When the clock struck 7, I was sitting at my desk waiting for Mr. Tsai, the tutor. I waited for half an hour but he didn't come. Then I heard a gust of laughter from Papa's study. He must have won the chess game with Mr. Wu, who was a regular visitor these days.
Mr. Wu lived several blocks away. On a Sunday morning a few weeks before, I was taking a walk in New Park with Mr. Tsai and Sister. We met Mr. Wu, and he asked Sister if she would like to go to a movie. She refused. Later she whispered to us that he was a hoodlum.
"Ya-fang, don't be so rude to your neighbor," said Mr. Tsai.
"So?" she replied angrily. "Why should I be polite to a hoodlum?"
The next evening, Mr. Wu brought a small gift for Papa and played chess with him until midnight. After that, they played almost every evening for a month. If Mr. Wu happened to be late, Papa would send Ah-hsiu, our housemaid, to his home.
Mr. Tsai had tutored Sister and me for three years. I thought of him as a diligent college student. Had it not been for his help, I couldn't have gotten into the best high school in town. He was poor. Yet he never sought more remuneration.
Without Mr. Tsai's help, I didn't want to study. I could scarcely solve an equation. I worried that I might flunk my final examinations.
Where was Mr. Tsai? Could Papa have dismissed him? Papa had complained that his bronze penholder and alarm clock were stolen some days before. Could Mr. Tsai be a suspect? I couldn't believe it.
Mama had gone to Mrs. Wang's to play mahjong. Perhaps she would tell me all about it in the morning.
Before going to bed, I remembered my quarrel with Lin Chun-mu at school a few days before. I had boasted that I could make a butterfly kite as large as the wall map in the classroom. Chun-mu replied that he could make a centipede kite as long as the blackboard. Chi Erh-pao observed that comparison of sizes didn't mean anything. "Why not see whose kite can fly higher?" he suggested.
I was confident of winning because Mr. Tsai had promised to make the kite for me. Now I was afraid he had forgotten. What should I say to Chun-mu tomorrow? Should I tell him the truth or should I find some excuse to postpone the competition?
I decided to ask Sister about Mr. Tsai. Her door was locked. Curious, I peered through her window. She was writing in her diary. When I rattled the window, she hurriedly put the diary in a drawer and came to the window. When she saw me, she spoke angrily and told me to go to the door. When I got there it was unlocked. She was thoughtful and frowning.
"Sister," I asked, "is it true that Mr. Tsai won't teach us any more?"
"H-h-ow do I know?" she stammered.
She must be lying, I thought. I knew they were good friends because they exchanged letters through me.
"You two are good friends," I said. "How can I believe he didn't tell you?"
"Don't bother me, Brother. It's none of your business."
While I was trying to think of more questions, she pushed me out and slammed the door.
Back in my room, I heard footsteps and laughter in the drawing room. "Uncle Chen," Mr. Wu said, "your deployment of the knight was masterful! I'm not often checkmated by anybody these days."
"Really? Ha, ha, ha!" Papa was in high spirits.
They were coming down the hall toward my room. I took pencil in hand and pretended to be working math problems.
"Yi-tao," Papa said, "you've promised to tutor Ya-fang and Wei-kuo. When will you start?"
"It's up to you to decide, Uncle," Mr. Wu answered.
When Mr. Wu bent to look at my notebook, I got a whiff of perfume that was pretty awful.
"Next summer Ya-fang must sit for the college exams and Wei-kuo for senior high. They should lose no time. Today is the 15th. How about starting tomorrow? It's easier to figure your pay."
"Let's start tomorrow," Mr. Wu agreed. "However, I won't take your money. As I said before, my tutoring is for friendship."
"But I don't want you to work for nothing," Papa insisted.
"Uncle, didn't you say you regard me as a member of your family? Nobody receives payment for his work for the family."
Mr. Tsai had always worn a pair of khaki trousers, perhaps from his old high school uniform. Mr. Wu had on a fancy shirt, tight pants, and what appeared to be dancing shoes.
Papa told me to be attentive to Mr. Wu's teaching. I nodded. In my heart, I doubted that he could teach me anything. Papa went on and on about Mr. Wu's talents. I turned a deaf ear. My thoughts were on the kite contest.
On my way to school next morning I was inventing excuses for not having my kite ready. Someone called to me. There was Ho Jui-min with a large butterfly kite. Mr. Tsai had asked him to bring it to me.
We went out to the playground after school. Chun-mu's kite was made up of some 40 segments. He got it into the air quickly. When the centipede's head was just above the trees, I launched my butterfly kite. Soon it had passed the centipede.
"Chun-mu, whose kite is flying higher?" I demanded.
"You have nothing to be proud of," he said. "You got that kite at the expense of your sister. Shame on you!"
"What did you say, Lin Chun-mu?" I pointed my finger at his nose.
