own the hillside I saw others
coming, so I gave it up and took a stroll through the town, inspecting
the provision shops.

We were off the next morning in the dark. At first the road was wild and
picturesque. The track was unusually good, and steep, well-constructed
zigzags carried us up and down the hills. Later the valley opened, and
we ascended gradually over beautiful slopes gay with rhododendron and
iris. The clouds above the mountains were very fine, but presently rain
came on, continuing off and on all day.

Late in the afternoon we came in sight of Haitang, a walled town perched
picturesquely on the side of a hill. A temple outside the wall looked
attractive, and I should have visited it had it not been for the rain
which now set in in good earnest. So, instead, I inspected the inn,
which seemed unusually interesting. There was the ordinary entrance
court roofed over, and behind that an inner court open to the sky and
surrounded by galleried buildings. Off from this led a long, high
passage into which opened a number of superior rooms. Mine was quite
elaborately furnished with carved bedstead and chairs and tables, and
best of all, it had a door opening directly on to the city wall, where I
could step out and get a breath of fresh air free from observation.

Here I had my first experience of the "squeeze." On directing the
interpreter to give the fu t'ou the coolies' pork money, I learned that
on the previous occasion the man had kept an undue proportion of it.
Apparently a certain squeeze was regarded as legitimate, but he had
transgressed the accepted bounds. I hardly knew how to meet the
difficulty. Of course I could have paid the coolies directly, but it was
most desirable to maintain the fu t'ou's authority over them. Finally,
in true Chinese fashion, the interpreter worked out a scheme by which
the fu t'ou's "face" might be saved, and yet the coolies not be
defrauded. Going out into the court where the men were lounging, he
called loudly to the fu t'ou to come for the coolies' money, naming the
sum I intended to give, about one hundred cash to a man. In the face of
this there was nothing for the fu t'ou to do but give to each his
rightful share, which he did with a very sulky air. Afterwards I had a
talk with the man, telling him that my idea of a good fu t'ou was one
who kept the men up to their work, and at the same time did not bully or
mulct them of their hard-earned money. Such a man would get a goo