r, with his
small force, could not afford to give quarter until it was certain that
there would be no more resistance; and, much as he detested the
butchery, he simply dared not stay his hand. Forward and upward he and
his men cut their way; they encountered more and more opposition every
minute, as the mutineers found time to recover their wits and secure
their weapons, but his men would take no denial. Their blades, now dyed
a deep red, swept through the smoky air, and their revolvers crackled
and blazed merrily, as the Englishman led them forward; and presently,
after a stern and stubborn five minutes' fighting, the rebels broke and
fled below--overboard--anywhere to escape the avenging swords of their
outraged countrymen.

So far, Frobisher had seen nothing of Prince Hsi; but the moment the
mutineers were broken and he had released the remnant of the loyal
Chinese sailors, he went in search of the arch-traitor himself, having
first headed both ships back toward the Chinese squadron.

The Prince was not in the conning-tower, as Frobisher discovered when he
went there with one of his own helmsmen to send the necessary orders to
the engine-room, nor was he in his own cabin, which was the next most
likely place to look for him; and diligently as Frobisher searched, the
man was not to be found. He appeared to have vanished completely.
Perhaps, Frobisher decided, the traitor had seen that his shameful plot
had failed, and had thrown himself overboard to avoid the consequences
of his act. That, however, did not seem quite like Hsi; he was more
likely to be up to some deeper villainy still; and as this thought
occurred to the _Chih' Yuen's_ captain his blood ran cold, for some
sixth sense or instinct seemed to warn him what Hsi was about.

With every nerve tingling, Frobisher darted below and began to search
for the magazine, for it was thither he guessed the traitor had betaken
himself; and it was indeed fortunate that he found it just where he had
expected it to be.

The door of the magazine was open, and a man was to be seen inside, with
his back to the entrance, engaged upon his diabolical work by the aid of
a carefully-shaded lantern. Another few seconds and Frobisher would
have been too late, and the ship would have been blown into the air with
all her crew; for the Prince was even then applying a light to the end
of the fuse which he had already cut, the other extremity of which was
concealed from view.

F