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From that moment on to his fiftieth birthday, he agreed to do as my father wished.
“I was pretending to be asleep. My father came over and shook me. ‘Wake up, Mark,’ he said. ‘This is Hung Chin-chung. He has agreed to act as my servant for the next twenty years, if we both live that long. My friends will be his friends, my enemies his enemies; he will guard my life as his own, and every request I make of him, no matter how trivial, he will comply with. Is that right, Hung?’
“Hung promised on his honor and the sacred honor of his ancestors.
“ ‘When he reaches his fiftieth birthday I will release him from his promise,’ my father said. ‘You are a witness, Mark. Don’t forget.’ He turned to the Chinaman. ‘Now, go to your bunk. I’ll have a talk with you in the morning.’
“How well Hung kept his word I know probably best of all. He became my
