ly to stay where she was. Nelly, left to herself, drew the
bench upon which she had been sitting quite near the wall, so as to be
in the shade. Presently she heard something scraping against the wall on
the other side, and it seemed as though there were voices quite close.

The Chinese being very fond or privacy, all the compound walls are built
very high and solid, and as the houses are only one storey high, no one
can see into his neighbour's premises. Nelly did not remember to have
heard any sounds coming from the next compound before; but noises there
were, sure enough, and the talking became more and more distinct. Nelly
got up from her seat to look at the wall. As she did so, she saw what
was evidently a Chinaman's head just above the top, and she heard him
quite distinctly tell some one below 'to hold the ladder tight.' Nelly
was just wondering what she should do, and was half inclined to run
through the hole into the next court, when the rest of the head came
into view, and she saw that it belonged to a plump, pleasant looking
Chinaman. It was very round, and Nelly was at once reminded of the
Cheshire cat in _Alice in Wonderland_. It and she looked at each other
for some seconds. Nelly was the first to speak.

'Oh!' she said.

'A fine day,' said the head.

'Rather hot,' replied Nelly.

'Was that you singing?' asked the head.

'Yes,' answered Nelly.

'I can sing that too,' said the head.

Nelly was too much astonished to reply.

Then the head rose a little higher, and showed a pair of shoulders and
arms. 'He does not look like the Cheshire cat now,' thought Nelly, 'but
a rather nice Chinaman.' He continued:

'How is it that you have large feet? You look like a foreigner. Don't be
afraid of me.'

Thus encouraged, Nelly replied:

'I am a foreigner, and of course I have large feet.'

'What are you doing here?' asked the man.

'I have been brought here,' replied Nelly vaguely, 'and I want to get
away, but Ku Nai-nai will be very angry if she knows I am talking to
you.'

'Then don't tell her,' said the man. 'I shan't. She is the woman who
speaks so loudly, I suppose. I'll bob down if she comes. Where do you
live?'

'Peking, the British Legation.'

And then Nelly told the man all about Little Yi and herself being
brought to Yung Ching by Hung Li and Ku Nai-nai. When she had finished
the man seemed to be considering for some time. At length he said:

'Perhaps I can help you to escape. You had bet