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肩書を与える: Dr. Nikola (Dr. Nikola Returns) Author: Guy Boothby * A 事業／計画（する） Gutenberg of Australia eBook * eBook No.: 0601621h.html Language: English Date first 地位，任命するd: Jun 2006 Most 最近の update: Dec 2014 This eBook was produced by Colin Choat and updated by Roy Glashan. 事業／計画（する） Gutenberg of Australia eBooks are created from printed 版s which are in the public domain in Australia, unless a copyright notice is 含むd. We do NOT keep any eBooks in 同意／服従 with a particular paper 版. Copyright 法律s are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright 法律s for your country before downloading or redistributing this とじ込み／提出する. This eBook is made 利用できる at no cost and with almost no 制限s どれでも. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the 条件 of the 事業／計画（する） Gutenberg of Australia License which may be 見解（をとる）d online at http://gutenberg.逮捕する.au/licence.html To 接触する 事業／計画（する） Gutenberg of Australia go to http://gutenberg.逮捕する.au
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My Dear William George Craigie—
I have no 疑問 as to your surprise at receiving this letter, after so long and 正統化できない a period of silence, from one whom you must have come to consider either a dead man or at least a 永久の 難民. When last we met it was on the deck of Tremorden's ヨット, in the harbour of Honolulu. I had been 負かす／撃墜する to Kauai, I remember, and the day に引き続いて, you, you lucky dog, were going off to England by the 王室の Mail to be married to the girl of your heart. Since then I have heard, やめる by chance, that you have settled 負かす／撃墜する to a country life, as if to the manner born; that you take an 吸収するing 利益／興味 in mangel-wurzels, and, while you strike terror into the hearts of poachers and other rustic evil-doers, have the 評判 of making your wife the very best of husbands. その結果 you are to be envied and considered one of the happiest of men.
While, however, things have been behaving thus prosperously with you, I am afraid I cannot truthfully say that they have fared so 井戸／弁護士席 with me. At the termination of our pleasant South Sea 巡航する, just referred to, when our party dismembered itself in the 挟む Islands, I crossed to Sydney, passed up inside the 障壁 暗礁 to Cooktown, where I remained three months ーするために try my luck upon the Palmer Gold Fields. This 証明するing unsatisfactory I returned to the coast and continued my 旅行 north to Thursday Island. From the last-指名するd little 位置／汚点／見つけ出す I visited New Guinea, gave it my patronage for the better part of six months, and received in return a bad attack of fever, after 回復するing from which I migrated to Borneo, to bring up finally, as you will suppose, in my beloved 中国.
Do you remember how in the old days, when we both held positions of more or いっそう少なく importance in Hong-Kong, you used to 決起大会／結集させる me about my fondness for the Celestial character and my absurd liking for going fantee into the queerest company and places? How little did I imagine then to what 海峡s that craze would 最終的に 行為／行う me! But we never know what the 未来 has in 蓄える／店 for us, do we? And perhaps it is as 井戸／弁護士席.
You will 観察する, my dear Craigie, that it is the 記録，記録的な／記録する of my visit to 中国 on this particular occasion that 構成するs this 調書をとる／予約する; and you must also understand that it is because of our long friendship for each other, and by 推論する／理由 of our queer 研究s into the occult world together, that you find your 指名する placed so conspicuously upon the 最前部 of it.
A word now as to my 現在の 存在 and abode. My 場所 I cannot 明らかにする／漏らす even to you. And believe me I make this 保留（地）／予約 for the strongest 推論する／理由s. 十分である it that I own a farm, of の近くに upon five thousand acres, in a country such as would gladden your heart, if matrimony and continued 井戸／弁護士席-存在 have not spoilt your 注目する，もくろむs for richness of 国／地域. It is shut in on all 味方するs by precipitous mountain 範囲s, on the western 頂点（に達する）s of which at this moment, as I sit in my verandah 令状ing to you, a 量 of cloud, 色合いd a rose pink by the setting sun, is 集会. A quieter 位置／汚点／見つけ出す, and one more remote from the 急ぐ and bustle of civilization, it would be difficult to find. Once every six months my 蓄える／店s are brought up to me on mule-支援する by a 信用d retainer who has never spoken a word of English in his life, and once every six weeks I send to, and receive from, my 地位，任命する office, four hundred miles distant, my mails. In the intervals I imitate the patriarchal life and character; that is to say, I 売春婦 and 得る my corn, live in harmony with my 隣人, who is two hundred 半端物 miles away, and, figuratively speaking, enjoy life beneath my own vine and fig-tree.
Perhaps when the 冷静な／正味の west 勝利，勝つd blows in the long grass, the wild duck whistle upon the lagoons, or a newspaper filled with gossip of the outer world finds its way in to me, I am a little restless, but at other times I can 安全に say I have few 悔いるs. I have done with the world, and to make my 追放する easier I have been permitted that greatest of all blessings, a good wife. Who she is and how I won her you will discover when you have perused this narrative, the 収集するing of which has been my 主要な／長／主犯 and, I might almost say, only recreation all through our more than tedious winter. But now the snow has 出発／死d, spring is upon us, 覆う？ in its mantle of luscious grass and …を伴ってd by the twitterings of birds and the music of innumerable small waterfalls, and I am a new man. All nature is busy, the swallows are working overtime beneath the eaves, and to-morrow, in proof of my remembrance, this 調書をとる／予約する goes off to you.
Whether I shall ever again see Dr. Nikola, the 主要な／長／主犯 character in it, is more than I can tell you. But I 心から 信用 not. It is for the sake of circumstances brought about by that 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の man that I have doomed myself to perpetual 追放する; still I have no 願望（する） that he should know of my sacrifice. いつかs when I 嘘（をつく） awake in the 静かな watches of the night I can hardly believe that the events of the last two years are real. The horror of that time still 圧力（をかける）s ひどく upon me, and if I live to be a hundred I 疑問 if I shall outgrow it. When I tell you that even the things, I mean the mysteries and weird experiences, into which we thrust our impertinent noses in bygone days were 絶対 as nothing compared with those I have passed through since in Nikola's company, you will at first feel inclined to believe that I am romancing. But I know this, that by the time you have got my curious story by heart all 疑問 on that 得点する／非難する／２０ will have been swept away.
One last entreaty. Having read this 調書をとる／予約する, do not 試みる／企てる to find me, or to 始める，決める my position 権利 with the world. Take my word for it, it is better as it is.
And now, without その上の preamble, let us come to the story itself. God bless you, and give you every happiness. Speak kindly of me to your wife, and believe me until death finishes my career, if it does such a thing, which Dr. Nikola would have me 疑問,
Your affectionate friend,
Wilfred Bruce.
IT was Saturday afternoon, about a ４半期/4分の1-past four o'clock if my memory serves me, and the road, known as the Maloo, 主要な to the 泡ing 井戸／弁護士席, that 選び出す／独身 breathing place of Shanghai, was （人が）群がるd. 流行の／上流の barouches, C-spring buggies, spider-wheel dogcarts, to say nothing of every 種類 of 'rickshaw, bicycle, and pony, were に引き続いて each other in one long 行列 に向かって the 井戸／弁護士席. All the European 部分 of Shanghai, and a かなりの 百分率 of the native, had turned out to 証言，証人／目撃する the finish of the paper 追跡（する）, which, though, not exciting in itself, was important as 存在 the only amusement the 解決／入植地 誇るd that afternoon. I had walked as far as the Horse Bazaar myself, and had taken a 'rickshaw thence, more from pride than because I could afford it. To tell the truth, which will pop out sooner or later, however much I may try to 妨げる it, I was keeping up 外見s, and though I lay 支援する in my 乗り物 and smoked my cheroot with a princely 空気／公表する, I was painfully conscious of the fact that when the ride should be paid for the exchequer would scarcely 生き残る the shock.
Since my arrival in Shanghai I had been more than usually unfortunate. I had tried for every billet then 空いている, from those choice pickings at the 最高の，を越す of the tree の中で the high gods, to the secretaryship of a Eurasian 中心 of communistical 傾向s 位置を示すd somewhere on the 限定するs of the native city, but always without success. For the one I had not the necessary 影響（力）, for the other I 欠如（する）d that peculiar gift of obsequiousness which is so 必須の to 繁栄 in that particular line of 商売／仕事.
In the 合間 my 支出 was going remorselessly on, and I very soon saw that unless something happened, and that quickly too, I had every prospect of hiding myself 奪うd of my 所持品, sleeping on the Bund, and finally 人物／姿／数字ing in that Mixed 法廷，裁判所 in the 治安判事's Yamen, which is so 正確に，正当に dreaded by every Englishman, as the debtor of a Cochin 中国 Jew. The position was not a cheerful one, look at it in whatever light I would, but I had experienced it a good many times before, and had always come out of it, if not with an 増加するd 量 of self-尊敬（する）・点, certainly without any very 広大な／多数の／重要な degree of personal 当惑.
Arriving at the 井戸／弁護士席, I paid off my coolie and took up a position 近づく "the last jump," which I noticed was a 用意が出来ている 盗品故買者 and 溝へはまらせる／不時着する of かなりの awkwardness. I was only just in time, for a moment later the horses （機の）カム at it with a 急ぐ; some （疑いを）晴らすd it, some 辞退するd it, while others, 可決する・採択するing a middle course, jumped on the 最高の，を越す of it, 失敗d over, and finally sent their riders spinning over their 長，率いるs into the mud at the feet of their fairest friends. It was not 正確に／まさに an aesthetic picture, but it was certainly a very amusing one.
When the last horse, had landed, imagining the sport to be over for the day, I was in the 行為／法令／行動する of moving away when there was a shout to stand （疑いを）晴らす, and wheeling 一連の会議、交渉／完成する again, I was just in time to see a last horseman come dashing at the 盗品故買者. Though he 棒 with かなりの 決意, and was evidently bent on putting a good finish to his day's amusement, it was plain that his horse was not of the same way of thinking, for, when he was distant about half a dozen yards from the 盗品故買者, he broke his stride, stuck his feet into the mud, and endeavoured to come to a 行き詰まり. The result was not at all what he 推定する／予想するd; he slid に向かって the 盗品故買者, received his rider's quirt, viciously 治めるd, 一連の会議、交渉／完成する his 側面に位置する, made up his mind to jump too late, 攻撃する，衝突する the 最高の，を越す rail with his forehead, turned a 完全にする somersault, and landed with a 衝突，墜落 at my feet. His rider fell into the 武器 of the 溝へはまらせる／不時着する, out of which I presently dragged him. When I got him on the bank he did not look a pretty sight, but, on the other 手渡す, that did not 妨げる him from 認めるing me.
"Wilfred Bruce, by all that's glorious!" he cried, at the same time rising to his feet and mopping his streaming 直面する with a very muddy pocket-handkerchief. "This is a fortunate 遭遇（する）, for do you know, I spent two hours this morning looking for you?"
"I am very sorry you should have had so much trouble," I answered; "but are you sure you are not 傷つける?"
"Not in the least," he answered, and when he had 捨てるd off as much mud as possible, turned to his horse, which had struggled to his feet and was gazing stupidly about him.
"Let me first send this clumsy brute home," he said, "then I'll find my cart, and if you'll 許す me I'll take you 支援する to town with me."
We saw the horse led away, and, when we had discovered his dog-cart の中で the （人が）群がる of 乗り物s waiting for their owners, 機動力のある to our seats and 始める，決める off—after a few 予選 antics on the part of the leader—on our return to the 解決／入植地.
Once comfortably on our way George Barkston, whom, I might について言及する here, I had known for more than ten years, placed his whip in the bucket and turned to me.
"Look here, Bruce," he said, 紅潮／摘発するing a little in 予期 of what he was about to say, "I'm not going to mince 事柄s with you, so let us come straight to the point; we are old friends, and though we've not seen as much of each other during this visit to Shanghai as we used to do in the old days when you were 副-commissioner of whatever it was, and I was your graceless subordinate, I think I am pretty 井戸／弁護士席 conversant with your 現在の 条件. I don't want you to consider me impertinent, but I do want you to let me help you if I can."
"That's very good of you," I answered, not without a little （軽い）地震, however, as he shaved a 井戸／弁護士席-built American buggy by a hair's breadth. "To tell the honest truth, I want to get something to do pretty 不正に. There's a serious 赤字 in the exchequer, my boy. And though I'm a 公正に／かなり old 手渡す at the game of poverty, I've still a sort of pride left, and I have no 願望（する） to 人物／姿／数字 in the Mixed 法廷，裁判所 next Wednesday on a 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 of 無（不）能 to 支払う／賃金 my landlord twenty dollars for board and 宿泊するing."
"Of course you don't," said Barkston 温かく; "and so, if you'll let me help you, I've an idea that I can put you on to the 権利 跡をつける to something. The fact is, there was a chap in the smoking-room at the club the other night with whom I got into conversation. He 利益／興味d me more than I can tell you, for he was one of the most curious 存在s who, I should imagine, has ever visited the East. I never saw such an 半端物-looking fellow in my life. Talk about 注目する，もくろむs—井戸／弁護士席, his were—augh! Why, he looked you through and through. You know old Benwell, of the 歳入-切断機，沿岸警備艇 Y-chang? 井戸／弁護士席, while I was talking to this fellow, after a game of pool, in he （機の）カム.
"'Hallo! Barkston,' he said, as he brought up と一緒に the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する, 'I thought you were 狙撃 with Jimmy Woodrough up the river? I'm glad to find you're not, for I——' He had got as far as this before he became aware of my companion. Then his jaw dropped; he looked hard at him, said something under his breath, and, shaking me by the 手渡す, made a feeble excuse, and fled the room. Not 存在 able to make it out at all, I went after him and 設立する him looking for his hat in the hall. 'Come, I say, Benwell, 'I cried;' what's up? What on earth made you bolt like that? Have I 感情を害する／違反するd you?' He led me on one 味方する, so that the servants should not hear, and having done so said confidentially: 'Barkston, I am not a coward; in my time I've 取り組むd Europeans, Zulus, Somalis, Malays, Japanese, and Chinese, to say nothing of Manilla and Solomon boys, and what's more, I don't mind 直面するing them all again; but when I find myself 直面する to 直面する with Dr. Nikola, 井戸／弁護士席, I tell you I don't think twice, I bolt! Take my tip and do the same.' As he might just 同様に have talked to me in low Dutch for all I should have understood, I tried to question him, but I might have spared myself the trouble, for I could get nothing 満足な out of him. He 簡単に shook me by the 手渡す, told the boy in the hall to call him a 'rickshaw, and as soon as it drew up at the steps jumped into it and 出発／死d. When I got 支援する to the billiard-room Nikola was still there, practising losing hazards of 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の difficulty.
"'I've an opinion I've seen your friend before,' he said, as I sat 負かす／撃墜する to watch him. 'He is Benwell of the Y-chang, and if I mistake not Benwell of the Y-chang remembers me.'
"'He seems to know you,' I said with a laugh.
"'Yes, Nikola continued after a little pause; 'I have had the 楽しみ of 存在 in Mr. Benwell's company once before. It was in Haiphong.' Then with peculiar 強調: 'I don't know what he thinks of the place, of course, but somehow I have an idea your friend will not willingly go 近づく Haiphong again.' After he had said this he remained silent for a little while, then he took a letter from his pocket, read it carefully, 診察するd the envelope, and having made up his mind on a 確かな point turned to me again.
"'I want to ask you a question,' he said, putting the cue he had been using 支援する into the rack. 'You know a person 指名するd Bruce, don't you? a man who used to be in the Civil Service, and who has the 評判 of 存在 able to disguise himself so like a Chinaman that even Li Chang Tung would not know him for a European?'
"'I do,' I answered; 'he is an old friend of 地雷; and what is more, he is in Shanghai at the 現在の moment. It was only this morning I heard of him.'
"'Bring him to me," said Nikola quickly. 'I am told he wants a billet, and if he sees me before twelve to-morrow night I think I can put him in the way of 得るing a good one. Now there you are, Bruce, my boy. I have done my best for you."
"And I am 心から 感謝する to you," I answered. "But who is this man Nikola, and what sort of a billet do you think he can find me?"
"Who he is I can no more tell you than I can 飛行機で行く. But if he is not the first cousin of the Old Gentleman himself, 井戸／弁護士席, all I can say is, I'm no 手渡す at finding 関係s."
"I am afraid that doesn't tell me very much," I answered. "What's he like to look at?"
"井戸／弁護士席, in 外見 he might be 述べるd as tall, though you must not run away with the idea that he's what you would call a big man. On the contrary, he is most slenderly built. Anything like the symmetry of his 人物／姿／数字, however, I don't remember to have met with before. His 直面する is clean shaven, and is always deadly pale, a sort of toad-肌 pallor, that strikes you 直接／まっすぐに when you see him and the remembrance of which never leaves you again. His 注目する，もくろむs and hair are as 黒人／ボイコット as night, and he is as neat and natty as a new pin. When he is watching you he seems to be looking through the 支援する of your 長，率いる into the 塀で囲む behind, and when he speaks you've just got to 支払う／賃金 attention, whether you want to or not. All things considered, the いっそう少なく I see of him the better I shall like him."
"You don't give me a very encouraging 報告（する）／憶測 of my new 雇用者. What on earth can he want with me?"
"He's Apollyon himself," laughed Barkston, "and wants a maitre d'hotel. I suppose he imagines you'll 控訴."
By this time we had left the Maloo and were entering the town.
"Where shall I find this 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の man?" I asked, as we drew 近づく the place where I ーするつもりであるd to alight.
"We'll 運動 to the club and see if he's there," said Barkston, whipping up his horses. "But, putting all joking aside, he really seemed most anxious to find you, and as he knew I was going to look for you I don't 疑問 that he will have left some message for one of us there."
Having reached the Wanderers' Club, which is too 井戸／弁護士席 known to need any description here, Barkston went inside, leaving me to look after the horses. Five minutes later he 現れるd again, carrying a letter in his 手渡す.
"Nikola was here until ten minutes ago," he said, with a disappointed 表現 upon his handsome 直面する; "unfortunately he's gone home now, but has left this 公式文書，認める for me. If I find you he begs that I will send you on to his bungalow without 延期する. I have discovered that it is Fere's old place in the French 譲歩, Rue de la Fayette; you know it, the third house on the 権利 手渡す 味方する, just past where that renegade French marquis 発射 his wife. If you would care about it I'll give you a 公式文書，認める to him, and you can dine, think it over 静かに, and then take it on yourself this evening or not, as pleases you best."
"That would be the better 計画（する）," I said. "I should like to have a little time to collect my thoughts before seeing him."
Thereupon Barkston went 支援する into the building, and when he returned, which was in something under a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour, he brought the letter he had 約束d me in his 手渡す. He jumped up and took the reins, the Chinese groom sprang out of the way, and we were off.
"Can I 運動 you 一連の会議、交渉／完成する to where you are staying?" he asked.
"I don't think you can," I answered, "and for 推論する／理由s which would be sure to commend themselves to you if I were to tell them. But I am very much 強いるd to you all the same. As to Nikola, I'll think the whole 事柄 carefully out this evening, and, if I 認可する, after dinner I'll walk over and 現在の this letter 本人自身で."
I thereupon descended from the dogcart at the corner of the road, and having again thanked my friend for the 親切 he had shown me, bade him good-bye and took myself off.
Reaching the Bund I sat myself 負かす／撃墜する on a seat beneath a tree and dispassionately reviewed the 状況／情勢. All things considered it was a pretty 複雑にするd one. Though I had not 明らかにする／漏らすd as much to Barkston, who had derived such happiness from his position of guide, philosopher, and friend, this was not the first time I had heard of Nikola. Such a strange personality as his could not 推定する／予想する to go unremarked in a gossip-loving community such as the East, and all sorts of stories had accordingly been 循環させるd 関心ing him. Though I knew my fellow-man too 井戸／弁護士席 to place credence in half of what I had heard, it was impossible for me to 妨げる myself from feeling a かなりの 量 of curiosity about the man.
Leaving the Bund I returned to my lodgings, had my tea, and about eight o'clock donned my hat again and 始める，決める off in the direction of the French 譲歩. It was not a pleasant night, 存在 異常に dark and inclined に向かって showery. The 勝利，勝つd blew in fitful gusts, and drove the dust like あられ／賞賛する against one's 直面する. Though I stood a good chance of 得るing what I 手配中の，お尋ね者 so much—雇用, I cannot 断言する with any degree of truth that I felt 平易な in my mind. Was I not 捜し出すing to become connected with a man who was almost universally 恐れるd, and whose 評判 was not such as would make most people 願望（する） a closer 知識 with him? This thought in itself was not of a 安心させるing nature. But in the 直面する of my poverty I could not afford to be too squeamish. So leaving the Rue de la Paix on my left 手渡す I turned into the Rue de la Fayette, where Nikola's bungalow was 据えるd, and having 選ぶd it out from its fellows, made my way に向かって it.
The 構内／化合物 and the house itself were in total 不明瞭, but after I had twice knocked at the door a light （機の）カム slowly 負かす／撃墜する the passage に向かって me. The door was opened, and a 中国 boy stood before me 持つ／拘留するing a candle in his 手渡す.
"Does Dr. Nikola live here?" I 問い合わせd, in very much the same トン as our boyhood's hero, Jack of Beanstalk climbing fame, might have used when he asked to be 認める to the 住居 of the 巨大（な） 料金-fo-fum. The boy nodded, その結果 I 手渡すd him my letter, and ordered him to 伝える it to his master without 延期する. With such celerity did he 遂行する his 使節団 that in いっそう少なく than two minutes he had returned and was beckoning me to follow him. Accordingly I …を伴ってd him 負かす／撃墜する the passage に向かって a small room on the left 手渡す 味方する. When I had entered it the door was すぐに の近くにd behind me. There was no one in the apartment, and I was thus permitted an 適切な時期 of 診察するing it to my satisfaction, and 製図／抽選 my own 結論s before Dr Nikola should enter.
As I have said, it was not large, nor was its furniture, with a few exceptions, in any way 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の. The greater part of it was of the usual bungalow type, neither better nor worse. On the left 手渡す as one entered was a window, which I 観察するd was ひどく 閉めだした and shuttered; between that and the door stood a tall bookshelf, filled with 作品, 基準 and さもなければ, on almost every 考えられる 支配する, from the elementary 原則s of Bimetallism to abstract Confucianism. A 厚い matting covered the 床に打ち倒す and a 激しい curtain 避難所d a doorway on the 味方する opposite to that by which I had entered. On the 塀で囲むs were several 罰金 engravings, but I noticed that they were all based on uncommon 支配するs, such as the visit of Saul to the Witch of Endor, a 業績／成果 of the magicians before Pharaoh, and the 変えるing of the 乾燥した，日照りの bones into men in the 砂漠. A clock ticked on the bookcase, but with that exception there was nothing to 乱す the silence of the room.
I suppose I must have waited fully five minutes before my ears caught the sound of a soft footstep in an 隣接するing apartment, then the second door opened, the curtain which covered it was drawn slowly aside, and a man, who could have been 非，不，無 other than Dr. Nikola, made his 外見. His description was 正確に／まさに what Barkston had given me, even to the peculiar 注目する，もくろむs and, what 証明するd to be an apt illustration, the white toad-coloured 肌. He was attired in faultless evening dress, and its 深い 黒人／ボイコット 調和させるd 井戸／弁護士席 with his dark 注目する，もくろむs and hair. What his age might have been I could not かもしれない tell, but I afterwards discovered that he was barely thirty-eight. He crossed the room to where I stood, 持つ／拘留するing out his 手渡す as he did so and 説—
"Mr. Wilfred Bruce?"
"That is my 指名する," I answered, "and I believe you are Dr. Nikola?"
"正確に／まさに," he said, "I am Dr. Nikola; and now that we know each other, shall we proceed to 商売／仕事?"
As he spoke he moved with that peculiar grace which always characterized him across to the door by which he had entered, and having opened it, 調印するd to me to pass through. I did so, and 設立する myself in another large room, かもしれない forty feet long by twenty wide. Ac the その上の end was a lofty window, 含む／封じ込めるing some good stained glass; the 塀で囲むs were hung with Japanese tapestry, and were ornamented with swords, 戦う／戦い-axes, two or three 見本／標本s of Rajput armour, 調書をとる／予約するs galore, and a 量 of exceedingly 価値のある 磁器. The apartment was lit by three hanging lamps of rare workmanship and design, while scattered about the room were numberless cushioned 議長，司会を務めるs and divans, beside one of which I noticed a beautifully inlaid huqa of a 確かな 形態／調整 and make that I had never before seen out of Istamboul.
"Pray sit 負かす／撃墜する," said Dr. Nikola, and as he spoke he 調印するd me to a 議長，司会を務める at the その上の end. I seated myself and wondered what would come next.
"This is not your first visit to 中国, I am given to understand," he continued, as he seated himself in a 議長，司会を務める opposite 地雷, and regarded me 確固に with his 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の 注目する，もくろむs.
"It is not," I answered. "I am an old 居住（者） in the East, and I think I may say I know 中国 同様に as any living Englishman."
"やめる so. You were 現在の at the 会合 at Quong Sha's house in the Wanhsien on the 23rd August, 1907, if I remember aright, and you 補助装置d Mah Poo to 避ける 逮捕（する） by the 蜜柑s the week に引き続いて."
"How on earth did you know that?" I asked, my surprise やめる getting the better of me, for I had always been 納得させるd that no other soul, save the man himself, was aware of my 参加 in that 事件／事情／状勢.
"One becomes aware of many strange things in the East," said Nikola, hugging his 膝 and looking at me over the 最高の，を越す of it, "and yet that little circumstance I have just referred to is apt to teach one how much one might know, and how small after all our knowledge is of each other's lives. One could almost 推定する／予想する as much from brute beasts."
"I am afraid I don't やめる follow you," I said 簡単に.
"Don't you?" he answered. "And yet it is very simple after all. Let me give you a practical illustration of my meaning. If you see anything in it other than I ーするつもりである, the 非難する must be upon your own 長，率いる."
Upon a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する の近くに to his 議長，司会を務める lay a large sheet of white paper. This he placed upon the 床に打ち倒す. He then took a stick of charcoal in his 手渡す and presently uttered a long and very peculiar whistle. Next moment, without any 警告, an enormous cat, 黒人／ボイコット as his master's coat, leapt 負かす／撃墜する from somewhere on to the 床に打ち倒す, and stood swishing his tail before us.
"There are some people in the world," said Nikola calmly, at the same time 一打／打撃ing the 広大な／多数の／重要な beast's soft 支援する, "who would endeavour to 納得させる you that this cat is my familiar spirit, and that, with his 援助, I work all sorts of 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の 魔法. You, of course, would not be so silly as to believe such idle tales. But to 耐える out what I was 説 just now let us try an 実験 with his 援助. It is just possible I may be able to tell you something more of your life."
Here he stooped and wrote a number of 人物／姿／数字s up to ten with the charcoal upon the paper, duplicating them in a line below. He then took the cat upon his 膝, 一打／打撃d it carefully, and finally whispered something in its ear. 即時に the brute sprang 負かす／撃墜する, placed its 権利 fore-paw on one of the numerals of the 最高の，を越す 列／漕ぐ／騒動, while, whether by chance or 魔法 I cannot say, it 成し遂げるd a 類似の 活動／戦闘 with its left on the 列／漕ぐ／騒動 below.
"Twenty-four," said Nikola, with one of his peculiar smiles.
Then taking the piece of charcoal once more in his 手渡す, and turning the paper over, he wrote upon it the 指名するs of the different months of the year. Placing it on the 床に打ち倒す he again said something to the cat, who this time stood upon June. The alphabet followed, and letter by letter the uncanny beast spelt out "Apia."
"On the 24th June," said Nikola, "of a year undetermined you were in Apia. Let us see if we can discover the year."
Again he wrote the numerals up to ten, and すぐに the cat, with fiendish precision, worked out 1895.
"Is that 訂正する?" asked this 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の person when the brute had finished its 業績／成果.
It was やめる 訂正する, and I told him so.
"I'm glad of that. And now do you want to know any more?" he asked. "If you wish it I might perhaps be able to tell you your 商売／仕事 there."
I did not want to know. And I can only ask you to believe that I had very good 推論する／理由s for not doing so. Nikola laughed softly, and 圧力（をかける）d the tips of his long white fingers together as he looked at me.
"Now tell me truthfully what you think of my cat?" said he.
"One might be excused if one endowed him with 悪魔の（ような） せいにするs," I answered.
"And yet, though you think it so wonderful, it is only because I have 支配するd him to a curious form of education. There is a 力／強力にする latent in animals, and 特に in cats, which few of us 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う. And if animals have this 力／強力にする, how much more may men be 推定する／予想するd to 所有する it. Do you know, Mr. Bruce, I should be very 利益／興味d to find out 正確に／まさに how far you think the human 知能 can go; that is to say, how far you think it can 侵入する into the 地域s of what is 一般に called the occult?"
"Again I must make the excuse," I said, "that I do not follow you."
"井戸／弁護士席, then, let me place it before you in a rather simpler form. If I may put it so bluntly, where should you be inclined to say this world begins and ends?"
"I should say," I replied—this time without hesitation—"that it begins with birth and ends with death."
"And after death?"
"井戸／弁護士席, what happens then is a question of theology, and one for the parsons to decide."
"You have no individual opinion?"
"I have the 残余s of what I learned as a boy."
"I see; in that 事例／患者 you believe that as soon as the breath has forsaken this mortal 団体／死体 a 確かな indescribable part of us, which for the sake of argument we will denominate soul, leaves this mundane sphere and enters upon a new 存在 in one or other of two places?"
"That is certainly what I was taught," I answered.
"やめる so; that was the teaching you received in the parish of High Walcombe, Somersetshire, and might be taken as a very good type of what your class thinks throughout the world, from the 大司教 of Canterbury 負かす／撃墜する to the farm labourer's child who walks three miles every seventh day to …に出席する Sunday school. But in that self-same village, if I remember rightly, there was a little man of portly build whose adherents numbered 正確に forty-five souls; he was called Father O'Rorke, and I have not the slightest 疑問, if you had asked him, he would have given you やめる a different account of what becomes of that soul, or essence, if we may so call it, after it has left this mortal 団体／死体. Tobias Smallcombe, who preaches in a spasmodic, 風の強い way on the green to a congregation made up of a few 熱中している人s, a dozen small boys, and a handful of donkeys and goats, will give you yet another, and so on through numberless varieties of creeds to the end of the 一時期／支部. Each will （人命などを）奪う，主張する the 特権 of 存在 権利, and each will want you to believe 正確に／まさに as he does. But at the same time we must remember, 供給するd we would be やめる fair, that there are not wanting scientists, admittedly the cleverest men of the day, who 主張する that, while all our friends are agreed that there is a life after death—a spirit world, in fact—they are all wrong. If you will 許す me to give you my own idea of what you think, I should say that your opinion is, that when you've done with the solid flesh that makes up Wilfred Bruce it doesn't much 事柄 what happens. But let us suppose that Wilfred Bruce, or his mind, shall we say?—that part of him at any 率 which is anxious, which thinks and which 苦しむs—is 運命にあるd to 存在する afterwards through endless aeons, a prey to continual 悔恨 for all misdeeds: how would he regard death then?"
"But before you can 推定する／予想する an answer to that question it is necessary that you should 証明する that he does so continue to 存在する," I said.
"That's 正確に／まさに what I 願望（する） and ーするつもりである to do," said Nikola, "and it is to that end I have sought you out, and we are arguing in this fashion now. Is your time very fully 占領するd at 現在の?"
I smiled.
"I やめる understand," he said. "井戸／弁護士席, I have got a proposition to make to you, if you will listen to me. Years ago and やめる by chance, when the 支配する we are now discussing, and in which I am more 利益／興味d than you can imagine, was first brought 適切に under my notice, I fell into the company of a most 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の man. He was 初めは an Oxford don, but for some 推論する／理由 he went wrong, and was afterwards 発射 by Balmaceda at Santiago during the Chilian war. の中で other places, he had lived for many years in North-Western 中国. He 所有するd one of the queerest personalities, but he told me some wonderful things, and what was more to the point, he 支援するd them with proofs. You would probably have called them clever conjuring tricks. So did I then, but I don't now. Nor do I think will you when I have done with you. It was from that man and an old Buddhist priest, with whom I spent some time in Ceylon, that I learnt the tiny fact which put me on the 追跡する of what I am now に引き続いて up. I have 跡をつけるd it 手がかり（を与える） by 手がかり（を与える）, carefully and laboriously, with 変化させるing success for eight long years, and at last I am in the position to say that I believe I have my thumb upon the 重要な-公式文書，認める. If I can 圧力（をかける） it 負かす／撃墜する and 得る the result I want, I can put myself in 所有／入手 of （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） the magnitude of which the world—I mean the European world, of course—has not the slightest conception. I am a 勇敢な man, but I will 自白する that the prospect of what I am about to 試みる／企てる almost 脅すs me. It is neither more nor いっそう少なく than to 侵入する, with the help of 確かな Chinese secret societies, into the most 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の seat of learning that you or any other men ever heard of, and when there to beg, borrow, or steal the marvellous secrets they 所有する. I cannot go alone, for a hundred 推論する／理由s, therefore I must find a man to …を伴って me; that man must be one in a thousand, and he must also やむを得ず be a consummate Chinese scholar. He must be 勇敢な beyond the 普通の／平均（する）, he must be 有能な of disguising himself so that his 国籍 shall never for a moment be 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑うd, and he must go fully 納得させるd in his own mind that he will never return. If he is 用意が出来ている to 請け負う so much I am 用意が出来ている to be generous. I will 支払う／賃金 him ｣5,000 負かす／撃墜する before we start and ｣5,000 when we return, if return we do. What do you say to that?"
I didn't know what to say. The magnitude of the 提案, to leave the value of the honorarium out of the question, 完全に staggered me. I 手配中の，お尋ね者 money more than I had ever done in my life before, and this was a sum beyond even my wildest dreams; I also had no 反対 to adventure, but at the same time I must 自白する this seemed too foolhardy an 請け負うing altogether.
"What can I say?" I answered. "It's such an 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の proposition."
"So it is," he said. "But as I take it, we are both 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の men. Had you been one of life's 階級 and とじ込み／提出する I should not be discussing it with you now. I would think twice before I 辞退するd if I were you; Shanghai is such an unpleasant place to get into trouble in, and besides that, you know, next Wednesday will see the end of your money, even if you do sell your watch and chain, as you 提案するd to yourself to-night."
He said this with such an 空気／公表する of innocence that for the moment it did not strike me to wonder how he had become 熟知させるd with the 明言する／公表する of my 財政／金融s.
"Come," he said, "you had better say yes."
"I should like a little more time to think it over," I answered. "I cannot 誓約（する） myself to so much without giving it 徹底的な consideration. Even if it were not folly on my part it would scarcely be fair to you."
"Very good then. Go home and think about it. Come and see me to-morrow night at this time and let me have your 決定／判定勝ち（する）. In the 合間 if I were you I would say nothing about our conversation to any one."
I 保証するd him I would not, and then he rose, and I understood that our interview was at an end. I followed him into the hall, the 黒人／ボイコット cat marching sedately at our heels. In the verandah he stopped and held out his 手渡す, 説 with an indescribable sweetness of トン—
"I hope, Mr. Bruce, you will believe that I am most anxious for your companionship. I don't flatter you, I 簡単に 明言する／公表する the truth when I 断言する that you are the only man in 中国 whose co-操作／手術 I would ask. Now good-night. I hope you will come to me with a favourable answer to-morrow."
As he spoke, and as if to 強調する his request, the 黒人／ボイコット cat, which up to that time had been standing beside him, now （機の）カム over and began to rub its 長，率いる, …を伴ってing its 活動／戦闘 with a soft, purring noise, against my 脚.
"I will let you know without fail by this time tomorrow evening," I said. "Good-night."
AFTER I had bidden Dr. Nikola good-night in the verandah of his house, I 協議するd my watch, and discovering that it was not yet eleven o'clock, 始める，決める off for a long walk through the city ーするために consider my position. There were many things to be reckoned for and against his 申し込む／申し出. To begin with, as a point in its favour, I remembered the fact that I was alone in the world. My father and mother had been dead some years, and as I was their only child, I had neither brother nor sister 扶養家族 upon my exertions, or to 嘆く／悼む my loss if by ill-chance anything desperate should 生じる me. In the second place, I had been a traveller in strange lands from my 青年 up, and was therefore the more accustomed to hard living. This will be better understood when I say that I had run away from home at the age of fifteen to go to sea; had spent three years in the roughest life before the mast any man could dream of or 願望（する）; had got through another five, scarcely いっそう少なく savage, as an Australian bushman on the 国境s of the 広大な／多数の／重要な 砂漠; another two in a detachment of the Cape 機動力のある Police; I had also held a fair 任命 in Hong-Kong, and had drifted in and out of many other 雇用s, good, bad, and indifferent. I was thirty-five years of age, had never, with the exception of my attack of fever in New Guinea, known what it was to be really sick or sorry, and, if the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） is of any use to the world, 重さを計るd thirteen 石／投石する, stood の近くに upon six feet in my stockings, had grey 注目する，もくろむs and dark-brown hair, and, if you will not みなす me conceited for 説 so, had the 評判 of 存在 passably good-looking.
My position at that moment, financially and さもなければ, was certainly 不安定な in the extreme. It was true, if I looked long enough I might find something to do, but, on the other 手渡す, it was 平等に probable that I should not, for, as I knew to my cost, there were dozens of men in Shanghai at that moment, also on the look-out for 雇用, who would snap up anything that 申し込む／申し出d at a moment's notice. Only that morning I had been 保証するd by a 井戸／弁護士席-known merchant, upon whom I had waited in the hope of 得るing a cashiership he had 空いている in his office, that he could have filled it a hundred times over before my arrival. This 存在 so, I told myself that I had no 権利 to neglect any 適切な時期 which might come in my way of bettering my position. I therefore 解決するd not to 拒絶する Nikola's 申し込む／申し出 without the most careful consideration. Unfortunately, a love of adventure formed an integral part of my 憲法, and when a 誘惑, such as the 現在の, 申し込む／申し出d it was difficult for me to resist it. Indeed, this particular form of adventure 控訴，上告d to me with a 発言する／表明する of more than usual strength. What was still more to the point, Nikola was such a born leader of men that the mysterious fascination of his manner seemed to 強要する me to give him my co-操作／手術, whether I would or would not. That the 企業 was one 伴う／関わるing the chance of death was its most unpleasant feature; but still, I told myself, I had to die some time or other, while if my luck held good, and I （機の）カム out of it alive, ｣10,000 would （判決などを）下す me 独立した・無所属 for the 残り／休憩（する） of my 存在. As the thought of this large sum （機の）カム into my mind, the 悪意のある form of my half-caste landlord rose before my mind's 注目する，もくろむ, and the memory of his ill-written and worse-（一定の）期間d account, which I should certainly receive upon the morrow, 冷気／寒がらせるd me like a 冷淡な douche. Yes, my mind was made up, I would go; and having come to this 決定／判定勝ち（する）, I went home.
But when I woke next morning Prudence sat by my 病人の枕元. My dreams had not been good ones. I had seen myself 毒（薬）d in Chinese 修道院s, dismembered by almond-注目する，もくろむd headsmen before city gates, and 拷問d in a thousand terrible ways and places. Though these nightmares were only the natural 結果 of my 苦悩, yet I could not disabuse my mind of the knowledge that every one was within the sphere of probability. 直接／まっすぐに I should have changed into Celestial dress, stained my 直面する and sewn on my pigtail, I would be a Chinaman pure and simple, amenable to Chinese 法律s and liable to Chinese 刑罰，罰則s. Then there was another point to be considered. What sort of travelling companion would Nikola 証明する? Would I be able to 信用 him in moments of danger and difficulty? Would he stand by me as one comrade should by another? And if by any chance we should get into a 捨てる and there should be an 適切な時期 of escape for one only, would Nikola, by virtue of 存在 my 雇用者, 掴む that chance and leave me to 勇敢に立ち向かう the upshot, whatever it might be? In that 事例／患者 my ｣5,000 in the Shanghai Bank and the ｣5,000 which was to be paid to me on my return would be little いっそう少なく useful than a worn-out タバコ pouch. And this 示唆するd to my mind another question: Was Nikola 十分に rich to be able to 支払う／賃金 ｣10,000 to a man to …を伴って him on such a harebrained errand? These were all 事柄s of importance, and they were also questions that had to be satisfactorily answered before I could come to any real 決定／判定勝ち（する）. Though Barkston had 知らせるd me that Nikola was so 井戸／弁護士席 known throughout the East, though Benwell, of the Chinese 歳入 Service, had shown himself so 脅すd when he had met him 直面する to 直面する in the club, and though I, myself, had heard all sorts of queer stories about him in Saigon and the Manillas, they were 非，不，無 of them 十分に 限定された to be any 保証（人） to me of his 通貨の 安定. To 始める，決める my mind at 残り／休憩（する）, I 決定するd to make 調査s about Nikola from some unbiassed person. But who was that person to be? I reviewed all my 知識s in turn, but without pitching upon any who would be at all likely to be able to help me in my 窮地. Then, while I was dressing, I remembered a man, a merchant, owning one of the largest hongs along the Bund, who was supposed to know more about people in general, and queer folk in particular, than any man in 中国.
I ate my breakfast, such as it was, received my account from my landlord with the lordly 空気／公表する of one who has ｣10,000 reposing at his 銀行業者's, lit an excellent cigar in the verandah and then sauntered 負かす／撃墜する town.
Arriving at the Bund, I walked along until I discovered my friend's office. It overlooked the river, and was as 罰金 a building as any in Shanghai. In the main hall I had the good fortune to discover the merchant's 長，指導者 comprador, who, having learned that his master was 解放する／撤去させるd, 行為／行うd me forthwith to his presence.
Alexander McAndrew あられ／賞賛するd from north of the Tweed—this fact the least observant would have noticed before he had been five minutes in his company. His father had been a night watchman at one of the Glasgow banks, and his own 早期に 青年 was spent as a ragged, barefooted boy in the streets of that 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の city. Of his humble origin McAndrew, however, was prouder than any De la Zouch could have been of friendship with the 征服者／勝利者; indeed, he was wont, when he entertained friends at his princely bungalow in the English 譲歩, to 解任する and dwell with delight upon the sordid circumstances that brought about the happy chance which, one biting winter's morning, led him to 捜し出す fame and fortune in the East.
"Why, Mr. Bruce," he cried, rising from his 議長，司会を務める and shaking me 温かく by the 手渡す, "this is a most 予期しない 楽しみ! How long have you been in Shanghai?"
"Longer than I care to remember," I answered, taking the seat he 申し込む／申し出d me.
"And all that time you have never once been to see me. That's hardly fair 治療 of an old friend, is it?"
"I must ask your 容赦 for my remissness," I said, "but somehow things have not gone 井戸／弁護士席 with me in Shanghai this time, and so I've not been to see anybody. You 観察する that I am candid with you."
"I am sorry to hear that you are in trouble," he said. "I don't want to appear impertinent, but if I can be of any service to you I 心から hope you will 命令（する） me."
"Thank you," I answered. "I have already 決定するd to do so. Indeed, it is to 協議する you that I have taken the liberty of calling upon you now."
"I am glad of that. Upon what 支配する do you want my advice?"
"井戸／弁護士席, to begin with, let me tell you that I have been 申し込む／申し出d a billet which is to bring me in ｣10,000."
"Why, I thought you said things were not 栄えるing with you?" cried my friend. "This doesn't look as if there is much wrong. What is the billet?"
"That, I am sorry to say, I am not at liberty to 明らかにする／漏らす to any one."
"Then in what way can I be of use to you?"
"First, I want to know if you can give me any （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） about my 雇用者?"
"Tell me his 指名する and I'll see what I can do," the merchant answered, not without a show of pride. "I think I know nine out of every ten men of any importance in the East."
"井戸／弁護士席," I said, "this man's 指名する is Nikola."
"Nikola!" he cried in 完全にする astonishment, wheeling 一連の会議、交渉／完成する to 直面する me. "What possible 商売／仕事 can you have with Nikola that is to bring you in ｣10,000?"
"商売／仕事 of the very 最大の importance," I answered, "伴う／関わるing almost life and death. But it is evident you know him?"
In reply the old man leant over the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する and sank his 発言する／表明する almost to a whisper.
"Bruce," he said, "I know more of that man than I dare tell you, and if you will take my advice you will 支援する out while you have time. If you can't, why, be more than careful what 手はず／準備 you make with him."
"You 脅す me," I said, more impressed by his earnestness than I cared to own. "Is he not good for the money, then?"
"Oh, as for the money, I don't 疑問 that he could 支払う／賃金 it a dozen times over if he 手配中の，お尋ね者 to," the worthy merchant replied. "In point of fact, between ourselves, he has the 力／強力にする to draw upon me up to the extent of ｣50,000."
"He's a rich man, then?"
"Immensely!"
"But where on earth does his money come from?"
"Ah! that's a good 取引，協定 more than I can tell you," he replied. "But wherever he gets it, take my advice and think twice before you put yourself into his 力／強力にする. 本人自身で, and I can say it with truth, I don't 恐れる many men, but I do 恐れる Nikola, and that I'm not the only man in the world who does I will 証明する to you by this letter."
As he spoke he opened a drawer in his 令状ing-（米）棚上げする／（英）提議する and took out a couple of sheets of notepaper. Spreading them upon the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する before him, he smoothed the page and began to read.
"This letter, you must understand," he said, "is from the late 植民地の 長官 of New South むちの跡s, the Hon. Sylvester Wetherell, a personal friend of 地雷. I will skip the 開始／学位授与式, which is おもに 私的な, and come to the main 問題／発行する. He says:
"'... Since I wrote to you in June last, from London, I have been passing through a time of terrible trouble. As I told you in a letter some years ago, I was brought, やめる against my will, into 取引 with a most peculiar person 指名するd Nikola. Some few years since I defended a man known as 中国 Pete, in our Central 犯罪の 法廷，裁判所, against a 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 of 殺人, and, what was more, got him off. When he died, 存在 unable to 支払う／賃金 me, he made me a 現在の of all he had to leave, a peculiar little stick, covered with carved Chinese characters, about which he told me a mad rigmarole, but which has since nearly 証明するd my undoing. For some inscrutable 推論する／理由 this man Nikola 手配中の，お尋ね者 to 得る 所有／入手 of this stick, and because I 辞退するd to let him have it has 支配するd me to such continuous 迫害 these few years past as to nearly 運動 me into a lunatic 亡命. Every method that a man could かもしれない 可決する・採択する or a demoniacal brain invent to 強要する me to 降伏する the curio he tried. You will gather something of what I mean when I tell you that my house was twice broken into by Chinese 夜盗，押し込み強盗s, that I was garrotted within a hundred yards of my own 前線 door, that my wife and daughter were 脅迫してさせるd by innumerable 脅すing letters, and that I was at length brought to such a pitch of nervousness that after my wife died I fled to England to escape him. Nikola followed me, drew into the 陰謀（を企てる） he was weaving about me the Duke of Glenbarth, his son, the Marquis of Beckenham, Sir Richard Hatteras, who has since married my daughter, our late 知事, the Earl of Amberley, and at least a dozen other persons. Through his 機関 Beckenham and Hatteras were おとりd into a house in Port Said and locked up for three weeks, while a spurious nobleman was sent on in his lordship's place to Sydney to become 熟知させるd with my daughter, and finally to solicit her 手渡す in marriage. Fortunately, however, Sir Richard Hatteras and his friend managed to make their escape from 保護／拘留 in time to follow the scoundrels to Sydney, and to 警告する me of the 陰謀（を企てる） that was ハッチング against me. The result was 悲惨な. 失敗させる／負かすd in his endeavours to 復讐 himself upon me by marrying my daughter to an impostor, Nikola had the audacity to 誘拐する my girl from a ball at 政府 House and to 伝える her on a ヨット to an island in the South 太平洋の, whence a month later we 救助（する）d her. Whether we should have been permitted to do so if the stick referred to, which was 需要・要求するd as 身代金, had not fallen, やめる by chance, into Nikola's 所有／入手, I cannot say. But the stick did become his 所有物／資産／財産, and now we are 解放する／自由な. Since then my daughter has married Sir Richard Hatteras, and at the 現在の moment they are living on his 広い地所 in England. I 推定する／予想する you will be wondering why I have not 起訴するd this man Nikola, but to tell you the honest truth, McAndrew, I have such a wholesome dread of him that since I have got my girl 支援する, and have only lost the curio, which has always been a trouble to me, I am やめる content to say no more about the 事柄. Besides, I must 自白する, he has worked with such devilish cunning that, trained in the 法律 as I am, I cannot see that we should stand any chance of bringing him to 調書をとる／予約する.'"
"Now, Bruce, that you have heard the letter, what do you think of Dr. Nikola?"
"It puts rather a different complexion on 事件／事情／状勢s, doesn't it?" I said. "But still, if Nikola will play fair by me, ｣10,000 is ｣10,000. I've been twenty years in this world trying to make money, and this is the sum total of my wealth."
As I spoke I took out of my pocket all the money I had in the world, which 構成するd half a dozen coins, 量ing in English to a total of 6s. l0d. I turned to the merchant.
"I don't know what you will think, but my own opinion is that Nikola's character will have to be a very outrageous one to outweigh 10,000 golden 君主s."
"I am afraid you are a little bit 無謀な, aren't you, Bruce?" said the 用心深い McAndrew. "If you will take my advice I should say try for something else, and what is more, I'll help you to do so. There is a billet now open in my old friend Webster's office, the salary is a good one and the 義務s are light. When I saw him this morning it was still unfilled. Why not try for it? If you like I'll give you a letter of introduction to him, and will tell him at the same time that I shall consider it a personal favour if he will take you into his 雇う."
"I'm sure I'm very much 強いるd to you," I answered 温かく. "Yes, I think I will try for it before I give Nikola a reply. May I have the letter now?"
"With 楽しみ," he said. "I will 令状 it at once."
Thereupon he dipped his pen in the 署名／調印する and composed the epistle. When it was written and I had taken it, I thanked him 温かく for his 親切, and bade him good-bye.
Mr. Webster's hong was at the far end of the Bund, and was another 罰金 building. As soon as I had 伸び（る）d admittance I 問い合わせd for the merchant, and after a 簡潔な／要約する wait was 行為／行うd to his office. He 証明するd to be Mr. McAndrew's opposite in every way. He was tall, portly, and intensely solemn. He seldom laughed, and when he did his mirth was hard and cheerless like his own exterior. He read my letter carefully, and then said—
"I am exceedingly sorry, Mr. Bruce, that you should have had all this trouble. I should have been only too glad for my friend McAndrew's sake to have taken you into my 雇う; unfortunately, however, the position in question was filled いっそう少なく than an hour ago."
"I 悔いる to hear that," I said, with a little sigh of 失望. "I really am most unfortunate; this makes the thirteenth 地位，任命する I have tried for, as you see, unsuccessfully, since I arrived in Shanghai."
"Your luck does not seem propitious," was the reply. "But if you would like to put your 使用／適用s up to an even number I will place you in the way of another. I understand that the Red and Yellow Funnel Steamer Company have a vacancy in their office, and if you would care to come along with me at once I'll take you up and introduce you to the 経営者／支配人 myself. In that 事例／患者 he will probably do all he can for you."
I thanked him for his 儀礼, and when he had donned his topee we accordingly 始める，決める off for the office in question. But another 失望 was in 蓄える／店 for me. As in Mr. Webster's own 事例／患者 the 空いている 地位，任命する had just been filled, and when we passed out of the 経営者／支配人's sanctum into the main office the newly-任命するd clerk was already seated upon his high stool making 入ること／参加（者）s in a ledger.
On leaving the building I bade my companion good-bye on the pavement, and then with a 激しい heart returned to my abode. I had not been there ten minutes before my landlord entered the room, and without preface, and with the smallest modicum of civility, requested that I would make it convenient to 発射する／解雇する my account that very day. As I was やめる unable to 従う with his request, I was compelled to tell him so, and when he left the room there was a decidedly unpleasant coolness between us. For some かなりの time after I was alone again. I sat wrapped in anxious thought. What was I to do? Every walk of life seemed の近くにd against me; my very living was in jeopardy; and though, if I remained in Shanghai, I might hear of other billets, still I had no sort of 保証（人） that I should be any more successful in 得るing one of them than I had hitherto been. In the 合間 I had to live, and what was more, to 支払う／賃金 my 法案. I could not go away and leave things to take care of themselves, for the 推論する／理由 that I had not the necessary 資本／首都 for travelling, while if I remained and did not 支払う／賃金, I should find myself in the Mixed 法廷，裁判所 before many days were over.
Such 存在 the desperate 条件 of my 事件／事情／状勢s, to 受託する Dr. Nikola's 申し込む／申し出 was the only thing open to me. But I was not going to do so without 運動ing a 取引. If he would deposit, as he said, ｣5,000 to my credit in the bank I should not only be saved, but I should then have a 相当な 保証（人） of his solvency. If not, 井戸／弁護士席, I had better bring 事柄s to a 最高潮 at once. Leaving the house I returned to the Bund, and seating myself in a shady 位置／汚点／見つけ出す carefully reviewed the whole 事柄. By the time 不明瞭 fell my mind was made up—I would go to Nikola.
正確に／まさに at eight o'clock I reached his house and rang the bell. In answer to my peal the native boy, the same who had 認める me on the previous occasion, opened the door and 知らせるd me that his master was at home and 推定する／予想するing me. Having entered I was 行為／行うd to the apartment in which I had waited for him on the 先行する evening. Again for nearly five minutes I was left to myself and my own thoughts, then the door opened and Dr. Nikola walked into the room.
"Good evening, Mr. Bruce," he said. "You are very punctual, and that is not only a pleasant trait in your character, but it is also a good omen, I hope. Shall we go into the next room? We can talk better there."
I followed him into the 隣接するing apartment, and at his 招待 seated myself in the 議長，司会を務める I had 占領するd on the previous night. We had not been there half a minute before the 黒人／ボイコット cat made his 外見, and 認めるing me as an old friend rubbed his 長，率いる against my 脚.
"You see even the cat is anxious to conciliate you," said Nikola, with a queer little smile. "I don't suppose there are five other men in the world with whom he would be as friendly as that on so short an 知識. Now let me hear your 決定／判定勝ち（する）. Will you come with me, or have you 解決するd to 拒絶する／低下する my 申し込む／申し出?"
"Under 確かな 条件s I have made up my mind to …を伴って you," I said. "But I think it only fair to tell you that those 条件s are rather stringent."
"Let me hear them," said Nikola, with that gracious 愛そうのよさ he could いつかs assume. "Even if they are overpowering, I think it will go hard with me if I cannot 影響 some sort of a 妥協 with you."
