diabolical purpose of spying out their country.
A dozen reasons, however, might be here advanced, and all be far wide of
the truth.

Whatever their hostility is all about is a mystery to me, the innocent
object of sundry scowls and angry gestures. One individual contemplates
me for a minute with unconcealed aversion, and then breaks out into a
torrent of angry words and excited gestures. From all appearances, it
behooves me to be clearing out, ere the pent-up feelings of the people
find vent in some aggressive manner, as a result of this person's
incitant eloquence. Greatly puzzled to account for this unpleasant
reception, I quietly take myself off.

It is now getting pretty dark, and considering the unfortunate condition
of my knee, the situation is, to say the least, annoying. It is not
without apprehensions of being followed that I leave the village; and ere
I am two hundred yards away, torches are observed moving rapidly about,
and soon loud shouts of "Fankwae, Fankwae!" tell me that a number of men
are in pursuit.

Darkness favors my retreat, and scrambling down the river bank, I shape
my course across the sand and shallow side-channels to a small island,
thickly covered with bamboo, the location of which is now barely outlined
against the lingering streaks of daylight in the western sky. Half an
hour is consumed in reaching this; but no small satisfaction is derived
from seeing the flaming torches of my pursuers continue on up the bank.
The dense bamboo thickets afford an excellent hiding-place, providing my
divergence is not suspected. A little farther up-stream, on the bank, are
the lights of another village; and as I crouch here in the darkness I can
see the torches of the pursuing party entering this village, and can hear
them making shouting inquiries of their neighbors about the foreign
devil.

The thicket is alive with ravenous mosquitoes that issue immediately
their peculiar policy of assurance against falling asleep. Unappeased
hunger, mosquitoes, and the perilousness of the situation occupy my
attention for some hours, when, seeing nothing further of the vengeful
aspirants for my gore, I drag my weary way up-stream, through sand and
shallow water. Keeping in the river-bed for several miles, I finally
regain the bank, and, although my inflamed knee treats me to a twinge of
agony at every step, I steadily persevere till morning.

An hour or two of morning light brings me to the town of Quang-shi, aft