"Oh, they thought we were sullen brutes sent down from their headquarters, and took us into their confidence all right. We were just ready to explore the underground places when we heard the scrap below."
"And now what?" asked Frank.
"Now, we're goin' to Peking!" cried Jimmie.
"You said that before!" Jack taunted.
"Well, we didn't get tied up in a hole we couldn't get out of," retorted the little fellow.
"I guess you'd have been in the old temple until now if you hadn't traveled with an escort," Jack cut in.
The boys, laughing and "roasting" each other, passed up the ladder and to the half earthen, half-board floor of the mud hut. There they found the woman Chee moving about with a swollen face.
She tried to talk with Ned, but as neither could understand what the other said, little progress was made. However, she finally managed to make Ned understand that she wanted him to take the unconscious men out of the cellar, also the man who had been tied up by Jack and Sandy.
Ned finally made her understand that she could call the police half an hour after their departure. This seemed to satisfy her, and the piece of silver Ned presented was received with many gestures of gratitude.
"Won't the finding of them men there get her into trouble?" asked Sandy, as the lads walked away.