Page:On to Pekin.djvu/214

188 "Shall I carry the message?"

The colonel thought for a moment. "You may as well, for there is no staff officer at hand. Tell them they must catch this Chow Fun if they can, and any accomplices he may have."

"I will," replied Gilbert.

"You may ride the distance, in order to save time. There are plenty of horses, so your companions can ride, too."

Five minutes later the party of three were off in the midnight darkness. Dan Casey had been to the consulate twice on errands for his superiors, so he knew the road fairly well; and on they flew at the top of their horses' speed.

"They may not wait for the rocket signal," said Gilbert. "If they suspect anything is wrong, they may fire that powder at any moment."

"An' thin the Mission House would be blown sky-high," returned Casey. "Say, but thim Chinks is vipers now, ain't they?"

"We just want to catch that Chow Fun," put in Hunter. "I'll wager he's a bad one,—and a daring one, too,—or he wouldn't hang so close around the enemy."