"井戸／弁護士席, to begin with," I answered, "I shall 要求する you to 支払う／賃金 into a bank here the sum of ｣5,000. If you will do that, and will give me a 法案 at a year for the 残り／休憩（する） of the money, I'm your man, and you may count upon my doing everything in my 力／強力にする to serve you."
"My dear fellow, is that all?" said Nikola quickly. "I will make it ｣10,000 with 楽しみ to 安全な・保証する your co-操作／手術. I had no idea it would be the money that would stop you. Excuse me one moment."
He rose from his 議長，司会を務める and went across to a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する at the other end of the room. Having seated himself he wrote for two or three moments; then returning 手渡すd me a small slip of paper, which I discovered was a cheque for ｣10,000.
"There is your money," he said. "You can 現在の it as soon as you like, and the bank will cash it on sight. I think that should 満足させる you as to the genuineness of my 動機s. Now I suppose you are 用意が出来ている to throw in your lot with me?"
"Wait one moment," I said. "That is not all. You have 扱う／治療するd me very generously, and it is only fair that I should behave in a 類似の manner to you."
"Thank you," answered Nikola. "What is it you have to say to me now?"
"Do you know a man 指名するd Wetherell?"
"Perfectly," replied Nikola. "He was 植民地の 長官 of New South むちの跡s until about six months ago. I have very good 推論する／理由s for knowing him. I had the honour of 誘拐するing his daughter in Sydney, and I 拘留するd his son-in-法律 in Port Said. Of course I know him. You see I am also candid with you."
"Vastly. But 容赦 the 表現, was it altogether a nice 処理／取引?"
"It all depends upon what you consider a nice 処理／取引," he said. "To you, for instance, who have your own notions of what is 権利 and what is wrong, it might seem a little peculiar. I am in a different 事例／患者, however. Whatever I do I consider 権利. What you might do, in nine 事例／患者s out of ten, I should consider wrong. Whether I might have saved himself all trouble by selling me the stick which 中国 Pete gave him, and about which he wrote to McAndrew, who read the letter to you this morning!"
"How do you know he did?"
"How do I know anything?" 問い合わせd Nikola, with an airy wave of his 手渡す. "He did read it, and if you will look at me fixedly for a moment I will tell you the exact 趣旨 of the 残り／休憩（する） of your conversation."
"I don't know that it is necessary," I replied.
"Nor do I," said Nikola 静かに, and then lit a cigarette. "Are you 満足させるd with my explanation?"
"Was it an explanation?" I asked.
Nikola only answered with a smile, and 解除するd the cat on to his 膝. He 一打／打撃d its fur with his long white fingers, at the same time looking at me from under his half-の近くにd eyelids.
"Do you know, I like you," he said after a while. "There's something so confoundedly 事柄-of-fact about you. You give me the impression every time you begin to speak that you are going to say something out of the ありふれた."
"Thank you."
"I was going to 追加する that the 残り／休憩（する） of your 宣告，判決 invariably 粉々にするs that impression."
"You evidently have a very poor impression of my cleverness."
"Not at all. I am the one who has to say the smart things; you will have to do them. It is an equal 配当 of 労働. Now, are we going together or are we not?"
"Yes, I will go with you," I answered.
"I am delighted," said Nikola, 持つ／拘留するing out his 手渡す. "Let us shake 手渡すs on it."
We shook 手渡すs, and as we did so he looked me 公正に／かなり in the 直面する.
"Let me tell you once and for all," he said, "if you play fair by me I will stand by you, come what may; but if you shirk one 原子 of your 責任／義務—井戸／弁護士席, you will only have yourself to 非難する for what happens. That's a fair 警告, isn't it?"
"Perfectly," I answered. "Now may I know something of the 計画／陰謀 itself, and when you 提案する to start?"
"BY all means," said Dr. Nikola, settling himself 負かす／撃墜する comfortably in his 議長，司会を務める and lighting a cigarette. "As you have thrown in your lot with me it is only 権利 I should give you the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） you 捜し出す. I need not ask you to keep what I tell you to yourself. Your own ありふれた-sense will commend that course to you. It is also just possible you may think I over-見積（る） the importance of my 支配する, but let me say this, if once it became known to 確かな folk in this town that I have 得るd 所有／入手 of that stick について言及するd in Wetherell's letter, my life, even in Shanghai, would not be 価値（がある） five minutes' 購入（する）. Let me 簡潔に review the circumstances of the 事例／患者 connected with this mysterious society. Remember I have gone into the 事柄 most 完全に. It is not the hobby of an hour, nor the amusement of an idle moment, but the 反対する of 研究 and the concentrated 熟考する／考慮する of a lifetime. To 得る 確かな （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） of which I stood in need, I have 跡をつけるd people all over the world. When I began my 準備s for inducing Wetherell to 放棄する 所有／入手 of what I 手配中の，お尋ね者, I had followed a man as far as Cuyaba, on the Bolivian frontier of Brazil. During the earlier part of his career this person had been a merchant buying gold-leaf in Western 中国, and in this capacity he chanced to hear a curious story connected with the doings of a 確かな sect, whose 修道院 is in the mountains on the way up to Thibet. It cost me six months' continuous travel and nearly a thousand 続けざまに猛撃するs in hard cash to find that man, and when I did his story did not 越える a dozen 宣告，判決s; in other words, I paid him fully ｣10 per word for a bit of （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） that you would not, in all probability, have given him tenpence for. But I knew its value. I followed another man as far as Monte ビデオ for the description of an obscure Chinese village; another to the Gold Coast for the 指名する of a 確かな Buddhist priest, and a ロシアの Jew as far as Nijni Novgorod for a symbol he wore upon his watch-chain, and of the value of which he had not the slightest conception. The （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） I thus 得るd 本人自身で I 追加するd to the 蓄える／店 I had gathered by correspondence, and having 蓄積するd it all I 草案d a 完全にする history of my 研究s up to that time. When that was done I think I may say without 誇るing that, with the exception of three men—who, by the way, are not at liberty to divulge anything, and who, I 疑問 very much, are even aware that a world 存在するs at all beyond their own 修道院 塀で囲むs—I know at least six times as much about the society in question as any man living. Now, having prefaced my 発言／述べるs in this fashion, let me give you a 完全にする 要約 of the 事例／患者. As far as I can gather, in or about the year 288 b.c., in fact at the time that Devenipiatissa was 工場／植物ing the sacred Bo tree at Anuradhapura, in Ceylon, three priests, 公式文書，認めるd for their extreme piety, and for the extent of their 科学の 研究s, migrated from what is now the island of Ceylon, across to the 本土／大陸 of Asia. Having passed through the country at 現在の called Burmah, and after innumerable vicissitudes and constant necessary changes of ４半期/4分の1s, they brought up in the centre of the country we now call Thibet. Here two of the 初めの trio died, while the remaining one and his new confreres built themselves a 修道院, 始める，決める to work to gather about them a number of peculiar 充てるs, and to continue their 研究s. Though the 最大の secrecy was 観察するd, within a few years the fame of their doings had spread itself abroad. That this was so we know, for we find constant について言及する made of them by 非常に／多数の Chinese historians. One I will 引用する you."
Dr. Nikola rose from his 議長，司会を務める and crossed the room to an old 閣僚 standing against the その上の 塀で囲む. From this he took a large 調書をとる／予約する, looking suspiciously like a 捨てる-album, in which were pasted innumerable cuttings and manuscripts. He brought it across to his 議長，司会を務める and sat 負かす／撃墜する again. Then, having turned the leaves and 設立する what he 手配中の，お尋ね者, he 用意が出来ている to read.
"It may 利益／興味 you to know," he said, looking up at me before he began, "that the paragraph I am about to read to you, which was translated from the 初めの with the 最大の care by myself, was written the same year and month that William the 征服者／勝利者 landed in England. It runs as follows:—
"'And of this 広大な sect, and of the peculiar 力／強力にするs with which they are 投資するd, it is with some diffidence that I speak. It is 断言するd by those credulous in such 事柄s that their 技術 in 傷をいやす／和解させるing is greater than that of all other living men, also that their 力／強力にする in witchcraft より勝るs that of any others the world has known. It is said, moreover, that they 所有する the 力／強力にする of 回復するing the dead to life, and of 長引かせるing beyond the ordinary （期間が）わたる the days of man. But of these things I can only 令状 to you as they have been told to me.'"
Dr. Nikola turned to another page.
"After skipping five hundred years," he said, "we find その上の について言及する made of them; this time the writer is Feng Lao Lan, a 井戸／弁護士席-known Chinese historian who 繁栄するd about the year 1500. He 述べるs them as making themselves a source of trouble to the kingdom in general. From 存在 a collection of a few simple 修道士s, 任命する／導入するd in a lonely 修道院 in the centre of Thibet, they have now become one of the largest secret societies in the East, though the mystic 力／強力にするs supposed to be held by them are still 限られた／立憲的な to the three headmen, or 主要な／長／主犯 brothers. に向かって the end of the sixteenth century it is 確かな that they 演習d such a formidable 影響（力） in political 事件／事情／状勢s as to 令状 the 政府 in 問題／発行するing orders for their extermination. Indeed, I am inclined to believe that the all-powerful Triad Society, with its motto, 'Hoan Cheng Hok Beng,' which, as you know, 演習d such an enormous 影響（力） in 中国 until やめる recently, was only an offshoot of the society which I am so eager to 調査する. That the sect does 所有する the 科学の and occult knowledge that has been せいにするd to it for over two thousand years I feel 納得させるd, and if there is any 力／強力にする which can 補助装置 me in 侵入するing their secrets I ーするつもりである to 雇う it. In our own and other countries which we are accustomed to call 'civilized' it has long been the habit to ridicule any belief in what cannot be readily seen and understood by the least educated. To the 普通の／平均（する） Englishman there is no occult world. But see what a contradictory creature he is when all is said and done. For if he be devout, he tells you that he 堅固に believes that when the 団体／死体 dies the soul goes to Heaven, which is 同等（の） to Olympus, Elysium, Arcadia, Garden of Hesperides, Valhalla, Walhalla, 楽園, or Nirvana, as the 事例／患者 may be. He has no notion, or rather, I think, he will not be able to give you any description, of what sort of place his Heaven is likely to be. He has all sorts of vague ideas about it, but though it is part of his 宗教 to believe beyond question that there is such a place, it is all wrapped in 影をつくる／尾行する of more or いっそう少なく impenetrable depth. To sum it all up, he believes that, while, in his opinion, such a thing as—shall we say Theosophy?—is arrant nonsense, and unworthy of a thought, the 決定的な essence of man has a second and greater 存在 after death. In other words, to put my meaning a little more plainly, it is pretty 確かな that if you were to laugh at him, as he laughs at the Theosophist and Spiritualist, he would consider that he had very good grounds to consider his 知能 侮辱d. And yet he himself is 簡単に a contradiction 否定するd. You may wonder に向かって what all this rigmarole is 主要な. But if I were to 述べる to you the curious things I have myself seen in different parts of the East, and the 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） I have collected first 手渡す from others, I 投機・賭ける to think you would believe me either a wizard myself or an absurdly credulous person. I tell you, Bruce, I have 証言，証人／目撃するd things that would seem to upset every known 法律 of nature. Though there was occasionally trickery in the 業績／成果 I am 納得させるd in the 大多数 of 事例／患者s the phenomena were 本物の. And that brings us to another つまずくing-封鎖する—the meaning of the 表現, 'trickery.' What I should probably call 'trick' you would, in nine 事例／患者s out of ten, consider blackest 魔法. But enough talking. Let me give you an illustration of my meaning."
As he spoke he went across to a sideboard and from it he took an ordinary glass tumbler and a carafe of water, which he placed upon the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する at his 肘. Then seating himself again in his 議長，司会を務める he filled the glass to 洪水ing. I watched him carefully, wondering what was coming next.
"診察する the glass for yourself," he said. "You 観察する that it is やめる 十分な of water. I want you to be very sure of that."
I 診察するd the glass and discovered that it was so 十分な that it would be impossible to move it without 流出／こぼすing some of its contents. Having done so I told him that I was 納得させるd it was fully 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金d.
"Very 井戸／弁護士席," he said; "in that 事例／患者 I will give you an example of what I might call 'Mind versus 事柄.' That glass is やめる 十分な, as you have seen for yourself; now watch me."
From a tray by his 味方する he took a match, lit a wax candle, and when the 炎上 had burnt up 井戸／弁護士席, held it above the water so that one 減少（する） of wax might 落ちる into the liquid.
"Now," he said, "I want you to watch that wax intently from where you are while I count twenty."
I did as he ordered me, keeping my 注目する，もくろむs 堅固に 直す／買収する，八百長をするd upon the little globule floating on the surface of the water. Then as I looked, slowly, and to the accompaniment of Nikola's monotonous counting, the water sank lower and lower, until the tumbler was 完全に empty.
"Get up and look for yourself, but don't touch the glass," said my host. "Be perfectly sure, however, that it is empty, for I shall 要求する your affidavit upon that point 直接／まっすぐに."
I 診察するd the glass most carefully, and 明言する／公表するd that, to the best of my belief, there was not a 減少（する） of water in it.
"Very 井戸／弁護士席," said Nikola. "Now be so good as to sit 負かす／撃墜する and watch it once more."
This time he counted backwards, and as he did so the water rose again in the glass until it was 十分な to 洪水ing, and still the wax was floating on the surface.
For a moment we were both silent. Then Nikola 注ぐd the water 支援する into the jug, and having done so 手渡すd the glass to me.
"診察する it carefully," he said, "or you may imagine it has been made by a London conjuring 会社／堅い on 目的 for the trick. 納得させる yourself of this, and when you have made sure give me your explanation of the mystery."
I 診察するd the glass with the most searching scrutiny, but no 調印する of any 準備 or 機械装置 could I discover.
"I cannot understand it at all," I said; "and I'm sure I can give you no explanation."
"And yet you are not 完全に 納得させるd in your mind that I have not 成し遂げるd a clever conjuring trick, such as you might see at Maskelyne and Devant's. Let me give you two more examples before I finish. Look me intently in the 直面する until that clock on the mantelpiece, which is now standing at twenty-eight minutes past nine, shall strike the half-hour."
I did as I was ordered, and anything like the concentrated 強める of his gaze I never remember to have experienced before. I have often heard men say that when persons gifted with the mesmeric 力／強力にする have looked at them (some women have this 力／強力にする too) they have felt as if they had no 支援するs to their 長，率いるs. In this 事例／患者 I can only say that I not only felt as if I had no 支援する to my 長，率いる, but as if I had no 長，率いる at all.
The two minutes seemed like two hours, then the clock struck, and Nikola said:
"Pull up your left shirt cuff, and 診察する your arm."
I did as he ordered me, and there in red 位置／汚点／見つけ出すs I saw an exact reproduction of my own 署名. As I looked at it it faded away again, until, in about half a minute from my first seeing it, it was やめる gone.
"That is what I call a trick; in other words, it is neither more nor いっそう少なく than hypnotism. But you will wonder why I have put myself to so much trouble. In the first place the water did not go out of the glass, as you supposed, but remained 正確に／まさに as when you first saw it. I 簡単に willed that you should imagine it did go, and your imagination 従うd with the 需要・要求する made upon it. In the last 実験 you had a second proof of the first 支配する. Of course both are very easily explained, even by one who has dabbled in the occult as little as yourself. But though you call it hypnotism in this airy fashion, can you give me an explanation of what you mean by that あいまいな 称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語?"
"簡単に that your mind," I answered, "is stronger than 地雷, and for this 推論する／理由 is able to 支配する it.''
"That is the popular theory, I 認める you," he answered; "but it is hardly a 訂正する one, I fancy. Even if it were stronger, how could it be possible for me to 送信する／伝染させる thoughts which are in my brain to yours?"
"That I cannot 試みる／企てる in any way to explain," I answered. "But isn't it 分類するd under the general 長，率いる of thought 移動?"
"正確に—I am 用意が出来ている to 収容する／認める so much; but your description, hypnotism, though as 伴う／関わるd, is やめる as 訂正する a 称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語. But let me tell you that both these illustrations were given to lead up to another, which will bring us nearer than we have yet come to the 結論 I am endeavouring to arrive at. Try and give me your 完全にする attention again; above all, watch my finger."
As he spoke he began to wave his first finger in the 空気／公表する. It moved this way and that, 述べるing 人物／姿／数字s of eight, and I followed each movement so carefully with my 注目する，もくろむs that presently a small blue 炎上 seemed to flicker at the end of it. Then, after perhaps a minute, I saw, or thought I saw, what might have been a tiny cloud settling in the その上の corner of the room. It was 近づく the 床に打ち倒す when I first noticed it, then it rose to about the 高さ of a yard, and （機の）カム slowly across the apartment に向かって me. Little by little it 増加するd in size. Then it assumed 限定された 割合s, became taller, until I thought I （悪事，秘密などを）発見するd the 輪郭（を描く） of a human 人物／姿／数字. This resemblance 速く 増加するd, until I could definitely distinguish the 長，率いる and 団体／死体 of a man. He was tall and 井戸／弁護士席-割合d; his 長，率いる was thrown 支援する, and his 注目する，もくろむs met 地雷 with an eager, though somewhat 緊張するd, ちらりと見ること. Every 詳細（に述べる） was perfect, even to a （犯罪の）一味 upon his little finger; indeed, if I had met the man in the street next day I am 確かな I should have known him again. A strange orange-coloured light almost enveloped him, but in いっそう少なく than a minute he had become 合併するd in the cloud once more; this 徐々に fell 支援する into the corner, grew smaller and smaller, and finally disappeared altogether. I gave a little shiver, as if I were waking from some unpleasant dream, and turned to Nikola, who was watching me with half-の近くにd 注目する，もくろむs.
After I had やめる 回復するd my wits, he took an album from the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する and 手渡すd it to me.
"See if you can find in that 調書をとる／予約する," he said, "the photograph of the man whose image you have just seen."
I unfastened the clasp, and turned the pages 熱望して. 近づく the middle I discovered an exact reproduction of the 見通し I had seen. The 人物／姿／数字 and 直面する, the very 態度 and 表現, were the same in every particular, and even the （犯罪の）一味 I had noticed was upon the little finger. I was 完全に nonplussed.
"What do you think of my 実験?" asked Nikola.
"It was most wonderful and most mysterious," I said.
"But how do you account for it?" he asked.
"I can't account for it at all," I answered. "I can only suppose, since you owned to it before, that it must also have been hypnotism."
"正確に／まさに," said Nikola. "But you will see in this 事例／患者 that, without any レコード or passes, I not only produced the wish that you should see what I was thinking of, but also the exact 表現 worn by the person in the photograph. The 実験（する） was successful in every way. And yet, how did I 移転 the image that was in my mind to the retina of your 注目する，もくろむs? You were 前向きに／確かに 確かな you saw the water 減少（する） in the glass just now; you would have 誓約（する）d your word of honour that you saw your 指名する printed upon your arm; and under other circumstances you would, in all probability, have ridiculed any 主張 on my part that you did not see the 見通し of the man whose photograph is in that 調書をとる／予約する. Very good. That much decided, do you feel equal to 疑問ing that, though not 現在の in the room, I could wake you in the night, and make you see the image of some friend, whom you knew to be long dead, standing by your 病人の枕元. Shall I make myself float in 中央の-空気／公表する? Shall I 輸送（する） you out of this room, and take you to the 底（に届く） of the 太平洋の Ocean? Shall I 解除する you up into heaven, or 行為／行う you to the uttermost parts of hell? You have only to say what you 願望（する） to see and I will show it to you as surely and as perfectly as you saw those other things. But remember, all I have done is only what I call trickery, for it was done by hypnotism, which is to my mind, though you think it so mysterious, neither more nor いっそう少なく than making people believe what you will by the peculiar 力／強力にする of your own mind. But answer me this: If hypnotism is only the very smallest beginning of the knowledge 所有するd by the sect I am trying to discover, what must their greatest secret be? Believe me when I tell you that what I have shown you this evening is as a molehill to a mountain compared with what you will learn if we can only 侵入する into that place of which I have told you. I 誓約（する） you my word on it. Now answer me this question: Is it 価値（がある） trying for, or not?"
"It is 価値（がある） it," I cried enthusiastically. "I will go with you, and I will give you my best service; if you will play fair by me, I will do the same by you. But there is one その上の question I must ask you: Has that stick you 得るd from Mr. Wetherell anything at all to do with the work in 手渡す?"
"More than anything," he answered. "It is the 重要な to everything. 初めは, you must understand, there were only three of these sticks in 存在. One belongs, or rather did belong, to each of the three 長，率いるs of the sect. In 追跡 of some particular （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） one of the trio left the 修道院, and （機の）カム out into the world. He died in a mysterious manner, and the stick fell into the 所有／入手 of the abbot of the Yung 売春婦 Kung, in Pekin, from whom it was stolen by an Englishman in my 雇う, known as 中国 Pete, who 危険d his life, disguised as a Thibetan 修道士, to get it. Having stolen it, he eluded me, and fled to Australia, not knowing the real value of his treasure. The society became cognizant of its loss, and sent men after him. In 試みる／企てるing to 得る 所有／入手 of it one of the Chinamen was killed off the coast of Queensland, and 中国 Pete was 逮捕（する）d in Sydney on a 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 of having 殺人d him. Wetherell defended him, and got him off; and, not 存在 able to 支払う／賃金 for his services, the latter made him a 現在の of the stick. A month later I reached Sydney in search of it, but the Chinese were there before me. We both tried to 得る 所有／入手 of it, but, 借りがあるing to Wetherell's obstinacy, neither of us was successful. I 申し込む／申し出d Wetherell his own price for it; he 辞退するd to give it up. I pleaded with him, argued, entreated, but in vain. Then I 始める，決める myself to get it from him at any hazard. How I 後継するd you know. All that occurred six months ago. As soon as it was in my 所有／入手 I returned here with the 意向 of 侵入するing into the 内部の, and endeavouring to find out what I so much 手配中の，お尋ね者 to know."
"And where is the stick now?" I asked.
"In my own keeping," he answered. "If you would care to see it, I shall have very much 楽しみ in showing it to you."
"I should like to see it immensely," I answered.
With that he left the room, to return in about five minutes. Then, seating himself before me, he took from his pocket a small 事例／患者, out of which he drew a tiny stick, at most not more than three インチs long. It was a commonplace little 事件／事情／状勢, a 深い 黒人／ボイコット in colour, and covered with Chinese hieroglyphics in dead gold. A piece of frayed gold 略章, much （名声などを）汚すd, and showing evident 調印するs of having passed through many 手渡すs, was 大（公）使館員d to it at one end.
He 手渡すd it to me, and I 診察するd it carefully.
"But if this stick were 初めは stolen," I said, "you will surely not be so imprudent as to place yourself in the 力／強力にする of the society with it in your 所有／入手? It would mean 確かな death."
"If it were all plain sailing, and there were no 危険 to be run, I 疑問 very much if I should 支払う／賃金 you ｣10,000 for the 利益 of your company," he answered. "It is because there is a 広大な／多数の／重要な 危険, and because I must have 援助, though I am 極端に doubtful whether we shall ever come out of it alive, that I am taking you with me. I ーするつもりである to discover their secret if possible, and I also ーするつもりである that this stick, which undoubtedly is the 重要な of the outer gate, so to speak, shall help me in my endeavours. If you are afraid to …を伴って me, having heard all, I will 許す you to forego your 約束 and turn 支援する while there is time."
"I have not the slightest 意向 of turning 支援する," I answered. "I don't know that I am a braver man than most, but if you are willing to go on I am ready to …を伴って you."
"And so you shall, and there's my 手渡す on it," he cried, giving me his 手渡す as he spoke.
"Now tell me what you ーするつもりである to do," I said. "How do you mean to begin?"
"井戸／弁護士席, in the first place," said Nikola, "I shall wait here until the arrival of a 確かな man from Pekin. He is one of the lay brethren of the society who has fallen under my 影響（力）, and as soon as he puts in an 外見 and I have got his （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） we shall disguise ourselves, myself as an 公式の／役人 of one of the coast 州s, you as my 長官, and together we shall 始める，決める out for the 資本／首都. Arriving there we will 侵入する the Llama-serai, the most anti-European 修道院 in all 中国, and, by some means or another, 抽出する from the 長，指導者 priest 十分な （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） to take the next step upon our 旅行. After that we shall proceed as circumstances dictate."
"And when do you ーするつもりである that we shall start?"
"As soon as the man arrives, perhaps to-night, probably to-morrow morning."
"And as to our disguises?"
"I have in my 所有／入手 everything we can かもしれない need."
"In that 事例／患者 I suppose there is nothing to be done until the messenger arrives?"
"Nothing, I think."
"Then if you will 許す me I will wish you good-bye and be off to bed. In 事例／患者 I do not hear from you tonight, at what hour would you like me to call tomorrow?"
"I will let you know before breakfast-time without fail. You are not afraid, are you?"
"Not in the least," I answered.
"And you'll say nothing to anybody, even under compulsion, as to our 使節団?"
"I have given you my 約束," I answered, and rose from my seat.
Once more I followed him 負かす／撃墜する the main passage of the bungalow into the 前線 verandah. Arriving there we shook 手渡すs and I went 負かす／撃墜する the steps into the street.
As I turned the corner and made my way in the direction of the road 主要な to the English 譲歩, I saw a man, without 疑問 a Chinaman, rise from a corner and follow me. For nearly a ４半期/4分の1 of a mile he remained about a hundred yards behind me, then he was joined by a second, who presently left his companion at a cross street and continued the march. Whether their スパイ was only 偶発の, or whether I was really the 反対する of their attention, I was for some time at a loss to conjecture, but when I saw the second give place to a third, and the third begin to 減少（する） the distance that separated us, I must own I was not altogether comfortable in my mind. Arriving at a more （人が）群がるd thoroughfare I 急いでd my steps, and having proceeded about fifty yards along it, dodged 負かす／撃墜する a 味方する 小道／航路. This 小道／航路 伝えるd me into another, which 結局 brought me out within half a dozen paces of the house I 手配中の，お尋ね者.
That the occupants of the dwelling had not yet retired to bed was evident from the lights I could see moving about inside. In 返答 to my knock some one left the room upon the 権利 手渡す of the passage and （機の）カム に向かって the door where I waited. When he had opened it I discovered that it was Mr. McAndrew himself.
"Why, Bruce!" he cried in surprise, as soon as he discovered who his 訪問者 was. "You've chosen a pretty late hour for calling; but never mind, come along in; I am glad to see you." As he spoke he led me into the room from which he had just 現れるd. It was his dining-room, and was furnished in a ponderous, but luxurious, fashion. In a 議長，司会を務める beside the long （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する—for Mr. McAndrew has a large family, and twelve sat 負かす／撃墜する to the morning and evening meal—was seated a tiny grey-haired lady, his wife, while opposite her, engaged upon some fancy work, was a pretty girl of sixteen, his youngest daughter and pet, as I remembered. That the lateness of my visit also occasioned them some surprise I could see by their 直面するs; but after a few commonplace 発言／述べるs they bade me good-night and went out of the room, leaving me alone with the 長，率いる of the house.
"I suppose you have some very good 推論する／理由 for this visit, or you wouldn't be here," the latter said, as he 手渡すd me a box of cigars. "Have you heard of a new billet, or has your innocent friend Nikola 開始するd to ゆすり，恐喝 you?"
"Neither of these things has happened," I answered with a laugh."
"But as I am in all probability leaving Shanghai to-morrow morning before banking hours, I have come to see if I may so far 税金 your 親切 as to ask you to take 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 of a cheque for me." I thereupon produced Nikola's 草案 and 手渡すd it to him. He took it, ちらりと見ることd at it, looked up at me, returned his 注目する，もくろむs to it once more, and then whistled.
"This looks like 商売／仕事," he said.
"Doesn't it," I answered. "I can hardly believe that I am 価値（がある） ｣10,000."
"You are to be congratulated. And now what do you want me to do with it?" 問い合わせd McAndrew, turning the paper over and over in his 手渡す as if it were some uncanny talisman which might suddenly catch him up and 変える him into a camel or an octopus before he could look 一連の会議、交渉／完成する.
"I want you to keep it for me if you will," I answered "To put it on deposit in your bank if you have no 反対. I am going away, certainly for six months, かもしれない for a year, and when I return to Shanghai I will come and （人命などを）奪う，主張する it. That's if I do return."
"And if not?"
"In that 事例／患者 I will leave it all to you. In the 合間 I want you to 前進する me ｣20 if you will; you can 返す yourself out of the 量. Do you mind doing it?"
"Not in the very least," he answered; "but we had better have it all in 令状ing, so that there may be no mistake."
He thereupon produced from a drawer in a 味方する （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する a sheet of notepaper. Having written a few lines on it he gave it to me to 調印する, at the same time calling in one of his sons to 証言，証人／目撃する my 署名. This 形式順守 完全にするd he 手渡すd me ｣20 in 公式文書，認めるs and English gold, and our 商売／仕事 was 結論するd. I rose to go.
"Bruce," said the old gentleman in his usual kindly fashion, putting his 手渡す upon my shoulder as he spoke, "I don't know what you are up to, and I don't suppose it will do for me to 問い合わせ, but I am aware that you have been in pretty straitened circumstances lately, and I am afraid you are 乗る，着手するing on some foolishness or other now. For Heaven's sake 重さを計る carefully the プロの／賛成のs and 反対／詐欺s before you commit yourself. Remember always that one moment's folly may 難破させる your whole after-life."
"You need have no 恐れる on that 得点する／非難する／２０," I answered. "I am going into this 商売／仕事 with my 注目する，もくろむs open. All the same I am 強いるd to you for your 警告 and for what you have done for me. Good-night and good-bye."
I shook 手渡すs with him, and then passing into the verandah left the bungalow.
I was not fifty yards from the gate when a noise behind me induced me to look 一連の会議、交渉／完成する. A man had been sitting in the 影をつくる／尾行する on the other 味方する of the road. He had risen now and was beginning to follow me. That it was the same individual who had …を伴ってd me to McAndrew's house I had not the slightest 疑問. I turned to my 権利 手渡す 負かす／撃墜する a 味方する street ーするために see if he would 追求する me; he also turned. I 二塁打d again; he did the same. I proceeded across a piece of open ground instead of keeping on in the straight line I had hitherto been に引き続いて; he imitated my example. This スパイ was growing alarming, so I quickened my pace, and having 設立する a 味方する street with a high 盗品故買者 on one 味方する, followed the palisading along till I （機の）カム to the gate. Through this I dashed, and as soon as I was in, stooped 負かす／撃墜する in the 影をつくる／尾行する. Half a minute later I heard the man coming along on the other 味方する. When he could no longer see me ahead of him he （機の）カム to a 停止（させる） within half a dozen paces of where I crouched. Then having made up his mind that I must have crossed the road and gone 負かす／撃墜する a dark 小道／航路 opposite, he too crossed, and in a few seconds was out of sight.
As soon as I had 納得させるd myself that I had got rid of him I passed out into the street again and made my way as quickly as possible 支援する to my abode.
But I was not to lose my mysterious pursuer after all, for just as I was entering my own 構内／化合物 he put in an 外見. Seeing that I had the advantage I ran up the steps of the verandah and went inside. From a window I watched him come up the street and stand looking about him. Then he returned by the way he had come, and, for the time 存在, that was the last I saw of him. In いっそう少なく than a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour I was in bed and asleep, dreaming of Nikola, and imagining that I was 存在 turned into an elephant by his uncanny 力／強力にするs.
How long I remained snoozing I cannot say, but I was suddenly awakened by the feeling that somebody was in my room. Nor was I mistaken. A man was sitting by my 病人の枕元, and in the 薄暗い moonlight I could see that he was a Chinaman.
"What are you doing here?" I cried, sitting up in bed.
"Be silent!" my 訪問者 whispered in Chinese. "If you speak it will cost you your life."
Without another word I thrust my 手渡す under the pillow ーするつもりであるing to produce the revolver I had placed there when I went to bed. But it was gone. Whether my 訪問者 had stolen it or I had imagined that I had put it there and forgotten to do so, it was beyond my 力／強力にするs to tell. At any 率 the 武器, upon which it would seem my life depended, was gone.
"What is your 商売／仕事 with me?" I asked, 解決するd to bring my 訪問者 to his bearings without loss of time.
"Not so loud," he answered. "I am sent by Dr. Nikola to request your honourable presence. He 願望（する）s that you will come to him without a moment's 延期する."
"But I've only just left him," I said. "Why does he send for me again?"
"I cannot say, but it is possible that something important has occurred," was the man's answer. "He bade me tell you to come at once."
With that I got up and dressed myself as quickly as possible. It was evident that the 推定する／予想するd messenger from Pekin had arrived, and in that 事例／患者 we should probably be setting off for the 資本／首都 before morning. At any 率 I did not waste a moment, and as soon as I was ready went out into the verandah, where the man who had come to fetch me was sitting. He led me across the 構内／化合物 into the street and pointed to a 議長，司会を務める which with its 持参人払いのs was in waiting for me.
"Your friend is in a hurry," said the man who had called me, by way of explanation, "and he bade me not lose a moment."
"In that 事例／患者 you may go along as hard as you like," I answered; "I am やめる ready."
I took my place in the 議長，司会を務める, which was すぐに 解除するd by the 持参人払いのs, and within a minute of my leaving the house we were 訴訟／進行 負かす／撃墜する the street at a comparatively 急速な／放蕩な pace. At that hour the town was very 静かな; indeed, with the exception of an 時折の Sikh policeman and a belated 'rickshaw coolie or two, we met no one. At the end of a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour it was evident that we had arrived at our 目的地, for the 議長，司会を務める （機の）カム to a 行き詰まり and the 持参人払いのs 始める，決める me 負かす／撃墜する. I sprang out and looked about me. To my surprise, however, it was not the house I 推定する／予想するd to see that I 設立する before me. We had pulled up at the 入り口 to a much larger bungalow, standing in a 構内／化合物 of fair size. While I waited my messenger went into the house, to presently return with the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） that, if I would be pleased to follow him, Dr. Nikola would see me at once.
The house was in total 不明瞭 and as silent as the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な. I passed into the main hall, and was about to proceed 負かす／撃墜する it に向かって a door at the その上の end, when I was, without 警告, caught by the 支援する of the neck, a gag of some sort was placed in my mouth, and my 手渡すs were securely fastened behind me. Next moment I was 解除するd into the 空気／公表する and borne into a room whence a 有望な light suddenly streamed 前へ／外へ. Here three Chinamen were seated, 覆う？ in 激しい 人物／姿／数字d silk, and wearing enormous tortoiseshell spectacles upon their noses. They received me with a grunt of welcome, and bade my captors 除去する the gag from my mouth. This done the 年上の of the trio said 静かに—but it seemed to me somewhat inconsequently:
"We hope that your honourable self is enjoying good health?"
I answered, with as much calmness as I could かもしれない assume at so short a notice, that, "For such an utterly insignificant personage I was in the enjoyment of the best of health." その結果 I was requested to say how it （機の）カム about that I was now in 中国, and what my 商売／仕事 there might be. When I had answered this the man on the 権利 leant a little 今後 and said:
"You are not telling us the honourable truth. What 商売／仕事 have you with Dr. Nikola?"
I 召喚するd all my wits to my 援助.
"Who is Dr. Nikola?" I asked.
"The person whom you have visited two nights in succession," said the man who had first spoken. "Tell us what mischief you and he are ハッチング together."
Seeing that it would be useless 試みる／企てるing to 否定する my 協会 with Nikola I insinuated that we were 利益／興味d in the 購入（する） of Chinese silk together, but this 主張 was received with a scornful grunt of 不賛成.
"We must have the truth," said the man in the biggest spectacles.
"I can tell you no more," I answered.
"In that 事例／患者 we have no 選択," he said, "but to 抽出する the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） by other means."
With that he made a 調印する to one of the attendants, who すぐに left the room, to return a few moments later with a roll of chain, and some oddly-形態／調整d 木造の 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業s. A 激しい sweat rose upon my forehead. I had seen a good 取引，協定 of Chinese 拷問 in my time, and now it looked as if I were about to have a taste of it.
"What do you know of Dr. Nikola?" repeated the man who had first spoken, and who was evidently the 主要な／長／主犯 of the trio.
"I have already told you," I repeated, this time with unusual 強調.
Again he asked the same question without change of トン.
But I only repeated my previous answer.
"For the last time, what do you know of Dr. Nikola?"
"I have told you," I answered, my heart 沈むing like lead. Thereupon he raised his 手渡す a little and made a 調印する to the men 近づく the door. 即時に I was caught and thrown on my 支援する upon the 床に打ち倒す. Before I could expostulate or struggle a curious 木造の collar was clasped 一連の会議、交渉／完成する my neck, and a screw was turned in it until another 革命 would have choked me. Once more I heard the old man say monotonously.
"What do you know of Dr. Nikola?"
I tried to repeat my former 主張, but 借りがあるing to the tightness of the collar I 設立する a difficulty in speaking. Then the man in the centre rose and （機の）カム over to where I lay; 即時に the collar was relaxed, my 武器 were 解放（する）d, and a 発言する／表明する said:
"Get up, Mr. Bruce. You need have no その上の 恐れる; we shall not 傷つける you."
It was Dr. Nikola!
I COULD scarcely believe the 証拠 of my senses. Nikola's disguise was so perfect that it would have 要求するd almost superhuman cleverness to 侵入する it. In every particular he was a true Celestial. His accent was without a 欠陥, his deportment 正確に／まさに what that of a Chinaman of high 階級 would be, while his general demeanour and manner of 支えるing his assumed character could not have been 設立する fault with by the most fastidious critic. I felt that if he could so easily hoodwink me there could be little 疑問 that he would pass 召集（する） under いっそう少なく exacting scrutiny. So as soon as I was 解放（する）d I sprang to my feet and 温かく congratulated him, not a little relieved, you may be sure, to find that I was with friends, and was not to be 拷問d, as I had at first supposed.
"You must 許す the rough 治療 to which you have been 支配するd," said Nikola. "But I 手配中の，お尋ね者 to 実験（する） you very 完全に. Now what do you think of my disguise?"
"It is perfect," I answered. "Considering your decided personality, I had no idea it could かもしれない be so good. But where are we?"
"In a bungalow I have taken for the time 存在," he replied. "And now let us get to 商売／仕事. The man whom you saw on my 権利 was Laohwan, the messenger whom I told you I 推定する／予想するd from Pekin. He arrived half an hour after you had left me this evening, gave me the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） I 手配中の，お尋ね者, and now I am ready to start as soon as you are."
"Let me go home and put one or two things together," I answered, "and then I'm your man."
"Certainly," said Nikola. "One of my servants shall …を伴って you to carry your 捕らえる、獲得する, and to bring you 支援する here as soon as your work is 完全にするd."
With that I 始める，決める off for my abode, followed by one of Nikola's boys. When we reached it I left him to wait for me outside, and let myself into my bedroom by the window. Having lit a candle, I 急いでd to put together the few little 半端物s and ends I wished to take with me on my 旅行. This finished I locked my trunks, wrote a letter to my landlord, enclosing the 量 I 借りがあるd him, and then another to Barkston, asking him to be good enough to send for, and take 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 of my trunks until I returned from a trip into the 内部の. This done I passed out of the house again, joined the boy who was waiting for me at the gate, and returned to the bungalow in which I had been so surprised by Nikola an hour or so before. It was long after midnight by the time I reached it, but I had no thought of 疲労，（軍の）雑役. The excitement of our 出発 妨げるd my thinking of aught else. We were 急落（する），激減（する）ing into an unknown life bristling with dangers, and though I did not 株 Nikola's belief as to the result we should 達成する, I had the 確かな knowledge that I should be 井戸／弁護士席 repaid for the 危険 I ran.
When I entered the house I 設立する my 雇用者 を待つing my coming in the room where I had been hoaxed that evening. He was still in Chinese dress, and once again as I looked at him I felt it difficult to believe that this portly, sedate-looking Chinaman could be the わずかな／ほっそりした European known to the world as Dr. Nikola.
"You have not been long, Mr. Bruce," he said, "and I am glad of it. Now if you will …を伴って me to the next room I will introduce you to your things. I have 購入（する）d for you everything that you can かもしれない 要求する, and as I am 井戸／弁護士席 熟知させるd with your 力／強力にする of disguise, I have no 恐れる at all as to the result."
On reaching the 隣接するing room I divested myself of my European habiliments, and 始める，決める to work to don those which were spread out for my 査察. Then with some mixture from a 瓶／封じ込める which I 設立する upon the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する, I stained my 直面する, neck, and 武器, after which my pigtail, which was made on a cleverly contrived scalp wig, was 大（公）使館員d, and a large pair of tortoiseshell glasses of a 類似の pattern to those worn by Nikola, were placed upon my nose. My feet were encased in sandals, a stiff 一連の会議、交渉／完成する hat of the ordinary Chinese pattern was placed upon my 長，率いる, and this, taken with my thickly-padded 式服 of yellow silk, gave me a most dignified 外見.
When Nikola returned to the room he 診察するd me carefully, and 表明するd himself as 高度に pleased with the result; indeed, when we 迎える／歓迎するd each other in the Chinese fashion and language he would have been a sharp man who could have （悪事，秘密などを）発見するd that we were not what we pretended to be.
"Now," said Nikola, "if you are ready we will 実験（する） the efficiency of our disguises. In half an hour's time there is a 会合 at the house of a man 指名するd Lo Ting. The folk we shall 会合，会う there are members of a secret society 目的（とする）ing at the 倒す of the Manchu 王朝. Laohwan has gone on ahead, and, 存在 a member of the society, will 報告（する）／憶測 to them the arrival of two distinguished merchants from the 内部の, who are also members. I have got the passwords, and I know the general idea of their 目的（とする）s, so, with your 許可, we will 始める，決める off at once. When we get there I will explain my 意向s more fully."
"But you are surely not going to …に出席する a 会合 of a secret society to-night?" I said, astonished at the coolness with which he 提案するd to run such a 危険. "Wouldn't it be wiser to wait until we are a little more accustomed to our dresses?"
"By no means," answered Nikola. "I consider this will be a very good 実験（する）. If we are （悪事，秘密などを）発見するd by the folk we shall see to-night we shall know where the fault lies, and we can 治療（薬） it before it is too late. Besides, there is to be a man 現在の who knows something of the inner working of the society, and from him I hope to derive some important （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） to help us on our way. Come along."
He passed into the passage and led the way through the house out into the 構内／化合物, where we 設立する a couple of 議長，司会を務めるs, with their attendant 苦力s, を待つing us. We stepped into them, and were presently 存在 borne in a sedate fashion 負かす／撃墜する the street.
In something under twenty minutes our 持参人払いのs stopped and 始める，決める us 負かす／撃墜する again; we alighted, and after the 苦力s had disappeared Nikola whispered that the password was "Liberty," and that as one said it it was necessary to place the fingers of the 権利 手渡す in the palm of the left. If I should be asked any questions I was to 信用 to my mother wit to answer them satisfactorily.
We approached the door, which was at the end of a small alley, and when we reached it I noticed that Nikola rapped upon it twice with a large （犯罪の）一味 he wore upon the first finger of his 権利 手渡す. In answer a small and peculiar sort of 取調べ／厳しく尋問する was opened, and a 発言する／表明する within said in Chinese:
"Who is it that 乱すs honest people at this unseemly hour?"
"Two merchants from Szechuen who have come to Shanghai in search of liberty," said my companion, 持つ／拘留するing up his 手渡すs in the manner 述べるd above.
すぐに the door was opened and I followed Nikola into the house. The passage was in 不明瞭 and terribly の近くに. As soon as we had entered, the 前線 gate was shut behind us, and we were told to walk straight 今後. A moment later another door at the その上の end opened, and a 有望な light streamed 前へ／外へ. Our conductor 調印するd to us to enter, and assuming an 空気／公表する of humility, and 倍のing our 手渡すs in the 定める／命ずるd fashion before us, we passed into a large apartment in which were seated かもしれない twenty men. Without 演説（する）／住所ing a word to one of them we crossed and took up our positions on a sort of divan at the その上の end. 麻薬を吸うs were 手渡すd to us, and for what must have been nearly five minutes we continued solemnly to puff out smoke, without a word 存在 uttered in the room. If I were to say that I felt at my 緩和する during this long silence it would hardly be the truth; but I flatter myself that, whatever my feelings may have been, I did not 許す a 調印する of my 当惑 to escape me. Then an 年輩の Chinaman, who sat a little to our 権利, and who was, without 疑問, the 長，指導者 person 現在の, turned to Nikola and questioned him as to his visit to Shanghai. Nikola answered slowly and 厳粛に, after the Celestial fashion, deprecating any idea of personal advantage, and 主張するing that it was only to have the honour of 説 he had been in Shanghai that he had come at all. When he had finished, the same question was 演説（する）／住所d to me. I answered in 類似の 条件, and then another silence fell upon us all. Indeed, it was not until we had been in the room nearly half an hour that any 試みる／企てる at 商売／仕事 was made. Then such a flow of gabble 続いて起こるd that I could scarcely make 長，率いる or tail of what I heard. Nikola was to the fore throughout. He invented 陰謀（を企てる）s for the 倒すing of 王朝s, each of which had a peculiar 長所 of its own; he theoretically assassinated at least a dozen persons in high places, and, what was more, 性質の／したい気がして of their 団体／死体s afterwards. To my thinking he out-heroded Herod in his zeal. One thing, however, was やめる 確かな , before he had been an hour in the place he was at the 長，率いる of 事件／事情／状勢s, and, had he so 願望（する）d, could have 得るd just what he 手配中の，お尋ね者 from those 現在の. I did my best to second his 成果／努力s, but my co-操作／手術 was やめる unnecessary. Three o'clock had passed before the 会合 broke up. Then one by one the members left the room, until only Laohwan, the old man who had first 演説（する）／住所d us, Nikola and myself remained in 占領／職業.
Then little by little, with infinite tact, Nikola led the conversation 一連の会議、交渉／完成する into the channel he 手配中の，お尋ね者. How he had learnt that the old man knew anything at all of the 事柄 was more than I could understand. But that he did know something, and that, with a little 説得／派閥, he might be induced to give us the 利益 of his knowledge, soon became evident.
"But these things are not for every one," he said, after a 簡潔な／要約する recital of the tales he had heard. "If my honourable friend will be guided by one who has had experience, he will not 捜し出す to 侵入する その上の."
"The sea of knowledge is for all who 願望（する） to swim in it," answered Nikola, puffing solemnly at his 麻薬を吸う. "I have heard these things before, and I would 納得させる myself of their truth. Can you help me to such 調査s? I ask in the 指名する of the Light of Heaven."
As he spoke he took from a pocket under his upper coat the small stick he had 得るd from Wetherell. The old man no sooner saw it than his whole demeanour changed; he knelt 謙虚に at Nikola's feet and implored his 容赦.
"If my lord had spoken before," he said tremblingly, "I would have answered truthfully. All that I have is my lord's, and I will 保留する nothing from him."
"I want nothing," said Nikola, "save what has been arranged. That I must have at once."
"My lord shall be obeyed," said the old man.
"It is 井戸／弁護士席," Nikola answered. "Let there be no 延期する, and 許す no word to pass your lips. Send it to this 演説（する）／住所, so that I may receive it at once."
He 手渡すd the other a card and then rose to go; five minutes later we were 支援する in our 各々の 議長，司会を務めるs 存在 borne 負かす／撃墜する the street again. When we reached the house from which we had started Nikola called me into the room where I had dressed.
"You have had an 適切な時期 now of seeing the 力／強力にする of that stick," he said. "It was Laohwan who discovered that the man was a member of the society. All that talk of 倒すing the Manchu 王朝 was 簡単に balderdash, partly real, but in a greater 手段 meant to deceive. Now if all goes 井戸／弁護士席 the old fellow will open the first gate to us, and then we shall be able to go ahead. Let us change our 着せる／賦与するs and get 支援する to my own house. If I mistake not we shall have to be off up the coast before breakfast-time."
With that we 始める，決める to work, and as soon as we were dressed in European habiliments, left the house and returned to the bungalow where I had first called upon Nikola. By this time day was breaking, and already a 動かす of life was discernible in the streets. Making our way into the house we proceeded direct to Nikola's 熟考する／考慮する, where his servants had 用意が出来ている a meal for us. We sat 負かす／撃墜する to it, and were in the 行為／法令／行動する of 落ちるing to work upon a 冷淡な pie, when a boy entered with the 告示 that a Chinaman was in the hall and 願望（する）d to speak with us. It was Laohwan.
"井戸／弁護士席," said Nikola, "what message does the old man send?"
In reply Loahwan, who I soon 設立する was not prodigal of speech, took from his sleeve a slip of paper on which were some words written in Chinese characters. Nikola ちらりと見ることd at them, and when he had mastered their 趣旨 手渡すd it across the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する to me. The message was as follows:
"In the house of Quong Sha, in the Street of a Hundred Tribulations, Tientsin."
That was all.
Nikola turned to Laohwan.
"At what time does the North 中国 boat sail?" he asked.
"At half-past six," answered Laohwan 敏速に.
Nikola looked at his watch, thought for a moment, and then said:
"Go on ahead. 調書をとる／予約する your passage and get 船内に as soon as you can; we will join her later. But remember: until we get to Tientsin you must 行為／法令／行動する as if you have never 始める，決める 注目する，もくろむs on either of us before."
Laohwan 屈服するd and left the room.
"At this point," said Nikola, 注ぐing himself out a cup of 黒人／ボイコット coffee, "the real adventure 開始するs. It is a ４半期/4分の1 to five now; we will take it 平易な for half an hour and then 始める，決める off to the harbour and get 船内に."
Accordingly, as soon as we had finished our meal, we seated ourselves in lounge 議長，司会を務めるs and lit cigars. For half an hour we discussed the events of the evening, 推測するd as to the 未来, and, 正確に／まさに as the clock struck a ４半期/4分の1-past five, rose to our feet again. Nikola rang a bell and his 主要な／長／主犯 boy entered.
"I am going away," said Nikola. "I don't know when I shall be 支援する. It may be a week, it may be a year. In the 合間 you will take care of this house; you will not let one thing be stolen; and if when I come 支援する I find a window broken or as much as a pin 行方不明の I'll saddle you with ten million devils. Mr. McAndrew will 支払う／賃金 your 給料 and look after you. If you want anything go to him. Do you understand?"
The boy nodded.
"That will do," said Nikola. "You can go."
As the servant left the room my curious friend gave a strange whistle. Next moment the 黒人／ボイコット cat （機の）カム trotting in, sprang on her master's 膝 and はうd up の上に his shoulder. Nikola looked at me and smiled.
"He will not forget me if I am away five years," he said. "What wife would be so constant?"
I laughed; the idea of Nikola and matrimony somehow did not 調和させる very 井戸／弁護士席. He 解除するd the cat 負かす／撃墜する and placed him on the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する.
"Apollyon," said he, with the only touch of 悔いる I saw him show throughout the trip, "we have to part for a year. Good-bye, old cat, good-bye."
Then having 一打／打撃d the animal gently once or twice he turned briskly to me.
"Come along," he said; "let us be off. Time 圧力（をかける）s."
The cat sat on the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する watching him and appearing to understand every word he uttered. Nikola 一打／打撃d its fur for the last time, and then walked out of the room. I followed at his heels and together we passed into the 構内／化合物. By this time the streets were （人が）群がるd. A new day had begun in Shanghai, and we had no difficulty in 得るing 'rickshaws.
"The Vectis Queen," said Nikola, as soon as we were seated. The 苦力s すぐに started off at a run, and in something under a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour we had reached the wharf 味方する of the Hwang-Pu River. The boat we were in search of lay 井戸／弁護士席 out in the stream, and for this 推論する／理由 it was necessary that we should 借り切る／憲章 a sampan to reach her.
Arriving on board we interviewed the purser, and, after we had paid our fares, were 行為／行うd to our cabins. The Vectis Queen, as all the East knows, is not a large steamer, and her accommodation is, 井戸／弁護士席, to say the least of it, 限られた／立憲的な. But at this particular time of year there were not a 広大な／多数の／重要な many people travelling, その結果 we were not overcrowded. As soon as I had arranged my baggage, I left my cabin and went on deck. Small is the world! Hardly had I stepped out of the companion-ladder before I was accosted by a man with whom I had been 井戸／弁護士席 熟知させるd on the Australian 沿岸の service, but whom I thought at the other end of the earth.
"Why, Wilfred Bruce!" he cried. "Who'd have thought of seeing you here!"
"Jim 負かす／撃墜するing!" I cried, not best pleased, as you may suppose, at seeing him. "How long have you been in 中国?"
"Getting on for a year," he answered, "I （機の）カム up with one of our boats, had a 列／漕ぐ／騒動 with the 船長／主将, and left her in Hong-Kong. After that I joined this line. But though I don't think much of the Chinkies, I am 公正に／かなり 井戸／弁護士席 満足させるd. You're looking pretty 井戸／弁護士席, old man; but it seems to me you've got precious sunburnt since I saw you last."
"It's the 影響 of too much rice," I said with a smile.
He laughed with the spontaneous gaiety of a man who is ready to be amused by anything, however simple, and then we walked up the deck together. As we turned to retrace our steps, Nikola 現れるd from the companion-hatch and joined us. I introduced 負かす／撃墜するing to him, and in five minutes you would have supposed them friends of years' standing. Before they had been together a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour Nikola had given him a prescription for prickly-heat, from which irritation 負かす／撃墜するing 苦しむd かなり, and as soon as this 証明するd successful, the young man's 感謝 and 賞賛 were boundless. By breakfast-time we were 井戸／弁護士席 負かす／撃墜する the river, and by midday Shanghai lay far behind us.
Throughout the voyage Nikola was in his best spirits; he joined in all the amusements, 組織するd innumerable sports and games, and was indefatigable in his exertions to amuse. And while I am on this 支配する, let me say that there was one thing which struck me as 存在 even more remarkable than anything else in the character of this 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の man, and that was his extreme fondness for children. There was one little boy in particular on board, a 少しの toddler scarcely four years old, with whom Nikola soon 設立するd himself on 条件 of intimacy; he would play with him for hours at a stretch, never tiring, and never for one moment 許すing his attention to wander from the 事柄 in 手渡す. I must own that when I saw them amusing themselves together under the 物陰／風下 of one of the boats on the promenade deck, on the hatchways, or beneath the awning aft, I could scarcely believe my 注目する，もくろむs. I had to ask myself if this man, whose entire 利益／興味 seemed to be centred on paper boats, and pigs 削減（する） out of orange peel, could be the same Nikola from whom Wetherell, ex-植民地の 長官 of New South むちの跡s, had fled in London as from a pestilence, and at the sight of whom Benwell, of the Chinese 歳入 Service, had excused himself, and 急ぐd out of the club in Shanghai. That, however, was just Nikola's character. If he were making a paper boat, cutting a pig out of orange peel, weaving a 陰謀（を企てる） 一連の会議、交渉／完成する a 政治家，政治屋, or endeavouring to steal the secret of an all-powerful society, he would give the 事柄 in 手渡す his whole attention, make himself master of every 詳細（に述べる）, and never leave it till he had 達成するd his 反対する, or had 満足させるd himself that it was useless for him to work at it any longer. In the latter 事例／患者 he would 減少（する） it without a second thought.
