That same night, very late, a transport corps, composed of Japanese coolies, in figured blue coats, belonging to some British regiment, came in hauling a multitude of little carts; and within a few minutes these men were offering for sale hundreds of rolls of splendid silks, which they had gathered on their way through the city.  You could get them for nothing.  Some one who had some gold in his pocket got an enormous mass for a hundred francs.  The next day he was offered ten times the amount he had paid.  In the dark he had purchased priceless fabrics from the Hangchow looms, which fetch anything in Europe.  Great quantities of things were offered for sale after that as quickly as they could be dragged from haversacks and knapsacks.  Everybody had things for sale.  We heard then that everything had been looted by the troops from the sea right up to Peking; that all the men had got badly out of hand in the Tientsin native city, which had been picked as clean as a bone; and that hundreds of terrible outrages had come to light.  Every village on the line of march from Tientsin had been treated in the same way.  Perhaps it was because there had been so little fighting that there had been so much looting.

The very next morning a decision was arrived at to send away all non-combatants in the Legation lines as quickly as possible from such scenes—­to let them breathe an air uncontaminated by such ruin and devastation and rotting corpses—­to escape from this cursed bondage of brick lines.  There would be a caravan formed down to Tungchow, which is fifteen miles away, and then river transport.  To provide conveyances for these fifteen miles of road, people would have to sally forth and help themselves; near the Legations there was absolutely nothing left.  We must hustle for ourselves....  The same men who have done all the work would have to do this.

I shall never forget the renewed sense of freedom when I went out the next morning with my men and some others I picked up, this time boldly striking into the rich quarter in the eastern suburbs of the Tartar city and leaving the garrisoned area far behind.  It was something to ride out without having to take cover at every turning....  The first part of our route was the same as that of my scouting expedition made so few days before.  But this time we went forward so quickly to the main streets beyond the white ruins of the Austrian Legation that it seemed incredible that we should have wasted so much time covering the ground before.  That shows what danger means.  I alone was mounted, riding the old pony I had commandeered the day before; my men were on foot and ran pantingly alongside.  We were so keen!