(_Continued from page 349._)

CHAPTER XVIII.

The Pages and Ping Wang were among the first twenty to pass in at the
town gates, and the latter at once crossed over to an inn and peeped in
at the door. The glance he gave satisfied him, and he beckoned to
Charlie and Fred to enter. It was not an attractive-looking place, but
there was a smell of roast pork, that made the hungry travellers sniff
with delight.

The dining-room into which Ping Wang led the way was very dirty, and
until Charlie and Fred were told what the room was they had no idea that
it was there that they were to breakfast. They sat down on a form at a
little, bare wooden table, and before long were enjoying a hearty meal
of roast pork and tea.

'And now,' Fred said, when they had satisfied their healthy appetites,
'I should like to lie down and sleep.'

'So should I,' Charlie declared. 'What kind of beds do they have here?'

'We can lie on the floor here if we like,' Ping Wang answered.

'I'll do so,' Charlie said, and down he went on the floor, turned his
face to the wall, rested his head on his arm, and closed his eyes: Fred
followed his example at once.

Ping Wang waited until his friends were asleep, and then, having
satisfied himself that their pigtails were not slipping off, and that
there was nothing about their appearance to attract attention, he lay
down beside them.

All three slept soundly until the landlord came in and awoke Ping Wang,
who had an argument with him about the price of roast pork.

'What is our next move?' Charlie asked, quietly, when the landlord had
left the room.

'To go and see my cousin,' Ping Wang replied, 'to warn him of the danger
which threatens his brother and all other Christians.'

Ping Wang found his cousin--a fan-maker--at his shop. He had heard of
the Boxers' intentions the day before, and had already been to his
brother to warn him and his friends. This was indeed good news, and Ping
Wang was anxious to tell his friends of it, but dared not, for his
cousin's work-people were in the next room, and would probably hear
them speaking English. He told his cousin, however, that his friends,
who were standing at the door, were Englishmen, a piece of news which
caused the fan-maker much uneasiness. He begged Ping Wang not to
introduce him to the Englishmen, and urged him to get them out of the
town as quickly as possible. Ping Wang chatted with him for a few more
minutes and then departed.

The streets