Throughout the voyage Laohwan, though we saw him 繰り返して, did not for a moment 許す it to be supposed that he knew us. He was 位置を示すd on the 今後 deck, and, as far as we could gather, spent his whole time playing fan-tan with half-a-dozen compatriots on the cover of the forehatch.
The voyage up the coast was not an exciting one, but at last, at sunset one evening, we reached Tientsin, which, as all the world knows, is a 条約 port 位置を示すd at the confluence of the Yu-売春婦, or Grand Canal, with the river Pei-売春婦. As soon as we （機の）カム と一緒に the jetty, we collected our baggage and went 岸に. Here another thing struck me. Nikola seemed to be 同様に known in this place as he was in Shanghai, and as soon as we arrived on the Bund called 'rickshaws, and the 苦力s 伝えるd us, without asking a question, to the 住居 of a 確かな Mr. Williams in the European 譲歩.
This 証明するd to be a house of modest size, built in the fashion usual in that part of the East. As we alighted from our 'rickshaws, a tall, 年輩の man, with a distinctly handsome cast of countenance, （機の）カム into the verandah to welcome us. Seeing Nikola, he for a moment appeared to be 打ち勝つ with surprise.
"Can it be possible that I see Dr. Nikola?" he cried.
"It is not only possible, but やめる 確かな that you do," said Nikola, who 調印するd to the coolie to 解除する his 捕らえる、獲得する out, and then went up the steps. "It is two years since I had the 楽しみ of seeing you, Mr. Williams, and now I look at you you don't seem to have changed much since we taught Mah Feng that lesson in ソウル."
"You have not forgotten that 商売／仕事 then, Dr. Nikola?"
"No more than Mah P'eng had when I saw him last in Singapore," my companion answered with a short laugh.
"And what can I do for you now?"
"I want you to let us 税金 your 歓待 for a few hours," said Nikola. "This is my friend, Mr. Bruce, with whom I am engaged on an important piece of work."
"I am delighted to make your 知識, sir," said Mr. Williams, and having shaken 手渡すs with me he 護衛するd us into the house.
Ten minutes later we were やめる at home in his 住居, and were waiting, myself impatiently, for a communication from Laohwan. And here I must 支払う／賃金 another 尊敬の印 to Nikola's 力／強力にするs of self-集中. Anxious as the time was, peculiar as was our position, he did not waste a moment in idle conjecture, but taking from his travelling 捕らえる、獲得する an abstruse work on chemistry, which was his invariable companion, settled himself 負かす／撃墜する to a 熟考する／考慮する of it; even when the messenger did come he did not stop at once, but continued the 計算／見積りs upon which he was engaged until they were finished, when he directed Laohwan to 知らせる him as to the 進歩 he had made.
"Your arrival," said the latter, "is 推定する／予想するd, and though I have not been to the place, I have learned that 準備s are 存在 made for your 歓迎会."
"In that 事例／患者 you had better 購入（する） ponies and have the men in 準備完了, for in all probability we shall leave for Pekin to-morrow morning."
"At what time will your Excellency visit the house?" asked Laohwan.
"Some time between half-past ten and eleven this evening," answered Nikola; and thereupon our trusty retainer left us.
At seven o'clock our evening meal was served, After it was finished I smoked a 麻薬を吸う in the verandah while Nikola went into a 隣人ing room for half an hour's earnest conversation with our host. When he returned he 知らせるd me that it was time for us to dress, and thereupon we went to our 各々の rooms and attired ourselves in our Chinese 衣装s. Having done this we let ourselves out by a 味方する door and 始める，決める off for the native city. It was fully half-past ten before we reached it, but for an infinity of 推論する／理由s we preferred to 許す those who were 推定する／予想するing us to wait rather than we should betray any 外見 of hurry.
Any one who has had experience of Tientsin will 耐える me out when I say that of all the dirty and pestilential 穴を開けるs this earth of ours 所有するs, there are very few to equal it, and scarcely one that can より勝る it. 狭くする, 不規律な streets, but little wider than an 普通の／平均（する） country 小道／航路 in England, run in and out, and 新たな展開 and twine in every 考えられる direction. 総計費 the second stories of the houses, decorated with 調印する-boards, streamers and 旗s, almost touch each other, so that even in the middle of the day a peculiar, 薄暗い, 宗教的な light 勝つ／広く一帯に広がるs. At night, as may be supposed, it is pitch dark. And both by day and night it smells abominably.
Arriving at the end of the street to which we had been directed, we left our conveyances, and proceeded for the 残りの人，物 of the distance on foot. Halfway 負かす／撃墜する this particular thoroughfare—which was a little wider, and certainly a degree more respectable than its 隣人s—we were met by Loahwan, who 行為／行うd us to the house of which we were in search.
In outward 外見 it was not unlike its fellows, was one story high, had large overhanging eaves, a sort of trellis-保護物，者d verandah, and a low, arched doorway. Upon this last our Chinese companion 強くたたくd with his 握りこぶし, and at the third repetition the door was opened. Laohwan said something in a low 発言する／表明する to the 管理人, who thereupon 認める us.
"There is but one sun," said the 後見人 of the gate 謙虚に.
"But there be many 星／主役にするs," said Nikola; その結果 the man led us as far as the second door in the passage. Arriving at this he muttered a few words. It was 即時に opened, and we stepped inside to find another man waiting for us, 持つ／拘留するing a queer-形態／調整d lamp in his 手渡す. Without 尋問 us he intimated that we should follow him, which we did, 負かす／撃墜する a long passage, to bring up finally at a curtained archway. 製図／抽選 the curtain aside, he bade us pass through, and then redrew it after us.
On the other 味方する of the arch we 設立する ourselves in a large room, the 床に打ち倒す, 塀で囲むs, and 天井 of which were made of some dark 支持を得ようと努めるd, probably teak. It was unfurnished save for a few scrolled 旗，新聞一面トップの大見出し／大々的に報道するs 一時停止するd at 正規の／正選手 intervals upon the 塀で囲むs, and a few cushions in a corner. When we entered it was untenanted, but we had not long to wait before our 孤独 was interrupted. I had turned to speak to Nikola, who was 診察するing a 旗，新聞一面トップの大見出し／大々的に報道する on the left 塀で囲む, when suddenly a 静かな footfall behind me attracted my attention. I wheeled quickly 一連の会議、交渉／完成する to find myself 直面するd by a Chinaman whose age could scarcely have been いっそう少なく than eighty years. His 直面する was wrinkled like a sun-乾燥した，日照りのd crab-apple, his hair was almost white, and he walked with a stick. One thing struck me as 特に curious about his 外見. Though the house in which we 設立する ourselves was by no means a small one, though it showed every 調印する of care, and in places even betokened the 所有／入手 of かなりの wealth on the part of its owner, this old man, who was undoubtedly the 主要な／長／主犯 personage in it, was 覆う？ in 衣料品s that 証拠d the deepest poverty. When he reached Nikola, whom he seemed to consider, as indeed did every one else, the 長，指導者 of our party, he 屈服するd low before him, and after the invariable compliments had been 交流d, said:
"Your Excellency has been anxiously 推定する／予想するd. All the 手はず／準備 for your 進歩 onward have been made this week past."
"I was 拘留するd in Tsan-Chu," said Nikola. "Now tell me what has been done?"
"News has been sent on to Pekin," said the old man, "and the 長，指導者 priest will を待つ you in the Llamaserai. I can tell you no more."
"I am 満足させるd. And now let us know what has been said about my coming."
"It is said that they who have chosen have chosen wisely."
"That is good," said Nikola. "Now leave us; I am tired and would be alone. I shall remain the night in this house and go onwards at daybreak to-morrow morning. See that I am not 乱すd."
The old man 保証するd Nikola that his wishes should be 尊敬（する）・点d, and having done so left the room. After he had gone Nikola drew me to the その上の end of the apartment and whispered hurriedly:
"I see it all now. Luck is playing into our 手渡すs. If I can only get 持つ／拘留する of the two men I want to carry this 商売／仕事 through, I'll have the society's secret or die in the 試みる／企てる. Listen to me. When we arrived to-night I learnt from Williams, who knows almost as much of the under life of 中国 as I do myself, that what I 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑うd has already taken place. In other words, after this long interval, there has been an 選挙 to fill the place of the man whom 中国 Pete killed in the Llamaserai to 得る 所有／入手 of that stick. The man chosen is the 長，指導者 priest of the Llama 寺 of Hankow, a most 宗教的な and 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の person. He is 推定する／予想するd in Pekin either this week or next. Misled by Laohwan, these people have mistaken me for him, and I mean that they shall continue in their error. If they find that we are hoodwinking them we are dead men that instant, but if they don't and we can keep this other man out of the way, we stand an excellent chance of getting from them all we want to know. It is a tremendous 危険, but as it is an 適切な時期 that might never come again, we must make the most of it. Now …に出席する carefully to me. It would never do for me to leave this place to-night, but it is most imperative that I should communicate with Williams. I must 令状 a letter to him, and you must take it. He must send two cablegrams first thing to-morrow morning."
So 説 he drew from a pocket inside his sleeve a small notebook, and, what seemed strangely incongruous, a 特許 American fountain pen. Seating himself upon the 床に打ち倒す he began to 令状. For nearly five minutes 完全にする silence 統治するd in the room, then he tore two or three leaves from the 調書をとる／予約する and 手渡すd them to me.
"Take these to Williams," he said. "He must find out where this other man is, without losing an instant, and communicate with the folk to whom I am cabling. Come what may they must catch him before he can get here, and then carry him out to sea. Once there he must not be 許すd to land again until you and I are 安全に 支援する in Shanghai."
"And who is Williams to cable to?"
"To two men in whom I have the greatest 信用／信任. One is 指名するd Eastover, and the other Prendergast. He will send them this message."
He 手渡すd me another slip of paper.
"To Prendergast and Eastover, care Gregson, Hong-Kong—
"Come Tientsin next boat. Don't 延期する a moment. When you arrive call on Williams.
"Nikola."
HAVING left the room in which Nikola had settled himself I 設立する the same doorkeeper who had 認める us to the house, and who now に先行するd and 勧めるd me into the street. Once there I discovered that the 条件 of the night had changed. When we had left Mr. Williams' 住居 it was 有望な starlight, now 黒人／ボイコット clouds covered the 直面する of the sky, and as I passed 負かす／撃墜する the street, in the direction of the English 譲歩, a 激しい peal of 雷鳴 rumbled 総計費. It was nearly eleven o'clock, and, as I could not help thinking, a curious 静かな lay upon the native city. There was an 空気／公表する of 抑えるd excitement about such Chinamen as I met that puzzled me, and when I （機の）カム upon knots of them at street corners, the 捨てるs of conversation I was able to overhear did not disabuse my mind of the notion that some 騒動 was in active 準備. However, I had not time to 支払う／賃金 much attention to them. I had to find Mr. Williams' house, give him the letter, and get 支援する to Nikola with as little 延期する as possible.
At last I reached the 譲歩, passed the 領事's house, and finally arrived at the bungalow of which I was in search.
A 有望な light shone from one of the windows, and に向かって it I directed my steps. On reaching it I discovered the owner of the house seated at a large （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する, 令状ing. I tapped softly upon the pane, その結果 he rose and （機の）カム に向かって me. That he did not 認める me was evident from his 歓迎会 of me.
"What do you want?" he asked in Chinese as he opened the window.
Bending a little 今後, so as to reach his ear, I whispered the に引き続いて 宣告，判決 into it: "I should like to ask your honourable presence one simple question."
"This is not the time to ask questions, however simple," he replied; "you must come 一連の会議、交渉／完成する in the morning."
"But the morning will be too late," I answered 真面目に. "I tell you by the spirit of your ancestors that what I have to say must be said to-night."
"Then come in, and for mercy's sake say it," he replied a little testily, and beckoned me into the room. I did as he 願望（する）d, and seated myself on the stool before him, covering my 手渡すs with my 広大な／多数の／重要な sleeves in the 正統派の fashion. Then, remembering the Chinese love of procrastination, I began to work the conversation in and out through さまざまな channels until I saw that his patience was 井戸／弁護士席-nigh exhausted. Still, however, he did not 認める me. Then leaning に向かって him I said:
"Is your Excellency aware that your house has been watched since sundown?"
"By whom, and for what 推論する／理由?" he 問い合わせd, looking, I thought, a little uncomfortable.
"By three men, and because of two strangers who arrived by the mail boat this afternoon."
"What strangers?" he 問い合わせd innocently. But I noticed that he looked at me rather more fixedly than before.
"The man whom we call 'The man with the Devil's 注目する，もくろむs '—but whom you call Nikola—and his companion."
I gave Nikola's 指名する as nearly as a Chinaman would be able to pronounce it, and then waited to see what he would say next. That he was disconcerted was plain enough, but that he did not wish to commit himself was also very evident. He endeavoured to temporize; but as this was not to my taste, I 明らかにする／漏らすd my 身元 by 説 in my natural 発言する／表明する and in English:
"It would seem that my disguise is a very good one, Mr. Williams."
He 星／主役にするd at me.
"Surely you are not Mr. Bruce?" he cried.
"I am," I answered; "and what's more, I am here on an important errand. I have brought you a letter from Nikola, which you must read and 行為／法令／行動する upon at once."
As I spoke I produced from a pocket in my sleeve the letter Nikola had given me and 手渡すd it to him. He sat 負かす／撃墜する again at the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する and perused it carefully. When he had finished, he read it over again, then a third time. Having got it by heart he went across the room to a 安全な in the corner. This he 打ち明けるd, and having opened a drawer, carefully placed the slip of paper in it. Then he （機の）カム 支援する and took up his old seat again. I noticed that his forehead was 契約d with thought, and that there was an 表現 of perplexity, and one might have almost said of 疑問, about his mouth. At last he spoke.
"I know you are in Nikola's 雇用, Mr. Bruce," he said, "but are you aware of the contents of this letter?"
"Does it 言及する to the man who is 推定する／予想するd in Pekin to （問題を）取り上げる the third stick in the society?"
"Yes," he answered slowly, stabbing at his blotting-pad with the point of a pen, "it does. It 言及するs to him very vitally."
"And now you are 回転するing in your mind the advisability of what Nikola says about 誘拐するing him, I suppose?"
"正確に／まさに. Can Nikola be aware, think you, that the man in question was 長，指導者 priest of one of the biggest Hankow 寺s?"
"I have no 疑問 that he is. But you say 'was.' Has the man then 辞職するd his 任命 ーするために embrace this new calling?"
"Certainly he has."
"井戸／弁護士席, in that 事例／患者 it seems to me that the difficulty is かなり 少なくなるd."
"In one direction, perhaps; but then it is 増加するd in another. If he is still a priest and we 誘拐する him, then we fight the 政府 and the Church. On the other 手渡す, if he is no longer a priest, and the slightest 疑惑 of what we are about to do 漏れるs out, then we shall have to fight a society which is ten times as powerful as any 政府 or 聖職者 in the world."
"You have Nikola's 指示／教授／教育s, I suppose?"
"Yes; and I 自白する I would rather を取り引きする the 政府 of 中国 and the millions of the society than disobey him in one 選び出す／独身 particular. But let me tell you this, Mr. Bruce, if Nikola is pig-長，率いるd enough to continue his 追求（する），探索（する） in the 直面する of this awful 不確定, I would not give a penny piece for either his life or that of the man who …を伴ってs him. Consider for one moment what I mean. This society into whose secrets he is so anxious to 侵入する—and how much better he will be when he has done so he alone knows—is without 疑問 the most powerful in the whole world. If rumour is to be believed, its 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） of members 越えるs twenty millions. It has 代表者／国会議員s in almost every town and village in the length and breadth of this 広大な／多数の／重要な land, to say nothing of Malaysia, Australia and America; its 支配するs are most exacting, and when you 反映する for one moment that our friend is going to impersonate one of the three leaders of this gigantic 軍隊, with chances of （犯罪，病気などの）発見 脅迫的な him at every turn, you will see for yourself what a foolhardy 請け負うing it is."
"I must own I agree with you, but still he is Nikola."
"Yes. In that you sum up everything. He is NIKOLA."
"Then what answer am I to take 支援する to him?"
"That I will proceed with the work at once. Stay. I will 令状 it 負かす／撃墜する, that there may be no possible mistake."
So 説 he wrote for a moment, and when his letter was 完全にするd 手渡すd it to me.
I rose to go.
"And with regard to these 電報電信s?" I said.
"I will 派遣（する） them myself the very moment the office is open," he answered. "I have given Nikola an 保証／確信 to that 影響 in my letter."
"We leave at daybreak for Pekin, so I will wish you good-bye now."
"You have no thought of turning 支援する, I suppose?"
"Not the very slightest."
"You're a 勇敢な man."
"I suppose I must be. But there is an old 説 that just 会合，会うs my 事例／患者."
"And that is?"
"'Needs must when——'"
"井戸／弁護士席, shall we say when Nikola——?"
"Yes. 'Needs must when Nikola 運動s.' Good-bye."
"Good-bye, and may good luck go with you."
I shook 手渡すs with him at the 前線 door, and then descended the steps and 始める，決める off on my return to the native city. As I left the street in which the bungalow stood a clock struck twelve. The clouds, which had been so 激しい when I 始める，決める out, had now drawn off the sky, and it was 有望な starlight once more.
As I entered the city proper my first impression was in 確定／確認 of my 初めの feeling that something out of the ありふれた was about to happen. Nor was I deceived. Hardly had I gone a hundred yards before a tumult of angry 発言する／表明するs broke upon my ear. The sound 増加するd in 容積／容量, and presently an excited 暴徒 注ぐd into the street along which I was making my way. Had it been possible I would have turned into a by-path and so escaped them, but now this was impossible. They had hemmed me in on every 味方する, and, whether I wished it or not, I was compelled to go with them.
For nearly half a mile they carried me on in this fashion, then, leaving the thoroughfare along which they had hitherto been passing, they turned はっきりと to the 権利 手渡す and brought up before a 穏健な-sized house standing at a corner. Wondering what it all might mean, I accosted a 青年 by my 味方する and questioned him. His answer was 簡潔な／要約する, but to the point:
"Kueidzu!" (devil), he cried, and 選ぶing up a 石／投石する 投げつけるd it through the nearest window.
The house, I soon discovered, was the 住居 of a missionary, who, I was relieved to hear, was absent from home. As I could see the 暴徒 was bent on 難破させるing his dwelling I left them to their work and proceeded on my way again. But though I did not know it, I had not done with adventure yet.
As I turned from the street, into another which ran at 権利 angles to it, I heard a shrill cry for help. I すぐに stopped and listened ーするために discover whence it had proceeded. I had not long to wait, however, for almost at the same instant it rang out again. This time it undoubtedly （機の）カム from a 小道／航路 on my 権利. Without a second's thought I 選ぶd up my heels and ran across to it. At first I could see nothing; then at the その上の end I made out three 人物／姿／数字s, and に向かって them I 急いでd. When I got there I 設立する that one was a girl, the second an old man, who was stretched upon the ground; both were English, but their 加害者 was an active young fellow of the coolie class. He was standing over the man's 団体／死体 脅迫的な the girl with a knife. My sandals made no noise upon the 石／投石するs, and as I （機の）カム up on the dark 味方する of the 小道／航路 neither of the trio noticed my presence until I was の近くに upon them. But swift as I was I was hardly quick enough, for just as I arrived the girl threw herself upon the man, who at the same instant raised his arm and 急落（する），激減（する）d his knife into her shoulder. It could not have 侵入するd very 深い, however, before my 握りこぶし was in his 直面する. He rolled over like a ninepin, and for a moment lay on the ground without moving. But he did not remain there very long. 回復するing his senses he sprang to his feet and bolted 負かす／撃墜する the street, yelling "Kueidzu! kueidzu!" at the 最高の，を越す of his 発言する／表明する, in the hope of bringing the 暴徒 to his 援助.
Before he was out of sight I was ひさまづくing by the 味方する of the girl upon the ground. She was unconscious. Her 直面する was deadly pale, and I saw that her left shoulder was soaked with 血. From 診察するing her I turned to the old man. He was a 罰金-looking old fellow, 公正に／かなり 井戸／弁護士席 dressed, and 誇るing a venerable grey 耐えるd. He lay stretched out at 十分な length, and one ちらりと見ること at his 直面する was 十分な to tell me his 運命／宿命. How it had been 原因（となる）d I could only imagine, but there was no 疑問 about the fact that he was dead. When I had 納得させるd myself of this I returned to the girl. Her 注目する，もくろむs were now open, and as I knelt beside her she asked in English what had happened.
"You have been 負傷させるd," I answered.
"And my father?"
There was nothing to be 伸び（る）d by deceiving her, so I said 簡単に:
"I have sad news for you—I 恐れる he is dead."
Upon 審理，公聴会 this she uttered a little cry, and for a moment seemed to lose consciousness again. I did not, however, wait to 生き返らせる her, but went across to where her father lay, and 選ぶing the 団体／死体 up in my 武器, carried it across the street to a dark corner. Having placed it there, I returned to the girl, and 解除するing her on to my shoulder ran 負かす／撃墜する the street in the direction I had come. In the distance I could hear the noise of the 暴徒, who were still engaged 難破させるing the 殺人d man's dwelling.
Arriving at the 位置／汚点／見つけ出す where I had stood when I first heard the cry for help, I 選ぶd up my old course and proceeded along it to my 目的地. In something いっそう少なく than ten minutes I had reached the house and knocked, in the way Laohwan had done, upon the door, which was すぐに opened to me. I gave the password, and was 認める with my 重荷（を負わせる）. If the custodian of the door thought anything, he did not give utterance to it, and permitted me to reach the second door unmolested.
Again I knocked, and once more the door was opened. But this time I was not to be 許すd to pass unchallenged. Though I had given the password 正確に, the door-keeper bade me wait while he scrutinized the 重荷（を負わせる） in my 武器.
"What have you here?" he asked.
"Have you the 権利 to ask?" I said, assuming a haughty 空気／公表する. "His Excellency has sent for this foreign devil to question her. She has fainted with fright. Now stand aside, or there are those who will make you 支払う／賃金 for stopping me."
He looked a trifle disconcerted, and after a moment's hesitation 調印するd to me to pass. I took him at his word, and proceeded into the room where I had left my 長，指導者. That Nikola was 熱望して 推定する／予想するing me I gathered from the 楽しみ my 外見 seemed to give him.
"You are late," he cried, coming quickly across to me. "I have been 推定する／予想するing you this hour past. But what on earth have you got there?"
"A girl," I answered, "the daughter of a missionary, I believe. She has been 負傷させるd, and even now is unconscious. If I had not discovered her she would have been killed by the man who 殺人d her father."
"But what on earth made you bring her here?"
"What else could I do? Her father is dead, and I believe the 暴徒 has 難破させるd their house."
"Put her 負かす／撃墜する," said Nikola, "and let me look at her."
I did as he bade me, and thereupon he 始める，決める to work to 診察する her 負傷させる. With a deftness 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の, and a tenderness of which one would scarcely have believed him 有能な, he bathed the 負傷させる with water, which I procured from an 隣接するing room, then, having anointed it with some stuff from a small 薬／医学 chest he always carried about with him, he bound it up with a piece of Chinese cloth. Having finished he said:
"解除する her up while I try the 影響 of this upon her."
From the chest he took a small 削減（する）-glass 瓶／封じ込める, 形態／調整d something like that used by European ladies for carrying smelling-salts, and having opened her mouth 注ぐd a few 減少（する）s of what it 含む／封じ込めるd upon her tongue. Almost 即時に she opened her 注目する，もくろむs, looked about her, and seeing, as she supposed, two Chinamen bending over her, fell 支援する with an 表現 of abject terror on her 直面する. But Nikola, who was still ひさまづくing beside her, 安心させるd her, 説 in English:
"You need have no 恐れる. You are in 安全な 手渡すs. We will 保護する you, come what may."
His speech seemed to 解任する what had happened to her remembrance.
"Oh, my poor father!" she cried. "What have you done with him?"
"To save your life," I answered, "I was compelled to leave his 団体／死体 in the street where I had 設立する it; but it is やめる 安全な."
"I must go and get it," she said. And as she spoke she tried to rise, but Nikola put out his 手渡す and stopped her.
"You must not move," he said. "Leave everything to me. I will take care that your father's 団体／死体 is 設立する and 保護するd."
"But I must go home."
"My poor girl," said Nikola tenderly, "you do not know everything. You have no home to go to. It was 難破させるd by the 暴徒 this evening."
"Oh dear! oh dear! Then what is to become of me? They have killed my father and 難破させるd our house! And we 信用d them so."
Without discussing this point Nikola rose and left the room. Presently he returned, and again approached the girl.
"I have sent men to find your father's 団体／死体," he said. "It will be 伝えるd to a 安全な place, and within half an hour the English 領事 will be on the 追跡する of his 殺害者. Now tell me how it all occurred."
"I will tell you what I can," she answered. "But it seems so little to have brought about so terrible a result. My father and I left our home this evening at half-past seven to 持つ／拘留する a service in the little church our few 変えるs have built for us. During the course of the service it struck me 繰り返して that there was something wrong, and when we （機の）カム out and saw the （人が）群がる that had collected at the door this impression was 確認するd. Whether they ーするつもりであるd to attack us or not I cannot say, but just as we were leaving a shout was raised, and 即時に off the 暴徒 ran, I suppose in the direction of our house. I can see that now, though we did not 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う it then. 恐れるing to follow in the same direction, we passed 負かす／撃墜する a 味方する street, ーするつもりであるing to proceed home by another 大勝する. But as we left the main thoroughfare and turned into the dark 小道／航路 where you 設立する us, a man 急ぐd out upon my father, and with a 厚い stick, or a 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 of アイロンをかける, felled him to the ground. I endeavoured to 保護する him and to コースを変える his attention to myself, その結果 he drew a knife and stabbed me in the shoulder. Then you （機の）カム up and drove him off."
As she said this she placed her 手渡す upon my arm.
"I cannot tell you how 感謝する I am to you," she said.
"It was a very small service," I answered, feeling a little 混乱させるd by her 活動／戦闘. "I only wished I had arrived upon the scene earlier."
"Whatever am I to do?"
"Have you any friends in Tientsin?" 問い合わせd Nikola. "Any one to whom you can go?"
"No, we know no one at all," the girl replied. "But I have a sister in Pekin, the wife of a missionary there. Could you help me to get so far?"
"Though I cannot take you myself," said Nikola, "if you like I will put you in the way of getting there. In the 合間 you must not remain in this house. Do not be alarmed, however; I will see that you are 適切に taken care of."
Again he left the room, and while he was gone I looked more closely at the girl whom I had 救助（する）d. Her age might have been anything from twenty to twenty-three, her 直面する was a perfect oval in 形態／調整, her 肌 was the most delicate I had ever seen, her mouth was small, and her 注目する，もくろむs and hair were a beautiful shade of brown. But it was her 甘い 表現 which was the 長，指導者 charm of her 直面する, and this was 運命にあるd to haunt me for many a long day to come.
I don't think I can be said to be a ladies' man (somehow or another I have never been thrown much into feminine society), but I must 自白する when I looked into this girl's 甘い 直面する, a thrill, such as I had never experienced before, passed over me.
"How can I ever thank you for your goodness?" she asked 簡単に.
"By 耐えるing your terrible trouble bravely," I answered. "And now, will you consider me impertinent if I ask your 指名する?"
"Why should I? My 指名する is Medwin—Gladys Mary Medwin. And yours?"
"It せねばならない be Mah Poo in this dress, oughtn't it? In reality it is Wilfred Bruce."
"But if you are an Englishman why are you disguised in this fashion?"
"That, I am sorry to say, I cannot tell you," I answered. "Do you know, 行方不明になる Medwin, it is just possible that you may be the last Englishwoman I shall ever speak to in my life?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Again I can only say that I cannot tell you. But I may say this much, that I am going away in a few hours' time to 請け負う something which, more probably than not, will cost me my life. I don't know why I should say this to you, but one cannot be prosaic at such moments as these. Besides, though our 知識 is only an hour or so old, I seem to have known you for years. You say I have done you a service; will you do one for me?"
"What can I do?" she asked, placing her little 手渡す upon my arm.
"This （犯罪の）一味," I said, at the same time 製図／抽選 a plain gold circlet from my finger, "was my poor mother's last gift to me. I dare not take it with me where I am going. Would it be too much to ask you to keep it for me? In the event of my not returning, you might 約束 me to wear it as a little memento of the service you say I have done you to-night. It would be pleasant to think that I have one woman friend in the world."
As I spoke I raised the 手渡す that lay upon my arm, and, 持つ／拘留するing it in 地雷, placed the （犯罪の）一味 upon her finger.
"I will keep it for you with 楽しみ," she said. "But is this work upon which you are 乗る，着手するing really so dangerous?"
"More so than you can imagine," I replied. "But be sure of this, 行方不明になる Medwin, if I do come out of it alive, I will find you out and （人命などを）奪う，主張する that （犯罪の）一味."
"I will remember," she answered, and just as she had finished speaking Nikola re-entered the room.
"My dear young lady," he said hurriedly, "I have made 手はず／準備 for your 安全な 行為／行う to the house of a personal friend, who will do all he can for you while you remain in Tientsin. Then as soon as you can leave this place he will have you 護衛するd carefully to your sister in Pekin. Now I think you had better be going. A conveyance is at the door, and my friend will be waiting to receive you. Mr. Bruce, will you 行為／行う 行方不明になる Medwin to the street?"
"You are very good to me."
"Not at all. You will amply 補償する me if you will 認める me one favour in return."
"How can I serve you?"
"By never referring in any way to the fact of your having met us. When I tell you that our lives will in a 広大な／多数の／重要な 手段 depend upon your reticence, I feel sure you will 従う with my request."
"Not a word shall escape my lips."
Nikola 屈服するd, and then almost 突然の turned on his heel and walked away. Seeing that his 活動／戦闘 was meant as a signal that she should 出発／死, I led the way 負かす／撃墜する the passage into the street, where a 議長，司会を務める was in waiting. Having placed her in it, I bade her good-bye in a whisper.
"Good-bye," I said. "If ever I return alive I will 問い合わせ for you at the house to which you are now going,"
"Good-bye, and may God 保護する you!"
She took my 手渡す in hers, and next moment I felt something placed in the palm. Then I withdrew it; the 苦力s took up the 政治家s, and presently the equipage was moving 負かす／撃墜する the street.
I waited until it was out of sight, and then went 支援する into the house, where I 設立する Nikola pacing up and 負かす／撃墜する the room, his 手渡すs behind his 支援する and his 長，率いる 屈服するd low upon his breast. He looked up at me, and, without referring to what had happened, said quickly;
"The ponies will be at the door in an hour's time. If you want any 残り／休憩（する） you had better take it now. I am going to have an interview with the old man we saw to-night. I want to try and worm some more （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） for our 指導／手引 out of him. Don't leave this room until my return, and, above all, remember in your 未来 取引 with me that I am a 長，指導者 priest, and as such am する権利を与えるd to the deepest reverence. Always 耐える in mind the fact that one little mistake may upset all our 計画（する）s, and may land both our 長，率いるs on the 最高の，を越す of the nearest city gate."
"I will remember," I said. And he thereupon left the room.
When he had gone I put my 手渡す into my pocket and drew out the little keepsake 行方不明になる Medwin had given me. It 証明するd to be a small but curiously chased locket, but, to my 悲しみ, 含む／封じ込めるd no photograph. She had evidently worn it 一連の会議、交渉／完成する her neck, for a small piece of faded 略章 was still 大（公）使館員d to it. I looked at it for a moment, and then slipped the 略章 一連の会議、交渉／完成する my own neck, for so only could I hope to 妨げる its 存在 stolen from me. Then I laid myself 負かす／撃墜する upon a mat in a corner, and in いっそう少なく time than it takes to tell fell 急速な／放蕩な asleep. When I woke it was to find Nikola shaking me by the shoulder.
"Time's up," he said. "The ponies are at the door, and we must be off."
I had hardly collected my faculties and 緊急発進するd to my feet before the old man whom I had seen on the previous evening entered the room, bringing with him a meal, consisting principally of rice and small coarse cakes made of maize. We fell to work upon them, and soon had them finished, washing them 負かす／撃墜する with cups of excellent tea.
Our meal at an end, Nikola led the old man aside and said something to him in an undertone, 強調するing his 発言／述べるs with solemn gestures. Then, with the whole retinue of the house at our heels to do us honour, we proceeded into the 中庭, where Laohwan was in waiting with five ponies. Two were laden with baggage, upon one of the others Nikola seated himself, I appropriated the second, Laohwan taking the third. Then, まっただ中に the respectful 迎える／歓迎するing of the 世帯, the gates were opened, and we 棒 into the street. We had now 乗る，着手するd upon another 行う／開催する／段階 of our adventures.
AS we left the last house of the native city of Tientsin behind us the sun was in the 行為／法令／行動する of rising. Whatever the others may have felt I cannot say, but this I know, that there was at least one person in the party who was heartily glad to have said good-bye to the town. Though we had only been in it a short time we had passed through such a 一連の excitements during that 簡潔な／要約する period as would have served to disgust even such a glutton as Don Quixote himself with an adventurous life.
For the first two or three miles our 大勝する lay over a 乾燥した，日照りの mud plain, where the dust, which seemed to be おもに composed of small pebbles, was driven about our ears like あられ／賞賛する by the 夜明け 勝利，勝つd. We 棒 in silence. Nikola, by virtue of his pretended 階級, was some yards ahead, I followed next; Laohwan （機の）カム behind me, and the baggage ponies and the Mafoos (or native grooms) behind him again. I don't know what Nikola was thinking about, but I'm not ashamed to 自白する that my own thoughts 逆戻りするd continually to the girl whom I had been permitted the 適切な時期 of 救助（する）ing on the previous evening. Her pale 甘い 直面する never left me, but 独占するd my thoughts to the 除外 of everything else. Though I tried again and again to bring my mind to 耐える upon the 企業 on which we were 乗る，着手するing, it was of no use; on each occasion I （機の）カム 支援する to the consideration of a pair of dark 注目する，もくろむs and a wealth of nut-brown hair. That I should ever 会合，会う 行方不明になる Medwin again seemed most ありそうもない; that I 手配中の，お尋ね者 to I will not 否定する; and while I am about it I will even go so far as to 自白する that, not once but several times, I 設立する myself wishing, for the self-same 推論する／理由, that I had thought twice before 受託するing Nikola's 申し込む／申し出. One moment's reflection, however, was 十分な to show me that had I not fallen in with Nikola I should in all probability not only have never known her at all, but, what was more to the point, I should most likely have been in a position where love-making would not only have been foolish, but indeed やめる out of the question.
When we had proceeded something like five miles Nikola turned in his saddle and beckoned me to his 味方する.
"By this time," he said, "Prendergast and Eastover will have received the 電報電信s I requested Williams to 派遣（する） to them. They will not lose a moment in getting on their way, and by the middle of next week they should have the priest of Hankow in their 手渡すs. It will take another three days for them to 知らせる us of the fact, which will mean that we shall have to wait at least ten days in Pekin before 現在のing ourselves at the Llamaserai. This 存在 so, we will put up at a house which has been recommended to me in the Tartar city. I shall let it be understood there that I am anxious to 請け負う a week's 祈り and 急速な／放蕩なing ーするために fit myself for the 責任／義務s I am about to take upon me, and that during that time I can see no one. By the end of the tenth day, I should have heard from Prendergast and know enough to 侵入する into the very 中央 of the 修道士s. After that it should be all plain sailing."
"But do you think your men will be able to 誘拐する this 井戸／弁護士席-known priest without incurring 疑惑?"
"They will have to," answered Nikola. "If they don't we shall have to 支払う／賃金 the 刑罰，罰則. But there, you need have no sort of 恐れる. I have the most perfect 約束 in the men. They have been 井戸／弁護士席 tried, and I am sure of this, if I were to tell either of them to do anything, however dangerous the 仕事 might be, they would not think twice before obeying me. By the way, Bruce, I don't know that you are looking altogether 井戸／弁護士席."
"I don't feel やめる the thing," I answered; "my 長，率いる aches consumedly, but I don't 疑問 it will soon pass off."
"井戸／弁護士席, let us 押し進める on. We must reach the 残り／休憩（する）-house to-night, and to do that we have got a forty-mile ride ahead of us."
It is a 井戸／弁護士席-known fact that though Chinese ponies do not 現在の very picturesque outward 外見s, there are few animals living that can equal them in pluck and endurance. Our whole cavalcade, harness and pack-saddles 含むd, might have been 購入（する）d for a twenty-続けざまに猛撃する 公式文書，認める; but I very much 疑問 if the most 高くつく／犠牲の大きい animals to be seen in Rotten 列／漕ぐ／騒動, on an afternoon in the season, could have carried us half so 井戸／弁護士席 as those shaggy little beasts, which stood but little more than thirteen 手渡すs.
In spite of the fact that we （軍の）野営地，陣営d for a couple of hours in the middle of the day, we were at the 残り／休憩（する）-house, half-way to Pekin, before sundown. And a wretched place it 証明するd—a veritable Chinese inn, with small 明らかにする rooms, やめる unfurnished, and surrounded by a number of 平等に inhospitable stables.
As soon as we arrived we dismounted and entered the building, on the threshold of which the boorish Chinese landlord received us. His personality was in keeping with his house; but 観察するing that we were strangers of importance he condescended to 出発／死 so far from his usual custom as to show us at least the outward 調印するs of civility. So we chose our rooms and ordered a meal to be 即時に 用意が出来ている. Our 一面に覆う／毛布s were unpacked and spread upon the 床に打ち倒す of our bedrooms, and almost as soon as this was done the meal was 発表するd as ready.
It consisted, we discovered, of half a dozen almost raw eggs, two 堅い fowls, and a curiously cooked mess of pork. The latter dish, as every one knows who has had anything to do with the Celestial Empire, is one of the 中心的要素 diets of all but Mohammedan Chinamen.
群れているs of beggars, loathsome to a degree, infested the place, begging and whining for any trifle, however insignificant. They はうd about the 中庭s and verandahs, and at last became so emboldened by success that they 投機・賭けるd to 侵入する our rooms. This was too much of a good thing, and I saw that Nikola thought so too.
When one beggar, more impertinent than the 残り／休憩（する）, 現在のd himself before us, after having been 警告するd 繰り返して, Nikola called Laohwan to him and bade him take the fellow outside and, with the 援助 of two 苦力s, 扱う／治療する him to a supper of bamboo. Any one who has seen this peculiar 罰 will never forget it; and at last the man's cries for mercy became so appalling as to 令状 my 訴訟／進行 to the 中庭 and bidding them let him go.
After I returned to my room, which 隣接するd that 占領するd by Nikola, we sat talking for nearly an hour, and then retired to 残り／休憩（する）.
But though I disrobed myself of my Chinese 衣料品s, and stretched myself out upon the 一面に覆う／毛布s, sleep would not visit my eyelids. かもしれない I was a little feverish; at any 率 I began to imagine all sorts of horrible things. Strange thoughts （人が）群がるd upon my brain, and the most uncanny sounds spoke from the silence of the night. Little noises from afar concentrated themselves until they seemed to fill my room. A footfall in the street would echo against the 塀で囲む with a mysterious distinctness, and the sound of a dog barking in a 隣人ing 構内／化合物 was 強めるd till it might have been the barking of a dozen. So 完全に did this nervousness 所有する me that I soon 設立する myself discovering a danger in even the creaking of the boards in an 隣接するing room, and the chirrup of an insect in the roof.
How long I remained in this 明言する／公表する I cannot say. But at last I could 耐える it no longer. I rose therefore from my bed and was about to pace the room, in the hope of tiring myself into sleeping, when the sound of a stealthy footstep in the 回廊（地帯） outside caught my ears. I stood rooted to the 位置／汚点／見つけ出す, trying to listen, with every pulse in my 団体／死体 pumping like a piston 棒. Again it sounded, but this time it was nearer my door. There was a 際立った difference, however; it was no longer a human step, as we are accustomed to hear it, but an equalized and 激しい shuffling sound that for a moment rather puzzled me. But my mystification was of scarcely an instant's duration. I had heard that sound before in the Manillas the same night that a man in my hotel was 殺人d. One second's reflection told me that it was made by some one 訴訟／進行 along the passage upon his 手渡すs and 膝s. But why was he doing it? Then I remembered that the 塀で囲む on the other 味方する of the 回廊（地帯） was only a foot or two high. The 侵入者, whoever he might be, evidently did not wish to be seen by the occupants of the rooms across the square. I drew 支援する into a corner, took a long 追跡（する）ing-knife that I always carried with me, from beneath my pillow, and を待つd the turn of events. Still the sound continued; but by this time it had passed my door, and as soon as I realized this, I crept に向かって the passage and looked out.
From where I stood I was permitted a 見解（をとる） of the 狭くする 回廊（地帯）, but it was empty. Instinct told me that the man had entered the room next to 地雷. Since I had first heard him he would not have had time to get any その上の. The 隣接するing apartment was Nikola's, and after the 疲労，（軍の）雑役 of the day it was ten chances to one he would be asleep. That the fellow's 使節団 was an evil one it did not 要求する much 侵入／浸透 to perceive. A man does not はう about lonely 回廊（地帯）s, when other men are asleep, on 手渡すs and 膝s, for any good 目的. Therefore, if I wished to save my 雇用者's life, I knew I must be quick about it.
A second later I had left my own room and was 急いでing up the passage after him. Reaching the doorway I stood irresolute, trying to discover by listening どの辺に in the room the man might be. It was not long before I heard a 激しい grunt, followed by a muttered ejaculation. Then I 急ぐd into the room, and across to where I knew Nikola had placed his bed. As I did so I （機の）カム in 接触する with a naked 団体／死体, and next moment we were both rolling and 宙返り／暴落するing upon the 床に打ち倒す.
It was a unique experience that fight in the dark. Over and over the man and I rolled, 粘着するing to each other and putting 前へ／外へ every possible exertion to 安全な・保証する a victory. Then I heard Nikola spring to his feet, and run に向かって the door. In 返答 to his cry there was an 即座の hubbub in the building, but before lights could reach us I had got the upper 手渡す and was seated across my 敵.
Laohwan was the first to put in an 外見, and he brought a たいまつ. Nikola took it from him and （機の）カム across to us. 調印 me to get off the man whom I was 持つ／拘留するing, toe bent 負かす／撃墜する and looked at him.
"売春婦, 売春婦!" he said 静かに. "This is not 押し込み強盗 then, but vengeance. So, you rogue, you 手配中の，お尋ね者 to 返す me for the （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域ing you got to-night, did you? It seems I have had a 狭くする escape."
It was as he said. The man whom I had caught was 非，不，無 other than the beggar whose persistence had earned him a （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域ing earlier in the evening.
"What will your Excellency be pleased to do with him?" asked Laohwan.
Nikola saw his 適切な時期. He told the man to stand up. Then looking him straight in the 注目する，もくろむs for perhaps a minute, he said 静かに:
"Open your mouth."
The man did as he was ordered.
"It is impossible for you to shut it again," said Nikola. "Try."
The poor wretch tried and tried in vain. His jaws were as securely fastened as if they had been screwed 最高の，を越す and 底（に届く）. He struggled with them, he tried to 圧力（をかける） them together, but in vain; they were 堅固に 直す／買収する，八百長をするd and 反抗するd him. In his terror he ran about the room, perspiration streaming from his 直面する, and all the time uttering strange cries.
"Come here!" said Nikola. "Stand before me. Now shut your mouth."
即時に the man の近くにd his mouth.
"Shut your 注目する，もくろむs."
The man did as he was ordered.
"You are blind and dumb; you cannot open either your 注目する，もくろむs or your mouth."
The man tried, but with the same result as before. His mouth and 注目する，もくろむs were 堅固に 調印（する）d. This time his terror was greater than any words could 表明する, and he fell at Nikola's feet imploring him in inarticulate grunts to spare him. The （人が）群がる who had clustered at the door stood watching this strange scene open-mouthed.
"Get up!" said Nikola to the 哀れな wretch at his feet. "Open your mouth and 注目する，もくろむs. You would have 殺人d me, but I have spared you. Try again what you have 試みる／企てるd to-night, and both sight and speech will be 即時に taken from you and never again 回復するd. Now go!"
The man did not wait to be bidden twice, but fled as if for his life, parting the （人が）群がる at the doorway just as the 屈服するs of a steamer turn away the water on either 味方する.
When only Laohwan remained, Nikola called him up.
"Are you aware," he said, "that but for my friend's vigilance here I should now be a dead man? You sleep at the end of the passage, and it was your 義務 to have taken care that nobody passed you. But you failed in your 信用. Now what is your 罰 to be?"
In answer the man knelt 謙虚に at his master's feet.
"Answer my question! What is your 罰 to be?" the same remorseless 発言する／表明する repeated. "Am I never to place 信用 in you again?"
"By the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大なs of my ancestors I 断言する that I did not know that the man had passed me."
"That is no answer," said Nikola. "You have failed in your 義務, and that is a thing, as you know, I never 許す. But as you have been faithful in all else, I will not be too hard upon you. In an hour's time you will saddle your horse and go 支援する to Tientsin, where you will 捜し出す out Mr. Williams and tell him that you are unsatisfactory, and that I have sent you 支援する. You will remain with him till I communicate with you again. Fail to see him or to tell him what I have said, and you will be dead in two days. Do you understand me?"
Once more the man 屈服するd low.
"Then go!"
Without a word the fellow rose to his feet and went に向かって the door. In my own heart I felt sorry for him, and when he had left, I said as much to Nikola, at the same time 問い合わせing if he thought it 慎重な to make an enemy of a man who held our lives in his 手渡す.
"My friend," he answered, "there is a Hindu proverb which says, 'A servant who cannot be 信用d is as a broken lock upon the gateway of your house.' As to what you say about prudence, you need have no 恐れる. I have had many 取引 with Laohwan, and he knows me. He would rather die the death of a Thousand 削減（する）s than betray me. But while I am 非難するing him I am forgetting to do 司法（官） to you. One thing is very 確かな , but for your 介入 I should not be talking to you now. I 借りがある you my life. I can only ask you to believe that, if ever the chance occurs, you will not find me ungrateful."
"It was fortunate," I said, "that I heard him pass along the passage, さもなければ we might both have 死なせる／死ぬd."
"It was strange, after all the exertions of the day, that you should have been awake. I was sleeping like a 最高の，を越す. But let me look at you. Good heavens, man! I told you this morning you were looking ill. Give me your wrist."
He felt my pulse, then 星／主役にするd anxiously into my 直面する. After this he took a small 瓶／封じ込める from a travelling 薬／医学-chest, 注ぐd a few 減少（する）s of what it 含む／封じ込めるd into a glass, filled it up from a Chinese water-瓶／封じ込める 近づく by, and then bade me drink it. Having done so I was sent 支援する to bed, and within five minutes of arriving there was wrapped in a dreamless sleep.
When I woke it was 幅の広い daylight and nearly six o'clock. I felt かなり better than when I had gone to bed the previous night, but still I was by no means 井戸／弁護士席. What was the 事柄 with me, however, I could not tell.
At seven o'clock an 同等（の） for breakfast was served to us, and at half-past the ponies were saddled and we proceeded on our 旅行. As we left the inn I looked about to see if I could discover any 調印するs of poor Loahwan, but as he was not there I could only suppose he had 受託するd Nikola's 決定／判定勝ち（する） as final and had gone 支援する to Tientsin.
As usual Nikola 棒 on ahead, and it was not difficult to see that the story of his 治療 of his would-be 殺害者 had 漏れるd out. The awe with which he was regarded by the people with whom we （機の）カム in 接触する was most amusing to 証言，証人／目撃する. And you may be sure he fully 行為／法令／行動するd up to the character which had been given him.
After 停止（させる）ing as usual at midday we proceeded on our way until four o'clock, when a pleasurable sensation was in 蓄える／店 for us. Rising above the monotonous level of the plain were the 塀で囲むs of the 広大な／多数の／重要な city of Pekin. They seemed to stretch away as far as the 注目する，もくろむ could reach. As we approached them they grew more 課すing, and presently an enormous tower, built in the usual style of Chinese architecture, and pierced with innumerable 宙返り飛行-穴を開けるs for 大砲, appeared in sight. It was not until we were within a couple of hundred yards of it, however, that we discovered that these 宙返り飛行-穴を開けるs were only 偽造の, and that the whole tower was little more than a sham.
We entered the city by a gateway that would have been considered insignificant in a third-率 Afghan village, and, having paid the （死傷者）数s 需要・要求するd of us, wondered in which direction we had best proceed, ーするために find the lodgings to which our friend in Tientsin had directed us.
Having 圧力（をかける）d a smart-looking 青年 into our service as guide, we were 行為／行うd by a 一連の tortuous thoroughfares to a house in a mean ４半期/4分の1 of the city. By the time we reached it it was やめる dark, and it was only after much waiting and repeated knockings upon the door that we contrived to make those within aware of our presence. At last, however, the door opened and an enormously stout Chinaman stood before us.
"What do you want?" he asked of Nikola, who was nearest to him.
"That which only peace can give," said Nikola.
The man 屈服するd low.
"Your Excellency has been long 推定する／予想するd," he said.
"If you will be honourably pleased to step inside, all that my house 含む／封じ込めるs is yours."
We followed him through the dwelling into a room at the 後部. Then Nikola bade him call in the 長，指導者 Mafoo, and when he appeared, 発射する／解雇するd his account and bade him be gone."
"We are now in Pekin," said Nikola to me as soon as we were alone, "and it behooves us to play our cards with the 最大の care. Remember, as I have so often told you, I am a man of extreme sanctity, and I shall guide my life and 活動／戦闘s accordingly. There is, as you see, a room 主要な out of this. In it I shall （問題を）取り上げる my abode. You will 占領する this one. It must be your 商売／仕事 to 請け負う that no one sees me. And you must 許す it to be understood that I spend my time almost 排他的に in 熟考する／考慮する and upon my devotions. Every night when 不明瞭 落ちるs I shall go out and endeavour to collect the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） of which we stand in need. You will have 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 of the purse and must arrange our commissariat."
Half an hour later our evening meal was served, and when we had eaten it, 存在 tired, we went straight to bed. But I was not 運命にあるd to 証明する of much 援助 to my friend, for next morning when I woke my old sickness had returned upon me, my 肌 was 乾燥した，日照りの and 割れ目d, and my 長，率いる ached to distraction. I could eat no breakfast, and I could see that Nikola was growing more and more 関心d about my 条件.
After breakfast I went for a walk. But I could not rid myself of the heaviness which had 掴むd me, so returned to the house feeling more dead than alive. During the afternoon I lay 負かす／撃墜する upon my bed, and in a few minutes lost consciousness altogether.
IT was 幅の広い daylight when I 回復するd consciousness, the 日光 was streaming into my room, and birds were twittering in the trees outside. But though I sat up and looked about me I could make neither 長，率いる nor tail of my position; there was evidently something wrong about it. When I had fallen asleep, as I thought, my couch had been spread upon the 床に打ち倒す, and was composed of Chinese 構成要素s. Now I lay upon an ordinary English bedstead, 誇るing a spring mattress, sheets, 一面に覆う／毛布s, and even a counterpane. Moreover, the room itself was different. There was a carpet upon the 床に打ち倒す, and several pretty pictures hung upon the 塀で囲むs. I felt 確かな they had not been there when I was introduced to the apartment. 存在, however, too weak to 診察する these wonders for very long, I laid myself 負かす／撃墜する upon my pillow again and の近くにd my 注目する，もくろむs. In a few moments I was once more asleep and did not wake until に向かって evening.
When I did it was to discover some one sitting by the window reading. At first I looked at her—for it was a woman—without very much 利益／興味. She seemed part of a dream from which I should presently wake to find myself 支援する again in the Chinese house with Nikola. But I was to be disabused of this notion very speedily.
After a while the lady in the 議長，司会を務める put 負かす／撃墜する her 調書をとる／予約する, rose, and （機の）カム across to look at me. Then it was that I realized a most astounding fact; she was 非，不，無 other than 行方不明になる Medwin, the girl I had 救助（する）d in Tientsin! She touched my 手渡す with her soft fingers, to see if I were feverish, I suppose, and then 注ぐd into a 薬／医学-glass, which stood upon a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する by my 味方する, some doctor's physic. When she put it to my lips I drank it without 抗議する and looked up at her.
"Don't leave me, 行方不明になる Medwin," I said, half 推定する／予想するing that, now I was awake, she would 徐々に fade away and disappear from my sight altogether.
"I am not going to leave you," she answered; "but I am indeed rejoiced to see that you recognise me again."
"What is the 事柄 with me, and where am I?" I asked.
"You have been very ill," she answered, "but you are much better now. You are in my brother-in-法律's house in Pekin."
I was 完全に mystified.
"In your brother-in-法律's house," I repeated. "But how on earth did I get here? How long have I been here? and where is Nikola?"
"You have been here twelve days to-morrow," she answered; "you were taken ill in the city, and as you 要求するd careful nursing, your friend, Dr. Nikola, had you 伝えるd here. Where he is now I cannot tell you; we have only seen him once. For my own part I believe he has gone into the country, but in which direction, and when he will be 支援する, I am afraid I have no idea. Now you have talked やめる enough, you must try and go to sleep again."
I was too weak to disobey her, so I の近くにd my 注目する，もくろむs, and in a few minutes was in the land of Nod, once more.
Next day I was so much stronger that I was able to sit up and partake of more nourishing food, and, what was still more to my taste, I was able to have a longer conversation with my nurse. This did me more good than any doctor's physic, and at the end of half an hour I was a different man. The poor girl was still grieving for her father, and I noticed that the slightest 言及／関連 to Tientsin flooded her 注目する，もくろむs with 涙／ほころびs. From what I gathered later the 領事 had 行為／法令／行動するd 敏速に and energetically, with the result that the ringleaders of the 暴徒 which had 難破させるd the house had been 厳しく punished, while the man who had gone その上の and 殺人d the unfortunate missionary himself had paid the 刑罰，罰則 of his 罪，犯罪 with his life.
