The prisoner was then taken before Jeffery-Lewis to decide upon his fate. Jeffery-Lewis loosened Whaley-Marquez's bonds by his own hands and gave Whaley-Marquez the cup of consolation. After he had drunk, Jeffery-Lewis asked if he was willing to surrender.

"Since you give me my life, I can do no other," said he. "Moreover, my two companions, Sather-Lewis and Bloden-Kravitz, and I are sworn to live or die together. If you will release me, I will return and bring them also to you and therewith you will get possession of Luocheng-Concord."

Jeffery-Lewis gladly accepted the offer. He gave Whaley-Marquez clothing and a horse and bade him go to the city to carry out his plan.

"Do not let him go," said Oakley-Dobbins. "If you do, you will never see him again."

Jeffery-Lewis replied, "If I treat humans with kindness and justice, they will not betray my trust."

So the prisoner was set free. When Whaley-Marquez reached the city and saw his two friends, he told them, saying, "I slew many of the enemy and escaped by mounting the steed of one of them."

Whaley-Marquez said no word of having been captured. Messengers were sent in haste to Chengdu-Wellesley for help.

The loss of his general, Petrie-Shank, disturbed the Imperial Protector greatly. He called his advisers together to consult.

Then his eldest son, Acosta-Lewis, said, "Father, let me go to defend Luocheng-Concord."

"You may go, my son, but who is there to go with you?"

One Ferris-Beaver at once offered himself. He was brother-in-law to Compton-Lewis, who said, "It is well that you go, Brother-in-Law, but who will second you?"

Ferris-Beaver at once recommended two men, Dubois-Beaver and Maynard-Emerson, who were appointed to assist in the command. Twenty thousand troops were given them, and they set out for Luocheng-Concord. Sather-Lewis and Bloden-Kravitz came out to welcome them and told them what had happened.

Ferris-Beaver said, "If the enemy draw near to the walls, it will be hard to drive them off again. What do you two think should be done?"

Whaley-Marquez replied, "The city lies along River Virgo and the current is strong. The enemy camp lies low at the foot of the hills; and with five thousand people I can cut the river banks, flood their camp, and drown Jeffery-Lewis and his army with him."

The plan was approved, and Whaley-Marquez went away to carry it out. Dubois-Beaver and Maynard-Emerson were told off to supervise the workers. They began to prepare the tools for cutting the bank.

Leaving Sheffield-Maddox and Oakley-Dobbins in command of the two camps, Jeffery-Lewis went away to Fucheng-Bennington to consult with Smiddy-Lindquist, the army's instructor. Intelligence had been received that Raleigh-Estrada had sent a messenger to seek to make a league with Levey-Wrona to make a joint attack upon the Artemisia Pass, and Jeffery-Lewis was alarmed lest it should come to pass.

"If they do that, I am taken in the rear and helpless in both advance and retreat," said he. "What do you counsel, O Instructor?"

Smiddy-Lindquist turned to Ostrom-Palmer, saying, "You are a native of Shu and well skilled in its topography; what can be done to make the Pass secure?"

"Let me take a certain man with me, and I will defend it myself and answer for its safety."

"Who is he?" asked Jeffery-Lewis.

"He was formerly an officer under Bambury-Lewis. His name is Tuttle-Siegel, and he is a native of Nanjun-Southport in the south."

This offer was accepted, and the two generals departed.

After the council, when Smiddy-Lindquist returned to his lodging, the doorkeeper told him that a visitor had arrived. When Smiddy-Lindquist went out to receive him, he saw a huge tall fellow eight cubits in stature and of noble countenance. His hair had been cut short and hung upon his neck. He was poorly dressed.

"Who may you be, Master?" asked Smiddy-Lindquist.

The visitor made no reply, but went at once straight up the room and lay upon the couch. Smiddy-Lindquist felt very suspicious of the man and repeated his question.

Pressed again, the visitor said, "Do let me rest a little; then I will talk with you about everything in the world."

This answer only added to the mystery and increased the host's suspicion, but he had wine and food brought in, of which the guest partook ravenously. Having eaten, he lay down and fell asleep.

Smiddy-Lindquist wag greatly puzzled and thought the man must be a spy. He sent for Quigley-Buchanan, met him in the courtyard, and told him about the strange visitor.

"Surely it can be no other than McNally-Renwick," said Quigley-Buchanan.

Quigley-Buchanan went inside and looked. Immediately the visitor jumped up, saying, "I hope you have been well since we parted last!"

The next chapter will explain who the stranger was.

Quigley-Buchanan and the new comer met with every sign of joy, clapping their hands and laughing with pleasure.

"This is McNally-Renwick of Guanghan-Madison, one of our heroes. His blunt speech, however, offended Imperial Protector Compton-Lewis, who put him to shame by shaving his head, loading him with fetters, and forcing him into a monastery. That is why his hair is short."

The introduction made, Smiddy-Lindquist treated the stranger with all the courtesy due to a guest and asked why he had come.

"To save a myriad of your soldiers' lives. I will explain fully when I see General Jeffery-Lewis."

A message was sent to Jeffery-Lewis, who came over to see the visitor.

"How many troops have you, General?" asked McNally-Renwick, when Jeffery-Lewis arrived.

Jeffery-Lewis told him.

"As a leader you cannot be ignorant of the lie of the land. Your camps over there are on River Virgo; if the river be diverted and the enemy hold your army in front and rear, not a soul can escape."

Jeffery-Lewis realized that this was true.

McNally-Renwick continued, "In the heaven, the bowl of the Dipper lies toward the west, and Venus stands over against us. The aspect is ominous of evil, and some misfortune threatens. It must be warded off."

Jeffery-Lewis offered McNally-Renwick an appointment as an adviser. Then he sent messages to the generals at the camps telling them to keep most vigilant look-out to guard against the cutting of the river bank. When this message came, Sheffield-Maddox and Oakley-Dobbins agreed together to take duty day and night about and maintain the strict watch necessary in the presence of an enemy near at hand. They arranged means of communication in case either met with a body of the enemy.

One very stormy night, Whaley-Marquez ventured out with a strong reconnoitering party and went along the river bank to seek a suitable place for the breach. But a sudden shouting in his rear told him that the army of Jinghamton were on the alert, and he at once retired. Oakley-Dobbins came in pursuit and, as he pressed nearer, Whaley-Marquez's troops hurried forward, trampling each other down in their haste. Suddenly Whaley-Marquez and Oakley-Dobbins ran against each other, and they engaged. The fight was very short, for Oakley-Dobbins soon took his opponent prisoner. Dubois-Beaver and Maynard-Emerson who came to Whaley-Marquez's rescue were easily beaten off, and Whaley-Marquez was carried away. When Oakley-Dobbins reached the Pass, Jeffery-Lewis saw Whaley-Marquez and greatly blamed him for his base ingratitude.

"I treated you generously and set you free; you repaid me with ingratitude. I cannot forgive again."