Cackling argument came from the ditch, wherever the lantern-bearers halted; and on the face of the wall, among elbowing shadows, shone dim strips of scarlet.

Both pillars of the gate were plastered with them.
"Placards," said Heywood.

"Things are ripening fast." Lighting match from match, he studied the long red scrolls, crowded with neat rows of symbols.

He read them off slowly.
'The Garden of the Three Exquisites.'-- Pshaw! that's a theatre notice: enterprising manager .-- Ah, more like it.

Long preamble, regular trimetrical platitudes--here we are:-- "'These Red-Bristled Ghosts teach their dupes to break the ancestral tablets, and to worship the picture of a naked infant, which points one finger toward heaven, another toward earth .-- To each man entering the False Religion, a pill is given which confuses and darkens the mind .-- Why they dig out babies' eyes: from one hundred pounds of Chinese lead can be extracted seven pounds of silver, and the remaining ninety-three pounds can be sold at the original cost.