行方不明になる Medwin spoke in 深く心に感じた 条件 of the part I had played in the 悲劇の 事件／事情／状勢, and it was 平易な to see that she was also most 感謝する to Nikola for the way in which he had behaved に向かって her. 事実上の／代理 on his 雇用者's 指示／教授／教育s, Williams had taken her in and had at once communicated with the 領事. Then when Mr. Medwin had been buried in the English 共同墓地 and the 合法的な 商売／仕事 connected with his 殺人 was 完全にするd, 信頼できる servants had been 得るd, and she had 旅行d to Pekin in the greatest 慰安.
During the morning に引き続いて she brought me some beef-tea, and, while I was drinking it, sat 負かす／撃墜する beside my bed.
"I think you might get up for a little while this afternoon, Mr. Bruce," she said; "you seem so much stronger."
"I should like to," I answered. "I must do everything in my 力／強力にする to 回復する my strength. My illness has been a most unfortunate one, and I 推定する／予想する Nikola will be very impatient."
At this she looked a little mortified, I thought, and an instant later I saw what a stupid thing I had said.
"I am afraid you will think me ungrateful," I 急いでd to 発言／述べる; "but believe me I was looking at it from a very different 見地. I feel more 感謝 to you than I can ever 表明する. When I said my illness was unfortunate, I meant that at such a 批判的な period of our 事件／事情／状勢s my 存在 incapacitated from work was most inconvenient. You do not think that I am not 適切に sensible of your 親切, do you?"
As I spoke I assumed 所有／入手 of her 手渡す, which was hanging 負かす／撃墜する beside her 議長，司会を務める. She blushed a little and lowered her 注目する，もくろむs.
"I am very glad we were able to take you in," she answered. "I 保証する you my brother and sister were most anxious to do so, when they heard what a service you had （判決などを）下すd me. But, Mr. Bruce, I want to say something to you. You talk of this 批判的な position in your 事件／事情／状勢s. You told me in Tientsin that if you continued the work upon which you were 乗る，着手するing you 'might never come out of it alive.' Is it やめる 確かな that you must go on with it—that you must 危険 your life in this way?"
"I 悔いる to say it is. I have given my word and I cannot draw 支援する. If you only knew how hard it is for me to say this I don't think you would try to tempt me."
"But it seems to me so wicked to waste your life in this fashion."
"I have always wasted my life," I answered, rather 激しく. "行方不明になる Medwin, you don't know what a derelict I am. I wonder if you would think any the worse of me if I told you that when I took up this 事柄 upon which I am now engaged I was in abject destitution, and おもに through my own folly? I am afraid I am no good for anything but getting into 捨てるs and wriggling my way out of them again."
"I 推定する／予想する you hardly do yourself 司法（官）," she answered. "I cannot believe that you are as unfortunate as you say."
As she spoke there was a knock at the door, and in 返答 to my call "come in," a tall handsome man entered the room. He bore the unmistakable impress of a missionary, and might have been anything from thirty to forty years of age.
"井戸／弁護士席, Mr. Bruce," he said cheerily, as he （機の）カム over to the bed and held out his 手渡す, "I am glad to hear from my sister that you are 進歩ing so nicely. I should have come in to see you, but I have been away from home. You have had a sharp touch of fever, and, if you will 許す me to say so, I think you are a lucky man to have got over it so satisfactorily."
"I have to 表明する my thanks to you," I said, "for taking me into your house; but for your care I cannot imagine what would have become of me."
"Oh, you mustn't say anything about that," answered Mr. Benfleet, for such was his 指名する. "We English are only a small community in Pekin, and it would be indeed a sorry thing if we did not embrace chances of helping each other whenever they occur."
As he said this I put my 手渡す up to my 長，率いる. すぐに I was 直面するd with a curious 発見. When I was taken ill I was dressed as a Chinaman, wore a pigtail, and had my 肌 stained a sort of pale mahogany. What could my 肉親，親類d friends have thought of my disguise?
It was not until later that I discovered that I had been brought to the house in 完全にする European attire, and that when Nikola had called upon Mr. and Mrs. Benfleet to ask them to take me in he had done so 覆う？ in 正統派の morning dress and wearing a solar topee upon his 長，率いる.
"Gladys tells me you are going to get up this afternoon," said Mr. Benfleet. "I 推定する／予想する it will do you good. If I can be of any service to you in your dressing I hope you will 命令（する） me."
I thanked him, and then, excusing himself on the 嘆願 that his presence was 要求するd at the 使節団-house, he bade me good-bye and left the room.
I was about to 再開する my conversation with 行方不明になる Medwin, but she stopped me.
"You must not talk any more," she said with a pretty 空気／公表する of 当局. "I am going to read to you for half an hour, and then I shall leave you to yourself till it is time for tiffin. After that I will place your things ready for you, and you must get up."
She procured a 調書をとる／予約する, and seating herself by the window, opened it and began to read. Her 発言する／表明する was soft and musical, and she 解釈する／通訳するd the author's meaning with かなりの ability. I am afraid, however, I took but small 利益／興味 in the story; I was far too 深く，強烈に engaged watching the 表現s chasing each other across her 直面する, 公式文書，認めるing the delicate shapeliness and whiteness of the 手渡すs that held the 調書をとる／予約する, and the exquisite symmetry of the little feet and ankles that peeped beneath her dress. I think she must have 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑うd something of the sort, for she suddenly looked up in the middle of a passage which さもなければ would have 独占するd her whole attention. Her 高くする，増すd colour and the quick way in which the feet slipped 支援する beneath their covering 確認するd this notion. She continued her reading, it is true, but there was not the same evenness of トン as before, and once or twice I noticed that the words were rather slurred over, as if the reader were trying to think of two things at one and the same time. Presently she shut the 調書をとる／予約する with a little snap and rose to her feet.
"I think I must go now and see if I can help my sister in her work," she said hurriedly.
"Thank you so much for reading to me," I answered. "I have enjoyed it very much."
Whether she believed what I said or not I could not tell, but she smiled and looked a little conscious, as if she thought there might かもしれない be another meaning underlying my 発言／述べる. After that I was left to myself for nearly an hour. During that time I 降伏するd myself to my own thoughts. Some were pleasant, others were not; but there was one 結論 to which I 必然的に, however much I might digress, returned. That 結論 was that of all the girls I had ever met, 行方不明になる Gladys Medwin was by far the most adorable. She seemed to 所有する all the graces and virtues with which women are endowed, and to have the faculty of 現在のing them to the best advantage. I could not help seeing that my period of convalescence was likely to 証明する a very pleasant one, and you will not 非難する me, I 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う, if I 登録（する）d a 公約する to make the most of it. How long I should be 許すd to remain with them it was impossible for me to say. Nikola, my Old Man of the Sea, might put in an 外見 at any moment, and then I should be compelled to 企て，努力，提案 my friends good-bye ーするために 急落（する），激減（する） once more into his mysterious 事件／事情／状勢s.
When tiffin was finished I dressed myself in the 衣料品s which had been put out for me, and as soon as my 洗面所 was 完全にするd took Mr. Benfleet's arm and proceeded to a terrace in the garden at the 支援する of the house. Here 議長，司会を務めるs had been placed for us, and we sat 負かす／撃墜する. I looked about me, half 推定する／予想するing to find 行方不明になる Medwin waiting for us, but she did not put in an 外見 for some かなりの time. When she did, she 表明するd herself as pleased to see me about again, and then went across to where a little Chinese dog was lying in the 日光 at the foot of a big 石／投石する 人物／姿／数字. Whether she was always as fond of the little cur I cannot say, but the way she petted and caressed it on this particular occasion would have driven most men mad with jealousy. I don't know that I am in any way a 厳しい man with animals, but I am afraid if I had been alone and that dog had come anywhere 近づく me I should have been tempted to take a stick to him, and to have 扱う／治療するd him to one of the finest beatings he had ever enjoyed in his canine 存在.
Presently she looked up, and, seeing that I was watching her, returned to where we sat, uttered a few commonplaces, more than half of which were 演説（する）／住所d to her brother-in-法律, and finally made an excuse and returned to the house. To say that I was disappointed would scarcely be the truth; to 述べる myself as woefully chagrined would perhaps be nearer the 示す. Had I 感情を害する／違反するd her, or was this the way of women? I had read in novels that it was their custom, if they thought they had been a little too prodigal of their favours whilst a man was in trouble, to become 冷淡な and almost distant to him when he was himself again. If this were so, then her 活動／戦闘 on this particular occasion was only in the ordinary course of things, and must be taken as such. That I was in love I will not 試みる／企てる to 否定する; it was, however; the first time I had experienced the 致命的な passion, and, like measles caught in later life, it was doubly 厳しい. For this 推論する／理由 the 治療 to which I had just been 支配するd was not, as may be 推定する／予想するd, of a 肉親，親類d calculated to make my feelings easier.
Whether Mr. Benfleet thought anything I cannot say, he certainly said nothing to me upon the 支配する. If, however, my manner, after 行方不明になる Medwin's 出発 did not strike him as peculiar, he could not have been the （疑いを）晴らす-長，率いるd man of the world his Pekin friends believed him. All I know is that when I returned to the house, I was about as irritable a piece of man-flesh as could have been 設立する in that part of Asia.
But within the hour I was to be 扱う／治療するd to another example of the strange contrariness of the feminine mind. No sooner had I arrived in the house than everything was changed. It was hoped that I had not caught a fresh 冷淡な; the most comfortable 議長，司会を務める was 始める，決める apart for my use, and an unnecessary footstool was procured and placed at my feet. Altogether I was the 受取人 of as many attentions and as much insinuated sympathy as I had been 支配するd to coldness before. I did not know what to make of it; however, under its 影響（力）, in いっそう少なく than half an hour I had 完全に 雪解けd, and my previous ill-temper was forgotten for good and all.
Next day I was so much stronger that I was able to spend the greater part of my time in the garden. On this occasion, both Mr. and Mrs. Benfleet 存在 さもなければ engaged, 行方不明になる Medwin was good enough to 許す me a かなりの 量 of her company. You may be sure I made the most of it, and we whiled the time away chatting pleasantly on さまざまな 支配するs.
At tiffin, to which I sat up for the first time, it was 提案するd that during the afternoon we should endeavour to get as far as the 広大な／多数の／重要な 塀で囲む, a 事柄 of a ４半期/4分の1 of a mile's walk. Accordingly, as soon as the meal was over, we 始める，決める off. The 狭くする streets were （人が）群がるd with 苦力s, springless 私的な carts, sedan 議長，司会を務めるs, ponies but little bigger than St. Bernard dogs, and camels, some laden with coal from the Western Hills, and others 耐えるing brick-tea from Pekin away up into the far north. Beggars in all degrees of loathsomeness, carrying the scars of almost every known 病気 upon their 団体／死体s, and in nine 事例／患者s out of ten not only able but desirous of 現在のing us with a replica of the 病気, 群れているd 一連の会議、交渉／完成する us, and 押し進めるd and jostled us as we walked. 追加する to this the fact that at least once in every few yards we were 攻撃する，非難するd with scornful cries and 表現s that would bring a blush to the cheek of the most blasphemous coalheaver in 存在, …を伴ってd by gestures which made my 手渡すs itch to be upon the 直面するs of those who practised them. Mix up with all this the sights and smells of the foulest Eastern city you can imagine, 追加する to it the knowledge that you are despised and hated by the most despicable race under the sun, fill up whatever room is left with the dust that lies on a 静める day six インチs 深い upon the streets, and in a 嵐／襲撃する—and 嵐／襲撃するs occur on an 普通の／平均（する） at least three times a week—covers one from 長，率いる to foot with a 塗装 of the vilest impurity, you will have derived but the smallest impression of what it means to take a walk in the Streets of Pekin. To the Englishman who has never travelled in 中国 this denunciation may appear a little extravagant. My 悔いる, however, is that 本人自身で I do not consider it strong enough.
Not once but a hundred times I 設立する good 推論する／理由 to 悔いる having brought 行方不明になる Medwin out. But, thank goodness, we reached the 塀で囲む at last.
Having once arrived there, we seated ourselves on a bastion, and looked 負かす／撃墜する upon the city. It was an 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の 見解（をとる） we had 現在のd to us. From the 塀で囲む we could see the Chi-en-Men, or 広大な／多数の／重要な Gate; to the north lay the Tartar city. Just below us was a comparatively small 寺, 一連の会議、交渉／完成する which a multitude of foot-乗客s, merchants, 苦力s, carts, camels, ponies, 私的な 国民s, beggars, and hawkers, 押し進めるd and struggled. Over our 長，率いるs rose the two 広大な／多数の／重要な towers, which form part of the 塀で囲む itself, while to 権利 and left, almost as far as the 注目する，もくろむ could reach, and seeming to overlap each other in endless 混乱, were the roofs of the city, covered, in almost every instance, with a 量 of decaying brown grass, and in many 事例／患者s having small trees and shrubs growing out of the interstices of the 石／投石するs themselves. Away in the distance we could see the red 塀で囲む of the "Forbidden City," in other words, the 皇室の Palace; on another 味方する was the 広大な／多数の／重要な Bell Tower, with the 広大な／多数の／重要な 派手に宣伝する Tower 近づく it, and さらに先に still the roofs of the Llamaserai. The latter, as you will suppose, had a particular attraction for me, and once having seen them, I could hardly 身を引く my 注目する，もくろむs.
When we had 診察するd the 見解（をとる） and were beginning to 熟視する／熟考する making our way home again, I turned to my companion and spoke the thoughts which were in my mind.
"I suppose, now that I am 井戸／弁護士席 again, I shall soon have to be leaving you," I began. "It cannot surely be very long before I hear from Nikola."
She was 静かな for a moment, and then said:
"You mustn't be angry with me, Mr. Bruce, if I tell you that I do not altogether like your friend. He 脅すs me."
"Why on earth should he?" I asked, as if it were a most unusual 影響 for Nikola to produce. Somehow I did not care to tell her that her opinion was 株d by almost as many people as knew him.
"I don't know why I 恐れる him," she answered,"unless it is because he is so different from any other man I have ever met. Don't laugh at me if I tell you that I always think his 注目する，もくろむs are like those of a snake, so 冷淡な and passionless, yet seeming to look you through and through, and 持つ／拘留する you fascinated until he 身を引くs them again. I never saw such 注目する，もくろむs in my life before, and I hope I never may again."
"And yet he was very 肉親，親類d to you."
"I can't forget that," she answered, "and it makes me seem so ungrateful; but one cannot help one's likes and dislikes, can one?"
Here I （機の）カム a little closer to her.
"I hope, 行方不明になる Medwin, you have not conceived such a violent 反感 to me?" I said.
She began to 選ぶ at the mud between the 広大な／多数の／重要な 石／投石するs on which we were sitting.
"No, I don't think I have," she answered softly, seeming to find a source of 利益／興味 in the movements of a tiny beetle which had come out of a 穴を開ける, and was now making its way に向かって us.
"I am glad of that," I replied; "I should like you to think 井戸／弁護士席 of me."
"I am sure I do," she answered. "Think how much I 借りがある to you. Oh, that dreadful night! I shall never be able to 運動 the horror of it out of my mind. Have you forgotten it?"
I saw that she was 盗品故買者ing with me and endeavouring to コースを変える the conversation to a 味方する 問題／発行する. This I was not going to 許す. I looked into her 直面する, but she turned away and 星／主役にするd at a cloud of dun-coloured dust that was rising on the plain behind.
"行方不明になる Medwin," I said, "I suppose into the life of every man there must, sooner or later, come one woman who will be all the world to him. Gladys, can you guess what I am going to say?"
Once more she did not answer; but the unfortunate beetle, who had はうd unnoticed within reach of her foot, received his death-blow. And yet at ordinary times she was one of the kindest and most gentle of her sex. This 重要な little 活動／戦闘 showed me more than any words could have done how perturbed her feelings were.
"I was going to say," I continued, "that at last a woman—the one woman, of all others—has come into my life. Are you glad to hear it?"
"How can I be if I do not know her?" she 抗議するd feebly.
"If you do not," I said, "then nobody else does. Gladys, you are that woman. I know I have no 権利 to tell you this, seeing what my 現在の position is, but God knows I cannot help it. You are dearer to me than all the world; I have loved you since I first saw you. Can you love me a little in return? Speak your mind 自由に, tell me 正確に／まさに what is in your heart, and, come what may, I will がまんする by your 決定／判定勝ち（する）."
She was trembling violently, but not a word passed her lips. Her 直面する was very pale, and she seemed to find a difficulty in breathing, but at any cost I was going to 圧力（をかける） her for an answer. I took her 手渡す.
"What have you to say to me, Gladys?"
"What can I say?"
"Say that you love me," I answered.
"I love you," she answered, so softly that I could scarcely hear the words.
And then, in the 直面する of all Pekin, I kissed her on the lips.
Once in most men's lives—and for that 推論する／理由 I suppose in most women's also—there comes a 確かな five minutes when they understand 正確に／まさに what unalloyed happiness means—a five minutes in their little （期間が）わたるs of 存在 when the 空気／公表する seems to （犯罪の）一味 with joy-bells, when time stands still, and there is no such thing as care. That was how I felt at the moment of which I am 令状ing. I loved and was loved; but almost before I had time to realize my happiness a knowledge of my real position sprang up before my 注目する，もくろむs, and I was cast 負かす／撃墜する into the depths again. What 権利 had I, I asked myself, to tell a girl that I loved her, when it was almost beyond the bounds of 可能性 that I could ever make her my wife? 非，不，無 at all. I had done a cruel thing, and now I must go 今後 into the jaws of death, leaving behind me all that could make life 価値（がある） living, and with the knowledge that I had brought 苦痛 into the one life of all others I 願望（する）d to be 解放する／自由な from it. True, I did not 疑問 but that if I 控訴，上告d to Nikola he would let me off my 取引, but would that be fair when I had given my word that I would go on with him? No, there was nothing for it but for me to carry out my 約束 and 信用 to 運命／宿命 to bring me 安全に 支援する again to the woman I loved.
The afternoon was 急速な／放蕩な slipping by, and it was time for us to be thinking about getting home. I was 性質の／したい気がして to hurry, for I had no 願望（する） to take a lady through the streets of Pekin after dusk. They, the streets, were bad enough in the daytime, at night they were ten times worse. We accordingly descended from the 塀で囲む, and in about ten minutes had reached the Benfleets' bungalow once more.
By the time we entered the house I had arrived at a 決意. As an honourable man there were only two courses open to me: one was to tell Mr. Benfleet the 明言する／公表する of my affections, the other to let Gladys 堅固に understand that, until I returned—if return I did—from the 商売／仕事 for which I had been engaged, I should not consider her bound to me in any 形態／調整 or form. Accordingly, as soon as the evening meal was finished, I asked the missionary if he could 許す me five minutes' conversation alone. He readily 認めるd my request, but not, I thought, without a little cloud upon his 直面する. We passed into his 熟考する／考慮する, which was at the other end of the building, and when we got there he bade me take a seat, 説 as he did so:
"井戸／弁護士席, Mr. Bruce, what is it you have to say to me?"
Now I don't think I am a 特に nervous man, but I will 自白する to not feeling at my 緩和する in this particular 状況／情勢. I cast about me for a way to begin my explanation, but for the life of me I could find 非，不，無 that ふさわしい me.
"Mr. Benfleet," I said at last in desperation, "you will probably be able to agree with me when I 主張する that you know very little about me."
"I think I can 会合，会う you there," said the clergyman with a smile. "If I am to be plain with you, I will 収容する／認める that I know very little about you."
"I could wish that you knew more."
"For what 推論する／理由?"
"To be frank, for a very 決定的な one. You will understand when I tell you that I 提案するd to your sister-in-法律, 行方不明になる Medwin, this afternoon."
"I must 自白する I thought you would." he said. "There have been 調印するs and wonders in the land, and though Mrs. Benfleet and I live in Pekin, we are still able to realize what the result is likely to be when a man is as attentive to a girl as you have been to my sister-in-法律 of late."
"I 信用 you do not disapprove?"
"Am I to say what I think?"
"By all means. I want you to be perfectly candid."
"Then I am afraid I must say that I do disapprove."
"You have, of course, a 相当な 推論する／理由?"
"I don't 否定する it is one that time and better 知識 might かもしれない 除去する. But first let us consider the light in which you stand to us. Until a fortnight or so ago, neither I, my wife, nor 行方不明になる Medwin were aware that there was such a person in the world. But you were ill, and we took you in, knowing nothing, remember, as to your antecedents. You will agree with me, I think, that an English gentleman who 人物／姿／数字s in Chinese 衣装, and does not furnish a 推論する／理由 for it, and who perambulates 中国 with a man who is very 一般に 恐れるd, is not the sort of person one would go out of one's way to 受託する for the husband of a sister one loves. But I am not a bigoted man, and I know that very often when a man has been a bit wild a good woman will do him more good than ever the 大司教 of Canterbury and all his clergy could 影響. If you love her you will 始める，決める yourself to 勝利，勝つ her, and, in 冒険的な parlance, this is a race that will have to be won by waiting. If you think Gladys is 価値（がある） working and waiting for, you will do both, and because I like what I have seen of you I will give you every 適切な時期 in my 力／強力にする of 達成するing your end. If you don't want to work or to wait for her, then you will probably sheer off after this conversation, in which 事例／患者 we shall be 井戸／弁護士席 rid of you. And 副／悪徳行為 versa. One thing, however, I think would be 慎重な, and that is that you should leave my house to-morrow morning."
For the whole of the time that I was absent with Nikola we would not communicate in any way. By this means we should be able to find out the true 明言する／公表する of our own minds, and whether our passion was likely to 証明する 継続している or not.
"But oh! how I wish that I knew what you are going to do," said Gladys, when we had discussed the 事柄 in all its bearings save one.
"I am afraid that is a thing I cannot tell even you," I answered. "I am hemmed in on every 味方する by 約束s. You must 信用 me, Gladys."
"It isn't that I don't 信用 you," she said, with almost a sob in her 発言する／表明する. "I am thinking of the dangers you will run, and of the long time that will elapse before I shall hear of you or see you again."
"I'm afraid that cannot be helped," I said. "If I had only met you before I 乗る，着手するd on this wild-goose chase things might have been arranged 異なって, but now I have made my bed and must 嘘（をつく） upon it."
"As I said this afternoon, I am so afraid of Nikola."
"But you needn't be. I get on very 井戸／弁護士席 with him, and as long as I play fair by him he will play fair by me. You might tremble for my safety if we were enemies, but so long as we remain friends I 保証する you you need have no 恐れる."
"And you are to leave us to-morrow morning?"
"Yes, darling, I must go! As we are placed に向かって each other, more than friends, and yet in the 注目する，もくろむs of the world, いっそう少なく than lovers, it would hardly do for me to remain here. Besides, I 推定する／予想する Nikola will be 要求するing my services. And now, before I forget it, I want you to give me the （犯罪の）一味 I gave you in Tientsin."
She left the room to return with it in a few moments. I took it from her and, raising her 手渡す, placed it upon her finger, kissing her as I did so.
"I will wear it always," she said; as she spoke, Mrs. Benfleet entered the room. A moment later I caught the sound of a sharp, 会社／堅い footstep in the passage that was unpleasantly familiar to me. Then Nikola entered and stood before us.
TO say that I was surprised at Nikola's sudden 入ること／参加（者） into the Benfleets' 製図／抽選-room would be to put too tame a construction upon my feelings. Why it should have been so I cannot say, but Nikola's 外見 invariably seemed to 原因（となる） me astonishment. And curiously enough I was not alone in this feeling; for more than one person of my 知識 has since owned to having experienced the same sensation. What it was about the man that produced it, it would be difficult to say. At any 率 this much is 確かな , it would be impossible for Nikola to say or do a ありふれた-place thing. When he 演説（する）／住所d you, you instinctively felt that you must answer him plainly and straightforwardly, or not at all; an evasive reply was not ふさわしい to the man. It occurred to you, almost unconsciously, that he was する権利を与えるd to your best service, and it is 確かな that whether he was worthy or not he invariably got it. I have seen Nikola take in 手渡す one of the keenest and, at the same time, most obstinate men in 中国, ask of him a favour which it would have been madness to 推定する／予想する the fellow to 認める, talk to Kirn in his own 静かな but 命令（する）ing fashion, and in いっそう少なく than ten minutes have the 事柄 settled and the request 認めるd.
One other point struck me as remarkable in this curious individual's character, and that was that he always seemed to know, before you spoke, 正確に／まさに what sort of answer you were going to return to his question, and as often as not he would 心配する your reply. In my own 事例／患者 I soon began to feel that I might spare myself the trouble of answering at all.
Having entered the room, he crossed to where Gladys was sitting and, 屈服するing as he took her 手渡す, wished her good-evening. Then turning to me, and …を伴ってing his 発言／述べる with one of his indescribable smiles, he said—
"My dear Bruce, I am rejoiced to see you looking so 井戸／弁護士席. I had 推定する／予想するd to find a 骸骨／概要, and to my delight I am 直面するd with a man. How soon do you think you will be fit to travel again?"
"I am ready as soon as you are," I answered, but not without a 沈むing in my heart as I looked across to Gladys and realized that the moment had indeed come for parting.
"I am indeed glad to hear it," he answered, "for time 圧力（をかける）s. Do you think you can …を伴って me in a few minutes? You can?—that's 権利. Now, if he will 許す me, I should like to have a little talk with Mr. Benfleet, and then we must be off."
He went out of the room, …を伴ってd by our hostess, and for ten minutes or so Gladys and I were left alone.
I will give you no description of what happened during that last interview. Such a parting is far too sacred to be 述べるd. It is enough to say that when it was over I joined Nikola in the verandah and we left the house together. With the shutting of the 前線 door behind us all the happiness of my life seemed to slip away from me. For nearly five minutes I walked by my companion's 味方する in silence, wondering whether I should ever again see those to whom I had just said good-bye. Nikola must have had some notion of what was passing in my mind, for he turned to me and said confidentially—
"元気づける up, Bruce! we shall be 支援する again before you know where you are, and remember you will then be a comparatively rich man. 行方不明になる Medwin is a girl 価値（がある） waiting for, and if you will 許す me to do so, I will 申し込む／申し出 you my congratulations."
"How do you know anything about it?" I asked in surprise.
"港／避難所't I just seen Mr. Benfleet?" he answered.
"But surely he didn't tell you?"
"It was 正確に／まさに what I went in to see him about," said Nikola. "You are my friend, and I 借りがある you a good turn; for that 推論する／理由, I 手配中の，お尋ね者 to try and make things as smooth for you as I could. To tell the truth, I am glad this has happened; it will make you so much the more careful. There's nothing like love—though I am not a 信奉者 in it as a general 支配する—for making a man mindful of his 活動／戦闘s."
"It is very good of you to take so much trouble about my 事件／事情／状勢s," I said 温かく.
"Not at all," he answered. "There can be no question of trouble between two men 据えるd as we are. But now let us march along as quickly as we can. I have a lot to talk to you about, and we have many 準備s to make before to-morrow morning."
"But where are we going? This is not the way 支援する to the house in which I was taken ill."
"Of course not," said Nikola. "We're going to another place—the 所有物／資産／財産 of an Englishman of my 知識. There we shall change into our Chinese dresses again."
"This, then, will probably be our last walk in European 衣装?"
"For many months at any 率."
After this we again walked some time without speaking, Nikola 回転するing in his mind his interminable intrigues, I suppose; I thinking of the girl I had left behind me. At last, however, we reached the house to which we had been directing our steps, and, on knocking upon the door, were at once 認める. It was a tiny place, 据えるd in a 味方する street 主要な out of a busy thoroughfare. The owner was an Englishman, whose 商売／仕事 often necessitated his taking long 旅行s into the 内部の; he was a bachelor, and, as I gathered from Nikola, by no means particular as to his associates, nor, I believe, did he 耐える any too good a 評判 in Pekin. Before I had been five minutes in his company I had summed the man up 正確に／まさに, though I could not for the life of me understand why Nikola had chosen him. That he was afraid of Nikola was self-evident, and that Nikola ーするつもりであるd he should be was 平等に 確かな . To cover his nervousness the fellow, whose 指名する was Edgehill, 影響する／感情d a jocular familiarity which 強めるd rather than 隠すd what he was so anxious to hide.
"You're not looking やめる up to the 示す, Mr. Bruce," he said, when I was introduced to him; then, with a leer, he imitated a man pulling a cork and continued—
"注目する，もくろむs 有望な, 手渡すs 不安定な—the old thing. I suppose?"
"I have been 負かす／撃墜する with fever," I answered.
"Too much Pekin 空気／公表する," he replied. "This beastly country would make an Egyptian mummy turn up his toes. But never 恐れる, keep your pecker up, and you'll pull through yet."
I thanked him for this 保証／確信, and then turned to Nikola, who had seated himself in a long 茎 議長，司会を務める, and, with his finger-tips 圧力（をかける）d together, was 星／主役にするing hard at him. Something seemed to have ruffled his feathers. When he spoke it was distinctly and very deliberately, as if he 願望（する）d that every word he uttered should be 受託するd by the person to whom it was 演説（する）／住所d at its 十分な value.
"And so, Mr. Edgehill, after my repeated 警告s you have 知らせるd your Chinese friends that you have a 訪問者?"
The man stepped 支援する as if he had received a blow, his 直面する 紅潮／摘発するd crimson and すぐに afterwards became deathly pale. He put out his 手渡す to the 塀で囲む behind him as if for support; I also noticed that he drew such 深い breaths that the glasses on the sideboard beside him 動揺させるd against each other.
"Your two Chinese friends," said Nikola slowly and distinctly, "must have placed a peculiar value upon the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） with which you were able to furnish them if they were willing to 支払う／賃金 so high a price for it."
The man tried to speak, but without success. All his bounce had 出発／死d; now he was only a poor trembling coward who could not 身を引く his 注目する，もくろむs from that 静める but cruel 直面する that seemed to be looking into his very heart.
Then Nikola's manner changed, and he sprang to his feet with sudden energy.
"You dog!" he cried, and the intensity of his トン 削減（する） like a knife. "You pitiful hound! So you thought you could play Judas with me, did you? How little you know Dr. Nikola after all. Now listen, and remember every word I say to you, for I shall only speak once. To-night, at my 口述, you will 令状 a letter to your Chinese friends, and to-morrow morning at six o'clock you will saddle your horse and 始める，決める off for Tientsin. Arriving there you will go to Mr. Williams, whose 演説（する）／住所 you know, and will tell him that I have sent you. You will say that you are to remain in his house, as his 囚人, for one calendar month; and if you dare to communicate with one 選び出す／独身 person 関心ing me or my 事件／事情／状勢s during that or any other time, I'll have your throat 削減（する） within half an hour of your doing so. Can it be possible that you think so little of me as to dare to 炭坑，オーケストラ席 your wits against 地雷? You fool! When you get out of my sight go 負かす／撃墜する on your 膝s, and thank Providence that I 港／避難所't killed you at once for your presumption. Do you remember Hanotat? You do? 井戸／弁護士席, then, take care my friend that I do not 扱う／治療する you as I did him. Like you he thought himself clever, but 結局 he preferred to blow his brains out rather than fight me その上の. You have been 警告するd, remember. Now go and 準備する for your 旅行. I will communicate with Williams myself. If you are not in his house by breakfast time on Thursday morning it will save you expense, for you will never have the appetite for another meal."
Not a word did the man utter in reply, but left the room 直接／まっすぐに he was ordered, looking like a ghost.
When he had gone I turned to Nikola, for my astonishment 越えるd all bounds, and said—
"How on earth did you know that he had given any （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） about us?"
In reply Nikola stooped and 選ぶd up from the 床に打ち倒す two small stubs. On examination they 証明するd to be the remains of two Chinese cigarettes. He then went across the room to a small curtained shelf, from which he produced a brandy 瓶／封じ込める. Three glasses, all of which had been used, stood by the 瓶／封じ込める, which was やめる empty. Having pointed out these things to me he went 支援する to his 議長，司会を務める and sat 負かす／撃墜する.
"Edgehill," he explained, "doesn't drink brandy, except when he has company; even then he takes very little. Before I left the house this evening to fetch you I took the 警戒 to look behind the curtain. That 瓶／封じ込める was then more than three parts 十分な, and I am やめる 確かな that there were no ends of Chinese cigarettes upon the 床に打ち倒す, because I looked about. Before that I had noticed that two men were watching the house from across the way. As I went 負かす／撃墜する the street I 選ぶd up the end of a cigarette one of them had been smoking. There it is; you can compare them if you like. The man's manner when he let us in 追加するd another link to the chain of 証拠, and his 直面する, when I asked him the first question, told me the 残り／休憩（する）. Of course it was all guess-work; but I have not learned to read 直面するs for nothing. At any 率 you saw for yourself how true my 告訴，告発 証明するd."
"But what do you think the man can have told them?" I asked. "And who could the people have been who questioned him?"
"He can't have told them very much," Nikola replied, "because there wasn't much to tell; but who the men could have been I am やめる unable even to conjecture. I 不信 them on 原則, that's all."
"But why did you send him to Williams?"
"To keep him out of the way of その上の mischief until we have had a fair start; also because I 手配中の，お尋ね者 to teach him a lesson. I may have occasion to use him at some 未来 date, and a little bit of discipline of this sort will do him no 害（を与える）. But now let us change the 支配する. I have something else I want to talk to you about. First see that there is no one at the door, and then bring your 議長，司会を務める nearer to 地雷."
I tip-toed over to the door. After I had reached it I waited for a moment and then opened it suddenly. There was no one outside, so I （機の）カム 支援する again and drew my 議長，司会を務める nearer to Nikola. He had taken a letter from his pocket, and was evidently 準備するing to read it to me. Before he did so, however, he said in a low 発言する／表明する—
"This communication is from Prendergast. It was brought to me by special messenger at midday to-day. If you will give me your attention I will read it to you. It is 時代遅れの from Tientsin, and runs as follows:—
"'To Dr. Nikola, Pekin.
"'Dear sir—I have to 知らせる you that on Thursday week last I received a 電報電信 from Mr. Williams of this place bidding me come to him at once ーするために 交渉する some important 商売／仕事 on your に代わって. I had hardly received your wire before Mr. Eastover called upon me to say that he was also in 領収書 of a 電報電信 to the same 影響. Understanding that no time must be lost, within two hours of receiving the messages, we were on board the steamer James Monaghan, en 大勝する for Tientsin.
"'That place we reached in 予定 course, and すぐに 報告（する）／憶測d our arrival to your スパイ／執行官, Mr. Williams, from whom we learned the nature of the work upon which we were to be 雇うd. Its danger was やめる 明らかな to us, and at first, I must 自白する, the difficulties that surrounded it struck me as insurmountable. The 長，指導者 Priest of the Hankow 寺 is a 井戸／弁護士席-known personage, and very popular. His 私的な life may almost be said to be nil. He never moves out unless he has a 軍隊／機動隊 of people about him, while to 試みる／企てる to get at him in his own town would only be to bring a 暴徒 of howling devils 一連の会議、交渉／完成する our ears and 廃虚 the whole 企業 beyond redemption. I すぐに placed myself in communication with Chung-Yein, who fortunately was in Hankow at the time. It was through his 機関 we discovered that the priest—who, as you know, has 辞職するd his office in the 寺—was in the 行為／法令／行動する of setting out upon a long 旅行.
"'As soon as I learned this I 教えるd Chung-Yein to endeavour to elicit the 大勝する. He did so, and 知らせるd me that the man 提案するd travelling by way of Hang-Chu and Fon-Ching to Tsan-Chu, thence up the Grand Canal by way of Tsing-Hai to Tientsin, whence it was said he was going to make his way on to Pekin. I 診察するd a chart of the country very carefully, and also conferred with Mr. Williams and Mr. Eastover, who both agreed with me that any 活動／戦闘 which might be necessary should be contrived and carried out at Tsan-Chu, which, as you know, is a town a little below the point where the canal, running to Nans-Shing, joins the Yun-Liang-売春婦 river.
"'This settled, the next thing to be done was to endeavour to discover how the 誘拐 of the priest could be 影響d. To 控訴 your 目的s we saw that it must be arranged in such a fashion that no スキャンダル could かもしれない 続いて起こる. He would have to be 誘拐するd in such a manner that his 信奉者s would suppose he had left them of his own （許可，名誉などを）与える. But how to do this was a problem very difficult to work out. The man is old and exceedingly 怪しげな. He has a 評判 for 信用ing nobody, and he invariably 行為／法令／行動するs up to it. Unless, therefore, we could invent some really plausible excuse he would be almost impossible to catch, and 予知するing this I again called in Chung-Yein to my 援助. At any cost, I told him, he must manage to get into the priest's service, and once there to begin to ingratiate himself with his master to the very best of his ability. The time was so short that we dared not wait to cultivate an 適切な時期, but had to work in our chances, as they rose, to 控訴 ourselves.
"'At 広大な／多数の／重要な 危険 Chung-Yein managed to get himself 任命するd a member of the priest's travelling party. Once this was done his peculiar abilities soon brought him under his master's notice, and that end having been 達成するd the 残り／休憩（する） was 平易な.
"'Within three days of his arrival the 世帯 was broken up, and the priest, with a 非常に／多数の retinue, 開始するd his 旅行. By the time they had travelled a hundred miles Chung-Yein was on very familiar 条件 with him; he discovered many means of 追加するing to the priest's 慰安, and during the march he was so assiduous in his attentions that his master began to place more and more 信用 in him. When they reached Fon-Ching he was 前進するd to the 地位，任命する of 長官, and then the 陰謀（を企てる） which I had arranged was ready to be put into 死刑執行.
"'Little by little Chung-Yein dropped into his master's willing ears the news of a fortune which he 保証するd him might be 得るd with very little 危険. The avaricious old man swallowed the bait only too readily, and when he had digested the letters which the astute Chung read him from time to time, and which were supposed to have been written by his cousin Quong-Ta, from Tsan-Chu, he was as good as caught.
"'After eight days of continuous travelling the company arrived at the 入り口 to the canal. Eastover and I had left Tientsin by this time, and had travelled 地位，任命する haste 負かす／撃墜する to 会合，会う them. Once they were 公正に／かなり 任命する／導入するd at the 主要な／長／主犯 inn Chung-Yein （機の）カム to see me. He had arranged everything most carefully, it appeared, even to the extent of having it 循環させるd の中で his fellow-servants that after leaving Tsan-Chu the high priest ーするつもりであるd dispensing with their services and going on alone. It now only remained for us to arrange a 会合 with him, and to have some means 用意が出来ている whereby we might 伝える him across country, over the forty 半端物 miles that separated Tsan-Chu from Chi-Kau-売春婦, to where a junk was already waiting to receive him. While Eastover undertook the 協定 of this part of the 商売／仕事 I drew up the 計画（する） which was to give us 所有／入手 of the priest's person.
"'Chung-Yein was to 代表する to him that he was the unhappy possessor of a cousin who was a 公式文書，認めるd robber. By virtue of his evil habits he had 蓄積するd 広大な／多数の／重要な riches, but finding himself now likely to come within reach of the finger-tips of the 法律 he was most anxious to 購入（する） a friend who would stand by him in 事例／患者 of evil happening.
"'The greedy old priest, ーするつもりであるing to ask a large 株 of the plunder for the favour （許可，名誉などを）与えるd, 同意d to bestow his patronage upon the 青年, and when he was brought to understand that his 株 of the 処理／取引 would 量 to something like six thousand taels, his 苦悩 to 得る 所有／入手 of the coin became more and more 激しい. He discussed the 事柄 with Chung-Yein times out of number, and finally it was decided that that night they should proceed together to a 確かな house in the village, where he should interview the 犯人 and also receive his 株 of the 伸び（る）s.
"'As soon as I was made conversant with what had been arranged I 押し進めるd 今後 my 計画（する）s, arranged with one of my own men to impersonate the cousin, and by the time dusk had fallen had everything in 準備完了. Relays of ponies were 駅／配置するd at intervals along the road to the coast, and the 船長／主将 of the junk only waited to have his 乗客 船内に to 重さを計る 錨，総合司会者 and be off.
"'At eight o'clock, almost to the minute, the priest, disguised, and …を伴ってd by Chung-Yein, appeared at the door.
"'They were 認める by the 偽造の cousin, who 行為／行うd them forthwith to the 支援する of the house. Once in the room, 交渉s were 開始するd, and the priest lost no time in 厳しく けん責（する），戒告ing the young man for the evil life he had hitherto been 主要な. Then, that he might the better be able to understand what a nefarious career it had been, he 需要・要求するd a glimpse of the 利益（をあげる）s that had accrued from it. They 含むd a 捕らえる、獲得する of dollars, a good 選択 of gold leaf, a 量 of English money, and a small 捕らえる、獲得する of precious 石／投石するs. All of these things had been 用意が出来ている at かなりの cost for his 査察.
"'His old 注目する，もくろむs twinkled greedily as they fell upon this goodly 蓄える／店, and his enthusiasm rose as each 連続する 捕らえる、獲得する was opened. When at last the contents of the 捕らえる、獲得する of 石／投石するs were spread out before him he forgot his priestly sanctity altogether in his delight and stooped to 診察する them. As he did so Chung-Yein sprang 今後, and threw a noose over his 長，率いる, a chloroformed sponge was clapped against his nose, while the spurious cousin pulled his heels from under him and threw him on his 支援する upon the 床に打ち倒す.
"'The anaesthetic did its work 井戸／弁護士席, and in a short time the old gentleman was in our 力／強力にする. Half an hour later he was 安全に tied up in a 議長，司会を務める, and was 存在 国外追放するd as 急速な／放蕩な as his 持参人払いのs could 行為／行う him to Chi-Kau-売春婦.
"'In the 合間 Chung-Yein had returned to the inn, where he paid off the retinue and 知らせるd them that their master had received a sudden 召喚するs and had started up the canal for Tientsin alone. Then Eastover and myself 機動力のある our ponies and followed the worthy priest to the sea.
"'Chi-Kau-売春婦, which, as you know, is a place of abject poverty, and is only visited by junks bringing millet from Tientsin to 交流 for fish, was the very place for our 目的. Fortunately it was high tide, and for that 推論する／理由 we were able to get our 重荷（を負わせる） on board the junk without very much difficulty. At other times it is impossible for a boat 製図／抽選 any depth of water at all to come within seven miles of the village. The 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業, as doubtless you are aware, （判決などを）下すs this impossible.
"'As soon as we had 手渡すd over the man to the 船長／主将 we returned to the shore. An hour later the 大型船 始める，決める sail, and by the time you receive this letter the 長，指導者 Priest of Hankow will in all probability be somewhere の中で the 著作権侵害者s of Along Bay. As his captors on board the junk have no 尊敬（する）・点 for his creed, and he has no money upon his person to 賄賂 them to 始める，決める him 岸に again, I think he will find it difficult to get 支援する to the 本土／大陸. But to 妨げる anything of the sort occurring I have told the owner of the junk that if, on the 21st day of August, six months ahead, he 伝えるs him to Michel Dugenne, who by that time will be in Formosa, he will receive ｣100 English in 交流 for his person. I think this will 控訴 your 目的.
"'As to our own movements, they were as follows.
"'Leaving Chi-Kau-売春婦 we 借り切る／憲章d a junk and proceeded up the coast to Pea-強い味-売春婦, thence making our way on pony 支援する to Tientsin, at which place we arrived two days since. Chung-Yein I have rewarded with 2,000 dollars, and he is now on his way, as 急速な／放蕩な as he can travel, to Hong-Kong. He ーするつもりであるs, I believe, to make for Singapore, where he will reside till all chance of trouble has blown over. I have taken the 警戒 to 登録（する） his 演説（する）／住所 in 事例／患者 we should 要求する his services again. Should you 願望（する） to see either Mr. Eastover or myself, we will remain in Tientsin for a fortnight longer. After that Eastover 目的s crossing to Japan, while I return to Hong-Kong, where I can always be heard of at the old 演説（する）／住所.
"'信用ing that the manner in which we have 行為／行うd this dangerous 事件／事情／状勢 will be to your satisfaction, I have the honour to subscribe myself, your obedient servant,
"'William Prendergast.'
"Now," said Nikola as he 倍のd up this precious 文書, "the coast is （疑いを）晴らす, and for the 未来 I ーするつもりである to be the 長，指導者 Priest of Hankow. During the time you have been ill I have been making a number of important 調査s, and I think I know pretty 井戸／弁護士席 the 肉親，親類d of course I shall have to steer. To-morrow morning I ーするつもりである that we shall enter the Llamaserai, where it will be imperative that we have all our wits about us. A change in our dress will also be necessary, 特に in 地雷. The priest is an old man, and I must 似ている him as nearly as possible."
"It will be a difficult character to support for so long. Do you think you are 有能な of it?"
He looked at me with one of his peculiar smiles.
"There was a time in my life," he said, "when I used to be a little uncertain as to my 力／強力にするs; since then I have taught myself to believe that if a man makes up his mind there is nothing in this world he cannot do. Yes, I shall manage it. You need have no 恐れる on that 得点する／非難する／２０."
"I have no 恐れる," I answered truthfully. "I have the most implicit 約束 in you."
"I am glad to hear it," said Nikola, "for you will want it all. Now let us retire to 残り／休憩（する）. At five o'clock we must begin to dress; at six I have to see that Edgehill starts for Tientsin."
Without more ado we procured 一面に覆う／毛布s and stretched ourselves upon the 床に打ち倒す. In いっそう少なく than five minutes I was asleep, dreaming that I was helping the priest of Hankow to 誘拐する Nikola from the Llamaserai, where he had gone to deposit the stick that Wetherell had given him.
When I woke, it was to hear horse-hoofs clattering out of the yard. It was 幅の広い daylight, and on looking about me I discovered that Nikola was not in the room. Presently he entered.
"Edgehill has 出発／死d," he said, with a queer 表現 upon his 直面する. "I have just seen him off. Somehow I think it will be a long day before he will 試みる／企てる to play tricks with Dr. Nikola again."
"COME," said Nikola, when the last sounds of Edgehill's 出発 had died away; "there is no time to lose; let us dress."
I followed him into an 隣接するing room, which, though somewhat larger than that in which we had hitherto sat, was even more 貧しく furnished. Here a number of dresses lay about on 議長，司会を務めるs, and from these Nikola chose two.
"The first thing to be considered," he said, as he seated himself on a 議長，司会を務める and looked at me, "is that we have to change the form of our disguises in almost every particular. I have been thinking the 事柄 most carefully out, and, as I said just now, we are going to be 完全に different men. I shall be the Priest of Hankow, you will be his 長官. Here are your things; I should advise you to dress as quickly as you かもしれない can."
I took him at his word, and appropriating the 衣料品s he 割り当てるd to me, returned with them to the 前線 room. At the end of a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour I was no longer an Englishman. My dress was of the richest silk, 人物／姿／数字d and embroidered in every 考えられる fashion, my shoulders were enclosed in a grey cloak of the finest texture, my pigtail was of 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の length and thickness, while my sandals and hat were of the most 流行の／上流の make. If my 階級 had been 概算の by the gorgeousness of my attire and the value of the 構成要素, I might have been a Taotai of a small 州, or 長官 to some 主要都市の 高官. When I had dressed myself I sat 負かす／撃墜する and waited for Nikola to make his 外見.
A short while later a tall gaunt Chinaman, certainly fifty years of age, upon the chin of whose 天候-beaten countenance an ill-trimmed 耐えるd was beginning to show itself, （機の）カム into the room, …を伴ってd by a smaller man much bent with age. I was 解決するd not to be hoodwinked this time, so I said in Chinese to the man who entered first, and who I 概算の was nearer Nikola's size:
"You've not been long in getting ready."
"It would be folly to be slow," he answered; "we have much to do," and then without another word led the way 負かす／撃墜する the passage に向かって the 後部 of the house. Arriving at the yard we discovered a perfect cavalcade drawn up. There were several led ponies, half a dozen 機動力のある men, and about twice that number of hangers on.
"One word," I said, 製図／抽選 Nikola, as I thought, on one 味方する. "What part am I to play in this 野外劇／豪華な行列?"
"Is there not some little mistake?" the man said. "For whom do you take me?"
"For my master," I answered.
"Then I'm afraid you have chosen the wrong man," he returned. "If you want Dr. Nikola, there he is 開始するing that pony yonder."
I could hardly believe my 注目する，もくろむs. The second man 似ているd Nikola in no possible particular. He was old, thin, and nearly bent 二塁打. His 直面する was wrinkled into a hundred lines, and his 注目する，もくろむs were much sunken, as also were his cheeks. If this were Nikola he might have gone through the whole length and breadth of 中国 without any 恐れる of his 身元 存在 for one moment questioned. I went across to him, and, scarcely believing what I had been told, 演説（する）／住所d him as follows:
"If you are Nikola," I said—"and I can hardly credit it—I want you to give me my 指示／教授／教育s."
"You don't 認める me then?" he whispered. "I'm glad of that; I 手配中の，お尋ね者 to try you. I thought to myself, if he does not find me out it is scarcely likely that any one else will. Your own disguise is most excellent; I congratulate you upon it. With regard to your position, you are of course supposed to be my 長官. But I will give you a few points as we proceed. Now let us be starting."
"But first, who is the man whom I mistook for you?"
"He is a fellow for whom I sent to Tientsin while you were ill; and as I have taken some trouble to 確実にする his fidelity you need have no 恐れる of his betraying us. He will only …を伴って us as far as the Llamaserai, and then, having 提起する／ポーズをとるd as 長，指導者 of my retinue, he will leave us and return to the coast. Now 開始する your animal and let us start."
I went 支援する to my pony, and when I was in the saddle we とじ込み／提出するd slowly out of the gateway, 負かす／撃墜する the （人が）群がるd street and through the gates に向かって the Yung-売春婦-Kung, or the 広大な／多数の／重要な Llama 寺. This enormous building, which has the 評判 of 存在 one of the most inaccessible places in 中国 to Europeans, is 位置を示すd on the 郊外s of the city, nearly five miles from the ４半期/4分の1 in which Edgehill's house was 据えるd.
Remembering its 悪意のある 評判, you may imagine my sensations as we 棒 up to the first 広大な／多数の／重要な gate. I could not help wondering what the 運命／宿命s had in 蓄える／店 for us inside. For all I knew to the contrary I might be 運命にあるd never to see the world outside the 塀で囲むs again. It was not a 元気づける thought, and I tried to コースを変える my attention from it by looking about me.
Strangely enough the first two gates were by no means hard to pass, but at the third the real difficulty began.
It was shut in our 直面するs, and though we knew our coming had been 観察するd by those inside, not a 調印する of any living soul 現在のd itself. An awe-奮起させるing silence 統治するd in the 広大な／多数の／重要な building, and for some time our servants 大打撃を与えるd upon the door in vain. Then a shaven 長，率いる appeared at a small 取調べ／厳しく尋問する and 問い合わせd our 商売／仕事.
Whether the answer he received was 満足な or not I could not say, but seeing that it did not unbar the gate, Nikola 棒 今後 and, leaning over in his saddle, said something in a low 発言する／表明する. The 影響 was magical: the doors flew open 即時に. Then a man （機の）カム 今後 and 補助装置d Nikola to alight. He 調印するd to me to do the same, and I accordingly dismounted beside him. As I did so a servant approached him and, 迎える／歓迎するing him with the 最大の reverence, never daring to raise his 注目する，もくろむs to his 直面する, said something which I could not hear. When he had got through with it Nikola turned to me, and bade me 支払う／賃金 off the men. I did so, and they すぐに returned to the city by the way they had come. Then turning to the 修道士 who was still waiting, Nikola said, pointing to me:
"This is my 長官. He is necessary to my 井戸／弁護士席-存在, so I beg that he may be 許すd to enter with me." The 修道士 nodded, and then the gate 存在 opened wide we passed through it. Once inside we 上がるd, by means of a long flight of 石／投石する steps, to a 中庭, 一連の会議、交渉／完成する which were a number of small 石／投石する rooms not unlike 独房s. In the centre stood an enormous 木造の statue of Buddha which riveted the attention at once; the 人物／姿／数字 was at least seventy feet high, was covered with all sorts of beautiful ornamentation, and held an enormous flower 似ているing a lotus in either 手渡す. On its 長，率いる was a gold 栄冠を与える, and in each section of the latter I could discern a smaller image, 再生するing the large one in every particular.
Above the 独房s, just 述べるd, were a 一連の long galleries, which were reached by stairs from the 中庭, and above them again rose roof after roof and tower after tower. From this terrace, if one may so call it, we passed on to another, the approach to which was guarded by two magnificent bronze lions. Making our way through many 寺s, each decorated with Chinese hangings, to say nothing of ornaments in gold, silver, ivory, bronze and enamel, we （機の）カム at last to one where we were requested to wait while our guide, who was evidently a person in 当局, went off in search of the High Priest.
For nearly twenty minutes we remained alone together. The place was eerie in the extreme. The 勝利，勝つd, entering by the windows on either 味方する, rustled the long silken hangings; there was an intolerable odour of joss-sticks; and, as if this were not enough, we had the 楽しみ of knowing that we were only impostors, 扶養家族 upon our wits for our lives. If but one 疑惑 entered the minds of those we were deceiving, we might consider ourselves as good as dead men. In such an enormous building, unvisited by foreigners, and owning hardly any 忠誠—if indeed such a feeble reed could help us—to the Emperor of 中国, the news of our death would excite no 関心, and we would be as 完全に lost as the 泡 which rises majestically from a child's 麻薬を吸う, only to burst unnoticed in 中央の-空気／公表する.
As I watched the morning light playing の中で the hangings and listened to the にわか景気ing of a gong which （機の）カム to us from some distant part of the building, I could not help thinking of the 甘い girl to whom I had 苦境d my troth, and who at that very moment might also be thinking of me and wondering how I fared. That I did not deserve such consideration on her part was only too 確かな , for surely never in the history of the world had a man 乗る，着手するd upon a more foolish 請け負うing. Columbus in his lonely little ship ploughing its way across the unknown ocean in search of a continent, the 存在 of which at times he must almost have 疑問d himself, was not one whit いっそう少なく desperate than we were at that moment. Franklin まっただ中に the ice, unconscious whether another week might not find his 大型船 ground to 砕く between the ice floes, and himself floating in the icy water, was not one tittle nearer death than we were while we waited for an audience with the father abbot of this most awesome 修道院.
At the end of the twenty minutes my ears—which of late had been preternaturally sharp—（悪事，秘密などを）発見するd the pattering of sandalled feet upon the 石／投石する staircase at the その上の end of the room. Next moment three 人物／姿／数字s appeared, two of whom were 主要な a third between them. The 支持者s were men in the prime of life. The third must have been at least eighty years of age. One ちらりと見ること was 十分な to show me that he was not a pure Mongol, but had probably Thibetan 血 in his veins. Both he and his 修道士s were attired in the usual coarse dress of the Buddhist priests, their 長，率いるs 存在 as destitute of hair as a billiard ball.
