Fred followed Number One, and Charlie asked to be the last, but Ping Wang objected.
'Hurry up!' Barton sang out, and Ping Wang, seeing that Charlie was determined to be the last man up, climbed the ladder. Just as he reached the top, and as Charlie planted his foot on the lowest rung, three men, with knives in their hands, came running up, and Charlie was unaware of his danger; but Fred saw the scoundrels, and slipping a cartridge into the breach of his rifle he took aim, fired, and shot the foremost man. The other two, who had not expected any danger, turned about and fled in terror.
'Fred,' Charlie said, when he had climbed over the wall, 'you saved my life.' Then he turned to Barton. 'I see that you are prepared for the Boxers,' he said. 'We were afraid that we shouldn't get here in time to warn you of their approach.'
'Are they on their way, then?'
'They will be here in ten minutes at the latest.'
Barton sighed. 'I had been hoping,' he said, 'that the Empress-Dowager would have had the Boxers suppressed before they would be able to reach here. I am afraid, however, that she is secretly encouraging them. It is a great sorrow to my colleagues and myself to find ourselves arming against the people among whom we have lived on friendly terms for some years. However, we must protect our women and children. Since you left us, eight men, five women, and four children have joined us. Some of them have suffered terribly in their flight from the Boxers. Their own mission stations have been destroyed, and many of their fellow-missionaries were murdered. Consequently we may have to fight.'
'How many European men have you, and what weapons?' Fred asked.
'Thirteen, counting you and your brother, and we have eight rifles and five revolvers. That is not including your Sniders.'
'But what about provisions?' Charlie asked.
'I have got a good stock, and I think we can stand a month's siege. Of course it won't last quite so long now you are here.'