| caption: |
Chapter Four. Above the Clouds |
| caption: |
Ahon a very good informant in Shiong |
| text: |
But leper-wife or no leper-wife, I had to make friends with Ahon. He had once served the Government as a dobashi, and knew the country beyond the frontier as well as his own home. He was an excellent informant not only on the customs of Shiong, but also on those of Chui. For Chui was his home village, and and he had only been forced to leave it when he came into conflict with the autocratic chief. By serving the Government, and through his numerous connexions with the neighbouring villages, he had gradually made his fortune and his influence surpassed that of many smaller Angs. But in his heart he still hated all chiefs, and even in Shiong, where he lived quite peacefully, he was on very strained terms with the Ang, a cousin and vassal of the great Ang of Chui. |
