gallant little
band of defenders were, naturally, very pleased at their victory, which,
alas! they soon discovered was very dearly bought. To their great grief,
the veteran missionary, Mr. Wilkins, had been shot through the throat
and was dead. Evidently the fatal wound had been received when he looked
out to see if the Boxers really were climbing the wall. He was buried at
sunset in a corner of the mission enclosure, and his death cast a gloom
over the defenders.

Two weeks passed away, and there was still no news of the long-expected
relief. Food was so scarce that it was indeed wonderful how the besieged
managed to exist. Four of them had died, and were now lying in the
little cemetery in the corner of the enclosure. Others were seriously
ill, and it was feared that, unless relief came speedily, they, too,
would soon succumb.

The Boxers had altered their plans on finding that they could not carry
the mission buildings by assault, and now relied upon starving out the
defenders. By day or by night scarcely a single Boxer was to be seen,
although hundreds were within a stone's-throw. Every building that could
be seen from the mission had a Boxer flag planted on it, and every house
facing it had been fortified. From these houses the Boxers, day and
night, fired on the mission, the residential part of which, except the
basement, was in a ruined condition. To cross from the platforms to the
mission house was a work of danger, for some trained Chinese soldiers,
who had joined the Boxers, were by no means bad shots, and, as they
could look down into the enclosure, they fired every time that one of
the defenders was seen. They used a large amount of ammunition, but
without drawing the fire of the missionaries and their friends.

Another week passed--the most disastrous that the besieged had gone
through. Two more of them had died from fatigue, fever, and want of
proper food. The mule which had drawn the missionaries' trap for some
years, had been killed and skinned, and in the course of two or three
days the last of it would be eaten. When that was gone there would not
be an atom of food left. If it had not been for the women and children,
the men would have made a sortie and died facing overwhelming odds.

'We must remain where we are for their sake,' Barton declared, and the
rest agreed with him. Then they discussed how to make the remainder of
the mule-flesh last a day or two longer than they hoped; but they were
alr