Rex had no difficulty in hiring coolies to bring home his purchases, and the girls were astonished at the mass of valuables he brought to the little room they now occupied. They were, of course, ignorant of the real worth of these things, but they could not but know that the silk and satin mantles, lined with lovely furs, must be of considerable value. “However are you going to get them all down, Rex?” asked Jenny.
“Well, I intend to buy a couple of carts, and of course I shall hire coolies to drive them. When we have got all the things stowed away in them we will cover them with some rough cloth, and then you can sit one in each; that will be much more comfortable for you than riding, for, as you have told me, you have never been on a horseʼs back in your lives, and besides it would be next to impossible to buy decent horses here.”
“Yes, it would be a great deal better. When do you think we shall be able to leave?”
“I hear,” he said, “that the day after to–morrow a convoy is going down, and that all women who have not husbands here can accompany it. I think, therefore, that we may as well go. There is nothing whatever to keep us here, and as far as I can see nothing is likely to be done for a long time, perhaps months. The Empress is hundreds of miles away, and it is certain that it will take a long time indeed before the terms of any treaty can be settled. I shall make arrangements for our joining the convoy. We certainly cannot take much time to pack. Ah Lo and I have horses, and I will this afternoon try to pick up a couple of carts. There is no buying them here, but I will ride out with Ah Lo to some of the villages round, where I have no doubt I shall be able to get what I want.
“There will, of course, be an infantry escort with the convoy, and we shall therefore travel at a walking–pace; besides, there must be a number of wagons to carry stores for consumption on the way. We shall therefore have no difficulty in keeping up with the rest.”
An hour later he rode out with Ah Lo. Both carried their rifles slung behind them, and Rex, in addition, took a revolver. It was certain they would not be able to buy carts in any of the villages, as these were entirely deserted, except by a few old people, within a circuit of some miles round the city. They therefore rode a considerable distance into the country. As they went along they saw in the distance a Russian column, which they had heard was to start an hour before they rode out. As it was certain that nothing would be found anywhere near that column, they were about to turn off and ride in another direction, when they saw four Russian soldiers come out of a shed, in which they had apparently been hiding, and go into a neighbouring village.
“Those rascals have evidently hidden,” said Rex; “probably the column halted here and they slipped into that shed intending to do some plundering on their own account and to fall in again as the force returns.”
The village was but two hundred yards from them. Suddenly they heard loud and piercing screams coming from that direction.
“Come on, Ah Lo, those villains are up to some rascality. Some of the villagers have fallen into their hands.”
Setting their horses to a gallop they dashed into the village. The screams were coming from a house of somewhat superior appearance. Leaping from their horses they ran in and discovered four or five women struggling wildly against the Russians.