ed on to his
feet; then the cloth was removed from his head, and he could look
around.

A dozen Chinese, armed with matchlocks and bristling with swords and
daggers, stood around, and among them, bound like himself and gagged by
a piece of bamboo forced lengthways across his mouth and kept there
with a string going round the back of the head, stood Fothergill. He was
bleeding from several cuts in the head. Percy's heart gave a bound of
joy at finding that he was not alone; then he tried to feel sorry that
Jack had not escaped, but failed to do so, although he told himself that
his comrade's presence would not in any way alleviate the fate which
was certain to befall him. Still the thought of companionship, even in
wretchedness, and perhaps a vague hope that Jack, with his energy and
spirit, might contrive some way for their escape, cheered him up.

As Percy, too, was gagged, no word could be exchanged by the midshipmen,
but they nodded to each other. They were now put side by side and made
to walk in the center of their captors. On the way they passed through
several villages, whose inhabitants poured out to gaze at the captives,
but the men in charge of them were evidently not disposed to delay,
as they passed through without a stop. At last they halted before two
cottages standing by themselves, thrust the prisoners into a small room,
removed their gags, and left them entirely to themselves.

"Well, Percy, my boy, so they caught you too? I am awfully sorry. It
was my fault for going with only two men into that temple, but as the
village had been deserted and scarcely a man was found there, it never
entered my mind that there might be a party in the temple."

"Of course not, Jack; it was a surprise altogether. I don't know
anything about it, for I was knocked down, I suppose, just as we went
in, and the first thing I knew about it was that I was being carried on
the back of one of those fellows. I thought it was awful at first, but I
don't seem to mind so much now you are with me."

"It is a comfort to have someone to speak to," Jack said, "yet I wish
you were not here, Percy; I can't do you any good, and I shall never
cease blaming myself for having brought you into this scrape. I don't
know much more about the affair than you do. The guns were fired so
close to us that my face was scorched with one of them, and almost at
the same instant I got a lick across my cheek with a sword. I had just
time to hit at one of