Having brought the old fellow 負かす／撃墜する to the 底（に届く） of the stairs, the young men left him there, and returned up the steps again. Then it was that we made the 発見 that, besides 存在 old and infirm, the High Priest of the Llamaserai was nearly blind. He stood perfectly still for a moment after he had entered, a queer trembling 人物／姿／数字, dressed in dingy yellow. Finally, with 手渡すs outstretched, he （機の）カム に向かって where we stood.
"I beg you to tell me," he said, "who you are, and how it comes about that you thus crave our 歓待?"
He put the question in a high tremulous 発言する／表明する, more like a woman's than a man's.
"I am the Priest of the 寺 of Hankow," said Nikola 厳粛に. "And I am here for 推論する／理由s that are best known to those who called me."
"If it is as you say, how shall I know you?"
"Is the moon no longer aware that there are little 星／主役にするs?" asked Nikola, speaking with a perfection of accent that no Chinaman living could have excelled.
"Yea, but the 夜明け makes all equal," replied the old man. "But if you be he whom we have 推定する／予想するd these last three weeks, there are other means whereby you can 保証する us of the truth of what you say."
Nikola slipped his 権利 手渡す inside his long outer jacket and drew from his pocket the tiny stick he had 得るd from Wetherell, and 手渡すd it to the old man. No sooner had he received it, and run his fingers over the quaint Chinese characters engraved upon it, than the old fellow's demeanour changed 完全に. Dropping upon his 膝s he kissed the hem of Nikola's dress.
"It is 十分な. I am 満足させるd that my lord is one of the Masters of Life and Death. If my lord will be pleased to follow his servant, accommodation shall be 設立する for him."
As he spoke he fumbled his way に向かって the staircase by which he had entered the room. Nikola 調印するd to me to follow, and in 選び出す／独身 とじ込み／提出する we made our way to the room above. As we went I could not help noticing the solidity of the building. The place might have withstood a 包囲 with the greatest 緩和する, for the 塀で囲むs were in many 事例／患者s two feet, and in not a few nearly three feet 厚い.
The stairs 行為／行うd us to a long passage, on either 味方する of which were small rooms or cubicles. Leaving these behind us, we approached another flight of steps which led to the highest 床に打ち倒す of the building. At the end of a long 回廊（地帯） was a small 賭け金-議会 hung 一連の会議、交渉／完成する with dark coloured silks, just as we had seen hi the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall below. From this we entered another nearly twice the size, which was lighted with three 狭くする windows. From one of these, I afterwards discovered, a good 見解（をとる） of the city of Pekin was obtainable.
As soon as we were 安全に inside, the High Priest 保証するd us, in a quavering 発言する／表明する, that everything we might find in his humble dwelling was at our 処分, and that we might consider his rooms our home during our stay in the 修道院. Then, with another 表現 of his 深い 尊敬（する）・点, he left us, 推定では to see that some sort of meal was 用意が出来ている for us. As soon as the sound of his steps had died away Nikola leaped to his feet.
"So far so good," he cried. "He does not 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う us you see. We have played our parts to perfection. Tomorrow, if I can only get him into the proper でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる of mind, I'll have the 残り／休憩（する） of the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） I want out of him before he can turn 一連の会議、交渉／完成する."
For the 残り／休憩（する） of that day we amused ourselves perambulating the building, walking slowly with dejected bearings whenever we met any of the 修道士s, 迎える／歓迎するing the さまざまな 神社s with deepest reverences, prostrating ourselves at the altars, and in every way, so far as lay in our 力／強力にする, creating the impression that, in the practices of our 約束, we were without our equals. At five o'clock we 参加するd in the usual evening service held in the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall, and for the first time saw the 修道士s 組み立てる／集結するd together. A more disreputable 乗組員, I can unhesitatingly 主張する, I had never seen before. They were of all ages and of all 階級s, but, so far as I could tell, there was not a 直面する amongst them that did not 示唆する the fact that its owner was 法外なd to the eyebrows in sensuality and 罪，犯罪. Taken altogether, I very much 疑問 if, for general blackguardism, their equal could have been 設立する in the length and breadth of Asia. Also I could not help 推測するing as to what sort of a chance we should stand if our secret should happen to be discovered, and we were compelled to run the gauntlet of the inmates. The service was not a long one, and in something under half an hour we were 支援する in our rooms again. Then Nikola was 召喚するd to an interview with the High Priest, and, while he was away, I wandered downstairs and strolled about the 中庭s.
It was the time of the evening meal, and those 修道士s who had already dined, were lolling about smoking, and gossiping over the 事件／事情／状勢s of the day. What they thought of my presence there I could not tell, but from one or two 発言／述べるs I heard it struck me that I was not regarded with any too much favour.
At the end of one of the 中庭s, that in fact in which we had noticed the large statue of Buddha, there was a 井戸／弁護士席, and 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 対処するing were seated やめる a dozen men. Their quaintly coloured 衣料品s, their shaven 長，率いるs and their curiously 建設するd 麻薬を吸うs, 支援するd by the rosy glow of the sunset, 構成するd a most picturesque and 効果的な group. I crossed に向かって them, and 屈服するing to the party, seated myself in a place which had just been vacated.
One of those 現在の was an 遂行するd story-teller, and was in the middle of a 非常に長い narrative bristling with gods, devils, virtuous men, and reverend ancestors, when I sat 負かす／撃墜する to listen. After he had finished I 拍手喝采する vigorously, and 存在 desirous of ingratiating myself with the company, called for silence and 開始するd a tale myself. Fortunately it was received with かなりの favour, but I could not help noticing that my success was not very palatable to the previous 語り手. He had been watching me ever since I joined the circle, and it struck me as I proceeded with my story that his 利益／興味 増加するd. Then, like a flash, the knowledge 夜明けd upon me that I had seen him before. As I remembered the circumstance a 冷淡な sweat of 恐れる burst out upon me, my 発言する／表明する shook under my emotion, and in trying to think what I had better do, I lost the thread of my narrative. I saw my listeners look up in surprise, and an 表現 of malignant satisfaction （機の）カム into my 競争相手's 直面する. 即時に I pulled myself together and tried to continue as if nothing out of the ありふれた had occurred. But it was too late; I had 誘発するd 疑惑, and for some 推論する／理由 or another the men had come to the 結論 that all was not 権利. How 激しく I regretted having joined the circle at all I need not say! But it was no use crying over spilt milk, so after awhile I made an excuse and left them to their own 装置s, returning to the rooms 始める，決める apart for the use of Dr. Nikola and myself. Fortunately he was alone. Not knowing, however, who might be about, I did not 演説（する）／住所 him at once, but sat 負かす／撃墜する 近づく the door and waited for him to speak. He very soon did so.
"I have been wanting you," he said rather はっきりと. "What have you been doing this hour past?"
"Wandering about the building," I answered, "and at the same time discovering something which is the very 逆転する of pleasant."
"What do you mean," he asked, his 注目する，もくろむs—for he had 除去するd his spectacles—glittering like those of a snake.
"I mean that there is a man in this 修道院 whom I have met before," I said, "and under very unpleasant circumstances."
"Do you think he 認めるs you?"
"I hope not," I answered; "but I 恐れる he does."
"Where did you 会合，会う him, and why do you say 'unpleasant'?"
"It was in Canton," I answered, "and this fellow tried to break into my house. But I caught him in time, and in the fight that followed he stabbed me in the wrist. I carry the 示す to this day. Look at it for yourself. He would have been 遂行する／発効させるd for it had not the 治安判事 before whom he was brought 所有するd a personal grudge against me and 許すd him to escape."
"Let me look at the 示す," said Nikola.
I gave him my left 手渡す, pulling up my sleeve as I did so, that he might have a better 見解（をとる） of it. Half way across, a little above the wrist bone, was a long white scar. Nikola gazed at it attentively.
"This is serious," he said. "You will have to be very careful, or that man will carry his news to the High Priest, and then we shall be nicely caught. For the 未来 make it your habit to walk with your 手渡すs 倍のd beneath your sleeves, and take care who you let come up beside you."
"I will remember," I answered, and as I spoke the 広大な／多数の／重要な gongs, calling the 修道士s to the last service of the day, にわか景気d out from the 中庭 below. 存在 決定するd not to show ourselves 欠如（する）ing in 宗教的な zeal we descended to the large hall, which we 設立する already filled with worshippers. Nikola, by virtue of his sanctity, took up his place in a 目だつ position, hard by where sat the High Priest himself. I was 近づく the western 塀で囲む, surrounded by a 始める，決める of the most loathsome and blackguardly ruffians it would be possible to imagine. At first I took but little notice of them, but when a new 修道士 （機の）カム up and 押し進めるd his way in と一緒に me my 疑惑s were 誘発するd. It was not long before they were 確認するd; the man next to me was the fellow who had looked at me in such a curious fashion when we were seated 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 井戸／弁護士席, and about whom I had spoken to Nikola only a few minutes before. But even if he 認めるd me he did not 許す a 調印する to escape him to show that he did. Throughout the service he 占領するd himself 完全に with his devotions, turned his 直面する neither to the 権利 手渡す nor to the left, and it was not until we were about to rise from our 膝s that he （機の）カム out in his true colours. Then, just as I was half on to my feet, he つまずくd against me with such 暴力／激しさ that I fell 支援する again and rolled over on to the 床に打ち倒す. Then like 雷 he sprang 今後, 掴むd me by the arm, and 涙／ほころびing 支援する my sleeve looked at the scar upon my wrist. As he did so he 許すd a little cry of 勝利 to escape him. For a moment I lay where I had fallen, too 混乱させるd and horror-stricken at what had happened to say or do anything, and yet I knew that unless I 行為／法令／行動するd 敏速に we were 廃虚d indeed.
By this time the hall was more than half empty. I could see Nikola standing at the その上の end talking 真面目に to the High Priest. To interrupt him would be akin to sacrilege; so after I had risen, and when the man had left me and hurried out after the others, I stood at a little distance and waited for him to notice me. As soon as he looked my way I placed three fingers of my 権利 手渡す upon my forehead, a 調印する we had agreed to use whenever danger 脅すd us and it was necessary to 行為／法令／行動する quickly. He saw my meaning, and a moment later, making some excuse, bade the High Priest good-night, and 調印 to me to follow him, retired to his 寄宿舎.
As soon as we had reached it he turned はっきりと upon me, his 注目する，もくろむs, in his excitement, 炎ing in his 長，率いる like live coals.
"What その上の news have you to tell me?" he asked. "Only that I am discovered," I answered. "While we were at 祈りs downstairs the man whom I 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑うd this evening 押し進めるd himself in next to me. I took the 警戒 to keep my 手渡すs covered with my sleeves lest he should see the scar he had （打撃，刑罰などを）与えるd. I could not move away from him for obvious 推論する／理由s, and when the service was over I flattered myself that I had outwitted him. But he was as sharp as I, and just as I was rising from my 膝s he lurched against me and 押し進めるd me 負かす／撃墜する upon the 床に打ち倒す. 自然に I put up my 手渡すs to save myself, and as I did so he 掴むd upon my wrist."
For some minutes Nikola did not speak. He walked up and 負かす／撃墜する the room like a caged tiger.
"This will put us in a 汚い 直す／買収する，八百長をする," he said at last; "and one mistake at this juncture will 廃虚 everything. He will, of course, go direct to the High Priest ーするために 明らかにする／漏らす his 発見, then that worthy will come to me, and I shall be compelled to produce you. You will be 設立する to be an Englishman, disguised, and as soon as that is discovered we'll see the gleaming of the knives. This has come at a most unfortunate time, for by to-morrow morning, if all had gone 井戸／弁護士席, I should have got the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） I 手配中の，お尋ね者, have been told the word that would 収容する／認める us to the 修道院 in the mountains, and we could have left this place in safety. However, there is no time to waste talking of what might have been. I must work out some 計画／陰謀 that will save us, and at once. You had better go into the inner apartment and leave me alone."
As he spoke I （悪事，秘密などを）発見するd the sound of footsteps on the stairs. I ran into the inner room and drew the 激しい curtain across the door. A moment later the High Priest, …を伴ってd by two or three of the 主要な／長／主犯 修道士s and the man who had discovered me, entered the room. Looking through a 穴を開ける in the curtain I saw that Nikola had dropped upon his 膝s and was 占領するd with his devotions. On 観察するing this the High Priest and his 衛星s （機の）カム to a dead stop. Nikola was in no hurry, but kept them waiting for at least ten minutes. Then he rose and turned に向かって them.
"What does this mean?" he asked 厳しく; "and how is it that this 群衆 intrudes upon my privacy? Begone all of you!"
He waved his arm, and the men 出発／死d, but 非，不，無 too pleasantly;
"Now, my father," he said to the High Priest, who had watched these 訴訟／進行s with no small 量 of surprise, "what is it that you 要求する of me?"
"Nay, my lord," said the man he 演説（する）／住所d, "be not angry with thy servants. There is without 疑問 some mistake, which will soon be made （疑いを）晴らす. I have come to thee because it has been 主張するd by a young priest that he, whom you call your 長官, is not a Chinaman at all, but a 確かな barbarian Englishman, called by the heathen 指名する of 'Bruce.' I cannot believe that this is so. How long has my lord known the man?"
"It is unseemly that I should be questioned in this fashion," began Nikola 怒って. "If the man were what thou sayest, what 事柄 is it to thee or to any one? Yet, lest it 産む／飼育する mischief, I will answer. What thy servant says is 誤った. The man is as true a 同国人 of thine as the Emperor himself. There is malice in this 告訴，告発, and it shall be 精査するd to the dregs. Let us decide the 事柄 in this way. If it should be as thou sayest, then to-morrow morning I will have the dog out, and he shall answer for his duplicity with his barbarian life. If not, then, I will 涙／ほころび the tongue of that lying knave, thy priest, out of his mouth. To-night I have to 申し込む／申し出 many 祈りs, and I am 疲れた／うんざりした, so let it be decided between us in the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall to-morrow morning."
"It shall be as you say," said the old man. "Do not let there be hard words between us, my lord. Have no 恐れる; if the man be all thou sayest my servant shall surely 支払う／賃金 the 刑罰，罰則."
Having said this he 屈服するd himself before Nikola, and then 出発／死d from the room. As soon as the sound of his footsteps had 中止するd upon the 石／投石する stairs Nikola （機の）カム in to me.
"They have gone," he said. "And now we have got to find a way out of this difficulty."
"It would seem impossible," I answered doubtfully.
"Nothing is impossible," Nikola answered. "I hate the word. We've got at least six hours before us in which to do something, and if we want to save our lives we had better look sharp and decide what that something is to be."
"THERE are two points which we must 持つ／拘留する in constant remembrance," said Nikola. "The first is that you are not a Chinaman, and the other is that if you go before the High Priest to-morrow morning and 提起する／ポーズをとる as one, he'll certainly find you out, and then we shall be 廃虚d 完全に. If you run away I had better run too, for all the good I can get by stopping, but that I am 解決するd not to do. It has cost me many years' 労働, to say nothing of some thousands of British 君主s, to get as far as I have in this 商売／仕事, and come what may I am 決定するd not to turn 支援する."
"But in what way are we to get out of the difficulty?" I asked dejectedly. "If I can't come before them and brazen the 事柄 out, and I can't remain away for 恐れる of 確認するing what they already 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う, and I can't leave the 修道院 without 製図／抽選 負かす／撃墜する 疑惑 on you, I must 自白する I don't see what is to be done. I suppose we couldn't 賄賂 the man to 身を引く his 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金?"
"Not to be thought of," said Nikola, with 有罪の判決. "Our lives would then be 簡単に 扶養家族 on his reading of the 称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語 'good 約束.' You ought to know what sort of 信用 we could place in that."
"Could we 軍隊 him to （疑いを）晴らす out, and thus let it be supposed that he had brought a 誤った 告訴，告発 against me, and was afraid to stay and 直面する the consequences?"
"That is not possible either," said Nikola. "He would want to 取引 with us, and, to be 復讐d on us, would turn 反逆者 when we 辞退するd his 需要・要求する. In that 事例／患者 it would be 'pull devil, pull パン職人,' and the one who could pull the longest would 伸び（る） the day. No, you had better leave the 状況／情勢 to me. Let me 取り組む it, and see what is to be done."
I did as he wished, and for nearly half an hour could hear him pacing up and 負かす／撃墜する his room. I did not intrude upon him, or interrupt him in any way. At the end of the time 明言する／公表するd he abandoned his 歩哨-go and （機の）カム in to me.
"I think I see my way," he said. "But when all is said and done it is almost as desperate as either of the other 治療（薬）s we thought of. You will have to carry it out, and if you fail—井戸／弁護士席, Heaven have mercy upon both of us. You have saved my life before, I am going to 信用 it to you now; but remember this, if you do not carry out my 計画（する） 正確に／まさに as I wish, you will never see me alive again. Give me your best attention, and endeavour to recollect everything I tell you. It is now の近くに on midnight; the gong for 早期に service will sound at half-past five, but it will be daylight an hour before that. By hook or by crook I must get you out of this place within a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour, and, even if you have to steal a horse to do it, you must be in Pekin before half-past one. Once there you will find the house of Yoo Laoyeh, who lives at the 後部 of 公使館 Street, 近づく the 長，指導者 gate of the Tartar city."
"But how am I going to get into the city at all?" I asked, amazed that he should have forgotten what struck me as a most hopeless 障壁—the 塀で囲む. "The gates are の近くにd at sundown and are not opened again till sunrise."
"You'll have to climb the 塀で囲む," he answered.
"But, as you know very 井戸／弁護士席, that's altogether impossible," I said.
"Not a bit of it," he replied. "I will tell you of a place where it is やめる practicable. Do you remember the 位置／汚点／見つけ出す where you 提案するd to 行方不明になる Medwin?"
"Perfectly," I answered with a smile. "But how do you know it?"
"My dear fellow, I was within a hundred yards of you the whole time. No, you need not look at me like that. I was not 秘かに調査するing upon you. After the fashion of the 広大な／多数の／重要な Napoleon, I like to be 用意が出来ている for every 緊急, and, thinking I might some day want to get into the city when the gates were shut, I 利用するd some spare time by taking a look at the 塀で囲む. You see how useful that chance visit has 証明するd. 井戸／弁護士席, two bastions from where you were seated that day the 石／投石するs are larger and more uneven than anywhere else along the whole of that 味方する of the city. To my 確かな knowledge three men have been in the habit of climbing that 部分 of the ramparts for the last three years, between midnight and sunrise, 密輸するing in goods to the city in order to 避ける 支払う／賃金ing the octroi 義務, which, as you know, is 徴収するd during daylight. When you have got over you will find a 歩哨 地位，任命するd on the other 味方する; to him you will 支払う／賃金 three taels, telling him at the same time that you ーするつもりである returning in an hour, and that you will 支払う／賃金 him the same 量 for the 特権 of getting out. Having passed the 歩哨 you will proceed into the town, find Yoo Laoyeh, and let him know the 直す／買収する，八百長をする we are in. You may 約束 him the sum of ｣100 cash if he 落ちるs in with your suggestions, and you must bring him 支援する with you, willy-nilly, as 急速な／放蕩な as you can travel. I will 会合，会う you at the southern gate. Knock four times, and as you knock, cough. That shall be the signal, and as soon as I hear it I will open the gate. All that must be guarded against inside shall be my care. Everything outside must be yours. Now let us come along, and discover by what means I can get you out."
Together we left the room, descended the stairs, and, crossing the 賭け金-議会, entered the big hall. The 勝利，勝つd which, as I have already said, （機の）カム in through the 狭くする windows on either 味方する rustled the long hangings till the place seemed peopled with a thousand silk-覆う？ ghosts. Nikola crossed it 速く and left by the southern door. I followed の近くに at his heels, and together we passed unobserved through the 広大な／多数の／重要な 中庭, keeping 井戸／弁護士席 in the 影をつくる／尾行する of the building until we reached the first gate. Fortunately for us this also was unguarded, but we could hear the 修道士, who was supposed to be watching it, placidly snoring in the room beside it. Slipping the enormous 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 aside we opened it 静かに, passed through, and, crossing an open （土地などの）細長い一片 of green, made for the outer 塀で囲む. Just, however, as we were about to turn the corner that separated us from it, a sudden sound of 発言する／表明するs 原因（となる）d us to hesitate.
"This way," whispered Nikola, 掴むing my wrist and dragging me to the left. "I can find you another 出口. I noticed, yesterday, a big tree growing by the 味方する of the 塀で囲む."
Leaving the centre gate we turned to our left 手渡す, as I have said, and followed the 塀で囲む we 願望（する）d to surmount until we arrived at a large tree whose higher 支店s more than overspread it.
"This is the very place for our 目的," said Nikola, coming to a 停止（させる）. "You will have to climb the tree and はう along the 支店s until you get on to the 塀で囲む, then you must let yourself 負かす／撃墜する on the other 味方する and be off to the city as hard as you can go. Good-bye, and may good luck go with you!"
I shook him by the 手渡す and sprang into the 支店s. Hitherto it had seemed as if I had been 事実上の／代理 all this in a wonderfully vivid dream. Now, however, the rough bark of the tree roused me to the reality of my position. I climbed until I （機の）カム to the level of the 塀で囲む, then, choosing a 厚い 支店, made my way along it until I stood upon the solid masonry. Once there, only a 減少（する） of about twelve feet remained between me and freedom. Bidding Nikola, who was watching me, good-bye, in a whisper, I leant over the 塀で囲む as far as I was able, しっかり掴むd the 対処するing with both 手渡すs, and then let myself 減少（する）.
Once on the ground I ran across the open space に向かって a cluster of small dwellings. In an enclosure 隣接するing one of them I could dimly make out a number of ponies running loose, and knowing that if I could only 安全な・保証する one of these and find a saddle and bridle in the 住居 of its owner, I might be in Pekin in under an hour, I 解決するd to make the 試みる／企てる.
Creeping up to the nearest of the houses, I approached the door. Inside I could hear the stertorous breathing of the occupants. A joss-stick burnt before an image 近づく at 手渡す, and though it was 井戸／弁護士席-nigh exhausted by the time I 安全な・保証するd it, it still gave me 十分な light to look about me. A moment later I had a saddle and bridle 負かす／撃墜する from a peg and was out の中で the ponies again.
安全な・保証するing the most likely animal I saddled him, and as soon as I had done so, 機動力のある and 始める，決める off に向かって Pekin as 急速な／放蕩な as he could take me. The night was dark, but the 跡をつける was plain; the little beast was more than willing, and as I did not spare him, something いっそう少なく than three-４半期/4分の1s of an hour, counting from the time I had bidden Nikola good-bye, 設立する me dismounting under the 広大な／多数の／重要な 塀で囲む of the city.
Having 設立する a convenient 位置／汚点／見つけ出す, I tied up my pony, and when he was made 安全な・保証する 始める，決める to work and 追跡（する）d along the 塀で囲む until I （機の）カム to the 規模ing place of which Nikola had told me.
As I reached it a light 勝利，勝つd blew from over the plain, and sent the dust eddying about me, さもなければ not a sound 乱すd the stillness of the night. Then, having made sure that I was unobserved, and that I had chosen the 権利 位置／汚点／見つけ出す, I began to climb. It was no 平易な 仕事. The 石／投石するs were large and uneven. いつかs I got a good 持つ／拘留する, but in many 事例／患者s I had veritably to 粘着する by my nails. The 緊張する was almost too much for my strength, and when I had been climbing for five minutes, and there still remained as much of the 塀で囲む ahead, I began to despair of ever getting to the 最高の，を越す. But I was not to be beaten; and remembering how much depended upon my getting into the city, I dragged myself wearily on, and at last はうd on to the 首脳会議. When I reached it I could see the city spread out on the other 味方する. A little to the left of where I stood was the place, to be for ever sacred in my 注目する，もくろむs, where I had 提案するd to, and been 受託するd by, my sweetheart, while away to the 権利 was that ４半期/4分の1 of the town where at that moment she was in all probability asleep, and, I hoped, dreaming of me. As soon as, I 回復するd my breath I crossed the 塀で囲む and descended by the steps on the other 味方する.
I had scarcely reached the 底（に届く） before a man rose from a dark corner and 直面するd me. In the half light I could see that he was a Chinese 兵士 武装した with a long spear. Telling him in a whisper, in answer to his 調査, that I was a friend, I 圧力（をかける）d the money that Nikola had given me for that 目的 into his not unwilling 手渡す, and as soon as he drew 支援する, astonished at my munificence, sped past him and darted 負かす／撃墜する the nearest street.
From the place where I had passed the 歩哨 to the thoroughfare where Yoo Laoyeh resided was a distance of about half a mile, and to reach it quickly it was necessary that I should pass the Benfleets' abode. You may imagine what thoughts 占領するd my brain as I stood in the silent street and regarded it. Under that roof was sleeping the one woman who was all the world to me. I would have given anything I 所有するd for five minutes' conversation with her; but as that was impossible I turned on my heel and made my way through a by-小道／航路 into the street I had been sent to find. The house was not a big one, and at first ちらりと見ること did not strike me very favourably. But the style of building did not 事柄 if I 設立する there the man I 手配中の，お尋ね者. I knocked upon the door—which I discovered was ひどく 閉めだした—but for some minutes got no 返答; then, just as I was beginning to wonder in what way I could best manage to attract the attention of those inside, I heard a patter of 明らかにする feet on the 石／投石する passage, and after much fumbling the door was opened and a man appeared before me. One ちらりと見ること told me that he was not the person I 手配中の，お尋ね者. I 問い合わせd if Yoo Laoyeh were at home, but from the answer I received I gathered that he had gone out earlier in the evening, and that he was probably at a 隣人ing house playing fan-tan.
Having asked the man if he would take me to him, and at the same time 申し込む／申し出ing him a かなりの 賄賂 to do so, I was すぐに 行為／行うd into the street again, 負かす／撃墜する one by-小道／航路, up another, and finally brought to a 行き詰まり before one of the largest houses in that ４半期/4分の1. My guide was evidently 井戸／弁護士席 known, for when the door was opened the keeper did not 試みる／企てる to 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 our passage, but permitted us to pass through to a fair-sized room at the 支援する. Here やめる thirty Chinamen were busily engaged upon their favourite pastime, but though we scanned the 列／漕ぐ／騒動s of 直面するs, the man for whom we were searching was not の中で the number. As soon as we were 納得させるd of this fact we left that room and proceeded to another, where the same game was also 存在 carried on. Once more, however, we were doomed to 失望; Laoyeh was not there either.
存在 anxious to 得る some news of him my guide interrogated one of the players, who remembered having seen our man about an hour before. He imagined he had then gone into the room we had first visited. We returned there and made その上の 調査s, only to elicit the fact that he had been seen to leave the house about half an hour before our arrival.
"Have no 恐れる. I will find him for you," said my companion, and we thereupon proceeded 負かす／撃墜する the passage, past the doorkeeper, into the street again. Once more we took up the chase, trying first one house and then another, to bring up 結局 in an あへん den a little behind the English 公使館. The outer room, or that nearest the street, was filled with 顧客s, but our man was not の中で them. The inner room was not やめる so （人が）群がるd, and here, after all our searching, we discovered the man we 手配中の，お尋ね者. But there was this drawback, he had smoked his usual number of 麻薬を吸うs and was now 急速な／放蕩な asleep.
By this time it was hard upon two o'clock, and at most I dared not remain in the city more than another hour. At the same time it would be a most foolish, if not dangerous, 訴訟／進行 to 試みる／企てる to travel with my man in his 現在の 条件. If he did nothing else he would probably 落ちる over the 塀で囲む and break his neck, and then I should either have to leave him behind or remain to answer inconvenient questions; but whatever happened I knew I must carry him out of this house as quickly as possible to some place where I could endeavour to bring him 支援する to his senses. I said as much to the man who had 設立する him for me, and then between us we got him on to his feet, and taking him by either arm led him off to his home. By the time we got him there he had in a small 手段 回復するd from the 影響s of his smoke. Then we 始める，決める to work, using every means known to our experience, to bring him 一連の会議、交渉／完成する, and by half-past two had so far 後継するd as to 令状 me in thinking I might 始める，決める off on my return 旅行.
"But what does your Excellency 要求する of me?" asked Laoyeh, who was still a bit mystified, though fortunately not so far gone as to be unable to 認める me.
"You are to come with me," I answered, taking good care before I spoke that the other man was 井戸／弁護士席 out of 審理，公聴会, "to the Llamaserai, where Nikola wants you. There is a hundred 続けざまに猛撃するs English to be earned; how, I will tell you as we go."
As soon as he heard Nikola's 指名する and the 量 of the reward, he seemed to become himself again. We accordingly left the house and 始める，決める off together for that part of the 塀で囲む where I had made my 降下／家系 into the city. The same 兵士 was still on guard, and when I had placed the money I had 約束d him in his 手渡す, he すぐに 許すd us to pass. Within twenty minutes of leaving Yoo's house we were ready to descend the other 味方する of the 塀で囲む.
If I had 設立する it difficult to 上がる, I discovered that it was doubly difficult to descend. The night was now very dark, and it was 井戸／弁護士席-nigh impossible to see what we were doing. The 割れ目s and crannies which were to serve as 残り／休憩（する）ing-places for our feet seemed almost impossible to find, and 権利 glad I was when the 商売／仕事 was 遂行するd and we stood together on terra firma at the 底（に届く）.
So far my visit to the city had 証明するd eminently successful. But time was slipping by, and there was still the long distance out to the Serai to be 打ち勝つ. I went over to where the pony stood hitched to the tree, 正確に／まさに as I had left him, and placed my companion upon his 支援する. He was almost, if not やめる, himself now, so 勧めるing the little animal into a canter we 始める，決める off, he riding and I running beside him. In this fashion, running and walking, we （機の）カム to the southern gate of the 広大な／多数の／重要な 修道院. I had carried out my 株 of the 商売／仕事, and when once I should have got Laoyeh inside, the direction of the 残りの人，物 would 嘘（をつく） with Nikola.
Having turned the pony loose, his bridle and saddle upon his 支援する, I approached and knocked upon the door, coughing softly as I did so. Then little by little it opened, and we 設立する Nikola standing upon the threshold. He beckoned to us to enter, and without losing a moment we did as we were ordered. Daylight was の近くに at 手渡す, and the unmistakable 冷気／寒がらせる of 夜明け was in the 空気／公表する. It was very 確かな that I had returned 非，不，無 too soon.
Having passed through the gate, and fastened it behind us, we made for the second archway on our left. The 歩哨 box—if one might call it by that 指名する—was still 砂漠d, and the guard was snoring as placidly in his little room at the 味方する as when we had crept through nearly four hours before. This 中庭, like its 前任者, was empty; but to show the narrowness of our escape, I may say that as we crossed it we could distinctly hear the jabbering of priests in the 寄宿舎s on either 手渡す.
At last we reached the door of the big hall. 開始 it carefully we sped across the 床に打ち倒す and then up the stairs to our own apartments. Once inside, the door was quickly shut, and we were 安全な. Then Nikola turned to me, and said—
"Bruce, you have saved me a second time, and I can only say, as I said before, you will not find me ungrateful. But there is no time to lose. Yoo Laoyeh, come in here."
We passed into the inner room, and then Nikola opened a small box he had brought with his other impedimenta. Then bidding the man seat himself upon the 床に打ち倒す, he 始める，決める to work with wonderful dexterity to change his 外見. The 操作／手術 lasted about a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour, and when it was 完全にするd Nikola turned to me.
"Change 着せる／賦与するs with him, Bruce, as quickly as you can."
When this was done I could hardly believe my own 注目する，もくろむs, the likeness was so wonderful. There, standing before me, was an exact reproduction of myself. In 高さ, build, dress, and even in feature, the resemblance was most striking. But Nikola was not 満足させるd.
"You must be changed too," he said. "We must do the thing 完全に, or not at all. Sit 負かす／撃墜する."
I did so, and he once more 始める，決める to work. By the time I left his 手渡すs I was as unlike my real self as a man could 井戸／弁護士席 be. No one could have 認めるd me, and in that 事例／患者 it was most ありそうもない that our secret would be discovered.
On the way from Pekin I had 明確に explained to Laoyeh the part he would be called upon to play. Now Nikola gave the final touches to his education, and then all was 完全にするd.
"But, look here," I cried, as a thought struck me; "we have forgotten one thing—the scar upon my arm."
"I had omitted that," said Nikola. "And it is just those little bits of forgetfulness that hang people."
Then taking a long （土地などの）細長い一片 of native cloth from a 議長，司会を務める he 建設するd a sling, which he placed 一連の会議、交渉／完成する my neck. My left arm was placed in rough splints, which he procured from his invaluable 薬／医学 chest, and after it had been 包帯d I felt I might also 反抗する （犯罪，病気などの）発見, as far as my wrist was 関心d.
Half an hour later the 広大な／多数の／重要な gong sounded for morning worship, and in a few moments we knew that the 中庭s and halls would be filled with men. 事実上の／代理 under Nikola's 指示／教授／教育s I descended to the hall alone, and choosing my 適切な時期 slipped in and mingled with the throng. I was not the only 手足を不自由にする／（物事を）損なう, for there were half a dozen others with their 武器 in slings. Nor was the fact that I was a stranger likely to attract any undue attention, inasmuch as there were mendicants and people of all sorts and descriptions passing into the Serai 直接／まっすぐに the gates were opened at daylight.
I had not been in the hall very long before I saw Nikola hobble in on his stick and take his place beside the High Priest. Then the service 開始するd. When it was at an end it was evident that something unusual was going to take place, for the 修道士s and their guests remained where they were, instead of leaving the hall as usual. Then the High Priest 機動力のある the small 壇・綱領・公約 at the その上の end and seated himself in the 議長，司会を務める of 司法（官）. Nikola followed and took his place beside him, and presently two tall 修道士s appeared bringing with them the man who had brought the 告訴，告発 against me on the previous evening. He seemed pretty 確かな of 存在 able to 証明する his 事例／患者, and I could not help smiling as I watched his 確信して 空気／公表する. First the old High Priest, who it must be remembered was almost blind with age, 演説（する）／住所d him. He said something in reply, and then Nikola spoke. His 発言する／表明する was scarcely as loud as usual, yet every word rang across the hall.
"Liar and 反逆者!" he said. "You have brought this 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 against my faithful servant for some devilish 推論する／理由 of your own. But old as I am I will 会合，会う it, and evil be upon you if it be 証明するd that what you say is 誤った."
He then turned to a 修道士 standing beside him and said something to him; the man 屈服するd, and leaving the 壇・綱領・公約 disappeared in the direction of our staircase. Presently he returned with Laoyeh, whose 長，率いる was bent, and whose 手渡すs were 倍のd across his breast. He climbed the steps, and, when he had done so, accuser and （刑事）被告 直面するd each other from either end of the 壇・綱領・公約.
Then it was that I saw the cleverness of Nikola's 計画／陰謀. He had arranged that the 裁判，公判 should take place after the morning service for the 推論する／理由 that, at that tune, the big hall would not be 完全に lighted. As it 証明するd, it was still wrapped in more than 半分-不明瞭, and by the promptness with which he 開始するd 商売／仕事 it was evident that he was 解決するd to 配置する／処分する／したい気持ちにさせる of the 事柄 in 手渡す before it would be possible for any one to see too 明確に.
First the man who brought the 告訴，告発 against me was ordered to repeat his tale. In reply he gave a 詳細（に述べる）d description of our 会合 in Canton and led up, with a few unimportant 保留（地）／予約s, to the を刺す he had given me upon the wrist. He then unhesitatingly 主張するd the fact that I was a kueidzu, or foreign devil, and dared the man who was taking my place to disprove it. When he had finished, Nikola turned to the High Priest and said—
"My father, thou hast heard all that this wicked man hath said. He 告発する／非難するs my servant yonder—he himself 存在 a どろぼう and a would-be 殺害者 by his own 自白—of 存在 one of those barbarians whom we all hate and despise. I have 設立する my man faithful and true in all his 取引, yet if he is a foreign devil, as this fellow 主張するs, then he shall be punished. On the other 手渡す, if this rogue shall be 証明するd to be in the wrong, and to have lied for the sake of 伸び（る）, then it shall be my request to thee that I be 許すd to を取り引きする him によれば the 力／強力にするs with which thou knowest I am 投資するd. I have no 恐れる; 裁判官 therefore between us."
When he had finished the old man rose and hobbled 今後 on his stick; he looked 確固に from one to the other of the two men, and then, 演説（する）／住所ing Laoyeh, said—
"Come thou with me "; and took him into a small room 主要な out of the big hall.
For nearly half an hour we sat in silence, wondering what the upshot of it all would be. I watched Nikola, who sat during the whole of the time with his chin 残り／休憩（する）ing on his 手渡す, 星／主役にするing straight before him.
At last our period of waiting was at an end. We heard the （電話線からの）盗聴 of the High Priest's stick upon the 床に打ち倒す, and presently he 上がるd the 壇・綱領・公約 again. Laoyeh followed him. Reaching his 議長，司会を務める the old man 調印するd for silence, and as soon as he had 得るd it, said—
"I have 診察するd this man, and can 断言する that the 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 this fellow has brought against him is without truth in every particular. Let 司法（官） be done."
Then 直面するing Nikola he continued—
"The rogue yonder waits for thee to do with him as thou wilt."
Nikola rose slowly from his 議長，司会を務める and 直面するd the unhappy man.
"Now, dog!" he cried. "By the words of thine own High Priest I have to を取り引きする thee. Is it for this that thou earnest into the world. Thou hast dared to malign this my servant, and thy superior has sworn to it. Draw nearer to me."
The man approached a few paces, and it was easily seen that he was afraid. Then for nearly a minute Nikola gazed fixedly at him, and I cannot remember ever to have seen those terrible 注目する，もくろむs look so 猛烈な／残忍な. If you can imagine a rabbit fascinated by a serpent you will have some notion of how the man 直面するd his persecutor. Slowly, インチ by インチ, Nikola raised his 権利 手渡す until it pointed to a 位置／汚点／見つけ出す on the 塀で囲む a little above the other's 長，率いる. Then it began to descend again, and as it did so the fellow's 長，率いる went 負かす／撃墜する also until he stood almost in a stooping posture.
"You see," said Nikola, "you are in my 力／強力にする. You cannot move unless I 企て，努力，提案 you do so."
"I cannot move," echoed the man almost unconsciously.
"Try how you will, you cannot stand upright," said Nikola.
"I cannot stand upright," repeated the man in the same monotonous 発言する／表明する, and as he spoke I saw large 減少（する）s of perspiration 落ちる from his 直面する upon the 床に打ち倒す. You may be sure that every 注目する，もくろむ in that large hall was riveted upon them, and even the High Priest craned 今後 in his 議長，司会を務める in order that he might not lose a word.
"Look into my 直面する," said Nikola, and his words 削減（する） the 空気／公表する like a sharp knife.
The man 解除するd his 注目する，もくろむs and did as he was ordered, but without raising his 長，率いる.
"Now leave this place," said Nikola, "and until this time to-morrow you cannot stand upright like your fellow-men. It is my 命令（する）, and you cannot disobey. Let that help you to remember that for the 未来 my servants must be sacred. Go!"
He pointed with his 権利 手渡す to the doors at the end of the hall, and, bent 二塁打, the man went 負かす／撃墜する the aisle between the 列／漕ぐ／騒動s of gaping 修道士s out into the 中庭 and the streaming 日光. The High Priest had risen to his feet, and calling up a 修道士 who stood beside him, said—
"Follow him, and be 確かな that he leaves the Serai."
Then approaching Nikola he said—
"My master, I see that, without a 疑問, thou art he whom we were told to 推定する／予想する. In what way can thy servant 証明する of service to thee?"
"認める me an interview and I will tell you," said Nikola.
"If my lord will follow me," said the old man, "we can talk in 私的な." Next moment they disappeared into the room where the High Priest had 行為／行うd the examination of Laoyeh. Thereupon the congregation 分散させるd.
As soon as the hall was empty I 掴むd my 適切な時期 and went upstairs to our own apartment. There I discovered Laoyeh. によれば Nikola's 指示／教授／教育s we changed 着せる／賦与するs again, and when he was himself once more, I gave him the peddler's dress which Nikola had 用意が出来ている for this occasion, and also the reward which had been 約束d him. Then bidding him good-bye, I bade him get out of the 修道院 as quickly as he could.
It was nearly an hour before Nikola joined me. When he did he could hardly 隠す his exultation.
"Bruce," he said, almost forgetting his usual 警告を与える in the excitement of the moment, "I have discovered everything! I have got the chart, and I have learnt the password. I know where the 修道院 is, and at daybreak to-morrow morning we'll 始める，決める out in search of it."
DAYLIGHT was scarcely born in the sky next morning before Nikola roused me from my slumbers.
"Wake up," he said; "for in half an hour we must be starting. I have already given orders for the ponies to be saddled, and as we have a long 行う／開催する／段階 before us we must not keep them waiting."
Within a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour of his calling me I was dressed and ready. A breakfast of rice was served to us by one of the 修道士s, and when we had eaten it we descended to the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall. The High Priest was waiting there for us, and after a short conversation with Nikola he led us 負かす／撃墜する the steps into the 中庭, where, beneath the 影をつくる／尾行する of the 広大な／多数の／重要な statue of Buddha, we took an impressive 別れの（言葉，会） of him.
Having thanked him for his 歓待, we made our way に向かって the outer gate, to find our ponies and servants standing ready to receive us. The gate was thrown open, and in 選び出す／独身 とじ込み／提出する we proceeded through it. Then it clanged to behind us, and when it had done so we had said good-bye to the 広大な／多数の／重要な Llamaserai.
During the first day's ride nothing occurred 価値（がある） chronicling. We reached a small village at 中央の-day, （軍の）野営地，陣営d there, and after a 簡潔な／要約する 残り／休憩（する）, continued our 旅行, arriving at the 防備を堅める／強化するd town of 売春婦-Yang-Lo just as dusk was 落ちるing. Having been directed to the 主要な／長／主犯 inn, we 棒 up to it, and engaged rooms for the night. Our first day's 行う／開催する／段階 had been one of thirty-six miles, and we felt that we had 井戸／弁護士席 earned a 残り／休憩（する）.
It was not until the evening meal was eaten, and Nikola and I had retired to our own 私的な room, that I 設立する an 適切な時期 of asking what he thought of the success which had …に出席するd our 成果／努力s so far.
"To tell you the truth," he said, "I must 自白する that I am surprised that we have been as successful as we have."
"井戸／弁護士席, that man's 認めるing me was unfortunate, I 収容する／認める; but still——"
"Oh, I don't mean that at all," said Nikola. "I regard that as やめる an outside chance. And after all it 証明するd a golden 適切な時期 in the end. What does surprise me, however, is that I should have been 受託するd so blindly for the Priest of Hankow."
"That is certainly strange," I answered. "But there is one thing which astonishes me even more: that is, how it comes about that, as the stick was 存在 searched for by the Chinese in Australia who knew of your 意向s, it should fail to be evident to the society in 中国 that you are the man who stole it?"
"My dear fellow," said Nikola, laying his 手渡す upon my arm, "you don't surely imagine that in such a 商売／仕事 as the 現在の, in which I have sunk, 井戸／弁護士席, if nothing else, your ｣10,000, I should have left anything to chance. No, Bruce. Chance and Dr. Nikola do not often 行為／法令／行動する in concert. When I 得るd that stick from Wetherell I took care that the fact should not be known outside the circle of a few men whom I felt perfectly 確かな I could 信用. As soon as it was in my 所有／入手 I 申し込む／申し出d a large reward for it in Sydney, and I took care that the news of this reward should reach the ears of the Chinamen who were on the look-out for it. Then, on the 嘆願 that I was still searching for it, I returned to 中国, with what result you know. What does puzzle me, however, is the fact that the society has not yet 設立する out that it has been deceived. It must 結局 come to this 結論, and it can't be very long before it does. Let us hope that by that time we shall be 支援する in civilization once more."
I knocked the ashes out of my 麻薬を吸う, and rolling over on my 一面に覆う／毛布s, looked Nikola straight in the 直面する.
"By the time you have got to the end of this 商売／仕事," I said, "your （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状）, 推定するing all the time that you do get it, will have cost you の近くに on ｣40,000—very かもしれない more; you will have 危うくするd your own life, to say nothing of 地雷, and have run the 危険 of 拷問 and all other sorts of horrors. Do you think it is 価値（がある） it?"
"My dear Bruce, I would 危険 twice as much to 達成する my ends. If I did not think it 価値（がある） it I should not have 乗る，着手するd upon it at all. You little know the value of my 追求（する），探索（する）. With the knowledge I shall 伸び（る） I shall revolutionize the whole science of 薬／医学. There will be only one doctor in the world, and he will be Dr. Nikola! Think of that. If I 願望（する）d fame, what greater 評判 could I have. If money, there is wealth untold in this 計画／陰謀 for me. If I wish to 利益 my fellow-man, how can I do it better than by unravelling the 絡まるd skein of Life and Death? It is also plain that you have not しっかり掴むd my character yet. I tell you this, if it became necessary for me, for a 目的 I had in 見解（をとる）, to find and kill a 確かな 飛行機で行く, I would follow that 飛行機で行く into the 最大の parts of Asia, and spend all I 所有するd in the world upon the chase; but one thing is very 確かな , I would kill that 飛行機で行く. How much more then in a 事柄 which is as important as life itself to me?"
As I looked at him I had to 自白する to myself that I had not the least 疑問 but that he would do all he said.
"There is a proverb," continued Nikola, "to the 影響 that 'Whatever is 価値（がある） doing, is 価値（がある） doing 井戸／弁護士席.' That has been my motto through life, and I hope I shall continue to live up to it. But time is getting on; let us turn in; we have a long day's ride before us to-morrow."
We blew out the light and composed ourselves for the night, but it was hours before sleep visited my eyelids. Thoughts on almost every 考えられる 支配する passed in and out of my brain. One moment I was in the playing-fields of my old familiar English school; the next I was ratching 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the Horn in an ice-bound clipper, with a scurvy-ridden 乗組員 in the forecastle, and a trio of drunken miscreants upon the ４半期/4分の1-deck; the next I was in the southern seas, some tropic island abeam, able to hear the 雷鳴 of the surf upon the 暗礁, and to see palm-覆う？ hill on palm-覆う？ hill 後部ing their lovely 長，率いるs up to the azure sky. Then my thoughts （機の）カム 支援する to 中国, and as a natural sequence, to Pekin. I 制定するd again that half-hour on the 塀で囲む, and seemed once more to feel the 圧力 of a 確かな tiny 手渡す in 地雷, and to see those frank 甘い 注目する，もくろむs gazing into my 直面する with all the love and 信用 imaginable. Gladys was my 約束d wife, and here I lay on the road to Thibet, disguised as a Chinaman, in a filthy native inn, in the company of a man who would stop at nothing and who was 恐れるd by everybody who knew him. It was long past midnight before I fell asleep, and then it seemed as if my 注目する，もくろむs had not been の近くにd five minutes before Nikola, who, as usual, appeared to 要求する no sleep at all, was up and 準備するing to go on; indeed, the sun was hardly risen above the horizon before our breakfast was 派遣（する）d, and we were ready for the saddle.
事前の to starting Nikola went off to speak to the man who kept the inn. While he was away I amused myself by riding 一連の会議、交渉／完成する to look at the other 味方する of the house. It was of the ordinary Chinese pattern, not much dirtier and not much cleaner. A 幅の広い verandah surrounded it on two 味方するs, and at the 後部 was a sort of 狭くする terrace, on which, as I turned the corner, two men were standing. As soon as they saw me they were for 退却／保養地ing into the house, but before they were able to 遂行する this manoeuvre I had had a good look at them.
The taller of the pair I had never seen before, but his companion's 直面する was somehow familiar to me. While I was wondering where I had 遭遇（する）d it, a niafoo （機の）カム 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the building to 知らせる me that Nikola was ready to be off, so touching up my pony I returned to the 前線 to find the cavalcade in the 行為／法令／行動する of starting.
As usual Nikola took the lead, I followed him at a respectful distance, and the servants were behind me again. In this fashion we made our way 負かす／撃墜する the 跡をつける and across a stream に向かって the 範囲 of mountains that could just be discerned on the northern horizon. All 一連の会議、交渉／完成する us the country was 明らかにする and uncultivated, with here and there a mud-hut, in colour not unlike the plain upon which it stood.
By midday we had reached the 範囲 of mountains just について言及するd, and were に引き続いて a 井戸／弁護士席-made 跡をつける through 暗い／優うつな but somewhat picturesque scenery. With the exception of a few camel teams laden with coal passing 負かす／撃墜する to Pekin, and here and there a travelling hawker, we met but few people. In this 地域 the villages are far apart, and do not 耐える any too good a 評判.
That night we （軍の）野営地，陣営d at an inn on the mountain 最高の，を越す, and next morning made our 降下／家系 into the valley on the other 味方する. By the time 不明瞭 fell we had proceeded some thirty 半端物 miles along it. The country was quickly changing, becoming more and more rocky, and the ascents and 降下／家系s more precipitous. For this 推論する／理由, at the next 停止（させる）ing-place we were compelled to part with our ponies, and to 購入（する） in their stead half a dozen tiny, but exceedingly muscular, donkeys.
On the third night after our 入ること／参加（者） into the hills and the fourth from Pekin, we 停止（させる）d at a small 修道院 standing in an exposed position on the hill 最高の，を越す. As we 棒 up to it the sun was 拒絶する／低下するing behind the mountains to the 西方の. There was no need for any password, as we were 招待するd to enter almost before we had knocked upon the gate. The place was 占領するd by an abbot and six priests, all of whom were 充てるs of Shamanism. The building itself was but a poor one, consisting of an outer 法廷，裁判所, a draughty central hall, and four small rooms 隣接するing it. At the 入り口 to the central hall we were received by the abbot, a villainously dirty little fellow of middle age, who 行為／行うd us to the rooms we were to 占領する. They were small and mean, very much out of 修理, and, as a result, exceedingly draughty. But if a 見解（をとる）, such as would be 設立する in few parts of the world, could 補償する for physical 不快, we should have been able to consider ourselves 住所／本籍d in 高級な. From one window we could look across the 範囲 of mountains, over valley and 頂点（に達する）, into the very 注目する，もくろむ of the setting sun. From another we could gaze 負かす／撃墜する, nearly three hundred feet, sheer 減少（する）, into the valley, and perceive the 跡をつける we had followed that morning, winding its way along, while, through a 狭くする gully to our left we could distinguish the stretch of plain, nearly fifty miles distant, where we had （軍の）野営地，陣営d two nights before.
As the sun dropped, a chilly 勝利，勝つd sprang up and tore 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the building, 叫び声をあげるing through the 割れ目s and crevices with a noise that might have been に例えるd to the shrieks of a thousand souls in torment. The 炎上 of the peculiar lamp with which our room was furnished rose and fell in unison with the 爆破s, throwing the strangest 影をつくる／尾行するs upon the 塀で囲むs and 天井. This eccentric light, 連合させるd with the stealthy movements of the coarse-式服d, shaven 修道士s, as they passed and repassed our door, did not, as may be 推定する／予想するd, conduce to our cheerfulness, so that it may not be a 事柄 for surprise that when I sat 負かす／撃墜する with Nikola to our evening meal, it was with a greater feeling of loneliness, and a greater 量 of home-sickness in my heart, than I had felt at all since the 旅行 開始するd.
When our repast was finished we lit our 麻薬を吸うs and sat smoking for half an hour. Then, 存在 unable to stand the silence of the room any longer—for Nikola had a fit of the blues, and was その結果 but a poor companion—I left our 味方する of the house and went out into the 中庭 before the central hall. Just as I reached it a loud knocking sounded upon the outer gate. On 審理，公聴会 it two of the 修道士s crossed the yard to open it, and, when they had swung the 激しい doors 支援する, a small party of men, 機動力のある on donkeys, 棒 into the square. Thinking the arrival of a party of travellers would at least serve to distract my thoughts, I went 負かす／撃墜する to watch them 荷を降ろす.
As I approached them I discovered that they were five in party, the 主要な／長／主犯s numbering three, the remaining two 存在 苦力s. Their profession I was unable to guess; they were all 武装した, and, as far as I could tell, carried no 商品／売買する with them. When they had dismounted the abbot （機の）カム 負かす／撃墜する to receive them, and after a little talk 行為／行うd them to the guest 議会s on the other 味方する of the hall opposite to our ４半期/4分の1s.
For some time after the leaders had retired to their rooms I remained where I was, watching the 苦力s unharness; then, just as the last pack-saddle was placed upon the ground, one of the owners left the house and approached the group. He had come within a few paces of where I stood before he became aware of my presence; then he stooped, and, as if to excuse his visit, opened the pack-saddle lying nearest him. I noticed that he did not take anything from it, and that all the time he was 診察するing it he did not once turn his 直面する in my direction; therefore, when he wheeled quickly 一連の会議、交渉／完成する and hurried 支援する to the house, without speaking to either of his men, I felt that I had every 権利 to suppose he did not wish me to become aware of his 身元.
This 始める，決める me thinking, and the more I thought the more desirous I became of finding out who my gentleman might be. I waited in the 中庭 for nearly a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour after the animals had been picketed, and the pack-saddles and harness had been carried away, but he did not put in another 外見. Seeing this, I returned to the buildings, and 始める，決める my brain to work to try and discover what I 手配中の，お尋ね者 so much to know. It was a long time before I could 攻撃する，衝突する on any 計画（する）; then an idea （機の）カム to me and I left the room again and went 一連の会議、交渉／完成する to the 支援する of the buildings, hoping, if possible, to find a window through which I could look in upon the new arrivals as they sat at supper; but it was easier, I discovered, to talk of such a window than 現実に to find it.
The 支援する of the 修道院 was built 紅潮／摘発する with the 辛勝する／優位 of the cliff, the rampart 塀で囲む joining the building at the angle of our room. If only, therefore, I could manage to pass along the 塀で囲む, and thus reach a small window which I guessed must look out on to a tiny 法廷，裁判所, 据えるd between the rearmost 塀で囲む of the central hall and that on the left of our room, I thought I might discover what I 手配中の，お尋ね者 to know. But to do this would necessitate a long and dangerous climb in the dark, which I was not at all anxious to 試みる／企てる until I had 満足させるd myself that there was no other way of 得るing the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） I 要求するd.
