Having explained his scheme to the princess, he left her in the cavern to attire herself in the widow's weeds, while he and Chow proceeded to the tomb above, to assume the garbs of Coolies.
This being done, he gave Chow some silver and sent him off to the wine-shop, after which he assisted the princess up the steps, and, supporting her, they slowly walked through the valley, till they came within a short distance of the gate, when, to the delight of Nicholas, Chow came up to them and said:—
"I found the two sots drinking like fishes, and when I told them a merchant wished to hire them, they laughed heartily, saying, that they had already been engaged by too good a passenger to stir for the next two hours."
Then, assisting the princess into the chair, Nicholas and Chow took the place of the Coolies, and so carried it to the house of Yang.
As Yang had prepared the ladies of his family to receive a young girl, who, he said, was about to be taken into a distant province by her brother, as soon as the troubles had subsided, the princess was warmly received in the Hall of Ancestors, and immediately conducted to the inner apartments of the house. Cleverly as this was managed, Nicholas now trembled for the safety of the princess; indeed, she could be safe no where, but with the Lady Candida, or the Prince Yong-Li, both of whom he believed to have fled to Woo-san-Kwei, in Leao-tong, therefore, difficult as was the task, he determined to take her to that province. As for Yang, whose loyalty was stronger toward the family of Nicholas than to the imperial line, and who really wished a person likely to prove so dangerous as the princess out of his house, he offered his advice and assistance; and as a small junk belonging to him was about to proceed to Tien-sin, on the banks of the Pei-ho (or white river) with a cargo of goods in exchange for salt, he offered to place it at the command of Nicholas, who, when at the mouth of the river, would find it no difficult matter to make a voyage through the gulf of Pe-tche-Lee, and of Leao-tong, to some town upon the coast.
This being arranged, they determined that the junk should start as soon as she was laden, and that the princess should embark as a young widow, whose husband having been killed in the rebellion, was returning to see her friends in Leao-tong. But then the princess could not travel without a female attendant,—and whom could they trust? that seemed their greatest difficulty. It was surmounted, however as you will see in the next chapter.
CHAPTER XXX.
A LARGE STOCK OF LADIES, TWO TAELS PER SACK.
Previously to his successful march upon Pekin, Li-Kong had besieged the capital of the great province of Honan, which, after a few days' hard fighting, he succeeded in taking; when by way of punishing the inhabitants for their brave resistance, he ordered a slaughter so large and indiscriminate that for many after years his name was used as a bugbear to frighten children; so insatiable was his appetite for decapitation, that, like Nero, he longed that the millions had but one neck, that he might strike the whole of their heads at a blow.