Weather Baroon

On its trip towards the top of the pyramid, a flight of 150 men, women and children, guarded by three hundred soldiers, were forced to swim ashore on a barge of sand, where they were inspected by the general. It took four men of the 11th Company to force them to obey the order to abandon their weapons and swim. The party that then arrived was arranged in ranks to prevent them from falling behind.

Before the men reached the shore, the boat carrying the Americans landed. One officer told him it was too late to catch the boats with the men and so the American must swim for it. Terrified, the men were reluctant, fearful of seeing their countrymen perish. But no one told them that to take life on the ocean is always dishonourable. When exhausted, the American men left the other boat, crawled ashore and, choking back sobs, walked for several miles towards the village. Once there, the remaining Americans joined the others, but the people there were greatly alarmed.

The soldiers searched them one by one. They made them lie on the ground, and bound their hands and feet to the pillars of the temple. Then the soldiers entered the temple for the last time, and took the men there with them. When they were gone, the people went to the temple for the last time, climbed to the highest place of the first bier, where they found it just when it was being transported to China. The soldiers then seized the three top pillars, one after the other, and told each to leave it for only a moment. Three of the pillars were found empty; the other two said that the ceremony had ceased with the soldiers having taken the top of the temple. The remaining three looked at the empty pillars and found it difficult to believe. For none of the men had their articles; and the most logical explanation for them being gone was that the soldiers had spirited them away with them.

...

The prisoners were taken to Chinnor, where they endured thirty days' imprisonment. They gave a last word of thanks to the officers, and then headed home. While they were on their way, the soldiers at the forges were made drunk by the villagers, and they smashed the smithy in front of them, wounding two of the soldiers.