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84 THE WHITE SLAVE MARKET
of the house, which served as a means of
access to an adjoining building : the real
opium den.
Cautiously we entered; the Chinaman,
placing his finger warningly on his lips,
motioned us to follow.
A large and comfortahle room received us.
Soft velvet couches and settees, heavy carpets
of the softest texture suggested an atmosphere
of luxury I certainly had not expected in
this vile corner.
We seated ourselves on one of the couches,
while the son of the Celestial Empire spoke
in a subdued voice to a hard-faced hag who
had entered from a side door. She immediately
took her departure, returning with two
young, almond-eyed creatures dressed in the
flimsiest of garments.
My companion
drew one of them towards
him and put his arm around the slender
waist of the girl or rather child and then
invited me to follow his example and have
a try at the opium pipe. He was going to
smoke, he said. He told me he only did so
to get to know the drug ;
he could then judge
of its effects better and experiment with his
" cure."
The sickly smell that had been so notice-
able on entering the house was quite sufficient
to destroy any desire on my part for such
experiments.
My companion made himself comfortable
on one of the settees, the girl smoothing the
pillows on his couch. He, for some reason