Page:At the Fall of Port Arthur.djvu/219

Rh to his brother. For all he knew to the contrary, Larry might be mortally wounded.

Presently they came to a spot in the road where there were a number of dense trees. Chung Wow began to cough loudly.

"What's the matter?" demanded Gilbert. For some reason he did not trust the Chinaman.

"Slomthing fly in float," was the answer, and Chung Wow coughed again. Then he walked on, and they came behind him. But Gilbert drew his pistol and motioned for Ben to do the same.

"I may be mistaken, but we may be walking into a trap," he whispered.

"Why, Gilbert, I don't" began Ben, when without warning a heavy object dropped upon his head from the limb of one of the trees and bore him to the ground. Another object dropped on Gilbert, but he squirmed from under,—to find himself confronted by several Chunchuses. A cry went up, and a crashing was heard in the bushes back of the trees.

"A trick, Ben, just as I suspected!" ejaculated the young Southerner, and he discharged his pistol point-blank at the Chinese bandit in front of him. This done he made a leap to one side, hurling over Chung Wow as he did so, and darted forward into