st; and thus having no
confidence in the natives, he put all authority into the hands of Tartars,
Saracens, or Christians who were attached to his household and devoted to
his service, and were foreigners in Cathay.

Wherefore, on the day appointed, the aforesaid Vanchu and Chenchu having
entered the palace at night, Vanchu sat down and caused a number of lights
to be kindled before him. He then sent a messenger to Achmath the Bailo,
who lived in the Old City, as if to summon him to the presence of Chinkin,
the Great Kaan's son, who (it was pretended) had arrived unexpectedly.
When Achmath heard this he was much surprised, but made haste to go, for
he feared the Prince greatly. When he arrived at the gate he met a Tartar
called Cogatai, who was Captain of the 12,000 that formed the standing
garrison of the City; and the latter asked him whither he was bound so
late? "To Chinkin, who is just arrived." Quoth Cogatai, "How can that be?
How could he come so privily that I know nought of it?" So he followed the
Minister with a certain number of his soldiers. Now the notion of the
Cathayans was that, if they could make an end of Achmath, they would have
nought else to be afraid of. So as soon as Achmath got inside the palace,
and saw all that illumination, he bowed down before Vanchu, supposing him
to be Chinkin, and Chenchu who was standing ready with a sword straightway
cut his head off. As soon as Cogatai, who had halted at the entrance,
beheld this, he shouted "Treason!" and instantly discharged an arrow at
Vanchu and shot him dead as he sat. At the same time he called his people
to seize Chenchu, and sent a proclamation through the city that any one
found in the streets would be instantly put to death. The Cathayans saw
that the Tartars had discovered the plot, and that they had no longer any
leader, since Vanchu was killed and Chenchu was taken. So they kept still
in their houses, and were unable to pass the signal for the rising of the
other cities as had been settled. Cogatai immediately dispatched
messengers to the Great Kaan giving an orderly report of the whole affair,
and the Kaan sent back orders for him to make a careful investigation, and
to punish the guilty as their misdeeds deserved. In the morning Cogatai
examined all the Cathayans, and put to death a number whom he found to be
ringleaders in the plot. The same thing was done in the other cities, when
it was found that the plot extended to them also.

After