tituted his only hope, and the remains of the fleet his only
empire.

The able leader on whom the last hopes of the Chinese dynasty now rested
selected a natural stronghold on an island named Tai, in a natural
harbor which could be entered only with a favorable tide. This position
he made the most strenuous efforts to fortify, building strong works on
the heights above the bay, and gathering troops until he had an army of
nearly two hundred thousand men.

So rapidly did he work that his fortifications were completed before the
Mongol admiral discovered his locality. On learning what had been done,
the Mongols at once hurried forward reinforcements and prepared for an
immediate and vigorous assault on this final stronghold of the empire of
China. The attack was made with the impetuous courage for which the
Mongols had become noted, but the works were bravely held, and for two
days the struggle was maintained without advantage to the assailants. On
the third day the Mongol admiral resumed his attack, and a fiercely
contested battle took place, ending in the Chinese fleet being thrown
into confusion. The result would have been utterly disastrous had not a
heavy mist fallen at this opportune moment, under cover of which Chang
Chikie, followed by sixteen vessels of his fleet, made his way out to
sea.

The vessel which held the young emperor was less fortunate. Caught in
the press of the battle, its capture was inevitable, and with it that of
the last emperor of the Sung dynasty. In this desperate emergency, a
faithful minister of the empire, resolved to save the honor of his
master even at the sacrifice of his life, took him in his arms and
leaped with him into the sea. This act of desperation was emulated by
many of the officers of the vessel, and in this dramatic way the great
dynasty of the Sung came to an end.

But the last blow for the empire had not been struck so long as Chang
Chikie survived. With him had escaped the mother of the drowned prince,
and on learning of his loss the valiant leader requested her to name
some member of the Sung family to succeed him. But the mother,
overwhelmed with grief at the death of her son, was in no mood to listen
to anything not connected with her loss, and at length, hopeless and
inconsolable, she put an end to her own existence by leaping overboard
from the vessel's side.

Chang Chikie was left alone, with the destinies of the empire dependent
solely upon him. Yet his high c