have taken as a sign of weakness upon the part of the Allies; and it was later on decided to open the great palace, and allow a detachment from each foreign nation to march through it, as a sign that the foreigners were absolute masters of the situation. This was done, after which the palace was locked up, and the grounds closely guarded against all vandalism.
It was less than two weeks after the fall of Pekin when Gilbert received a letter which filled him with interest. It was from Mrs. Bartlett, and ran as follows:—
"Dear Lieutenant,—You will be surprised to hear from me, but I feel that I must let you know what has happened since your absence.
"A few days after you left Tien-Tsin, the guard at our house was disturbed by a midnight intruder, who was at my husband's desk, ransacking his private papers. The guard called upon the man to surrender, and with bad grace the intruder did so; and he proved to be—would you believe it possible?—Nuglich Polk!
"Mr. Polk was at my husband's papers, trying to
