284 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN 



mules to take me to Szemao, seventeen days' journey 

 distant. My caravan of fifteen or sixteen mules and 

 several muleteers was imposing and included not 

 only my own belongings, but several cases of silver 

 for Chinese officials at Szemao and a number of cases 

 of stores for the Customs staff. I left on the morning 

 of September 8th, and, being unable to speak any 

 Chinese, traveled very much as a parcel and enjoyed 

 the trip. I received en route a couple of letters 

 of welcome from Dr. Henry and, when two days 

 from my destination, a note from him informing me 

 that a gang of highway robbers had been plying their 

 nefarious calling between the cities of Puerh and Sze- 

 mao but that the ringleaders had been captured and 

 executed. The officials at Puerh sent ten soldiers 

 as a guard and a few miles beyond that city ten sol- 

 diers sent from Szemao joined us, and with these 

 twenty picturesquely clad but grotesquely armed 

 soldiers our caravan looked like a small punitive 

 expedition. 



My last night before reaching Szemao was on a 

 Saturday and about nine o'clock, after all had retired, 

 a barking of dogs and some shouting aroused excite- 

 ment and my soldier guard began to prepare for an 

 attack when the sound of an English voice sent a thrill 

 of joy through me. The door was quickly thrown 



