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} + + div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage + { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } + + .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } +} + +@media print { + div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } + div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } + + .vfill { margin-top: 20% } + h2.title { margin-top: 20% } +} + +/* DIV */ +pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } +</style> +<title>HELD BY CHINESE BRIGANDS</title> +<meta name="DC.Title" content="Held by Chinese Brigands" /> +<meta name="PG.Reposted" content="2015-05-09 correction of author in PG header" /> +<meta name="PG.Released" content="2012-03-24" /> +<meta name="DC.Created" content="1921" /> +<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> +<meta name="PG.Id" content="39254" /> +<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" /> +<meta name="DC.Creator" content="Charles Gilson" /> +<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> +<meta name="MARCREL.ill" content="John de Walton" /> +<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> +<meta name="PG.Title" content="Held by Chinese Brigands" /> + +<link rel="schema.DCTERMS" href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" /> +<link rel="schema.MARCREL" href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/" /> +<meta name="DCTERMS.title" content="Held by Chinese Brigands" /> +<meta name="DCTERMS.source" content="/home/ajhaines/brig/brigands.rst" /> +<meta scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" name="DCTERMS.language" content="en" /> +<meta scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.modified" content="2015-05-10T04:37:35.673983+00:00" /> +<meta name="DCTERMS.publisher" content="Project Gutenberg" /> +<meta name="DCTERMS.rights" content="Public Domain in the USA." /> +<link rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39254" /> +<meta name="DCTERMS.creator" content="Charles Gilson" /> +<meta name="MARCREL.ill" content="John de Walton" /> +<meta scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.created" content="2012-03-24" /> +<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width" /> +<meta name="generator" content="Ebookmaker 0.4.0a5 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" /> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 39254 ***</div> +<div class="document" id="held-by-chinese-brigands"> +<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">HELD BY CHINESE BRIGANDS</span></h1> + +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> +</div> +<!-- --> +<blockquote> +<div> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> +</div> +</div> +</blockquote> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 57%" id="figure-61"> +<img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Cover art" src="images/img-cover.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">Cover art</span></div> +<div class="legend margin"> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 62%" id="figure-62"> +<span id="i-am-cheong-chau-he-cried"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""'I AM CHEONG-CHAU,' HE CRIED." *See page* 63." src="images/img-front.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">"'I AM CHEONG-CHAU,' HE CRIED." </span><em class="italics">See page</em><span class="italics"> 63.</span></div> +<div class="legend margin"> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="x-large">HELD BY CHINESE BRIGANDS</span></div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="small">BY</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">CAPTAIN CHARLES GILSON</span></div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="small">ILLUSTRATED BY</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">JOHN DE WALTON, A.R.W.A.</span></div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">HUMPHREY MILFORD</span></div> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS</span></div> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">LONDON, EDINBURGH, GLASGOW</span></div> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">TORONTO, MELBOURNE, CAPETOWN, BOMBAY</span></div> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">1921</span></div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">To</span></div> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">BARBARA PARTRIDGE</span></div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +</div> +<div class="align-None container margin transition"> +<p class="center pfirst"><span>――――</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="id1"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><span>CONTENTS</span></h2> +<div class="container contents"> +<ul class="compact simple toc-list"> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-i-how-hennessy-k-waldron-tripped-around" id="id2">CHAPTER I--HOW HENNESSY K. WALDRON "TRIPPED AROUND"</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-ii-of-ah-wu-s-opium-den" id="id3">CHAPTER II--OF AH WU'S OPIUM DEN</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-iii-of-the-tiger-and-the-foxes" id="id4">CHAPTER III--OF THE TIGER AND THE FOXES</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-iv-how-cheong-chau-came-forth-of-the-town-of-pinglo" id="id5">CHAPTER IV--HOW CHEONG-CHAU CAME FORTH OF THE TOWN OF PINGLO</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-v-how-cheong-chau-struck-at-dead-of-night" id="id6">CHAPTER V--HOW CHEONG-CHAU STRUCK AT DEAD OF NIGHT</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-vi-how-cheong-chau-stated-his-terms" id="id7">CHAPTER VI--HOW CHEONG-CHAU STATED HIS TERMS</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-vii-how-the-letter-was-written" id="id8">CHAPTER VII--HOW THE LETTER WAS WRITTEN</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-viii-and-how-frank-resolved-to-follow-it" id="id9">CHAPTER VIII--AND HOW FRANK RESOLVED TO FOLLOW IT</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-ix-of-the-hospitality-of-the-tea-grower" id="id10">CHAPTER IX--OF THE HOSPITALITY OF THE TEA-GROWER</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-x-how-frank-was-in-luck-s-way" id="id11">CHAPTER X--HOW FRANK WAS IN LUCK'S WAY</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xi-of-the-reappearance-of-ling" id="id12">CHAPTER XI--OF THE REAPPEARANCE OF LING</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xii-how-men-ching-escaped" id="id13">CHAPTER XII--HOW MEN-CHING ESCAPED</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xiii-how-frank-was-caught-in-the-toils" id="id14">CHAPTER XIII--HOW FRANK WAS CAUGHT IN THE TOILS</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xiv-how-ling-snuffed-the-candle" id="id15">CHAPTER XIV--HOW LING SNUFFED THE CANDLE</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xv-of-cheong-chau-s-messenger" id="id16">CHAPTER XV--OF CHEONG-CHAU'S MESSENGER</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xvi-of-the-repentance-of-yung-how" id="id17">CHAPTER XVI--OF THE REPENTANCE OF YUNG HOW</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xvii-how-ling-was-too-late" id="id18">CHAPTER XVII--HOW LING WAS TOO LATE</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xviii-of-the-spider-and-the-web" id="id19">CHAPTER XVIII--OF THE SPIDER AND THE WEB</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xix-how-ling-read-confucius" id="id20">CHAPTER XIX--HOW LING READ CONFUCIUS</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xx-how-the-tiger-sprang" id="id21">CHAPTER XX--HOW THE TIGER SPRANG</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxi-of-the-glade-of-children-s-tears" id="id22">CHAPTER XXI--OF THE GLADE OF CHILDREN'S TEARS</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxii-of-the-capture-of-the-junk" id="id23">CHAPTER XXII--OF THE CAPTURE OF THE JUNK</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxiii-how-the-treasure-arrived" id="id24">CHAPTER XXIII--HOW THE TREASURE ARRIVED</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxiv-how-the-tiger-vanished-in-thin-air" id="id25">CHAPTER XXIV--HOW THE TIGER VANISHED IN THIN AIR</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxv-and-how-cheong-chau-vanished-altogether" id="id26">CHAPTER XXV--AND HOW CHEONG-CHAU VANISHED ALTOGETHER</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxvi-of-greed-of-gold" id="id27">CHAPTER XXVI--OF GREED OF GOLD</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxvii-how-ling-drifted-to-the-stars" id="id28">CHAPTER XXVII--HOW LING DRIFTED TO THE STARS</a></p> +</li> +</ul> +</div> +</div> +<div class="align-None container margin transition"> +<p class="center pfirst"><span>――――</span></p> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#i-am-cheong-chau-he-cried">"'I am Cheong-Chau,' he cried"</a><span class="medium"> . . . . . . </span><em class="italics medium">Frontispiece in colour</em><span class="medium"> (</span><em class="italics medium">see page</em><span class="medium"> 63)</span></div> +<div class="left line"> </div> +<div class="left line"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#mr-waldron-never-moved-an-inch">"Mr Waldron never moved an inch"</a></div> +<div class="left line"> </div> +<div class="left line"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#ling-snatched-the-boathook-from-his-hand">"Ling snatched the boathook from his hand"</a></div> +<div class="left line"> </div> +<div class="left line"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#there-came-a-roar-like-that-of-a-charging-lion">"There came a roar like that of a charging lion"</a></div> +<div class="left line"> </div> +<div class="left line"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#he-himself-was-hurled-after-it">"He himself was hurled after it"</a></div> +<div class="left line"> </div> +<div class="left line"> </div> +<div class="left line"> </div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-i-how-hennessy-k-waldron-tripped-around"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id2"><span>CHAPTER I--HOW HENNESSY K. WALDRON "TRIPPED AROUND"</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>We have heard it said, by those who are widely +travelled, that there are three beautiful +harbours in the world: Rio de Janeiro, in +Brazil; Sydney Harbour, and--most beautiful +of all--the harbour of Hong-Kong.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The famous Peak rises above the town of +Victoria and, at a height of about two thousand +feet, buries its crest in the clouds. The harbour +itself is in the shape of a crescent, enclosing +the red, bare hills of Kow-lung. By day, +from Lyemun to Stonecutter's Island, +ferry-boats, </span><em class="italics">sampans</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">wupans</em><span> and launches scurry +here and there, in and out among the great +anchored men-of-war, like so many mice +romping in a cage of sleeping tigers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The slopes of the mountain are green with +palm-trees, mango, orange and lichen, in the +midst of which can be seen innumerable white, +flat-roofed villas, each with its upper-story +verandah and green-latticed windows. To +the east the hills are more rugged; streams, +traced through the glens by straggling +brushwood, descend in a succession of waterfalls to +the level of the sea. In the Pass of Lyemun +the traveller finds himself in the midst of an +inhospitable grandeur, similar to that of the +western Scottish isles.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It is, however, by night that Hong-Kong +Harbour is at its best. With a sky of a million +stars, and the pale, round China moon hanging +like a lantern in the midst of the heavens, +reflecting its light upon the surface of the dark, +tranquil water, the moving lights upon the +</span><em class="italics">sampans</em><span> and the countless lanterns in the +streets of China town, this place is surely one +of the most romantic in the world. Here the +Far East and the West touch; it is the one +place in all China where the foothold of the +European is secure.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Upon this beautiful island, with its rugged +hills and feathery palms, the white man +stands, under his own flag--as it were, upon +the very threshold of the mysterious, eternal +"Middle Kingdom." Over the way, to the +north-west, is the great estuary of the Canton +river, the Chau-kiang--the main trade +highway of the south. Canton itself, a city of +two and a half million inhabitants, lies at the +junction of three rivers, which meet almost at +right angles: the first flowing from the east, +the second from the north, and the third--and +greatest---from the west. Canton is a city of +mysteries and marvels; it is a city of many +industries, insufferable heat, intolerable smells, +and almost unbelievable devilry and crime.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The whole of the great province of Kwangsi +and the eastern portion of Yunnan is drained +by the West River and its hundreds of +tributaries. These tributaries for the most +part find their sources upon the watershed of +the Nan-ling Mountains, which extend from +the Tung-ting Lake to the city of Kin-yuen, +a distance of over five hundred miles.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Of that great stretch of country little or +nothing is known. Thanks to the early Jesuit +explorers, we are provided with excellent maps. +But a map is no more than a coloured piece of +paper which--at the best--is backed with +linen. Names in themselves convey nothing. +Though you study the map of China for a +fortnight you will know less of the Si-kiang, +or West River, than the naval lieutenant +who ran his gunboat past Wu-chau, and blew +the mud huts of a pirate village into a +dust-heap with the pound-and-a-half shells of his +Maxim-Nordenfeldt. For, if to this day there +are wild men anywhere upon the face of the +earth, who know neither mercy nor pity nor +the laws of God or man, they are to be found +in the tract of country that lies between the +West River and the Nan-ling Mountains to +the north. And thither we are about to +journey, into the midst of a land that is by no +means a wilderness, but which is populated +for the most part by peaceable, hard-working peasants.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There are, however, certain members of the +community who are neither peaceable nor +industrious, who care no more for the gunboats +of His Britannic Majesty upon the wide reaches +of the river than they do for the </span><em class="italics">yamen</em><span> of the +Viceroy of Canton, who so terrorise the +province that each honest man knows that it is +more than his life is worth to give information +against them.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The chiefs of these pirates or brigands are, +as often as not, highly educated Chinese, +sometimes entitled to wear the blue or red +button of a mandarin. They hold sway by +dint of their cruelty and their cunning.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Such a man was Cheong-Chau, whose +headquarters were established in the town of +Kong-chin, at the foot of the mountains. Thence he +and his men were wont to descend to Pinglo, +where they would board a sea-going junk, in +which they would steal past Wu-chau to +Canton, and thence to the open sea, to rob +fishing-junks and sometimes even cargo ships. +If they passed a gunboat or destroyer upon +the broad waters of the estuary they were +simple fishermen, on a cruise to Macao or Amoy. +But under their fishing nets and tackle was +always a veritable armoury of blood-curdling +cutlasses and knives.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For the time being we will leave this +cutthroat resting on his ill-gotten wealth, dazed +from opium in a filthy den in the city of Pinglo, +and return to the sublime and tranquil beauty +of the harbour of Hong-Kong. There we are +to meet a gentleman of appearance more +personable, and personality more engaging, +than the redoubtable Cheong-Chau. We refer +to Mr Hennessy K. Waldron, of Paradise +City, Nevada, U.S.A.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr Waldron was engaged upon what he +termed a "trip around." He had made a pile +of money out of cattle, silver, a patent +egg-whisk, and pigs. His "trip around" had +already lasted two and a half years. He had +been to London, Paris, Switzerland, and +Venice. He knew the height of the dome of +St Paul's Cathedral, the number of bricks in +the Mont Cenis tunnel, and the names of all +the famous Venetian painters. He had gazed +at the Pyramids, he had contemplated the +Coliseum, and standing upon the Bridge of +Sighs in Venice, he had quoted Byron, +sentimentalising over the narrow stretch of water +that divides the Doges' Palace from the gloomy +dungeon to the right.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And wherever Hennessy K. Waldron had +been he had been well received. Before +leaving New York he had taken the precaution +of arming himself with so many letters of +introduction to influential persons in all parts +of the world that he was obliged to carry them +about with him in a large tin-lined box. He +had not been two hours in Hong-Kong before +he had called upon his Excellency the Governor, +</span><em class="italics">Sir</em><span> John Macintosh--with the accent, +according to Mr Waldron, on the "Sir."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He had also a letter from the British +Ambassador in Washington to Sir Thomas +Armitage, the Chief Justice of the Colony, +upon whose verandah he was now seated, +with his legs sprawled out in front of him, a +Manila cheroot in the corner of his mouth +and a whisky-and-soda at his elbow. +Hennessy K. Waldron believed in "tripping +around" in comfort.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Judge," said he, "I've scheduled Hong-Kong +for a six weeks' stay. Calculate I can +do South China in that time?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sir Thomas smiled and shook his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr Waldron," he replied, "you can't 'do' +South China in six years, and you'll know +precious little about it even at the end of +sixty."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Waal, I guess I'm not slow in the uptake. +I can run my eye over the Tower of London, +the Matterhorn, or the Louvre, in less time than +a New York elevator would take to conduct +you to the thirteenth story of the Flat Iron +Building. And, sir, I'm speaking of things I +know. Guess I've got face value out of every +dollar's worth of shoe leather I ever purchased, +or I never knew the difference between glue +and honey."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That may very well be," said the judge, +"but there is so much about China to learn, so +much that is confusing, and even contradictory, +that I must confess, even after thirty years in +the country, I know very little about it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Reckon," observed Mr Waldron, "the +lingo would twist the tongue of a rattlesnake. +I'm not referring to that."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Whilst you are in China," asked Sir +Thomas, "what is it, Mr Waldron, you most +desire to see?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For some moments Mr Hennessy K. Waldron +appeared to be deep in thought. It was as +if he considered the question worthy of earnest +consideration.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Temples," said he, at last. "Judge, I'm +just crazy on temples."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It so happens," said Sir Thomas Armitage, +"that I'm interested in the same subject. +For many years I have made a study of the +religions of China--a vast, and to me an +absorbing subject, upon which I am writing a book."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Waal, now," exclaimed Mr Waldron, +"that's very interesting, Judge. I always +understood the Chink worships the spirits of +his ancestors, and that's about as far as he gets."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is by no means correct," said the +judge. "There are many religions in China. +The upper classes are, practically without +exception, Confucianists. It is true Confucianism +is scarcely a religion; it is a system of moral +philosophy which, however, serves its purpose. +There are few Mohammedans in China, +though great numbers of Buddhists--Chinese +Buddhism differing in several interesting +particulars from the corruption of the religion +which exists to-day in India. However, +the great bulk of the people, especially in +the rural districts, are Taoists. Taoism is +extremely difficult to understand, and even +harder to explain. The original Taoist doctrine +was a philosophy of fatalism; it has deteriorated, +however, into a belief in evil spirits, +alchemy, black magic, and so forth. Taoism +and Buddhism have become confused; in the +Taoist temples images can be seen of Buddha +and his disciples."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Guess that's what I want to see," cut in +Mr Waldron.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The judge was silent a moment.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am about to undertake a long and +somewhat arduous journey," he continued. "I +have had a great deal of work of late, and am +taking a six weeks' vacation. In pursuit of +my hobby I intend to journey up the West +River, to visit a very famous and ancient Taoist +temple, situated in the hills, not far from the +town of Pinglo. If you would like to +accompany me, Mr Waldron, I am sure I shall be +delighted. I warn you, however, that it will +be no picnic. The heat will be excessive--for +the summer is here--and we shall be called +upon to undergo certain inconveniences and +even hardships."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Sir," exclaimed the American, "I began +life as a cow-puncher in Texas. I have +consorted, in the course of my career, with Mexican +caballeros, bar tenders and pugilists. I'm not +likely to get cold feet at the sight of a mosquito +or a heathen god."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The judge laughed, and rose to his feet. Mr +Waldron knocked the ash from the end of his cigar.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The moonlit harbour lay immediately +beneath them. The mast-head signalling-lights +upon the anchored cruisers winked their dots +and dashes from one to the other. The round +Chinese lanterns upon the </span><em class="italics">sampans</em><span> moved +restlessly, like fire-flies, upon the dark surface +of the water. Somewhere, to the right, in the +midst of the trees, a military band was playing; +now and again they caught the strains of +</span><em class="italics">Light Cavalry</em><span> or </span><em class="italics">The Pilgrim's March</em><span>, from +</span><em class="italics">Tannhäuser</em><span>. To the left, the flaming lights +in the streets of the Chinese quarter threw +their reflection upon the dark foliage of the +palms and orange-trees on the slopes of +Mount Davis. Strange two-stringed +instruments and shrill Chinese voices, heard faintly +in the distance, conveyed to Mr Hennessy +K. Waldron the impression that he was thousands +of miles away from Paradise City.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's settled, then," said the judge. +"We travel together, Mr Waldron. I shall +be delighted to have the pleasure of your +company."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Judge," said Mr Waldron, "the pleasure +is mine, sure. If it's temples, I'm your man. +If there's going to be danger, I carry a +six-shooter; and I can handle a gun as well as +any."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I trust," said the other, "that no such +necessity will arise. However, in the region +of the Nan-ling Mountains anything may +happen. I myself will go unarmed."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At that moment a boy of about sixteen years +of age entered the verandah from the dimly +lighted drawing-room beyond, where he had +been seated for some time engrossed in a book. +Though he was a good-looking and well-built +lad, he had the yellow complexion similar to +that of the Chinese themselves, which sooner +or later comes to every European who has +lived for any length of time in the Far East.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you talking about your journey up +the West River, uncle?" he asked, with his +eyes upon the heavy Colt revolver that Mr +Waldron had produced from the hip-pocket of +his trousers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Sir Thomas. "Mr Waldron +has agreed to come with me. I have promised +him that the expedition will be full of interest."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am going too?" asked the boy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The judge laid a hand upon his nephew's +shoulder. "I believe," said he, "that was +arranged. Here, Mr Waldron," he added, +turning to the American, "is our interpreter. +I have studied the Chinese language all my +life and can speak a little in the Mandarin +dialect. But Frank is lucky. He learnt the +language from his amah, or Chinese nurse. +He could talk Cantonese before he knew fifty +words of English. When I am travelling on +the mainland I always take Frank with me. +The Chinese are extraordinary people. If you +speak their language badly they will not +attempt to understand you, but Frank can +talk the Southern dialect as well as the +peasants themselves."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm in luck's way," observed Mr Waldron. +"In the old days in Texas, if I was prospecting +for gold, I struck oil; if I was looking for +oil, I found gold. That's how I made my pile. +I guess there're not many globe-trotters who +get such an opportunity of leaving the beaten +track, of seeing China from the inside. And, +Judge, I'm no good on the stump, but let me +tell you, sir, I appreciate the honour; and +if ever you find yourself in Paradise City, +Nevada, U.S.A., you'll find my name a free +pass to anything that's going, from a ten-cent +circus to a pocketful of cigars. And that's +a bargain, Judge."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Whilst Mr Waldron was expressing, in his +own peculiar fashion, his sense of obligation, +there appeared, in the shadows of the room that +gave upon the verandah, a tall, dark-eyed +Cantonese servant, a man of about thirty +years of age, with a black glistening pigtail +which reached almost to his knees.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Wearing soft, felt-soled shoes, he glided +across the room as noiselessly and as stealthily +as a cat. At the casement window he caught +sight of the shining barrels of Mr Waldron's +nickel-plated revolver. And at once he +disappeared--behind a curtain.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And now, Judge, may I ask when you +intend to start?" asked the American.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"In a week's time," said Sir Thomas. +"That will give you a few days in which to see +the sights of Hong-Kong. Bring no more +baggage than one man can carry. We are +going into a country where there are no roads, +only a few footpaths between the ricefields. +And above all, Mr Waldron, I must request +you to say nothing about it to anyone. Our +destination must remain a secret. I do not +trust even my own personal attendants."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Your wishes will be obeyed, Judge," said +Mr Waldron. "But may I ask, sir, why +these precautions are essential?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They are not essential," said the judge, +"but I think you will agree with me they are +wise when I tell you that the West River +abounds with pirates, and there are several +gangs of Chinese bandits in the Nan-ling +Mountains, especially in the neighbourhood +where we are going. The town of Pinglo has +an exceptionally bad reputation. You +yourself, Mr Waldron, are a wealthy man, and I +have a position of some importance in this +colony. It might be well worth the while of +some rascal who is in touch with the West +River pirates to give information against us."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I get your meaning, Judge," said Mr +Waldron, returning his revolver to his +hip-pocket. "I'm as dumb as a dewberry pie. +And now I must get back to my hotel. Good-night, +and, sir, I'm pleased and honoured to +have met you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"One moment," said the judge. "Let me +send for a ricksha. I am afraid my own chair +coolies have gone to bed."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sir Thomas entered the drawing-room, +unconscious of the fact there was a man not five +paces away from him hiding behind the +curtain. He rang a small bronze hand-bell +and returned to the verandah.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man behind the curtain dropped down +upon his hands and knees, and keeping in the +shade of the various chairs and tables he +gained the door, opened it, and passed through +silently.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Two seconds afterwards he re-entered, +standing at his full height, with an expression +of profound dignity, even of contempt, upon +every feature of his face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He closed the door with a bang, marched +with a stately stride across the room, and +presented himself at the window.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Master rang," said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Sir Thomas. "Yung How, +please order a ricksha for Mr Waldron, to +take him to the King Edward Hotel."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man bowed--if an almost imperceptible +downward movement of the head may be so +described.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, master," said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Stepping upon the verandah, he picked up +the empty glass which had contained Mr +Waldron's whisky-and-soda. Holding this in +his hand, as if it were something sacramental, +Yung How stalked gravely from the room.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>That night, tossing restlessly upon his bed +in the stifling heat of the breathless tropic +night, Mr Hennessy K. Waldron, of Paradise +City, Nev., dreamed of heathen gods.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-ii-of-ah-wu-s-opium-den"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id3"><span>CHAPTER II--OF AH WU'S OPIUM DEN</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The small river-launch steamed away from the narrow creek which divides +Canton city from the island of Shamien. The Chinaman at the wheel +navigated the little craft into the very midst of the clustered +shipping, the mass of junks and river-boats that thronged the entrance +to the creek. Her prow cutting the water in a long, arrow-shaped, +feathery wave, the launch gained the fairway of the main river, and +thence worked up-stream. Seated in a comfortable chair in the bows, a +cigar in his mouth and a pair of field-glasses in his hand, was Mr +Hennessy K. Waldron, of Paradise City, Nevada, U.S.A.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sir Thomas Armitage drew a basket-chair into the shade afforded by an +awning. There he produced his spectacles and, opening a book, settled +himself to read. His nephew, with his coat off and his sleeves rolled +up, was occupied with an oil-bottle in the little engine-room.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the stern of the launch stood Yung How, with folded arms. His dark +face was expressionless. For all that, his eyes were fixed upon the +northern bank of the river, where the houses of the city were so +close-packed that a man standing with outstretched arms in one of the +narrow streets could have touched with his finger-tips the walls on +either side.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At the extremity of one of these dark, stifling lanes stood a Chinaman, +wearing a faded scarlet coat. This man was an old man, with a grey +tuft of hair upon his chin, and a queue that was white and short and +thin as a monkey's tail. He stood motionless, shading his eyes with +the palm of a hand and looking out across the river. As the launch +hove into sight he drew back a little, hiding himself in the doorway of +an adjacent house. The launch passed within fifty yards of the shore.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He observed Mr Waldron and he observed Sir Thomas Armitage, who was +engrossed in his reading. Moreover, he observed Yung How, who slowly +raised his right hand and laid it upon the shaven forepart of his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At that the man disappeared. He vanished into the gloom of an even +narrower side street. Five minutes afterwards he appeared in the open +space on the western side of the Temple of the Gods. Here a coolie was +standing, holding the bridle of a thick-necked, short-legged Mongolian +pony, of the breed common in the north of China but seldom seen in the +south. The man with the faded scarlet coat flung himself into the +saddle.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is the West River!" he cried, and he was off like the wind, riding +due north, leaving the suburbs of the great city to his right.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Such an extraordinary incident stands, perhaps, in need of explanation. +The judge's party had spent a week in Canton, during which time Mr +Waldron had inspected the Five-Story Pagoda, the Water Clock, the +temples of the Five Genii and the Five Hundred Gods; he had witnessed +theatrical performances and a public execution; he had smelled the +smells of Canton.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As for Yung How, he also had not been idle. He had gone by night to a +certain opium den in the vicinity of the Mohammedan mosque--the opium +den of Ah Wu. Thither we must accompany him if we are to make head or +tail of the narrative that follows.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How had appeared before Sir Thomas Armitage. "Master," said he, +"I have a brother in Canton."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The judge smiled. He had lived many years in China. He knew that +Chinese servants always have brothers and aunts and grandmothers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And you want a day's leave, Yung How?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, master," said Yung How. "Go away to-night, after dinner-time. +Come back to-morrow morning."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sir Thomas guessed that Yung How's "brother" was nothing more or less +than an opium pipe. He knew, however, that it would be useless to +refuse the man leave. Yung How was sadly addicted to opium; in +Hong-Kong he often appeared in the morning with the pupils of his eyes +no bigger than pinheads. And Sir Thomas knew also that, once a Chinese +has become a slave of the opium pipe, nothing will ever cure him. The +judge shrugged his shoulders.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well, Yung How," said he, "you can go."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you, master," said Yung How. And he stalked in a majestic +manner from the dining-room of the Shamien Hotel, where the judge and +his party were staying.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How crossed the little bridge of boats that connects the island +with the main part of the city to the north. He found himself in +narrow, twisting streets densely packed with people, the majority of +whom were of the coolie class and wore little or no clothes. The shops +and booths were ablaze. Everyone was shouting at once, swearing, +wrangling, bargaining till they were hoarse. The heat was +insufferable, the atmosphere humid. The foul smells of the city would +have sickened a European, but they did not seem to affect the Oriental +nostrils of Yung How, the Cantonese.