stead of
hiding their pigtails under their head-gear, allowed them to hang down;
and some of them, Frobisher observed, were of great length, in some
cases falling as low as the back of the knee.

For arms the men carried rifles, of a more modern pattern than those in
use in the sister service; in fact, they seemed, so far as Frobisher
could see without close inspection, to be Martini weapons of the 1879
pattern--a most serviceable and reliable fire-arm, far superior to the
modern small-bore rifle in the opinion of soldiers themselves, as a
man-stopper and rush-checker. A long, wicked-looking bayonet with a
basket hilt, the back of the blade serrated for three-quarters of its
length, like the edge of a large saw, swung from the left hip; and the
armoury was completed by a long-hilted, long-bladed knife, or short
sword, stuck through the belt which supported the bayonet. They would
certainly be a "tough crowd to meet at close quarters", as Drake
murmured to his companion while the men swung past.

The soldiers appeared to be extremely partial to flags, for there seemed
to be one to every twenty or thirty men. These were all identical in
shape and colour, being triangular and yellow, with the device of a
crimson dragon, open-jawed, in the centre.

As soon as the men had passed, Frobisher and Drake continued their walk,
and shortly afterward reached the entrance to the dockyard, where they
were sharply challenged in Chinese by a sentry. Fortunately, as has
been before noted, Drake was an excellent Chinese scholar; and, in
answer to his explanation that they were in search of Admiral Wong-lih,
the man allowed them to pass, and very civilly directed them where to
go, having seen the officer in question pass but a short time
previously.

While Drake was obtaining this information Frobisher amused himself by
looking around him; and as he did so, he caught sight of a very
gorgeously dressed official approaching, attended by several servants,
one of whom was holding a large umbrella over his master's head, while
another timidly supported the heavy silken train of the mandarin's
cloak. There was something familiar about this man's appearance, but
the Englishman could not remember whether or not he had really met him
before, or whether it was only a resemblance to some other that had
attracted his notice. He was a man of very high standing--there could
be no doubt about that; for, while he was yet some ten yards away, the