us dread--not so much through fear of death itself as of the
manner of dying. My hands trembled; I could scarcely keep the sticks
from falling to the floor. Presently I pulled myself together and
determined to put a brave face upon the matter. The Chinamen about me
were evidently enjoying my sufferings keenly as I could see from the
diabolic grins upon their dark faces. I threw the sticks from me with a
quick nervous movement, and then almost feared to look upon them. At
last I did so, and what I saw was almost as bad as what I feared to see.
Instead of the two flat sides of the sticks being uppermost, they lay
one each way, and I was forced to throw again. The Chinese were
evidently delighted. Any method of torture which is prolonged seems to
please them beyond measure. I have heard that one of the most terrible
they have invented is that of keeping a prisoner awake. For days and
days sleep is prevented--the victim ultimately goes raving mad.

I determined to end the matter at once. My nerves were too much shaken
to prolong the agony. I cast the sticks again upon the altar slab and
bent over them with a prayer to God. One stick fell at once with its
flat side uppermost. The other rolled over and over until it rested
almost at the Buddha's feet. At last it trembled, half turned over, then
stopped. It, like the other, gave the favorable sign. I was saved. In
the sudden relief from the nervous tension I almost fell, but the
Chinamen, cheated of their revenge, gave me no time for any such
exhibitions of emotion. McQuade and I were seized, and in a few moments
our arms were tightly bound behind us, and heavy bags similar to the one
I had worn were placed over our heads. We were then roughly hurried
through a series of rooms, once crossing what seemed to be a brick-paved
court, which was undoubtedly in the open air, from the sudden change of
temperature I experienced; then for an interminable distance through
what seemed to be dark, narrow lanes and muddy streets, until at last
our hoods were removed, our feet bound, and we were thrown into a
narrow area way, some cotton waste being jammed into each of our mouths
to prevent our making any outcry. Here we were discovered at daybreak,
some four or five hours later, nearly frozen to death, by a watchman,
who released us from our bonds and, upon hearing from Sergeant McQuade
who he was, hastened to find us a cab.

Our first step after it came was to drive to the nearest public h