Pages 164-196 Summary

Hong agrees to try to escape with Yao, but insists that he get his letters back from the head pirate before leaving. Yao gives the guard to the pirate's quarters a bottle of liquor and when the guard has fallen asleep drunk, the boys retrieve the letters from Ye Pan, and the ones for Meng Dafu and Commander Ma. They escape by battering through a loose board in the outer wall, but while Hong gets through before the noise they make arouses the pirates, Yao does not make it through.

Hong gets away alone and makes his way to a farmhouse where he hides in a barn. He is discovered by two girls who live on the farm, who bring him food secretly, afraid that their parents will return him to the pirates for a reward if they find him. Hong...