“What became of that Chinaman we were talking to?”
“He ran to the back,” said the citizen who had followed the soldiers up.
They had barely time to regain the garden, when the flames shot through the house from top to bottom; for it was flimsily built inside and as dry as tinder.
Another shot now came from the rear; and, rushing in that direction, Gilbert found Casey on the ground, in a desperate struggle with two Chinamen, one of whom was trying to knife the soldier.
“Let up! Hilp!” yelled Dan. “That fer ye! an that!” And he rolled over, and struck out heavily. In this manner one Chinaman was disposed of; but the other, the fellow with the knife, let drive, and the blade struck the Irishman in the calf of the leg.
Gilbert saw how desperate was the encounter; and, leaping to one side, he fired at the Celestial with the knife, hitting him in the arm. As the fellow sprang up to run, the citizen also fired; and then the yellow man dropped like a lump of lead, with a bullet through his brain.
“Good fer you!” gasped Casey, and got up. The second Chinaman was too dazed to move just yet, and he was quickly made a prisoner.
In the mean time Hunter was having his hands full on the outside of the wall; for two other Chinamen had tried to escape from the building and grounds by a side way, leading to a lane between several warehouses. Hunter had hold of one Celestial, and the other was fighting the two marines. Presently the two Celestials managed to get together, and they ran down the lane for dear life. The crowd followed, and one Chinaman was shot dead. The other, however, managed to escape.
By this time a crowd was collecting, and the house was burning so fiercely that to save any of the contents was impossible. It was allowed to burn to the ground, the fire department merely taking care that the conflagration did not spread.
After the excitement was over, it was found that the two Chinamen who had been killed were Chow Fun, the owner of the building, and Ching Wo, the rascal who had plotted the destruction of the consulate and who had sent off the spy captured by Gilbert, Stummer, and the corporal of the guard. The man who had been captured was a relative of Ching Wo and an officer in the Chinese army under Prince Tuan. The man who had escaped, it was later on learned, was Chow Ching, the younger brother to Chow Fun, and the fellow who had answered Gilbert’s summons at the door. Gilbert never expected to see this rascal again, but in this surmise the young lieutenant was mistaken.