'We have heard that there is great sickness,' said one of his men. 'We have been told that plague assails the people. It has even been reported that soldiers have been called to positions north and east of Pekin to hold the frightened people back.'
'True, comrade, true, every word of these reports. Our commander has himself been called away to receive orders with regard to the placing of the soldiers. But see how the foreign devils manage these things. They come to us in disguise. They enter our city with letters of introduction to his Excellency Twang Chun. With forged letters, you may be certain.'
The gaping mouths of his audience showed how the news affected them. Give the Tartar soldier his due, he is one of the best soldiers China possesses, but he is as ignorant and as bigoted as any of the people. Moreover, he is just as ready to run from the cry of plague as he is ready to discover in a European the cause of his misfortune. Growls of anger came from the men, disturbed, however, a moment later by a loud challenge from the sentry. He was calling for men to help him to shut the gates--for the hour for closing the city had arrived--and as he did so espied a figure creeping in through the archway. He brought the man to a stop with his bayonet within an inch of his breast.
'Move not,' he commanded, 'else will I plunge the blade home and send you to converse with your ancestors. Son of a dog, what do you here at this time?'
Another shout brought the Tartar officer running out with his men, while one carried the native lantern, a huge affair of oiled paper. They held it up close to the stranger's face, while the officer approached closely.
'Who are you?' he asked suspiciously. 'A follower of those foreign devils?'
'In their service, no,' came the emphatic answer. 'Take this; let us talk.'
The man pulled a handful of money from a bag suspended to his girdle, and gave it to the under-officer. 'Let us talk,' he repeated. 'I follow these foreign devils it is true, but not as their servant. I come to bring a warning.'
'There! did I not say so?' declared the officer instantly, his sallow face flushing. 'I have but just told these comrades that Hatsu would be well without such visitors. I have warned them of the plague.'