Mai Lo took a silver box from inside his richly embroidered robe and abstracted some betel-nut and lime leaves, which he placed in his mouth.
“What assurance do you demand?” he asked.
“This,” said the doctor. “You will yourself remain on board the Seagull as an hostage, until we return from Kai-Nong.”
Mai Lo remained silent a long time, while we watched him anxiously. At last he spoke, as deliberately as before.
“You imperil your own safety by this request,” said he. “Without me to protect you, your party might be attacked and slain.”
“I thought you said China was perfectly safe!” I exclaimed, contemptuously.
“It is perfectly safe wherever I go,” he answered.
We were both greatly disappointed at this position of Mai Lo, for we had thought that by leaving him on board the ship we could carry out our plans safely. China might be a dangerous country to travel in, but we feared this incomprehensible mandarin more than anything else.
“Oh, well,” said the doctor, carelessly, “let us abandon the idea altogether. I don’t want the job, to be frank with you both, and I won’t run my head into danger if I can help it. So we’ll say no more about it.”