news this morning? The
Cubapinos are twice as active as ever. They're rising everywhere."

Not many days later, and after an uneventful voyage, the transport
sailed into the mouth of the Hai-Po River and came to anchor off the
ruins of the Porsslanese forts. Colonel Jinks had orders to proceed at
once to Gin-Sin, and he left with Cleary on a river steamer. They were
much struck by the utter desolation of the country. There were no signs
of life, but here and there the smoking ruins of a town showed where
human beings had been. They noticed something floating in the water
with a swarm of flies hovering over it.

"Good heavens! it's a corpse," said Cleary. "It's a native. That's a
handsome silk jacket, and it doesn't look like a soldier's either. Look
at that vulture. It's sweeping down on it."

The vulture circled round in the air, coming close to the body, but did
not touch it.

"It has had enough to eat already," said an Anglian passenger who was
standing near them. "Did you ever see such a fat bird? You'll see
plenty of bodies before long. Do you observe those vultures ahead
there? You'll find floating bodies wherever they are."

"I suppose they are the bodies of soldiers," said Sam.

"No, indeed, not all of them by any means. These Porsslanese must be
stamped out like vipers. I'm thankful to say most of the armies are
doing their duty. They don't give any quarter to native soldiers, and
they despatch the wounded too. That's the only way to treat them, and
they don't feel pain the way we do. In fact, they rather like it. The
Tutonians are setting a good example; they shoot their prisoners. I saw
them shoot about seventy. They tied them together four by four by their
pigtails and then shot them. It's best, tho, to avoid taking prisoners;
that's what most of them do."

"But you say these bodies are not all soldiers," said Cleary.

"No, of course not. You see the Mosconians kill any natives they
please. Then those who are out at night are killed as a matter of
course, and those who won't work for the soldiers naturally have to be
put out of the way. It's the only way to enforce discipline. Look at
these bodies now."

Corpses were now coming down the river one after another. Each had its
attendant swarm of flies, and vultures soared in flocks in the air. The
river was yellow with mud, and the air oppressively hot and heavy. Now
and then a whiff of putrid air was blown acros