"In such a case," he replied, with an appearance of entirely
disregarding the danger of the position, "the complete parchment must
be of necessity overthrown; for if this person is now officially dead,
he was equally so at the time of sealing, and arrangements entered
into by dead persons have no actual existence."

"That is a matter which has never been efficiently decided," admitted
Chang-ch'un, with no appearance of being thrown into a state of
confusion at the suggestion, "and doubtless the case in question can
by various means be brought in the end before the Court of Final
Settlement at Peking, where it may indeed be judged in the manner you
assert. But as such a process must infallibly consume the wealth of a
province and the years of an ordinary lifetime, and as it is this
person's unmoved intention to carry out his own view of the
undertaking without delay, such speculations are not matters of
profound interest."

Upon this Chang gave certain instructions to his followers, who
thereupon prepared to advance. Perceiving that the last detail of the
affair had been arrived at, Ling threw back his hanging garment, and
was on the point of rushing forward to meet them, when Mian, who had
maintained a possessed and reliant attitude throughout, pushed towards
him the vessel of pure and sparkling liquid with which they had been
engaged when so presumptuously broken in upon, at the same time
speaking to him certain words in an outside language. A new and
Heaven-sent confidence immediately took possession of Ling, and
striking his sword against the wall with such irresistible force that
the entire chamber trembled and the feeble-minded assassins shrank
back in unrestrained terror, he leapt upon the table, grasping in one