"Your sister and Mr. tsai had a date at a hotel the other day. If not, why should he make a kite for you?"
"How dare you say that!"
I let go my kite string and hit him. He dove for my legs and we rolled over and over on the ground.
Ho Jui-min and Chi Erh-pao pulled us apart.
"He insulted my sister," I shouted, trying to get at Chun-mu.
"Everybody in our class knows that your father dismissed Tsai Ke-ping because he had a secret date with your sister," Chun-mu said. "Everybody says so."
"Who do you mean by everybody?" I asked, puzzled now.
"Wu Yi-ching's brother said so. If you don't believe it, ask him."
I hurried home. When I opened the garden gate, I could hear Papa roaring like a lion.
"What a shame! Ya-fang, you have soiled our family reputation. You think that poor Tsai is good enough to be your husband?"
Mama was shaking. "Ya-fang," she said, "we dismissed Tsai for your sake. Why did you go see that thief this morning? You shouldn't disgrace your parents."
Sister was crying. Was she really having an affair with Mr. Tsai as Chun-mu said? I was puzzled but dared not enter the house.
Papa was still angry. "Wu Yi-tao told me the other day that our neighbors were gossiping about you. I doubted it then. Now I know it is true."
"Pa, I didn't do anything wrong. Please don't believe what he says," Sister sobbed.
"Why did you have a date with Tsai Ke-ping today?" Papa demanded.
"I wanted to know why he had been dismissed," she answered.
"A fine excuse that is!"
Sister didn't come to supper. When Ah-hsiu was clearing the table, the doorbell rang. It was Wu Yi-tao.
"Good evening, Uncle Chen," Mr. Wu said.
"You are early. It's only 6:30. Did you have supper?"
"Yes," Mr. Wu said. "A surprise for you."
Mr. Wu handed a package to Papa.
"What's this?" Papa asked, surprised.
"Please open it," Mr. Wu replied.
"A penholder. Good!" Papa exclaimed.
It looked like the one Papa had lost.
"Where did you find it?" Papa asked.
"I went to see a friend near Lungshan Temple this afternoon," Mr. Wu said. "On my way home, I happened to see this pen holder in the window of a second-hand shop. It looked like the one you used to have on your desk, so I bought it."
"Did you ask the shopkeeper where he got it?"
"He said a tall young man sold him the penholder and offered him an alarm clock. He didn't buy the clock because the price was too high."
"That Tsai Ke-ping ... " Papa mumbled. Mama came in and asked what the fuss was about. Nobody answered.
"I must report this to the police," Papa said determinedly.
"Report what?" Mama asked.
Papa showed the penholder to Mama. "Tsai Ke-ping stole it," he said.
"Uncle Chen," Mr. Wu said, "please don't get excited. We can't be sure who the thief was. We had better ask the shopkeeper for a description first."
Papa and Mama agreed on that and Papa told Mr. Wu to begin the tutoring. Sister did not come from her room. She said she wasn't feeling well.
After helping me with English, Mr. Wu lit a cigarette and went into Papa's study. Out of curiosity, I picked up his matchbook. There was a picture of a nude model advertising the Paris Night Dance Hall.
Mr. Wu talked with Papa for a long time. He didn't seem to be coming back to me. I wrote a note to Sister, telling her the story, slipped it under her door, and went to bed.
For the next three days Mr. Wu tutored only me. He didn't teach me much. He spent half the time with Papa and Mama.
The fourth night he came while we were eating supper. Sister left the table as Ah-hsiu answered the bell.
Mr. Wu took two Chinese opera tickets from his pocket. "These are for you, Uncle, and Aunt Chen." He politely placed the tickets on the table.
"It's very kind of you, Yi-tao," Mama said.
"They are for tonight's performance," Mr. Wu explained.
Mr. Wu proposed to take Papa and Mama to the theater, then return to give me my lesson. He was back in half an hour. He asked where Sister was. "In her room," I said.
"Why doesn't she come to lessons?" Mr. Wu asked, puffing on his cigarette. "Does she dislike me?"
I shook my head.
"Did she go to see Mr. Tsai again?"'
I said no. He told me about dancing and sports. In his eyes, play seemed more important than study. Before he left, he handed me a letter for Sister.
She was angry and tore it to pieces. "I don't want his letters," she said.
After that, Mr. Wu wrote 16 letters to Sister. I didn't give them to her. I tore them up myself. But I began to have a guilty conscience. Mr. Wu was bringing me gifts and taking me to the movies.
Ho Jui-min told me that Mr. Tsai would correct my exercises if I needed help. Jui-min said Mr. Tsai didn't want to come to my home because somebody was spreading rumors about him and Sister.
"Is it true that you have Wu Yi-ching's brother as your new tutor?" Jui-min asked. "What kind of a guy is he?"
"I don't know. He hasn't taught me very long."
"I hear he's a hoodlum," Jui-min said. "Don't talk nonsense!" I told him.