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He walked slowly with long strides, turning to the left, then to the +right, then to the left again. He was evidently familiar with the +city. Brushing past half-naked, gesticulating coolies, and thrusting +children aside, he came presently upon a great sow, sleeping in the +middle of the street. Since there was no room to pass on either side +he kicked the animal violently. As the pig got grunting to its feet, +Yung How swept past with an expression of contempt upon his face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He found himself, at last, outside the Mohammedan Mosque. Crossing +what the Europeans call "West Street," he entered a dark thoroughfare, +a blind alley, at the end of which was a solitary, blood-red Chinese +lantern, suspended above a door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How did not knock. He walked straight in and found himself in the +presence of Ah Wu.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now Ah Wu was a notorious character; he was also a notorious scoundrel. +He was a little, fat man, with a round, smiling, cherubic +countenance--except that there was nothing cherubic about his eyes, +which were small and evil, and glittered like those of a snake.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha!" he exclaimed, the moment he set eyes upon Yung How. "You have +returned to Canton! Ah Wu bids you welcome. If he eats rice under the +roof-tree of Ah Wu, Yung How shall have of the best. He shall smoke +the finest Chung-king opium."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I desire none of these things," said Yung How.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu looked disappointed, for Yung How was a rich man as Chinamen +went, who paid for his night's entertainment in brand new Hong-Kong +dollars.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah Wu," said Yung How, in a low voice, "I desire to speak with you +upon a matter which is private. It will be worth your while to help me +if you can."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu's eyes glistened. He rubbed his hands together. "Come with me," +said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He drew aside a heavy, richly embroidered curtain and, passing through, +they found themselves in the opium den. This was a room of two +stories, with a flight of stairs in the middle leading to the upper +story, which was a kind of balcony. All around the walls, both +upstairs and downstairs, were couches, and by the side of each couch +was a small lacquer table. Upon every table was an opium pipe, a small +bowl containing a substance that resembled treacle, and a little +spirit-lamp. And upon each couch was a man, stretched at full length, +wearing no more clothes than a kind of towel tied around his waist, for +the heat of the room was like that of a Turkish bath.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Some of these men were engaged in smoking, rolling the opium into +little pills, holding these pills over the flame of the spirit-lamp +until they frizzled in the heat. Some were lying flat upon their +backs, with their arms folded behind their heads, staring with eyes +wide open at the ceiling. Others were motionless, insensible, +asleep--drugged into oblivion. The room reeked with the pungent smell +of the drug.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How, taking no notice of the occupants of the den, followed the +proprietor into a small room under the stairs. There a paraffin lamp +of European manufacture burned upon a table. Ah Wu offered his guest a +chair and seated himself on the opposite side of the table. He +produced a matchbox from the sleeve of his coat, struck a match, and +lighted a small spirit-lamp. This, together with a bowl of opium and a +large ivory pipe, he shoved across the table.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You will smoke?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How could not resist the temptation. He snatched up the little +skewer and dived it into the brown glutinous substance.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you," said he. "I can think better when I smoke. The matter of +which I have to tell you, Ah Wu, is of some importance. It may be very +profitable to me, and also, in some degree, to you--if you are able to +assist me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu's little almond-shaped eyes glistened more than ever. His face +became wreathed in smiles. He got to his feet and went to a cupboard, +from which he produced his own opium pipe. Then he seated himself +again at the table, and with their heads very close together these two +sleek, shaven, unmitigated rascals rolled their little pills and filled +the room with bitter-smelling smoke.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And as they fell under the influence of the wonderful and subtle drug +that holds sway over the whole of the Far East, from Shanghai to +Bombay, they discussed in low voices the affairs of Mr Hennessy K. +Waldron, of Paradise City, Nevada, U.S.A.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell me," asked Yung How, "do you ever see anything of Cheong-Chau, +the robber?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He himself," said Ah Wu, "comes often to Canton. He invariably stays +here. He is a great smoker. He smokes opium by day and walks abroad +by night. He will not show himself in the streets by daylight, in case +he should be recognised by the soldiers of the Viceroy."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He is a brave man," said Yung How--avoiding, after the manner of the +East, the point at issue.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He fears not death," said Ah Wu. "But the day will come when he will +be led to his execution, to the Potter's Yard, where they will cut off +his head, and the heads of all his followers."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How many men has he?" asked Yung How.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu shrugged his shoulders.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Some say twenty," said he; "some say thirty. Men-Ching, his +second-in-command, is always here. He is one of my oldest patrons." +Ah Wu nodded his head towards the door. "He is in there now," he +added, "sound asleep. I saw him as we passed."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It is not the custom of a Chinese to convey surprise, satisfaction or +displeasure, or any other emotion, upon the features of his face. Yung +How's countenance remained expressionless. He did not raise an +eyebrow. And yet he was delighted. He was in luck's way, and he knew +it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What sort of a man is this Men-Ching?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He is an old man," said Ah Wu, "a grandfather. He wears a small grey +beard, and his pigtail is almost white."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How leaned across the table and whispered in Ah Wu's ear:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I know of a party of Europeans," said he, "who are going up one of the +rivers--I am not sure which. I have not yet discovered their +destination. They are rich men. How much will Cheong-Chau give, do +you think, if I deliver them into his hands?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu chuckled. Then, very carefully, he rolled another opium pill and +puffed the smoke from his mouth.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This can be arranged," said he, rising to his feet. "I will fetch +Men-Ching. He returns to Pinglo to-morrow."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu entered the opium den and, ascending the stairs, awakened a man +who was sleeping upon one of the couches. This was an old man with a +small grey beard and so little hair upon his head that his pigtail was +not six inches long.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Men-Ching listened to Ah Wu's apologies, and then got slowly to his +feet. He put on his faded scarlet coat and followed the proprietor +down the stairs. In the little room below, he was introduced to Yung +How, and a Chinese introduction is a serious and ceremonious occasion. +For the better part of five minutes the two men paid each other +compliments, which were neither the truth nor intended to be such. +Then all three seated themselves at the table, and presently the smoke +from three opium pipes, instead of two, was filling the room with the +bitter, pungent smell.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They discussed the matter in every detail; they regarded it from every +aspect. They calculated the risk and speculated upon their own share +of the plunder. They tried to estimate the illimitable wealth of Mr +Hennessy K. Waldron. Perhaps Ah Wu had visions of retiring from +business and settling down in his native town of Chau-chau, on the +banks of the Han river, where the rice is the best in China.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At all events they were three great scoundrels, and although +Cheong-Chau himself may have been a greater one, there was a certain +man who--even whilst they were closeted together--had entered the opium +den, who was without doubt the greatest villain in all the thirteen +provinces, in all that land of thieves and knaves and cut-throats, from +the Great Wall of China to the Shan States, upon the borderland of +Burmah.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And this man was Ling. He burst into the opium den with such violence +that the outer door was in danger of being broken from its hinges. He +thrust aside the embroidered curtains so roughly that several of the +wooden rings that secured them at the top were broken. Once inside the +room, he bellowed for Ah Wu, the proprietor of the establishment, and +his voice was so great that he awakened many of the sleepers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Being informed that Ah Wu was privately engaged, he strode into the +little room beneath the stairs, and there found himself confronted by +Men-Ching, whom he knew well by sight and reputation, and Yung How, +whom he had never seen before.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For some moments he stood regarding the three men. Then he +laughed--just as a jackal laughs.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What's this?" he cried. "Three such heads were never brought together +to discuss Confucius or the writings of the learned Lao Tzu. An old +fox, Ah Wu--one of Cheong-Chau's paid assassins, and a smooth-faced +Hong-Kong 'boy'! Vulgar men, all three, who breathe from their +throats, and walk in fear and trembling. Fetch me a pipe, Ah Wu, and +take us into your council. I have a mind to learn the reason of these +whisperings."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>We have said that the Oriental does not betray his innermost feelings +upon his features. We have stated that the Chinese countenance is +incapable of expression. The case was overstated, for all three of +them, the moment they set eyes upon this self-confident intruder, +became visibly alarmed. It is true that to no small extent the +personal appearance of Ling may have been responsible for this.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man was a giant. Yung How was a tall man; but when he stood at his +full height, the shaven top of his head was not level with the +shoulders of the new-comer, who must have been at least six feet eight +inches in height. His complexion was so sallow as to be almost green; +his cheeks were hollow like those of a human skull. At the same time, +he had enormous features: a great hooked nose; a square, massive chin; +a mouth that almost reached to his ears when he grinned. He had +coal-black eyebrows which met upon the bridge of his nose, and slanted +slightly upwards. Upon his upper lip was a long black moustache, the +ends of which hung down below his chin. His bones were mammoth-like; +he had enormous fists; and when he walked, his great shoulder-blades +could be seen moving under his long blue silken robe. Ah Wu looked up +at him, with the glint of fear in his little fox-like eyes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We were discussing the rice crop," said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Liar!</em><span>" roared Ling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And he brought down his fist upon the table with such force that the +opium bowls jumped, and one of the spirit-lamps went out.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Liar!" he repeated. "Fetch me a pipe, as I bid you, and speak true +talk. This is a human affair and concerns me as much as you. Were it +a question of divine philosophy, I should be the last to intrude. +Come, I propose to give you advice."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Thereupon, without the least warning, he seized Yung How by the scruff +of his neck, and lifted him bodily out of his chair.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This foreign devil's flunkey shall increase the wisdom of the mighty +Ling," he shouted. "He shall tell me in his Hong-Kong jargon why he +holds conference with one of Cheong-Chau's bandits, and one who has +grown so old in wickedness, and so rich in ill-gotten gains, that his +eyes are sunk in the wrinkled fat of his face."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He dumped Yung How back into his chair, and for once the habitual +expression of serene dignity had departed from that gentleman's +countenance. Indeed, he looked terribly frightened--but not more so +than Ah Wu himself, who now came forward, holding in his trembling hand +an opium pipe, which he offered politely to this gigantic Oriental +swashbuckler.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling examined the pipe critically; and then, apparently satisfied with +the appearance of it, proceeded to roll opium pills in his huge, +flat-tipped fingers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I smoke," said he, "not like fools, to dream. I smoke to fight, to +think, and to make fools of others."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As he said these words he flung off his long coat. Underneath he was +wearing a thin vest of the finest Chifu silk. Around his waist was a +belt, attached to which was a great knife--a Malay </span><em class="italics">kris</em><span>--the handle +of which was studded lavishly with jewels.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-iii-of-the-tiger-and-the-foxes"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id4"><span>CHAPTER III--OF THE TIGER AND THE FOXES</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Ling was a Northerner. He hailed from the province of Honan, a land of +rugged hills and dark, inhospitable valleys, through which flows the +unnavigable Hoang-Ho, the turbulent Yellow River that thrashes its way +into the Gulf of Pe-chili, over cataracts and rocks, through dark, +precipitous ravines.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Honanese are a warlike race. From this province the viceroys of +the north were wont to recruit the majority of their soldiers--wild, +raw-boned men who, in the old days, guarded the sacred presence of the +Emperor.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The pirates of the West River may be compared to wolf-packs that roam +the southern provinces in search of plunder. But Ling may be likened +to a solitary beast of prey, a man-eating tiger, or a rogue +elephant--than which there is no more dangerous beast in all the world. +He lived by his wits, his great strength and cunning. He had +established such a reputation for himself in the provinces of Kwang-si +and Kwei-chau that he was feared alike by peasants, priests, and +mandarins. He committed crime openly and gloried in it; for in China +there are no police, and prefects and magistrates can be bought with +silver </span><em class="italics">taels</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And Ling was a man of great wealth. He employed bribery when that was +likely to succeed. Otherwise he relied upon his Malay kris, or his +great hands, with which he could strangle the life out of an ordinary +man in no more time than it would take to wring the neck of a hen.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The wonder of this man was that he was a great scholar. He had passed +several of the public examinations in which the candidates could be +numbered by the thousand. He was learned in the classic books: </span><em class="italics">Spring +and Autumn</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">The Doctrine of the Mean</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">The Analects of Confucius</em><span>, +and the books of History, Rites and Music, and the Odes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was in the habit of quoting Confucius and the writings of the sages; +and he could always, by twisting the meaning of the proverbs of +antiquity, find excuses for his crimes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"To the good I would be good," he would quote, adding: "As there are no +good on this earth, there is no necessity to be other than I am."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In no other country in the world would such a man have been allowed to +walk at large in the streets of a populous city. Everyone knew him, +and everyone feared him; but no one had the courage to step across his +path. He came and went at his pleasure, laughing in his loud, +boisterous manner, quoting from the writings of Confucius, Mencius, and +the learned Lao Tzu, the founder of the Taoist religion. It must be +remembered that China is a country in which everyone minds his own +affairs. The sages have taught the Chinese to believe that the destiny +of every man is in his own hands, and that whether he lives foolishly +or wisely, whether he does evil or good, is a question solely between +that man himself and the Spirit of the Universe. No one has the right +to interfere.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In this world there are those who talk and those who act. Ling did +both. He bullied and threatened and stormed; he was childishly vain of +his learning, and in seven dialects he scattered his knowledge +broadcast. At the same time, he was a man of action; he was resolute +and brave, and without scruples or a sense of pity.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But neither courage nor brute strength nor wisdom, nor a combination of +the three, can accomplish all things. And in Ah Wu's opium den, the +mighty Ling found himself in the presence of three subtle, +smooth-tongued Cantonese; and the whole world across, from San +Francisco to Yokohama by way of Port Said, there is no more capable and +fluent liar than the lemon-skinned, almond-eyed Chinese who hails from +the province of Kwang-si. It is difficult to say who could lie most +gracefully, who was the greatest hypocrite--Ah Wu, Yung How, or +Men-Ching, the brigand. Each in his own way was a past master in the +craft of falsehood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Moreover, they had no intention of taking Ling into their confidence. +They may have been frightened of the man, but not even fear could make +them behave like imbeciles. They knew that if Ling gained knowledge of +the presence of Mr Hennessy K. Waldron upon the upper reaches of one of +the rivers, there would be but little booty left for themselves. And +so they lied--gracefully, easily, pleasantly, and with admirable +consistency.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>What that lie was is immaterial to the skein and texture of this story. +It was a presentable and passable falsehood, you may be sure, but it +was not good enough to deceive Ling, who, however, professed that he +believed every word they had told him, whilst he complacently smoked +pipe after pipe of opium--at Ah Wu's expense.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And then he left the opium den, paying for nothing, quoting from +Mencius in regard to the virtue of hospitality. In the dark streets of +the mammoth city his colossal figure became lost in the shadows; but he +left behind him, in the opium den, in the little room beneath the +stairs, an atmosphere of tension--a feeling that a great typhoon has +passed, which by a miracle had caused but little damage. The three +conspirators continued to discuss their plot, but they were no longer +conscious of a sense of security. Once or twice Ah Wu, who was the +most nervous of the three, glanced anxiously over his shoulder, +whenever a heavy footstep was heard in the room beyond.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They had lied to Ling to the best of their ability--which was saying +much. For all that, they had no reason to suppose that the gigantic +Honanese had believed a single word of what they had told him. In +consequence, they feared him all the more. The tiger was on the prowl, +and the three foxes, their heads close together, whispered in the ears +of one another and rolled their little pills.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They arranged matters to their satisfaction. Yung How was to attempt +to discover the destination of Sir Thomas Armitage and the wealthy +American. Men-Ching would lie in wait upon the river bank. Yung How +would signal to him as the launch went by. If their destination was +the North River, Yung How was to place his left hand upon the shaven +fore-part of his head. If it was the West River, he was to raise his +right hand. In either case, Men-Ching was to take horse and ride to +Pinglo, where he would inform Cheong-Chau that the fish were swimming +into his net. As for Ah Wu, at a later date, he was to play a certain +part for which--on account of his cunning and secretive nature--he was +eminently suited.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was an exceedingly well-arranged plot, which will be duly explained +in the appointed place. There was some discussion in regard to what +sum it would be possible to obtain; but in the end it was decided that +twenty thousand dollars would be sufficient, allowing that Cheong-Chau +would take the bulk of it himself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was long past midnight when they came to the end of their +deliberations. By then they were heavy with opium, and their eyes +glazed from the drug. They threw themselves down upon the soft matted +couches in the outer room, and slept and dreamed--as Chinese will--of +things celestial, transcendental, such as cannot be expressed in words. +For all that, the following morning Yung How presented himself at the +breakfast-table of Sir Thomas Armitage in the Shamien Hotel.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Yung How," said the judge, "did you see your brother in Canton?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, master," said Yung How, without moving a muscle of his face. "He +makes bobbery with his wife."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You mean," said Sir Thomas, for the edification of Mr Waldron, "that +he and his wife have quarrelled?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, master. She does not like that he smokes opium--once a week."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The judge made a wry face. "A nasty habit," said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, master," said Yung How; "only bad men smoke opium."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sir Thomas looked at Yung How's eyes. The pupils were shrunken to the +size of little beads.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said he. "You are right, Yung How; only bad men smoke opium."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Opium does harm," said Yung How, who, five minutes later, appeared in +the hotel kitchen. Several coolies were eating rice upon a doorstep, +and one of these was the engineer of Sir Thomas's river-launch. It is +not pleasant to watch lower-class Chinese eat rice. They hold the bowl +about two inches from their mouths, which they open very wide, and then +they scoop up the rice with their fingers in much the same manner as +one might brush pieces of fluff from the sleeve of a coat.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah Su," said Yung How, to the engineer, "has the judge told you where +we are going?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Ah Su.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The weather," said Yung How, "is very hot."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He then departed to the vestibule of the hotel, where he encountered +the comprador. In China, the comprador knows everything.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Are there any letters for the judge?" asked Yung How, in a lordly +manner.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He has them," said the comprador. "He himself took them into the +breakfast-room."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We leave to-day," said Yung How casually.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So I understand," said the other.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I suppose letters will be forwarded?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The judge has given instructions. All letters and parcels are to be +forwarded to the British Consulate at Wu-chau."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"In Wu-chau," said Yung How, "I have a brother."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He turned away and went upstairs, where he entered the bedroom of Mr +Waldron. In one of the small drawers of the dressing-table he +discovered the millionaire's cheque-book; and since he could read +English tolerably well, he spent a pleasant five minutes studying the +counterfoils. Then quite suddenly Mr Waldron came in.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Say," said he, "what are you doing here?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Have cleaned hairbrushes," said Yung How, without a moment's +hesitation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then, git!" cried Mr Waldron. "Guess I can fill my own grip-sack. +When I want a slit-eyed son of Satan hanging around my boudoir, I'll +send for him. So, git!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And Yung How "got." He walked gravely from the room with his head held +proudly in the air, and his eyes fixed upon the ground. He appeared +grossly insulted.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He knew very well, however, that the great city of Wu-chau lies upon +the West River, and is not so far--as the crow flies--from the town of +Pinglo, where Cheong-Chau was in the habit of smoking opium.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-iv-how-cheong-chau-came-forth-of-the-town-of-pinglo"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id5"><span>CHAPTER IV--HOW CHEONG-CHAU CAME FORTH OF THE TOWN OF PINGLO</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Mr Waldron appreciated the journey up the West River even more than the +sights of Canton. Stretched comfortably upon his deck-chair, he +surveyed through his binoculars the rich, prosperous landscape of +Southern China. He interested himself in the straw-hatted peasants at +work in the tea-gardens and the ricefields. As the launch steamed upon +its way, he inspected river-side villages, temples, gateways and +pagodas.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The party arrived at Wu-chau, spent two or three days seeing the +sights, and then proceeded up-river. A few days later, the launch +arrived at the town of Pinglo--three days after Men-Ching, seated +astride his little Mongolian pony, had ridden in from the East.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Since there was little or nothing to see in Pinglo, Sir Thomas +Armitage, Frank and Mr Hennessy K. Waldron, accompanied by Yung How and +one other personal servant, set out on a journey across country towards +the north. They carried knapsacks upon their backs, and proceeded by +way of the narrow paths separating the ricefields. The heat was +excessive, but as they progressed, and reached higher altitudes, it +became cooler, and at the end of three days' march the Nan-ling +Mountains stood out before them like a great wall.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They found the Taoist temple, surrounded by trees, tucked away in the +corner of a picturesque valley, where there were great numbers of birds +of brilliant plumage.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr Waldron was delighted. The temple was deserted, and appeared to +have been neglected for centuries. The plaster had crumbled from the +walls and lay in heaps upon the floor. The place consisted of one huge +hall, with several smaller rooms on either side. Everything of value +had been stolen; but the architecture remained, solid and fantastic, +and of the greatest antiquity.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ranged around the walls were the figures of scores of gods and +goddesses, chief amongst whom was Buddha. Sir Thomas was able to +identify several of the images, one of whom he recognised as Mohammed, +another as St Paul, and a third as Marco Polo. That Marco Polo should +have risen in China to the dignity of a deity is conceivable, since +this dauntless adventurer was the first European to reside in the +ancient Tartar kingdom of Kublai Khan. But it was indeed remarkable +that the fame of such great preachers as St Paul and the founder of the +Mohammedan religion should have reached--across the whole of Asia--the +heart of the Chinese Empire. This is no treatise on Chinese theology, +else we could write much concerning the Taoist temple on the southern +slopes of the Nan-ling Mountains, at the very back of the beyond. It +is sufficient to say that the judge took copious notes, and Mr Hennessy +K. Waldron was delighted. As a memento of the expedition he knocked +off a stone gargoyle from above the porchway of the temple.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In many ways the expedition resembled a delightful picnic, in a country +that was charming and romantic. The ruined temple was surrounded by +flowering shrubs and queer-shaped deciduous trees, and there were +moss-grown banks upon which one could lie at ease during the heat of +the day or sleep tranquilly by night, when thousands of frogs were +croaking in the valley below, and crickets were singing in the long +</span><em class="italics">kiao-liang</em><span> that grew upon the mountain-side.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The place was a natural garden, scented with almond and mimosa. During +the heat of the day there was shade in plenty; after sunset the +temperature was cool and refreshing. Yung How and his assistant +attended to their wants; gave them four-course luncheons and dinners, +produced from a saucepan and a frying-pan by means of a small wood fire +laid between two bricks. Neither Mr Waldron nor the judge himself +showed the slightest inclination to return to the steaming valley of +the river. As for Frank, he was happy all day long, exploring the +neighbourhood, climbing to the crest-line of the hills, whence he could +survey a vast panorama of terraced paddy-fields, winding rivers, +scattered villages and towns, each with its joss-houses and its temples +and its great horseshoe graveyards.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On the second day of their visit, whilst his uncle and the American +were occupied in inspecting the temple, Frank Armitage ascended a steep +bridle-path which crossed the mountains at a narrow pass. To the north +he found his view obstructed by another and even more rugged range of +mountains. Anxious to gain a more commanding position, the boy left +the bridle-path and climbed, on hands and knees, the steep face of the +adjacent peak.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It took him the greater part of an hour to gain the top, but there he +found his efforts rewarded by a view that reminded him of many scenes +pictured by Gustave Doré, illustrating </span><em class="italics">Don Quixote</em><span> or </span><em class="italics">Paradise +Lost</em><span>--pictures that had fascinated and frightened him as a child.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Immediately before him was a second valley, at right angles to the one +dividing the parallel ranges, resembling a huge, deep sword-cut in the +barren, savage hills. This valley narrowed as it rose to a higher +altitude, and finally became lost in mountain mist. There were few +trees upon the steep, glistening slopes, and such as were to be seen +were stunted and deformed. There were no roads or paths; no sign of +life or civilisation. The sun itself appeared to have been shut out +for ever from this stretch of desolation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank turned and looked towards the south. In this direction were +green trees, green fields--a plain, rich, fertile, well-watered and +thickly populated. It was almost impossible to believe that a narrow +watershed could divide landscapes so different that they might have +been scenes from different planets. He glanced again at the dark +sinister valley; and as he did so he caught a glimpse of something red, +moving slowly across the spur that formed the angle of the two valleys +immediately below.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He could not at first make out what this could be, for the moving +object almost at once disappeared behind a hillock. When it appeared +again, however, it was in mid-valley; and he recognised a party of men +dressed in scarlet coats, who were marching in close formation, making +in the direction of the pass across the range.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank knelt down behind a boulder and watched with interest, and not +without apprehension, the approaching figures. A natural instinct +warned him that it would not be wise to show himself. There was +something in the forbidding nature of the valley itself that warned him +that its sole occupants were not likely to be men whom one could trust.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They climbed the bridle-path, gaining at last the pass whence Frank +himself had ascended to the hill-top. They were now easy to +distinguish. The party numbered about thirty. They were brown-skinned +Chinese, evidently mountain-born; all were armed with scythe-like +spears or long, curved knives, and one or two carried pistols in their +belts. All wore scarlet coats, some of which were bright and new, +others being so faded that they were a kind of dirty pink. At the head +of the party marched a little shrivelled man, whose scarlet coat was +trimmed with gold. Frank Armitage did not know it--though within eight +hours he was to learn the truth--but this was the redoubtable +Cheong-Chau himself--the brigand chief who plundered the southern +provinces from the Nan-ling Mountains to the sea.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As they passed, swinging on their way, these men sang a low, wailing +chant that might have been a funeral dirge, but which was, in fact, a +pirate song of blood and lust and murder. At the rear of the party was +an old man, seated upon the back of a short-necked Mongolian pony. +This was Men-Ching, who had ridden post-haste from the city of Canton, +bringing greetings to Cheong-Chau from Ah Wu, who kept an opium den in +the vicinity of the Mohammedan mosque.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Men-Ching had seen Yung How in the city of Wu-chau, and had there heard +news of the ancient Taoist temple upon the southern slopes of the +mountains. And Cheong-Chau had shaken off the sleep of opium and, +gathering his men, had issued from the town of Pinglo, and had marched +by night into the mountains, the sovereignty of which he shared with +the eagles and the kites.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-v-how-cheong-chau-struck-at-dead-of-night"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id6"><span>CHAPTER V--HOW CHEONG-CHAU STRUCK AT DEAD OF NIGHT</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>It was late by the time Frank returned to the temple, where he found +his uncle and Mr Waldron engaged in an animated discussion upon the +subject of the untapped resources of China. The boy had taken some +time to climb down the mountain-side. Having no wish to fall into the +hands of the scarlet-coated band who had descended into the valley to +the south, he had given the bridle-path a wide berth, with the result +that he had been obliged to go down upon all fours, and descend +stealthily foot by foot.