MASSACRE 49 



they heard footsteps and knocking, and Mrs. Beck- 

 man went out at once with her Httle girl. They 

 must have caught her and killed her at once, 

 for her husband never saw her alive after that. 

 Mr. Beckman then went out, and found the court- 

 yard empty. The front gate was burned down, 

 and outside was a mob of people. He ran right 

 through, and down to a pool of water two feet 

 deep. Here he stopped for a while, hidden among 

 some thick grass ; and when he saw men coming 

 with lamps he moved along a little way to a tree. 

 He heard men asking for him, and presently they 

 left three there to watch till morning. 



" All this time he was standing in the water, 

 w^th his little baby in his arms, and not once did 

 she utter a sound to betray their presence. After 

 a while he saw the morning star, and heard the 

 men say that they would soon be able to find him ; 

 he therefore felt about on the north side of the 

 pool, and found a place where he could reach to 

 the top with his arm. Then, though his strength 

 was almost gone, he managed to climb up, and 

 escape from his watchers. He and the child 

 eventually reached the West Suburb, the only 

 two that escaped from the attack. Mrs. Beck- 

 man, Mr. Watney, and six children had fallen 

 victims. 



" The new authorities are extremely sorry about 

 this. Four men have been executed on account 

 of the outrage, and their heads are hung outside 

 the gate." 



These vigorous measures were evidence of the 

 goodwill of the revolutionary authorities, who 

 also sent out parties of soldiers to bring in the 

 missionaries from their isolated stations at Sui-te- 

 Chou and Yenan-fu. 



