It was a one-roofed dwelling set in the middle of a yard and surrounded by a high wall. The building proper was divided into two parts, the smaller of which Talham directed to be cleaned out (for it was indescribably filthy) and prepared for the lodging of himself and his friend. He handed the other to the captain of the escort. It seemed to Tillizinni hardly large enough to accommodate forty men, but then Tillizinni was not so well acquainted with the habits and customs of the Chinese soldiery as was his companion. “It would take a hundred and forty,” was the cool reply when Tillizinni cast doubt upon its capacity. They made the little room--it was no more than a stable from their point of view--as comfortable as possible, spreading a carpet unpacked from one of the mules and fixing up a little much-needed ventilation. The walls were thick, and an inspection of the outer wall which surrounded the courtyard was satisfactory. The place could withhold a siege given a few improvements, and these improvements Talham set himself out to make without further delay. He sent into the town for workmen, and as soon as day broke he had them knocking out bricks from the wall at regular intervals. Some news of this must have come to the Mandarin, for he sent a hurried message demanding Talham’s presence. The tall man rode out along to the Yamen and saw his unwilling host. “News has come to me,” said the Mandarin without preliminary, “that your honourable self and your honourable friend are engaged in making alterations to the outer wall of the King-Li. Now, such conduct,” he wagged his finger at Talham, “is against my faith. I cannot save-face if it is known that my protection is so unworthy to the honourable foreigners that he must fortify himself against the citizens of this town.” “Lao-ae,” said Talham earnestly, and he employed his full knowledge of Mandarin Chinese to further his eloquence, “though I am but as the mud under the wheels of your cart, though I am not fitted even to prostrate myself in your presence, yet the Daughter of Heaven thinks so well of me that it would not please me if I caused the great and beautiful lady sorrow by my death. Moreover,” he added, “my love and esteem for you, who are known from one end of the Empire to the other as a just and wise ruler, and one marked out for special promotion to the Governorship of Shu Shung----” A little gleam came into the Mandarin’s eye at this broad hint, though he might have known that Talham could lie as well as any other man. “Yet,” the big man went on, “because I have this affection for you, I am terrified lest trouble come upon your nobility through some mischance to my miserable carcase.” The Mandarin was silent. The reference to a governorship, the dreams of his life, set him thinking. Presently he said mildly: “I have talked with your Excellency, and my duty is finished--_puh p’a!_ You have nothing to fear.”