them, and then almost at the same moment I got two
or three other blows, and down I went; they threw themselves on the
top of me and tied and gagged me in no time. Then I was tied to a long
bamboo, and two fellows put the ends on their shoulders and went off
with me through the fields. Of course I was face downwards, and did not
know you were with us till they stopped and loosed me from the bamboo
and set me on my feet."

"But what are they going to do with us, do you think, Jack?"

"I should say they are going to take us to Canton and claim a reward for
our capture, and there I suppose they will cut off our heads or saw us
in two, or put us to some other unpleasant kind of death. I expect they
are discussing it now; do you hear what a jabber they are kicking up?"

Voices were indeed heard raised in angry altercation in the next room.
After a time the din subsided and the conversation appeared to take a
more amiable turn.

"I suppose they have settled it as far as they are concerned," Jack
said; "anyhow, you may be quite sure they mean to make something out of
us. If they hadn't they would have finished us at once, for they must
have been furious at the destruction of their junks and village. As to
the idea that mercy has anything to do with it, we may as well put it
out of our minds. The Chinaman, at the best of times, has no feeling of
pity in his nature, and after their defeat it is certain they would have
killed us at once had they not hoped to do better by us. If they had
been Indians I should have said they had carried us off to enjoy the
satisfaction of torturing us, but I don't suppose it is that with them."

"Do you think there is any chance of our getting away?" Percy asked,
after a pause.

"I should say not the least in the world, Percy. My hands are fastened
so tight now that the ropes seem cutting into my wrists, and after they
had set me on my feet and cut the cords of my legs I could scarcely
stand at first, my feet were so numbed by the pressure. However, we must
keep up our pluck. Possibly they may keep us at Canton for a bit, and
if they do the squadron may arrive and fight its way past the forts and
take the city before they have quite made up their minds as to what kind
of death will be most appropriate to the occasion. I wonder what they
are doing now? They seem to be chopping sticks."

"I wish they would give us some water," Percy said. "I am frightfully
thirsty."

"And so am I, Percy; th