Read Dead Man's Gold and Other Stories for Free Online

Wah-lung was regularly walking Jee-yun home. When she stayed late at school, Wah-lung also remained behind. The two studied the same subjects, did homework together and attended concerts with other friends.
    Jee-yun’s father withdrew his daughter from school, claiming a private tutor at home would benefit her more. He advised her not to attend concerts at night because the streets had become lawless and dangerous. The household servants were ordered not to admit male visitors and to inspect all packages addressed to her.
    Of course Jee-yun and Wah-lung knew of her fathers opposition. Wah-lung’s father operated a candle stall in the old market and possessed limited education, while Jee-yun’s father befriended international bankers to expand his business empire. A cousin agreed to carry secret messages between the young lovers, and after months of painful separation, they decided to flee to the New World. Wah-lung would leave first, find a job and lay the foundations for a life together.
    â€œI will set up an apartment for us,” he promised in his last letter before leaving. “It will have tall windows to let in sunlight, and all the furnishings will be of the highest quality. As soon as you join me, I will put on a new suit and you will slip into a long elegant gown and we will attend a symphony concert together.”
    When Jee-yun s father heard of Wah-lung s departure, he smiled to himself. Meanwhile, Jee-yun purchased stacks of books and piled them high on her desk and shelves to give the impression that she was trying to forget about her young man by immersing herself in her studies.
    When Wah-lung’s boat sailed into the New World harbor, the mountains and water reminded him of home and left him longing for Jee-yun. He marveled at wide roads filled with gleaming automobiles and at green lawns surrounding lofty houses. His sweetheart would be very happy here, he thought. But he also noticed the Chinese lived in the poorer section of town and labored at low-paying jobs.
    The only work he could find was clerking in a downtown store selling silks and curios from China and Japan. To save money, he walked an hour to work instead of riding the streetcar. When he shopped for food, he selected limp greens being sold at half price. The room he found for himself was dim and tiny. When people invited him to a teahouse or game-hall, he always said no. And he resisted the temptation to buy newspapers, even though Chinatown published five papers, which citizens devoured for news of local and worldwide events.
    But skimping on newspapers and teahouse gossip proved costly. Wah-lung came home one day to discover the government had slammed the door on his beloved Jee-yun’s entry. Chinese migrants had kept arriving despite a head tax, and now the government decided to keep the nation white by banning their immigration altogether.
    Right away, he sent a telegram to Hong Kong, advising Jee-yun to stay calm and promising a new plan to reunite them. She wrote back saying she trusted him with all her heart.
    A year later, he used all his savings to buy the birth certificate of a Chinese born in North America. He sent it to Jee-yun, who told her father she was going on a shopping trip to Japan. She journeyed across the Pacific as Yung Gim-lan, a citizen of the New World who had been sent to her father’s village at an early age and was now returning to her country of birth.
    But when Jee-yun’s ship docked, she was escorted into Pig Pen and told that her documents would be examined there. Guards marched her to a room containing only a table, with four chairs behind it and one in front. Iron bars guarded the windows.
    Three officials and an interpreter trooped in and motioned her to sit. Jee-yun trembled and submitted the false papers, but they ignored her documents and stared rudely across the table. Her gaze faltered.
    â€œHow far is your village from the nearest town?” one man barked out. The