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"My eyes cannot pass through the door of the little rooather firewood a half hour since," retorted the youth

"Wot's de Chink sayin'?" asked Billy Byrne, iible to hirin, "that Miss Harding is still alive, and in the back rooe street; but," and his face clouded, "Oda Yorimoto, the chief of the tribe, is with her"

Theto his feet with an oath, and would have bolted for the village had not Theriere laid a detaining hand upon his shoulder

"It is too late, my friend," he said sadly, "to make haste now We may, if we are cautious, be able to save her life, and later, possibly, avenge her wrong Let us act coolly, and after soether, and not throw our lives away uselessly The chance is that neither of us will coe alive, but we must mini"

"Well, wot's de word?" asked the le approaches the village most closely on the opposite side--the side in rear of the chief's hut," pointed out Theriere "We must circle about until we can reach that point undetected, then we may formulate further plans from what our observations there develop"

"An' dis?" Byrne shoved a thumb at Oda Iseka

"We'll take hio now"

"Why not croak hiested Byrne

"Not unless we have to," replied Theriere; "he's just a boy--we'll doubtless have all the killing ant aet out of this"

"I never did have no use fer Chinks," said the estion that they murder the youth For some unaccountable reason he had felt a sudden cohtless re over hi lawn tennis presently if he continued to grow h the jungle, following a trail which led around to the north of the village Theriere walked ahead with the boy's arrasp Byrne followed closely behind They reached their destination in the rear of Oda Yorimoto's "palace" without interruption or detection Here they reconnoitered through the thick foliage