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He lost no time in relating to his uncle all that he had seen. The +judge was somewhat surprised, but he did not show any signs of being +nervous.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I trust they didn't see you, Frank?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I have no doubt as to that," replied the boy. "I remained hidden all +the time. Besides, they were immediately below me, and I should have +noticed if any man had looked up."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The judge shrugged his shoulders.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"All's well that ends well," said he. "Nevertheless we may consider +ourselves lucky. There can be no question that the party you saw was +one of the brigand bands that are said to infest these mountains. We +are far from civilisation. We could expect neither mercy nor +consideration if we fell into the hands of such desperate rascals."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Judge," said Mr Waldron, "it looks as if I may have a use for my +six-shooter after all."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think so," said the judge. "Frank was wise enough not to show +himself, and the men went down into the valley. There is no reason why +they should know anything about our presence in the neighbourhood."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was then that Yung How appeared, silently, from the midst of the +deep shadows beneath the temple ruins. He moved stealthily and with +something of the supple grace of a cat.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," said he, "dinner is served."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you," said the judge. But Yung How remained, his features calm +and expressionless, a table-napkin thrown over his left forearm, after +the manner of waiters all the world across.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Guess," said Mr Waldron, "I shall sleep with my gun ready loaded."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is no more than a wise precaution," said the judge, "and we +should be well advised to post a sentry. We could divide the night +into three watches of three hours each. Frank, as the youngest, shall +take the first watch, from nine to twelve; I myself propose to take the +middle watch, from twelve to three--unless you, Mr Waldron, would +prefer it?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"As you like, Judge," replied the American. "Early morning suits me +well enough. In the old days in Texas, six days out of seven I was in +the saddle before sunrise."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Master," repeated Yung How, "dinner is served."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The judge whipped round upon his servant. "What are you doing here?" +he demanded. "You have announced dinner already. We are all hungry +enough not to forget it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Very good dinner," said Yung How, lapsing into pidgin-English, and +without moving a muscle of his face. "Hot soup, all belong one piece +tin; number one fish, all belong river; two piece chicken and top-side +apricots, all belong tin, all same soup."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And a very good dinner too," said the judge. "The sooner we get to +work the better."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They dined by the light of a Chinese lantern suspended from one of the +branches of an almond-tree, beneath the temple wall, where they were +sheltered from the cool evening breeze that was blowing from the west. +The thin mountain air, after the insufferable, humid atmosphere of the +river valley, had served to give them a healthy appetite. The soup was +half cold, the chickens were very tough, and the West River fish tasted +horribly of mud; for all that, hungry men, encamped in a wilderness +many miles from the nearest outpost of civilisation, will regard such +fare as delicacies. They ate with a relish everything that Yung How +placed before them, and washed down their meal with pannikins of +crystal-clear water from the mountain spring that flowed past the +temple.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>After dinner the judge lighted his pipe, and Mr Hennessy K. Waldron one +of his choice Manila cheroots. They talked of many things, but above +all of China, of its immensity and mystery, its wealth, vitality, and +future. And then the judge and Mr Waldron spread their blankets and +laid them down to sleep.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There is no life in the world to compare with that which is lived in +the open air. A moss-grown bank supplied a bed as comfortable as any +spring mattress. The wind, gently stirring the leaves of the trees, +the distant croaking of the frogs, and the singing of the crickets, +combined to form a sort of lullaby that soothed and enticed the +wayfarers to slumber. There was no moon that night; but in a sky +unbroken by a single cloud, a gorgeous canopy of stars illumined a +scene that might have made a fitting setting for a fairy-tale.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank Armitage selected his sentry-post at the foot of a great tree +immediately before the temple steps. Hence he was able to obtain a +fair view both of the bivouac and the mountain slope to the south. +Knowing, however, that it would be wise not to neglect the northern +side of the temple, he decided to patrol the entire building at least +once every quarter of an hour. Armed with Mr Waldron's revolver, he +kept well in the shade, knowing that a good sentry is one who observes +without himself being seen.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>An hour passed and then another hour, without the occurrence of +anything unusual. The judge and Mr Waldron were both sound asleep, the +latter snoring loudly. Yung How and his companion lay in the shadow of +the temple wall: the former curled up in his blankets, the coolie lying +flat upon his back, his mouth wide open, dreaming, perhaps, that he was +back in the Chinese quarter of Hong-Kong, where lived his wife and +seven children, all of whom he supported upon the astonishing +sum--expressed in English coinage--of nineteen shillings a month.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank, as he went his rounds, frequently paused to listen. The frogs +and the crickets continued their uproar. The wind murmured in the +trees; once or twice he could hear wild-duck flying high in the night +sky towards the north, towards the great marshes of the Yangtsi and the +Yellow River. But no other sound disturbed the silence of the night.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In course of time he came to consider the utmost vigilance unnecessary. +He began to interest himself in trivial things. Mr Waldron had ceased +to snore and Yung How was engaged in a kind of duet with the coolie. +They snored alternately, the one on a deeper note than the other. +Frank paused upon one of his rounds and stood for a moment looking down +upon the two sleeping Chinese, thinking how vastly different from +himself they were. Then he passed on upon his way, conscious that as +the hour grew later the air was becoming colder. On that account, it +was advisable to keep moving. He walked round the front of the temple, +across the great stone steps leading to the entrance, and found himself +on the farther side of the ruined, rambling building. There, in the +deep shadow of a tall, gabled gateway, he stopped quite suddenly, +thinking that he had heard a twig snap underfoot.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was so sure of this that almost at once he became aware that his +heart was beating rapidly. He held the revolver in his hand, gripping +the handle tightly. The starlight enabled him to see a considerable +distance, except where the shadows were deep under the temple wall +itself and beneath the trees.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At his right hand was a massive stone pillar that supported the roof of +the gateway. He stood stock-still, listening; and then, close to him, +he heard a sound that might have been the wind, but which, on the other +hand, might have been the heavy breathing of a man. As quick as +thought, he stepped behind the pillar, and at once, quite suddenly, and +yet without noise or violence, his revolver was taken from his hand.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For the fraction of a second he was too astonished to cry out. He took +a quick step backward, which brought him into the starlight, and at +that moment both his wrists were grasped, and he beheld before him a +face, sinister, fierce, and yet expressionless. It was the face of +Yung How, his uncle's servant.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He let out a shout, a loud cry for help--a shout that was stifled in a +second. Someone had seized him from behind. The palm of a hand was +placed so tightly upon his mouth that he found it difficult to breathe.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For a moment he endeavoured to struggle, but soon realised the +uselessness of an attempt to extricate himself by physical force. He +had been seized by at least three men; and almost before he had time to +recover from his surprise, he was thrown violently upon the ground, his +hands bound behind his back, and a gag thrust between his teeth.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He lay quite motionless, wondering what had happened, and what would +happen next. Men were talking in whispers in harsh Cantonese voices, +but too softly for him to catch the meaning of their words.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was bidden rise. He hesitated a moment, and was then lifted bodily +to be dumped down upon his feet. He found himself confronted by a +Chinaman who was small in stature, the skin of whose face was wrinkled +and weather-beaten. This man wore a scarlet coat, richly embroidered +with gold thread that glittered in the starlight. He came quite close +to Frank, and peered into the boy's face, grinning from ear to ear, +showing dirty, fang-like teeth--teeth that resembled those of a dog.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy turned away in disgust, and looked straight into the face of +Yung How. Yung How neither smiled nor lowered his eyes. He appeared +to be neither delighted nor ashamed. His features were expressionless; +his eyes looked straight into Frank's. Behind Yung How stood some +twenty men, all dressed in scarlet coats. Frank took them in at a +glance, and the thought flashed across his mind that it would be +difficult to select from the party the one who appeared the greatest +villain, whose countenance was the most hideous and repulsive. They +were Cantonese of the coolie class, high of cheek-bone, with low, +receding foreheads, and cruel, snake-like eyes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man who was wearing the gold embroidered coat turned and walked +rapidly towards the temple steps, ordering the others to follow him. +Frank was led forward, a great raw-boned Chinaman on either side of +him, each of whom grasped him tightly by an arm. He was made to ascend +the steps, and was brought to a halt in the shadow of the porchway of +the temple.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Hence he could look down upon the sheltered glade where he and his +friends had been encamped for two days. In the starlight he could see +the figures of his uncle and Mr Waldron, both of whom were still fast +asleep.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>So far, all that had happened had come to pass so rapidly that Frank +had not had time to feel alarmed. But now, when he beheld his +uncle--as he had every reason to believe--in the greatest danger, he +was filled with apprehension. He made a lurch forward as if he would +escape--for his feet had not been bound--but he was at once roughly +thrown back by the men who guarded him, one of whom struck him a +violent blow in the face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At that moment it was as if the boy was incapable of feeling physical +pain or moral indignation. He was filled with remorse. He had been +given a position of responsibility and trust--and he had failed +pitifully. And now, perhaps his uncle's life was in danger.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was obliged to remain an impotent and conscience-stricken spectator +of the scene that followed. He could neither cry out nor hasten to the +assistance of his friends. He saw both his uncle and Mr Waldron seized +whilst they were sound asleep, handled roughly by savage, lawless men; +gagged and bound, and then led into the great hall of the temple.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As soon as they were all inside, about a dozen torches were lit, and +these were planted upright between the stone flags that paved the +floor; so that they resembled as many candles, illuminating that +fantastic, mediæval chamber.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Indeed, it is almost impossible to imagine a scene more weird and +dream-like. The three captives in the centre of the hall; the +evil-looking, criminal faces of the brigands, made to look even more +alarming and sinister by the flickering light of the torches; and +around that great, dingy room, the implacable, sedate, inevitable +figures of the Chinese gods and goddesses, over whom presided the huge +Buddha, seated cross-legged upon a stone plinth, immediately opposite +the entrance.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank Armitage caught his uncle's eye. He tried his utmost to convey +in a glance the remorse and anguish he endured. Sir Thomas must have +understood him, for he slowly shook his head. Then someone from the +back of the room commanded that everyone should be seated; and when +this order had been complied with, one man alone remained upon his +feet. This was he whose scarlet coat was embroidered heavily with +gold, who now stepped into the centre of the circle, where he stood in +the full light of the torches.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am Cheong-Chau," he cried. "And those who fall into the hands of +Cheong-Chau must pay in silver </span><em class="italics">taels</em><span> or else in blood."</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-vi-how-cheong-chau-stated-his-terms"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id7"><span>CHAPTER VI--HOW CHEONG-CHAU STATED HIS TERMS</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The situation in which the judge and his companions found themselves +was certainly not of the pleasantest. It so happened that Sir Thomas +knew nothing of the reputation of the redoubtable Cheong-Chau. +However, the man's character was made evident upon every feature of his +face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Standing in the centre of the hall, gesticulating wildly, he harangued +his audience for the better part of twenty minutes without once pausing +for breath. Sir Thomas was sufficiently acquainted with the Cantonese +language to follow the drift of the man's speech, whereas Frank was +able to understand every word. Mr Waldron, of course, comprehended +nothing.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The American was under the impression that he was about to be put to +death. He regarded, with a kind of timorous curiosity, the murderous +weapons of the bandits and the villainous facial contortions of +Cheong-Chau. The man held forth in the flowery language of the Chinese +of the southern provinces. He talked a great deal about his own power +and cruelty. He did not seem to care in the least whether or not +anyone listened to him. He boasted in regard to his past crimes; he +spoke of his courage and audacity; he uttered innumerable threats. And +in the end the captives were led away into one of the smaller rooms +that gave upon the great hall of the temple.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There they remained until late the following evening, when the whole +party--with the exception of Yung How, who returned to Canton--set out +across the mountains, traversing the narrow pass from above which Frank +Armitage had first beheld the brigands. They entered, at dead of +night, the bleak, desolate valley extending towards the north. +Cheong-Chau himself led the way, following a path, carrying in his hand +a large Chinese lantern suspended from a pole about six feet long.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Daylight found them still upon the line-of-march. They had by then +ascended to a high altitude, where the atmosphere was both cold and +damp. The crests of the mountains were wreathed in a thin white mist, +similar to that which is found in Scotland, which drenched them to the +skin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They were brought to a halt at the mouth of a certain cave, in a very +desolate, inhospitable region--a country of sheer barren slopes, rugged +peaks and turbulent mountain streams that descended thousands of feet +in series of roaring cataracts. They had been conducted to a spot upon +the globe's surface where, in all probability, no white man had ever +been before.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The entrance to the cave was hidden behind an enormous boulder, almost +as big as a fair-sized house, which balanced itself upon the very brink +of a steep slope that descended at an angle of about forty-five +degrees. Upon these slopes a few withered shrubs were growing: +leafless, twisted things, tortured by the bitter east winds that swept +those cheerless valleys.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Inside, the cave was comparatively comfortable. In the centre a wood +fire was burning brightly, and though this filled the place with smoke, +it served to introduce both light and warmth into that gloomy prison; +for indeed the cave was destined, for many days to come, to play the +part of a prison. For all that, some attempt had been made to give +this place a homely aspect. Several Chinese mats were spread upon the +floor, and there were wooden shelves loaded with provisions: dried +fish, rice, and bags of green China tea.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>To give so redoubtable a rogue as Cheong-Chau the little justice he +deserves, it must be stated that his captives were treated with every +consideration. They were well fed, on simple Chinese food, which must +have been carried miles across the desolate mountains upon the backs of +coolies. They were given straw mattresses upon which to sleep, and +were allowed to warm themselves by the fire. Mr Waldron--as the only +member of the party who was a stranger to the country--expressed the +greatest anxiety in regard to their fate. His mind was filled with +vague fears to the effect that their lives were being preserved in +order that they might eventually be tortured. He had interested +himself in all manner of gruesome subjects; he had heard of the "death +by a thousand cuts," the Chinese "corkscrew," and the wholesale manner +in which Cantonese executions were usually carried out. None the less, +he was not afraid. He was a man who had led a hard life, who had faced +danger more than once, and who had learnt--in spite of his riches--to +regard his own existence as by no means an essential part of the great +scheme of universal things. He speculated in regard to his destiny +after the manner of a man who backs horses without knowing anything +whatsoever about what--for some reason or other--has been called "the +sport of kings."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, Judge," said he, "I don't cotton to this notion of a thousand +cuts. Guess one cut's enough for me. If they're going to kill us, why +don't they do it and have done with it, instead of stuffing us full of +rice and rotten fish?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sir Thomas shook his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There is every reason to suppose," he answered, "that this is a case +of ransom. If this rascal had meant to murder us he would have done so +before emptying our pockets of all the money, watches and valuables in +our possession. You may be sure, Mr Waldron, he has brought us here +for a purpose. That is not troubling me in the least."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It troubles me," said the American. "I left Paradise City with the +idea of seeing the world; but I guess, Judge, this is one side of human +experience that it was not my original intention to investigate. Wish +I was back in Nevada."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank Armitage laughed aloud. It was the first time he had done so +since the calamity had befallen them. Sir Thomas sat cross-legged by +the fire, stirring the embers with a stick, his brows set in a frown.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Even now," said he, in a quiet voice, "even now I can't realise that +Yung How is the unmitigated villain he is."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank bit his lip. "If I ever get the chance," said he, "I'll be even +with that scoundrel."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He has been in my service," continued Sir Thomas, "for nearly seven +years. During the whole of that period he has never once given me +cause to suspect or to mistrust him. That shows you very clearly, Mr +Waldron, what a subtle rascal a Chinaman can be. For seven years he +has been obedient, faithful, and even honest; and yet--it is now +apparent--all that time he was but waiting his chance."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr Waldron made a wry face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Guess he might have waited another seven years," said he, "or at least +till I was clear of Hong-Kong. Why his chance should have come the +moment I arrive in the colony is a mystery to me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am sorry to say, Mr Waldron," said Sir Thomas, "I can't regard that +coincidence in the light of a mystery. I have a very shrewd suspicion +that your wealth is the sole cause of all our trouble."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not the first time," added Mr Waldron, "by a long chalk, that money +has led to disaster. I tell you frankly, I was a happier man in the +old days--when I lived on fifteen dollars a week--than after I had made +my pile."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I can very well believe it," said Sir Thomas. "That, however, doesn't +alter the situation in the least. Mark my words, very soon Cheong-Chau +will show his hand."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It is clear that the judge had correctly estimated both the +circumstances of the case and the character of Cheong-Chau; for +scarcely had the last words left his lips when the brigand chieftain +himself entered the cave, accompanied by Men-Ching, his +second-in-command.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau seated himself cross-legged upon the ground, and for a few +moments warmed his hands by the fire, without uttering a word. Then he +spoke in the Cantonese language, addressing himself to the judge:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Those who fall into the hands of Cheong-Chau," said he, "must purchase +their freedom in silver </span><em class="italics">taels</em><span> or in blood."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The judge did not reply. After a pause Cheong-Chau continued. Though +he was a little man, his voice was both deep and guttural. He spoke +slowly and with great deliberation, as if particularly desirous that +his words should not be misunderstood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I make you a fair offer," said he. "It is not my habit to mince +matters. I hold you captive. You are my prisoner. I can do with you +what I like. No one will ever find you here. Neither can you escape; +day and night there are sentries at the mouth of the cave. They tell +me that you have the reputation of being a wise man. If that is so, +you cannot fail to see that you and your companions are in my +power--birds caught in the fowler's net."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He paused again and looked at the judge, who merely nodded his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This is my offer," he continued. "After I have explained matters I +shall give you ten minutes in which to make up your mind. You are to +write a letter to the Governor of Hong-Kong, or to anyone else you may +choose. In that letter you are to say that your life, and the lives of +those who are with you, are in the hands of Cheong-Chau, and that +Cheong-Chau demands, as the price of your freedom, the sum of twenty +thousand Hong-Kong dollars, to be paid in cash before the new moon."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Having laid down his conditions, the man remained silent whilst the +judge explained the meaning of his words to Mr Waldron.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is as I told you," said Sir Thomas. "Twenty thousand dollars. The +rascal certainly cannot be accused of being modest."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr Waldron snapped his fingers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So far as I am concerned," said he, "he can have it. Don't let the +money worry you, Judge. I've paid that for a picture."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The judge turned to Cheong-Chau and asked him to continue. The man +grinned--an unholy grin of fiendish satisfaction. To him and his +cut-throats the sum was more than a fortune; it would serve to keep the +whole gang of them in luxury for the rest of their lives.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The matter," said he, "is quite simple to arrange. Write your letter, +and I will undertake to have it conveyed to Hong-Kong. The moon is but +three days old. We have therefore twenty-five days. Together with +your letter I will send one of my own, in which I propose to demand +that the money be left hidden in a certain place upon the Sang River, +not far from Canton. If the whole of this sum is safely deposited in +the proper place before the conclusion of the waning of the moon, you +and your friends shall be set at liberty. If, however, for any reason, +the ransom is not paid, I swear by the Five Sacred Books that all three +of you will be put to death. Concerning the manner of your death," he +added, "I say nothing--beyond a warning that those who die by order of +Cheong-Chau die neither easily nor swiftly."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man got to his feet.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And now," said he, "you have ten minutes in which to discuss the +question with your friends, in which to make up your mind. Say that +you agree, and my messenger leaves for Hong-Kong within an hour. +Refuse, and you die before another sun has risen."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>With that Cheong-Chau turned upon his heel and, followed by Men-Ching, +shuffled from the cave.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-vii-how-the-letter-was-written"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id8"><span>CHAPTER VII--HOW THE LETTER WAS WRITTEN</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Neither the judge nor Mr Waldron desired so much as ten minutes in +which to arrive at a decision. Twenty thousand dollars is by no means +an impossible sum to a man who is a millionaire. Even the judge +himself would have found little difficulty in producing the money with +a few days' notice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau, and even Yung How, who was more conversant with the +manners and customs of Europeans, had underestimated the wealth of Mr +Waldron. To them twenty thousand dollars represented almost fabulous +wealth. It never occurred to them that they might have asked twice as +much, and secured it with no greater difficulty; for we meet the real +miser more in fiction and in fable than in real life, and there are few +men who will not part readily with the whole of their fortune in +exchange for the most valuable of all human possessions: life, the +right to walk upon the face of the earth, to breathe the air of heaven.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau re-entered the cave, holding in the palm of his hand the +gold watch he had stolen from Mr Waldron.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ten minutes," said he. "I trust you are ready with your answer."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Men-Ching stood at his side, and behind his back was a score of his +ruffians, each man with a naked sword.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We have considered your proposal," said the judge, "and we agree to +it." He spoke the Cantonese language with difficulty, and his +pronunciation was faulty. However, there is little doubt that +Cheong-Chau understood him, for the man nodded his head with an air of +satisfaction.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You are wise," said he. "Rumour has not lied."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"One moment," said Sir Thomas, taking him up. "There is one question +we would ask you. If the money is sent from Hong-Kong, and taken in +safety to your hiding-place, what guarantee do you propose to give us +that you will set us at liberty or even spare our lives?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How would I gain by killing you?" asked the bandit, with a shrug of +his narrow shoulders.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I have lived in China," said the judge, "for more than thirty years. +I know that there are men in this country--and I see no reason why you +should not be numbered amongst them--to whom murder is a pastime, who +kill for the sake of killing, who derive a fiendish pleasure from +torturing the innocent."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau carried a hand to his face and stroked his wrinkled chin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I see that you are prudent," said he. "For myself, I never bargain +with fools."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you mean," asked the judge, "if the conditions are fulfilled on our +part, you will guarantee our safety?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I mean no such thing," said Cheong-Chau. "I guarantee nothing."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then we have naught to rely upon," the judge answered, "but your +oath--the oath of a robber?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is so," said the other.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And may I ask," said the judge, "how much Cheong-Chau reverences the +Five Sacred Books?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Chinese answered nothing, but stretched forth a hand, and +deliberately snapped his fingers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sir Thomas shrugged his shoulders and turned away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We must make the best of a bad business," said he to Mr Waldron. "I +tell you frankly, I don't trust these men. I know what such scoundrels +are."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He spoke in English, and whilst he did so was conscious of a gentle +touch upon the shoulder. He turned and beheld Men-Ching, who presented +him with a brass Chinese ink-box, a large piece of rice-paper and a +writing-brush. "Write your letter," said the old man, "to the English +Viceroy of Hong-Kong. Tell him that the sum of twenty thousand +dollars, in silver, must be hidden under the red stone in the Glade of +Children's Tears, before the waning of the moon."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Where is this place?" asked Sir Thomas.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"On the Sang-kiang, five Chinese </span><em class="italics">li</em><span> to the north of the city of +Canton. A narrow path leads due north from the Five-Storied Pagoda. +This path crosses the hills and descends into the valley of the Sang +River--a very beauteous place."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Are they long </span><em class="italics">li</em><span>?" asked Sir Thomas, understanding well the +vagueness of all Chinese measurements, "or short </span><em class="italics">li</em><span>?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They are short </span><em class="italics">li</em><span>," answered Men-Ching, "for the road runs up-hill +until you come to the last </span><em class="italics">li</em><span>, where the traveller descends into a +wide valley of ricefields and fruit trees, li-chi and mango. In the +Sang valley there is a tall tower, from the top of which, in days gone +by, fathers were wont to throw the she-children they could not afford +to keep. A woman child is no use in the world. From the day of her +birth to the day of her death she does little else but talk. On the +west side of the tower is a small wood, and in the centre of this wood +is a glade where the birds sing in summer-time, whilst the water of the +river makes sweet and pleasant music. In the glade are rocks; but in +one place there is a great red stone, almost round. Two strong men can +roll it away from the place where it is; but they must use all their +strength. And when the red stone is rolled away, it will be seen that +it rests upon a great hole in the ground. It is like the lid of a +kettle. Inside this hole there is room enough for twenty thousand +dollars."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The judge had listened intently, committing each detail to memory. A +little after, Men-Ching left the cave, and the three white men found +themselves together. Sir Thomas turned to his nephew.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you hear what the rascal said, Frank?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Every word," replied the boy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And you remember it all?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank nodded.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then," said the judge, "help me to write this letter. It will be by +no means easy to write. I shall have to explain matters very clearly +to Sir John, and I've got to write it with a brush."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the temple they had been deprived of their pencils and notebooks, +and everything else their pockets contained, and these had not been +brought by Cheong-Chau to the cave. Otherwise Sir Thomas might have +asked for his own fountain pen. As it was, he was now obliged to write +in English characters with a Chinese brush, and this was a tedious +business. In the end, however, the letter was written, covering in all +five pages of Chinese rice-paper, in shape longer than foolscap, but +not so broad.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sir Thomas had written fully. He had explained where and by whom they +had been captured; he even went so far as to give the name of the +bandit chieftain and to relate how he had been betrayed by his own +personal servant, Yung How. He said that he had not the slightest +doubt that, if the rascals were not paid in full upon the stroke of +time, the three of them would be ruthlessly put to death. He ended the +letter by explaining the exact whereabouts of the "Glade of Children's +Tears," describing the red stone beneath which the ransom money was to +be hidden. He also expressed the opinion that it would be useless to +endeavour to capture the brigands in the neighbourhood of the glade +itself, and he strongly advised the Governor not to attempt to lay an +ambush. He pointed out that such a plan would most assuredly fail, +since the Chinese were sure to exercise the utmost caution, and to have +spies in the neighbourhood. Moreover, the discovery of such a plan +would undoubtedly lead to the immediate death of Sir Thomas himself and +his companions. It would be time enough to think of reprisals, of +taking steps to track down the brigands, after the judge and his party +had returned safely to the island.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As the judge wrote, aided by the flickering light of a torch, Frank and +Mr Waldron looked over his shoulder, each offering occasional +suggestions.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do I understand," asked Mr Waldron, "that you don't trust these +fellows?