It might very 井戸／弁護士席 be asked here why I was so anxious to 納得させる myself as to the man's 身元. But one instant's reflection will show that in such a 状況／情勢 as ours we could not afford to run a 選び出す／独身 危険. The man had 許すd me to see that he did not wish me to become aware of his personality. That in itself was 十分な to excite my 疑惑 and to 令状 my taking any steps to 満足させる myself that he was not likely to 証明する an enemy. As I have said before, we were carrying our lives in our 手渡すs, and one little 警戒 neglected might 廃虚 all.
Before 投機・賭けるing on the climb just について言及するd, I 決定するd to go 一連の会議、交渉／完成する to the other 味方する of the house and endeavour to look in through one of the windows there. I did so, and was relieved to find that by putting my 手渡すs on the rough 石／投石する window-sills, and を締めるing my feet against a buttress in the angle of the 塀で囲む, I could raise myself 十分に to catch a glimpse of the room.
I accordingly pulled myself up and looked in, but, to my astonishment and chagrin, there were only two people 現在の, and neither of them was the man I 手配中の，お尋ね者.
I lowered myself to the ground again and listened, hoping to hear the sound of a third person entering the room, but though I remained there nearly twenty minutes I could not distinguish what I 手配中の，お尋ね者. That the man was a member of the same party I was perfectly 納得させるd, but why was he not with them now? This absence on his part only 増加するd my 疑惑 and made me the more anxious to catch a glimpse of him.
Seating myself on the 石／投石する steps of the central hall, I 概略で traced in my own mind a ground 計画（する） of the building, as far as I was familiar with it. The central hall was, of course, empty; we 占領するd the rooms on the 権利 of it, the second party those on the left; of these their 苦力s had the 前線 room, while the two men I have just referred to had taken 所有／入手 of the rearmost one. A moment's 推論する／理由ing 納得させるd me that there must be a third, which did not look out on the open 中庭, but must have its window in the small 法廷，裁判所, formed by the angles of the 塀で囲む at the 後部. If, therefore, I 手配中の，お尋ね者 to look into it I must 請け負う the climb I had first 事業／計画（する）d, and, what was more, must 始める，決める about it すぐに, for if I did not do so his lamp would in all probability be 消滅させるd, and in that 事例／患者 I might 同様に spare myself the trouble and the danger.
I returned to my own 味方する of the house, and, having 納得させるd myself that there was no one about, 機動力のある the 塀で囲む a little to the 権利 of where I had been standing when I heard the men knock upon the gate.
If you would 見積（る） the difficulty and danger of what I was about to 試みる／企てる, you must remember that the 塀で囲む at the 最高の，を越す was scarcely more than eighteen インチs wide. On one 手渡す it had the buildings for support, the 味方する of which rose above my 長，率いる for more than a dozen feet, and permitted no sort of 持つ／拘留する on its smooth surface, while, on the other 手渡す, I had a sheer 減少（する） into the valley below, a 落ちる of fully three hundred feet.
At the 首脳会議 of the mountain the 勝利，勝つd was blowing a perfect ハリケーン, but so long as I was behind the building I was not 支配するd to its 十分な 圧力; when, however, I arrived at the 中庭, where I could see the light of the window I was so anxious to reach, it was as much as I could do to keep my 地盤. 粘着するing to everything that could 申し込む／申し出 a support, and never 投機・賭けるing a step till I was 確かな that it was 安全な, I descended from the 塀で囲む, approached the window, and looked in. This time I was not 運命にあるd to be disappointed. The man I 手配中の，お尋ね者 was lying upon a bed-place in the corner, smoking a long 麻薬を吸う.
His 直面する was turned に向かって me, and 直接／まっすぐに I looked at it I remembered where I had seen him. He was one of the 主要な／長／主犯, and, at the same time, one of the most 利益／興味d members of the society who had visited the house to which we had been 行為／行うd by Laohwan, in Shanghai.
As I realized this fact a 冷淡な sweat （機の）カム over me. This was the same man whom we had seen at the 残り／休憩（する）-house two nights before. Was he に引き続いて us? That he had 認めるd me, in spite of my disguise, I felt 確かな . If so, in whose 雇う was he, and what was his 反対する? I remained watching him for 上向きs of an hour, hoping some one would come in, and that I should overhear something that would tell me how to 行為／法令／行動する. Then, just as I was about to turn away, みなすing it useless to wait any longer, the taller of the pair I had seen in the other room entered and sat 負かす／撃墜する.
"Success has …に出席するd us. At last we have laid our 手渡すs on them," said the new-comer. "They do not 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う, and by to-morrow evening we shall 会合，会う Quong Yan Miun at the ford, tell him all, and then our part of the work will be at an end."
"But we must have the stick, come what may," said the man upon the bed. "It would be death for us to go 支援する to Pekin without it."
"We shall receive much honour if we 逮捕（する） it," chuckled the other. "And then these foreign devils will 苦しむ 拷問 till they die."
"A lesson to them not to 反抗する the 広大な／多数の／重要な Ones of the Mountains," returned his friend. "I wish that we could be there to see it!"
"It is said that they have many new ways of 拷問, of which we cannot even dream, up there in the mountains," continued the first man. "Why may we not go 今後 to see what 生じるs them?"
"Because we could not enter even if we did go on," returned the man I had 認めるd; "nor for myself do I want to. But these foreign devils have stolen the password and imitated the Priest of Hankow, and if it had not been for Laoyeh, who liked Chinese gold better than foreign devils' secrets, and so betrayed them, we should never have 設立する them out at all."
Then with 重要な 強調 he 追加するd—
"But they will die for it, and their 運命／宿命 will be a 警告 to any who shall come after them. And now tell me, where do we 会合，会う Quong Yan Miun?"
"At the crossing of the river in the mountains, at sundown to-morrow evening."
"And is it 確かな that we shall know him? There may be many crossing."
"He will be riding a camel, and sitting upon a red saddle embroidered with silver. Moreover, it is said that he has but one 注目する，もくろむ, and that his left 手渡す, which was 削減（する） off by the 蜜柑 Li, is still nailed to the gateway at I-chang."
"Does he 推定する／予想する our coming?"
"By no means. Once in every month he is sent 負かす／撃墜する by the 広大な／多数の／重要な Ones of the Mountains to receive messages and alms from the outside world. Our 指示／教授／教育s are not to tarry until this letter be 配達するd into his 手渡すs."
As he spoke he took from his pocket a small roll of paper carefully tied up. Having 取って代わるd it, he turned again to his companion.
"Now leave me," he said. "I am tired, and would sleep. To-morrow there be 広大な／多数の／重要な doings on 手渡す."
The second man left the room, and next moment the lamp was 消滅させるd.
As soon as all was dark I crept softly across the yard, 機動力のある the 塀で囲む—not without a （軽い）地震, as I thought of what my 運命／宿命 would be if I should overbalance, and retraced my steps 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the house. Once 安全に in the 中庭 I made all the haste I could 支援する to my room.
I fully 推定する／予想するd to find Nikola asleep; my surprise, therefore, may be imagined when I discovered him seated on the 床に打ち倒す working out Euclid's forty-third problem with a piece of charcoal upon the 石／投石するs. He looked up as I entered, and, without moving a muscle of his 直面する, said 静かに:
"What have you discovered?"
I seated myself beside him and furnished him with a 完全にする 再開する of what I had overheard that evening.
When I had finished he sat looking at the 塀で囲む. I could see, however, that he was thinking 深く，強烈に. Then he changed his position, and with his piece of charcoal began to draw 人物／姿／数字 eights inside each other upon the 床に打ち倒す. By the time the smallest was the size of a halfpenny he had arrived at a 結論.
"It is evident that we are in a tight place," he said coolly, "and if I were to sacrifice you here I could probably save myself and go 今後 with nothing to 恐れる. It's a funny thing that I should think so much of a man as to be willing to save his life at the expense of my own, but in this 事例／患者 I ーするつもりである doing so. You have no 願望（する） to be 拷問d, I 推定する?"
"I have a 井戸／弁護士席-設立するd 反対 to it," I said.
"In that 事例／患者 we must 攻撃する，衝突する upon some 計画／陰謀 which will enable us to 回避する such a 大災害. If these fellows arrive at the ford before us they will have the first chance of doing 商売／仕事 with the messenger. Our endeavour must be to get there before they do, and yet to send them 支援する to Pekin 満足させるd that they have 実行するd their 使節団. How to do this is the problem we have to work out."
"But how are we to do it?" I 問い合わせd.
"Let me think for a few minutes," he answered, "and I'll see if I can find out."
I waited for fully five minutes. Then Nikola said:
"The problem 解決するs itself into this. By hook or crook we must 延期する this man and his party on the road for at least three hours. Then one of us must go on to the ford and 会合，会う the man from the 修道院. To him must be 手渡すd the letter I received from the High Priest at the Llamaserai, and when he has been sent 支援する with it to his superiors there must be another man, accoutred 正確に／まさに like himself, to take his place. This man, who will have to be myself, will receive our friends, take their letters and 派遣（する） them 支援する to Pekin with a message that their 警告 shall be …に出席するd to. After that it will be touch-and-go with us. But I'm not afraid to go 今後, and I 支払う／賃金 you the compliment of 説 that I don't believe you are!"
"井戸／弁護士席, upon my word, Dr. Nikola," I answered candidly, やめる carried away by the boldness of his 計画／陰謀, "of all the men I've ever met you're the coolest, and since you take it in this way I will go on with you and carry it through if it costs me my life."
"I thank you," said Nikola 静かに. "I thought I wasn't deceived in you. Now we must arrange the manner in which these different 計画／陰謀s are to be worked. To begin with, we must leave here at least an hour before our friends in the other rooms. Once on the way I must 押し進める 今後 as 急速な／放蕩な as I can go ーするために 安全な・保証する a camel and saddle of the 肉親，親類d 述べるd. Then we have got to discover some means of 延期するing them upon the road. How can that be 遂行するd?"
"Couldn't we induce the 村人s along the path to rise against them?"
"It would cost too much; and then there would be the chance of their turning 反逆者, like our friend Laoyeh. No; we must think of something else."
He recommenced 製図／抽選 eights upon the 床に打ち倒す. By the time he had perfected the thirtieth—for I counted them—he had worked it out to his satisfaction.
"By twelve o'clock to-morrow at the very 最新の," he said, "that is, if my （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） be 訂正する, we せねばならない be at an inn in the mountains twenty miles from here. It is the only dwelling between this place and the ford, and they must perforce call at it. I shall 教える one of my men, whom I will leave behind for that 目的, to see that their animals are watered at a 確かな 気圧の谷. If they drink what I give him to 注ぐ in, they will go about five miles and then 減少（する）. If they don't drink I shall see that he brings about another result."
"If you can depend on him, that should do the trick. But what about Laoyeh?"
"I shall を取り引きする him myself," said Nikola with grim earnestness; "and when I've done I think he will 悔いる having been so imprudent as to break 約束 with me."
He said no more, but I could not help entertaining a feeling of satisfaction that I was not the man in question. From what I have seen of Nikola's character, I can say that I would rather quarrel with any other half dozen people in the world, whoever they might be, than 危険 his displeasure.
"Now," I said, when he had finished, "as they've turned in we shouldn't be long in に引き続いて their example."
"But before we do so," he answered, "I think you had better find the 苦力s and see that they 完全に understand that we start at three o'clock. Moreover, 企て，努力，提案 them 持つ／拘留する their tongues."
I 従うd with his request, and half an hour later was wrapped in my 一面に覆う／毛布s and 急速な／放蕩な asleep.
AT ten minutes to three I was out of bed, fully dressed and 用意が出来ている for the start. Nikola had roused the 苦力s before calling me, and they were already busy with their 準備s. At three 正確に a bowl of rice was brought to us by one of the 修道士s, and by a ４半期/4分の1 past we were on our donkeys in the 中庭 ready to be off.
So far the only person 誘発するd, in 新規加入 to our own party, was the 修道士 who cooked our breakfast; him Nikola 大部分は rewarded, and, in return for his generosity, the gates were opened without 乱すing the 世帯. We とじ込み／提出するd out and 選ぶd our way 負かす／撃墜する the rocky path into the valley. Arriving at the 底（に届く） we continued our 旅行, 上がるing and descending によれば the nature of the path. Every hour the country was growing more and more 山地の, and by midday we could plainly discern snow upon the highest 頂点（に達する）s.
At half-past twelve we reached the inn where it had been decided that one of our retinue should be left behind to hocus the animals of our pursuers. For this work we had chosen a man whom we had the best of 推論する／理由s for 存在 able to 信用. A 十分な excuse was invented to 満足させる his scruples, and when we said good-bye to him it was with 指示／教授／教育s to follow us as soon as he had done the work and could discover a convenient 適切な時期. That the man would do his best to 遂行する his errand, we had not the slightest 疑問, for the reward 約束d him was large enough to obviate the necessity of his doing any more work as long as he should live. Therefore when we left the inn, after baiting our animals for a short time, it was to feel comparatively 確かな that the success of our 計画／陰謀 was 保証するd.
As soon as the caravansera was hidden by the corner of the mountain Nikola called me up to him.
"In a few moments," he said, "I am going to 押し進める 今後 to a village which I am told lies off the 跡をつける a few miles to the northward. I hear that they have camels for sale there, and it will be hard if I cannot 購入（する） one, and with it a silver-plated red saddle, before dusk. You must continue your 旅行 to the ford, where you will in all probability find the messenger を待つing you. Give him this letter from the High Priest of the Llamaserai, 警告 the 広大な／多数の／重要な Ones of the Mountains of my coming, and bestow upon him this tip." Here he 手渡すd me a number of gold pieces. "After that be sure to 急いで his 出発 as much as you can, for we must run no 危険 of his 会合 those who are behind us. I turn off here, so 圧力（をかける） 今後 yourself with all 速度(を上げる）, and good luck go with you."
"But when I have 派遣（する）d the messenger 支援する to the 修道院, what am I to do?"
"Wait till he is out of sight and then follow in his 跡をつける for about half a mile. Having done so, find a convenient 位置／汚点／見つけ出す, （軍の）野営地，陣営 and wait for me. Do you understand?"
I answered that I understood perfectly. Then ordering one coolie to follow him, with a wave of his 手渡す, he turned off the 跡をつける and in いっそう少なく than five minutes was lost to my sight. For nearly three hours I 棒 on, turning over and over in my mind the 計画（する） I had arranged for 行為／行うing the interview that lay before me. The 長，指導者 point I had to remember was that I was a 特使 from the Society, sent from Pekin to 警告する the 修道院 that one of the 広大な／多数の／重要な Three was approaching. Upon my success in carrying out this 使節団 would very much depend the 歓迎会 （許可，名誉などを）与えるd to Nikola, therefore the story I was about to tell must やむを得ず be plausible in every particular.
By five o'clock, and just as the sun was 沈むing behind the highest 頂点（に達する）s, the valley began to 広げる out, and the 跡をつける became more plain. I followed it along at a medium pace, and then, having turned a corner, saw the smooth waters of the river before me.
As I did so I felt a 冷淡な 冷気／寒がらせる pass over me; the success of our 探検隊／遠征隊 seemed to 残り／休憩（する） upon my shoulders, to depend upon my presence of mind and the plausibility of my tale. If by any chance the man should 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う that I was not all I pretended to be, he might decide to wait, and then, with the help of such men as he might have with him, would 拘留する me a 囚人. In that 事例／患者, those behind us would catch us up, and I should be 証明するd to be an impostor. Then, if I were not killed upon the 位置／汚点／見つけ出す, I should find myself carried on to the 修道院, to become a 支配する for those 実験s in 拷問, of which I had heard について言及する made the previous night.
When I reached it I discovered that the river at this particular ford was about eighty yards in width and scarcely more than two feet in depth. On either bank rose precipitous cliffs, reaching, even in the lowest places, to more than two hundred feet. To the 権利, that is, 直面するing the north, the channel flowed between solid granite 塀で囲むs, but where I stood it had 平等に sloping banks. I 棒 to the water's 辛勝する／優位, and, seeing no one on the other 味方する, dismounted from my donkey and seated myself upon the sand. I was relieved to find that there were no 巡礼者s about; but I became more anxious when I saw that the man whom I was to 会合，会う had not yet put in an 外見. If he 延期するd his arrival for very long I should be placed in a 汚い position, for in that 事例／患者 our pursuers would come up, discover me, and then I should be hopelessly lost.
But I need not have worried myself, for I had not long to wait. Within half an hour of my arrival at the ford a man 機動力のある on a camel, 棒 out of the defile on the other 味方する and approached the water's 辛勝する／優位. He was tall, was dressed in some light-brown 構成要素, 棒 a 井戸／弁護士席-bred camel, and when he turned 一連の会議、交渉／完成する I could see that his saddle was red and ornamented with silver. Calling my men together I bade them wait for me where they were, and then, taking my donkey by the 長，率いる, 棒 him into the stream.
So small was the animal that the water was 井戸／弁護士席 above the saddle flaps when I reached the deepest part. But in spite of much snorting and endeavours to turn 支援する I 説得するd him to go on, and we finally reached the other 味方する in safety. The messenger from the 修道院 had dismounted from his camel by this time, and was pacing up and 負かす／撃墜する the shore. As I （機の）カム closer to him I saw that he had but one arm, and that one of his 注目する，もくろむs was 行方不明の.
Dismounting from my donkey on the bank, I approached him, at the same time 屈服するing low.
"I was told that I should find here a messenger from the 広大な／多数の／重要な Ones of the Mountains," I said. "Are you he whom I 捜し出す?"
"From whom come you?" he asked, answering my question by asking another.
"I come from the High Priest of the Llamaserai at Pekin," I answered, "and I am the 持参人払いの of important tidings. I was told that I should find a man here who would carry 今後 the letter I bring, without a moment's 延期する."
"Let me see the letter," said the man. "If it is 調印（する）d with the 権利 調印（する） I will do what you ask, not さもなければ."
I gave him the letter and he turned it over and over, scrutinizing it carefully.
"This is the High Priest's 調印（する）," he said at last, "and I am 満足させるd; but I cannot return at once, as it is my 義務 to remain here until dusk has fallen."
"Of that I am やめる aware," I answered. "But you will see that this is a special 事例／患者, and to 会合，会う it I am to 支払う／賃金 you this gold, that is 供給するd you will go 今後 and 警告する those from whom you come of my master's approach."
When I had given him the 賄賂 he counted it carefully and deposited it in his pocket.
"I will remain until the 影をつくる／尾行するs 落ちる," he said "and if no 巡礼者s have arrived by that time I will 始める，決める off."
Having arranged it in this fashion, we seated ourselves on the sandy beach, and after we had lit our 麻薬を吸うs, smoked stolidly for half an hour. During that time my feelings were not to be envied. I did not enjoy my smoke, for I was 存在 拷問d on the rack of suspense. For aught I knew our man might have failed in drugging the ponies of the 追求するing party. In that 事例／患者 they would probably 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う us of an 試みる／企てる to outwit them, and might put in an 外見 at any moment.
The sun sank lower and lower behind the hill, till finally he disappeared altogether. Long 影をつくる／尾行するs fell from the cliffs across the water, the evening 勝利，勝つd sprang up and moaned の中で the 激しく揺するs, but still there was no 調印する of any cavalcade upon the opposite bank. If only our 競争相手s did not put in an 外見 for another ４半期/4分の1 of an hour we should be saved.
In 新規加入 to this suspense I had another 苦悩. Supposing Nikola had not 後継するd in 得るing an animal and saddle of the 肉親，親類d he 手配中の，お尋ね者, and should be 妨げるd from reaching the ford in time to receive the men he was 推定する／予想するing, what would happen then? But I would not let my mind dwell upon such a contingency. And yet for most 肯定的な 推論する／理由s I dared not 試みる／企てる to hurry the messenger, who was still sitting stolidly smoking. To let him think that I was anxious to get rid of him would only be to excite his 疑惑s, and, those once 誘発するd, he would in all probability 決定する to remain at the ford. In that 事例／患者 I might 同様に walk into the river and 溺死する myself without その上の waste of time.
One by one the 星／主役にするs （機の）カム out and began to twinkle in the cloudless heavens, such 星／主役にするs as one never sees anywhere save in the East. The 勝利，勝つd was rising, and in another half hour it would be too dark to see.
At last my companion rose and shook himself.
"I see no 巡礼者s," he said, "and it is 冷淡な by the water. I shall 出発／死. Is it your 楽しみ to come with me or will you remain?"
"I have no will," I answered. "I must perforce wait here till the caravan bringing my master arrives. Then I shall follow you. Do not wait for me."
He did not need to be bidden twice, but approaching his camel, 機動力のある, and then with a curt nod to me 始める，決める off up the path.
As soon as he had disappeared I walked 負かす／撃墜する to the water's 辛勝する／優位 and called to my men to come over, which they did. When they had landed, I bade them follow me, and, forsaking the ford, we 始める，決める off at a きびきびした pace up the path.
A hundred yards from the river the 跡をつける we were に引き続いて turned 突然の to the 権利 手渡す and 負傷させる through a 狭くする gorge. This, however, we did not enter, as I みなすd it wisest to settle in a 避難所d 位置／汚点／見つけ出す on the left. I 棒 ahead, and reconnoitred, and having ascertained that it could not be seen from the path, bade them pitch our （軍の）野営地，陣営 there. Within ten minutes of our arrival the donkeys were picketed, the テントs 築くd, and the （軍の）野営地，陣営 解雇する／砲火／射撃s lighted. Then, leaving the men to the 準備 of the evening meal, I returned to the 跡をつける and hurried along it in the direction of the ford.
When I was within fifty yards of the turning, which I knew would bring me within 十分な sight of the river, I heard a low whistle. Next moment a man 機動力のある on a camel （機の）カム into 見解（をとる）, and pulled up と一緒に me. In spite of the half dark I could see that the rider was dressed 正確に／まさに like the man to whom I had talked at the ford; he had also one arm, and his 権利 注目する，もくろむ was の近くにd.
"耐える to your left 手渡す," he said, leaning 負かす／撃墜する from his camel to speak to me; "there you will find some big 激しく揺するs, and behind them you must hide yourself. Have your revolver ready to your 手渡す, and if anything should happen, and I should call to you for 援助, come to me at once."
"Did you have much difficulty in procuring your camel?" I asked, hardly able to believe that the man was Nikola.
"非，不，無 whatever," he answered; "but the 着せる／賦与するs and saddle were a little more difficult. However, I got them at last, and now do you think I look at all like the man I am here to 代表する?"
"One or two things are different," I replied; "but you need have no 恐れる; they'll not 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う."
"Let us hope not," said Nikola. "Where are the men?"
"（軍の）野営地，陣営d 支援する yonder," I answered, "in a little gully to the left of the gorge."
"That's 井戸／弁護士席; now creep 負かす／撃墜する to the 激しく揺するs and take your place. But sure not to forget what I have told you."
I made my way 負かす／撃墜する as he ordered and little by little crept along to where three big 玉石s stood out upon the sands. Between these I settled myself, and to my delight 設立する I had an almost 連続する 見解（をとる） of the ford. As I looked across the water I made out a small party coming 負かす／撃墜する the slope on to the sand on the other 味方する. Without losing time they 急落（する），激減（する）d in, and so 静かな was the night I could even hear the splashing made by the animals and distinguish between the first noise on the bank, and the sullen thud as they 前進するd into deeper water. Then I heard a hoarse call, and a moment later Nikola 棒 across the sand on his camel.
In two or three minutes the fording party had reached the bank, scarcely more than ten paces from where I lay. So の近くに were they indeed that I could hear the breathing of the tired animals やめる distinctly and the sigh of 救済 with which they あられ／賞賛するd the dismounting of their masters. The man who was in 命令（する） approached Nikola and, after a little preamble, said:
"We were 延期するd on the road by the sickness of our animals, or we should have been here earlier. Tell us, we pray, if any other travellers have passed this way?"
"But one party," said the spurious messenger with a chuckle; "and by this time they are lost の中で the mountains. They grudged me alms and I did not tell them the true path. Ere this time to-morrow the vultures will have torn the flesh from their bones."
"How many in number were they?" asked the man who had first spoken.
"Five," answered Nikola; "and may the devils of the mountains take 所有／入手 of them! And now who be ye?"
"We have come from Pekin," answered the 広報担当者 of the party, "and we bring letters from the High Priest of the Llamaserai to the 広大な／多数の／重要な Ones of the Mountains. There be two barbarians who have stolen their way into our society, 殺人d him who was to be one of the Three, and 代用品，人d themselves in his place. The symbol of the Three, which was stolen by a foreign devil many years ago, is in their 所有／入手; and that was the party who passed this ford on their way to the mountains, and whom thou sawest."
"They will go no さらに先に," said Nikola, when they had finished, with another grim laugh; "and the hearts that would know our secrets will be tit-bits for the young eagles. What is it that ye want of me?"
"There is this letter of 警告 to be carried 今後," said the man; and as he spoke he produced from his pocket the roll of paper I had seen in his 所有／入手 the previous night. He 手渡すd it to Nikola, who placed it inside his wadded coat, and then proceeded に向かって his camel, which he 機動力のある. When it had risen to its feet he turned to the small party who were watching him, and said:
"Turn 支援する on your path. （軍の）野営地，陣営 not 近づく the ford, for the spirits of the lost pass up and 負かす／撃墜する in the still hours of the night, and it is death for those who hear them."
His 警告 was not without 影響, for as soon as he had ridden off I noticed with かなりの satisfaction that the party lost no time in retracing their steps across the river. I watched them for some time, and only when they were dimly 輪郭（を描く）d against the 星／主役にするs on the brow of the hill did I move. Then, knowing that they must be making haste to be out of the valley, I slipped from my hiding-place and made my way up the path に向かって the gully where we had 直す／買収する，八百長をするd our （軍の）野営地，陣営.
When I reached the firelight I saw that Nikola had dismounted from his camel and had entered his own テント. I 設立する him 除去するing his disguise and 準備するing to change 支援する into his own 衣料品s.
"We have come out of that 捨てる very neatly," he said; "and I can only 追加する, Bruce, that it is 借りがあるing to your foresight and 知能 that we have done so. Had you not had the wit to try to 得る a glimpse of that man the other night, we should in all probability have been caught in a 罠（にかける） from which there would have been no escaping. As it is we have not only got rid of our enemy but have 改善するd our position into the 取引. If we make as good 進歩 in the 未来 as we have done in the past we should be inside the 修道院 by tomorrow evening."
"I hope we shall," I answered; "but from what we have gone through of late I am induced to think that it could be wiser not to 熟視する／熟考する 在庫／株ing our poultry-yard before we have seen that our incubator is in good forking order."
"You are やめる 権利, we won't."
Half an hour later our evening meal was served, and when it was eaten we sat 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the （軍の）野営地，陣営 解雇する／砲火／射撃 smoking and talking, the dancing 炎上s lighting up the 激しく揺するs around us, and the 広大な／多数の／重要な 星／主役にするs winking grimly 負かす／撃墜する at us from 総計費. The night was very still; save the grunting of the picketed donkeys, the spluttering of the 炎上s of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, the 時折の cry of some night bird, and once the howl of a jackal の中で the 激しく揺するs, scarcely a sound was to be heard. It cannot be considered 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の, therefore, if my thoughts turned to the girl I loved. I wondered if she were thinking of me, and if so, what she imagined I was doing. Our 旅行 to the 修道院 was nearly at an end. How long we should remain there when we had once got inside I had not the very vaguest notion; but, if the luck which had followed us so far still held good, we ought soon to be able to 完全にする our errand there and return with all 速度(を上げる） to the coast. Then, I told myself, I would 捜し出す out my darling and, with her brother's 許可, make her my wife. What I would do after that was for the 運命／宿命s to decide. But of one thing I was 納得させるd, and that was that as long as I lived I would never willingly 始める，決める foot in 中国 again.
Next morning, a little after daylight, we broke （軍の）野営地，陣営, packed the animals, 機動力のある, and 始める，決める off. For the first ten miles or so the 跡をつける was a comparatively plain one, 主要な along a valley, the 入り口 to which was the gorge I had seen on the previous night. Then circling 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 味方する of the mountain by a precipitous path we （機の）カム out on to a long tableland, whence a lovely 見解（をとる） could be 得るd. The camel we had turned loose earlier in the day to roam the country, or to find its way 支援する to its former owner, as might seem to it best. It was 井戸／弁護士席 that we did so, for at the elevation to which we had now 上がるd, travelling with it would have 証明するd most difficult, if not altogether impossible. Not once but several times we had to dismount and clamber from 激しく揺する to 激しく揺する, making our way through ravines, and across chasms as best we could. On many occasions it looked as if it would be necessary for us to abandon even the surefooted animals we had brought with us, but in each 事例／患者 patience and perseverance 勝利d over difficulties, and we were enabled to 押し進める on with them again.
By midday we had lost sight of the 跡をつける altogether; the 空気／公表する had become 激しく 冷淡な, and it looked as if snow might 落ちる at any minute. At half-past three a few flakes did descend, and by the time we 設立する a （軍の）野営地，陣営ing-place, under an overhanging cliff, the ground was 完全に covered.
存在 供給するd with plenty of warm 着せる／賦与するing ourselves we were not so 不正に off, but for our poor 苦力s, whom nothing we had been able to say or do, before we 始める，決める out, would induce to 供給する themselves with anything different to their ordinary attire, it was a 事柄 of serious 関心. Something had to be done for them. So choosing a hollow 位置／汚点／見つけ出す in the cliff into which we could all 密談する／（身体を）寄せ集める, we collected a 供給（する） of brushwood and lit a bonfire at the mouth. Into this circle of warmth we led and picketed our donkeys, hoping to be able to keep them snug so that they should have 十分な strength left to continue their 旅行 next day.
Every moment the snow was 落ちるing faster, and by the time we turned into our 一面に覆う／毛布s it was nearly four インチs 深い around the （軍の）野営地，陣営. When we woke in the morning the whole contour of the country was changed. Where it had been 明らかにする and sterile the day before, we now had before us a plain of dazzling white. Unfortunately the 激しい 冷淡な had 証明するd too much for one of our donkeys, for when we went to 検査／視察する them, we 設立する him lying dead upon the ground. One of the smaller 苦力s was not in a much better 明言する／公表する. Seeing this, Nikola すぐに gave him a few 減少（する）s of some liquid from that marvellous 薬／医学-chest, without which, as I have already said, he never travelled. Whatever its 選挙権を持つ／選挙人s may have been it certainly 生き返らせるd the man for a time, and by the time we began our march again he was able to hobble along beside us. Within an hour of setting out, however, he was 負かす／撃墜する again, and in half an hour he was dead, and we had buried him beneath the snow.
Our 大勝する now, by 推論する／理由 of the snow, was 純粋に a 事柄 of conjecture, for no 跡をつける of any sort could be seen. As we could not turn 支援する, however, and it was a dangerous 事柄 to proceed without knowing in what direction to steer, our position might have been reckoned a 公正に／かなり dangerous one. By the middle of the afternoon another of our 苦力s dropped, and, seeing this, Nikola decided to （軍の）野営地，陣営.
Choosing the most 避難所d 位置／汚点／見つけ出す we could discover, we （疑いを）晴らすd away the snow and 築くd our テントs, and, when this was done, lit a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and picketed the remaining donkeys. The sick coolie we made as comfortable as possible with all the 着せる／賦与するing we could spare, but the trouble was of little avail, for at nightfall he too reached the end of his 旅行.
By this time I must 自白する my own spirits had sunk 負かす／撃墜する to the lowest depths. Nikola, however, was still undismayed.
"The death of these men," he said, "is a thing much to be regretted, but we must not let it break us 負かす／撃墜する altogether. What do you say if we take that fellow out and bury him in the snow at once? There is still light enough if we are quick about it."
Having no more 願望（する） than he to spend the night in the company of the poor man's dead 団体／死体, we 解除するd it up and carried it out to where a 広大な／多数の／重要な drift of snow showed some fifty paces from our テント door. Here we deposited it and went 支援する to the （軍の）野営地，陣営, leaving the softly 落ちるing flakes to cover him やめる as effectually as we could have done. But that evening two more unpleasant facts 明らかにする／漏らすd themselves to us. Our two remaining donkeys were unable to stand the rigour of the 気候 any longer, and were on the 瀬戸際 of dying. Seeing this, Nikola left the テント again, and taking his revolver with him, put an end to their sufferings. When they dropped he 削減（する） their throats, and then returned to the テント.
"What did you do that for?" I asked, at a loss to understand his last 活動／戦闘.
"If you want an explanation," he said 静かに, "診察する the 明言する／公表する of our larder, and then review our position. We are here on the 最高の，を越すs of these mountains; one 跡をつける is like another; where the 修道院 is I cannot tell you; and now, to 追加する to our 悲しみs, our 準備／条項s are running short. Donkeys are not venison, but they are better than 冷淡な snow. And now you know why I 発射 them."
Accordingly, next morning before we began our 旅行, we 削減（する） up all that was 価値（がある） carrying with us of the poor beasts. It was 井戸／弁護士席 that we did so, for our search for the 修道院 was no more successful on this occasion than it had been on the previous day. To 追加する to the hopelessness of it all I was beginning to feel ill, while the one remaining coolie staggered on after us more like a galvanized 死体 than a living man.
いつかs in my dreams I live that dreadful time over again. I see the snow-covered country with its yawning precipices, gently sloping valleys, and 非常に高い 高さs; I picture our 疲れた／うんざりした, heart-sick trio, struggling on and on, 沈むing into the white shroud at every step, Nikola always in 前進する, myself toiling after him, and the last coolie lagging in the 後部. 一連の会議、交渉／完成する us the snow whirls and eddies, and 総計費 some 広大な／多数の／重要な bird 急に上がるs, his pinions casting a 黒人／ボイコット 影をつくる／尾行する on the さもなければ speckless white. Then the dream invariably changes, and I find myself waking with a 確かな nameless but haunting terror upon me, for which I cannot account. But to return to my narrative.
An hour before sundown the coolie dropped, and once more we had to （軍の）野営地，陣営. If I live to be a hundred I shall not forget a 選び出す／独身 particular connected with that 恐ろしい night. We were so weak by this time that it was a 事柄 of impossibility for us to 築く a テント. A drowsiness that there seemed no withstanding had laid its finger upon us. Only the coolie could keep awake, and he chattered incoherently to himself in his delirium.
"Bruce," said Nikola about eight o'clock, coming 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 to where I sat, "this will never do. That poor fellow over yonder will be dead in half an hour, and if you don't mind what you are about you will soon follow 控訴. I'm going to 始める，決める to work to keep you awake."
So 説, this 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の individual produced his 薬／医学-chest, and opened it by the 解雇する／砲火／射撃. From inside the cover he produced a tiny draught-board and a box of men.
"May I have the 楽しみ of giving you a game?" he asked, as politely as if we were comparative strangers 会合 in a London club. Half awake and half asleep, I nodded, and began to arrange my men. Then, when all was ready, we 開始するd to play, and before three moves had been 遂行する／発効させるd, I had caught Nikola's enthusiasm and was wide awake.
Whether I played it 井戸／弁護士席 or ill I cannot remember. I only know that Nikola worked out his 計画（する）s, 用意が出来ている 戦略s and 罠（にかける）s for me, and not only that, but 遂行する／発効させるd them, too, as if he had not a thought of anything else on his mind. Only stopping to throw 支持を得ようと努めるd upon the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, and once to soothe the coolie just before he died, we played on till daylight. Then, after a 迅速な breakfast, we abandoned everything we had, save the 薬／医学-chest, our few remaining 準備／条項s, and such small articles as we could stow about our persons, and started off on what we both believed must certainly 証明する our last march.
How strange are the workings of 運命／宿命! As we left the brow of that hill, and 用意が出来ている to descend into the valley, we discerned before us, on the other 味方する of the valley, a 広大な／多数の／重要な 石／投石する building. It was the 修道院, in search of which we had come so far and 勇敢に立ち向かうd so much.
WE stood and looked across the valley, hardly able to believe that we had at last arrived at the place of which we had heard so much. There it stood gaunt and lonely, on the 辛勝する／優位 of the ravine, a dark grey collection of roofs and towers, and surrounded by a lofty 塀で囲む. But, though we could see it plainly enough before us, the 長，指導者 question was "How were we to reach it?" The ca?n, to 雇う an American 称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語, stretched to 権利 and left of us, as far as the 注目する，もくろむ could reach, in 無傷の grandeur. Certainly, on the 味方する upon which we stood, the cliff sloped enough for an experienced mountaineer to clamber 負かす／撃墜する, but across the ravine it rose a sheer precipice for fully 1,500 feet, and though I 診察するd it carefully I could not see a 選び出す／独身 place where even a goat could find a 地盤.
"It would take us a week to go 一連の会議、交渉／完成する," said Nikola, when he had 診察するd it with his usual care; "and 餓死するing as we are we should be dead before we got half way."
"Then what are we to do?"
"Climb 負かす／撃墜する into the valley, I suppose. It's Hobson's choice."
"It will be a terrible 商売／仕事," I said.
"You will find death up here 平等に 望ましくない," he answered. "The worst of it is, however, I don't see how we are going to reach it when we do get 負かす／撃墜する there. But as it is within the sphere of practical politics, as they say, that we may break our necks on the way 負かす／撃墜する, we had better 延期する その上の argument until we know that we have arrived at the 底（に届く） with our lives. Come along then."
For the next ten minutes we 占領するd ourselves searching the cliff for the best climbing place. That once discovered we はうd over the 辛勝する／優位 and began our 降下／家系. For the first fifty yards or so it was comparatively 平易な work; we had nothing to do but to 減少（する） from 激しく揺する to 激しく揺する. Then 事柄s became more difficult. An 無傷の 直面する of cliff, with only one small foothold in nearly forty feet, had to be 交渉するd. The 塀で囲む at Pekin was not to be compared with it for difficulty, and, as I knew to my cost, I had 設立する that やめる difficult enough. How we were to manage this seemed to me 理解できない. But as usual Nikola was equal to the occasion.
"Take off your coat," he said, "and give it to me."
I did as he ordered me, その結果 he divested himself of his own, and then tied the sleeves of the two 衣料品s together. This done we はうd along to the opposite end of the ledge, where grew one of the stunted trees which 供給するd the only show of vegetation to be seen along the whole 直面する of the cliff, and tied the end of the rope he had thus made, to a long and 厚い root which had straggled over the 直面する of the cliff in the hope of finding a 持つ／拘留するing place. Thus we 得るd an 付加 three feet, making in all nearly fifteen feet, which, when we had 追加するd our own length, should carry us 負かす／撃墜する to the ledge with a foot to spare.
As soon as these 準備s were 完全にするd, we 投げ上げる／ボディチェックするd up (strange 遺物 of civilization!) for the honour of going first and 実験（する）ing its strength, and, of course, the position fell to Nikola, whom 運命／宿命 willed should be first in everything. Before setting off he carefully 診察するd the ひもで縛る by which his treasured 薬／医学-chest was fastened 一連の会議、交渉／完成する his neck, then with a nod of 別れの（言葉，会） to me knelt 負かす／撃墜する upon the 辛勝する／優位 of the cliff, took the rope in his 手渡すs and began his 降下／家系. I have spent more enjoyable moments in my life than watching the 緊張する upon that root. Of the coats themselves I had little 恐れる; they were of the best silk, and, save where the sleeves joined the 団体／死体, were woven in one piece. However the root held, and presently I heard Nikola calling to me to follow him. Not without a feeling of trepidation I lowered myself and went 負かす／撃墜する を引き渡す 手渡す. Though the rope was a comparatively short one, it seemed centuries before I was anywhere 近づく Nikola. Another three feet would find me on the ledge, and I was just congratulating myself on my cleverness when there was an ominous 涙／ほころびing noise on the cliff 最高の，を越す, and the next moment I was 落ちるing backwards into 空中. I gave myself up for lost, but fortunately the 大災害 was not as serious as it might have been, for with that presence of mind which never 砂漠d him Nikola を締めるd himself against the 塀で囲む and clutched the rope as it slid by. The result of his 活動／戦闘 was that the 軍隊 of my 落ちる was broken, and instead of 落ちるing on to the little 高原 below, and probably breaking my neck, or at least an arm or 脚, I swung against the cliff and then slipped easily to the ground.
"Are you 傷つける?" cried Nikola from his perch above.
"More 脅すd than 傷つける," I replied. "Now, how are you going to get 負かす／撃墜する?"
Without vouchsafing any reply Nikola turned his 直面する to the 激しく揺する, went 負かす／撃墜する upon his 膝s once more, and then clutching at the ledge lowered himself and finally let go. He landed 安全に beside me, and having ascertained that his 薬／医学-chest was uninjured, went 静かに across to where our coats had fallen and 解放する／撤去させるd them from the broken root. Then having 手渡すd me 地雷 he donned his own and 示唆するd that we should continue our downward 旅行 without more ado. I believe if Nikola were to 落ちる by 事故 into the 炭坑，オーケストラ席 of Tophet, and by the 演習 of superhuman ingenuity 後継するd in 緊急発進するing out again, he would calmly seat himself on the brink of the 噴火口，クレーター and 始める，決める to work to discover of what 化学製品 実体s the scum upon his 衣料品s was composed! I can 主張する with truth that in the whole of my experience of him I never once saw him really disconcerted.
Our climb from the 高原 to the 底（に届く） of the valley—though still 十分に dangerous to （判決などを）下す it necessary that we should 演習 the greatest 警告を与える—was not so difficult. At last we arrived at the foot, and, having looked up at the 非常に高い 高さs on either 味方する of us, began to wonder what we had better do next.
We had not long to wait, however, for it appears our arrival had been 観察するd. The 底（に届く） of the valley was covered with soft turf, dotted here and there with enormous 激しく揺するs. We had just arranged to proceed in a westerly direction, and were in the 行為／法令／行動する of setting out, when our ears were 攻撃する，非難するd by a curious noise. It was more like the sound of a 不正に blown Alpine horn than anything else, and seemed to be echoed from 味方する to 味方する of the path. Then a 発言する／表明する coming from somewhere の近くに to us, but whence we could not tell, said slowly:
"Who are ye who thus approach the dwelling in the cliff?"
"I am he whom ye have been told to 推定する／予想する," said Nikola.
"Welcome!" said the same passionless 発言する／表明する. Then, after a pause: "Go 今後 to yonder open space and wait."
All the time that the 発言する／表明する was speaking I had been carefully listening in the hope of 存在 able to discover whence it （機の）カム, but my exertions were useless. One moment it seemed to sound from my 権利, the next from my left. It had also a quaint metallic （犯罪の）一味 that made it still more difficult to （悪事，秘密などを）発見する its origin. To 適切に explain my meaning, I might say that it was like the echo of a 発言する／表明する the 初めの of which could not be heard. The 影響 produced was most peculiar.
When the 発言する／表明する had finished Nikola moved 今後 in the direction 示すd, and I followed him.
Arriving at the place, we stood in the centre of the open space and waited. For nearly ten minutes we looked about us wondering what would happen next. There was nothing to be seen in the valley save the green grass and the big 激しく揺するs, and nothing to be heard but the icy 勝利，勝つd sighing through the grass and the 時折の 公式文書，認める of a bird. Then from の中で the 激しく揺するs to our 権利 appeared one of the most 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の 人物／姿／数字s I have ever seen in my life. He was little more than three feet in 高さ, his shoulders were abnormally 幅の広い, his 脚s 屈服するd so that he could only walk on the 味方するs of his feet, while his 長，率いる was so big as to be out of all 割合 to his 団体／死体. He was attired in Chinese dress, even to the extent of a pigtail and a little 一連の会議、交渉／完成する hat. Waddling に向かって us he said in a shrill falsetto:
"Will your Excellencies be honourably pleased to follow me?"
Thereupon he turned upon his heel and に先行するd us up the valley for nearly a hundred yards. Then, wheeling 一連の会議、交渉／完成する to see that we were の近くに behind him, he marched に向かって what looked like a 穴を開ける in the cliff and disappeared within. We followed to find him standing in a large 洞穴, 屈服するing on the sand as if in welcome. On either 味方する in 列／漕ぐ／騒動s were at least a dozen dwarfs, dressed in 正確に／まさに the same fashion, and every one as small and ugly as himself. They held たいまつs in their 手渡すs, and as soon as they saw that we were に引き続いて, they 始める，決める off up the 洞穴, 長，率いるd by the little fellow who had come to 会合，会う us.
When we had 侵入するd into what seemed the bowels of the earth, we left the 狭くする passage and 設立する ourselves 直面するd by a 幅の広い 石／投石する staircase which 負傷させる 上向きs in spiral form. The 行列 of dwarfs again に先行するd us, still without noise. It was a weird 業績／成果, and had it not been for the reek of the たいまつs, and the ぱたぱたするing of bats' wings as the brutes were 乱すd by the 炎上s and smoke, I should have been inclined to imagine it part of some 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の dream; indeed, more than once I felt an impulse to touch the 石／投石する 塀で囲む ーするために 納得させる myself by its rough surface that I really was awake. I could see that Nikola was fully alive to all that was passing, and I noticed that he had 可決する・採択するd a demeanour 一貫した with the 老年の and important position he was supposed to be filling. Up and up the stairs 負傷させる, 新たな展開ing and twining this way and that, till it almost made me giddy trying to remember how far we had come; indeed, my 脚s were nearly giving way under me, when we （機の）カム to a 停止（させる） before a large door at the 最高の，を越す of the stairs. This was thrown open, and our party とじ込み／提出するd through. From the level of the doorway a dozen more steps 行為／行うd us to the 床に打ち倒す above, and here we （機の）カム to a second stop. On looking about us we discovered that we were in an enormous hall of almost cathedral 割合s. The raftered roof towered up for more than a hundred feet above our 長，率いるs; to 権利 and left were arches of strange design, while at the その上の end was an exquisite window, the glass of which was stained 血-red. The whole place was wrapt in 半分-不明瞭, and though it had the 外見 of a place of worship, I could distinguish no altar or anything to signify that it was used for sacred 目的s.
As we reached the 最高の，を越す the dwarf, who had met us in the valley and 長，率いるd the 行列 up the stairs, 調印するd to his 信奉者s to 落ちる 支援する on either 手渡す and then led the way to a small square of masonry at the 最高の，を越す of two steps and placed in the centre of the hall. Arriving there, he 調印するd to us to （問題を）取り上げる our positions upon it, and himself 機動力のある guard beside us.
For fully ten minutes we remained standing there, looking に向かって the 血-red window, and waiting for what would happen next. The silence was most unpleasant, and I had to 演習 all my 力／強力にするs of self-支配（する）／統制する to 妨げる myself from 許すing some 調印する of nervousness to escape me.
Then, without any 警告, a sound of softest music 迎える／歓迎するd our ears, which 徐々に rose from the faintest pianissimo to the 衝突，墜落ing chords of a 野蛮な march. It continued for nearly five minutes, until two doors, one on either 味方する of what might be 称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語d the chancel, opened, and a 行列 of men passed out. I call them men for the 推論する／理由 that I have no 権利 to 推定する that they were anything else, but there was nothing in their 外見 to support that theory. Each was attired in a long, 黒人／ボイコット gown which reached to his feet, his 手渡すs were hidden in enormous sleeves, and his 長，率いる was wrapped in a 厚い 隠す, thrown 支援する to cover the 投票 and shoulders, with two 一連の会議、交渉／完成する 穴を開けるs left for the 注目する，もくろむs.
One after another they とじ込み／提出するd out and took up their positions in 正規の／正選手 order on either 味方する of us, all 直面するing に向かって the window.
When the last had entered, and the doors were の近くにd again, service 開始するd. The 半分-不明瞭, through which the 広大な／多数の／重要な red window glared like an evil 注目する，もくろむ, the 列／漕ぐ／騒動s of weird, 黒人／ボイコット 人物／姿／数字s, the mysterious wailing 詠唱する and the recollection of the 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の character I had heard given to the place and its inmates, only 増加するd the feeling of awe that 所有するd me.
When for nearly a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour the 修道士s had knelt at their devotions, the muffled 公式文書，認めるs of a 広大な／多数の／重要な bell broke upon our ears. Then with one （許可，名誉などを）与える they rose to their feet again and とじ込み／提出するd solemnly out by the doors through which they had entered. When the last had disappeared we were left alone again in the same unearthly silence.
"What on earth does all this mean?" said Nikola in a whisper. "Why doesn't somebody come out to receive us?"
"There is a charnel-house 空気／公表する about the place," I answered, "that is the very 逆転する of pleasant."
"Hush!" said Nikola; "some one is coming."
As he spoke, a curtain in the chancel was drawn aside, and a man, dressed in the same fashion as those we had seen at their devotions a few minutes since, （機の）カム 負かす／撃墜する the steps に向かって us. When he reached the 演壇 upon which we stood, he 屈服するd, and beckoned to us with his finger to follow him. This we did, up the steps by which he had descended, and past the curtain. Here we 設立する another flight of steps 主要な to a long 回廊（地帯）, on either 味方する of which were many small 独房s. The only light obtainable （機の）カム from the たいまつ which our guide had taken from a bracket on leaving the chancel and now carried in his 手渡す.
Without stopping, the 修道士 led us along the whole length of the 回廊（地帯）, then turned to his 権利 手渡す, descended three more steps, and having drawn 支援する another curtain, beckoned to us to pass him into a 狭くする but lofty room. It was plainly furnished with a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する, a couple of stools, and a rough bed, and was lighted by a 狭くする slit in the 塀で囲む about three インチs wide by twenty-five 深い.
When we were both inside, our guide turned, and, approaching me, pointed first to myself and then to the room, as if signifying that this was for my use, then taking Nikola by the arm, he led him through another doorway in the corner to an inner apartment, which was evidently designed for his 占領／職業. Presently he 現れるd again by himself, and went out still without speaking a word. A moment later Nikola appeared at his doorway and 招待するd me to 検査／視察する his abode. It was like 地雷 in every particular, even to the bracket for a たいまつ upon the 塀で囲む.
"We are 公正に／かなり inside now," said Nikola, "and we shall either find out what we want to know within a very short space of time, or be sent to 調査する the mysteries of another world."
"It's within the bounds of 可能性 that we shall do both," I answered.
"One thing, Bruce, before we go any その上の," he said, not 注意するing my 発言／述べる, "you must remember that this place is not like an ordinary Shamanist or Buddhist 修道院 where things are carried on slipshod fashion. Here every man practises the most rigid self-否定 possible, and, の中で other things, I have no 疑問 the meals will 証明する 不十分な. We shall have to reconcile ourselves to many peculiar customs, and all the time we must keep our 注目する，もくろむs wide open so that we may make the most of every chance that 申し込む／申し出s."
"I don't mind the customs," I answered, "but I am sorry to hear about the meals, for to tell you the honest truth, at the 現在の moment I am 簡単に 餓死するing."
"It can't be helped," replied Nikola. "Even if we don't get anything till to-morrow evening we shall have to grin and 耐える it."
I groaned and went 支援する to my room. It must have been nearly midday by this time, and we had eaten nothing since daybreak. I seated myself on my bed, and tried to reconcile myself to our position. I thought for some time, then a fit of drowsiness （機の）カム over me, and before very long I was 急速な／放蕩な asleep.
For nearly two hours I must have remained unconscious of what was going on around me. When I woke my hunger was even greater than before. I rose from my bed, and went in to look at Nikola, only to find that 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の man 占領するd in his favourite way—working out abstruse problems on the 床に打ち倒す. I did not 乱す him, but returned to my own apartment, and fell to pacing the 床に打ち倒す like a caged beast. I told myself that if I did not get a meal very soon I should do something desperate.
My hunger, however, was 運命にあるd to be appeased before long. Just about sundown I heard the noise of footsteps in the 回廊（地帯）, and presently a 明らかにする-footed 修道士, dressed all in 黒人／ボイコット, and wearing the same terrifying 長，率いる-dress we had first seen in the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall, made his 外見, carrying a large bowl in his 手渡すs. This he 伝えるd through my room and placed on Nikola's （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する.
When he entered, he 設立する the latter upon his 膝s engaged in his devotions, and I began to reproach myself for having 許すd him to catch me doing anything else.
The man had hardly left again, indeed, the sound of his footsteps had not died away on the 石／投石する steps, before I was in the inner room.
"Dinner is served," said Nikola, and went across to the bowl upon the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する. To my 狼狽 it 含む／封じ込めるd little more than a pint of the thinnest soup mortal man ever 始める，決める 注目する，もくろむs on. In this ungenerous fluid floated a few 穀物s of rice, but anything more 相当な there was 非，不，無. There was neither spoon nor bread, so how we were to drink it, unless we 攻撃するd the bowl up and 注ぐd it 負かす／撃墜する our throats, I could not imagine. However, Nikola solved the difficulty by taking from his 薬／医学-chest a small travelling cup, which he placed in my 手渡す. Thereupon I 始める，決める to work. Seeing that Nikola himself took scarcely more than a cupful, I remonstrated with him, but in vain. He said he did not want it, and that settled the 事柄. I accordingly finished what remained, and when I had done so felt as hungry as ever. If this were to be the fare of the 修道院, I argued, by the time we left it, if leave it we did, I should be 減ずるd to a 骸骨／概要.
When I had finished my meal, the long streak of light which had been under the window when we arrived, and had 徐々に crossed the 床に打ち倒す, was now some feet up the opposite 塀で囲む. A little later it 消えるd altogether. The room was soon in total 不明瞭, and I can 保証する you my spirits were 非，不，無 of the best. I returned to Nikola's apartment not in the most cheerful of humours.
"This is very pleasant," I said ironically. "Are they never going to receive us 適切に?"
"All in good time," he answered 静かに. "We shall have enough excitement to last us a lifetime presently, and I don't 疑問 that we shall be in some danger too."
"I don't mind the danger," I said; "it is this awful waiting that 悩ますs my 神経s."
"井戸／弁護士席, you won't have long to wait. If I mistake not there is somebody coming for us now,"
"How do you know that?" I asked. "I can't hear anybody."
"Still they are coming," said Nikola. "If I were you I should go 支援する into my room and be ready to receive them when they arrive."
I took the hint, and returned to my apartment, where I waited with all the patience I could 命令（する）.
How Nikola knew that some one was coming to fetch us I cannot tell, but this much is 確かな , within five minutes of his having 警告するd me I heard a man come 負かす／撃墜する the steps, then a 有望な light appeared upon the 塀で囲む, and a moment later the same dwarf who had 勧めるd us into the 修道院 entered my room carrying a たいまつ in his 手渡す. Seeing that he 願望（する）d speech with Nikola, I held up my 手渡す to him in 警告, and then, assuming an 空気／公表する of the deepest reverence, 調印するd him to remain where he was while I proceeded into the inner room. Nikola was on the 警報, and bade me call the man to him. This I did, and next moment the dwarf stood before him.
