As soon as each group of students settled into their barracks, they went to the mess hall, where the kitchen staff ladled out their supper, stewed pork with vegetables over rice. There was actually a long table and benches for sitting. Lian took a bite of dinner, ravenous after the long walk. She put her bowl on the table and looked around. Shao was with some of the senior students. Ying-Ying and Wendian waved at her to join them.

“Lian, where were you?” Ying-Ying asked. “Professor Lan walked with us for several miles and we had such a good discussion about war and its portrayal in classical literature.”

“Have you seen Meirong?” Lian said. “Do you know which barracks she’s in?”

“I haven’t seen her since noon,” Wendian said. She didn’t sound concerned. “She was walking at the very back so she’ll be one of the last to get in.”

But there was another roll call after supper and everyone except Meirong was accounted for. No one remembered seeing her during the final few miles to Shangtan. A trickle of foot travelers were still making their way into the town and Mr. Lee posted two scouts to wait at the top of the road. So far, no one they’d asked had seen a student matching Meirong’s description.

“What if Meirong sprained an ankle or fell ill on the road?” Lian said. A small group of them had gathered by the barracks gates.

“We can’t leave her out there,” Wendian said, clearly worried.

“I can take some scouts,” Shao said. “We can carry rifles.”

“None of you are to leave the town, not now that it’s dark,” Mr. Lee said. “Absolutely not. There are bandits in this area. Ruthless, unpatriotic deserters. And those rifles don’t have any ammunition.”

“The bandits don’t know that,” Shorty said.

“Look.” Ying-Ying pointed. “One of the scouts has come back.”

The scout ran toward them, a policeman hurrying up the hill behind. When the scout caught sight of Mr. Lee, he ran even faster.

“Yee Meirong has been arrested,” he said, panting. “They’ve taken her back to Changsha, to the police station there. The policeman wants to see Professor Kang.”

PROFESSOR KANG FOUND transportation to Changsha the next morning. Lian pleaded to let her go with him. The other girls contributed some clothing and toiletry items for Meirong, which Lian tied up in a large square of cotton. She put all the cash she had saved inside her tunic pocket.