tinually formed themselves out of the wind. By the time he reached
the Yamen a tempest of exceptional violence was in progress, nor were
other omens absent which tended to indicate that matters of a very
unpropitious nature were about to take place.

At each successive door of the Yamen the attendant stepped back and
covered his face, so that he should by no chance perceive who had come
upon so destructive a mission, the instant Yang Hu uttered the sign with
which Tung Fel had provided him. In this manner Yang quickly reached the
door of the inner chamber upon which was inscribed: "Let the person who
comes with a doubtful countenance, unbidden, or meditating treachery,
remember the curse and manner of death which attended Lai Kuen, who
slew the one over him; so shall he turn and go forth in safety." This
unworthy safeguard at the hands of a person who passed his entire life
in altering the fixed nature of justice, and who never went beyond his
outer gate without an armed company of bowmen, inspired Yang Hu with
so incautious a contempt, that without any hesitation he drew forth his
brush and ink, and in a spirit of bitter signification added the words,
"'Come, let us eat together,' said the wolf to the she-goat."

Being now within a step of Ping Siang and the completion of his
undertaking, Yang Hu drew tighter the cords of his mask, tested and
proved his weapons, and then, without further delay, threw open the door
before him and stepped into the chamber, barring the door quickly so
that no person might leave or enter without his consent.

At this interruption and manner of behaving, which clearly indicated
the nature of the errand upon which the person before him had come,
Ping Siang rose from his couch and stretched out his hand towards a gong
which lay beside him.

"All summonses for aid are now unavailing, Ping Siang," exclaimed Yang,
without in any measure using delicate or set phrases of speech; "for,
as you have doubtless informed yourself, the slaves of tyrants are the
first to welcome the downfall of their lord."

"The matter of your speech is as emptiness to this person," replied the
Mandarin, affecting with extreme difficulty an appearance of no-concern.
"In what manner has he fallen? And how will the depraved and self-willed
person before him avoid the well-deserved tortures which certainly await
him in the public square on the morrow, as the reward of his intolerable
presumptions?"

"O Mandarin," crie