uldn't neglect them. I would read hard on board, and as my next
examination does not come on for nearly two years, I shall have plenty
of time. And when I'm in China I shall be able to study tropical
diseases. Medical men are very keen on that, nowadays.'

'Well, if Charlie goes, I see no reason why you should not; but it
requires serious consideration.'

'I will share my portion of the treasure with you,' Charlie said to his
brother, but Ping Wang objected to that arrangement.

'We will each have a third of what the rubies realise,' he declared,
and, in spite of all protests, he insisted that the division of the
treasure, if they ever got it, should be made in that way.

Mr. Page listened in silence to their conversation. He was by no means
convinced that Ping Wang's story was not an Oriental fiction, invented
to arouse sympathy and obtain a free passage home. Now, as it happened,
Mr. Page had a friend who was the senior partner of a large firm of
Chinese merchants, and had himself resided in China for many years, and
he decided, therefore, to question him as to the probability of Ping
Wang's story. A day or two later Mr. Page went to London and had an
interview with this friend, who confirmed many details of Ping Wang's
story, and even came down to Lincolnshire to see the Chinaman in person.

Ping Wang was delighted when he found that the merchant had lived in his
country for many years, and could speak his language fluently.

'Ping Wang's story is, I am convinced, quite true,' the merchant said to
Mr. Page, when they were alone, 'but his plan is a very risky one.'

'I know, but that has only made them more anxious to go. It is another
case of "like father like son." If I had not travelled while young, I am
sure I should never have settled down. And the fact that in every place
I visited I found scores of Englishmen yearning to return home made me
feel that I was a fortunate man to see our distant possessions without
being doomed to pass my life in exile. I have sufficient money to keep a
home for my children, but I want my sons to be able to earn a living and
hold their own by themselves; and I think that, as I have the means to
permit them to travel before settling down, they will do well to learn
as much as they can of the world outside England. They shall go with
Ping Wang. If they help Ping Wang to secure his inheritance, I shall of
course be pleased, but I shall be glad for both the lads to gain
experience