the cook to give them a piece of cake which Mrs. Caldwell had
sent us the day before. Their gratitude was pitiful, but, of course, they
gave the larger share to the men.

It was not long before other women and children appeared on the hill path,
all struggling upward under heavy loads, or tottering along on tightly
bound feet. Probably these women had not walked so far in their entire
lives, but the fear of the Northern soldiers and what would happen in the
city if they took possession had driven them from their homes.

Farther on we had a clear view across the valley where a long line of
people was filing up to a temple which nestled into the hillside. Half a
mile beyond were two other temples both crowded with refugees and their
goods. Hundreds of families were seeking shelter in every little house
beside the road and were overflowing into the cowsheds and pigpens.

At six o'clock we stood on the summit of the hill overlooking the city and
half an hour later were clambering up the ladder over the high wall of the
compound, just behind Dr. Trimble's house. We were wet through and while
cooling off heard the story of the morning's fighting. It seemed that a
certain element in the city was in cooeperation with the representatives of
the revolutionary organization. These men wished to obtain possession of
Yen-ping and, after the rebellion was well started, to gather forces, march
to Foochow, and force the Governor to declare the independence of the
province.

The plot had been hatching for several days, but the death of Yuan Shi-kai
had somewhat delayed its fruition. Saturday, however, it was known
throughout the city that trouble would soon begin. Sunday morning at half
past three, a band of one hundred men from Yuchi had marched to Yen-ping
where they were received by a delegation of rebels dressed in white who
opened to them the east gate of the city. Immediately they began to fire
up the streets to intimidate the people and in a short time were in a hot
engagement with the seventeen Northern soldiers, some of whom threw away
their guns and swam across the river. The remaining city troops were from
the province of Hunan and their sympathies were really with the South in
the great rebellion. These immediately joined the rebels, where they were
received with open arms. It was reported that the _tao-tai_ (district
mandarin) had asked for troops from Foochow and that these might be
expected at any moment; thus when they