ers had
simply shot down and butchered the few who might have remained alive
after the capture of the encampment.

Having thus discovered all that was possible at the moment, Frobisher
closed the curtains again and threw himself back in the litter, a trifle
relieved by his few breaths of fresh air, and determined to sleep, if he
could, so that he might the sooner recover his strength, and be fit to
attempt his escape should the chance occur. As he painfully twisted his
body round so as to lie on his back, and thus take as much weight as
possible off his broken ribs, he became aware of something hard in his
hip-pocket, and thrusting in his hand, he brought out the little
travelling-flask of brandy which he had used to revive Ling that very
morning.

How little he had thought when he did so, that the next occasion on
which he was to use it would find him a prisoner in the hands of a
barbarous soldiery, on his way--he had not a shadow of doubt--to
imprisonment and, only too probably, a revolting, lingering death at the
end of all!

However, as he told himself, he was not dead yet--very far from it
indeed; and while there was life there was always hope. So he took a
good long pull at the flask, and felt so much benefited and restored
thereby that a very few minutes afterward he fell into a doze which,
although not exactly amounting to complete unconsciousness, yet served
to mitigate to a considerable extent the pain from which he was
suffering, and mercifully prevented his mind from dwelling unduly upon
the horrid possibilities of the future before him. Finally, he fell
into a deep and refreshing sleep.

When he awoke it was broad daylight, and the atmosphere was perceptibly
cooler. This, together with the fact that the palanquin was frequently
tilted to a considerable angle, and that the bearers seemed to be
finding some difficulty in retaining their footing, convinced him that
they must be descending the other side of the range of hills which he
knew he would have had to cross if he had been allowed to continue his
journey to Yong-wol. But he felt pretty certain that Yong-wol was not
the objective of the party. Since they had been informed of the
presence of the caravan, they must naturally also have been told that a
rebel force awaited its arrival there; and they would, of course, take
particular care to avoid an encounter, especially if it were known that
the rebels were there in force.

It was just noon by