"Better," replied Mr. St. John, "but she is still very weak. Her nervous system has undergone a great shock, and it will be some time before she is quite herself again. In addition to the blow which she received, and the fright, there was a good deal of fever, and in this climate fever seems to have a tremendous grip on the constitution, and it is a long time before one recovers, even when one is young and strong. She needs rest, but that, unfortunately, she cannot have, poor child, as I gather that it would not be safe to remain here another night. I am thankful to say the fever has now gone; I must give her a strong cordial, and we must make the journey as easy as we can for her." "I will carry her all the way," cried Mr. Crawford eagerly. "I know you will do all you can," replied Mr. St. John, kindly. "You will be of the greatest possible assistance to us, and you will bring Nina news of the Colonel; she has felt very much being the cause of so much anxiety to him, and of course you know that worry always retards recovery. We will join the others now, and make our plans for instant removal, if necessary." "I fear it is necessary," said Mr. Crawford, gravely. "I’m very much afraid those yellow fellows saw me. They were talking to Wang, and he tried to distract their attention, and succeeded to a certain extent admirably; but I rather fancy they saw me and smelt a rat. Ah, here is Wang; now we shall hear what he has to say." The man appeared to be in the greatest state of excitement. "They are coming, sir! All is lost; they will be upon us in less than an hour. They saw you, sir," he said, turning to Mr. Crawford. "I was certain of it, because I saw them exchange glances, and they said nothing to me. They will not go into the secret entrance, because they might think we should expect them there, but they will go to the gates." "Are you quite sure that they saw Mr. Crawford?" asked Mr. St. John. "Perfectly," replied Wang. "There is no time to lose. I know these fellows so well; they were extra polite and friendly with me, when we parted, but I had my suspicions, and, to make it a certainty, I hid and watched their movements after they left me. First they examined the place where you disappeared, Mr. Crawford, and I heard them say it would be impossible to force that, and we might expect them to do so, and prepare accordingly. I heard them say this, and saw them make their way to the Hall, whither they were going to acquaint the others." Paul St. John and Mr. Crawford looked grave and anxious; they were not acquainted with the secret passages, as were Lilian and Nina. They instinctively turned to Mr. Li, who had not yet spoken. His dark, colourless face was as imperturbable as ever. "There is no reason for so much terror," he said, quietly, turning to Wang. "Have you seen that the gates are closed and barred?"