The newspapers had got wind of the affair. The _Chi Bao_ of Pekin and
the _Chinese Times_ of Tien-Tsin had demanded mercy for the young
Roumanian. These cries for mercy had reached the feet of the Son of
Heaven--the very spot where the imperial ears are placed. Besides,
Pan-Chao had sent to his majesty a petition relating the incidents of
the journey, and insisting on the point that had it not been for
Kinko's devotion, the gold and precious stones would be in the hands of
Faruskiar and his bandits. And, by Buddha! that was worth something
else than six months in prison.
Yes! It was worth 15,000 taels, that is to say, more than 100,000
francs, and in a fit of generosity the Son of Heaven remitted these to
Kinko with the remittal of his sentence.
I decline to depict the joy, the happiness, the intoxication which this
news brought by Kinko in person, gave to all his friends, and
particularly to the fair Zinca Klork. These things are expressible in
no language--not even in Chinese, which lends itself so generously to
the metaphorical.
And now my readers must permit me to finish with my traveling
companions whose numbers have figured in my notebook.
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