ashore and take to the bushes and woods, in order to escape with their lives.
In Tien-Tsin it was rumored that the nine men had been killed, and that it would prove certain death to anybody undertaking to get through the Chinese lines. Yet the task was undertaken by James Watts, a youth of twenty-two, the son of a Taku pilot.
"I'll get through, if it costs me everything but my life," said young Watts. "I've outwitted the Chinks before, and I can do it again." He left Tien-Tsin at nightfall on the swiftest horse the city possessed.
The ride was one long to be remembered; for it covered a distance of forty to forty-five miles, through a territory thick with Boxers and other Chinese, all anxious to take his life at sight. He left the city with caution, but, once on the outskirts, rode with a dash and daring that overcame many of the enemy with fright and surprise. Shots innumerable were fired at him; but only one struck him, in the arm. He was stopped six times, but in each instance literally rode over those who sought to capture him.
