All unconscious that he was being followed, by two Chinamen who wished to take his life, Gilbert walked along slowly until the end of the street was reached. Then he turned down a side road, which led to an encampment of British cavalry. He had become acquainted with some of these men, and he was curious to see how they conducted themselves when off duty.
As mentioned before in this story, many streets in China become in time little better than ditches; and this was true of the road Gilbert was pursuing. It was not over fifteen feet in width; and at the bottom lay loose stones, weeds, and not a little garbage. All the houses along the road appeared to be dark and locked up.
Half the distance to the British encampment was gained, when the young lieutenant imagined that he heard footsteps behind him. He turned quickly, and made out two forms approaching. As soon as discovered, the two forms sank out of sight behind a pile of stones.
“I don’t like this,” said Gilbert to himself, and instinctively felt for his pistol.
He was still three hundred yards from the British encampment, and not even an outpost was near him. The sky was now blacker than ever, and the road became so dark he could not see over a score of feet in any direction.
Suddenly a stone whizzed past his head, coming from where he had seen the two forms disappear. The first missile was followed by a second, which took him in the shoulder.
“Stop, or I’ll fire!” he called out, and raised his weapon, but saw nothing to aim at. Then came two more stones, one of which hit him in the side of the head, half stunning him. He staggered forward, and then fell flat.
“We have brought him down!” whispered one of the Chinamen, the brother to the one that had been killed. “Come!” And he ran toward Gilbert, closely followed by his companion.
The Celestials were still a few feet away, when Gilbert turned around, and managed to get to his knees. He felt that his assailants meant to take his life, if they could; and he was determined to resist to the last.
He had no time to take a good aim with his pistol, but fired as rapidly as he could; and the bullet pierced the ankle of one of the Celestials, causing him to drop down with a roar of pain. Then the other, Chow Ching, leaped upon him, dagger in hand.