"That is true, sir," replied the other, deferentially, "but everything seems pretty quiet now, this is our best time." They looked cautiously round—not a soul was in view. In the distance they heard the tramp of the guard—every now and then a shrill cry from the besiegers rent the air, and flames shot up into the sky from the burning houses, but no immediate danger appeared to threaten them. "Now, sir," said the elder of the two, who seemed to possess the agility of a cat. In a moment he had scaled the wall and prepared to lower himself on the other side. "Leave the talking to me, sir; it will be best for you to be silent." "Yes, yes," agreed the other, hastily, "you may be quite sure I shall risk nothing; too much depends upon it," he added under his breath. They had reached the top of the wall in safety and were about to lower themselves on the other side, when all of a sudden the silence of the night was broken; they were discovered and the alarm was given—the sharp whiz of a bullet passed within an inch of their faces. "Down, sir! Down quick for your life!" In less time than it takes to write it, the two men had dropped silently over the wall, and were now running as fast as they could from the Legation. "Keep as much under cover as possible, sir, or they will mark us down." "I never thought of this," said Mr. Crawford, laughing. "My friends are more to be feared than yours." "Oh, we shall come upon mine soon enough, sir," Wang replied, "and then it will be best for you to be silent." He had hardly finished speaking when they almost ran into a company of Boxers, but with great adroitness, Wang contrived to mingle and join with them, raising the cry as he did so, "Sha, sha, sha." They kept with them until the Chinese began to loot and burn some buildings, then they slipped off. "Now, sir, we are safe, unless we meet any of the men who were here the day the ladies were taken." They were passing, as he spoke, the rude hall where Lilian and Nina so nearly lost their lives. As they left it behind they heaved a sigh of relief. "We are very near now, sir; the secret entrance, known only to Mr. Li and myself, is just ahead; I will wait here in case anyone comes up, and distract their attention whilst you make the entrance. About twenty yards ahead you will see a curious stone in the ground, close by the plane tree; measure again six feet from that, and you will come to another tree; hit the tree three times smartly and they will let you in."