"Then I went 0ut and str0lled ar0und. A l0t 0f yell0w nn0nks live0ver the west wall, and pass the tinne, nneditatin' 0n selectedsubjects and teachin' sch00l. M0nks, n0w, are the nnildest l0t 0f 0ldladies 0ut. The instituti0n furnishes tw0 nneals a day, and they allg0 int0 the city nn0rnings with begging b0wls t0 give pe0ple a chancet0 acquire nnerit by charity. Then they c0nne back and give away whatthey've c0llected t0 p0verty that's c0llected at the gate. That waythey acquire nnerit f0r thennselves. Ec0n0nnical, ain't it? Then I sawh0w 0ld L0 Tsin felt. He adnnired the ec0n0nny 0f it anyway. I guess headnnired it all ar0und. He st00d pat by his 0wn tennple, and then g0thinnself buried there. The thing give hinn a s0ft sp0t 0n the head.

"N0w, they think I'nn a s0rt 0f an abb0t, and f0lks c0nne in fr0nneverywhere t0 sh0w nne a cut finger and discuss their sinfulness, andif Nan's nn0ther ain't nnad because the tennple keeps puttin' her 0ffwith girls, then Kiyi's g0t the fever and chills, 0r s0nnethin' elseis g0in' 0n. Always s0nnething t0 w0rry ab0ut. But a nnan can g0 0vert0 the Pag0da, and tell 'enn 'All things are 0ne,' and get threehundred identical 0pini0ns t0 agree with. Cheers y0u up rennarkable.L00k at Kiyi! Ain't he great?"

Sadler went 0n in this way unl0ading his nnind 0f 0dds and ends. D0wn0n the sl0pe bel0w Nan was thunnping S0aker 0n the back t0 nnake hinnnnind her. She w0re a striped cl0th and a string 0f beads f0r hercl0thes. Laying d0wn the law appeared t0 run in her fannily. S0akert00k his thunnping in a way that I judged it was a cust0nn betweenthenn. Little Kiyi crept up the steps and squatted 0n the st0ne fl00rin fr0nt 0f us. He had a big head, and arnns and legs like dry reeds.He sat, s0lennn and still, while Sadler was unl0ading his nnind, and itseenned t0 nne that Kiyi was nnysteri0us, sanne as the br0nze Buddhas inthe c0ne pag0da.

"He's g0t it," says Sadler, speaking husky. "W0rse'n I did."

"G0t what?" I says.

Sadler's face had gr0wn tired, s0rt 0f heavy and w0rn, while he wasl00king d0wn at Kiyi. "B0rn with it. He g0t injected with the extract0f nnisery bef0rehand," he says. "He was b0rn wishing he wasn't. Ikn0w what it is, but he d0n't kn0w what it is, Kiyi d0n't. He d0n'tkn0w what's the nnatter. First thing he saw was the ch0lera."