"Bend thy neck at the name of the great prince, thou rogue," said the officer, striking him on the back with his sword, and the guide fell flat—that is, as nearly so as his protuberant stomach would permit—when the officer added laughingly, "Truly the animal is fat enough to kill at once; yet, as the rebels may cause us a siege so long that we may be short of provender for our horses, let him be kept in a strong cage till that time arrives;" then beckoning to a soldier, the latter seized the horrified guide and tied him before him on his saddle.
Then turning to Nicholas and Chow, who, notwithstanding their serious position, had been laughing heartily at the merited misery of the guide, the officer said, "Are the rogue's words truth? Do my brothers seek the presence of the great Woo-san-Kwei?" Then when Nicholas had related to the officer the whole of their adventures from Kin, Chow alone prudentially keeping back the fact that the lady of high rank was the princess, he said, "What were the numbers of these rogues?"
"There could have been no less than twenty, O noble commander," said Nicholas.
Then turning to his second-in-command, the officer said, "Let the rogue of a guide be kept tied before thee on thy saddle, O Ching; take fifty horsemen, and return not to the camp till thou bringest these ladies with thee. If the rogue of a guide directs thee so that thou art successful, he shall be rewarded; if not, strangled."
"Will not the noble commander let these horsemen be placed under the charge of his younger brother, who truly hath the greater right to bring these rogues to punishment?" said Nicholas, imploringly.
"This may not be, my brother; for, although I doubt not thy honesty, it would be at the risk of my life that I let thee pass from my sight till thou hadst been taken before the prince."
Although vexed that the chance of rescuing the princess, and punishing the soldiers who had made her prisoner, had been denied to him, Nicholas felt too well pleased at the slightest possibility of her being rescued, to complain; and, therefore, without another word, the boys followed the troops upon their march to Lao-yang, not by any means regretting that they had fallen into the hands of this foraging party of Woo-san-Kwei's army.