“So we went to the American consulate and got into these disguises.  The consul says he never saw anything smoother, though he must be prejudiced in our favor, for he helped get up the disguises himself.

“Then we went to the vicinity of the telegraph office and waited.  In a moment we saw that something unusual was going on.  Directly a messenger started off in this direction and we followed him.  I knew then, as well as I know it now, that you boys had been detained in the hope of keeping us all out of Peking, so I bought some strong opium on the way and doped the pipes of the guards after I mixed with them.”

“How could you mix with them?” asked Jack.  “You know about as much Chinese as a robin.”

“Oh, they thought we were sullen brutes sent down from their headquarters, and took us into their confidence all right.  We were just ready to explore the underground places when we heard the scrap below.”

“And now what?” asked Frank.

“Now, we’re goin’ to Peking!” cried Jimmie.

“You said that before!” Jack taunted.

“Well, we didn’t get tied up in a hole we couldn’t get out of,” retorted the little fellow.

“I guess you’d have been in the old temple until now if you hadn’t traveled with an escort,” Jack cut in.

The boys, laughing and “roasting” each other, passed up the ladder and to the half earthen, half-board floor of the mud hut.  There they found the woman Chee moving about with a swollen face.

She tried to talk with Ned, but as neither could understand what the other said, little progress was made.  However, she finally managed to make Ned understand that she wanted him to take the unconscious men out of the cellar, also the man who had been tied up by Jack and Sandy.

Ned finally made her understand that she could call the police half an hour after their departure.  This seemed to satisfy her, and the piece of silver Ned presented was received with many gestures of gratitude.

“Won’t the finding of them men there get her into trouble?” asked Sandy, as the lads walked away.

“I’ll explain the matter to the American consul,” answered Ned, “and ask him to inform the authorities.  You see, these people who are making us all this trouble are about as afraid of the officers as they are of us.  The government is keeping a sharp lookout for the revolutionary leaders, and some are captured every day.”

“What do they do with them?” asked Jack.

“They are never heard of again.”

“Murdered?  Without trial?”

“That is the belief.”

“Then why don’t we ask this good, wise, benevolent, sane, and all the rest of it government to keep the revolutionary party off Uncle Sam?” asked Jack.  “We represent Uncle Samuel, you know.”

“Because,” was the reply, “there are spies in every branch and department of the government.  While the traitors who are serving the government while seeking its destruction may not be powerful enough to secure the release of such confederates as are caught, they are undoubtedly able to send out reports calculated to assist their party.”