ng it louder and
louder in a sort of ecstasy, and heaving heavy stones to attract their
attention. We must have become quite crazy, for my throat suddenly
gave out, and I could only speak in an absurd whisper.... Oh, what a
night!...

Behind the barricades facing us we could now distinctly hear the
Chinese soldiery moving uneasily and muttering excitedly to one
another. They had understood that it must be the last night of
Boxerism, so we threw more stones and shouted more taunts. Then, as if
accepting the challenge, a rifle cracked off, a second one joined it,
a third, a fourth, and soon the long lines blazed flames and
ear-splitting sounds again. But it was the last night--this did not
matter--assuredly it was the last night, and from our posts we
despatched the first news to headquarters to report that heavy guns
had been heard to the east....

Presently, going back during a lull to see ammunition brought up, I
found that inside our lines the women and children had all risen, and
were craning their necks to catch the distant sounds which had been so
long in coming. All night long the buildings in the Su wang-fu, which
are packed with native Christians, had been filled with the sound of
praying. The elders appointed to watch over this vast flock had been
warned that perhaps they would all have to retreat to the base at the
last minute, and that all must remain ready during the night and none
sleep. As soon as it was possible, they were told that the relief was
coming--that the end was near.... What a sight it was to see them all
grouped together, for they had scrupulously obeyed orders! In one
great hall five hundred Roman Catholic women and children in sober
blue gowns were sitting patiently and silently, with their hands
folded--had been sitting so all the long night, waiting to hear any
news or orders that might be brought to them. Relief or retreat,
massacre or deliverance--all must be taken with the stoicism of the
East. A single lamp cast its dim rays over these people; and a hundred
feet farther on were other halls and buildings, all filled to
overflowing with these waiting miserables. A word would have sent them
surging back across the dry Imperial Canal--to seek safety for a few
hours in our base. Would it have been safety? An immense flood of
feeling overwhelmed me....

So the night passed uneasily away, but no more distant sounds were
heard, and in the end we began to wonder whether our ears after this