"I am sent, oh stranger," said the latter, "to 召喚する thee to an audience with the 広大な／多数の／重要な Ones of the Mountains."
"I am 用意が出来ている," said Nikola solemnly. "Let us go."
Thereupon the dwarf turned himself about and led the way out into the 回廊（地帯）. I had no 願望（する） to be left behind, so I followed の近くに at Nikola's heels.
We 上がるd first a long flight of steps, threaded the same 回廊（地帯） by which we had entered, 機動力のある another flight of stairs, crossed a large hall, and finally reached a small 賭け金-議会. Here we were told to wait while the dwarf passed through a curtain and spoke to some one within. When he 現れるd again he drew 支援する the covering of the doorway and 調印するd to us to enter. We 従うd with his request, to discover a rather larger apartment, which was guarded by a 修道士 in the usual dress. He received us with a 屈服する, and also without speaking, 行為／行うd us to another room, the door of which was guarded by yet another 修道士.
All this had a most depressing 影響 upon my 神経s, and by the time we reached the last 修道士 I was ready to jump away from my own 影をつくる／尾行する. I make these 自白s, in the first place, because having 始める，決める my 手渡す to the tale, I think I have no 権利 to 保留する anything connected with my adventures, and in the second, because I don't want to 提起する／ポーズをとる as a more 勇敢な man than I really was. I have 直面するd danger as many times as most men, and I don't think my worst enemy could 告発する／非難する me of cowardice, but I feel bound to 自白する that on this occasion I was nervous. And who would not have been?
On reaching the last 賭け金-room Nikola passed in ahead of me, without looking to 権利 or left, his 長，率いる bent, and his whole 態度 suggestive of the deepest piety. Here we were told to wait. The 修道士 disappeared, and for nearly five minutes did not put in an 外見 again. When he did he pointed to a door on the opposite 味方する of the apartment, and requested that we would lose no time in entering.
We 従うd with his request to find ourselves in a large room, the hangings of which were all of the deepest 黒人／ボイコット. By the light of the たいまつs, 直す／買収する，八百長をするd in brackets on the 塀で囲むs, we could distinguish two men seated in quaintly carved 議長，司会を務めるs on a sort of 演壇 at the その上の end. They were dressed after the same fashion as the 修道士s, and for this 推論する／理由 it was やめる impossible to discover whether they were young or old. As soon as we got inside I （機の）カム stiffly to attention と一緒に the door, while Nikola 前進するd and stood before the silent couple on the 演壇. For some moments no one spoke. Then the man on the 権利 rose, and turning に向かって Nikola said:
"Who are ye, and by what 権利 do ye thus 勇敢に立ち向かう our 孤独?"
"I am He of Hankow, of whom thou hast been 知らせるd," answered Nikola 謙虚に, with a low reverence. "And I have come because thou didst 命令（する）."
"What proof have we of that?" 問い合わせd the first （衆議院の）議長.
"There is the letter sent 今後 by your messenger from the High Priest of the Llamaserai in Pekin, 説 that I was coming," replied Nikola, "and I have this symbol that ye sent to me."
Here he 展示（する）d the stick he had procured from Wetherell, and held it up that the other might see.
"And if this be true, what 商売／仕事 have ye with us?"
"I am here that I may do the bidding of the living and of the dead."
"It is 井戸／弁護士席," said the first （衆議院の）議長 and sat 負かす／撃墜する again.
For five minutes or so there was another silence, during which no one spoke, and no one moved. I stood on one 味方する of the door, the 修道士 who had 認める us on the other; Nikola was before the 演壇, and on it, rigid and motionless, the two 黒人／ボイコット 人物／姿／数字s I have before 述べるd. When the silence had lasted the time I have について言及するd I began to feel that if some one did not speak soon I should have to do so myself. The suspense was terrible, and yet Nikola stood 会社／堅い, never moving a muscle or showing a 調印する of 当惑.
Then the man who had not yet spoken said 静かに:
"Hast thou 用意が出来ている thyself for the office that を待つs thee?"
"If it should 落ちる out as ye ーするつもりである," said Nikola, "I am 用意が出来ている."
"Art thou 確かな that thou hast no 恐れる?"
"Of that I am 確かな ," he replied.
"And what knowledge hast thou of such things as will 付随する to thy office?" To my surprise Nikola answered 謙虚に:
"I have no knowledge, but as thou knowest I have given my mind to the 熟考する／考慮する of many things which are usually hid from the brain of man."
"It is 井戸／弁護士席," answered this second man, after the manner of the first.
There was another silence, and then the man who had first 演説（する）／住所d Nikola said with an 空気／公表する of 当局:
"To-morrow night we will 実験（する） thy knowledge and thy courage. For the 現在の 準備する thyself and wait."
Thereupon the 修道士 at the doorway beckoned to Nikola to follow him. He did so, and I passed out of the room at his heels. Then we were 行為／行うd 支援する to our 独房s and left alone for the night.
As soon as our guide had 出発／死d I went in to Nikola.
"What do you think of our interview?" I 問い合わせd.
"That its 後継者 to-morrow evening will 証明する of some real importance to us," he answered. "Our adventure begins to grow 利益／興味ing."
"But are you 用意が出来ている for all the questions they will ask?"
"I cannot say," said Nikola. "I am remembering what I have been taught and leaving the 残り／休憩（する） to 運命／宿命. The luck which has …に出席するd us hitherto ought surely to carry us on to the end."
"井戸／弁護士席, let us hope nothing will go wrong," I continued. "But I must 自白する I am not happy. I have seen more cheerful places than this 修道院, and as far as diet is 関心d, commend me to the cheapest Whitechapel restaurant."
"Help me through to the end, and you shall live in 高級な for the 残り／休憩（する） of your days."
We talked for a little while and then retired to bed. For one day we had surely had enough excitement!
Next day we rose 早期に, breakfasted on a small 部分 of rice, received no 訪問者s, and did not leave our rooms all day. Only the 修道士 who had brought us our food on the previous evening visited us, and, as on that occasion, he had nothing to say for himself. Our evening meal was served at sundown, and consisted of the same meagre soup as before. Then 不明瞭 fell, and about the same time as on the previous evening the dwarf appeared to 行為／行う us to the rendezvous.
WHEN we left our rooms on this occasion we turned to the 権利 手渡す instead of to the left, and proceeded to a long 回廊（地帯） running below that in which our 独房s were 据えるd. どの辺に in the 修道院 this particular passage was placed, and how its bearings lay with regard to the staircase by which we had 上がるd from the valley on the previous day, I could not discover. Like all the others, however, it was innocent of daylight, but was lighted by enormous たいまつs, which again were upheld by アイロンをかける brackets driven into the 塀で囲むs. Once during our march an 適切な時期 was vouchsafed me of 診察するing these 塀で囲むs for myself, when to my astonishment I discovered that they were not hewn out of the 激しく揺する as I had supposed, but were built of dressed 石／投石する of a description, remarkably 似ているing granite. This 存在 so, I realized, for the first time, that the 独房s and the 回廊（地帯）s were built by human 手渡すs, but how long it could have taken the 建設業者s to 完全にする such an enormous 仕事 was a 計算／見積り altogether beyond my 力／強力にするs. But to return to my narrative.
From the 回廊（地帯） just 述べるd we passed 負かす／撃墜する another flight of steps, then across a 狭くする 上陸, after which （機の）カム another staircase. As we reached it our ears were 攻撃する，非難するd by a noise 似ているing distant 雷鳴.
"What sound is that?" asked Nikola of our guide.
The dwarf did not answer in words, but, 主要な us along a 味方する passage, held his たいまつ above his 長，率いる, and bade us look.
For a moment the dancing 炎上 妨げるd us from seeing anything. Then our 注目する，もくろむs became accustomed to the light, and to our amazement we discovered that we were standing on the very brink of an enormous precipice. In the abyss, the 勝利，勝つd, which must have come in through some passage from the open 空気／公表する, tore and shrieked with a most dismal noise, while across the way, not more than twelve yards distant, fell the waters of a magnificent cataract. Picture to yourself that 広大な／多数の／重要な 容積／容量 of water 衝突，墜落ing and roaring 負かす／撃墜する through the 不明瞭 into the very bowels of the earth. The 落ちる must have been tremendous, for no spray （機の）カム up to us. All we could see was a 集まり of 黒人／ボイコット water 急ぐing past us. We stood and looked, open-mouthed, and when our wonder and curiosity were 満足させるd as much as it ever would be, turned and followed our guide 支援する to the place where we had been standing when we had first heard the noise. At the other end of this 回廊（地帯） or 上陸, whichever you may please to 称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語 it, was a large 石／投石する archway, 似ているing a tunnel more than anything else, and at its mouth stood a 修道士. The dwarf went 今後 to him and said something in a low 発言する／表明する, その結果 he took a たいまつ from the 塀で囲む at his 味方する and 調印するd to us to follow him. The dwarf returned to the higher 地域s, while we 急落（する），激減（する）d deeper still below the surface of the earth. Whether we were really as far 負かす／撃墜する as we imagined, or whether the dampness was 原因（となる）d by some 漏れ from the cataract we had just seen, I cannot say; at any 率, the 塀で囲むs and 床に打ち倒すs were all streaming wet.
The passage, or tunnel, as I have more fittingly 称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語d it, was a long one, 手段ing at least fifty feet from 入り口 to 出口. When we had passed through it we stood in the biggest 洞穴 I have yet had the good fortune to behold; indeed, so large was it that in the half-dark it was with the 最大の difficulty I could see the other 味方する. Our guide led us across the first transept into the main aisle and then left us. No 調印する of furniture of any 肉親，親類d—either stool, altar, or 演壇—was to be seen, and as far as we could 裁判官 there was not a living soul within call. The only sound to be heard was the faint dripping of water, which seemed to come from every part of the 洞穴.
"This is eerie enough to 控訴 any one," I whispered to Nikola. "I hope the 業績／成果 will soon 開始する."
"Hush!" he said. "Be careful what you say, for you don't know who may overhear you."
He had hardly spoken before the first mysterious 出来事/事件 of the evening occurred. We were standing 直面するing that part of the cavern which had been on our 権利 when we entered. The light was better in that particular 位置／汚点／見つけ出す than anywhere else, and I am 用意が出来ている to 断言する that at that instant, to the best of my belief, there was not a human 存在 between ourselves and the 塀で囲む. Yet as we looked a 影をつくる／尾行する seemed to rise out of the ground before us; it （機の）カム closer, and as it （機の）カム it took human 形態／調整. The trick was a clever one and its working puzzles me to this day. Of course the man may have made his 外見 from behind a 中心存在, 特に arranged for the 目的, or he may have risen from a 罠（にかける）-door in the 床に打ち倒す, though 本人自身で I consider both these things ありそうもない; the fact however remains, come he did.
"By your own 願望（する）, and of no 軍隊 適用するd by human 存在s," he said, 演説（する）／住所ing Nikola, "thou art here asking that the 知恵 of our order may be 明らかにする／漏らすd to thee. There is still time to draw 支援する if thou wouldst."
"I have no 願望（する） to draw 支援する," Nikola answered 堅固に.
"So be it," said the man. "Then follow me."
Nikola moved 今後, and I was about to …を伴って him when the man ahead of us turned, and pointing to me said: "Come no さらに先に! It is not 会合，会う that thou shouldst see what is now to be 明らかにする／漏らすd."
Nikola 直面するd me and said 静かに, "Remain."
Having given this order he followed the other along the 洞穴 and presently disappeared from my sight.
For some minutes I stood where they had left me, listening to the dripping of the water in the distant parts of the 洞穴, watching the bats as they flitted 速く up and 負かす／撃墜する the 暗い／優うつな aisles, and wondering into what mysteries Nikola was about to be 始めるd. The silence was most oppressive, and every moment that I waited it seemed to be growing worse. To say that I was disappointed at 存在 thus 棚上げにするd at the most important point in our adventure would scarcely 表明する my feelings. Besides, I 手配中の，お尋ね者 to be at Nikola's 権利 手渡す should any trouble occur.
As I waited the 願望（する） to know more of what he was doing grew upon me. I felt that come what might I must be 現在の at the interview to which he had been 召喚するd. No one, I argued, would be any the wiser, and even if by chance they should discover that I had followed them, I felt I could 信用 to my own impudence and 力／強力にするs of 発明 to explain my presence there. My mind was no sooner made up than I 始める，決める off 負かす／撃墜する the 洞穴 in the direction in which they had disappeared. Arriving at the その上の end I discovered another small passage, from which led still another flight of steps. Softly I 選ぶd my way 負かす／撃墜する them, at the same time trying to 推論する／理由 out in my own mind how 深い in the mountain we were, but as usual I could come to no 満足な 結論.
When I arrived at the 底（に届く） of the steps, I stood in a peculiar sort of crypt, supported by 中心存在s, and surrounded on all 味方するs by tiers of niches, or 棚上げにするs, 削減（する）, after the fashion of the Roman catacombs, in the solid 激しく揺する. This dismal place was lighted by three たいまつs, and by their 援助 I was able to discern in each niche a swaddled-up human 人物／姿／数字. Not without a feeling of awe I left the steps by which I had descended and began to 追跡（する） about の中で the 中心存在s for a doorway through which I might pass into the room below, where Nikola was engaged with the 広大な／多数の／重要な Ones of the Mountains. But though I searched for 上向きs of ten minutes, not a 調印する of any such 入り口 could I discover. I was now in a curious position. I had left my 駅／配置する in the larger 洞穴 and, in spite of orders to the contrary, had followed to 証言，証人／目撃する what was not ーするつもりであるd for my 注目する，もくろむs; in that 事例／患者, supposing the door at the 最高の，を越す were shut, and I could find no other 出口, I should be caught like a ネズミ in a 罠（にかける）. To make 事柄s worse, I should have disobeyed the strict 命令（する） of the man who had 召喚するd Nikola, and I should also have incurred the 非難する of Nikola himself. Remembering how rigorously he had dealt with those who had 感情を害する／違反するd him before, I 解決するd in my own mind to turn 支援する while I had the chance. But just as I was about to do so, something curious about the base of one of the 中心存在s, to the 権利 of where I stood, caught my 注目する，もくろむ. It was either a 割れ目 magnified by the uncertain light of the たいまつs, or it was a doorway cleverly 建設するd in the stonework, and which had been improperly の近くにd. I approached it, and, 挿入するing the blade of my knife, pulled. It opened すぐに, 明らかにする／漏らすing the fact that the entire 中心存在 was hollow, and what was more important to me, that it 含む／封じ込めるd a short 木造の ladder which led 負かす／撃墜する into yet another crypt.
In an instant my 決意／決議 to return to the upper 洞穴 was forgotten. An 適切な時期 of discovering their 商売／仕事 was 現在のd to me, and come what might I was going to make the most of it. Pulling the door open to its 十分な extent I crept in and went softly 負かす／撃墜する the ladder. By the time I reached the 底（に届く） I was in total 不明瞭. For a moment I was at a loss to understand the 推論する／理由 of this, as I could plainly hear 発言する／表明するs; but by dint of feeling I discovered that the place in which I stood was a sort of 賭け金-議会 to a room beyond, the door of which was only 部分的に／不公平に shut. My sandals made no noise on the 石／投石する 床に打ち倒す, and I was therefore able to creep up to the 入り口 of the inner room without exciting attention. What a sight it was that met my 注目する，もくろむs!
The apartment itself was not more than fifty feet long by thirty wide. But instead of 存在 like all the other places through which I had passed, an ordinary 洞穴, this one was 床に打ち倒すd and wainscotted with woodwork now 黒人／ボイコット with age. How high it was I could not guess, for the 塀で囲むs went up and up until I lost them in the 不明瞭. Of furniture the room 誇るd but little; there was, however, a long and queer-形態／調整d （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する at the その上の end, another 近づく the door, and a tripod brazier on the left-手渡す 味方する. The latter 含む／封じ込めるd a 集まり of live coal, and, as there was some sort of 軍隊d draught behind it, it roared like a blacksmith's (1)偽造する／(2)徐々に進む.
Nikola, when I entered, was 持つ／拘留するing what looked like a phial in his left 手渡す. The 黒人／ボイコット-hooded men I had 推定する／予想するd to find there I could not see, but standing by his 味方する were two dressed in a 全く different fashion.
The taller of the pair was a middle-老年の man, almost bald, 誇るing a pleasant, but わずかに Semitic cast of countenance, and wearing a short 黒人／ボイコット 耐えるd. His companion, evidently the 長，指導者, 異なるd from him in almost every particular. To begin with, he was the oldest man I have ever seen in my life able to move about. He was small and shrivelled almost beyond belief, his 肌 was as yellow as parchment, and his bones, whenever he moved, looked as if they must certainly 削減（する） through their coverings. His countenance bore unmistakable traces of having once been 極端に handsome, and was now 十分な of 知識人 beauty; at the same time, however, I could not help feeling 確かな that it was not the 直面する of an Asiatic. Like his companion, he also wore a 耐えるd, but in his 事例／患者 it was long and snow-white, which 追加するd materially to his venerable 外見.
"My son," he was 説, 演説（する）／住所ing himself to Nikola, "hitherto thou hast seen the extent to which the particular 力／強力にするs of which we have been speaking can be cultivated by a life of continual 祈り and self-否定. Now thou wilt learn to what extent our sect has 利益d by earthly 知恵. Remember always that from time immemorial there have been those の中で us who have given up their lives to the 熟考する／考慮する of the frailties and imperfections of this human でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる. The wonders of 薬／医学 and all the arts of 傷をいやす／和解させるing have come 負かす／撃墜する to us from years that date from before the apotheosis of the ever-blessed Buddha. Day and night, 世代 after 世代, century after century in these 洞穴s those of our 約束 have been 熟考する／考慮するing and 追加するing to the knowledge which our forefathers 所有するd. Remote as we are from it, every fresh 発見 of the Western or Eastern world is known to us, and to the 器具／実施するs with which our forefathers worked we have 追加するd everything helpful that man has invented since. In the whole world there are 非，不，無 who 持つ／拘留する the secret of life and death in their 手渡すs as we do. Wouldst thou have an example? There is a 事例／患者 at 現在の in the 修道院."
As he spoke he struck a gong hanging upon the 塀で囲む, and almost before the sound had died away a 修道士 appeared to answer it. The old fellow said something to him, and すぐに he retired by the way he had come. Five minutes later he 再現するd, followed by another 修道士. Between them they bore a 担架, on which lay a human 人物／姿／数字. The old man 調印するd to them to place him in the centre of the room, which they did, and retired.
As soon as they had 出発／死d Nikola was 招待するd to 診察する the person upon the 担架. He did so, almost forgetting, in his excitement, his 役割 of an old man.
For nearly five minutes he bent over the 患者, who lay like a スピードを出す／記録につける, then he rose and turned to his companions.
"A 完全にする 事例／患者 of paralysis," he said.
"You are 保証するd in your own mind that it is 完全にする?" 問い合わせd the old man.
"Perfectly 保証するd," said Nikola.
"Then 支払う／賃金 注意する, for you are about to 証言，証人／目撃する the 力／強力にする which the 知恵 of all the ages has given us."
Turning to his companion he took from his 手渡す a small アイロンをかける ladle. This he placed upon the brazier, 注ぐing into it about a tablespoonful of the mixture 含む／封じ込めるd in the phial, which, when I first looked, Nikola had been 持つ／拘留するing in his 手渡す. As the ladle became heated, the liquid, whatever it may have been, threw off a tiny vapour, the smell of which reminded me somewhat of a mixture of sandal-支持を得ようと努めるd and camphor.
By the time this potion was ready for use the second man had divested the 患者 of his 衣料品s. What remained of the 薬／医学 was thereupon 軍隊d into his mouth, that and his nostrils were bound up, and after he had lost consciousness, which he did in いっそう少なく than a minute, he was anointed from 長，率いる to toe with some 侵入するing unguent. Just as the liquid, when heating on the brazier, had done, this ointment threw off a vapour, which hung about the 団体／死体, rising into the 空気／公表する to the 高さ of about three インチs. For something like five minutes this exhalation continued, then it began to die away, and as soon as it had done so the unguent was again 適用するd, after which the two men kneaded the 団体／死体 in somewhat the same fashion as that 可決する・採択するd by masseurs. So far the colour of the man's 肌 had been a sort of zinc white, now it 徐々に assumed the 外見 of that of a healthy man. Once more the massage 治療 was begun, and when it was finished the 四肢s began to twitch in a spasmodic fashion. At the end of half an hour the 包帯 was 除去するd from the mouth and nostrils, also the plugs from the ears, and the man, who had hitherto lain like one asleep, opened his 注目する，もくろむs.
"Move thy 武器," said the old man with an 空気／公表する of 命令（する）.
The 患者 敏速に did as he was 命令（する）d.
"Bend thy 脚s."
He 従うd with the order.
"Stand upon thy feet."
He rose from the 担架 and stood before them, 明らかに as strong and hearty a man as one could wish to see.
"To-morrow this 治療 shall be repeated, and the day に引き続いて thou shalt be cured. Now go and give thanks," said the old man with impressive sternness. Then turning to Nikola, he continued—
"Thou hast seen our 力／強力にするs. Could any man in the world without these 塀で囲むs do as much?"
"Nay, they are ignorant as earthworms," said Nikola. "But I 賞賛する Buddha for the man's 救済."
"賞賛する to whom 賞賛する is 予定," answered the old fellow. "And now, having seen so much, it is fitting that thou shouldst go その上の, and to do so it is necessary that we put aside the curtain that divides man's life from death. Art thou afraid?"
"Nay," said Nikola, "I have no 恐れる."
"It is 井戸／弁護士席 said," 発言／述べるd the 年上の man, and again he struck the gong.
The 修道士 having appeared in answer he gave him an order and the man すぐに withdrew. When he returned, he and his companion brought with them another 担架, upon which was placed the dead 団体／死体 of a man. The 修道士 having 孤立した the old priest said to Nikola—
"Gaze upon this person, my son; his earthly 巡礼の旅 is over; he died of old age to-day. He was one of our lay brethren, and a devout and 宗教上の man. It is 会合，会う that he should 行為／行う thee, of whose piety we have heard so much, into our 広大な／多数の／重要な inner land of knowledge. 診察する him for thyself, and be sure that the spirit of life has really passed out of him."
Nikola bent over the bier and did as he was requested. At the end of his examination he said 静かに—
"It is even as thou sayest; the brother's life is 出発／死d from him."
"Thou art 納得させるd of the truth of thy words?" 問い合わせd the second man.
"I am 納得させるd," said Nikola.
"Then I will once more show thee what our science can do."
With the 援助 of his 同僚 he brought what looked like a large electric 殴打／砲列 and placed it at the dead man's feet. The priest connected 確かな wires with the 団体／死体, and, having taken a 扱う in either 手渡す, placed himself in position, and shut his 注目する，もくろむs. Though I craned my 長，率いる 一連の会議、交渉／完成する to see, I could not tell what he did. But this much is 確かな , after a few moments he swayed himself backwards and 今後s, seemed to breathe with difficulty, and finally became almost rigid. Then （機の）カム a long pause, 継続している perhaps three minutes, at the end of which time he opened his 注目する，もくろむs, raised his 権利 arm, and pointed with his forefinger at the dead man's 直面する. As he did so, to my horror, I saw the 注目する，もくろむs open! Again he seemed to pray, then he pointed at the 権利 arm, その結果 the dead man 解除するd it and 倍のd it upon his breast, then at his left, which followed 控訴. When both the white 手渡すs were in this position he turned to Nikola and said—
"Is there aught in thy learning can give thee the 力／強力にする to do that?"
"There is nothing," said Nikola, who I could see was as much amazed as I was.
"But our 力／強力にする does not end there," said the old man.
"Oh, wonderful father! what その上の canst thou teach me?" asked Nikola. The man did not answer, but again の近くにd his 注目する，もくろむs for a few moments. Then, still 持つ／拘留するing the 扱うs but pointing them に向かって the dead man, he cried in a loud 発言する／表明する—
"Ye who are dead, arise!"
And then—but I do not 推定する／予想する you will believe me when I tell it—that man who had been ten hours dead, rose little by little from his bier and at last stood before us. I continued to watch what happened. I saw Nikola start 今後 as if carried out of himself. I saw the second man 延長する his arm to 持つ／拘留する him 支援する, and then the 死体 fell in a heap upon the 床に打ち倒す. The two men 即時に sprang 今後, 解除するd it up, and placed it upon the 担架 again.
"Art thou 満足させるd?" 問い合わせd the old man.
"I am filled with wonder. Is it possible that I can see more?" said Nikola.
"Thou wouldst see more?" asked the 長，指導者 of the Two in a sepulchral トン. "Then, as a last proof of our 力／強力にする, before thou takest upon thee the final 公約するs of our order, when all our secrets must be 明らかにする／漏らすd to thee, thou shalt 侵入する the Land of 影をつくる／尾行するs, and see, as far as is possible for human 注目する，もくろむs, the dead leaders of our order, of all ages, stand before you."
With that he took from a 捕らえる、獲得する hanging 一連の会議、交渉／完成する his waist a handful of what looked like 乾燥した，日照りのd herbs. These he threw upon the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, and almost 即時に the room was filled with a dense smoke. For some few seconds I could distinguish nothing, then it drew slowly off, and little by little I seemed to see with an 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の clearness. Whether it was that I was hypnotized, and fancied I saw what I am about to 述べる, or whether it really happened as I say, I shall never know. One thing, however, is 確かな —the room was filled with the shadowy 人物／姿／数字s of men. They were of all ages, and 明らかに of all nations. Some were Chinese, some were Cingalese, some were Thibetans, while one or two were certainly Aryans, and for all I knew to the contrary, might have been English. The room was filled with them, but there was something plainly unsubstantial about them. They moved to and fro without sound, yet with 正規の／正選手 movements. I watched them, and as I watched, a terror, such as I had never known in my life before, （機の）カム over me. I felt that if I did not get out of the room at once I should 落ちる upon the 床に打ち倒す in a fit. In this 明言する／公表する I made my way に向かって the door by which I had entered, fled up the ladder, through the crypt, and then across the 洞穴 to the place where I had stood when Nikola had left me, and then fell fainting upon the 床に打ち倒す.
How long I remained in this swoon I cannot tell, but when I （機の）カム to myself again I was still alone.
It must have been やめる an hour later when Nikola joined me. The 修道士 who had brought us into the hall …を伴ってd him, and led us に向かって the tunnel. There the dwarf received us and 行為／行うd us 支援する to our apartments.
Once there, Nikola, without vouchsafing me a word, retired into the inner room. I was too dazed, and, I will 自白する, too 脅すd by what I had seen to feel equal to interviewing him, so I left him alone.
Presently, however, he （機の）カム into my room, and crossing to where I sat on my bed, placed his 手渡す kindly upon my shoulder. I looked up into his 直面する, which was paler than I had ever seen it before.
"Bruce," he said, not without a little touch of 悔いる in his 発言する／表明する, "how was it that you did not do what you were told?"
"It was my 悪口を言う／悪態d curiosity," I said 激しく. "But do not think I am not sorry. I would give all I 所有する in the world not to have seen what I saw in that room."
"But you have seen, and nothing will ever take away that knowledge from you. You will carry it with you to the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な."
"The 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な," I answered 激しく. "What hope is there even in the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な after what we have seen tonight? Oh, for Heaven's sake, Nikola, let us get out of this place to-night if possible."
"So you are afraid, are you?" he answered with a strange 表現 on his 直面する. "I did not think you would turn coward, Bruce."
"In this I am a coward," I answered. "Give me something to do, something human to fight, some 有形の danger to 直面する, and I am your man! But I am not fit to fight against the invisible."
"Come, come, 元気づける up!" said Nikola. "Things are 進歩ing splendidly with us. Our 身元 has not been questioned; we have been received by the 長，率いるs of the sect as the people we pretend to be, and tomorrow I am to be raised to the 階級 of one of the Three. The remaining secrets will then be 明らかにする／漏らすd to me, and when I have discovered all I want to know, we will go 支援する to civilization once more. Think of what I may have 達成するd by this time to-morrow. I tell you, Bruce, such an 適切な時期 might never come to a Western man again. It will be invaluable to me. Think of this, and then it will help your pluck to go through with it to the end!"
"If I am not asked to see such things as I saw tonight, it may," I answered, "but not unless."
"You must do me the credit to remember you were not asked to see them."
"I know that, and I have paid 厳しく for my disobedience."
"Then let us say no more about it. Remember, Bruce, I 信用 you."
"You need have no 恐れる," I said, after a pause, 継続している a few moments. "Even if I could get out of it, for your sake I would go through with it, come what might."
"I thank you for that 保証／確信. Good-night."
So 説, Nikola retired to his room, and I laid myself 負かす／撃墜する upon my bed, but, you may be sure, it was not to sleep.
AS soon as I woke next morning I went into Nikola's room. To my surprise he was not there. Nor did he put in an 外見 until nearly an hour later. When he did, I could see that he was 完全に exhausted, though he tried hard not to show it.
"What have you been doing?" I asked, 会合 him on the threshold with a question.
"Qualifying myself for my position by 存在 始めるd into more mysteries," he answered. "Bruce, if you could have seen all that I have done since midnight tonight, I verily believe it would be impossible for you ever to be a happy man again. When I tell you that what I have 証言，証人／目撃するd has even 脅すd me, you will realize something of what I mean."
"What have you seen?"
"I have been shown the flesh on the mummified 団体／死体s of men who died nearly a thousand years ago made soft and healthy as that of a little child; I have seen such 外科 as the greatest 操作者 in Europe would consider impossible; I have been shown a new anaesthetic that does not 奪う the 患者 of his senses, and yet （判決などを）下すs him impervious to 苦痛; and I have seen other things, such that I dare not 述べる them even to you."
"And you were not tempted to draw 支援する?"
"Only once," answered Nikola candidly. "For nearly a minute, I will 自白する, I hesitated, but 結局 I 軍隊d myself to go on. That once 遂行するd, the 残り／休憩（する） was 平易な. But I must not stay talking here. To-day is going to be a big day with us. I shall go and 嘘（をつく） 負かす／撃墜する ーするために recoup my energies. Call me if I am 手配中の，お尋ね者, but さもなければ do not 乱す me."
He went into the inner room, laid himself 負かす／撃墜する upon his bed, and for nearly two hours slept as 平和的に as a little child. The morning meal was served soon after sunrise, but I did not wake him for it; indeed, it was not until nearly midday that he made his 外見 again. When he did, we discussed our position more fully, 重さを計るd the プロの／賛成のs and 反対／詐欺s more carefully, and 推測するd still その上の as to what the result of our adventure would be. Somehow a vague feeling of 差し迫った 災害 had taken 所有／入手 of me. I could not rid myself of the belief that before the day was over we should find our success in some way 逆転するd. I told Nikola as much, but he only laughed, and uttered his usual reply to the 影響 that, 災害 or no 災害, he was not going to give in, but would go through with it to the bitter end, whatever the upshot might be.
About two o'clock in the afternoon a dwarf put in an 外見, and intimated that Nikola's presence was 要求するd in the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall. He すぐに left the 独房, and remained away until dusk. When he returned he looked more like a ghost than a man, but even then, tired as he undoubtedly was, his アイロンをかける will would not 認める such a thing as 疲労，（軍の）雑役. Barely vouchsafing me a word he passed into the inner room, to 占領する himself there until nearly eight o'clock making 公式文書，認めるs and 令状ing up a concise account of all that he had seen. I sat on my bed watching the dancing of his たいまつ 炎上 upon the 塀で囲む, and feeling about as 哀れな as it would be possible for a man to be. Why I should have been so depressed I cannot say. But it was 確かな that everything served to bring 支援する to me my 現在の position. I thought of my old English school, and wondered if I had been told then what was to happen to me in later life whether I should have believed it. I thought of Gladys, my pretty sweetheart, and asked myself if I should ever see her again; and I was just in the 行為／法令／行動する of 製図／抽選 the locket she had given me from beneath my 式服, when my ear caught the sound of a footstep on the 石／投石するs outside. Next moment the same uncanny dwarf who had 召喚するd us on the previous evening made his 外見. Without a word he pointed to the door of the inner room. I supposed the 活動／戦闘 to signify that those in 当局 wished Nikola to come to them, and went in and told him so. He すぐに put away his paper and pencil, and 調印するd to me to leave his room ahead of him. The dwarf に先行するd us, I （機の）カム next, and Nikola に引き続いて me. In this fashion we made our way up one 回廊（地帯） and 負かす／撃墜する another, 上がるd and descended innumerable stairs, and at last reached the tunnel of the 広大な／多数の／重要な cavern, the same in which we had passed through such adventures on the 先行する night. On this occasion the door was guarded by fully a dozen 修道士s, who formed into two lines to let us pass.
If the 洞穴 had been 明らかにする of ornament when we visited it the previous night, it was now altogether different. Hundreds of たいまつs 炎上d from brackets upon the 塀で囲むs, 分配するd their ruddy glare upon the 塀で囲むs and 天井, and were 反映するd, as in a million diamonds, in the stalactites hanging from the roof.
At the その上の end of the 広大な／多数の／重要な cavern was a large and beautifully decorated ３倍になる 王位, and opposite it, but half-way 負かす／撃墜する the hall, a 演壇 covered with a rich crimson cloth 国境d with 激しい bullion fringe. As we entered we were 迎える／歓迎するd with the same mysterious music we had heard on the day of our arrival. It grew louder and louder until we reached the 演壇, and then, just as Nikola took up his place at the 前線, and I 地雷 a little behind him, began to die slowly away again. When it had 中止するd to sound a 広大な／多数の／重要な bell in the roof above our 長，率いるs struck three. The noise it made was almost deafening. It seemed to fill the entire 洞穴, then, like the music above について言及するd, to die slowly away again. Once more the same number of 一打／打撃s were repeated, and once more the sound died away. When it could no longer be heard, curtains at the その上の end were drawn 支援する, and the 修道士s 開始するd to とじ込み／提出する slowly in from either 味方する, just as they had done at the first service after our arrival. There must have been nearly four hundred of them; they were all dressed in 黒人／ボイコット and all wore the same peculiar 長，率いる-covering I have 述べるd どこかよそで.
When they had taken their places on either 味方する of the 演壇 upon which we stood, the curtain which covered the doorway, through which I had followed Nikola 負かす／撃墜する into the subterranean 議会 the night before, was drawn aside and another 行列 entered. First （機の）カム the dwarfs, to the number of thirty, each carrying a lighted たいまつ in his 手渡す; に引き続いて them were nearly a hundred 修道士s, in white, swinging censers, then a dozen grey-bearded priests in 黒人／ボイコット, but without the 長，率いる-covering, after which the two men who were the 長，率いるs of this 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の sect.
Reaching the 王位 the 行列 divided itself into two parts, each half taking up its position in the form of a 三日月 on either 味方する. The two 長，率いるs seated themselves beneath the canopy, and 正確に／まさに at the moment of their doing so the 広大な／多数の／重要な bell にわか景気d 前へ／外へ again. As its echo died away all the 修道士s who had hitherto been ひさまづくing rose to their feet and with one （許可，名誉などを）与える took up the hymn of their sect. Though the music and words were 野蛮な in the extreme, there was something about the 影響 produced that stirred the heart beyond description. The hymn 中止するd as suddenly as it had begun, and then, from の中で the white-式服d 修道士s beside the 王位, a man stepped 前へ／外へ with a paper in his 手渡す. In a loud 発言する／表明する he 布告するd the fact that it had pleased the two 広大な／多数の／重要な Ones of the Mountains to fill the vacancy which had so long 存在するd in the triumvirate. For that 推論する／理由 they had 召喚するd to their presence a man who bore a 評判 for 知恵 and holiness second to 非，不，無. Him they now saw before them. He had （判決などを）下すd good service to the Society, he had been 証明するd to be a just man, and now it only remained for him to 明言する／公表する whether he was willing to take upon himself the 責任／義務s of the office to which he had been called. Having finished his speech, the man retired to his place again. Then four of the 修道士s in white, two from either 味方する of the 王位, walked slowly 負かす／撃墜する the aisle に向かって Nikola, and, bidding him follow them, 護衛するd him in 行列 to the room behind the curtain. While he was absent from the 洞穴 no one moved or spoke.
At the end of something like ten minutes the small 行列 とじ込み／提出するd out again, Nikola coming last. He was now attired in all the grand 式服s of his office. His tall, spare form and venerable disguise became them wonderfully 井戸／弁護士席, and when he once more stood upon the 演壇 before me I could not help thinking I had never in my life seen a more 課すing 人物／姿／数字.
Again the 広大な／多数の／重要な bell （死傷者）数d out, and when the sound had 中止するd, the man who had first spoken stepped 今後 and in a loud 発言する／表明する bade it be known to all 現在の that the ex-priest of Hankow was 用意が出来ている to take upon himself the 義務s and 責任／義務s of his office. As he retired to his place again two 修道士s （機の）カム 今後 and 護衛するd Nikola up the centre aisle に向かって the ３倍になる 王位. Arriving at the foot the two 広大な／多数の／重要な Ones threw off the 隠すs they had hitherto been wearing, and （機の）カム 負かす／撃墜する to 会合，会う him. Having each 延長するd a 手渡す, they were about to 護衛する him to his place when there was a commotion at the end of the hall.
In a flash, though so far the sound only consisted of excited whispering, all my forebodings 急ぐd 支援する upon me, and my heart seemed to stand still. The 長，指導者 of the Three dropped Nikola's 手渡す, and, turning to one of the 修道士s beside him, bade him go 負かす／撃墜する the hall and discover what this unseemly interruption might mean.
The man went, and was absent for some few minutes. When he returned it was to 報告（する）／憶測 that there was a stranger in the 修道院 who craved 即座の speech with the Two on a 事柄 関心ing the 選挙 about to take place.
He was ordered to enter, and in a few minutes a travel-stained, 国／地域d and bedraggled Chinaman made his 外見 and 謙虚に approached the 王位. His four 信奉者s remained clustered 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the door at the その上の end.
"Who art thou, and what is thy 商売／仕事 here?" asked the old man in a 発言する／表明する that rang like a trumpet call. "Thinkest thou that thou wilt be permitted to 乱す us in this unseemly fashion?"
"I 謙虚に 告訴する for 容赦. But I have good 推論する／理由, my father!" returned the man, with a reverence that nearly touched the ground.
"Let us hear it then, and be 迅速な. What is thy 指名する, and whence comest thou?"
"I am the 長，指導者 Priest of the 寺 of Hankow, and I come asking for 司法（官）," said the man, and as he said it a 広大な／多数の／重要な murmur of astonishment ran through the hall. I saw Nikola step 支援する a pace and then stand やめる still. If it were the truth this man was telling we were lost beyond hope of redemption.
"Thou foolish man to come to us with so 誤った a story!" said the 年上の of the Two. "Knowest thou not that the Priest of Hankow stands before thee?"
"It is 誤った!" said the man. "I come to 警告する you that that man is an impostor. He is no priest, but a foreign devil who 逮捕（する）d me and sent me out of the way while he took my place."
"Then how didst thou get here?" asked the 長，指導者 of the sect.
"I escaped," said the man, "from の中で those whom he paid to keep me, and made my way to Tientsin, thence to Pekin, and so on here."
"O my father!" said Nikola, just as 静かに as if nothing unusual were happening, "wilt thou 許す such a cunningly-工夫するd tale to do me evil in thy 注目する，もくろむs? Did I not bring with me a letter from the High Priest of the Llamaserai, making known to thee that I am he whom thou didst 推定する／予想する? Wilt thou then put me to shame before the world?"
The old man did not answer.
"I, too, have a letter from the High Priest," said the new arrival 熱望して. その結果 he produced a 文書 and 手渡すd it to the second of the Two.
"Peace! peace! We will retire and consider upon this 事柄," said the old man. Then turning to the 修道士s beside him he said 厳しく: "See that neither of these men escape." After which he retired with his 同僚 to the inner room, whence they had appeared at the beginning of the 儀式.
In perfect silence we を待つd their return, and during the time they were absent, I noticed a curious fact that I had 発言／述べるd once or twice in my life before. Though all day I had been dreading the approach of some 大災害, when it （機の）カム, and I had to look it 公正に／かなり in the 直面する, all my 恐れるs 消えるd like もや before the sun. My nervousness left me like a discarded cloak, and so 確かな seemed our 運命／宿命 that I 設立する I could 会合，会う it with almost a smile.
At the end of about twenty minutes there was a 動かす 近づく the door, and presently the Two returned and 機動力のある their 王位s. It was the old man who spoke.
"We have considered the letters," he said, "and in our 知恵 we have 結論するd that it would be wisest to 延期する our judgment for awhile. This 事柄 must be その上の 問い合わせd into." Then turning to Nikola, he continued: "Take off those vestments. If thou art innocent they shall be 回復するd to thee, and thou shall wear them with honour to thyself and the 尊敬（する）・点 of all our order; but if thou art 有罪の, 準備する for death, for no human soul shall save thee." Nikola すぐに divested himself of his gorgeous 式服s, and 手渡すd them to the 修道士s who stood ready to receive them.
"Thou wilt now," said the old man, "be 行為／行うd 支援する to the 独房s thou hast hitherto 占領するd. To-night at a later hour this 事柄 will be considered again."
Nikola 屈服するd with his peculiar grace, and then （機の）カム 支援する to where I stood, after which, 護衛するd by a 二塁打 number of 修道士s, we returned to our rooms and were left alone, not however before we had 公式文書，認めるd the fact that 武装した guards were placed at the gate at the 最高の，を越す of the steps 主要な into the main 回廊（地帯）.
When I had made sure that no one was 近づく enough to eavesdrop, I went into Nikola's room, 推定する／予想するing to find him cast 負かす／撃墜する by the 失敗 of his 計画／陰謀. I was about to 申し込む／申し出 him my 弔慰s, but he stopped me by 持つ／拘留するing up his 手渡す.
"Of course," he said, "I 悔いる exceedingly that our adventure should have ended like this. We must not 不平（をいう）, however, for we have the satisfaction of knowing that we have played our cards like men. We have lost on the 半端物 trick, that is all."
"And what is the upshot of it all to be?"
"Very simple, I should say. If we don't find a way to escape we shall 支払う／賃金 the 刑罰，罰則 of our rashness with our lives. I don't know that I mind so much for myself, though I should very much like to have had an 適切な時期 of putting into practice a few of the things I have learnt here; but I certainly do 悔いる for your sake."
"That is very good of you."
"Oh, make no mistake, I am thinking of that poor little girl in Pekin who believes so 暗黙に in you."
"For Heaven's sake don't speak of her or I shall turn coward! Are you 確かな that there is no way of escape?"
"To be frank with you I do not see one. You may be sure, however, that I shall use all my ingenuity to-night to make my 事例／患者 good, though I have no hope that I shall be successful. This man, you see, 持つ／拘留するs all the cards, and we are playing a 孤独な 手渡す against the bank. But there, I suppose it is no use thinking about the 事柄 until after the 裁判，公判 to-night."
The hours wore slowly on, and every moment I 推定する／予想するd to hear the tramp of feet upon the 石／投石するs outside 召喚するing us to the 調査. They （機の）カム at last, and two 修道士s entered my room, and bade me fetch my master. When I had done so we were marched in 選び出す／独身 とじ込み／提出する up the stairs and along the 回廊（地帯）, this time to a higher level instead of descending as on previous occasions.
Arriving on a 幅の広い 上陸 we were received by an 武装した guard of 修道士s. One of them ordered us to follow him, and in 返答 we passed through a doorway and entered a large room, at the end of which two people were seated at a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する; behind them and on either 味方する were 列／漕ぐ／騒動s of 修道士s, and between guards at the その上の end, the man who had brought the 告訴，告発 against us.
At a signal from a 修道士, who was evidently in 命令（する） of the guard, I was separated from Nikola, and then the 裁判，公判 開始するd.
First the newcomer recited his tale. He 述べるd how in the village of Tsan-Chu he had been met and betrayed by two men, who, having 安全な・保証するd his person, had carried him out to sea, and 拘留するd him 船内に a junk. His first captors, it was understood, were Englishmen, but he was finally 配達するd into the care of a Chinaman, who had 伝えるd him to Along Bay. From this place he managed to 影響 his escape, and after 広大な／多数の／重要な hardships reached Tientsin. On arrival there he made 調査s which induced him to 押し進める on to Pekin. Making his way to the Llamaserai, and 存在 able to 納得させる the High Priest of his 身元, he had learned to his astonishment that he was 存在 impersonated, and that the man who was filling his place had に先行するd him to Thibet.
On the strength of this 発見 he 得るd men and donkeys, and （機の）カム on to the 修道院 as 急速な／放蕩な as he could travel.
At the end of his 証拠 he was closely questioned by both of the 広大な／多数の／重要な men, but his 証言 was sound and could not be shaken. Then his attendants were called up and gave their 証拠, after which Nikola was 招待するd to make his 事例／患者 good.
He 受託するd the 招待 with alacrity, and, reviewing all that his 競争相手 had said, pointed out the manifest absurdities with which it abounded, ridiculed what he called its inconsistency, implored his 裁判官s not to be led away by an artfully contrived tale, and brought his 発言／述べるs to a 結論 by 明言する／公表するing, what was perfectly true, though hardly in the manner he ーするつもりであるd, that he had no 疑問 at all as to their 決定／判定勝ち（する）. A more 熟達した speech it would have been difficult to imagine. His keen instinct had （悪事，秘密などを）発見するd the one weak 位置／汚点／見つけ出す in his enemy's story, and his brilliant oratory helped him to make the most of it. His points told, and to my astonishment I saw that he had already 影響（力）d his 裁判官s in his favour. If only we could go on as we had begun, we might yet come 首尾よく out of the 事件／事情／状勢. But we were reckoning without our host.
"Since thou sayest that thou art the priest of the 寺 of Hankow," said the younger of the two 広大な／多数の／重要な men, 演説（する）／住所ing Nikola, "it is 確かな that thou must be 井戸／弁護士席 熟知させるd with the 寺. In the first hall is a tablet 現在のd by a Taotai of the 州: what is the inscription upon it?"
"'With the gods be the 決定／判定勝ち（する） as to what is best for man,'" said Nikola without hesitation.
I saw that the real priest was surprised beyond 手段 at this ready answer.
"And upon the steps that lead up to it, what is carved?"
"'Let peace be with all men!'" said Nikola, again without stopping. The 裁判官 turned to the other man.
"There is nothing there," he said; and my heart went 負かす／撃墜する like lead.
"Now I know," said the old man, turning to Nikola, "that you are not what you pretend. There are no steps; therefore there can be nothing written upon them."
Then turning to the guards about him he said—
"伝える these men 支援する to the room whence they （機の）カム. See that they be 井戸／弁護士席 guarded, and at daybreak to-morrow morning let them be 投げつけるd from the battlements 負かす／撃墜する into the valley below."
Nikola 屈服するd, but said never a word. Then, 護衛するd by our guards, we returned to our room. When we had arrived there, and the 修道士s had left us to （問題を）取り上げる their places at the 最高の，を越す of the steps outside, I sat myself 負かす／撃墜する on my bed and covered my 直面する with my 手渡すs. So this was what it had all come to. It was for this I had met Nikola in Shanghai; to be 投げつけるd from the battlements, the 運命／宿命 for which we had 勇敢に立ち向かうd so many dangers.
HOUR after hour I sat upon my bed-place, my mind 完全に 圧倒するd by the consideration of our terrible position. We were caught like ネズミs in a 罠（にかける）, and, as far as I could see, the only thing left for us to do now was to continue our resemblance to those animals by dying game. For 恐れる lest my pluck should give way I would not think of Gladys at all, and when I 設立する I could no longer keep my thoughts away from her, I went into the 隣接するing room to see what Nikola was doing. To my surprise I 設立する him pacing 静かに up and 負かす／撃墜する, just as 静める and collected as if he were waiting for dinner in a London 製図／抽選-room. "井戸／弁護士席, Bruce," he said, as I entered, "it looks as if another three hours will see the curtain rung 負かす／撃墜する upon our comedy."
"悲劇, I should call it," I answered 激しく.
"Isn't it rather difficult to define where one begins and the other ends?" he asked, as if desirous of starting an argument. "Plato says——"
"Oh, confound Piato!" I answered はっきりと. "What I want to know is how you are going to 妨げる our 存在 put to death at daybreak."
"I have no 意向 that we shall be," said Nikola.
"But how are you going to 妨げる it?" I 問い合わせd.
"I have not the remotest notion," he answered, "but all the same I do ーするつもりである to 妨げる it. The unfortunate part of it is that we are left so much in the dark, and have no idea where the 死刑執行 will take place. If that were once settled we could arrange things more definitely. However, do not bother yourself about it; go to bed and leave it to me."
I went 支援する into my own room and laid myself 負かす／撃墜する upon my bed as he 命令（する）d. One thought followed another, and presently, however singular it may seem, I fell 急速な／放蕩な asleep. I dreamt that I was once more walking upon the 塀で囲む in Pekin with my sweetheart. I saw her dear 直面する looking up into 地雷 and I felt the 圧力 of her little 手渡す upon my arm. Then suddenly from over the parapet of the 塀で囲む in 前線 of us appeared the man who had discovered my 身元 in the Llamaserai; he was brandishing a knife, and I was in the 行為／法令／行動する of springing 今後 to 掴む him when I felt my shoulder rudely shaken, and woke up to discover a man leaning over me.
One ちらりと見ること told me that it was one of the 修道士s who had 行為／行うd us to the room, and on seeing that I was awake he 調印するd to me to get up. By this time a second had brought Nikola from his room, and as soon as we were ready we were marched out into the 回廊（地帯）, where we 設立する about a dozen men 組み立てる／集結するd.
"It seems a pity to have 乱すd us so 早期に," said Nikola, as we fell into our places and began to march up the long passage, "特に as I was just perfecting a most admirable 計画／陰謀 which I feel sure would have saved us."
"You are too late now," I answered 激しく.
"So it would appear," said Nikola, and strode on without その上の comment.
To 試みる／企てる to 述べる to you my feelings during that march through those silent 回廊（地帯）s, would be impossible. Indeed, I hardly like to think of it myself. What the time was I had no idea, nor could I tell to what place we were 存在 行為／行うd. We 上がるd one stair and descended another, passed through large and small 洞穴s and threaded endless 回廊（地帯）s, till I lost all count of our direction. At last, however, we （機の）カム to a 停止（させる） at the foot of the smallest staircase I had yet seen in the 修道院. We waited for a few moments, then 上がるd it and arrived at a 狭くする 上陸, at the end of which was a large door. Here our 行列 once more 停止（させる）d. Finally the doors were unbarred and thrown open, and an icy 爆破 急ぐd in. Outside we could see the battlements, which were built on the sheer 味方する of the cliff. It was 幅の広い daylight, and 激しく 冷淡な. Snow lay upon the roof-最高の，を越すs, but the 空気／公表する was transparently （疑いを）晴らす; indeed when we passed outside we could plainly distinguish the mountains across the valley where we had lost our 苦力s and donkeys only a week or so before.
Once in the 日光 our guides （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 their たいまつs against the 塀で囲む till the 炎上s were 消滅させるd, and then stood at attention. From their 準備s it was evident that the arrival of some person of importance was momentarily 推定する／予想するd.
All this time my heart was （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域ing like a wheat-flail against my ribs, and, try how I would to 妨げる them, my teeth were chattering in my 長，率いる like castanets. As our gaolers had brought us up here it was evident we were going to be thrown over the cliff, as had been first 提案するd. I ちらりと見ることd 一連の会議、交渉／完成する me to see if it would be possible to make a fight for it, but one glimpse showed me how utterly futile such an 試みる／企てる would be.
While I was arguing this out in my own mind our guards had somewhat relaxed their stiffness; then they （機の）カム suddenly to attention, and next moment, evidently with a signal from the other 味方する, we were marched to a 位置／汚点／見つけ出す その上の along the battlements.
Here the two 広大な／多数の／重要な men of the 修道院 were を待つing us, and as soon as we made our 外見 they 調印するd to our guides to bring us closer to them. The old man was the first to speak.
"Men of the West! ye have heard your 宣告，判決," he said in a low and solemn 発言する／表明する. "Ye have brought it upon yourselves; have ye anything to 勧める why the 法令 should not be 遂行する／発効させるd."
I looked at Nikola, but he only shook his 長，率いる. Hard as I tried I could not discover 十分な 推論する／理由 myself, so I followed his example.
"Then let it be so," said the old man, who had noticed our hesitation; "there is nought to be done save to carry out the work. 準備する ye for death."
We were then ordered to stand 支援する, and, until I heard another commotion on the stairs, I was at a loss to understand why we were not すぐに 性質の／したい気がして of. Then a second 行列 of 修道士s appeared upon the battlements 護衛するing a third 囚人. He was a tall, burly fellow, and from the way in which he was dressed and shaved I gathered had been a 修道士. He made his 外見 with evident 不本意, and when he arrived at the 最高の，を越す of the steps had to be dragged up to 直面する the Two. Their interview was short, and even more to the point than our own.
"Thou hast 殺人d one of thy brethren," said the old man, still in the same sepulchral トン in which he had 演説（する）／住所d us. "Hast thou anything to say why the 宣告，判決 of death passed upon thee should not be carried into 影響?"
In answer the man first blustered, then became stolid, and finally howled 完全な. I watched him with a curiosity which at any other time I should have みなすd impossible. Then, at a signal from the old man, four stalwart 修道士s 急ぐd 今後, and, having 掴むd him, dragged him to the 辛勝する／優位 of the battlements. The poor wretch struggled and 叫び声をあげるd, but he was like a child in the 手渡すs of those who held him. Closer and closer they drew to the 辛勝する／優位. Then there was an interval of 猛烈な／残忍な struggling, a momentary pause, a wild cry, and next moment the man had disappeared over the 辛勝する／優位, 落ちるing in a sheer 減少（する） やめる fifteen hundred feet into the valley below. As he 消えるd from our sight my heart seemed to stand still. The poor wretch's cry still rang in my ears, and in another minute I knew it would be our turn.
I looked up at the blue sky above our 長，率いるs, across which white clouds were 飛行機で行くing before the 微風; I looked across the valley to where the snow-capped 頂点（に達する）s showed on the other 味方する, then at the battlements of the 修道院, and last at the （人が）群がる of 黒人／ボイコット 人物／姿／数字s surrounding us. In a flash all my past life seemed to rise before my 注目する，もくろむs. I saw myself a little boy again walking in an English garden with my pretty mother, with my play-fellows at school, at sea, on the Australian gold-fields, and so on through almost every 段階 of my life up to the moment of our arrival at the place where we now stood. I looked at Nikola, but his pale 直面する showed no 調印する of emotion. I will 火刑／賭ける my life that he was as 冷静な／正味の at that awful moment as when I first saw him in Shanghai. Presently the old man （機の）カム 今後 again.