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am afraid I am very far from trusting them," replied the judge. +"Men of this type, in this mysterious, savage country, are as often as +not without honour, cruel beyond description, and incapable of showing +mercy. Moreover, in moments of delight--I know for a fact--they are +capable of committing the most terrible atrocities. I don't wish to +alarm you unnecessarily, Mr Waldron, but I tell you honestly that I +fear the future. Sir John will send the money, provided the letter +reaches him in safety--which I have no doubt it will. But once the +money is in Cheong-Chau's possession, it is quite possible he will kill +us, out of sheer devilry, in the moment of his triumph."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr Waldron thrust his hands into his trousers pockets, and shaped his +lips as if he desired to whistle. No sound, however, came from his +lips. He paced backwards and forwards in the cave like a wild beast +that is hungry. For all that, upon his clear-cut, regular features +there was no sign of apprehension. His manner suggested impatience +more than fear.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It's just cruel luck," said he, as though he were speaking to himself. +"Guess I can't look upon it in any other light. Why did I leave +Paradise City!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There's not much paradise about this," said Frank, taking in his hand +a burnt stick and stirring the embers of the fire. A flame sprang +forth that illumined the rugged walls of the cave. Here and there upon +the hard rock were narrow, streaky grooves, where the moisture had +trickled down.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We're helpless," Mr Waldron burst out, "helpless as the little +children these fiends used to throw from the top of that tower. That's +what gets me on the raw, Judge. I never before felt helpless. In the +course of my life, I have found myself in a great many awkward places; +but I have always been able to see a way out and I have made good in +the end. This thing's different. Hennessy K. Waldron may be a great +man in the state of Nevada; but in this blamed country I guess he don't +count more than a copper cash."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And Mr Hennessy K. Waldron was about right--a copper cash, in the +coinage of China, having the approximate value of the fifth part of a +farthing.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-viii-and-how-frank-resolved-to-follow-it"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id9"><span>CHAPTER VIII--AND HOW FRANK RESOLVED TO FOLLOW IT</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>That same evening, Men-Ching, accompanied by another man, set forth +upon his journey to the south. It was calculated that he could reach +the river in five days, though to do so he would have to travel by +night as well as day. The prisoners had little doubt that he would +find a river-junk at Pinglo or at some other river-side village where +the brigands had established outposts. With the help of the current +and a favourable wind, he could reach Canton in a few days, and thence +the last stage of the journey could be completed by steam-boat--ships +leaving Canton for Hong-Kong at least twice a day.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There was, therefore, plenty of time--provided no mishap befell +him--for Men-Ching to fulfil his mission. Cheong-Chau, who knew his +business, had taken steps to convince the Governor that the plight of +the judge was genuine. He had included in the envelope containing his +own letter a gold signet ring, which he himself had taken from the +finger of Sir Thomas.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When Men-Ching left the cave it was raining hard. He brought the two +letters to the fireside, desiring in all probability to satisfy the +prisoners that there was to be no mistake, that he was not going to +take any risks. He took off his faded scarlet coat, ripped up the +lining with a sharp knife, and sewed the letters inside. That done, he +tied a sash around his waist, threw a straw raincoat across his +shoulders, and put on a large straw hat such as the coolies wear when +at work in the southern ricefields. Then he and his companion +departed, Men-Ching carrying in his hand a long stick. They followed +the narrow path that traversed that bare, desolate region, at one +moment on the crest-line of a watershed, at another upon the very brink +of a precipice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The rain descended in torrents, shutting out completely the last rays +of the setting sun. A great darkness descended upon the wilderness. +The water in the gullies and ravines mounted with the rapidity of +quicksilver; and presently the night was alive with savage, discordant +sounds: the wind howling amongst the rocks, the roar of cataracts, +turbulent streams plunging, as if demented, down the mountain-side. +But in spite of the darkness and the rain, Men-Ching and his companion +continued to move rapidly towards the south. He was an old man, as we +know, but he was by no means inactive. Also, he knew every inch of the +road. It was probably for that reason that Cheong-Chau had selected +him to undertake the journey.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They did not halt to rest until many hours after daybreak, and then +snatched only a few hours' sleep, after eating a handful of rice. The +storm had cleared. Men-Ching took off his raincoat, and stretched it +out upon the ground, in order that it might dry in the sun. Placing +both his hands upon his faded scarlet coat, he expressed the greatest +satisfaction to find that it was absolutely dry. The letters were +safe; he could feel them inside the lining. There was no chance that +the rain had washed out the ink. Indeed, in the whole world, there is +probably no more efficient waterproof garment than the straw raincoat +of the Far East.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In course of time Men-Ching gained the southern extremity of the +Nan-ling Mountains, at a place not far from the town of Pinglo. The +rich, fertile valley lay before him, extending as far as the eye could +reach. He had left behind him China, the desolate, the barbarous, the +unknown; before him lay China, the civilised, the prosperous, the land +of ceaseless industry and untold wealth.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And there, for the time being, we may leave him, still travelling +towards the south upon his robber's errand. We will leave him to his +fate, to the mercy of the heathen gods he may or may not have +worshipped. His destiny was already sealed, though little did +Men-Ching dream that that was so.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the cave, day followed day, so far as the captives were concerned, +with the same dreary monotony; the same fears and half-foolish hopes. +They could take no exercise, and they had no books to read. There was +nothing for them to do but to talk, to discuss amongst themselves the +tragedy of their position.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And as time passed they had less and less reason to trust Cheong-Chau, +to think that they could rely upon his word. The man proved himself a +reprobate. He was an opium drunkard; and that is a thing not so common +in China as the majority of Europeans imagine.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It is true that opium is smoked throughout the length and breadth of +the East. Indeed, the opium pipe in China is the equivalent to the +British workman's glass of beer, and opium dens in that country are as +common as public-houses in this.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At the same time, most Chinese are only moderate smokers. They do not +smoke enough opium even to injure their health. The reason for this is +obvious: opium, even in China, is very expensive, and the ordinary man +cannot afford to buy much of it. Neither does opium happen to be a +drug that does a great deal of harm unless it is taken in excess; it +probably does infinitely less harm than alcohol. If taken in large +doses, however, its results are disastrous and terrible.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For some reason or other--never explained by physiologists--repeated +doses of opium sap the moral fibre. A man begins to smoke opium in a +small way, but after a time he finds that he has to smoke double the +quantity of pipes in order to get the desired result. And so on, until +he finds himself taking doses that would kill one who was not inured to +the drug. By that time he has lost everything a man should value most: +his sense of honour, his will power, much of his physical strength, and +his power of concentration. He is a degenerate whose mind is filled +with the foulest, most perverted fancies, who is a stranger to truth, +and who delights as often as not in committing the most fiendish of +crimes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now Cheong-Chau was evidently such a man; for one night he rolled into +the cave, awakening his captives--who for many hours had been fast +asleep--by the blasphemy and violence of his language. His gait was +unsteady; the pupils of his eyes, visible in the bright light of the +fire, were small as pinheads. He carried in his hand a naked sword.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am Cheong-Chau," he shrieked. "Death to all foreign devils who dare +set foot upon the sacred soil of China!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Bursting into a loud laugh, he raised his sword as if he would strike +down Mr Waldron, who had risen to his feet.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Stay," cried the judge. "Have we not your oath--that if the money is +paid you will not stain your hands in blood?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oath!" cried the robber. "What are oaths and blood to me? Am I a +Canton flower-girl or a Buddhist priest that I should not shed blood +when the fancy takes me? Know that I am Cheong-Chau, the robber, who +cares for neither oaths nor gods nor men."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For some reason or other he had singled out the American; and it looked +most certain that, at that moment, the life of Mr Hennessy K. Waldron +was in the greatest danger. However, Mr Waldron never moved an inch; +he neither drew back nor showed the slightest sign of alarm. He held +his ground, staring the villain boldly in the face.</span></p> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 61%" id="figure-63"> +<span id="mr-waldron-never-moved-an-inch"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="MR. WALDRON NEVER MOVED AN INCH." src="images/img-086.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">MR. WALDRON NEVER MOVED AN INCH.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was, in all probability, solely his courage that saved him. The +Chinese was so low down in the scale of humanity that he was not far +removed from the beasts; and it is well known that no animal can for +any length of time look a strong man in the eyes. The eyes of Mr +Waldron were those of one who had carved a way for himself in the +world, who--starting life in a very humble sphere--had conquered a +thousand difficulties; thereby proving himself a strong man who could +not fail to be conscious of his strength.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau was unable to maintain his threatening and defiant attitude +before that steel-grey, steady gaze. Slowly his sword descended; his +eyes dropped to the ground. Mr Waldron, with admirable calmness, +deliberately placed a hand upon the man's shoulder, and addressed him +in the English language in a tone that was even kindly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, old cockolorum," said he, "you ought to retire from business. +You're doing yourself no good, you know. Guess you want a good six +weeks at some quiet seaside resort, where there's no more excitement +than a dance-hall or a merry-go-round. Take the missus and the kids."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau turned away with an oath. No doubt he supposed that Mr +Waldron had delivered a brief speech, somewhat in the tragic vein, +suitable to the occasion; for neither in the expression upon the +American's face nor in the serious tones of his voice was there +anything to convey the intelligence that Mr Waldron was disposed to be +frivolous.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For all that, they could not overlook the fact that, whether or not the +ransom were paid, their lives were in the greatest danger. The man who +held them in his power was subject to ungovernable fits of wrath, +during which his mental condition bordered upon that type of insanity +which is inseparable from the truly criminal character. At such +times--which invariably followed a debauch of opium +smoking--Cheong-Chau was certainly not responsible for his actions; and +discussing the question among themselves, they came to the conclusion +that at any moment the order to murder them might be issued. By no +such act of treachery could the brigand forfeit the ransom, since both +the prisoners and Cheong-Chau himself had no means of direct +communication with Hong-Kong. Men-Ching should be now well upon his +way, approaching the city of Canton.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was Mr Waldron who suggested that one of them should endeavour to +escape. At first, this idea struck the judge as a piece of outrageous +folly, since if one of the three even did succeed in getting away from +the cave and crossing the mountains--a very unlikely contingency--the +murderous Cheong-Chau would be so furious that he would probably not +hesitate to make short work of the unfortunate two who remained. On +debating the matter, however, Mr Waldron was able to throw quite +another light upon the situation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He explained that if a survivor reached Hong-Kong who could not only +identify Cheong-Chau himself and the majority of his men, but who could +actually guide an avenging expedition to the neighbourhood of the cave, +the brigands would be hunted from pillar to post, and if not captured, +certainly driven from the province. The robber could not be unaware +that in the British colony were both English and Indian troops, whilst +a large fleet lay at anchor in the harbour, and he must have known +enough of the British Government to remember that the cold-blooded +murder of British citizens was an act not likely to be overlooked. He +could not wish to involve both himself and the members of his gang in +international complications. He would therefore, in all probability, +hesitate to do away with his captives.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It is true that an attempt to escape might fail, in which case the +plight of the prisoners would be, if anything, somewhat worse. But in +any case, as day succeeded day, they became more and more convinced +that Cheong-Chau intended to kill them. He did but bide his time, +waiting to hear news of Men-Ching to the effect that the ransom had +been duly paid. For these reasons it was eventually decided that one +of them should endeavour to escape.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was next necessary to settle who should go. The judge himself was +too old to attempt to cross the mountains alone upon so long and +hazardous a journey. The choice, therefore, lay between Frank Armitage +and Mr Waldron.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The American--who had already proved himself a man of the greatest +courage, both physical and moral--was naturally anxious to take the +risk himself. However, he could not be blind to the fact that he +laboured under several very serious disadvantages.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the first place, he was entirely ignorant of both the language and +the country. He knew neither the habits and customs of the people nor +the topography of Southern China. Frank, on the other hand, had been +born and had lived all his life in China; on many a former occasion he +had proved himself quite capable of conversing even with the most +untutored and obstinate peasants. Moreover, the boy was the most +active member of the party: he was a good runner; he could climb, if +necessary, to the top of mountain peaks, and he was an adept at +swimming--an important item, since he might have to cross the West +River, as well as several tributaries, in order to reach Canton or the +coast.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was this consideration that settled the question in the mind of Mr +Waldron. The American was obliged to confess that he could not swim +except for a short distance in salt water. If he endeavoured to cross +the strong current of a great river without even taking his clothes +off, he would most assuredly drown.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And in that case," he observed, "I might as well have stayed here to +have my throat cut in my sleep, or sample the death by a thousand cuts."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He spoke of such atrocities as if they were nothing. He was so calm +about it all that the judge looked at him, wondering whether he was one +of the few really brave men in the world, or whether he was entirely +devoid of imagination. In any case, Mr Waldron withdrew his claim to +be allowed to undertake the adventure; and the choice fell upon Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Once this all-important question was settled, it was obvious that there +was nothing to be gained--indeed, there was much to lose--by putting +off Frank's departure. The sooner he was away the better, though they +did not then realise the supreme importance of time, the alarming fact +that the lives both of Sir Thomas and Mr Waldron were to hang upon the +thin thread of a few seconds.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was decided that Frank should endeavour to make his escape from the +cave that night. It was in the act of passing the sentries, posted at +the entrance, that the bulk of his danger would lie. Once the boy +succeeded in getting away from the cave, his absence would probably not +be discovered until the following morning. He would, in that case, +have several hours' start of any pursuers whom Cheong-Chau might think +fit to send after him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank had already considered the contingency of making a dash for +liberty. He had, so far as he had been able to do so from the interior +of the cave, studied the lie of the land. He had noticed that the +sentries were not particularly vigilant and that they were armed with +old-fashioned, out-of-date fire-arms which they possibly knew not how +to use. One of these was a Martini-Henry carbine, and Frank had on one +occasion seen a Chinese trying in vain to lower the lever, which was so +rusted on to the lock that it was quite certain that the breech could +never be opened.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Immediately before the entrance to the cave was the huge boulder, or +rock, which has already been described. On either side of this rock a +sentry was always posted. But these men did not necessarily face the +cave. Indeed, as often as not, they looked the other way, interesting +themselves in the wide panorama extended before them. None the less, +since the two passages on either side of the boulder were very narrow, +one could never hope to pass without being seen. Escape that way, +therefore, was impossible without a struggle, which meant that the +alarm would be given and a party would immediately start in pursuit of +the fugitive.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This was what Frank most wanted to avoid. He knew that his attempt was +doomed to failure if he did not succeed in getting well away. He +therefore examined the rock itself, and saw at once that it would be +quite easy to climb to the top of it. Since he could not pass </span><em class="italics">round</em><span> +this obstacle he would have to go </span><em class="italics">over</em><span> it. On the other side, as he +knew, was the steep mountain slope descending hundreds of feet to the +bed of the valley. Whether he could climb down the slope at all, much +less do so silently, so as not to be overheard by the sentries, was +another question. He was resolved, however, to take the risk. It was +clear that there was no other alternative. It was a perilous business, +but he must make the best of it, trusting to Providence, as well as his +own agility and presence of mind.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-ix-of-the-hospitality-of-the-tea-grower"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id10"><span>CHAPTER IX--OF THE HOSPITALITY OF THE TEA-GROWER</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>They waited until nearly midnight, when Cheong-Chau and his ruffians +were sound asleep, and only the sentries awake. That day, both Sir +Thomas and Mr Waldron had eaten no food since the morning meal, so that +Frank might not set forth upon his journey unprovided. He would +certainly not be able to procure anything to eat in the desolate +mountain region, though with his intimate knowledge of the Chinese +language the boy should not experience any difficulty in procuring +rice, millet, or even fish, in the valley of the main river.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The most precarious part of the whole business, however, was to escape +unseen from the cave. In this, neither of the older men could render +the slightest assistance to the boy, who would have to rely solely upon +his own initiative. All three lay down upon their straw mattresses, +and pretended to sleep, breathing heavily and even snoring, in order to +arouse no suspicion on the part of the two sentries. They had +purposely allowed the fire to burn down quite low, so that there was +only an exceedingly dim and somewhat fitful light in the cave.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Choosing a moment about an hour after the sentries had been relieved, +Frank Armitage rose stealthily upon his hands and knees, and slowly +began to crawl towards the entrance to the cave. Neither his uncle nor +Mr Waldron moved. The latter continued to snore.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank approached the entrance from an angle, whence he peered +cautiously round the corner. He was surprised, and somewhat dismayed, +by the exceeding brightness of the night. The sky was wonderfully +clear; a full, round moon illumined the rugged mountain ridges, making +them appear so white that they might have been snow-clad, whereas the +valleys seemed by contrast to be buried in the deepest shadow. By +reason of the firelight in the cave, the brightness of the moon, +attended by a solitary and gorgeous planet, had not been noticeable +from within.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The light, however, enabled Frank to take stock of the sentry who was +on the same side of the boulder as himself. He was able to observe the +man at his leisure, since he himself was in the shade.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man was evidently wide awake, for he was moving his arms backwards +and forwards with a kind of rocking gesture. His back was turned. He +sat cross-legged upon the ground, upon a plaited mat of straw, +surveying the magnificent scene that extended before him. Perhaps, +despite his brutal features, and low, receding forehead, there was at +least a spark of sensibility, a small power to appreciate the beautiful +in nature and the most wonderful works of God, in the untutored mind of +this Chinese robber and cut-throat. At any rate, he seemed in a kind +of ecstasy, for he was talking softly to himself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank silently crawled across the entrance. And there was the other +man, walking slowly to and fro, stamping his feet from time to time, as +if he suffered from the cold. Clearly, it would be madness to attempt +to escape until this fellow had settled down. He was far too wide +awake.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy lay flat upon his face, in a position not exposed to the +moonlight. Here he was sure he could not be seen, whereas he was well +able to observe the walking sentry.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Five minutes elapsed, ten, a quarter of an hour. Frank was becoming +anxious. Perhaps the man never would sit down; perhaps he did not +intend to relax his vigilance until another came to relieve him of his +duties.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Even as the thought crossed the boy's mind, the man stopped, yawned +loudly, and then, seating himself upon the ground with his back resting +against the great central rock, produced an opium pipe and proceeded to +roll a pill.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank's heart was in his mouth. He knew that the moment of his great +ordeal had come. The man had played into his hands; for not only was +the opium bound to make him drowsy, but he had planted himself in the +very situation that gave the boy his best opportunity. Frank intended +to climb over the central boulder, and had already satisfied himself +that the ascent would be a matter of no difficulty at all.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>What lay beyond was another question. He had never had any means of +ascertaining whether or not he would be able to climb down the other +side of the rock, much less make the descent of the slope. He who is +over-cautious will, however, accomplish nothing. The traveller who +considers the pitfalls in his way and the many dangers that lurk upon +the highroad makes little or no progress, and as often as not fails to +arrive at his destination. He who would gain all must risk all; he who +will risk nothing gains nothing--or, at least, does not deserve to do +so.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank glanced back into the cave. By the dim light of the fire he was +able to see that both his uncle and Mr Waldron were stretched at full +length upon their mattresses, looking up. No doubt each was unable to +bear the continued suspense, the silence that had endured so long, but +must take one last look at him who carried with him the fortunes of all +three.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy glided into the shadow of the rock. There he paused a moment, +waiting breathlessly to learn whether or not he had been observed +whilst he was crossing the narrow strip of moonlight. A minute passed, +and as nothing happened Frank knew that he was still safe.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Then, very slowly, he began to climb. He had taken off his boots, and +these were suspended by means of the laces around his neck. He was +careful not to make the slightest sound; he was fearful almost to +breathe. He knew that the whole enterprise was in jeopardy, that at +any moment a loose stone might fall from the rock, thus attracting the +attention of the sentries.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He succeeded in gaining the top, and there lay flat upon his face. +Knowing that the utmost caution was of far more importance than haste, +he did not move for some time. Then, slowly lifting his head, he took +in his surroundings.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The sentry on the right had not shifted his position. He still rocked +his arms and sat staring straight at the moon. The man on the left was +invisible to Frank, being immediately under the rock. He had probably +smoked his pipe of opium, and was now in that semi-dazed, +self-satisfied condition that invariably follows an administration of +the drug. The boy wormed himself forward, until he had gained the +furthermost edge of the rock, which was flat-topped, like a table. +Thence he was able to see into the second cave, where Cheong-Chau and +his men were fast asleep, lying close as dogs around the dying embers +of a great charcoal fire.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When Frank peered over the edge of the rock, in order to decide upon +the most suitable means of descent, his heart for a moment failed him. +It was as if he was gazing down into one of the uttermost pits of Hades.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The cliff appeared to be perpendicular, which the boy knew was not the +case. Moreover, it seemed to descend to eternity, to fade away into a +great expanse of darkness that was like the sea. It occurred to him +that if by any chance he slipped and fell, his body would be dashed to +atoms thousands of feet below.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Then fortunately he had the strength of mind to remember that +imagination makes cowards of us all. It was no affair of his what lay +at the bottom of the valley; his immediate business was to descend from +the top of the rock, and he had therefore best confine his attention to +the few square yards in front of him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Immediately he did so he saw that he was confronted by a proposition by +no means difficult of solution. To descend was easy enough. In the +face of the rock was a narrow cleft down which it would be quite easy +to climb. Without hesitating an instant, he lowered himself, and in a +few seconds found himself at the base of the rock, where he again +paused and listened.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was so close to the man whom he had seen light the opium pipe that +he could actually hear him breathing. Neither, however, could see the +other, since the sharp corner of the rock intervened. However, the +situation was so dangerous that Frank was resolved to have no more of +it than he need; and almost at once he began to descend on all fours +the steep face of the cliff.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He realised that in the first ten yards or so his greatest danger lay. +He could not tell for certain whether or not he was within sight of +either of the men. He could but take the only possible precaution. +Lying almost flat upon his face, he slid, very slowly indeed, at about +what seemed to him a snail's pace, down the smooth, rocky slope.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In three minutes he knew that he was out of immediate danger. He had +escaped. Moreover, no alarm had been given.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Two courses now lay open to him: he might continue to descend until he +eventually reached the bottom of the valley, or he might work his way +along the cliff, parallel to the bridle-path above, until, having +gained comparative safety, he could ascend to the higher level and then +follow the road to the south.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He wisely selected the latter alternative, since he knew not whether +the slope was accessible lower down. Besides, it might so happen that +there was neither path nor road in the valley.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Owing to the steepness of the slope, he could not stand upright, nor +was there any need to do so. He could progress, if not with comfort, +at least at a very tolerable pace, on all fours.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He had traversed in this way a distance that, was probably about a +quarter of a mile, when he deemed that it would be safe to ascend to +the path above by means of which he and his fellow-captives had been +conducted to the cave. This he gained without difficulty, it being +easier to mount the slope than to progress transversely across it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Once upon the bridle-path he found the moonlight of the greatest +possible assistance; for having put on his boots he was able to set +forward running, knowing full well that every step lengthened the +distance between himself and those who he knew would certainly, sooner +or later, set forth in pursuit.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It would be wearisome to describe in detail Frank Armitage's +adventurous journey across the mountains. Sunrise found him still upon +the road, alternately walking and running, hurrying forward for life +itself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The fact that for three whole days he saw not a single soul speaks for +itself in regard to the desolation of this wilderness. On the morning +of the fourth day he found himself in the midst of the foot-hills, with +a clear view before him of the fertile valley of the West River. By +then he had consumed all the provisions he had brought with him from +the cave. He was, indeed, almost famishing, and felt tempted to take +almost any risk to procure something to eat. That afternoon he +encountered several peasants, who all regarded him with undisguised +curiosity. Knowing that Cheong-Chau was sure to have despatched a +party in pursuit, and realising the supreme importance of time, he +considered that it would be advisable to ask one of the inhabitants of +the country the shortest route to the nearest main tributary of the +river.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He selected his man with care, and after a considerable amount of +hesitation, addressed himself to a little thin, prosperous-looking +Chinaman of the middle class whom he overtook upon the narrow +mule-track he had followed for several miles.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On being interrogated, the Chinaman was not a little surprised, though +he was far too well-bred and polite to say so. He was surprised at two +things: first, he had never expected to meet with a European in such an +out-of-the-way corner of the province; secondly, he was amazed that the +young Englishman should address him so fluently in his own language.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You have travelled far?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"From Hong-Kong," answered Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is a long way."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is of the greatest importance," said Frank, "that I return without +delay."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Many days' journey is before you," said the Chinese. "I should be +greatly honoured if you would deign to accept such hospitality as my +miserable self is in a position to offer. I am a tea-grower," he +continued. "My house is not far from here. I should be deeply +gratified if you would eat rice under my dilapidated roof."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It immediately occurred to Frank that the tea-grower might be able to +assist him in more ways than one. He readily accepted the man's offer +in the manner duly approved by Chinese etiquette and custom.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Such a despicable, beggarly foreigner as myself," said he, "would be +inexpressibly delighted to partake, in your palatial residence, of such +nourishing and delicious provender as, I am sure, it is the custom of +yourself and your honoured family to consume."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Chinaman smiled.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You speak our language to perfection," he remarked. "Few foreigners +are able to do so. But what is even more extraordinary to me is that +you appear to be acquainted with our forms of ceremony. As a general +rule, the European cannot speak to you for five minutes without being +guilty of a dozen breaches of etiquette, defying every canon of good +behaviour."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You see," said Frank, "I have lived in China for many years."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come with me," said the tea-grower. "Allow me to have the honour of +conducting you to my hovel of a dwelling."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Together they followed the mule-track for about a quarter of a mile, +and then the Chinese turned to the left, walking along a narrow bank +that separated two flooded ricefields. Beyond they passed through a +field of </span><em class="italics">kiao-liang</em><span>, in the midst of which the crickets were singing +merrily, and then found themselves in an extensive tea-garden.