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Corean Dawn excerpt (Page 12)
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“She says you are as large as the mountains, and that you must have been moving mountains, for your shoulders, arms and back have known knots and great strains,” said Tubert.
“I’m a sailor,” replied the commander, touched by the note of concern and familiarity and in the remarkable girl’s voice. It was the first time an Asian had ever touched him, other than a handshake, the first time he had ever intimately touched an Asian. Suddenly, overcome by this simple, blind young woman’s beauty, magic and charisma, he desperately wished this special person could see. “Tell her, years ago, I had to work very hard. I was wounded as a boy at Gettysburg.”
The girl listened.
“She promises to again take all tenseness out of you any time you return.”
The girl and the madam bowed, then turned and walked back towards the hot spring.
“Magnificent creature,” said Jewell, turning, trying to sit cross-legged like Tubert and the Chinese. “So this is what kept you in Corea so long? You got a female hidden away? I mean, you had the run of this land for years. No wonder you never escaped.”
“Chaoshien has many charms,” said Tubert, smiling, his mind returning to the kisaeng waiting for him in Seoul. Did he want her as something rather than someone? “But I have no interest in any of these females. There’s another. She’s up north. Waiting for me. And I had nothing to escape from, Mister Jewell. Tell me what you think of these steak strips.”
“Delicious!” Remarked their guest, taking a spoonful of rice to go with the meat, the chopsticks awkward. With the intoxicating physical presence of the blind girl, the officer fought the sweetness of being immersed in and seduced by this heathen culture, struggling to remind himself of the superiority of Western race, culture and civilization. Jewell speared another piece of bulgo-gi marinated steak strips. “Now tell me, Timothy; are you still dumping potatoes on superiors that displease you?”
Both men laughed at the memory of the day Jewell had approached Tubert. The laughs were deep and full. T’ang paused from eating, glancing at the chattering, laughing, feng-qua. Then the Soldier Brother explained to the old Chinese the cause of their laughter, and the old Chinaman joined them.
“T’ang says I have no superiors, but I am still very volatile and prone to violent outbursts.”
They returned to the meal, sipping cups of cold Japanese beer, enjoying the night view of the harbor, the lights along the shore, the signal fires on top of the mountain. Later, they boarded T’ang’s sampan and sailed back towards the Ticonderoga, the lanterns of hundreds of fishing boats, and thou¬sands of lights ashore enhanced the harbor’s beauty that unforgettable spring night.
“I’ll say this once, and never again. The Chinese tried to kill you and the Coreans put an arrow through your leg. I still think you should leave them. Let the commodore line you up with the western trading companies that will be clamoring to get in here,” said Jewell, making one final attempt to ease his guilt as he prepared to climb aboard the American vessel. “The prefect told Shufeldt that you are free to sail back with us, if you so please.”
Tubert’s eyes narrowed. He masked the look of alarm.
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