"If ye have せねばならない say—any last request to make—there is still time to do it," he said.
"I have a request to make," answered Nikola. "Since we must die, is it not a waste of good 構成要素 to cast us over that cliff? I have heard it said that my skull is an 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の one, while my companion here 誇るs such a 団体／死体 as I would give worlds to anatomise. I have no 願望（する） to die, as you may suppose; but if nothing will 満足させる you save to kill us, pray let us die in the 利益／興味s of science."
Whether they had really ーするつもりであるd to kill us, I cannot say, but this singular request of my companion's did not seem to 原因（となる） as much astonishment as I had 推定する／予想するd it would do. He 協議するd with his 同僚, and then turned to Nikola again.
"Thou art a 勇敢に立ち向かう man," he said.
"One must reconcile oneself to the 必然的な," said Nikola coolly. "Have you any 反対 to 勧める?"
"We will give it consideration," said the old man. "The lives of both of you are spared for the time 存在."
Thereupon our guards were called up, and we were once more marched 支援する to our room. Arriving there, and when the 修道士s had 出発／死d to （問題を）取り上げる their positions at the 最高の，を越す of the staircase as before, Nikola said:—
"If we escape from this place, you will never be able to 主張する that science has done nothing for you. At least it has saved your life."
"But if they are going to scoop your brains out and to practise their butchery on me," I said with an 試みる／企てる at jocularity I was far from feeling, "I must say I fail to see how it is going to 利益 us."
"Let me explain," said Nikola. "If they are going to use us in the manner you 述べる, they cannot do so before to-morrow morning, for I happen to know that their operating room is を受けるing alterations, and, as I am a conscientious 外科医 myself, I should be very loath to spoil my 見本／標本s by any undue hurry. So you see we have at any 率 all to-night to perfect our 計画（する） of escape."
"But have you a 計画（する）?" I asked anxiously.
"There is one 円熟したing somewhere in the 支援する of my 長，率いる," said Nikola.
"And you think it will come to anything?"
"That is beyond my 力／強力にする to tell," he answered; "but I will go so far as to 追加する that the chances are in our favour."
Nothing would induce him to say more, and presently he went 支援する into his own room, where he began to busy himself with his precious 薬／医学-chest, which I saw he had taken care to hide.
"My little friend," he said, patting and fondling it as a father would do his favourite son, "I almost thought we were 運命にあるd to part company; now it remains for you to save your master's life."
Then turning to me he bade me leave him alone, and in obedience to his wish I went 支援する to my own room.
How we 生き残るd the 苦悩 of that day I cannot think; such another period of waiting I never remember. One moment I felt 確信して that Nikola would carry out his 計画（する）, and that we should get away to the coast in safety; the next I could not see how it could かもしれない 後継する, the 半端物s 存在 so 激しい against us.
Almost punctually our midday meal was served to us, then the ray of light upon the 床に打ち倒す began to lengthen, reached the opposite 塀で囲む, climbed it, and finally disappeared altogether.
About seven o'clock Nikola （機の）カム in to me.
"Look here, Bruce," he said with unusual 活気／アニメーション, "I've been thinking this 事柄 out, and I believe I've 攻撃する，衝突する on a 計画（する） that will save us if anything can. In half an hour the 修道士 will arrive with our last meal. He will place the bowl upon the 床に打ち倒す over there, and will then turn his 支援する on you while he puts his たいまつ in the bracket upon the 塀で囲む yonder. We will have a sponge, saturated with a little anaesthetic I have here, ready for him, and 直接／まっすぐに he turns I will get him by the throat and throttle him while you clap it over his nose. Once he's unconscious you must slip on his dress, and go out again and make your way up the steps. There are two men 駅／配置するd on the other 味方する, and the door between us and them is locked. I have noticed that the man who brings us our food 簡単に knocks upon it and it is opened. You will do as he does, thus, and as you pass out will 減少（する） this gold coin as if by 事故." (Here he gave me some money.) "One of the men will be 確かな to stoop to 選ぶ it up; as he goes 負かす／撃墜する you must manage by hook or crook to 掴む and choke the other. I shall be behind you, and I will …に出席する to his companion."
"'It seems a desperate 計画／陰謀."
"We are desperate men!" said Nikola.
"And when we have 安全な・保証するd them?" I asked.
"I shall put on one of their 式服s," this intrepid man answered, "and we will then make our escape as quickly as possible. Luck must do the 残り／休憩（する） for us. Are you 用意が出来ている to 試みる／企てる so much?"
"To get out of this place I would 試みる／企てる anything," I answered.
"Very good then," he said. "We must now wait for the 外見 of the man. Let us hope it won't be long before he comes."
For nearly three-４半期/4分の1s of an hour we waited without 審理，公聴会 any sound of the 修道士. The minutes seemed long as years, and I don't think I ever felt more relieved in my life than I did when I heard the door at the 最高の，を越す of the stairs open, and （悪事，秘密などを）発見するd the sound of sandalled feet coming 負かす／撃墜する the steps.
"Are you ready?" whispered Nikola, putting the sponge 負かす／撃墜する 近づく me, and returning to his own room.
"やめる ready," I answered.
The man （機の）カム nearer, the glare of his たいまつ 先行する him. At last he entered, carrying a light in one 手渡す and a large bowl in the other. The latter he put 負かす／撃墜する upon the 床に打ち倒す, and, having done so, turned to place the たいまつ in the socket fastened to the 塀で囲む. He had hardly 解除するd his arm, however, before I saw Nikola creep out of the 隣接するing room. Closer and closer he approached the unsuspecting 修道士, and then, having 手段d his distance, with a 広大な／多数の／重要な spring threw himself upon the man and clutched him by the throat. I pulled his 脚s from under him, and 負かす／撃墜する he dropped upon the 床に打ち倒す, with Nikola's fingers still 強化するing on his throat. Then, when the sponge had been 適用するd, little by little, his struggles 中止するd, and presently he lay in Nikola's 武器 as helpless as if he were dead.
"That is one man accounted for," said Nikola 静かに, as he laid the 団体／死体 upon the 床に打ち倒す; "now for the others. Slip on this fellow's dress as quickly as you can."
I did as he bade me, and in a few seconds had placed the peculiar 黒人／ボイコット covering over the upper part of my 直面する and 長，率いる, and was ready to carry out the 残り／休憩（する） of the 計画／陰謀. In the 直面する of this excitement I felt as happy as a child; it was the creepy, crawly, supernatural, 商売／仕事 that shook my 神経. When it （機の）カム to straightforward 事柄-of-fact fighting I was not afraid of anything.
Carrying the money in my 手渡す as we had arranged, I left the room and proceeded up the steps, Nikola に引き続いて half a dozen yards or so behind me, but keeping in the 影をつくる／尾行する. Arriving at the gate I rapped upon it with my knuckles, and it was すぐに opened. Two men were leaning on either 味方する of it, and as I passed through, I took care that the one on the 権利 should see the money in my 手渡す. As if by 事故 I dropped it, and it rolled away beyond his feet. 即時に he stooped and made a 得る，とらえる for it. Seeing this I wheeled 一連の会議、交渉／完成する upon the other man, and before he could divine my 意向 had him by the throat. But though I had him at a disadvantage, he 証明するd no 平易な 逮捕（する）. In stature he must have stood nearly six feet, was 幅の広い in 割合, and, like all the men in the place, in most perfect training. However, I held on to him for my life, and presently we were struggling upon the 床に打ち倒す. For some strange 推論する／理由, what I cannot tell, that fight seemed to be the most enjoyable three minutes I have ever spent in the whole of my 存在.
Over and over we rolled upon the 石／投石する 床に打ち倒す, my 手渡す still 直す／買収する，八百長をするd upon his throat to 妨げる him from crying out.
At last throwing my 脚 over him I seated myself upon his chest, and then—having nothing else to do it with—I drew 支援する my 権利 arm, and let him have three blows with the whole strength of my 握りこぶし.
Written in 黒人／ボイコット and white it looks a trifle bloodthirsty, but you must remember we were fighting for our lives, and if by any chance he gave the alarm, nothing on earth could save us from death. I had therefore to make the most of the only 適切な時期 I 所有するd of silencing him.
As soon as he was unconscious, I looked 一連の会議、交渉／完成する for Nikola. He was ひさまづくing by the 団体／死体 of the other man who was lying, 直面する downwards upon the 床に打ち倒す, as if dead.
"I would give five 続けざまに猛撃するs," whispered Nikola, as he rose to his feet, "for this man's skull. Just look at it; it goes up at the 支援する of his 長，率いる like a tom cat! It is my luck all over to come across such a 見本／標本 when I can't make use of it."
As he spoke he ran his first finger and thumb caressingly up and 負かす／撃墜する the man's 投票.
"I've got a 瓶／封じ込める in my museum in Port Said," he said 残念に, "which would take him beautifully."
Then he 選ぶd up the sponge which he had used upon the last man, and went across to my adversary. For thirty seconds or thereabouts he held it upon his nose and mouth; then, throwing it into a corner, divested the man of his 衣料品s, and attired himself in them.
"Now," he said, when he had made his 洗面所 to his own satisfaction, "we must be off. They change the guard at midnight, and it is already twenty minutes past eleven."
So 説, he led the way 負かす／撃墜する the 回廊（地帯）, I に引き続いて at his heels. We had not reached the end of it, however, before Nikola bade me wait for him while he went 支援する. When he 再結合させるd me, I asked him in a whisper what he had been doing.
"Nothing very much," he answered. "I 手配中の，お尋ね者 to 納得させる myself as to, a curious malformation of the occipital bone in that man's skull. I am sorry to have kept you waiting, but I might never have had another chance of 診察するing such a 完全にする 事例／患者."
Having given this explanation, this 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の votary of science condescended to continue his escape. Leaving the long 回廊（地帯）, now so familiar to us, we turned to our left 手渡す, 上がるd a flight of steps, followed another small passage, and then （機の）カム to a 行き詰まり at a 位置／汚点／見つけ出す where four roads met.
"Where on earth are we?" 問い合わせd Nikola, looking 一連の会議、交渉／完成する him. "This place reminds me of the Hampton 法廷，裁判所 maze."
"Hark! What is that にわか景気ing noise?"
We listened, and by doing so discovered that we were 近づく the subterranean waterfall we had seen on the occasion of our first visit to the large 洞穴.
"We are altogether out of our course," I said.
"On the other 手渡す," answered Nikola, "we are not の近くに enough to it yet."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"My dear Bruce," he said, "tell me this: Why are we in this place? Did we not come here to 得る 所有／入手 of their secrets? 井戸／弁護士席, as we are 説 good-bye to them to-night for good and all, do you suppose, after adventuring so much, I am going empty 手渡すd? If you think so, you are very much in error. Why, to do that would be to have failed altogether in our 旅行; and though Nikola often 誇るs, you must 収容する／認める he seldom fails to do what he 請け負うs. Don't say any more, but come along with me."
Turning into a passage on his 権利, he led the way 負かす／撃墜する some more steps. Here the たいまつs were almost at their last flicker.
"If we don't look sharp," said Nikola, "we shall have to carry out our errand in the dark, and that will be 望ましくない for more 推論する／理由s than one."
From the place where we now stood we could hear the roar of the waterfall やめる distinctly, and could just make out, その上の to our left, the 入り口 to the 広大な／多数の／重要な 洞穴. To our delight there were no guards to be seen, so we were able to pass in unmolested. Taking what remained of a たいまつ from a socket 近づく the door, we entered together. A more uncanny place than that 広大な／多数の／重要な 洞穴, as it 明らかにする／漏らすd itself to us by the light of our 独房監禁 たいまつ, no man can imagine. Innumerable bats ぱたぱたするd about the aisles, their wings filling the 空気／公表する with ghostly whisperings, while 支配するing all was that peculiar charnel-house smell that I had noticed on the occasion of our previous visit, and which no words could 適切に 述べる.
"The 入り口 to the catacombs is at this end," said Nikola, 主要な the way up the central aisle. "Let us find it."
I followed him, and together we made に向かって that part of the 洞穴 furthest from the doors. The 入り口 once 設立する, we had only to follow the steps, and pass 負かす／撃墜する into the crypt I have before 述べるd. By the light of our たいまつ we could discern the 列d-up 人物／姿／数字s in the niches. Nikola, however, had small attention to spare for them—he was too busily 占領するd endeavouring to discover the spring in the central 中心存在 to think of anything else. When he 設立する it he 圧力（をかける）d it, and the door opened. Then 負かす／撃墜する the ladder we crept into the anteroom where I had waited on that awful night. I can tell you one thing, and it is the sober truth—I would far rather have engaged a dozen of the strongest 修道士s in that 修道院 選び出す／独身-手渡すd, than have followed my 長，指導者 into that room. But he would not let me draw 支援する, and so we 押し進めるd on together. All around us were the mysterious treasures of the 修道院, with every sort of 器具／実施する for every sort of chemistry known to the fertile brain of man. At the その上の end was a large 木造の door, exquisitely carved. This was padlocked in three places, and looked as if it would 申し込む／申し出 a stubborn 抵抗 to any one who might 試みる／企てる to break it. But Nikola was a man hard to （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域, and he solved the difficulty in a very simple fashion. Unfastening his loose upper 衣料品, he unstrapped his invaluable 薬／医学-chest, and placed it on the 床に打ち倒す; then, choosing a small but sharp 外科医's saw, he fell to work upon the 支持を得ようと努めるd surrounding the 中心的要素. In いっそう少なく than ten minutes he had 削減（する） out the padlocks, and the door swung open. Then, with all the 速度(を上げる） we were masters of, we 始める，決める to work to 追跡（する） for the things we 手配中の，お尋ね者. It 含む／封じ込めるd small phials, antique parchment prescriptions, a thousand sorts of 麻薬s, and finally, in an アイロンをかける coffer, a small 調書をとる／予約する written in Sanscrit and most quaintly bound. This Nikola stowed away in one of his many voluminous pockets, and, as soon as he had made a 選択 of the other things, 発表するd that it was time for us to turn 支援する. Just as he （機の）カム to this 結論, the たいまつ, which had all the time been 燃やすing lower and lower, gave a final flicker, and went out altogether. We were left in the dark in this awful 洞穴.
"This is most unfortunate," said Nikola. Then, after a pause, "However, as it can't be cured, we must make the best of it."
I answered nothing, but waited for my leader to 提案する some 計画（する）. At the end of a few moments the 不明瞭 seemed to make little or no difference to Nikola. He took me by the 手渡す, and led me straight through the 洞穴 into the 賭け金-議会.
"Look-out!" he said; "here is the ladder."
And, true enough, as he spoke my 向こうずねs made its 知識. Strange is the 軍隊 of habit; the 苦痛 was sharp, and though I was buried in the centre of a mountain, surrounded by the dead men of a dozen centuries, I 雇うd 正確に／まさに the same epithet to 表明する my feelings as I should have done, had a passing taxi splashed my boots opposite the Mansion House.
Leaving the lower 地域s, we climbed the ladder, and reached the crypt, passed up the stairs into the 広大な／多数の／重要な 洞穴, made our way across that, and then, Nikola still 主要な, 設立する the tunnel, and passed through it as 安全に as if we had been lighted by a hundred linkmen.
"Our next endeavour must be to discover how we are to get out of the building itself," said Nikola, as we reached the four cross passages; "and as I have no notion how the land lies, it looks rather more serious. Let us try this passage first."
As quickly as was possible under the circumstances we made our way up the stairs 示すd, passed the 広大な／多数の／重要な waterfall, sped along two or three 回廊（地帯）s, were several times nearly 観察するd, and at last, after innumerable try-支援するs, reached the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall where we had been received on the day of our arrival.
Almost at the same instant there was a clamour in the 修道院, followed by the （犯罪の）一味ing of the 深い-トンd bell; then the shouting of many 発言する／表明するs, and the tramping of hundreds of feet.
"They are after us!" said Nikola. "Our flight has been discovered. Now, if we cannot find a way out, we are done for 完全に."
The noise was every moment coming closer, and any instant we might 推定する／予想する our pursuers to come into 見解（をとる）. Like ネズミs in a strange barn, who hear the approach of a terrier, we dashed this way and that in our endeavours to discover an 出口. At last we （機の）カム upon the steps 主要な from the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall into the valley below. 負かす／撃墜する these we flew as 急速な／放蕩な as we could go, every moment 危険ing a 落ちる which would 必然的に break our necks. Almost too giddy to stand, we at last reached the 底（に届く）, to find the door shut, and guarded by a stalwart 修道士. To throw ourselves upon him was the work of an instant. He 解除するd his 激しい staff, and 目的（とする）d a blow at me; but I dodged it in time, and got in at him before he could 回復する. 製図／抽選 支援する my arm, I 攻撃する，衝突する him with all the strength at my 命令（する）. His 長，率いる struck the 床に打ち倒す with a 衝突，墜落, and he did not move again.
Nikola bent over him, and 保証するd himself that the sleep was 本物の. Then he 調印するd to me to give him the 重要な, and when the door was unfastened we passed through it, and の近くにd it after us, locking it on the other 味方する. Then 負かす／撃墜する the valley we ran as 急速な／放蕩な as our 脚s would carry us.
AS I have said, we were no sooner through the gates than we took to our heels and fled 負かす／撃墜する the valley for our lives. For my own part I was so thankful to be out of that awful place, to be once more breathing the fresh 空気／公表する of Heaven, that I felt as if I could go on running for ever. Fortunately the night was pitch dark, with a high 勝利，勝つd blowing. The 不明瞭 妨げるd our pursuers from seeing the direction we had taken, while the noise of the 勝利，勝つd effectually deadened any sound we might make that would さもなければ have betrayed our どの辺に.
For 上向きs of an hour we sped along the 底（に届く） of the valley in this fashion, 支払う／賃金ing no 注意する where we went and caring for nothing but to put as 広大な／多数の／重要な a distance as possible between ourselves and our pursuers. At last I could go no その上の, so I stopped and threw myself upon the ground. Nikola すぐに （機の）カム to a 行き詰まり, ちらりと見ることd 一連の会議、交渉／完成する him suspiciously, and then sat 負かす／撃墜する beside me.
"So much for our first visit to the 広大な／多数の／重要な 修道院 of Thibet," he said as casually as if he were bidding good-bye to a chance 知識.
"Do you think we have given them the slip?" I queried, looking anxiously up the dark valley through which we had come.
"By no means," he answered. "Remember we are still hemmed in by the precipices, and at most we cannot be more than five miles from their doors. We shall have to proceed very warily for the next week or so, and to do that we must make the most of every minute of 不明瞭."
We were both silent for a little while. I was 占領するd trying to 回復する my breath, Nikola in 分配するing more comfortably about his person the parchments, etc., he had brought away with him.
"Shall we be going on again?" I asked, as soon as I thought I could go on. "I've no 願望（する） to 落ちる into their 手渡すs, I can 保証する you. Which way is it to be now?"
"Straight on," he answered, springing to his feet. "We must follow the valley 負かす／撃墜する and see where it will bring us out. It would be hopeless to 試みる／企てる to 規模 the cliffs."
Without その上の talk we 始める，決める off, not to stop again until we had 追加するd another four miles or perhaps five to our flight. By this time it was の近くに upon daybreak, the chilliest, dreariest, greyest 夜明け in all my experience. With the 外見 of the light the 勝利，勝つd died 負かす／撃墜する, but it still moaned の中で the 激しく揺するs and through the high grass in the most dreary and dispiriting fashion. Half an hour later the sun rose, and then Nikola once more called a 停止（させる）.
"We must hide ourselves somewhere," he said, "and travel on again as soon as 不明瞭 落ちるs. Look about you for a place where we shall not be likely to be seen."
For some time it seemed as if we should be unable to discover any such 位置／汚点／見つけ出す, but at last we 攻撃する，衝突する upon one that was just ふさわしい to our 目的. It was a small enclosure 避難所d by big 玉石s and 据えるd on a rocky 高原 high up the hill-味方する. To this place of 避難 we 緊急発進するd, and then with armfuls of grass, which we collected from the 即座の neighbourhood, endeavoured to make ourselves as comfortable as possible until night should once more descend upon us. It was not a cheery （軍の）野営地，陣営. To make 事柄s worse we were やめる destitute of food, and already the pangs of hunger were beginning to obtrude themselves upon us.
"If we ever do get 支援する to civilization," said Nikola, after we had been sitting there some time, "I suppose this 商売／仕事 will 階級 as one of the greatest 偉業／利用するs of your life?"
"I have no 願望（する） ever to 請け負う such another," I replied truthfully. "This trip has more than 満足させるd my craving for the adventurous."
"Wait till you've been settled in a sleepy English village for a couple of years," he said with a laugh. "By that time I wouldn't mind wagering you'll be ready for anything that turns up. I wonder what you would think if I told you that, dangerous as this one has been, it is as nothing to another in which I was 関心d about six years since. Then I was 占領するd trying to discover——"
I am sorry to have to 自白する that it is beyond my 力／強力にする to narrate what his adventure was, where it occurred, or indeed anything connected with it, for while he was talking I fell into a sound sleep, from which I did not wake until nearly three hours later.
When I opened my 注目する，もくろむs the sun was still 向こうずねing brightly, the 勝利，勝つd had dropped, and the 空気／公表する was as 静かな as the night had been noisy and tempestuous. I looked 一連の会議、交渉／完成する for Nikola, but to my surprise he was not 占領するing the place where he had been sitting when I fell asleep, nor indeed was he inside the enclosure at all. Alarmed lest anything untoward might have befallen him, I was in the 行為／法令／行動する of going in search of him when he 再現するd creeping between the 激しく揺するs upon his 手渡すs and 膝s. I was about to 表明する my delight at his return, but he 調印するd to me to be silent, and a moment later reached my 味方する.
"Keep as still as you can," he whispered; "they're after us."
"How の近くに are they?" I asked, with a sudden 沈むing in my heart.
"Not a hundred yards away," he answered, and as he spoke he bent his 長，率いる 今後 to listen.
A moment later I could hear them for myself, coming along the valley to our left. Their 発言する／表明するs sounded やめる plain and 際立った, and for this 推論する／理由 I 裁判官d that they could not have been more than fifty yards from us. Now （機の）カム the 広大な／多数の／重要な question, Would they discover us or not? Under the 影響（力） of the awful suspense I scarcely breathed. One thing I was 堅固に 解決するd upon—if they did （悪事，秘密などを）発見する our hiding-place I would fight to the last gasp rather than let them 逮捕（する） me and carry me 支援する to that awful 修道院. The sweat stood in 広大な／多数の／重要な beads upon my forehead as I listened. It was evident they were searching の中で the 激しく揺するs at the base of the cliff. Not 存在 able to find us there, would they try higher up? Fortune, however, favoured us. Either they gave us credit for greater 速度(を上げる） than we 所有するd, or they did not notice the hiding-place の中で the 激しく揺するs; at any 率, they passed on without （性的に）いたずらするing us. The change from 絶対の danger to comparative safety was almost overpowering, and even the stoical Nikola heaved a sigh of 救済 as the sound of their 発言する／表明するs died 徐々に away.
That night, as soon as it was dark, we left the place where we had hidden ourselves and proceeded 負かす／撃墜する the valley, keeping a watchful 注目する，もくろむ open for any 調印する of our 敵s. But our lucky 星／主役にする was still in the ascendant, and we saw nothing of them. に向かって daylight we left the valley and entered a large 水盤／入り江, if it may be so 述べるd, formed by a number of lofty hills. On the 底（に届く） of the bowl thus fashioned was a かなりの village. 停止（させる）ing on an eminence above it, Nikola looked 一連の会議、交渉／完成する him.
"We shall have to find a hiding-place on the hills somewhere hereabouts," he said; "but before we do so we must have food."
"And a change of dress," I answered, for it must be remembered that we were still 覆う？ in the monkish 式服s we had worn when we left the 修道院.
"やめる so," he answered: "first the food and the dress, then the hiding-place."
Without more ado he 調印するd to me to follow him, and together we left the hillock and proceeded に向かって the village. It was not a large place, nor, from all 外見s, was it a very 豊富な one; it 含む／封じ込めるd scarcely more than fifty houses, the 大多数 of which were of the usual Thibetan type, that is to say, built of loose 石／投石するs, roofed with 分裂（する） pine shingles, and as draughty and leaky as it is possible for houses to be. The family reside in one room, the other—for in few 事例／患者s are there more than two—存在 占領するd by the cows, pigs, dogs, fowls, and other 国内の animals.
As we approached the first house Nikola bade me remain where I was while he went 今後 to see what he could procure. For many 推論する／理由s I did not care very much about this 協定, but I knew him too 井戸／弁護士席 by this time to waste my breath arguing. He left me and crept 今後. It was 激しく 冷淡な, and while he was absent and I was standing still, I felt as if I were 存在 frozen into a solid 封鎖する of ice. What our 高度 could have been I am not in a position to tell, but if one could 見積（る） it by the keenness of the 空気／公表する, it must have been something かなりの.
Nikola was absent for nearly twenty minutes. At last, however, he returned, bringing with him a 量 of 着せる／賦与するing, 含むing two typical Thibetan hats, a couple of 厚い 一面に覆う／毛布s, and, what was better than all, a 量 of food. The latter consisted of half a dozen coarse cakes, a hunk of a peculiar sort of bread, and a number of new-laid eggs, also a large bowl of milk. As to 支払い（額） he 知らせるd me that he had left a small gold piece, believing that that would be the most effectual means of silencing the owner's tongue. Seating ourselves in the 避難所 of a large 激しく揺する, we 始める，決める to work to stow away as much of the food as we could かもしれない 消費する. Then dividing the 着せる／賦与するing into two bundles we 始める，決める off across the valley in an easterly direction.
By daylight we had put a かなりの distance between us and the village, and were 任命する／導入するd in a small 洞穴, half-way up a rugged hill. Below us was a copse of mountain pines and, across the valley, a cliff, not unlike that 負かす／撃墜する which we had climbed to reach the 修道院. We had discarded our monkish 式服s by this time, and, for greater 安全, had buried them in a 安全な place beneath a tree. In our new 装備するs, with the tall felt hats upon our 長，率いるs, we might very 井戸／弁護士席 have passed for typical Thibetans.
Feeling that our 現在の hiding-place was not likely to be discovered, we laid ourselves 負かす／撃墜する to sleep. How long we slumbered, I cannot say; I only know that for some 推論する／理由 or other I woke in a fright to hear a noise in the valley beneath us. I listened for a few moments to make sure, and then shook Nikola, who was still sleeping soundly.
"What is it?" he cried, as he sat up. "Why do you wake me?"
"Because we're in danger again," I answered. "What is that noise in the valley?"
He listened for a moment.
"I can hear nothing," he said.
Then just as he was about to speak again there （機の）カム a new sound that brought us both to our feet like 雷—the baying of dogs. Now, as we both knew, the only dogs in that 地区 are of the formidable Deggi 産む／飼育する, standing about as high as Shetland ponies, as strong as mastiffs, and as 猛烈な／残忍な as they are powerful. If our enemies were 追求するing us with these brutes our 事例／患者 was indeed an unenviable one.
"Get up!" cried Nikola. "They are 追跡（する）ing us 負かす／撃墜する with the dogs. Up the hill for your life!"
The words were scarcely out of his mouth before we were racing up the hill like hares. Up and up we went, 緊急発進するing from 激しく揺する to 激しく揺する and bank to bank till my 脚s felt as if they could go no その上の. Though it was but little over a hundred yards from our hiding-place into the 支持を得ようと努めるd at the 首脳会議 it seemed like miles. When we reached it we threw ourselves 負かす／撃墜する exhausted upon a bed of pine needles, but only for a minute, then we were up and on our way again as hard as ever. Through the thicket we dashed, conscious of nothing but a 願望（する） to get away from those horrible dogs. The 支持を得ようと努めるd was a 厚い one, but prudence told us it could 申し込む／申し出 no possible 避難 for us. Every step we took was leaving a 記録，記録的な／記録する to guide them, and we dared not hesitate or 延期する a second longer than was 絶対 necessary.
At last we reached the far 味方する of the 支持を得ようと努めるd. Here, to our surprise, the country began to slope downwards again into a second valley. From the skirt of the 木材／素質 where we stood, for nearly a mile, it was all open, with not a bush or a 激しく揺する to serve as cover. We were in a pretty 直す／買収する，八百長をする. To wheel 一連の会議、交渉／完成する would be to 会合，会う our pursuers 直面する to 直面する; to turn to either 手渡す would be 平等に as bad, while to go on would only be to show ourselves in the open, and after that to be run to earth like foxes in the second valley. But there was no time to stop or to think, so for good or ill we took to our heels again and 始める，決める off 負かす／撃墜する the slope. We were not half-way across the open, however, before we heard the dogs break cover behind us, and a moment later, the excited shouting of men, who had seen us ahead of them, and were encouraging the hounds to run us 負かす／撃墜する.
If we had run 急速な／放蕩な before we literally flew now. The dogs were 伸び（る）ing on us at every stride, and unless something 予期しない happened to save us we could look upon ourselves in the light of men as good as dead. Only fifty yards separated us from the cover that bounded the moor, if I may so 述べる it, on the other 味方する. If the worst （機の）カム to the worst, and we could reach the 木材／素質 at the 底（に届く）, we could climb a tree there and sell our lives as dearly as possible with our revolvers.
Putting on a final spurt we 伸び（る）d the 支持を得ようと努めるd and 急落（する），激減（する）d into the undergrowth. The nearest dog—there were three of these gigantic brutes—was scarcely twenty yards behind us. Suddenly Nikola, who was in 前線, stopped as if 発射, threw up his 武器 and fell straight backwards. Seeing him do this I stopped too, but only just in the nick of time. A moment later I should have been over a precipice into the swift-flowing river that ran below. By the time I realized this the first dog was upon us. Nikola supported himself on his 肘, and, as coolly as if he were 選ぶing off a pigeon, 発射 him dead. The second fell to my 株; the third 証明するd somewhat more troublesome. Seeing the 運命／宿命 of his companions, he stopped short and crouched の中で the bushes, growling savagely.
"Kill him!" cried Nikola, with one of the only 調印するs of excitement I had ever known him show. I 解雇する／砲火／射撃d again, but must have 行方不明になるd him, for he 急ぐd in at me, and had I not thrown up my arm would have 掴むd me by the throat. Then Nikola 解雇する／砲火／射撃d—I felt the 弾丸 whiz past my ear—and before I could think the 広大な／多数の／重要な beast had fallen 支援する upon the ground and was 新たな展開ing and twining in his death agony.
"Quick!" cried Nikola, springing to his feet once more. "There's not a moment to be lost. Throw the dogs into the stream."
Without wasting time we 始める，決める to work, and in いっそう少なく than half a minute all three animals had disappeared into the river. As the last went over the 味方する we heard the 真っ先の of our pursuers enter the 支持を得ようと努めるd. Another moment and we should have been too late.
"There's nothing for it," cried Nikola, "but for us to follow the dogs' example. They'll 追跡（する） about wondering which way the brutes have gone, and by that time we せねばならない be some distance 負かす／撃墜する stream."
"Come on then," I said, and, without more 審議, took a header. It was a dive of at least sixty feet, but not so unpleasant as our position would have been upon the bank had we remained. Nikola followed me, and before our enemies could have 伸び（る）d the river 味方する we had swept 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the bend and were out of their sight. But though we had for the moment given them the slip our position was still by no means an enviable one. The water was as 冷淡な as ice and the 現在の ran like a mill sluice, while the depth could not have been much under fifty feet, though I could only 裁判官 this by the 棚上げにするing of the banks. For nearly ten minutes we swam on 味方する by 味方する in silence. The 発言する／表明するs of our pursuers grew more and more faint until we could no longer hear them. The horror of that swim I must leave you to imagine. The icy coldness of the water seemed to eat into the very 骨髄 of my bones, and every moment I 推定する／予想するd to feel an attack of cramp. One thing soon became evident, the stream was running more and more 速く. Suddenly Nikola turned his 長，率いる and shouted, "Make for the bank!"
I endeavoured to do so, but the whole 軍隊 of the 現在の was against me. Vainly I 戦う／戦いd. The stream bore me その上の and その上の from my goal, till at last I was swept beyond the ford and 負かす／撃墜する between two precipitous banks where 上陸 was impossible. It was then that I realized Nikola's 推論する／理由 for calling to me. For a hundred yards or so ahead I could see the river, then only blue sky and white cloud. For obvious 推論する／理由s it could not have come to a 行き詰まり, so this sudden break-off could have but one meaning—a 落ちる! With incredible swiftness the water bore me on, now spinning me 一連の会議、交渉／完成する and 一連の会議、交渉／完成する like a teetotum, now carrying me this way, now that, but all the time bringing me closer to the abyss.
Ten yards その上の, and I could hear the sullen にわか景気 of the 落ちるing waters, and as I heard it I saw that the bank of the 落ちる was studded with a fringe of large 激しく揺するs. If I did not wish to be 投げつけるd over into eternity, I knew I must catch one of these 激しく揺するs, and 粘着する to it with all my strength. Strange to say, even in that moment of despair, my presence of mind did not 砂漠 me. I chose my 激しく揺する, and concentrated all my energies upon the work of reaching it. Fortunately the 現在の helped me, and with hardly an 成果／努力 on my part, I was carried に向かって it. Throwing up my 武器 I clutched at it, but the 石／投石する was slippery, and I 行方不明になるd my 持つ／拘留する. I tried again with the same result. Then, just as I was on the very brink of the precipice, my fingers caught in a 事業／計画（する）ing ledge, and I was able to stay myself. The 負わせる of the water upon my 支援する was terrific, but with the strength of a dozen men I clung on, and little by little 解除するd myself up. I was fighting for dear life, for Gladys, for all that made life 価値（がある） living, and that gave me superhuman strength. At last I managed to 解除する myself 十分に to get a 購入（する） on the 激しく揺する with my 膝s. After that it was all plain sailing, and in いっそう少なく time almost than it takes to tell, I was lying stretched out upon the 激しく揺する, 安全な, but exhausted almost to the point of death.
When I had somewhat 回復するd my strength, I opened my 注目する，もくろむs and looked over the 辛勝する／優位. Such a sight I never want to see again. Picture a river, as wide as the Thames at London 橋（渡しをする）, 塀で囲むd in between two 法外な banks, 注ぐing its water 負かす／撃墜する into a rocky pool almost half a mile below. The 雷鳴 of the 落ちる was deafening, while from the lake at the foot rose a dense もや, changing, where the sun caught it, to every colour of the rainbow. Fascinated by this truly awful picture, and the narrowness of my own escape from death, I could scarcely 身を引く my 注目する，もくろむs. When I did it was to look across at the 権利-手渡す bank. Nikola stood there waving to me. 元気づけるd by his presence, I began to cast about me for a means of reaching him, but the prospect was by no means a cheerful one. Several 激しく揺するs there certainly were, and 近づく the bank they were の近くに enough to enable an active man to jump from one to the other. Unfortunately, however, between the one on which I lay and the next was a yawning 湾 of something like eight feet. To reach it seemed impossible. I dared not 危険 the leap, and yet if I did not jump, what was to become of me? I was just beginning to despair again, when I saw Nikola point up stream and disappear.
For something like a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour I saw no more of him, then he 再現するd a hundred yards or so その上の up the bank, and as he did so he pointed into 中央の-stream. I looked, and すぐに realized his 意向. He had discovered a large スピードを出す／記録につける and had sent it afloat in the hope that it would be of service to me. Closer and closer it （機の）カム, steering 直接／まっすぐに for where I knelt. As it drew と一緒に I leant over, and, catching at a small 支店 which decorated it, 試みる／企てるd to drag it athwart the channel. My strength, however, was uncertain, and had the 影響 of bringing the 現在の to 耐える on the other end. It すぐに spun 速く 一連の会議、交渉／完成する, went from me like an 表明する train, and next moment disappeared over the brink into the abyss below, nearly dragging me with it. Once more Nikola signalled to me and disappeared into the 支持を得ようと努めるd. Half an hour later another スピードを出す／記録につける made its 外見. This time I was more fortunate, and managed, with かなりの manoeuvring and 説得するing, to get it jambed by the 現在の between the two 激しく揺するs.
The most perilous part of the whole 請け負うing was now about to 開始する. I had to cross on this frail 橋（渡しをする） to the next 石／投石する. With my heart in my mouth I はうd over my own 激しく揺する, and then having given a final look 一連の会議、交渉／完成する, and 実験（する）d it 同様に as I was able, seated myself astride of the スピードを出す／記録につける. The 急ぐ of the water against my 脚s was tremendous, and I soon 設立する I should have all my time taken up endeavouring to 保存する my balance. But with infinite 警告を与える I continued to 前進する until at last I reached the opposite 激しく揺する. All the time I had never dared to look over the brink; had I done so I believe my 神経 would have 砂漠d me, and I should then have lost my balance and 死なせる／死ぬd for good and all.
When the 旅行 was 遂行するd, and I was 安全に 設立するd on the second 激しく揺する, I 残り／休憩（する）d for a few minutes, and then, standing up, 手段d my distance as carefully as possible, and jumped on to the third. The 残り／休憩（する） was 平易な, and in a few moments I was lying やめる 打ち勝つ の中で the bracken at Nikola's feet. As soon as I was 安全な, my pluck, presence of mind, 神経, or whatever you like to call it, gave way 完全に, and I 設立する myself trembling like a little child.
"You have had a 狭くする escape," said Nikola.
"When I saw that you could not make the bank up yonder, I made up my mind it was all over with you. However, all's 井戸／弁護士席 that ends 井戸／弁護士席, and now we've got to find out what we had better do next."
"What do you advise?" I asked, my teeth chattering in my 長，率いる like castanets.
"That we find a 避難所d 位置／汚点／見つけ出す somewhere hereabouts, light a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and 乾燥した，日照りの our things, then get 負かす／撃墜する to the river below the 落ちるs, 建設する a raft, and travel upon it till we come to a village. There, if possible, we will buy donkeys, and, if all goes 井戸／弁護士席, 追求する our 旅行 to the coast by another 大勝する."
"But don't you think our enemies will have 警告するd the inhabitants of the villages hereabouts to be on the look-out for us?"
"We must chance that. Now let us find a place to light a 解雇する／砲火／射撃. You are nearly frozen."
Half a mile or so その上の on we discovered the 位置／汚点／見つけ出す we 手配中の，お尋ね者, lit our 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and 乾燥した，日照りのd our things. All this time I was in agony—one moment as 冷淡な as ice, the next in a 燃やすing fever. Nikola 定める／命ずるd for me from his 薬／医学 chest, which, with the things he had 得るd from the 修道院, he still carried with him, and then we laid ourselves 負かす／撃墜する to sleep.
From that time 今後 I have no recollection of anything that occurred till I woke to find myself snugly ensconced in a comfortable but 簡単に furnished bedroom. Where I was, or how I got there, I could no more tell than I could 飛行機で行く. I endeavoured to get up ーするために look out of the window, but I 設立する I was too weak to manage it, so I laid myself 負かす／撃墜する again, and as I did so made another startling 発見—my pigtail was gone!
For nearly half an hour I was 占領するd endeavouring to puzzle this out. Then I heard a footstep in the passage outside, and a moment later a dignified priest entered the room and asked me in French how I felt. I answered that I thought I was much better, though still very weak, and went on to 明言する／公表する that I should feel 強いるd if he would tell me where I was, and how I had got there.
"You are in the French 使節団 at Ya-Chow-Fu," he said. "You were brought here a fortnight ago by an Englishman, who, from what we could gather, had 設立する you higher up the river 苦しむing from a 厳しい attack of rheumatic fever."
"And where is this—this Englishman now?"
"That I cannot say. He left us a week ago to proceed on a botanizing excursion, I believe, その上の west. When he bade us 別れの（言葉，会） he gave me a sum of money which I am to 充てる, as soon as you are fit to move, to 借り切る／憲章ing a boat and 苦力s to 伝える you to I-chang, where you will be able to 得る a steamer for Shanghai."
"And did he not leave any message to say whether I should see him again, and if so, where?"
"I have a 公式文書，認める in my pocket for you now." Thus reminded, the worthy priest produced a letter which he 手渡すd to me. I opened it as soon as he had 出発／死d, and 熱望して scanned its contents. It ran as follows:
"Dear Bruce—By the time you receive this I hope you will be on the high road to health again. After your little 実験 on the 最高の，を越す of the 落ちるs you became 本気で ill with rheumatic fever. A nice 商売／仕事 I had 伝えるing you 負かす／撃墜する stream on a raft, but, as you see, I 遂行するd it, and got you into the French 使節団 at Ya-Chow-Fu 安全に. I am 令状ing this 公式文書，認める to 企て，努力，提案 you good-bye for the 現在の, as I think it is better we should henceforth travel by different 大勝するs. I may, however, run across you in I-chang. One 警告を与える before I go—人物／姿／数字 for the 未来 as a European, and keep your 注目する，もくろむs wide open for treachery. The society has 支店s everywhere, and by this time I 推定する／予想する they will have been 警告するd. Remember, they will be sure to try to get 支援する the things we've taken, and also will 試みる／企てる to punish us for our 侵入占拠. I thank you for your companionship, and for the 忠義 you have 延長するd to me throughout our 旅行. I think I am 支払う／賃金ing you the greatest compliment when I say that I could have wished for no better companion.—Yours,
"Nikola."
That was all.
A week later I bade my hospitable host, who had engaged a boat and 信頼できる 乗組員 for me, good-bye, and 始める，決める off on my long 負かす／撃墜する-river 旅行. I reached I-chang—where I was to abandon my boat and take a passage to Shanghai—安全に, and without any その上の adventure.
On learning that there would not be a river steamer leaving until the に引き続いて day, I went 岸に, discovered an inn, and engaged a room. But though I waited all the evening, and as late as I could next day, Nikola did not put in an 外見. Accordingly at four o'clock I boarded the steamer Kiang-Yung, and in 予定 course reached Shanghai.
How thankful I was to again 始める，決める foot in that place, no one will ever know. I could have gone 負かす／撃墜する on my 膝s and kissed the very ground in 感謝. Was I not 支援する again in civilization, 解放する／自由な to find my sweetheart, and, if she were still of the same mind, to make her my wife? Was not my health 完全に 回復するd to me? and last, but not least, was there not a sum of ｣10,000 reposing at my 銀行業者s to my credit? That day I 決定するd to see Barkston and McAndrew, and the next to leave for Tientsin in search of my darling. But I was not 運命にあるd to make the 旅行 after all.
Calling at the club, I 問い合わせd for George Barkston. He happened to be in the building and 迎える／歓迎するd me in the hall with all the surprise imaginable.
"By Jove, Bruce!" he cried. "This is really most wonderful. I was only speaking of you this morning, and here you turn up like——"
"'Like a bad penny,' you were going to say."
"Not a bit of it. Like the Wandering Jew would be more to the point. But don't let us stand here. Come along with me. I'm going to take you to my bungalow to tiffin."
"But my dear fellow, I——"
"I know all about that," he cried. "However, you've just got to come along with me. I've got a bit of news for you."
As nothing would induce him to tell me what it was, we 借り切る／憲章d 'rickshaws, and 始める，決める off for his 住居.
When we reached it I was ordered to wait in the hall while he went in search of his wife. Having made some 調査s, he led me to the 製図／抽選-room, opened the door, and bade me go inside. Though inwardly wondering what all this mystery might mean, I followed his 指示／教授／教育s.
A lady was sitting in an 平易な 議長，司会を務める 近づく the window, sewing. That lady was Gladys!
"Wilfred!" she cried, jumping to her feet, and turning やめる pale, for she could scarcely believe her 注目する，もくろむs.
"Gladys!" I answered, taking her in my 武器, and kissing her with all the enthusiasm of a long-parted lover.
"I cannot realize it yet," she said, when the first 輸送（する）s were over. "Why did you not let me know you were coming to Shanghai?"
"Because I had no notion that you were here," I answered.
"But did you not call on Mr. Williams in Tientsin? and did he not give you my letter?"
"I have not been to Tientsin, nor have I seen Mr. Williams. I have come straight 負かす／撃墜する the Yangtze-Kiang from the west."
"Oh, I am so glad—so thankful to have you 支援する. We have been separated such a long, long time."
"And you still love me, Gladys?"
"Can you 疑問 it, dear? I love you more 情愛深く than ever. Does not the warmth of my 迎える／歓迎するing now 納得させる you of that?"
"Of course it does," I cried. "I only 手配中の，お尋ね者 to have the 保証／確信 from your own dear lips. But now tell me, how do you come to be in Shanghai, and in George Barkston's house, of all other places?"
"井戸／弁護士席, that would make too long a story to tell in extenso just now. We must reserve the 本体，大部分／ばら積みの of it. 十分である it that my brother and sister have been transferred to a new 地位，任命する in Japan, and while they are getting their house in Tokyo ready, I （機の）カム 負かす／撃墜する here to stay with Mrs. Barkston, who is an old school friend. I 推定する／予想する them here in about a week's time to fetch me."
"And now the most important of all questions. When are we to be married?"
She hung her pretty 長，率いる and blushed so sweetly that I had to take her in my 武器 again and kiss her. I 圧力（をかける）d my question, however, and it was finally agreed that we should 言及する the 事柄 to her brother-in-法律 on his arrival the に引き続いて week.
To bring my long story to a の近くに, let me say that we were married three weeks after my return to Shanghai, in the English church, and that we ran across to Japan for our honeymoon. It may be thought that with my marriage my 関係 with the Chinese nation （機の）カム to an end. Unfortunately that was not so. Two days after our arrival in Nagasaki two curious 出来事/事件s occurred that brought in their train a host of unpleasant 疑惑s. My wife and I had retired to 残り／休憩（する） for the night, and were both sleeping soundly, when we were awakened by a loud cry of 解雇する／砲火／射撃. To my horror I discovered that our room was 燃えて. I 軍隊d the door, and having done so, 掴むd my wife, threw a 一面に覆う／毛布 over her, and made a 急ぐ with her outside. How the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 had 起こる／始まるd no one could tell, but it was fortunate we were roused in time, さもなければ we should certainly have both lost our lives. As it was most of our 所持品 死なせる／死ぬd in the 炎上s. A kindly Englishman, 居住（者） in the neighbourhood, seeing our 苦境, took pity on us, and 主張するd that we should make use of his house until we decided on our 未来 movements. We remained with him for two days, and it was on that に引き続いて our arrival at his abode that the second circumstance occurred to 原因（となる） me uneasiness.
We had been out shopping in the morning and returned just in time for tiffin, which when we arrived was already on the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する. While we were washing our 手渡すs before sitting 負かす／撃墜する to it, our host's little terrier, who was 所有するd of a thieving disposition, clambered up and helped himself. By the time we returned (the owner of the bungalow, you must understand, lunched at his office, and did not come home till evening) he had eaten half the dish and spoiled the 残り／休憩（する）. We preferred to make our meal off 薄焼きパン／素焼陶器s and butter rather than call the servants and put them to the trouble of cooking more. An hour later the dog was dead, 毒（薬）d, as we should have been had we partaken of the curry. The new cook, who we discovered later was a Chinaman, had 一方／合間 decamped and could not again be 設立する.
That evening when returning home in the dusk, a knife was thrown from a window across the street, 辛うじて grazed my throat, and buried itself in the woodwork of the house I was passing at the time. Without more ado I 調書をとる／予約するd two passages 船内に a mail steamer and next day 始める，決める sail with my wife for England.
Arriving in London I took a small furnished house in a 静かな part of Kensington, and settled myself 負かす／撃墜する while I looked about me for a small 所有物／資産／財産 in the country.
Now to narrate one last surprise before I say good-bye. One afternoon I went up to town to 協議する a land スパイ／執行官 about a place I had seen advertised, and was walking 負かす／撃墜する the 立ち往生させる, when I felt a 手渡す placed upon my shoulder. I wheeled 一連の会議、交渉／完成する to find myself 直面する to 直面する with Nikola. He was dressed in frock coat and 最高の，を越す hat, but was さもなければ the same as ever.
"Dr. Nikola!" I cried in amazement.
"Yes, Dr. Nikola," he answered 静かに, without any show of emotion. "Are you glad to see me?"
"Very glad indeed," I replied; "but at first I can hardly believe it. I thought most probably you were still in 中国."
"中国 became too hot to 持つ／拘留する me," he said with a laugh. "But I shall go out there again as soon as this trouble blows over. In the 合間 I am off to St. Petersburg on important 商売／仕事. Where are you staying? and how is your wife?"
"I am staying in Kensington," I replied; "and I am glad to say that my wife is in the best of health."
"I needn't ask if you are happy; your 直面する tells me that. Now can you spare me half an hour?"
"With every 楽しみ."
"Then come along to Charing Cross; I want to talk to you. This is my taxi."
He led me to a cab which was waiting と一緒に the pavement, and when I had seated myself in it, stepped in and took his place beside me.
"This is better than Thibet, is it not?" he said, as we drove along.
"Very much better," I answered with a laugh. "But how wonderful it seems that we should be 会合 here in this prosaic fashion after all we have been through together. There is one thing I have never been able to understand: what became of you after you left me at Ya-Chow-Fu?"
"I went off on another 跡をつける to コースを変える the attention of the men who were after us."
"You think we were followed then?"
"I am 確かな of it, worse luck. And what's more they are after us now. I have had six 試みる／企てるs made upon my life in the last three months. But they have not managed to catch me yet. Why, you will hardly believe it, but there are two Chinamen に引き続いて you 負かす／撃墜する the 立ち往生させる even now. Dusk has fallen, and you might walk 負かす／撃墜する a 味方する street and thus give them the 適切な時期 they want. That was partly why I 選ぶd you up."
"The devil! Then my 疑惑s were 訂正する after all. The hotel we stayed at in Nagasaki was 解雇する／砲火／射撃d the first night we were in it, a dish of curry ーするつもりであるd for us was 毒（薬）d two days later, while I was nearly struck with a knife two days after that again. Yesterday I saw a Chinaman 近づく our house in Kensington, but though I thought he appeared to be watching my house I may have been mistaken in his 意向s."
"What was he like? Was he dressed in English 着せる／賦与するs? and was half his left ear 行方不明の?"
"You are 述べるing the man 正確に／まさに."
"Quong Ma. Then look out. If that gentleman has his 注目する，もくろむ upon you I should advise you to leave. He'll stick to you like wax until he gets his 適切な時期, and then he'll strike. Be advised by me, take time by the forelock and （疑いを）晴らす out of England while you have the chance. They want the things we took, and they want 復讐 To get both they'll follow us to the ends of the earth."
"And now one very important question: have the things you took 証明するd of 十分な value to 返す you for all your trouble and expense?"
"Of more than 十分な value. I'm going to see a French 化学者／薬剤師 in St. Petersburg about that anaesthetic now. In いっそう少なく than a year I shall enlighten this old country, I think, in a fashion it will not forget. Wait and see!"
As he said this we entered the 駅／配置する-yard, and a minute or so later were standing と一緒に the 大陸の 表明する. Time was almost up, and ーするつもりであるing 乗客s were already 存在 警告するd to take their seats. Nikola saw his baggage placed hi the 先頭 and then returned to me and held out his 手渡す.
"Good-bye, Bruce," he said. "We shall probably never 会合，会う again. You served me 井戸／弁護士席, and I wish you every happiness. One last word of 警告を与える, however, beware of that fellow with half an ear, and don't give him a chance to strike. 別れの（言葉，会）, and think いつかs of Dr. Nikola!"
I shook 手渡すs with him, the guard ぱたぱたするd his 旗, the engine whistled, and the train steamed out of the 駅／配置する. I waved my 手渡す in 記念品 of good-bye, and since then I have never heard or seen anything of Dr. Nikola, the most 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の man I have ever come in 接触する with.
When the last carriage was out of sight, I went into the 駅／配置する-yard ーするつもりであるing to get a taxi, but when I had beckoned one up a man 小衝突d past me and appropriated it. To my horror it was the Chinaman with half an ear I had seen outside my house the day before.
Waiting until he had left the 駅／配置する-yard, I made my way 負かす／撃墜する to the 堤防 and took the 地下組織の 鉄道 for Earl's 法廷，裁判所, 運動ing home as 急速な／放蕩な as I could go from there. On the threshold of my 住居 my servant 迎える／歓迎するd me with the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） that a Chinaman had just called to see me. I waited to hear no more, but packed my things, and within a couple of hours my wife and I had left London for a tiny country town in the Midlands. Here at least we thought we should be 安全な; but as it turned out we were no more 安全な・保証する there than in London or Nagasaki, for that week the hotel in which we stayed caught 解雇する／砲火／射撃 in the middle of the night, and for the second time since our wedding we only just managed to escape with our lives.
Next day we migrated to a still smaller place in Devonshire, 近づく Torquay. Our enemies still 追求するd us, however, for we had not been there a month before a most daring 押し込み強盗 was committed in my rooms in 幅の広い daylight, and when my wife and I returned from an excursion to a 隣人ing village, it was to find our trunks ライフル銃／探して盗むd, and our 所持品 strewn about our rooms. The most 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の part of the 事件／事情／状勢, however, was the fact that nothing, save a small Chinese knife, was 行方不明の.
The 郡 police were soon to the fore, but the only 怪しげな character they could think of was a 確かな Celestial with half an ear, who had been 観察するd in the hamlet the day before, and even he could not be discovered when they 手配中の，お尋ね者 him.
On 審理，公聴会 that last piece of news I had a 協議 with my wife, told her of Nikola's 警告, and asked her advice.
As a result we left the hotel, much to the chagrin of the proprietor, that night, and 出発／死d for Southampton, where we shipped for New York the に引き続いて day. 裁判官 of our feelings on reading in an afternoon paper, 購入（する）d on board previous to sailing, that the occupants of our bed had been 設立する in the morning with their throats 削減（する） from ear to ear.
In New York things became even more dangerous than in England, and four 際立った 試みる／企てるs were made upon my life. We accordingly crossed the continent to San Francisco, only to leave it in a hurry three days later for the usual 推論する／理由.
Where we are now, my dear Craigie, as I said in my Introduction, I cannot even tell you. Let me tell you one thing, however, and that is, though we have been here six months, we have seen no more of the half-eared Chinaman, nor indeed any of his 悪意のある race. We live our own lives, and have our own 利益／興味s, and now that my son is born, we are as happy as any two mortals under 類似の circumstances can 推定する／予想する to be. I love and honour my wife above all living women, and for that 推論する／理由, if for no other, I shall never 悔いる the circumstances that brought about my 会合 with that 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の individual, Dr. Nikola.
Now, old friend, you know my story. It has taken a long time to tell—let us hope that you will think it 価値（がある） the trouble. If you do, I am amply repaid. Good-bye!
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