Heaven pardon me, what a howler—­pardonable assuredly—­but what a howler I had been guilty of!  But why should I have doubted what Popof told me, and why should Popof have suspected what the Persians had told him regarding this Yen Lou?  There was no reason for our doubting their veracity.

I am none the less deeply humiliated in my self-esteem as a journalist, and I am much annoyed at the call to order which I have brought upon myself.  I shall take very good care not to breathe a word of my misadventure, even to the major.  Is it credible?  In Paris the Twentieth Century is better informed of what concerns the Grand Transasiatic than I am!  They knew that an imperial treasure is in the van, and I did not!  Oh! the mistakes of special correspondents!

Now the secret is divulged, and we know that this treasure, composed of gold and precious stones, formerly deposited in the hands of the Shah of Persia, is being sent to its legitimate owner, the Son of Heaven.

That is why my lord Faruskiar, who was aware of it in consequence of his position as general manager of the company, had joined the train at Douchak so as to accompany the treasure to its destination.  That is why he and Ghangir—­and the three other Mongols—­had so carefully watched this precious van, and why they had shown themselves so anxious when it had been left behind by the breakage of the coupling, and why they were so eager for its recovery.  Yes, all is explained!

That is also why a detachment of Chinese soldiers has taken over the van at Kachgar, in relief of the Persians!  That is why Pan-Chao never heard of Yen Lou, nor of any exalted personage of that name existing in the Celestial Empire!

We started to time, and, as may be supposed, our traveling companions could talk of nothing else but the millions which were enough to enrich every one in the train.

“This pretended mortuary van has always been suspicious to me,” said Major Noltitz.  “And that was why I questioned Pan-Chao regarding the dead mandarin.”

“I remember,” I said; “and I could not quite understand the motive of your question.  It is certain now that we have got a treasure in tow.”

“And I add,” said the major, “that the Chinese government has done wisely in sending an escort of twenty well-armed men.  From Kothan to Lan Teheou the trains will have two thousand kilometres to traverse through the desert, and the safety of the line is not as great as it might be across the Gobi.”

“All the more so, major, as the redoubtable Ki-Tsang has been reported in the northern provinces.”

“Quite so, and a haul of fifteen millions is worth having by a bandit chief.”

“But how could the chief be informed of the treasure being sent?”

“That sort of people always know what it is their interest to know.”

“Yes,” thought I, “although they do not read the Twentieth Century.”