Mr. Wu had been polite to Papa and Mama and nice to me. I wondered why Jui-min should speak ill of him.
When I returned home, I heard crying from Sister's room. Mama was sitting on the bed, trying to persuade Sister to marry Mr. Wu.
"The Wus are a good family," Mama said. "Yi-tao is a promising young man."
"Ma, please, don't talk so. I'll never marry him."
"Why don't you like him?"
"You think he's a good boy? He's a hoodlum. He does all sorts of bad things."
"A hoodlum? Where ever did you hear such a thing? Maybe from that Tsai Ke-ping."
"Wu Yi-tao is the one who brought shame on our family. He said Mr. Tsai stole Papa's penholder and alarm clock. Mr. Tsai didn't steal anything. Maybe Mr. Wu stole them."
"That's enough," Mama said. "Papa and I know what is best for you."
Mr. Wu didn't come to teach me for three days. Mama sent Ah-hsiu to his home. His family said he had gone to Kaohsiung to see friends and would be back in a couple of days.
I was worried about final examinations. I had a lot of exercises to be corrected. Mama suggested that I ask Sister to help me.
I thought she wouldn't want to. But she surprised me. After the lesson was over, she asked me to send a letter to Mr. Tsai through Ho Jui-min, and not to let Papa and Mama know.
I opened the letter in my room but couldn't understand much. It was written in English. She talked about "W" a lot. Could that be Wu Yi-tao? There seemed to be something about a clock, too—and a pawn ticket that stipulated Wu Yi-tao had borrowed NT$400 on "1 gold clock". It all seemed crazy to me.
Mr. Wu came back the next evening. Wonder of wonders, Sister also came out for her lesson. She was gay and made little jokes with Mr. Wu. Who can understand girls?
The doorbell rang. Ah-hsiu returned with a package and went into Papa's study. A moment later he stormed into the living room, his gold clock in one hand and a letter in the other.
Mr. Wu's face was white. He didn't look at the clock and tried not to look at Papa. But to avoid looking at Papa was difficult. Papa put the clock down on the table in front of Mr. Wu and was wildly waving the paper under his nose.
"Just what does this mean? Just what does this mean, young man? Explain yourself!"
Mr. Wu seemed to have some difficulty getting to his feet. Then the bell rang again. Sister's face brightened. Now what? Mama came in, asking what all the noise was about. Right behind her was Mr. Tsai.
If Mr. Wu's face had been white before, it was green now.
He tried to rally himself.
"Ah-ha, it's that crooked Mr. Tsai," he said. "I forgot to tell you what the shop keeper said."
"Shopkeeper my eye!" Papa said. "It's what the pawnbroker said that interests me. Just where did you get my clock to pawn? From Mr. Tsai, I suppose. You are a dirty crook. You are just what my daughter said you were, a hoodlum."
Sister said: "Papa, you wanted to call the police before. Maybe you had better call them now. You have the evidence in hand."
Mr. Wu tried to run from the room, but Mr. Tsai stopped him. Mr. Tsai held him by the arm, tightly. It showed in Mr. Tsai's face that he wouldn't exactly be displeased to plant a fist on Mr. Wu's nose.
Papa thought for a moment. "No," he said. "We are lucky. In the end, no harm has been done. I have my penholder and clock back, and we have learned about this hoodlum in time to avoid doing a wrong to Daughter. It will be enough if I tell his father. The Wus are all right. A bad apple can get into any barrel."
Papa told Mr. Tsai to let Mr. Wu go. Tsai did so, although he seemed a little reluctant. Mr. Wu slunk away; he didn't even slam the gate.
"l owe you an apology," Papa said to Mr. Tsai. "But that devil was very clever. He really manufactured the evidence against you. And all those rumors he spread about you and Ya-fang. Tell me, though, how did you figure it out? Where did you find the pawn ticket?"
"Mr. Wu outsmarted himself," Sister said. "Do you remember the little compartment in the base of your penholder? You used to leave NT$1 for me there when I was a little girl. I opened it after Mr. Wu returned your penholder. There was the pawn ticket! Mr. Wu put it there before giving you the penholder and then forgot it. He never intended to redeem the clock, anyway. I sent the ticket to Mr. Tsai and he got the clock and the accusation of Mr. Wu from the pawnbroker."
"But why did Mr. Wu use his own name?" Papa asked.
"He was just too cocky," I said. "That's where hoodlums make their big mistake. They think nobody can ever catch up with them."
Sister was smiling at Mr. Tsai and Papa was smiling at Mama. Everybody seemed to be happy and uninterested in me. I didn't think there would be any tutoring that evening, even though our old tutor was back.
So I sort of edged my way out into the garden and whistled for my friend next door. I still had some skating tickets from Mr. Wu. This was the last night they were good and there wouldn't be any more.
(Translated and adapted by S.H. Liu)