I sat here a short time, without being allowed to speak to the others; till suddenly we were made to stand up and place ourselves in two rows, and the mandarin and two of his officers made their appearance. They walked down the rows, stopping at each person, and by signs asked if we had had guns or opium on board our vessel. We only shook our heads in answer to their questions, and as we were not able to understand the other signs, they very soon retired.
When they were gone, the soldiers led us across one or two yards, into a joshouse. By the light from the torches, I could distinguish, in a place railed off from the rest of the building, some people lying apparently asleep. At first I imagined them to be Chinese; but to my amazement and great joy, I soon discovered this party to consist of Webb and Wombwell, and those who had left the wreck in the other junk, and of whose fate we had hitherto been in ignorance. In consequence of some misunderstanding, they had been most severely beaten by the Chinese, and from the effects of this beating, two of the marines had died, on their way from the coast to this town. Though dead when they arrived, the Chinese had, nevertheless, put irons on the bodies. The corporal of marines had been so ill treated, that he could not move without assistance; and in fact they had all experienced worse treatment than our party.
There were now missing, only the four who had run off when the Chinese stopped us at the cross-way. Of Mrs. Noble, and those in the jolly-boat, we, of course, knew nothing; but hoped that they might have escaped the Chinese, and managed to reach Chusan.
Haying related our different stories, and consoled each other in the best way we could, we lay down on some loose straw for the night, and, notwithstanding our miserable condition, we slept soundly.