The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-01-13

lay on the floor. was a curious. curved af-
fair.
syoa two fellows can't carry that" 1
objected
~oh. yes" rejoined Yang. with the queer
s~elf-confdence OF an Oriental in dealing
with an outside barbarian. You leady7'
I insisted on getting into the coffin first
10 try II. Yang and Ming put the curved
lid IN place. Then. at my command. they
brought lights into the room. pranced up
and down around the head of the cof-
an. and convinced me that the tiny but
cunnfngIy-piaced holes near my head gave
every opportunity Of view.
.You leady?- asked Yang again. bending
over 10 rest both hands on tbs lid
"Al ready I replied. after feeling 10
make sure that my loaded revolver was
I'm place. In a very few minutes they had
the lid fastened on in a manner hat was
calculated TO make it hold even though
resurrection day should prove 10 be four
thousand years away. In some way that 1
couldn't seas there was no holes in the
top OF the Hd-they slung the cumbrous
box and its shaking load from a bamboo
pole. by means OF cords, and. lifting the
pole 10 their shoulders. logged out OF the
house. We were off In earnest Tor the
secret meeting Of the Boxers.
Ii would not be right for me to say that
that Journey was a blank TO me. On the
contrary think / have a keener r~ecollec-
ton CT it than Of any other events that
ever took place in my life. There was still
daylight enough when We left the little
house for me to see what was passing the
street around us. First we passed Ameri-
can ~sentries I'm the Southern city. Then
some English sentries hailed US Without
stopping their smooth dog trot, either
Yang or Ming would say something about
smallpox. We were not actually halted
once by either Americans or English. Pass
ing out through the Chen-Mun gate, We
passed along the main road by the Temple
of Heaven, where English headquarters
have been established, and then by the
Temple of Agriculture. which is the Amer
lean headquarters. Once through the
southern gate, we came to the former site
of the destroyed railway from Picking to
Taku.
AN UNPLEASANT JOURNEY.
Tt was fully dark by the time that we
left Peking behind and went out upon the
road TO the Old Deer Park. At first we
passed German sentinels, with not a few
challenges 10 delay Us. Not once, except
when thus halted. did Yang and Ming drop
out of their steady Jog trot. After We got
by the we encountered the Rus
SLAMS. But q coffin passing cut of Peking
IS such a common sight nowadays that no
suspicion is aroused. In the middle of No
vember the air around Picking is so frosty
that the sentries have enough to do to
keep themselves passably warm on post.
Yang and Ming undoubtedly kept up their
49, Il, order 70 Eaan fharnGo1upC warm
The landscape. even ~ day. is a monoto-
nous one out in this part of the empire.
A fat plain stretches mile after mile. AS
we reached the high wall of the Old Deer
Park the men bearing the coffin with it's
live load turned to the westward, following
the wall until we came to the little village
Of Huang-Tsun, which lies in the water
shed between the Hun and the Pei-Ho riv-
ers. Bumpi Down TO the ground went my
coffin, with a jar that all but discharged
my revolver. We were on a lonesome bit
of road that was not even enIivened by the
proximity Of a Russian patrol. Ming sat
on the coffin. while Yang scurried off in
search OF information.
How bitterly cold it was in that perfor-
ated box! BY the time that Ming had
smoked two pipes-I could keep count by
the metallic tapping of the bowl against
the wood-he got up and began to stamp
around to warm himself. ] would have
given much for the same privilege, but,
cooped up as 1 was, : was forced to remain
inactive and freezing for the better part
of forty-fve minutes ere Yang returned.
Some words he whispered In his comrades
ear-then the coffin was in the air once
more. and 1 was jogging on toward the
discoveries Of the night.
Our course now lay around to the west of
Huang-Tsun, where. on the banks of the
Hun. lie the ruins of old Picking, which
stood as a live city for more than 1000
years. but which has row been abandoned
for more than 600 years. And it is on this
old site, amid the crumbling ruins, that
yellow men are now conspiring to drive
out the foreigners. and the present dynas-
~, too. Through the old ruins my odd We
hicle was toted. still at a jog trot. until we
entered the confines OF a little village. Now
Yang and Ming slowed up TO a walk, emit
ting. as they went. a sound that was be-
tween a grunt and a groan. With my eyes
at the tiny holes 1 could see a light here
and there in a native house. Now and then
the cry OF a yellow baby was heard, or a
Chinese cur OF a dog came out to sniff and
growl-
READY o THE SIGHTS.
At last we stopped before a little bit Of
a Chinese inn- There was a wall here.
with a circular door closed. A few words
from Yang. and the door opened. Many
more words, and I could hear the door
creak wider ajar. NV bearers carried me
inside. We were in a courtyard. fianked
on three sides by the walls of the hotel,
and on the fourth side by the wall through
which we had entered. On one side / could
hear, with as much Gistinctness as though
through paper partitions, the movements of
domestic animals. After more jabbering
Yang and Ming sat upon the coffin, calling
for refreshments. AS for myself. / was
able TO see as much as the light of a burn
ing wick in a bowl oc oil on top of a post
In the yard permitted me to see. For the
first fifteen minutes all I was able to see
was the passing in and out of the China
men who brought rice and tea to my pair
OF bearers. Yang and Ming ate and drank,
and Their, of course. smoked. This was
hapornfp0 1acfIa1Iv cIou- yVharo 49, tHo