Shall we go out and
hurry off to Barton?'

'No,' Charlie said, firmly; 'not until we have got your treasure.'

'But do you know what was on that poster?'

'We have a very good idea, I fancy. An order to kill all foreigners, was
it not?'

'Yes. Shall we escape?'

'No. Hurry on to Chin Choo's.'

Ping Wang again led them through narrow, dirty streets until they caught
sight of Chin Choo's house. When they were about fifty yards from it,
they saw the gates thrown open and the mandarin's palanquin borne out.
From the shouts of the man with the whip who ran ahead of it, they knew
that Chin Choo was inside.

'That is good,' Ping Wang whispered. 'Now that Chin Choo is out, the
servants will start gambling and smoking opium. We need not fear being
disturbed by them.'

In less than five minutes they arrived at the spot where they had
decided to start their undertaking. They looked up and down the road,
and, seeing no one about, Ping Wang climbed the wall.

'It is very easy,' he said, when he reached the top; 'the drop on the
other side is only about six feet.'

He disappeared into Chin Choo's grounds and Fred at once scaled the
wall. Charlie was about to follow him, and had already climbed five or
six feet from the ground, when he heard some one approaching, and,
before he was able to decide whether to jump down or continue climbing,
his left foot was seized and tugged so viciously that he came down with
a rush on top of his assailant.

In an instant he was on his feet again, ready to defend himself from any
further attack. Looking down at the person on whom he had fallen, he saw
to his astonishment that it was the cart-woman who had caused him so
much annoyance before.

She lay glaring at Charlie, speechless and panting. But he had barely
recognised her when he heard a shout of 'Foreigners!' and looking round
saw the woman's husband running at him. He jumped quickly aside, and to
defend himself snatched up one of the legs of pork, which had been left
on the ground.

He rushed at the Chinaman, who, being a great coward, immediately turned
about and fled. But Charlie was upon him in a moment, and with the leg
of pork dealt him a blow on the back of the head, which sent him
sprawling on the ground. A knife fell from his hand and Charlie at once
seized it. The woman, seeing what had befallen her husband, scrambled to
her feet and toddled to him shouting, 'Foreigners!' as she went. To
prevent her being heard Fred cl