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the centre of the garden was a considerable house, built after the +manner of all better-class houses in China--that is to say, a +one-storied rambling building, together with several outhouses and a +fair-sized yard, the whole surrounded by a mud wall about eight feet in +height. The building was situated upon a gentle slope that faced due +south, and from the outer gate it was possible to survey the greater +part of the plantation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Here the tea-grower entertained Frank Armitage. He gave him green tea +to drink and a cup of alcoholic beverage--called </span><em class="italics">samshu</em><span>--which is +made from fermented rice. And then came a dinner of about fourteen +courses. There were various kinds of fish, sharks' fins, larks' +tongues, birds'-nest soup, small pieces of meat on little skewers, +rice, millet and edible seaweed from Japan. Frank devoured all these +delicacies with a relish. It was not the first time that he had eaten +a Chinese dinner. Although the tea-grower lived in the wilds of the +province he was evidently a rich man. He had the true gift of +hospitality, and with more sincerity than is usually the case in China +he offered his guest everything that his house contained.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now Frank might have refused this offer. In fact, the rules of +ceremony decreed that he should do so. He had a mind, however, to +disguise himself, and he therefore begged the tea-grower to be so good +as to provide him with a suit of Chinese clothes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man did not hesitate. He supplied the boy with a long robe, a pair +of white trousers and a pair of felt-soled shoes. Thus attired, Frank +Armitage bade his host adieu and crossed the tea-garden late that +night, when the moon, which had guided him throughout the past three or +four days, was rising in the east.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The tea-grower seemed to have taken a fancy to the boy, for he +accompanied Frank almost a mile upon his journey, putting him upon the +road which led to the village in which the majority of his coolies, or +workpeople, lived. In bidding good-bye to him, Frank thanked the man +from his heart for all his hospitality and kindness. He shook hands +with himself in the approved Chinese fashion, and bowed so low that his +nose almost touched his knees. Then he was about to set forward alone +when the tea-grower cried out to him, asking him if he had any money.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank replied that he was without a cent in the world, telling the +truth--that he had been robbed of all he possessed in the mountains. +Whereupon the tea-grower took from his neck a long string of copper +cash. These he threw over the boy's head, at the same time quoting +Confucius: "</span><em class="italics">Be charitable to the stranger from a far country! so that, +when thou thyself art a stranger, doors may be opened to thy knock.</em><span>"</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-x-how-frank-was-in-luck-s-way"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id11"><span>CHAPTER X--HOW FRANK WAS IN LUCK'S WAY</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Frank found the village without any difficulty. Although it was then +almost midnight, there were lights in the majority of houses, and +several shops were open. The Chinese are a singular race. One of the +first things that strikes a visitor to that remarkable country is the +fact that the inhabitants never appear to go to bed. No people in the +world work harder by day, and no people in the world are more inclined +to talk, laugh, quarrel and gamble throughout the night, into the small +hours of the morning.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank marched boldly into a barber's shop, where he expressed a desire +to have the forepart of his head shaven. The barber could scarce +contain his astonishment when he observed that his patron had no +pigtail. He was vastly curious with regard to the matter, asking +several questions as he sharpened his big Chinese razor--which was +something after the shape and about the size of the business-end of a +Dutch hoe. Frank informed the man that he had been robbed, and no +doubt the fellow presumed that the robbers had cut off their victim's +queue.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy rightly supposed that he could talk quite frankly about his own +affairs in a village which was populated almost exclusively by honest +men who worked in the tea-gardens. But what most surprised him, and at +the same time afforded him the greatest possible satisfaction, was that +no one in the barber's shop appeared to notice the fact that he was a +European.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now a Chinaman can suffer no greater disgrace than the loss of his +pigtail. Viewed historically, this is a strange circumstance. The +mediæval Chinese did not wear pigtails. It was the Manchu race, who +conquered the Chinese in the fifteenth century, who grew their hair +long and plaited it in the well-known manner. The Manchus were +horsemen of whom it might be said that they almost worshipped their +horses, and the queue was originally grown in imitation of a horse's +tail. For the same reason the Manchu warriors adopted those wide +coat-sleeves, which even to this day are called "horseshoe sleeves." +It was mainly by means of their excellent cavalry that the Tartar +warriors were able to overcome the Chinese foot-soldiers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A conquering race invariably enforces certain obligations and +restrictions upon the vanquished, and one of the first Manchurian +imperial edicts issued was to the effect that all Chinese should adopt +the pigtail as a symbol of their submission to the dominant people. In +the course of a few centuries what was originally a token of defeat +became a source of national prejudice and pride. The Chinaman of the +nineteenth century was as loth to part with his pigtail as his +forefather had been to adopt it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The barber sympathised with Frank. Moreover, his sympathy took a +practical turn. He undertook for a few copper cash to supply the boy +with a new pigtail, and also to attach it to his head in such a manner +as would make it appear to be natural. All this, however, took time, +and it was past one o'clock in the morning when Frank Armitage left the +village and continued on his way, downhill, through tea-gardens and the +ricefields, following the narrow path which, he had been told, would +conduct him to the river.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>What the name of the river was he had not been able to ascertain. +Everybody he asked told him a different name. That is usually the case +in China. One man will say a village is called the Village of the Wu +family; another will say it is the Village of the Chin family; and a +third will be equally certain that it is called One-Tree Village. And +when you get there, you will find it is called Bad-Weather Village, or +the Village of Starving Dogs. Knowing this, Frank did not bother +himself about the name of the river. Provided he came to it, he would +be satisfied, since the water of that river must eventually find its +way into the main stream which flowed past Wu-chau to Canton, and +thence to the great estuary, at the mouth of which was the island of +Hong-Kong.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He reached the river at about midday. By then the heat in the valley +was excessive, and the boy thoroughly exhausted. He had been +travelling day and night for several days. With the exception of the +almost regal banquet he had enjoyed at the house of the tea-grower, he +had had insufficient nourishment. There had been few nights when he +had had more than three or four hours' sleep. He felt quite unable to +progress farther on foot.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He therefore hailed a fisherman whom he observed approaching down the +stream in a small </span><em class="italics">sampan</em><span>, or river-boat. The man--so soon as he +understood that a bargain was afoot--drew in to the bank and undertook +for an exceedingly small sum of money to take Frank down-stream to a +certain large town to which he himself was going. Frank got into the +boat, and lying down beneath the matted awning that sheltered the stern +part from the fierce rays of the sun, he was soon fast asleep. Whilst +he slept, he covered several miles of his journey. The fisherman had +hoisted a sail, and the wind being from the north, and the strength of +the current great, the boat travelled at a considerable velocity.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When the boy awoke, refreshed from his sleep, he found to his surprise +that the sun had set. Darkness was spreading rapidly, and a thick +white mist clung to the river-valley. The atmosphere, however, was +exceedingly close and humid, and the air was alive with myriads of +mosquitoes and gnats.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank asked the fisherman where they were, and the man replied, with +Oriental vagueness:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We come soon to Kwang-Chin," said he. "That is the end of my journey!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And where is Kwang-Chin?" asked Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Very nice town," replied the man, evading the question. "Plenty +cooked-dog shops. Little Kwang-Chin dogs are very good to eat, better +than little Canton dogs."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank knew the uselessness of trying to get anything definite out of +the fisherman. He therefore lay back in a comfortable attitude, and +gave himself up to thoughts of the perilous situation in which he had +left Mr Waldron and his uncle.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He wondered how far Men-Ching had progressed upon his journey to the +coast. So far as he could guess, the rascal should be already in +Canton. At the same time, though he did not know where the town of +Kwang-Chin was, he believed that he himself could not be far from the +great capital of Southern China. Canton was but a few hours by river +steamboat from Hong-Kong. The boy had therefore completed the greater +part of his journey.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They arrived at Kwang-Chin in the small hours of the morning, and Frank +could not persuade the fisherman to take him any farther. He was +therefore obliged to go ashore and attempt to find a lodging for what +remained of the night.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This was no easy matter, for the town appeared to consist of nothing +but opium dens. It was an old walled city, the ramparts and gateways +of which must have been built centuries before, in the days when China +was harassed and ravaged by continual internecine wars. Frank, who did +not feel capable of travelling farther that night, decided to wait till +morning, when he might be able to find another fisherman who would +consent to take him down-stream, probably as far as the main river, if +not to Canton itself. In the meantime, he realised that he could do +nothing better than snatch a few hours' additional rest, recognising +the fact that he would still be called upon to undergo considerable +hardships and dangers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He therefore plucked up courage, and entered the first opium den he +came to, in the doorway of which he had observed a light. He found +himself in an establishment similar in all respects to that which has +already been described as nourishing in the slums of Canton under the +proprietorship of Ah Wu. This place, however, was very much dirtier, +and--with the exception of Cheong-Chau's brigands--Frank had never seen +a more villainous collection of men than the habitués of the place, who +were sprawled in all manner of attitudes upon the various couches. And +then he was astounded, and at the same time considerably alarmed, to +observe that several of these coolies were wearing scarlet coats, +similar in all respects to those worn by the bandits. But, once +inside, he could not very well beat a hasty retreat. He summoned to +his aid all his presence of mind and addressed himself to the +proprietor, a venerable-looking man with gold-rimmed spectacles and a +white goat's-beard.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I desire, for a few hours," said the boy, speaking in his best +idiomatic Cantonese, "a couch upon which to sleep. I am a poor man," +he added, "but I will pay you to the best of my ability."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You will not smoke opium?" asked the host, opening his eyes in +surprise.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I have not the habit," said Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The proprietor adjusted his spectacles upon the very tip of his nose +and regarded the boy from over the top of the glasses.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How very remarkable!" he observed. "Every man, however, can please +himself. You may certainly sleep here. My charge is forty </span><em class="italics">cash</em><span>."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now forty cash is the equivalent of two-pence, and this does not appear +to the European mind to be an exorbitant charge for a night's lodging. +But Frank Armitage knew the Chinese character. He had a part to act, +and he knew how to act it. He remembered that a Chinaman loves a +bargain.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I will give you thirty cash," said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The old man pointed to the couch. "It is an excellent bed," said he. +"The hangings are of silk, and I guarantee that the mattress is free +from vermin. I will let you have it for thirty-eight cash."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I offer you thirty-two," said Frank. "Remember, I require it for a +few hours only."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"In that case," said the landlord, "we will say thirty-six."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I will give you thirty-four."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good!" cried the landlord. "We will call it thirty-five and have done +with the matter."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Thereupon Frank counted out thirty-five of the little copper coins +which the tea-grower had given him and which he carried upon a string +slung around his neck like a necklace. Indeed each </span><em class="italics">cash</em><span> has a little +square hole in the middle of it for this purpose.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Having settled his account, the boy took off his coat, for the heat of +the room was intense and the atmosphere foul with the mingled odour of +paraffin oil, opium smoke and Chinese garlic He arranged the pillow, +then stretched himself at full length upon the couch. A group of three +or four men at the other end of the room were talking loudly, and it +was the constant sound of their voices that made it difficult for the +boy to fall asleep.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was dozing off, and in that blissful state which lies midway between +slumber and consciousness, when he was startled by a remark that came +to his ears very distinctly from the other end of the room.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They tell me that Cheong-Chau has returned to the mountains."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The answer was a chuckle.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Cheong-Chau is never idle," came the reply. "Rumour has it that there +are fine fish in his net. Do you know that Men-Ching passed through +here late yesterday afternoon?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Indeed! And where was he going?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He did not say."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Some secret business," said the other. "Men-Ching is no more than the +coolie of Cheong-Chau. He does all the dirty work. He runs the +errands."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was here that the voice of a third man joined in the conversation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I know where Men-Ching was going," said he. "I made it my business to +find out. He goes to Canton to the opium den of Ah Wu, which lies near +the Mohammedan Mosque. He did not leave this place till nearly ten +o'clock to-night, after having smoked several pipes of opium. He is a +great smoker, Men-Ching. He went down the river on a </span><em class="italics">wupan</em><span> that was +taking a cargo of rice to Canton. The </span><em class="italics">wupan</em><span> calls at Sanshui, to +take on board certain chests of tea."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man who had spoken first laughed loudly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You know everything, Hsien-Lu," said he. "You are always prying into +other people's affairs. For myself, though I wear the scarlet coat, I +think it well to give Cheong-Chau as wide a berth as possible. He will +have his head cut off some day. That is beyond all doubt. And on that +occasion I should prefer not to accompany him. And now, good-night. I +desire to sleep. The opium has made me drowsy."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>After that there was silence. Frank gave them about ten minutes in +which to prepare themselves for slumber. Then he got up from his +couch, put on his coat and, unobserved, left the opium den.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Outside he took in a deep breath of the fresh night air, then hurried +in the direction of the river. He realised that fortune had played in +a remarkable manner into his hands. Men-Ching was but a few hours in +front of him. He intended, if possible, to overtake the man and +possess himself of the letters. He might be able to do this by stealth +if he could not succeed by force. He could, at any rate, make sure +that the letters reached their destination, since the lives of both his +uncle and Mr Waldron depended upon their delivery into the hands of the +Governor of Hong-Kong.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xi-of-the-reappearance-of-ling"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id12"><span>CHAPTER XI--OF THE REAPPEARANCE OF LING</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Walking rapidly, the boy soon found himself upon the right bank of the +river. Though there was as yet no sign of daybreak in the east, +several people were already abroad, for the Chinese begin their day's +work early in the morning and do not cease till late at night. Parties +of men were engaged in loading the junks and </span><em class="italics">wupans</em><span> which were moored +to the wharves and jetties.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank walked along the river-side until he found a junk about to sail. +He hailed the captain, a tall, sun-burnt Chinaman with his pigtail +coiled round the top of his head, who wore hardly any clothes at all. +This man informed him that the junk was bound upon a fishing cruise +upon the open sea. He readily agreed to take Frank as far as Canton +for a small consideration in the way of copper cash; and a minute +later, the boy was on board, whilst the junk moved down-stream under +full canvas.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Nearly all the relatives of the captain and his crew had come down to +the wharf to bid them good-bye. There were small-footed Chinese women, +and little round-faced, naked children, each of whom appeared to have +eaten so much rice that he looked in danger of bursting. There was +much wailing and gnashing of teeth--for the Chinese on occasion can be +exceedingly emotional--and no sooner was the junk clear of her moorings +than the silence of the morning was disturbed by a veritable fusillade +of Chinese squibs, rockets and crackers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Indeed it might have been an Eastern Fifth of November. A great bundle +of gunpowder crackers, tied to the poop of the vessel, went off in a +kind of </span><em class="italics">feu de joie</em><span>, sending out so many sparks in all directions +that it appeared that the ship was in danger of catching fire. The +idea and object of this custom, which is universal throughout China +from Tonkin to the Great Wall, is to scare away the evil spirits which +might be disposed to embark on board the departing ship. The Chinese +believe in the potency and the ubiquity of evil spirits. A +European--commonly called "a foreign devil"--is invariably accompanied +by a host of such attendant ghosts. Indeed, it is extremely difficult +for any man, even a virtuous Chinese, to avoid being shadowed by +malignant spooks who desire nothing more than to lead him into calamity +and misfortune. There is, as every Chinese is well aware, but one +method of driving away these evil spirits, and that is by exploding so +much gunpowder and creating such a noise, that they flee in all haste +back to the spirit land whence they come.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank Armitage observed this ceremony from the forepart of the boat. +He had often witnessed such a scene before in the Chinese quarter of +the harbour of Hong-Kong, but he had seldom seen such an expensive and +gorgeous display. It was evident that the master and owner of the junk +was a rich man who could afford to insure his property at the maximum +premium. Also, this particular junk had an unusually large pair of +eyes painted upon the bows. As the captain himself explained later in +the day, if a junk has no eyes it cannot see where it is going. If a +junk cannot see where it is going, it will probably, sooner or later, +strike a rock or another ship, or run ashore. That would be a disaster +for both the junk and its owner. Hence a junk must have eyes the same +as a man. This argument is thoroughly Chinese and would be entirely +rational provided the painted eyes upon the bows of a Chinese ship were +of the slightest practical use.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>All that day they sailed down-stream towards the centre of the great +valley of the West River. Every mile the country became more and more +thickly populated. They passed many villages situated upon both banks +of the river, the houses in the majority of cases overhanging the +water, supported by heavy wooden piles. The country was exceedingly +fertile, being given over almost exclusively to the cultivation of +rice. There were few trees and few hills except far in the distance, +towards the north, where the foothills of the great Nan-ling Mountains +stood forth upon the horizon like a wall.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Late the following afternoon the river joined a wider stream flowing +towards the south-east. This Frank at first believed to be the West +River itself, but he was informed by the captain of the junk that the +Si-kiang was still fifty </span><em class="italics">li</em><span> to the south.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was midnight when they turned into the main stream, and soon +afterwards they saw before them the bright lights of the city of +Sanshui, which is situated about twenty-five miles due west of Canton.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At this place, Frank was in two minds what to do. He might go straight +on to Canton and thence down the river to Hong-Kong, at both of which +places he would be able to get in touch with his friends. On the other +hand, he had every reason to suppose that Men-Ching was at that very +moment in the city of Sanshui. The junk had made good headway down the +river, and the boy knew that the boat on which Cheong-Chau's messenger +had come south was to call at Sanshui to take on a cargo.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now there is no doubt that Frank Armitage would have been wise had he +first considered his own safety. He was already practically out of +danger; there was no vital necessity for him to put his head +deliberately into the lion's mouth. If his determination appears to be +rash, it may be supposed that he was guided by some natural instinct +that warned him that, in this case, the most dangerous course was the +only means by which his uncle and Mr Waldron could be saved.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Be that as it may, he argued thus: from the very moment he escaped from +the cave his journey had been extraordinarily uneventful; he saw no +reason why it should not continue to be so. If Cheong-Chau's men were +in pursuit he had seen nothing of them; he had apparently left them +miles behind. He had every reason to be satisfied with his disguise; +he was fairly confident that even if he found Men-Ching he would not be +recognised, since he knew the old man to be extremely short-sighted. +Throughout his journey, he had experienced no difficulty in passing +himself off as a Chinese. The barber, the proprietor of the opium den, +the fisherman and the captain of the junk--all had taken him to be a +native of the country. The boy was sanguine of success; he never +dreamt for a moment of failure. He saw no reason why he should not +succeed in finding Men-Ching, in tracking the old rascal all the way to +Hong-Kong and there having him arrested by the British police +authorities. He even considered the possibility of completing the +remainder of his journey actually in the company of Men-Ching and his +companion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He therefore asked the captain of the junk to set him ashore. He paid +the man according to his agreement, and found himself, at about one +o'clock in the morning, in the centre of a very dilapidated and +evil-smelling city.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Since he had slept a good deal on board the junk--there being nothing +else for him to do--he decided to remain awake until daybreak, keeping +a close watch upon the </span><em class="italics">bund</em><span>, alongside which the junks and +river-boats were moored. He felt sure, from what he had overheard in +the opium den, that one of the many </span><em class="italics">wupans</em><span> that lay alongside the +wharves was that upon which Men-Ching had come down the river. His +object was first to discover the </span><em class="italics">wupan</em><span>. He would then have no +difficulty in finding Men-Ching himself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy seated himself upon the end of a jetty whence he could obtain a +good view of the harbour. A watery moon was low in the heavens, and +this, together with the stars, illumined the river with an iridescent, +ghostly light, by which it was possible to see for a considerable +distance.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The hour was as yet too early for the riverside workmen to begin work. +The </span><em class="italics">bund</em><span> was deserted save for a number of rats, which were to be +seen quite clearly continually crossing the open space that separated +the houses from the ships.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Though the night was warm the air was somewhat damp, and Frank, fearing +that he would contract malarial fever, rose to his feet and strolled +casually down the jetty. At the corner of a narrow street he came +quite suddenly face to face with a most alarming personage.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The expression "face to face" cannot be taken literally, for the man +was a giant, and Frank's face was scarcely on a level with his chest. +In the shadowy slums of a poverty-stricken Chinese town, at such a +ghostly hour as two o'clock in the morning, to find oneself +unexpectedly confronted by an individual of the stature of a Goliath +and with the countenance of a demon, is an experience well calculated +to give a jolt to the nervous system of anyone. To put the truth in a +word, Frank Armitage was frightened out of his wits, and these fears +were by no means dissipated when the Herculean stranger, without the +least warning, grasped him by the collar of his coat and lifted him +bodily from off his feet.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha!" the man roared, in the Cantonese of the educated classes. "A +river-side thief! A junk rat! A prowler by night! Tell me, friend +weasel, have you stolen rice from on board a Canton junk, or a +night-watchman's supper?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I pray you, sir," cried Frank, "put me down upon my feet again. I am +no thief, I assure you, but a peaceable citizen of Wu-chau, who goes +upon a visit to his grandfather."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A peaceable citizen!" roared the man, bursting into laughter. "That's +good, indeed. I would have you to know that all citizens are peaceful +when they fall into the hands of the mighty Ling."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>So if Frank were none the wiser, the reader at any rate is better +informed. Frank Armitage had never in his life, to the best of his +knowledge, heard of the mighty Ling. The reader, however, has made +that extraordinary man's acquaintance. He knows that Ling was not by +any means one who could be trifled with, and he has been given some +kind of a notion of the character and reputation of this same +unmitigated villain who was wont to call himself "the mighty Ling."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The giant set down the boy upon his feet, planting him immediately in +front of him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I have need of you," said he. "It is possible you may be able to +render me some assistance. You doubtless have not failed to observe +that the gods have made me too big to hide myself without considerable +inconvenience. It is in this regard that you can help me. If you do +so faithfully I shall reward you. If you attempt to play the fool with +me, you go into the river with a twisted neck. And now, follow, my +junk rat! Follow me!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At that, he grasped the boy by a wrist and, taking such tremendous +strides that Frank was obliged almost to run, dragged him along the +wharf.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xii-how-men-ching-escaped"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id13"><span>CHAPTER XII--HOW MEN-CHING ESCAPED</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Ling led the way to one of the many warehouses which were situated +along the wharf--which in China are called "go-downs." On attempting +to open the door and finding it locked, with one wrench the Chinaman +tore the hinges from the jamb and, casting the door aside, dragged +Frank into a great darkened chamber that smelt of grease or some kind +of oil. There he struck a match.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>One of the first objects that attracted his attention was a candle +stuck in the neck of a bottle, and this he at once lighted so that the +place was dimly illumined.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The "go-down" was filled with all manner of packing-cases, casks, +barrels and bales. Picking these up, one after another, as though each +weighed but a few pounds, the great Honanese--who might have been in a +towering rage--threw them right and left, breaking many open, and +creating such a disturbance that Frank was surprised that the whole +town was not awakened.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>After a while, by means of such brutal violence, he had make a way for +himself to the farther end of the warehouse. Thither he ordered Frank +to bring the candle, and then proceeded to ascend a step-ladder that +led through a trap-door, such as one usually finds over stables, to an +upper story.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy, following his captor, found himself in a kind of loft, +containing all manner of things--rope, sails, fishing-nets, straw and +sacks of millet. Here Ling, holding the candle well above his head, +carefully examined the roof.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He very soon found what he was looking for, and, laughing aloud, +ordered Frank to come to him. Laying one of his enormous hands upon +the boy's shoulder, he suddenly burst forth into the following eulogy +upon his own abilities and prowess.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The mighty Ling," he declared, "is the favoured child of the gods; +swift as the kite, wise as the tortoise, strong as the tigers of Amoy. +There are few things within the attainment of mortal man that Ling +cannot accomplish. Scholar, poet, robber, soldier, merchant, +mandarin--all these am I, and more. But there is one thing, I declare +to you, that is beyond me. Guess, my little junk rat, what it is?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Fortunately Ling did not appear to expect an answer, for he ran on, +without giving the boy time to reply:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you see that man-hole in the roof?" he asked, pointing upward. +"Well, the sages themselves could not devise a method by which the +mighty Ling could pass through there. But you can, my monkey, and +thither you go, whether you want to or not."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What am I to do when I get there?" asked Frank, who could think of no +way of escaping from this truculent, swaggering monster.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Know you nothing," roared Ling, "of the sayings of the seers? How it +is written truly that 'Patience filleth the stomach, whereas he that +hurries to the feast falleth by the way'? Hearken unto me and ask no +questions."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He placed the candle upon the ground and seated himself straddle-legged +across a sack, with his great legs sprawled out before him. Frank +regarded the man's face in the candlelight, and thought that he had +never seen anyone of appearance more formidable and sinister.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>His huge countenance was like a mask of some weird and evil Eastern +god. There were deep lines scored about his forehead, mouth and +eyes--lines of wrath; so that even in moments of rest he appeared to be +in the throes of an uncontrollable passion. And this expression of +fierceness and of anger was intensified by his black, glittering eyes, +which seemed to pierce whatsoever he regarded. In addition to this, +Frank was impressed by the gigantic proportions of the Honanese: his +great sinewy hands, the muscles in his neck, his thighs, each as thick +as the waist of a smaller man.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Listen," said he. "Listen to the description of the man who goes by +the name of Men-Ching, who is a fool who believed in his blindness that +he and his cur-dog friends could cheat the mighty Ling."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was as if Frank Armitage had been struck. He was so astonished at +the sudden mention of Men-Ching's name that he caught his breath in a +kind of gasp. Fortunately Ling was not looking at him at the moment. +The man had drawn a long knife of Malay design from his belt, and was +examining it fondly, feeling the sharpness of the blade with his thumb.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This man," said Ling, "is over sixty years of age--old in crime, but a +babe in matters of intelligence. He has a long thin beard upon his +chin and his grey queue is no larger than the tail of a rat. He wears +a faded scarlet coat, and limps with his left foot when he walks. +Also, he rubs his hands together as if he were always pleased. +Pleased!" roared Ling. "When he sets eyes upon me, the pleasure will +go out of him as a candle is blown out in the draught. But, tell me, +you have listened and will remember?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank answered that he had paid strict attention. He did not think it +incumbent upon him to advise the "mighty Ling" that he already knew +Men-Ching perfectly well. He was both amazed by the coincidence and +utterly bewildered as regards the business which these two could have +in common. He did not dream for a moment that Ling was as dangerous to +himself as the redoubtable Cheong-Chau: that he now found himself in +the presence of the man who would soon hold in his great hands the +trump cards in this colossal game of Death.