Day by day miserable processions brought the
wounded into the city, and the last day of the month, taken by sudden
fright and almost getting out of hand, the panic-stricken people raised
the cry that the rebels were marching direct for the city gates. Through
the capital tactics adopted by the mandarins, however, this was
prevented; but, on the following day, the chapel belonging to the United
Methodist Mission at an out-station was burnt to the ground and the
houses of the people razed and looted. The caretaker, a faithful Hua
Miao convert, was taken, stripped of his clothing, and threatened with
an awful death if he did not betray the foreigners. He refused manfully
to divulge any information whatsoever, and was on the point of being
sacrificed, when the _ch'en-tai_ came unexpectedly upon the scene with
his military. He released the Miao, captured thirty-six rebels, killed
sixteen more where they stood, and carried away many of their horses and
the dreaded Boxer flag around which the men rallied.
And now comes the smartest thing I heard of throughout the rebellion.
A man named Li was the most dreaded of the trio of rebel chiefs, a man
of marvelous strength, and who seemed to be able to fascinate his men
and get them to do anything he wished--and Liu, the _ch'en-tai_, set
himself the task of capturing him.
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