"We had one of them here while you were at Keelung and father was in the South," said Miss MacAllister.
"Is that so? I had not heard. Who was it?"
"Mr. F. L. Y. Urquhart, the famous traveller and authority on China."
"Indeed! How long did he stay?"
"Arrived from Foochow on the gunboat Falcon in the forenoon. Called on the consul, the commissioner of customs, and ourselves. Lunched on the Locust. Went up river in the afternoon. Stayed one hour, and returned by the same launch. Had tennis and tea at the consulate. At 6.30 put off to join the Falcon again and sailed immediately for Amoy."
"And I suppose had the fate of Formosa settled."
"Oh, yes! Quite!"
"What is it?"
"The French will have the island in their possession in a month or six weeks at the outside. Their transports with large land forces and escorted by naval reinforcements have already passed the Suez. Before them the Chinese army will run like sheep, and the inhabitants will submit without a blow. Once the French flag is hoisted it will never be taken down. Formosa is lost to Britain through the stupidity of old Lord Littlengland, the Foreign Secretary. He refused to accept it when China actually offered to cede it to Britain to keep it out of the hands of the French, as he had absolute assurance from Li Hung-chang himself."
"Excellently done!" exclaimed Sinclair, laughing at her mimicry of the assurance of the expert. "Did he not call on Dr. MacKay?"