lin's arm. They wove through the sorry-looking market stalls that displayed small piles of shriveled potatoes and wilted greens. Grace began to notice that the whole setup appeared rather pathetic: the toothless vendors, hollowchested farmers, and their gnarled-looking wives had barely any produce for sale. Grace knew that she and Mai Lin made an odd-looking couple, but somehow she also sensed that they suited this miserable place.
The old woman hobbled along, but her pace was just right for Grace at six months pregnant. To her amazement, no one bothered them with the usual incessant begging. No doubt Mai Lin was liberally threatening to douse any who approached with the Evil Eye. Dear Mai Lin, Grace thought, how could she ever get along without her?
As they left the market, Grace noticed that more people than usual were hurrying past. She was not terribly familiar with the town, but somehow the crowd seemed different to her and more frantic. Even those carrying heavy loads on poles over their shoulders or balanced precariously in straw baskets on their heads passed quickly and with great intent. Men and women practically ran as they pushed their wares on carts before them. They shouted out prices for charcoal, rice, millet, and cloth, although they seemed to have no intention of stopping for interested customers.
Just then, up ahead at the corner where two cobblestone streets met, a small troop of soldiers belonging to the local warlord appeared. They marched in the direction where Grace and Mai Lin stood, with their bayonets out and their faces stern and unchanging. Their boots scuffed in unison. Before them stumbled a Chinese coolie dressed only in a loincloth. His wrists were bound by thick rope, and his legs were in chains. Mai Lin took Grace's hand and started to pull her away as more people poured out from the small shops and alleyways to follow the prisoner.
"What are they going to do to that poor fellow?" Grace asked.
Mai Lin did not reply and only tugged at her arm again.
"Tell me, Mai Lin."
"He was caught stealing something. He is nothing. Just a common criminal. Do not be concerned."
"But what is being done to him?"
"Mistress must go back to the mission compound now."
Grace looked for a long moment into Mai Lin's lined and worried
face. Then she abruptly broke free and followed along with the crowd. If an injustice was about to be committed in plain sight of all these people, she wanted to witness it, too. She would return to the mission and report on the primitive justice system in this barbaric country. The Reverend ought to know about it, and she would be his deputy by informing him. Surely, he would be proud of her.
Grace felt the filthy bodies of strangers press in around her as they filtered through the opening in the city wall. They finally stepped out into an area where farmers milled about and watered their donkeys before heading back onto the plains. As the small band of soldiers cut through the crowd, the bustle stopped. The donkeys kept chewing, but the country folk went still, their faces frozen in unchanging masks.
At the center of the wide circle made by the watching peasants, the prisoner fell to his knees and wept. He had wet himself, and his body trembled. Grace knew she should look away. It was not decent to see a man so shamed. But she could not look away and watched as the prisoner fell forward onto his elbows and bowed his head in prayer.
She stepped closer and listened as the poor fellow called out for his mother's and his father's forgiveness. He begged that his ancestors not shun him upon his arrival in heaven. Then, to Grace's great surprise, he called out to his Savior, Jesus Christ, his Lord and Master.
At that moment, Mai Lin caught up with her. Grace looked down at her maidservant and asked, "Is it possible that they are punishing this fellow because he is a Christian?"
Mai Lin shook her head in disgust. "No, they punish him because he