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling picked up the candle, and rose to his full height.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If I lift you up by the feet," said he, "you should be able to reach +that rafter. Thence, without difficulty, you should be able to gain +the man-hole, and so to the roof. From the roof you will obtain an +excellent view of the harbour. The moonlight should be sufficient to +enable you to see anyone who approaches. Keep your eyes open, and the +moment you see the man whom I have described let me know. I will +remain here."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank had no alternative but to obey the instructions of this +extraordinary ruffian. Indeed, he was powerless as a mouse in the jaws +of a cat. He was ordered to straighten himself, to remain in a +position perfectly upright and rigid, and then he was lifted high above +the man's head until he was within easy reach of one of the rafters. +Swinging himself on to this, he gained the man-hole which had been +pointed out to him, and a moment after he found himself upon the roof.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Thence--as Ling had predicted--he was able to look down upon the +numerous wharves and jetties along the bank of the river. The moon was +sinking low, but it was so magnified by refraction on account of the +moisture in the atmosphere that the boy was able to see quite clearly, +not only the various junks, </span><em class="italics">wupans</em><span> and </span><em class="italics">sampans</em><span> that lay anchored +along the shore, but also the whole extent of the </span><em class="italics">bund</em><span> itself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A party of coolies was already at work, and in several places there +were signs of life on board the ships. Frank, looking down through the +man-hole through which he had passed, could see the mighty Ling, who +had taken a book from his pocket and was reading aloud by means of the +candlelight. He was reading the </span><em class="italics">Analects of Confucius</em><span>, a volume that +is admitted to contain some of the purest ethical reasoning in the +world. The man read aloud in a deep voice that sounded to Frank like a +roll of far distant thunder. He was obviously fully conscious of the +literary and philosophic beauty of the famous maxims.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As for Frank, his thoughts were purely material. He could not think +why this singular and terrible man should be so anxious to find +Men-Ching. He knew, however, that it was essential that he himself +should get into touch with Cheong-Chau's second-in-command. +Personally, he was not in the least inclined to render assistance to +Ling. But he could not deny the fact, even to himself, that he feared +the man more than he had ever feared anyone before--even the giants and +ogres of which, as a child, he had been wont to dream. He knew that +his life was at stake, that Ling would not hesitate to kill him if, +through any fault of his, Men-Ching managed to escape.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There could be no doubt that Men-Ching was at that moment in the town, +probably in one of the numerous opium dens which are to be found in +every Chinese city. Frank had gleaned that information, and somehow or +other Ling was equally well informed. It was also certain that some +time that morning Men-Ching would embark and proceed upon his journey +to Canton. Frank, therefore, kept a sharp look-out for the man, but it +was only fear of Ling that impelled him to do so.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>About half-an-hour before sunrise, when the first signs of daybreak +were visible in the east, Men-Ching and his companion were among the +first people to arrive upon the wharf. They went straight to a </span><em class="italics">wupan</em><span> +that was moored at a distance of about two hundred yards from the door +which Ling had broken from its hinges. There Men-Ching called out in a +loud voice in order to awaken the owner of the boat, who was asleep +under the awning. Frank had no doubt that he had found the right man, +for he recognised his voice, and besides the light was sufficient to +enable him to identify the old man's scarlet coat.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy looked down through the man-hole into the great loft below. +Ling was still reading, though the candle had almost burned out.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He is on the wharf," cried Frank. "He is about to go on board. The +fisherman is preparing to hoist his sail."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On the instant, Ling closed his book and, springing to his feet, +hastened to the head of the step-ladder that led to the room below. He +did not trouble himself in the least about Frank, who was left upon the +roof. By no means content to remain an inactive spectator of what was +to follow, the boy descended rapidly to the rafter, and thence dropped +to the floor, stinging his feet severely. A few seconds later he was +swarming down the ladder, hastening after Ling, who had already gained +the </span><em class="italics">bund</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Men-Ching had just boarded the boat, when for the first time he caught +sight of the mighty Ling, who charged down upon him like an infuriated +tiger. Frank was in time to see the expression of absolute horror and +dismay which was stamped upon every feature of the old man's face. At +the sight of Ling, Men-Ching's jaw dropped and his eyes opened wide, +and seemed in danger of springing from his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Make haste!" he shrieked. "If I fall into that man's hands, +everything is lost!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>With feverish hands the old man uncoiled the rope that secured the bows +of the </span><em class="italics">wupan</em><span> to a wooden bollard. He succeeded in doing this in the +nick of time, for when he was in the very act of pushing the boat clear +of the wharf by means of a long boathook, Ling gained the shore and +snatched the boathook from his hand.</span></p> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 60%" id="figure-64"> +<span id="ling-snatched-the-boathook-from-his-hand"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""LING SNATCHED THE BOATHOOK FROM HIS HAND."" src="images/img-134.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">"LING SNATCHED THE BOATHOOK FROM HIS HAND."</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the meantime Men-Ching's companion, who had accompanied him +throughout his journey from the cave, had seized an oar, with which he +propelled the boat clear of the clustered shipping. By that time the +fisherman who owned the </span><em class="italics">wupan</em><span> had hoisted his sail, which, filling +immediately with the strong west wind, carried the boat down-stream at +a considerable velocity.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling was like a raging beast. Stamping with his feet, he filled the +air with the most terrible Chinese oaths--and there is no language in +the world richer in expletives than the dialect of Southern China. The +man's rage lasted no more than a moment. Determined not to allow +Men-Ching to get out of sight, he looked about him for some method of +following in pursuit. His eyes fell immediately upon a small sailing +</span><em class="italics">sampan</em><span>, with a long oar fastened to the stern which did duty as a +rudder.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That will serve my purpose," he exclaimed, and then, lifting his great +voice to the full extent of his lungs, he shouted after the </span><em class="italics">wupan</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Men-Ching," he cried, "you can never hope to evade me. Go north to +beyond the Great Wall, or south to Singapore, and the mighty Ling shall +follow."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Then, turning, he beheld Frank Armitage at his elbow.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And you shall come with me," he roared. "There must be two of us to +manage the boat."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He bundled the boy, neck and crop, into the </span><em class="italics">sampan</em><span>, and a few minutes +later they were flying down-stream in pursuit of the </span><em class="italics">wupan</em><span>, upon the +broad waters of the great West River that flows through the mammoth +city of Canton.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xiii-how-frank-was-caught-in-the-toils"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id14"><span>CHAPTER XIII--HOW FRANK WAS CAUGHT IN THE TOILS</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Throughout the greater part of the morning the pursuit continued +without the </span><em class="italics">sampan</em><span> gaining upon the larger boat. Indeed, when they +had sailed a few miles towards the east it became apparent to Ling that +they were losing ground, that the distance between the two boats was +gradually becoming greater.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man was infuriated. He stood at his great height in the bows of +the </span><em class="italics">sampan</em><span> from time to time, shaking his fist at the scarlet coat of +Men-Ching, who was plainly visible upon the deck of the river-junk. +After a time, however, Ling's wrath subsided; and seating himself, he +confined his attention to the management of the sail. Frank, who was +in the stern of the boat, had received orders to steer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling shrugged his great shoulders and came out with a kind of grunt.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He shall not escape me," said he, talking aloud to himself. "The old +fool would be wiser to haul down the sail of the </span><em class="italics">wupan</em><span> and throw +himself upon my mercy."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank, summoning to his aid all his moral courage, decided to question +the man outright, taking the bull by the horns.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why do you want this man Men-Ching?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling looked up, lifting his black eyebrows, and then chuckled.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Men-Ching carries upon his person certain letters," said he. "I would +have you to know that those letters are worth thousands of dollars."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank Armitage was so much astonished that it was some moments before +he could recover his presence of mind. How was this man, of all +people, in possession of such information? Ling was certainly not a +member of Cheong-Chau's brigand band. It was only a week before that +Men-Ching had been entrusted with the letters--indeed, he had not been +given possession of them until immediately after they were written. +The whole thing was a mystery that Frank was in no position to solve.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sitting amidships in the boat, the man continued to chuckle.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I will find him in Canton," said he. "He is certain to go to the +house of Ah Wu. There I will find him. I will take possession of +those letters. A score of men could not prevent me. If Men-Ching +hands them over quietly all will be well. If he resists, I cannot say +what will happen." And Ling shrugged his shoulders.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank was dismayed. It took him some time to realise the extreme +gravity of the situation. There was something in the aspect of the +boisterous Honanese giant, seated immediately before him, that made the +boy feel quite sure that Ling seldom failed in any enterprise he +undertook. The man was at once clever, strong and unscrupulous. He +meant to obtain those letters, and Frank felt quite sure that he would +not fail to do so.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>That brought the boy face to face with the fact that the lives of his +uncle and Mr Waldron were in the greatest danger. Ling no doubt +intended to appropriate the ransom, thus foiling Cheong-Chau. In these +circumstances, there could be but little doubt that the brigand chief, +robbed of what he already regarded as his own property, would put both +his captives to death out of sheer fiendish spite.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank could not for the life of him think what course he should take. +His brain was in a whirl. In the end he decided that at any cost he +must escape from Ling the moment they arrived at Canton, where he hoped +to gain an interview with the British consul.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Throughout the remainder of the journey the boy's thoughts ran +continuously upon the mystery in which he found himself enveloped. He +could not explain it, and after a time he gave up attempting to do so. +He neither knew who Ling was nor how the man had such intimate +knowledge of Cheong-Chau's affairs. He regretted bitterly that he had +rendered Ling such valuable assistance. He was, however, determined +never to do so again, and during the pursuit down the river he even +went so far as to hold the </span><em class="italics">sampan</em><span> back by means of the oar with which +he was supposed to be steering. All the time he was doing so his heart +was beating rapidly, since he dared not think what would happen to him +if Ling discovered his deception.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When they reached the great city of Canton it was still early in the +morning. Ling hauled down the sail and himself took charge of the +stern oar, by means of which he propelled the boat into the narrow +creek that separates the main part of the city from the island of +Shamien. Running into the bank alongside a sea-going junk, he ordered +Frank to step ashore. The boy did so, determined to avail himself of +his first chance to escape. In such narrow, close-packed streets as +those of the great southern city, he thought he would have many +opportunities of giving Ling the slip. He did not expect any +difficulty in getting away, since he had no reason to believe that Ling +required his services any longer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank--as the saying goes--had counted his chickens before they were +hatched. They had not progressed thirty yards along one of the main +streets of the city before Frank dived down a side street, brushed past +a party of coolies, and then turned into a still smaller street to the +right. There he found a ricksha. Jumping into this, he ordered the +ricksha coolie to go ahead as fast as he could. The man had picked up +the shafts, and was about to set forward, when Frank was seized by the +scruff of the neck and lifted bodily from the seat. He was then thrown +so violently to the ground that one of his knees was cut and his elbows +badly bruised.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Gathering himself together, he looked up, and found himself at the feet +of Ling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you take me for a fool?" roared the man. "Why have you run away?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I did not think," answered the boy, somewhat weakly, "that you needed +me any longer."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No more I do," said Ling. "But you know too much about me. When I +have run Men-Ching to ground, and emptied the old rascal's pockets, +then you are free to go where you like. For the present you remain +with me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He bent down, and seizing the boy by a wrist, dragged him to his feet. +Then he set off walking briskly through the narrow streets, dragging +the boy after him like a dog on a leash and roughly thrusting aside +everyone who got in his way.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In about ten minutes they found themselves in the neighbourhood of the +Mohammedan Mosque. Having crossed the main street that runs parallel +to the river, Ling turned into a by-street, and thence into the blind +alley, at the termination of which was Ah Wu's opium den.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He kicked open the door with his foot and thrust the boy inside. Frank +found himself standing before the embroidered curtains that were +suspended across the entrance of the smoking-room. Ling lifted his +great voice in a kind of shout, mingling his words with triumphant +laughter.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah Wu," he cried, "give welcome to a visitor who loves you. There is +one here whom it will rejoice your heart to see. Come forth, old fox, +and greet the mighty Ling!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Having delivered himself thus dramatically, he flung the curtains +aside, and stepped into the opium den, dragging Frank with him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu, as fat and crafty-looking as ever, stood in the centre of the +lower room in front of the stairs that led to the balcony above.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was holding in his hand a blue china bowl filled with </span><em class="italics">samshu</em><span>. And +so dismayed was he when he set eyes upon his gigantic guest that the +bowl fell from his hand and smashed to atoms on the floor.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ling!" he gasped.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The same," roared Ling. "And this time I come not to debate and +argue, to exchange words with liars. I come for Men-Ching. I have +reason to believe that he is here."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu strove to pretend he was delighted to welcome Ling. He smiled +from ear to ear, his little eyes almost disappearing in the fat of his +face. He bowed, folding his hands in the prescribed Chinese fashion. +He even took a few steps forward, so that he was almost within reach of +the long arms of the Honanese.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Men-Ching," said he, still smiling, "is not here."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And no sooner had the words left his lips than he was given a practical +and somewhat painful demonstration of the violent character of the man +with whom he had to deal. Upon the right of the entrance, adorned by +the embroidered curtains, was a lacquer table, upon which stood a heavy +china vase. Without a word of warning, Ling seized this vase by the +neck, and hurled it with all his force at the proprietor of the opium +den. The ornament must have weighed several pounds, and it struck Ah +Wu fair in the chest, with the result that he went over backwards and +lay, stretched at his full length, at the foot of the staircase. +Almost a minute elapsed before he struggled to his feet. Ling had not +moved.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And now," he roared, "lie to me again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the meantime, in spite of such extraordinary happenings, Frank had +taken in his surroundings. Ah Wu's opium den has been already +described--except that we saw it before at night, when the place was +crowded. On this occasion there was only one man asleep upon a couch +in the lower room. It was about twelve o'clock in the morning, and at +this hour, as a general rule, Chinese opium dens are empty, the smokers +of the previous evening having departed and the day's customers not +having arrived.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Strangely enough, the vase had not broken, but in falling to the floor +it had made a considerable noise, and this was sufficient to awaken the +sleeper, who evidently suffered from a guilty conscience. The man +sprang to his feet, and rushed to the entrance, as if he intended to +escape. There, of course, he found his way barred by Ling, who lifted +one of his huge fists as if to strike the fellow. The man jumped +backward like a cat that finds itself face to face with a dog. And it +was then, once again, that Ling burst into one of his boisterous fits +of laughter.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And here's the flunkey!" he cried. "Here's the Hong-Kong cur-dog! +Have you also a mind to lie to me, or do you set a value on your life? +I tell you truly, I am not here to exchange words. I know what I want, +and I am come to get it. Hands up!" he shouted, seeing the man move +one of his hands to his waistbelt, under his coat, where he might have +carried a firearm. "Hands up, or I wring your neck like a duck!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In fear and trembling the man lifted both hands above his head. Frank +regarded him then for the first time. And it was as if the boy's heart +had suddenly ceased to beat when he recognised Yung How, his uncle's +servant.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xiv-how-ling-snuffed-the-candle"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id15"><span>CHAPTER XIV--HOW LING SNUFFED THE CANDLE</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Frank had every reason to suppose that he would be recognised in spite +of his disguise. To deceive Men-Ching was one thing, but Yung How had +known the boy for years. More than ever he desired to escape. It was +clear that both Yung How and even Ah Wu himself were equally anxious to +get away from the room. All three of them, however, were caught like +rats in a trap, for Ling guarded the entrance, and it was as much as +the life of any one of them was worth to attempt to pass, either by +force or stealth.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling approached Yung How, lifted the man's coat and drew a large +nickel-plated revolver from his belt.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought so," said he. "I draw the jackal's teeth."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>So saying, he thrust the revolver into his pocket.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And now, Ah Wu," he cried, "is Men-Ching here or not?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Some seconds elapsed before Ah Wu could summon sufficient courage to +answer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said he at last. "He is."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Where?" asked Ling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"In the little room--asleep."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Asleep! He could not have arrived more than an hour ago!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He was very frightened," said Ah Wu, who was now certainly speaking +the truth. "His nerves were shaken. He knew you were in pursuit. He +smoked opium to calm himself, and now he sleeps."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Lead the way," said Ling. "And you too," he added, addressing himself +to Yung How. "I drive you before me like a herd of pigs."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This was indeed a very accurate description of the proceeding, for Ling +was determined that neither of the Chinese nor Frank should for a +moment get out of his sight. It was remarkable that one man should +have so much power--by which we mean will-power as well as physical +force. But undoubtedly, the most extraordinary thing about him was the +unbounded confidence he seemed to have in himself. And it was this +self-confidence, even more than his courage and great physical +strength, that made this man a master over others.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Into the little room under the staircase he hustled the three of them. +There he locked the door and pocketed the key. Upon the only couch in +the room lay Men-Ching in his faded scarlet coat--sound asleep.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling bent down and placed both hands upon the sleeper's chest. Then he +smiled, and turning slowly round, looked Ah Wu straight in the face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They are here," said he. "It is the custom of the gods to reward +those who deserve to prosper."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you seek?" asked Ah Wu, upon the features of whose face was +stamped an expression of the most profound dismay.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The letters," said Ling. "The letters for which I have searched for +fourteen days."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Fourteen days ago," retorted Ah Wu, "they were not written."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Of that," answered the other, "I confess I know nothing, and care +less. It is sufficient for me--and for you, too--that I have found +that for which I sought."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There was a pause. And then Yung How asked a question.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How did you know about these letters?" said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling smiled again. "Do you think," he asked, "that when I found you +three rascals with heads together in this very room--do you think I did +not know that something was afoot, something into which it might be +worth my while to inquire? Do you suppose for a moment I believed your +lies? No. I watched. And I sent a spy here to smoke opium and to +pretend to sleep--a spy who listened to all you had to say, who told me +that Cheong-Chau had sent a messenger with the news that the fish had +been landed high and dry, and a promise that both Ah Wu and yourself +would have your share of the ransom as soon as it was paid. I had but +to watch the river. And when I was told that one of Cheong-Chau's men +had been seen in Sanshui, and the description of that man agreed with +Men-Ching, I should be little short of a fool if I did not guess that +Men-Ching carried with him letters demanding a ransom. And now," he +concluded, "these same letters are mine."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He bent down, and very gently unbuttoned Men-Ching's coat. Then, +without waking the sleeper, who appeared to be heavily drugged with +opium, he tore open the lining and drew out the two letters: that of +Cheong-Chau, written in Chinese, and Sir Thomas Armitage's letter, +written in English.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Neither of these was in an envelope, but both were sealed in the +Chinese fashion. Without a moment's hesitation Ling broke the seals, +and Sir Thomas's gold signet ring fell to the floor. He stooped and +picked it up, and then read both letters to himself. And as he read +his smile broadened, displaying his fang-like yellow teeth.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is fortunate," said he, "that I can read English. It is of +advantage in this life to be a scholar. The ignorant man works in the +paddy-field wading knee-deep in the mud, but the wise man eats the +rice." Then he remained silent for some minutes, still reading to +himself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I see," he remarked, "this matter has been well arranged. Cheong-Chau +threatens to take the lives of the foreigners if he does not receive a +ransom of twenty thousand dollars before the new moon. It interests me +to learn that the money must be hidden before that date in the Glade of +Children's Tears, upon the banks of the Sang River. I know the place +well. I even remember the red stone--though I admit I did not know +there was a vault beneath that stone. Certainly the matter has been +well arranged."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>During this soliloquy--for Ling had to all intents and purposes been +speaking to himself--Frank could not help regarding the countenances of +Ah Wu and Yung How. The expression upon the face of each was +suggestive of the most complete disgust. Disappointment and infinite +distress were conveyed in every feature. Ling looked at them and burst +into laughter.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Two fools!" he cried. "Had you been wise men you had taken me into +your confidence and allowed me a share of the plunder. As it is, you +may see not a cent of it. It will be very simple for me to deliver +these letters and to keep watch upon the Glade of Children's Tears."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>His laughter had disturbed the sleeper, for Men-Ching turned over upon +his back and mumbled a few incoherent words in his sleep. Then, still +sleeping, he moved a hand to the breast of his coat, to the place where +he had carried the letters.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Almost at once he sat bolt upright--wide awake.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Stolen!" he cried, his hands still clutching at his coat. "Stolen," +he repeated.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Then he set eyes upon Ling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Upon his face an expression of dismay turned, as in a flash, to one of +uncontrollable anger. He sprang to his feet, at the same time drawing +from his belt a long curved knife. Though he stood upon the couch +itself, he was little taller than Ling. With a savage oath he raised +the knife above his head. And then he struck downward, straight for +the heart of the gigantic Honanese.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The tragedy that now took place was the work of a few seconds. +Men-Ching's wrist was caught. He let out a shriek of pain as that grip +of steel tightened under such steady, inevitable pressure that the very +wrist-bone was in danger of breaking like a piece of rotted wood. Then +he was caught by the throat. He was jerked forward. Something +snapped. And then he was thrown down upon the floor--dead. It was all +over in an instant.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank Armitage was horror-stricken. He had never seen anything so +terrible in all his life. And this was murder. And the man who had +committed the crime merely shrugged his shoulders.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Take warning," said he. "Behold the fool who tried to kill me. He +who lives by violence comes to a violent end. I had no wish to kill +him; he attempted to stab me. I have dealt with him in the same way as +I would snuff a tallow candle."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Here Ah Wu fell into a kind of hysterical panic. Wringing his hands +together, he worked himself up to such a pitch of emotion that the +tears streamed from his eyes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What is to become of me?" he cried. "This thing has happened in my +house. If the </span><em class="italics">tao-tai</em><span> hears of it I shall be led to my execution in +a potter's yard. Woe is me that such a crime should be committed under +my roof!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling laughed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You make a great fuss about nothing," said he. "Put him away till +darkness falls. Then set him up in a ricksha, place a lighted +cigarette between his lips, run him down to the river, and throw him +in. Such things have happened before in this city of Canton. You make +much of nothing. What was the old scoundrel worth? Not a snap of the +finger. And in any case he had but a few years to live."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu seated himself upon the couch, immediately above the body of the +murdered man. Placing his elbows upon his knees and his head between +his hands, he rocked himself from side to side. As for Frank, the +whole thing seemed to him like some terrible nightmare. He had lived +in China all his life, but he had lived in a different China--a land of +comfort and civilisation. This was a world of devilry and crime. And +all this time Yung How stood by, motionless, speechless, his face pale +with terror.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling stooped down and thrust the body under the couch.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What is death?" he asked. "A sleep--no more. A long sleep in +which--for aught we know--the divine spirit roams the eternal heavens. +Sweeter by far the adventures of the soul than the dreams that come +from opium. A moment since he slept upon the couch, and now he sleeps +beneath it. Why grieve, old fool? Why weep? Men-Ching is already +with the spirits of his fathers."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Taking the key from his pocket, he unlocked the door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come," said he. "We will hold converse together; there are many +things that I wish to discuss. See that the outer door is locked, that +no one is allowed to enter the house. We four will be alone."</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xv-of-cheong-chau-s-messenger"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id16"><span>CHAPTER XV--OF CHEONG-CHAU'S MESSENGER</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>To the reader who is unacquainted with China, the conduct of Ling may +appear to be highly improbable. In any other country in the world such +a crime might be committed, but in no other country would the criminal +not be seized with alarm. He would know that there was direct evidence +against him and, in consequence, he would be obliged either to fly for +his life or else stand his trial on a charge of murder or manslaughter, +as the case might be.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In this regard China is unique--a country without police, in which +evidence is extremely hard to obtain, no man presuming to testify +against his neighbour. Under the old imperial regime there were no +real courts of justice beyond the summary jurisdiction exercised by the +local government official--the prefect, the </span><em class="italics">tao-tai</em><span> or the viceroy. +And so far as we are aware, these very necessary reforms have not yet +been instituted in the modern republican China of the twentieth century.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling had little or nothing to fear. Men-Ching had no relations who +might carry the tale to the viceroy's </span><em class="italics">yamen</em><span>. Both Ah Wu and Yung How +had been frightened out of their lives, and the Honanese had no +apprehensions in regard to the unfortunate boy whom he had kidnapped in +Sanshui.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In less than a minute after this deed of violence had been +accomplished, Ling was sprawled at his great length upon one of the +couches in the outer room. There, puffing complacently at a pipe of +opium, he appeared to have dismissed the incident from his mind. He +was busy making plans for the future. Ah Wu had now sufficiently +recovered his composure to attend to the wants of his unwelcome guest. +He brought Ling opium; he lighted the spirit-lamp; he rolled opium +pills in his fat little fingers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>To all intents and purposes, Ling had taken complete possession of the +opium den. He himself might have been the proprietor. He offered Yung +How a pipe of opium, which Yung How accepted. He ordered Frank to be +seated, and the boy had no option but to obey. Then he delivered +himself as follows, addressing himself to Ah Wu.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah Wu," said he, "I desire that you will be so good as to make a +complete confession. There are certain details connected with this +affair concerning which I am completely in the dark. For instance, who +was to go for the treasure to the Glade of Children's Tears?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I was," said Ah Wu.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Alone?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No. Yung How was to accompany me." And Ah Wu indicated his Hong-Kong +friend by a motion of the hand. "We were to hire a junk in which to +take away the money. We were to be assisted by Men-Ching and another +man."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling looked across at Yung How and nodded pleasantly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And so, my tame cat, your name is Yung How. A fit name for one who +washes plates and brushes a foreigner's clothes."