He had scarcely arrived when the governor of Hiang-kuan sent for Père Leguilcher. He offered him an enormous price for the revolver which Garnier had intended for the sultan, and stated that he had orders to furnish them with a new escort, and two mandarins to accompany them to the frontier, and regulate the stages of their journey; and further, that they were to pass the night at Hiang-kuan, and wait until the following morning for the arrival of the said mandarins and escort.
THE RETURN JOURNEY.
Garnier replied that he would make a present of the weapon, but that he did not sell arms; that in his journey he reserved to himself full liberty of action, and that he cared nothing at all about the mandarins and the promised escort. This he conclusively showed by starting in the evening for Ma-cha, a village situated at the northern extremity of the lake.
THE MISSIONARY’S ALARM.
On the 5th of March the journey was continued; and by nightfall the expedition reached the town of Kuang-tia-pin. Their arrival was immediately made known to the commandant of the neighbouring fort, who sent for Père Leguilcher. The good monk was filled with alarm at the thought of the probable results of the interview. The commandant might have received orders to separate from their interpreter the little company of strangers; who, left to themselves, unacquainted with the language and ignorant of the customs of the country, might the more easily be entrapped into an ambuscade! On the other hand, the route lay underneath the guns of the fort, and it was imprudent to come to an open rupture with its governor. They contented themselves, therefore, with replying that the evening was too far advanced for a visit, but that Père Leguilcher would accept the invitation next morning.
This answer did not satisfy; and three soldiers presented themselves with orders for the father to follow them.
The poor missionary, overcome with terror, thought that his last hour had come. It seemed to him as dangerous to resist as to obey. M. Garnier had to decide for him; and he repeated to the soldiers the reply already given, and desired them to be content with it. They insisted on their instructions with all the insolence and astonishment inspired by a resistance to which they were unaccustomed. Alarmed by their threats, which Père Leguilcher understood much better than his companions, the missionary wished to comply; but Garnier detained him, while his Annamite attendants showed the soldiers “the way out.” The latter retired, vowing that they would return in great force, and that the heads of the strangers should soon be adorning the posts in the market-place.
PRUDENCE AND PRECAUTION.