il the result of
this appeal was known there was nothing for the Ogrens to do but wait
where they were. It was an anxious time, but on the fourth day they
were delighted to see the secretary of the yamen approaching. He had
brought with him the money they required.

'Praising God for all His goodness,' Mrs. Ogren writes in her account
of their trials,[1] 'we started once more, and though beset by many
difficulties, the goodness of God, and the cordial letter of
recommendation granted us by our friendly mandarin, enabled us to
safely reach a place called Lung-wan-chan, 170 miles from our
starting-place, and half way to our destination, T'ung-kuan.'

At Lung-wan-chan they heard of the rapid spread of the Boxer movement,
and of the massacre, on July 16, of a party of men and women
missionaries. They realised now that the prospect of their escaping
the fury of the Boxers was small; but there came a ray of hope, when a
Chinaman, eighty years of age and a friend of the Yung-ning mandarin,
offered to hide them in his house. It was an offer which was
gratefully accepted; but as they were about to start for their
hiding-place, which was some twenty-five miles from the river, a party
of soldiers arrived. Their orders were, they said, to drive the
foreigners out of the province; but the aged Chinaman gave them a
feast, and, having got them into a good humour, extracted a promise
from them that they would not harm the missionaries. But although they
kept their promise to the extent of not doing them any bodily injury,
they took from them all the money they possessed.

When the soldiers had departed, the Ogrens started on their twenty-five
miles' journey to the friendly old Chinaman's house, thankful at having
escaped one danger, and hopeful that they would reach their destination
in safety. But their hope was not realised. Before they had gone far,
their way lay along a track where it was necessary to proceed in single
file. Mrs. Ogren, riding a mule, led the way; a second mule carrying
their personal belongings followed, and Mr. Ogren with their baby-boy
in his arms came last. On one side of them was the rushing river; on
the other, steep, rocky mountains.

Suddenly a number of armed men sprang out from behind the rocks and
barred their way. Brandishing their weapons ominously, they demanded
Tls. 300. Mrs. Ogren, dismounting from her mule, advanced to a man who
appeared to be the leader, and told him that they had