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I do not wash plates," said Yung How; "that is coolies' work."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I beg your pardon," said Ling. "Since it is beneath your dignity to +wash plates I am sorry for you, for presently I propose to eat at Ah +Wu's expense. And you shall wash the plates which it shall be my +pleasure to use."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How made a wry face, and dropped his eyes to the ground. Frank +observed that the man muttered to himself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy was astonished that Yung How had not yet recognised him. Was +it possible that he would fail to do so? The thought seemed too good +to be true. On the other hand, it was possible that Frank had already +been recognised, that Yung How knew who he was, and had managed to +conceal his surprise. The average Chinese is quite capable of such +extraordinary self-control. The boy's train of thought was interrupted +by Ling, who took up the thread of his cross-examination.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And so," said he, "you, Ah Wu, and Yung How, were to go together to +the Glade of Children's Tears, having first ascertained that the +neighbourhood was safe, that the foreigners in Hong-Kong had not +thought fit to send armed men to capture you?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is so," said Ah Wu.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And the money was to be brought here by river?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu nodded. "To Canton," said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Where Cheong-Chau would come by night, giving you your share and +taking the rest back with him to Pinglo, to divide amongst his gang?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu nodded again.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A simple business," said Ling. "A well-laid plot that has come to +grief. Well, I am generous. My soul is of honey. I am soft of heart. +You will find me a better master than Cheong-Chau. I can be generous +to those who help me, as I know how to deal with those who declare +themselves my enemies." And he jerked a finger in the direction of the +little room beneath the stairs.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you mean," asked Yung How, "that you propose to buy our silence?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man rose upon his couch like a bearded lion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I mean nothing of the sort," he cried. "Go to the viceroy if you will +and tell him that you saw Ling take the life of Men-Ching in the opium +den of Ah Wu--say I murdered the man. It will be a lie, I tell you. +He attempted to stab me and I killed him in self-defence. Still you +are free to go to the </span><em class="italics">yamen</em><span> with any tale you like, and when you have +fulfilled your errand, I tell you frankly, upon the word of a man who +holds the truth as sacred, that you shall not live for forty-eight +hours. That is the manner of man I am, and that is the way in which I +buy your silence."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How did not move a muscle of his face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then I fail to understand you," said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I will make my meaning plainer," said the other. "This afternoon I +send these letters to Hong-Kong by post, by the night boat. They will +arrive to-morrow morning. In two--or at the most three--days, the +ransom will be paid: twenty thousand dollars will be conveyed by some +means from Hong-Kong to the Glade of Children's Tears. I think no +soldiers will be sent because the Englishman in his letter has +expressly stated that such a course would not be wise."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At that moment there came a loud, persistent rapping on the outer door, +which Ah Wu had already locked. Ling at once ceased talking, but it is +a singular fact that he was the only one of the four of them who showed +no signs of being alarmed. They sat in silence, listening for several +minutes, during which time the knocking upon the door continued. It +was Ling who was the first to speak.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Who is there?" he asked, addressing himself to Ah Wu.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I have no idea," replied Ah Wu.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling got to his feet, strolled across the room, and drawing the +curtains, unbolted the door. On opening it he beheld, standing before +him upon the threshold, a man dressed in the scarlet coat of +Cheong-Chau's brigand band.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you want?" asked Ling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Men-Ching," said the man.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And who, may I ask, is Men-Ching?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He is a friend of mine."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He is not here," said Ling. "You can come in, if you like, and see +for yourself."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man entered the opium den, advancing down the centre of the room. +Frank recognised him at once: he was the man who had accompanied +Men-Ching upon his journey from the mountains. He went straight up to +Ah Wu, to whom he bowed, folding his hands in accordance with the +custom of his nation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You, I believe, are Ah Wu?" he asked. "You are the landlord of this +establishment?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am," said Ah Wu.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I come for a friend of mine, Men-Ching by name. I think you know him. +He told me he would be here."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He is not here," said Ah Wu, who, palpably nervous, from time to time +glanced in the direction of Ling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is strange," said the man. "He certainly told me that I should +find him here. Can you tell me where he is?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu shook his head. "I cannot say," said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man looked perplexed. He stood for a moment stroking his chin, as +if he was undecided what to do. Then Ling laid one of his great hands +upon the man's shoulder.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I will tell you where he is," said he. "He left here in great +haste--and unexpectedly. He has gone upon a journey--a long journey. +He did not say where he was going, for two reasons: firstly, he had no +time to tell us; secondly, I do not believe he knew. And so, my +friend, we can give you no information likely to be of value. Who are +we, that we should know all things, that we should be able to solve the +riddles of the universe? We are poor mortals, with little wisdom and +great hopes. We arrange our lives in accordance with our own ideas, +and those ideas are but guess-work, the product of imagination. We +know nothing. We live in the dark. The printed page of the book of +mysteries lies open before us, but we are blind and unable to read. +Could I soar higher than an eagle, traversing the eternal plains of +space, I might be able to tell you something of Men-Ching. As it is, I +cannot." And Ling, with a shrug of the shoulders, turned away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man regarded his broad back in amazement. He could make neither +head nor tail of what he had been told. And at the same time he was in +a dilemma: he could do nothing without Men-Ching; in a great city like +Canton--with which he was not well acquainted--he had no idea where to +look for him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is of the greatest importance," said he, "that I find Men-Ching +without delay. I have news for him."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling whipped round at once.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"News," he exclaimed. "I tell you, my good man, you may be perfectly +frank with us. We are in the secret."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You are!" cried the man.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"All four of us," said Ling, whose capacity for falsehood appeared to +be in proportion to his other faculties.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man looked in surprise from Ling to Ah Wu, from Yung How to Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I see you doubt me," continued Ling. "Permit me to enlighten you. +You are one of Cheong-Chau's band--that is evident from your coat. You +came south with Men-Ching in order to convey certain letters to +Hong-Kong. Cheong-Chau demands a ransom of twenty thousand dollars as +the price of the lives of three European prisoners whom he holds in his +hands. This sum of money is to be conveyed by junk, before the new +moon, to the Glade of Children's Tears. It has already been arranged +between my very good friend, Cheong-Chau, and Men-Ching, that we four, +accompanied by Men-Ching himself, proceed to the Glade of Children's +Tears in order to take possession of the money. I am surprised that +Men-Ching did not inform you of all this. I presume you no longer +doubt me?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I cannot doubt you," said the man. "You know more of the matter than +myself. I was aware that Cheong-Chau had agents in Canton, but I was +never informed who they were. Perhaps you will be so good as to advise +me what to do."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling stroked his black moustache. He appeared to be deep in thought.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If I were you," said he, "I should leave the matter in Men-Ching's +hands. He cannot be far away. If I were you I should return at once +to Cheong-Chau."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is not necessary," said the man.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling looked up quickly, lifting his eyebrows. For a moment his eyes +flashed, suggesting something of the fierce sudden intelligence of a +beast of prey that scents its quarry.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How do you mean?" he rapped out.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is not necessary," said the man, "that I return to Cheong-Chau, for +the simple reason that Cheong-Chau himself has come to me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling closed his mouth with a snap.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah!" he exclaimed. "So Cheong-Chau is--in Canton?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He approaches Canton," said the man. "That is the information that I +desired to give to Men-Ching."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He approaches Canton," repeated Ling. "This is indeed interesting! +And can you tell me why Cheong-Chau approaches Canton?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said the man. "One of his prisoners has escaped."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At the word Frank Armitage caught his breath. With a great effort of +will he managed to control himself. He stared hard at the opium bowl, +filled with the sticky, treacle-like substance, that was immediately in +front of him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy felt like a helpless bird, imprisoned in a cage of poisonous +snakes. He could not be blind to the peril in which he stood. Hardly +a minute passed when it was not made evident to him that his life hung +upon a thread. At any moment he might be discovered, and then, in the +hands of such a man as Ling, he could hope for little mercy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What you tell me interests me vastly," said Ling, still addressing +himself to the brigand. "You have no idea how annoyed I am. And so +one of the prisoners has escaped! I think you had best return to +Cheong-Chau, taking with you a written message from my friend, Ah Wu."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu looked up at Ling in something like despair. The fat proprietor +of the opium den, at that moment, bitterly regretted that he had ever +had anything to do with the business. He feared Cheong-Chau, but he +was terrified of Ling. He now found himself between the hammer and the +anvil.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you wish me to do?" he asked, in a weak voice. "What sort of +a message am I to send to Cheong-Chau?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell him the truth," said Ling. "Tell him that Men-Ching called here +this morning, and soon afterwards departed unexpectedly, in a great +hurry. Say that you presume he has gone to Hong-Kong. He told you, I +believe, that the letters were safe."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And even as Ling said these words he placed one of his hands upon the +pocket of his coat--and they all heard the crinkling sound of the stiff +rice paper upon which the letters had been written. Both Yung How and +Frank regarded Ling in astonishment. The man was beyond doubt an +accomplished and unmitigated villain. He was never at a loss. As for +Ah Wu, very meekly he crossed the room to the writing-desk where he +kept his accounts. There he wrote a letter, handling with skill the +long Chinese ink-brush. And as he wrote Ling strolled up to him, +glanced over his shoulder, and strolled away. Then Ah Wu folded the +letter and sealed it and gave it to Cheong-Chau's man, who a few +moments afterwards left the opium den.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>No sooner was he gone than Ling bolted the door and came back quickly +into the room.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This," said he, "is going to be a touch-and-go affair. It will be an +open question now who gets to the Glade first: Cheong-Chau or I. You +three shall help me. I take it, you prefer to be on the winning side. +I shall need the assistance of every one of you. You will have your +fair share of the plunder, more than you would have got from +Cheong-Chau--I promise you that. But I have warned you once, and I +warn you again: play me false, and I deal with you as I dealt with +Men-Ching. It is already late in the afternoon. There is much to be +done to-night. Ah Wu, you must keep the place closed; you must put up +a notice outside saying that no customers will be admitted. Tell me, +is there a back entrance?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu nodded his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good!" exclaimed Ling. "You and I must get the body of that fool out +of the way. We shall be able to do that as soon as it is dark. As for +these two, they can remain here till we return. I care not how many +men Cheong-Chau has brought with him. I know how to settle him. The +man is an opium fiend, and by opium he shall fall. Now then, Ah Wu, +are we to be friends or foes?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Friends," said Ah Wu.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then swear friendship."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And Ah Wu swore, with a hand uplifted, by the Five Sacred Books.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And then Yung How swore fidelity to Ling, who rounded upon Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And you, my little smooth-faced infant, whom I have truly taken to my +heart, you have not told me yet your name?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah Li," said Frank, who for some time had been prepared for such a +question.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And you also swear?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And Frank swore, following the example of Ah Wu and Yung How, and using +the same words to be faithful to the mighty Ling. And as he made the +declaration he satisfied his conscience that he attached no more +importance to the words than did Ling to the life of the man whom he +had killed.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xvi-of-the-repentance-of-yung-how"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id17"><span>CHAPTER XVI--OF THE REPENTANCE OF YUNG HOW</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Thus it was that they became the unwilling servants of Ling. They had +no option but to obey him. By reason of his gigantic strength, Ling +was the master of the situation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu was as crafty as a fox. All his life he had been connected with +the opium business; and an opium den is a place where a Chinese may +gain a very intimate knowledge of his fellow-men. He learns much in +connection with human character. Whatever may have been the feelings +of Frank Armitage and Yung How, the proprietor of the opium den had not +the least doubt that in agreeing to follow Ling they had taken the +wisest course.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>During the few hours that elapsed between the departure of the brigand +and sunset, they were given a further opportunity of observing the +singular abilities of this inhuman monster. There is no doubt that the +man might have succeeded in almost any walk of life. His plans were +not only elaborate, and so carefully laid that they allowed for almost +every possible contingency, but they were made rapidly without a +moment's hesitation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the course of the afternoon Ah Wu's three attendants arrived, +gaining entrance into the opium den by means of the back door. These +were sent upon various errands, from which they could not possibly +return until after dark. As soon as Ling himself had conveyed the +mortal remains of the unfortunate Men-Ching from the opium den, the +place was to be open, customers were to be admitted. These customers +were to be entertained by Yung How until Ah Wu himself returned. The +establishment was to remain open, day and night, throughout the next +few days. Ling made no secret of his intention to decoy Cheong-Chau to +the opium den, where he was to be drugged, whilst Ling gained +possession of the ransom, which by that time should have arrived from +Hong-Kong.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>About the middle of the afternoon Ling went out, and was absent about +twenty minutes. This in itself is sufficient proof of the +self-confidence of the man. It was within the power of Ah Wu, Yung +How, or the youth who had called himself "Ah Li," to betray him. These +three were left alone in the opium den with the horrid evidence of +Ling's guilt.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>During his absence, Ling posted his letters. The night boat left +Canton at eight o'clock, and Ling himself took the letters on board. +He returned to the opium den, and was admitted at the back door by Ah +Wu himself. He did not seem in the least curious as to whether they +had been discussing him whilst he was away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Soon after nightfall, Ling and Ah Wu departed on their gruesome errand, +taking with them the body of Men-Ching. This they secreted under the +hood of a double ricksha, and Ah Wu, much to his dismay, was made to +seat himself beside a lifeless companion. As for Ling, he stripped +himself to the waist, coiled his pigtail round the top of his head, +after the manner of a coolie, and himself drew the ricksha through the +dark, narrow streets of the great city. Frank and Yung How stood at +the small back door of the opium den when Ling took his departure. +They heard the wheels rattling over the cobble-stones of the streets, +and then the ricksha disappeared in the darkness, and with it that +which had formerly been Men-Ching, Cheong-Chau's second-in-command.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How and Frank returned to the main room, where they lighted the +lamps, and shortly afterwards the three attendants returned. The +establishment was then opened, and it was not long before customers +began to arrive. Most of these were regular patrons of Ah Wu's, who +knew how to look after themselves. Having ordered what they wanted, +they disposed themselves on couches in the lower room. There they +smoked opium, drank </span><em class="italics">samshu</em><span>, and nodded off to sleep.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank regarded Yung How. The man lay upon a couch; his arms were +folded; he was staring blankly in front of him, thinking possibly of +Ling and how that villain had placed himself between Yung How and a +fortune. For there could be little doubt that, under the original +arrangement, Yung How was to be treated handsomely, and the man +attached little or no value to Ling's promise. It does not necessarily +follow that one rogue will trust another.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank, as he looked at the man, was busy with his thoughts. Two things +were evident to him: first, that Yung How had not recognised him and +that he was now scarcely likely to do so; second, that he might be +persuaded to operate against Ling--provided he could do so without +great personal risk.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now in order not to overestimate the boldness of the step which Frank +Armitage then and there proposed to take, it is necessary to realise +that the boy could see no other way out of his difficulties, to +remember that not only his own life but the lives of Mr Waldron and his +uncle depended upon his success, and to remember also that he stood in +no fear of Yung How, whom he had known since he was a child.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was above all things necessary for Frank to communicate with +Hong-Kong if he could not go there himself. The moment Ling left the +opium den it occurred to Frank that he might write a letter. He could +not, however, do this without being observed by Yung How, who had +received strict orders from Ling not to allow the boy out of his sight +for a single moment. Frank therefore decided to play a bold card; but +he would never have taken a step so hazardous had he not had something +more than an inkling that he was likely to meet with success. He +crossed the room to the couch upon which Yung How was lying, and asked +the man if he would be so good as to accompany him to the balcony at +the head of the stairs.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I have something of the greatest importance to say to you," said he. +"It may be to your advantage as well as mine."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How looked at him in surprise, then got to his feet, and walked +slowly up the stairs, followed by Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They seated themselves, side by side, upon a couch in a darkened +corner. Now that Frank found himself confronted by the greatest crisis +in all his strange adventures, he hesitated to begin. Several minutes +elapsed before he could speak, and he did not do so then without a word +of encouragement.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well?" asked Yung How.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am surprised, Yung How," said Frank, "that you have not recognised +me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How knitted his brows, and drawing away from the boy, turned and +stared at him. Frank Armitage did not move.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I should have thought," he added, "you would have known me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How's voice came in a kind of gasp.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Master Frank!" he exclaimed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy smiled. It was as much as he could do, but he managed it +somehow, knowing full well that everything depended upon his presence +of mind. He had learned something from Ling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you blind, Yung How?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I did not know you," said the man, who had not yet recovered from his +astonishment. "The shaven head! The pigtail! Your clothes! Besides, +you are the last person I expected to see. I thought you hundreds of +miles away."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So I was," said Frank. "I escaped."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! It was you who escaped! I did not think of that." Then he +lowered his voice. "But why have you told me?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Because, Yung How, though you have behaved like a rascal, I cannot +believe you to be such a villain that you would allow my uncle, who has +been a good master to you for years, to be murdered."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How was silent for more than a minute.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is true," said he; "that is very true."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I suppose you realise," Frank went on, "that if I remain here, Ling +may gain possession of the ransom, and in that case both my uncle and +Mr Waldron will be killed. You know also that, if you betray me to +Ling, I shall be killed. Do you remember, Yung How, when I was a +little boy who had only just learned to walk, you used to take me up to +the top of the Peak, and we would walk upon the asphalt paths, and you +would tell me Chinese fairy tales? I remember them to this day. Then, +it was you who taught me to speak your language. Do you remember when +the plague came to Hong-Kong, and people were dying in the streets? +Have you forgotten that you too fell ill, and my uncle himself carried +you in his arms and sent you in a chair to the hospital? Have you +forgotten that?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The face of Yung How had grown very serious. Slowly he shook his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"My master," said he, "I have not forgotten."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You had the plague," said Frank, "and my uncle took you in his arms. +In doing so, he risked his life to save yours."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is true," said the Chinaman, who sat quite still and rigid, +staring straight in front of him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Is there no gratitude," said Frank, "in all the Chinese race?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There was again a long pause; and then Yung How quite suddenly fell +down upon his knees. Clenching both his fists, he raised them high +above his head, shaking them violently, as if he suffered anguish.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, how blind am I!" he cried. "Opium has done this. Opium, my young +master, has brought me here. You smoke a little and it is good; your +troubles vanish, your pains are no more, your dreams are sweet. Then +you must take more, until, at last, you smoke all night, in order to +forget the troubles of this world. And all that costs money. There +comes a time when even ten dollars will not secure the treasures, the +delights of opium. The craving was strong upon me, and all my money +had gone, when I heard that my master was about to undertake a journey +to the Nan-ling Mountains. I knew that I could get into communication +with Cheong-Chau through Ah Wu. I knew also that Cheong-Chau would +give me a good share of the ransom. I thought there would be no harm +in it. I was assured that no one should suffer death. And now I am +filled with remorse when I think of what has happened, when I think of +this man, Ling, and realise that the lives of us all hang upon a +thread. I have had my fill of opium. I want no more of it. Believe +me, my young master, I am prostrate with grief!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was fortunate that there was no one else on the balcony, for not +only was Yung How's emotion great, but he had raised his voice, and had +there been anyone near at hand, he must have been overheard. Frank +realised, with a sense of relief, that he had nothing to fear from the +man, that Yung How would not betray him. He saw also that Yung How +must master himself before Ling returned. The boy stretched forth a +hand and touched the Chinese upon the chest.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Listen, Yung How," said he, "you need not despair. With your help, I +believe, we can not only escape ourselves but save my uncle and Mr +Waldron. Ling watches me. Without your help I can do nothing. But +you have friends in Canton; it should be possible for you to get a +message through to Hong-Kong. To-morrow morning Cheong-Chau's letter +will be delivered to the Governor. The ransom will be paid, but Ling +will get hold of it if troops are not sent down to capture him. This +message should go to Hong-Kong to-night. The boat leaves at eight +o'clock. It is now half-past seven."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How sprang to his feet.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We have delayed matters too long," he cried. "Why should not we two +escape at once without wasting a moment?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank grasped the man's hand and pressed it. "I promise you my uncle +will forgive you. More than that, on his behalf, I promise you a +reward."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is not necessary," said Yung How. "I am disgraced; you have made +me realise my own baseness. I should like you to see that a Chinaman +can be an honest man. But, I repeat, we do but waste time in words. +We must go together and we must go now--at once--if we are to catch the +boat!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Even as he continued speaking, he moved forward rapidly, followed by +Frank. They passed hastily down the stairs, and thence, passing the +little room in which Men-Ching had been done to death, they went to the +back door, with the object of letting themselves out.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As Frank Armitage stretched forth a hand to take hold of the handle, +the door swung back, as on its own accord. And there entered Ling, who +had to stoop in order that his gigantic form might pass beneath the +lintel.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And so," cried Ling, "we have returned. Men-Ching sleeps with his +fathers. As the West River flows eastward to the sea, the waters sing +a song of sleep to the celestial graves on either bank. Opium, Ah Wu! +Give me opium to smoke, for like the long-tailed horse of a Manchu +warrior, the mighty Ling scents battle from afar."</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xvii-how-ling-was-too-late"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id18"><span>CHAPTER XVII--HOW LING WAS TOO LATE</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>It was, with Ling, something in the nature of a pose to speak after the +fashion of the scholars, using the flowery language of the writers of +poesy, or quoting the philosophical maxims of the sages. None the +less, the moment he entered the opium den, though he spoke of other +things, it was apparent both to Frank Armitage and Yung How that Ling +had detected the fact that they were about to make their escape.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In his customary boisterous manner, the great Honanese ushered them +into the room. Ascending the stairs, he sprawled at full length upon +the couch upon which Frank had been seated but a few moments before, +when Yung How made his confession.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"At last," said Ling, "Cheong-Chau and myself are to meet. He knows me +of old. This will not be the first time that I have snatched the ripe +fruit from his mouth. Cheong-Chau has no cause to love me. I have +heard it said that he regards me as his deadly enemy, the only man who +ever foiled him."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He puffed at the opium pipe which Ah Wu had brought him. The amount of +the drug that the man consumed was extraordinary, and moreover, it +seemed to have very little effect upon either his physical or mental +constitution. As he sent thin clouds of blue smoke upward to the +ceiling, in the close, stifling atmosphere of the room, he half closed +his eyes, and appeared to be lost in his thoughts.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said he, "I have no fear of Cheong-Chau and all his rascals. I +shall win. There is little doubt as to that. The wolf cannot stand +before the tiger. Therefore you would be wise to side with me. If the +wolf shows his teeth, he goes the way of Men-Ching. And thither go all +who oppose me. For your own guidance, I advise you to remember this."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He opened his eyes and fixed them upon Yung How, who stood at hand. +Yung How did not flinch. He was as calm and dignified as usual. +Indeed, for a few moments only had Frank seen him otherwise, and then +he had appeared absolutely carried away by anguish and remorse. It +occurred to Frank how strange it was that a man who, as a general rule, +was outwardly so calm and collected should be capable of such +deep-seated and demonstrative emotion. However, the Chinese are an +inexplicable race, as Frank knew well enough. He regarded Yung How, +and was delighted to observe that the man never faltered in his honest +resolution before the steady, piercing gaze of the implacable Honanese.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I desire to know," said Ling, "where you two were going as I chanced +to enter."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How did not answer a word. He continued to look Ling straight in +the face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well," said Ling, "you need not tell me. I have a shrewd +suspicion that you were up to no good. I shall take the necessary +precautions and ask you, for the sake of your own welfare, to remember +my warning."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He disposed himself as if for sleep, throwing back his head upon the +pillow. Ah Wu busied himself about the establishment, entertaining his +guests, of whom there were now many, and seeing that his assistants +went about their duties. As for Frank and Yung How, they lay down upon +couches on the balcony, the former because he was thoroughly tired, and +felt that he required a rest.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly Ling sat up, and cried out that he was hungry. Shouting down +into the room below, he ordered one of Ah Wu's men to bring him food, +and then turned to Yung How.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And you shall wait on me," he declared. "I have heard it said that +you have a great reputation in Hong-Kong, that you squeeze even ricksha +coolies for copper cash and make more money than a comprador. You +shall attend to my wants; and when I have eaten all that I desire, you +shall--as I promised you--wash up the bowls and plates."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Presently one of Ah Wu's assistants mounted the staircase, carrying in +his hands a large tray upon which was a number of Chinese dishes. The +tray was set down upon a small table at which Yung How was ordered to +preside, handing the mighty Ling whatever dish he might call for.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now Yung How had made up his mind to escape, and even as he waited upon +Ling he took careful stock of his surroundings. He knew that he could +not rely upon any help from Ah Wu, who was now hand and glove with the +Honanese. He had noticed that Ah Wu had locked the back door, putting +the key in one of his pockets. There was a clock in the room, towards +which Yung How repeatedly carried his eyes. It was twenty minutes to +eight. Yung How had, indeed, very little time if he was to make good +his escape and catch the Hong-Kong boat. He could not very well cross +the room, and go out by the main entrance, because Ling would certainly +see him and follow in pursuit. The man was beginning to despair when +he observed a window at the farther end of the balcony.