revolvers at the time
when he had been struck down; while the second revolver, which had been
in the side pocket of his coat, had probably been discovered and seized
when the jacket was stripped off him by the individual who had attended
to the wound in his side.

With a great effort and a wrench that caused him to bite his lips to
bleeding-point, to keep back his groans, Frobisher contrived to raise
himself to a sitting posture, and he then discovered that he was in a
closed litter of some sort, or palanquin, which, he could tell by its
short, jerky motion, was being borne over very rough ground.

Feeling cautiously around him, in the faint hope that his jacket might
have been thrown into the palanquin, and with it, perhaps, the revolver
still in the pocket, Frobisher's fingers encountered one of the
curtains, and gradually gathering it up, he was presently able to pull
it aside sufficiently to enable him to see out.

It was still dark, but the stars were shining brightly, and a thin slice
of moon had risen just clear of the treetops that bordered the jungle,
so that the young Englishman was able to make out his surroundings with
comparative ease. Marching alongside the palanquin, on each side, at a
distance of a few feet only, so narrow was the jungle path, was a line
of Government troops, their weapons, consisting of flint-locks,
match-locks, halberds, old muzzle-loaders, and, in a few cases, modern
breechloaders, sloped over their shoulders; while close beside the
litter, but a little in advance, so that Frobisher was unable to see the
man's face, walked an officer with a drawn two-handed Chinese sword in
his hand. He was evidently quite prepared to cut the prisoner down
without parley, should he make the slightest attempt at escape.

Beside him walked another man, whom Frobisher had no difficulty in
recognising as Ling; and he was by no means grieved to observe that the
Korean had also suffered damage; for Ling's head was roughly bandaged,
and his right arm hung down limp and useless, while he walked with a
limp that proved he had received an injury to his leg as well. A
cautious glance rearward through the open curtains disclosed the fact
that the caravan of carts was coming along in the rear, escorted by a
few files of troops; but there was nothing to be seen of the unfortunate
Sam-riek drivers, and Frobisher was forced to the conclusion that,
rather than encumber themselves with other prisoners, the soldi