“We hadn’t any more than got the cash and valuables ready to smuggle aboard, when down came Rasula upon us.  Ten o’clock last night, your lordship.  That’s what it was—­ten P.M.  He had a dozen men with him and he told every mother’s son of us that our presence in the town was not desired until after the ship had sailed away.  We were ordered to leave the town and go up into the hills under guard.  There wasn’t any chance to fight or argue.  We said we’d go, but we’d have the government on them for the outrage.  We left the rooms in the bank building, carrying away what money we could well conceal.  Later we were joined by the other men you found with us, all of whom had refused to join in the outrage.

“We were taken up into the hills by a squad of men.  There wasn’t a man among us that didn’t know that we were to be killed as soon as the ship had gone.  With our own eyes, we saw the mail bags rifled, and nearly all of the mail destroyed.  The pouches from the chateau were burned.  Rasula politely informed us that the plague had broken out among the chateau servants and that no mail could be sent out from that place.  He said he intended to warn the ship’s officer of the danger in landing and—­well, that explains the short stay of the ship and the absence of nearly all mail from the island.  We had no means of communicating with the officers.  There won’t be another boat for three weeks, and they won’t land because of the plague.  They will get word, however, that every one in the chateau has died of the disease, and that scores of natives are dying every day.

“Well, we decided to break away from the guard and try to get to the chateau.  It was our only chance.  It was their intention to take some of us back to the bank this morning to open the vault and the safes.  That was to be our last act, I fancy.  I think it was about four this morning when a dozen of the women came up to where we were being held.  They were flying from the town and ran into the arms of our guard before they knew of their presence.  It seems that those devils down there had set out to kill their women because it was known that one of them had warned Mr. Chase of his danger.  According to the women who came with us, at least a score of these unlucky wives were strangled.  Von Blitz’s wives succeeded in getting word to a few of their friends and they fled.

“During the excitement brought about by their arrival in our camp, we made a sudden attack upon our guards.  They were not expecting it and we had seized their rifles before they could recover from their surprise.  I regret to say that we were obliged to kill a few of them in the row that followed.  But that is neither here nor there.  We struck off for the lower park as lively as possible.  The sun was well up, and we had no time to lose.  We found the gates barred and went on to the upper gates.  You let us in just in time.  The alarm had gone back to the town and we could see the mob coming up the mines’ road.  My word, it was a close shave.”