sailors from the fleet, several gunboats went up
to Tientsin by water to make provision for the arrival of the main body
who were marching thither by land; and, amongst other officers of the
_Candahar_, Ned Anstruther and I were detailed for this duty, proceeding
to the port in question with a battery of artillery and military stores,
which we had to see to the landing of near the close of the month.

Ned and I were glad of the outing, besides escaping from the routine of
the ship, and when we got to Tientsin we strolled about having a look
round at the queer-looking shops and shanties, the like of which we had
never seen before.

Presently we got to some tea-gardens, where a funny old man, with a
yellow hat and a pigtail the size of a small hawser, accosted us.

By signs he invited us to enter a rather nice-looking building, built
just like one of those little pagodas resembling card-houses that you
see in the right-hand corner of a willow-pattern plate.

"What a rum old joker!" exclaimed Ned, as the old fellow came up to us.
"Chin, chin, Johnny, what you wantchee, no stoppee can do."

I laughed at Ned's "pijin English," which the Chinaman evidently did not
understand: but he bowed courteously and smiled very amiably, throwing
open the door of the card-house in such a pressingly hospitable way all
the while that I could not stand out any longer.

"Hang it all, Ned!" said I, "let us go in. An old chap like that can't
do us any harm; and, besides, we've got the cutter's crew within hail!"

"All right, old chap," replied Ned, taking the old fellow's arm and
leading the way in, while I followed him. "Here goes."

The moment, however, that we had entered the flimsy-looking building the
door was quickly slammed-to behind us; while a gang of ruffians of the
same kidney as the treacherous old scoundrel who had beguiled us, threw
Ned and myself on the ground and gagged and pinioned us like a pair of
trussed fowls, before we could call out or make a single movement in our
own defence.

When they saw that we were properly secured, our uniforms were torn off
our backs and a couple of blue cotton shirts, such as the Chinese
coolies wear, pulled over our shoulders, as a sort of disguise. An ugly
old pith hat, of the shape of a mushroom, was then jammed down on the
tops of our unfortunate heads; and we looked at one another in wonder as
to what would come next.

We were not long in suspense.

The old chap, who was evid