rue to me, and help me to effect my escape, I'll see that you
are given a reward such as you have never before dreamed of. But if you
want to prove that you are in earnest, for goodness' sake bring me
water, and plenty of it; I am nearly dying of thirst."

After another anxious glance round, as though he feared that, even at
that distance, his and Frobisher's conversation might have been
overheard, Ling turned away with a heavy scowl on his face--presumably
to give the correct colour to his proposed part--and with an admirable
assumption of indifference went toward the place where the soldiers were
already partaking of their simple meal of boiled rice and a thin kind of
soup, washed down by copious draughts of raki, a strong, pungent spirit
distilled from rice.

Here he picked up an empty cooking-pot, washed it out in the little
brook by the side of which they were encamped, filled it with water, and
then sauntered back to Frobisher with it, dashing it down on the ground
so violently that at least half the contents were spilt. This did not
greatly matter, however, since there was still sufficient left for the
Englishman's requirements, and the effect of the action was good. If
there was one man among them who appeared to hate and despise the
Englishman more thoroughly than the others, that man was Ling; and
Frobisher could scarcely bring himself to believe, even after Ling's
assurance, that the feeling was not genuine, so excellent was the man's
acting--if acting it were.

Much refreshed by the water, Frobisher was able to swallow a little of
the rice which the Korean officer brought to him on a fibre mat, and
immediately felt benefited by it. With the cessation of the jarring
movement of the litter, too, the pain of his wounds became considerably
less acute, and altogether he was soon feeling much stronger and better.
All the same, he decided that it would be wise policy on his part to
feign a continuance of extreme weakness and pain for some time longer,
in order to throw the enemy off their guard. Naturally, they would not
be likely to watch him so closely if they believed him to be too feeble
and too seriously injured to be capable of making any attempt at escape;
and perhaps before long a favourable opportunity might present itself.

The soldiers did not linger very long over their meal, and the caravan
was soon in motion again; but Frobisher observed that this time their
course was almost parallel with the