to be footsteps before him and he had no sooner heard them than some one opposite suddenly jumped at him. The moment Ah Q saw him, he turned about and ran along with him. When he turned a corner, Ah Q also turned; and after rounding the corner the leader stopped; so did Ah Q. When he looked back, he saw that the person was no other than Little D.
"What's the matter?" asked Ah Q, anxiously.
"The Chao — Chao family is being looted!" gasped Little D.
With those words, Little D ran on, but Ah Q's heart leapt into loud thumpings. He followed and stopped three times; but being an old hand at the "business" he was remarkably daring and so walked far from the protection of the wall. On listening carefully, there seemed to be a great uproar, and further scrutiny revealed large numbers of white-helmeted and white-armored men, who, in unbroken line, were moving boxes, moving furniture, moving the Hsiu-t'sai's wife's Ningpo bed; but all this he could not distinguish very clearly. He wished to go nearer, but his feet did not move.
There was no moon on that night; Weichuang was deadly silent in the pitch dark, silent to the point of recalling the good old peaceful days of
