Yi had a thick silver ring with an enamelled green frog in the
centre. Nelly thought of plan after plan for An Ching's escape, but An
Ching shook her head at each one. 'Oh, Nelly,' she said one day, 'how
lucky you are not to have been born a China-woman!'

CHAPTER XI

AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE

Everything went on well in both compounds. Chang came at the call of the
little red signal every day, and let An Ching know what he and Chi Fu
were doing. Nelly asked Chang if he thought that Chi Fu could tell her
the date, and Chi Fu sent her an almanac which had been given to him by
a missionary at the beginning of the year, but it was of no use to Nelly
until Chang told her that the longest day was only nine days off; so she
put a cross at the date which was nine days before the 21st of June,
and thus found out the exact date. In this way she knew when Sunday
came, and although there would be only one more for her to spend in Yung
Ching, she resolved to keep it in the best way she could, by saying over
to herself all the hymns she could remember and taking more time for her
prayers that morning; neither would she do any teaching or sewing.

The day before the one fixed for the moonlight adventure arrived. An
Ching had got permission to go and see her relatives the next day; the
old servant, who was better, was to go with her. It was very hot, almost
too hot to talk. Ku Nai-nai said there would be a thunderstorm. An
Ching, Nelly, and Little Yi were sitting on the bench in the small
court. They had just had a visit from Chang, who told them not to
expect him the next day, as he must go and fetch the mule in the
evening. He and Chi Fu would certainly be there the next night, he said,
and he cautioned the children to close the window after they had climbed
through. Little Yi was almost asleep, and was swaying to and fro as she
sat on the bench. Nelly had hold of An Ching's hand, and was telling her
how she should send her messages through Chang's mission. Nelly had got
over the excitement, and was quietly happy at the thought of going home.
How she longed to see her dear father and mother and Baby Buckle! She
thought of all this for some time, with her hand still in An Ching's;
and An Ching was thinking of her loneliness when the children would be
no longer with her, and of Hung Li's wrath when he returned. Then Nelly
too was overcome by the heat, and she nodded and bobbed about until at
last her head fell in An Ching's la