At the close of this train of thought， she retraced her steps. But just as she was starting to join her other cousins， she unexpectedly descried， ahead of her， a pair of jade-coloured butterflies， of the size of a circular fan. Now they soared high， now they made a swoop down， in their flight against the breeze； much to her amusement.

Pao-ch'ai felt a wish to catch them for mere fun's sake， so producing a fan from inside her sleeve， she descended on to the turfed ground to flap them with it. The two butterflies suddenly were seen to rise； suddenly to drop： sometimes to come； at others to go. Just as they were on the point of flying across the stream to the other side， the enticement proved too much for Pao-ch'ai， and she pursued them on tiptoe straight up to the Ti Ts'ui pavilion， nestling on the bank of the pond； while fragrant perspiration dripped drop by drop， and her sweet breath panted gently. But Pao-ch'ai abandoned the idea of catching them， and was about to beat a retreat， when all at once she overheard， in the pavilion， the chatter of people engaged in conversation.

This pavilion had， it must be added， a verandah and zig-zag balustrades running all round. It was erected over the water， in the centre of a pond， and had on the four sides window-frames of carved wood work， stuck with paper. So when Pao-ch'ai caught， from without the pavilion， the sound of voices， she at once stood still and lent an attentive ear to what was being said.

"Look at this handkerchief，" she overheard. "If it's really the one you've lost， well then keep it； but if it isn't you must return it to Mr. Yuen."

"To be sure it is my own，" another party observed， "bring it along and give it to me."

"What reward will you give me？" she further heard. "Is it likely that I've searched all for nothing！"

"I've long ago promised to recompense you， and of course I won't play you false，" some one again rejoined.

"I found it and brought it round，" also reached her ear， "and you naturally will recompense me； but won't you give anything to the person who picked it up？"

"Don't talk nonsense，" the other party added， "he belongs to a family of gentlemen， and anything of ours he may pick up it's his bounden duty to restore to us. What reward could you have me give him？"

"If you don't reward him，" she heard some one continue， "what will I be able to tell him？ Besides， he enjoined me time after time that if there was to be no recompense， I was not to give it to you."

A short pause ensued. "Never mind！" then came out again to her， "take this thing of mine and present it to him and have done！ But do you mean to let the cat out of the bag with any one else？ You should take some oath."

"If I tell any one，" she likewise overheard， "may an ulcer grow on my mouth， and may I， in course of time， die an unnatural death！"

"Ai-ya！" was the reply she heard； "our minds are merely bent upon talking， but some one might come and quietly listen from outside； wouldn't it be as well to push all the venetians open. Any one seeing us in here will then imagine that we are simply chatting about nonsense. Besides， should they approach， we shall be able to observe them， and at once stop our conversation！"

Pao-ch'ai listened to these words from outside， with a heart full of astonishment. "How can one wonder，" she argued mentally， "if all those lewd and dishonest people， who have lived from olden times to the present， have devised such thorough artifices！ But were they now to open and see me here， won't they feel ashamed. Moreover， the voice in which those remarks were uttered resembles very much that of Hung Erh， attached to Pao-yue's rooms， who has all along shown a sharp eye and a shrewd mind. She's an artful and perverse thing of the first class！ And as I have now overheard her peccadilloes， and a person in despair rebels as sure as a dog in distress jumps over the wall， not only will trouble arise， but I too shall derive no benefit. It would be better at present therefore for me to lose no time in retiring. But as I fear I mayn't be in time to get out of the way， the only alternative for me is to make use of some art like that of the cicada， which can divest itself of its _exuviae_."

She had scarcely brought her reflections to a close before a sound of 'ko-chih' reached her ears. Pao-ch'ai purposely hastened to tread with heavy step. "P'in Erh， I see where you're hiding！" she cried out laughingly； and as she shouted， she pretended to be running ahead in pursuit of her.