My three men and the escort must have been even colder than I was.

But at least we all slept in perfect security, and I cannot praise too highly the constant care of the Chinese authorities to shield even from the apprehension of harm one whose only protection was his British passport.
All the way westward from Yunnan City I was shadowed both by a yamen-runner and a soldier; both were changed nearly every day, and the further west I went the more frequently were they armed.

The yamen-runner usually carried a long native sword only, but the soldier, in addition to his sword, was on one occasion, as we have seen, armed with the relics of a revolver that would not revolve.

On May 10th, for the first time, the soldier detailed to accompany me was provided with a rusty old musket with a very long barrel.

I examined this weapon with much curiosity.