Of the places of refuge, of which the man spoke, there were many in the province of Leao-tong. Some were in the open plains, encompassed by strong walls, and entrenched ditches of great depth; others were erected upon the summits of mountain crags, and approachable only by great ladders, or secret steps in the rock. Fearing for the safety of the princess, Nicholas lost no time in securing the aid of the innkeeper, who, for a handsome present, and in compassion for the ladies, offered to secure them a safe asylum. So when the greater portion of the terrified inhabitants of the little hamlet had fled to their different places of refuge, taking with them the bulk of their property, the innkeeper, placing his wife and daughter in a cart, led the way through a defile of the mountain, and many times was he stopped by his flying neighbors, who implored of him to seek a safer place than the open mountains, where the rogues could so easily follow. Keeping steadily along the ridge, while they were in sight, the last had no sooner disappeared than he turned through a great cleft, just large enough for the cart and camel to pass, when, pointing to a crag which hung over the summit, at a great height, he said, "The rogues will not reach us there." "Are we birds, that we can fly?" said Chow, with astonishment. When they had proceeded some distance through the opening, they came to another and narrower cleft, cut out of its sides, to pass through which they were compelled to unharness the mules and camel, when they entered a wide, open space, like a courtyard. "Even now we want wings, my brother," said Chow, shuddering, as he gazed upward at the great height. "Our wings are here," said the man, turning aside what appeared to be a huge block of rock, but was only an ingenious imitation, when before them there was a flight of steps, steep, and so narrow, that they looked as if the ascent would squeeze a fat man a foot taller. However, pleased at the discovery of such a place of refuge, they did not stop to examine it, but passed onward; the princess first, and the other women followed by the men, who carried articles of food, fuel, or raiment with them. Having reached the uppermost step, they crept through a hole large enough only for one person, and found themselves in one large room, the roof of which was indeed the summit of the rock. In the walls were small loopholes, from which could be seen many miles of country; there was also a large space in one side for a fire, which was immediately made use of by Chow, who had carried the fuel. Then the guide was sent to fetch other matters, after which they all sat down upon their mats, and partook of hot tea and rice cakes. "Truly this is a wonderful place," said Nicholas, who, although he knew that places of refuge were common in all the frontier provinces, had no notion of their real strength and security.