'I can see what it was used for!' Fred exclaimed. 'It carried the ammunition. I can see the cartridges lying on the ground. We must have those. I will go down and get them. Where's the ladder?'
'We certainly need more ammunition,' Barton admitted, 'but it would be a dangerous job for you to get those cartridges.'
'I object too,' said Charlie. 'It would be madness to run the risk of losing our best shot. I will go and get the cartridges, and, with Mr. Wilkins and you two to keep off any one who approaches me, I shall be pretty safe.'
'Charlie's plan is the better of the two,' Ping Wang joined in; 'but he mustn't attempt to carry it out without help. If he has one or two men with him the Boxers will be less likely to attack him, and certainly the job will be done more quickly. I'll be one of the men to accompany him, and I should like Number One to be the other.'
Ping Wang asked Number One in Chinese if he would care to take part in fetching the ammunition. His face beamed at the idea.
'Get the ladder, then,' Barton said; and Charlie added, 'Bring a sack.'
Number One fetched both at once. The sack was thrown down into the road, and the ladder lowered quickly.
Charlie was the first to descend, but his companions followed so quickly that all three were on the ladder at the same time. Snatching up the sack the moment that he touched the ground, Charlie ran to the overturned wheelbarrow. Ping Wang and Number One were only a yard or two behind him, and soon all three were scooping up handfuls of cartridges and dropping them in the sack.
'Guns, mistah,' Number One exclaimed when the sack was about half full, and pointed to three rifles lying near.
'Pick them up,' Charlie said, 'and run back with them at once.'