CHAPTER XIV

A WINTER JOURNEY AMONGST THE LUTZU

On my arrival in A-tun-tsi I went straight down to the
other end of the village to see M. Perronne and learn the
news, but just outside I was hailed by Mr Edgar, who with
his family was installed in the Tussu's house below the
village. Almost the first news I heard from him was that
Captain Bailey had got safely through to India. Mr Edgar
told me that the Batang posts were disorganised and the
telegraph line cut ; all the missionaries had consequently
left the place and were going down to the coast. There
were ugly rumours concerning the fate of some English
missionaries who were isolated somewhere in the Tibetan
Marches and a party of French priests were also reported
missing ; but as a matter of fact all the Ssu-chuan mission-
aries eventually reached the coast in safety.
There were now no less than eleven Europeans in
A-tun-tsi, comprising the English and American mission-
aries from Batang with their wives and families, M. Perronne,
and myself. In the evening we held a council of war, several
Chinamen prominent in the village attending, but on the
one subject on which we desired information, namely the
condition of Yunnan, not a word was forthcoming. It was
suggested that we should leave in a body, as a measure of
precaution, but this was impossible, since the village could
not supply sufficient transport for more than one party to
start at a time, and on the following day the American
contingent left.
Meanwhile Kin and I were finishing up our work, for
I wanted to leave on November i as originally planned.