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This window was closed, but it might be possible to open it. Also, +since the floor of the lower room was somewhat below the level of the +street, the window could not be far from the ground. The difficulty +that confronted Yung How was how to reach the window without arousing +the suspicions of Ling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now Yung How, like the majority of his countrymen, was by no means +devoid of inventive powers. The Chinaman is an adept at finding an +excuse, and it must be confessed that the device of Yung How was +ingenious.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In handing a small bowl of rice to Ling, the man purposely knocked over +the small opium spirit-lamp which stood burning upon the table by the +side of the couch upon which Ling was lying. This nearly resulted in a +general conflagration that might have destroyed the whole +establishment. The oil ran out, and set fire to the dry matting with +which the floors were carpeted; and this burned like tinder-wood, the +fire running with rapidity along the balcony and filling the whole +place with smoke.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling, springing to his feet, utilised one of the cushions of the couch +to smother the fire. Frank was not slow to follow his example, and Ah +Wu and several men from the lower room, hastening up the steps, +resorted to various means to quench the fire, or at least to hold it in +check.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For the best part of a minute the whole place was uproar and confusion. +Those who were already asleep from the effects of opium were awakened +by cries of "Fire!" One or two in alarm left the establishment by the +main entrance, spreading the report in the city that Ah Wu's opium den +had actually been burned to the ground.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Long before that Yung How had made the most of his opportunity. At the +moment when the danger was most imminent, when the attention of both +Ling and Ah Wu was fully engaged, the man passed unseen to the window, +which he opened. Leaning over the sill and looking down, he satisfied +himself that it was not more than twelve feet to the ground. As quick +as thought he crawled through, hung for a moment at the full extent of +his arms, and then dropped to the street. Instantly he set off running +as fast as he could in the direction of Shamien.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When the fire was extinguished, Ling gave vent to his feelings, cursing +Yung How for his carelessness and folly. However, he had not +unburdened himself of more than a few sentences when, to his +astonishment and indescribable wrath, he discovered that Yung How was +gone. Seeing the opened window, he rushed to it, and looked out. +Beyond there was nothing but darkness, an unlighted by-street, not more +than two or three yards in width.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling descended the stairs like an infuriated tiger. Quite suddenly he +came to a halt in the middle of the room. Thence he returned up the +staircase, four steps at a time, at the top of which he encountered +Frank. He seized the boy by the throat, and then, lifting him off his +feet, tucked him under an arm, as a man might carry a hen.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He again descended the stairs, unlocked the door of the little room, +threw the boy inside, and locked the door upon him. A moment later, he +was in the street, rushing forward at such a tempestuous rate that he +cleared all obstructions from his path. He thrust an empty ricksha +aside with such violence that he broke the shafts. He knocked over +three men: a fat old merchant, a beggar, and a blind man. He killed a +duck by crushing it underfoot, and finding his way barred by a pig, he +picked it up and threw it over a wall, the animal squealing in terror.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Gaining the narrow creek that separates Shamien from the main part of +the city, Ling dashed across the bridge of boats. That night the few +Europeans who were walking along the </span><em class="italics">bund</em><span> in front of the hotel and +the club beheld the remarkable apparition of a Chinese giant who +charged forward like a madman, his long pigtail flying out behind him, +making in the direction of the harbour.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On a sudden, Ling stopped dead. His headlong course had been arrested +by a peculiar sound, or rather combination of sounds, the explanation +of which was not difficult to seek. There was the shrill whistle of a +siren and the sound of large paddles violently thrashing the water.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Almost at once, the Hong-Kong boat hove in sight. The decks were +ablaze with light. Upon the bridge, Ling could distinguish both the +Chinese pilot and the English captain.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hi!" he shouted. "I have missed the ship. If you slow down and lower +a rope I can come on board from a </span><em class="italics">sampan</em><span>."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He spoke in excellent English. There is no doubt that the captain both +heard and understood him, for Ling received his answer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Too late, my friend!" shouted the captain. "We sail to time, and if +you're not here it's your own fault. You'll have to wait till +to-morrow--eight o'clock in the morning."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling's answer was neither in the English language nor at the top of his +voice. It was in Cantonese, and as a matter of fact it cannot be +translated. And if it could be translated, no one would print it. For +Ling had not failed to observe Yung How, standing alone upon the upper +deck.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xviii-of-the-spider-and-the-web"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id19"><span>CHAPTER XVIII--OF THE SPIDER AND THE WEB</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>When Frank was thrown into the little room beneath the stairs, and +heard the key turn upon him, he at first believed himself to be in +utter darkness. But very soon his eyes became accustomed to the dim +light that emanated from several cracks in the woodwork.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>These cracks were in the stairs that led from the lower room to the +balcony. The opium den was, of course, well illumined by several +paraffin lamps. The little room in which Frank was imprisoned extended +from the foot of the staircase to the back wall, the staircase itself +forming the ceiling, which was in consequence only about three feet +high at one end of the room, and about twelve feet high at the other. +Now it so happened that the largest crack was at the lower end of the +room, and Frank Armitage was not slow to discover that, by placing his +eye to this, he could see quite easily into the opium den.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When he looked into the outer room he was able to observe several opium +smokers, and Ah Wu himself, who was seated at his desk at the doorway. +There was, however, no sign of Ling, and Frank rightly concluded that +the Honanese must have left the establishment in pursuit of Yung How.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There could be no doubt upon this point; for not only could the boy +see, but he was able to hear quite distinctly, the woodwork of which +the small room was constructed being extraordinarily thin. If Ling had +been either upon the balcony or in the lower room Frank must have heard +him; for the man seldom spoke without raising his voice to such a pitch +that he might have been giving a word of command to a regiment of +cavalry.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Fully an hour elapsed before the Honanese returned. He was then in a +towering rage. He called for Ah Wu, who chanced to be absent in the +kitchen. Frank heard Ling inform the proprietor of the opium den that +Yung How had escaped on the Hong-Kong boat. Both men then repaired to +Ah Wu's private apartments, where they remained for the greater part of +the night, Ah Wu occasionally looking in upon the opium den to see that +his business prospered.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Until about eleven o'clock the following morning, Frank Armitage was +left to his thoughts; and these were none of the pleasantest. He was +suffering considerable discomfort. It was a long time since he had had +any food; and the great heat and stifling atmosphere of the opium den, +together with the pungent smell of the smoke, had served to make him so +thirsty that his lips were dry and his tongue clave to the roof of his +mouth. He regretted bitterly that he had not been able to escape with +Yung How. He felt that he could not stand the extreme suspense of his +situation much longer. It seemed to him inevitable that before long +Ling would discover who he was.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This was all the more probable, since--according to Ling--Cheong-Chau +himself was coming to the opium den. The brigand would be far more +likely than anyone else to recognise Frank--because he knew which of +his prisoners had escaped, and had evidently come south in order to +hunt for the fugitive.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank was seized with a great dread that Cheong-Chau had already made +away with his other prisoners, that he had murdered both Sir Thomas +Armitage and Mr Waldron. There was a possibility, on the other hand, +that he had brought his captives with him, which he might have done +quite easily on board a river-junk. Knowing full well that he could +not hope to obtain the ransom if Sir Thomas and Mr Waldron were known +to be dead, he may have decided to send further evidence to Hong-Kong +to the effect that his hostages were still alive. On thinking the +matter over, Frank was inclined to the belief that this was what had +actually happened.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There was another aspect of the business which demanded consideration. +It was now Cheong-Chau's intention to go himself to the Glade of +Children's Tears, in order to procure the money as soon as it arrived. +This, as we know, was a privilege that the mighty Ling had chosen to +reserve for himself; and so a meeting between these two redoubtable +villains was sooner or later inevitable. Cheong-Chau would have upon +his side the advantage of numbers. Ling, on the other hand, was in +possession of the more accurate information: he knew Cheong-Chau's +whereabouts and his intentions, whilst Cheong-Chau knew nothing about +him; he knew also that Yung How had escaped to Hong-Kong and that +intervention by the British was by no means improbable--a circumstance +of which the brigand chieftain remained in ignorance.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>That night Frank endeavoured to work out every possible contingency, +until his brain grew dizzy with thinking. At last, dead tired, feeling +sick with suspense, hunger and thirst, with such a splitting headache +resulting from the foul atmosphere of the den that he could hardly open +his eyes, he flung himself down upon the couch and almost at once fell +fast asleep.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the boy's last waking thoughts he found some degree of comfort. He +had come to realise that he himself could do nothing. He was at the +mercy of fate, in the hands of Providence--just as helpless as a wisp +of straw carried down-stream upon the current of a river. So far as +his own safety was concerned, he had come to such a pass that it might +almost be said that he no longer regarded it. To himself it did not +seem a matter of supreme importance whether he lived or died. He had +not given up hope, but physical exhaustion and mental strain had done +their work.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>During the earlier hours of the night his sleep was disturbed and +restless. He was conscious all the time of the voices of men talking +in the outer room, and these voices were in some way mingled with his +dreams, which were nothing but a series of nightmares, in which the +sinister figure of the colossal Ling was ever present--Ling with his +great hands and brute strength, his long glistening pigtail, his evil, +snake-like eyes, his rude jokes, his loud laughter, and the +half-mocking, half-serious manner in which he quoted from the writings +of the great Chinese philosophers. But, given a fair chance, a sane, +healthy and youthful constitution will in the end triumph over both +mental and bodily disorders, and towards the small hours of the morning +the boy fell into a heavy, dreamless sleep, from which he was not +awakened until Ling unlocked the door of the little room about eleven +o'clock in the morning.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Honanese regarded his captive for some moments without speaking.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You have slept well?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I have slept well," said Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They say," said Ling, "that sound sleep is a sign of a pure +conscience. I myself am in the habit of sleeping like a child. And +yet," he added, in a doubtful voice, "I am half of opinion that I ought +to put you out of the world."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You are free to do as you wish," said Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I thank you," said Ling. "I am aware of it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"At the same time," said the other, "I beg to remind you that I am not +here of my own free will. I did not ask to accompany you; you can +scarcely say that I intruded. You kidnapped me and demanded that I +should assist you. I did so to the best of my ability. I confess I +had no other alternative. That does not alter the fact that had you +left me to mind my own affairs I should not have interfered with you. +You told me a great deal about yourself. I did not ask you to. You +brought me here, where in my presence you committed a crime----"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, no," Ling interposed. "You do me a great injustice. I have +committed no crime. I did but defend my life. I usually do so with +success."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Have it your own way," said Frank, who now--for some reason or +other--felt bolder in the man's presence that he had ever felt before. +"It is not a matter that concerns me. A few days ago I had neither +seen nor heard of you. It was a misfortune for me that I encountered +you that morning upon the wharf at Sanshui. You have no right to +detain me. I have no valuables upon me, but a few copper </span><em class="italics">cash</em><span>. If +you want them you can take them. You are welcome to what I have. I +ask but one thing: to be allowed to go free, to go about my own +affairs."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is well spoken," said Ling. "I admit I am fond of you. I think +I have told you already that I have admitted you into the innermost +chamber of my heart. Had I a son, I would that he were such as you. I +would bring him up in the way that he should go. I would not entrust +his education to the </span><em class="italics">literati</em><span> of China. I would teach him myself."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"To be a robber?" asked Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Robbery," said Ling, "is a profession. I think that education should +be regarded merely as a groundwork, a kind of foundation upon which to +build. A man should be left to discover his own talents. His natural +inclinations will not lead him astray. One man will make a good +priest, another a good pirate. An excellent </span><em class="italics">scroff</em><span> may make a fool +of himself as a schoolmaster. You cannot grow mangoes upon a +cherry-tree, neither will a river fish live in the salt water. I would +teach you, my son, the divine philosophies of China; I would instruct +you in astronomy, music and mathematics. Then, when you were grown up, +you would be able to fend for yourself. It would be all one to me +whether you were a government prefect, a mandarin of the Red Button, or +a brigand like Cheong-Chau, whom I hope to meet this evening."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I see," said Frank, "that you would confer many favours upon my humble +self. I ask but one small boon--to be allowed to go away from this +place where you have thought fit to imprison me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And that is the one request," said Ling, "that I am unable to grant. +It so happens that I want you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Our friend, Ah Wu, has gone away. He has gone upon a visit to +Cheong-Chau. Cheong-Chau and he are old friends; they are brother +pigs, who have eaten many a time from the same trough. Ah Wu will +bring Cheong-Chau here. Cheong-Chau is a great opium smoker, and, as +all Canton is well aware, no better opium can be obtained in the city +than that which is sold by Ah Wu. So Cheong-Chau will come."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And what has this to do with me?' asked Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It has a great deal to do with you," said the other, "for, in the +meantime, I am left in charge of this establishment; hence, for the +second time, I need your assistance. Cheong-Chau knows me very well by +sight. He would not remain in this place two seconds if he saw me when +he entered. Therefore, once again, I must hide."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Where?" asked Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There is a small storeroom between the curtains and the outer door. +There I shall be. Thence I shall be able to see everyone who enters or +who leaves. There will be no other way of exit, for the back door will +be locked and I shall have the key. When Cheong-Chau enters you are to +attend to his wants. When he asks for opium to smoke, you are to take +it to him; but you are to come to me for it, and the opium which I will +give you will be drugged. That is all you have to do. It will be very +simple. You cannot hope to escape, for I myself guard the outer door, +and I shall be armed with the revolver that I took from Yung How. I +need hardly tell you that, if necessity arises, I shall shoot."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank realised at once that this plan of Ling's involved the utmost +peril for himself. It was probable that Cheong-Chau, when he came, +would recognise the fugitive. What the result of this would be, Frank +dared not imagine. On the other hand, he saw no way of escaping from +Ling. It was as if the boy was no more than a fly which had been +caught in the meshes of the huge net woven by this implacable and +terrible spider.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Throughout the whole of that day, he was kept busily employed in the +opium den, brushing the couches, sweeping the floor and cleaning the +spirit-lamps. He was given food to eat, and plenty of green tea to +drink, which had the effect of getting rid of his headache. And all +the time he was working he endeavoured to collect his thoughts; he +tried to think of some definite plan of action. But rack his brain as +he might, he could see no way out of his difficulties. He could think +of no means of staving off the calamity which was impending.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>During the afternoon the den began to fill. Customers continually +dropped in, some to smoke opium, others to purchase it and take it +away. At nightfall, there was about a dozen people in the place, and +when the clock which was suspended upon the railings of the balcony +struck the hour of ten, the voice of Ah Wu was heard without the main +entrance. Immediately afterwards, the fat proprietor entered, +accompanied by Cheong-Chau, the brigand chief.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xix-how-ling-read-confucius"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id20"><span>CHAPTER XIX--HOW LING READ CONFUCIUS</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Frank, who feared instinctively that the worst would happen, retreated +hastily to the other end of the room. There he busied himself with +vigorously sweeping the floor, until he was summoned by Ah Wu to attend +to the wants of the new-comer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy's heart was beating violently. It was as much as he could do +to lift his eyes from the ground to meet those of the redoubtable +brigand from whose clutches he had so recently escaped; and when at +last he did so, he was more than ever dismayed to perceive that +Cheong-Chau was attended by three of his ruffians, whom Frank knew well +by sight.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As in a flash, the boy reviewed the circumstances of the predicament in +which he found himself. He saw no hope that he could avoid detection. +Even if Cheong-Chau himself failed to recognise the fugitive--a very +unlikely contingency--one of the other three would be almost sure to do +so. It must be remembered that the boy had not disguised his features. +His identity was but thinly veiled by the Chinese clothes he was +wearing--which had been given him by the tea-grower--the false pigtail +and the shaven forepart of his head. He could not believe for a moment +that Cheong-Chau would fail to know him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In his extreme anxiety, it did not occur to the boy that Yung How, who +knew him a great deal better than any of the brigands, had been quite +deceived, that Frank had been obliged to declare his identity to the +man who had known him since childhood. For all that, even if the boy +had had either the presence of mind or the inclination to take stock of +his chances of success, he could not have overlooked a very important +fact: that Cheong-Chau was looking for him, whereas Yung How, on the +other hand, had never suspected for an instant that he had escaped.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau and his men had come south in pursuit of the fugitive. The +man had been enticed into the opium den by Ah Wu, whom he still +believed to be his colleague. Here Cheong-Chau was to be drugged by +order of the subtle and relentless villain who even then lay in +hiding--like a great cat crouching by the side of a mouse-hole--behind +the embroidered curtains. And now Cheong-Chau was to find himself, +suddenly and unexpectedly, confronted by the very fugitive whom he had +pursued for days.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank, cold with fear, certain of disaster, and dreading that he would +be mercilessly put to death, looked Cheong-Chau in the face. The +varied sensations he experienced were akin to what those must be of a +condemned man upon the scaffold. He did but wait for the terminating +blow to fall.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He could not look at Cheong-Chau for more than an instant. He turned +and regarded Ah Wu, who was standing on the other side of him. Ah Wu +was smiling in his oily, plausible manner. He looked the complete +host, affability itself, and all the time he was planning the +discomfiture of his guest. A fat, genuine rogue!</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah Li," said he, addressing Frank, "you will attend to the wants of +our distinguished guest. Conduct Cheong-Chau and his friends to the +more comfortable couches upstairs, smooth the pillows, place a +spirit-lamp upon each table, and then hasten to the storeroom and +procure the best quality opium. Cheong-Chau would smoke the Indian +variety, that which comes from Calcutta, than which there is no finer +opium in the world."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank turned, and departed up the staircase. Indeed, he was devoutly +thankful to get away. At the top of the steps he paused, and stood for +a moment trying to think, with his back turned to the room.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing had happened--nothing at all. Cheong-Chau had not spoken. +None of his men had said a word. The boy was still unrecognised. It +was too good to be true. It was all like a dream.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Pulling himself together, Frank carried out his orders, thinking all +the time that the remarkable chain of circumstances which had carried +him against his will and inclination from one adventure to another was +something altogether foreign to his former experiences. Life, instead +of a pleasant and somewhat homely occupation, had become a kind of +romantic nightmare. It was hard not to believe that presently he would +awaken to find that Cheong-Chau, Ah Wu and Ling himself were phantasms, +hallucinations, that would vanish at the moment of waking, their +sinister and evil personalities fading away, in the boy's memory, like +smoke upon the air.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He could scarce believe that a few minutes' calm reasoning would not +instantly dissipate the reality of these strange and terrible people, +the remarkable events dependent upon the thoughts and actions of a +ruffian like Ling. Everything was all the more unreal to Frank because +he appeared to exist, to continue to undergo such singular experiences, +only by virtue of a series of miracles. The unexpected always happened.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was also inconceivable to the boy that he himself, the nephew of one +of the most distinguished government officials in Hong-Kong, a man of +almost world-wide reputation as a lawyer, should find himself a coolie +attendant in a Canton opium den, in which he conversed, in terms of +intimate acquaintance, with Chinese thieves, brigands, swindlers and +cut-throats. And yet he was not dreaming: he was conscious of a +headache; both his knees and elbows had been badly bruised; and +besides, Yung How, who had once been wont to take a small five-year-old +boy for walks upon the level paths on the crest of the Peak, had known +him, had fallen upon his knees before him, and had wept tears of +repentance.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Whilst the boy was busy with these thoughts, he was carrying out his +duties. He had arranged the couches, lighted the spirit-lamps, and +seen that there was one of Ah Wu's best carved ivory opium pipes upon +each lacquer table.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>By that time Cheong-Chau and his three companions, attended by the +officious Ah Wu, had ascended the stairs. Cheong-Chau's eyes glistened +at the thought of the treat in store for him; while his men--rough +Chinese of the very lowest class--stared about them in awed amazement +at the carved wood, the rich draperies, the gilded lacquer that adorned +Ah Wu's premises. Doubtless they had never before found themselves in +such a high-class establishment. They had been wont to smoke their +opium in the foul and verminous dens of the provincial town of Pinglo. +Possibly they had never before beheld the miraculous city of Canton.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank observed all this, and knew that he could find here the reason +why he had not been recognised. The men were too much impressed by +their surroundings to take note of details. Place a beggar in a +palace, and he will most likely fail to notice the pattern of the +carpet upon which he stands, even though he stare in his embarrassment +at nothing else.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau stretched himself upon the couch immediately facing the +stair-head. His three followers similarly disposed themselves upon his +left, the one at the end reclining under the window through which Yung +How had escaped.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu rubbed his hands together and addressed himself to the brigand.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They tell me," said he, "that one of your prisoners has cut off?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is so," said Cheong-Chau, with an oath. "The fools of sentries +let him through. He got away in the night. I and ten men started at +daybreak, bringing with us the two other captives, but so far we have +failed to find the culprit."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank, standing near at hand, listened intently to every word. The boy +had placed himself against the wall, a little behind Cheong-Chau, so +that the man would have to turn to look at him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Can he have reached Hong-Kong, do you think?" asked Ah Wu.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau shrugged his shoulders.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I think not," said he. "He has barely had time. But who can say?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And you have brought your other captives with you?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That was necessary," said Cheong-Chau. "I had to keep them under my +eye. I cannot trust my men. They allow hostages to escape."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you not find them very much in the way?" asked Ah Wu.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not in the least. We came down in one of my own sea-going junks. We +are now anchored in the Sang River, about two miles from the Glade of +Children's Tears. Still, I am not here to give information but to +receive it. What news have you of Men-Ching?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He left here yesterday morning," answered the other, without moving a +muscle of his face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Did he not say where he was going?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a word."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Strange," said Cheong-Chau. "A surprising circumstance! He knew well +enough that you were in our confidence. He ought to have spoken openly +to you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu laughed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course," said he. "Why, it was I myself who arranged the whole +matter."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And what of the other man, Yung How, the Hong-Kong servant?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He also is gone."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau was silent a moment.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We must suppose," said he, "that Men-Ching has gone on to Hong-Kong +with the letters. We may therefore presume that the letters have +already reached their destination. The money may arrive at the Glade +to-morrow. As for Yung How, I do not know the man. But if he +contemplates treachery, it will go ill with him. And now, Ah Wu, my +opium. I would smoke."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu turned to the boy and ordered him to bring four bowls of Indian +opium from the storeroom. Frank descended the stairs, passed down the +length of the lower room, drew back the embroidered curtains and +entered the storeroom, where he found Ling seated upon a stool. It was +one of those high stools upon which Chinese of the merchant class are +wont to do their accounts, similar to the old-fashioned clerks' stools +sometimes seen in offices in England. When seated upon one of these, +the average man rests his feet upon a cross-piece, several inches from +the ground. Ling, however, sat with one foot upon the floor and the +other leg crossed upon his knee.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When the boy entered, Ling was reading, but he at once looked up from +his book.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The writings of Confucius," said he, "assure me that the perfect life +cannot be attained by any man. Troubles, disappointment, sorrows and +failure are bound to accompany us wherever we go. Divine philosophy +instructs us to accept our destiny with grace. The coat of every man +is patched; there are cracks in the armour upon which he depends to +defend himself from the arrows of adversity. He who thinks himself +infallible falls the most heavily; the conceited man lays the trap by +which he himself is caught; his own vanity trips him up. He who +attempts much, hopes for much, but is prepared to go unrewarded, is he +to whom success is doubly assured. I trust, my youthful friend, you +follow me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Perfectly," said Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is well," said Ling, laying down his book. "And now we will +poison Cheong-Chau."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Poison him!" exclaimed the boy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Fear not," said Ling. "Send him comfortably to sleep--a sleep that +will last for some days. By then I shall have gathered the harvest at +the Glade of Children's Tears, and you, my little one, will be +free--your heart's sole desire."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He turned and picked up a large pale blue bowl in which he had stirred +a quantity of opium, mixing it with a colourless fluid contained in a +bottle.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There are four of them, I understand?" said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," said Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is as well," observed Ling, "that I have made enough. I fill four +small bowls--one for each. These fools will not taste anything; they +will not suspect. They will smoke and dream, and enjoy to the full the +delights of opium. And they will fall gradually into such a sleep that +the firing of a cannon in the room would not awaken them."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He handed to the boy the four small bowls upon a tray of carved black +wood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Take it," said he, "and leave me to my reading. Happiness is to be +found in wisdom, not wisdom in happiness. In prosperity the heart +withers; in adversity, it blooms. Farewell."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank went out, holding the tray before him, and ascended the flight of +steps.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xx-how-the-tiger-sprang"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id21"><span>CHAPTER XX--HOW THE TIGER SPRANG</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Upon the balcony Frank found Cheong-Chau still in conversation with Ah +Wu. No one would have suspected from the demeanour of the fat +proprietor of the opium den that he plotted the overthrow of the +redoubtable brigand chief. The man was all smiles and Chinese +courtesy. He rubbed his hands together; he flattered his guest; he +bowed repeatedly. Frank advanced, carrying the tray upon which were +the four bowls of opium.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah!" exclaimed Ah Wu. "We have here the choice opium of which I +spoke. I guarantee that the distinguished Cheong-Chau has never smoked +the like of it. I procure it from an agent in Burma. This, I believe, +is the only house in China in which it is sold."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I thank you, Ah Wu," said the brigand, who had divested himself of the +greater part of his clothing. "I thank you from my heart. I am a +rough man, accustomed to the wilds. Such luxuries seldom come my way. +At the same time, Ah Wu, who is this boy? It occurs to me that I have +seen him before."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man was staring at Frank, who felt his heart sink within him. Ah +Wu's answer, given without hesitation, was somewhat reassuring.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He has been here," said Ah Wu, "for many months."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Strange," said Cheong-Chau, "that I have never seen him before!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank was, at first, at a loss to explain what motive Ah Wu could have +for telling such a deliberate falsehood. It then occurred to him that +Ah Wu could not explain truthfully who he was without mentioning Ling; +and it was--from Ah Wu's point of view--of extreme importance to keep +the name of Ling out of the whole affair. If Cheong-Chau but knew that +the great Honanese was in the building, he would not have remained in +the place for five seconds, much less would he have been so careless as +to allow his physical and mental capacities to be temporarily subdued +by the subtle fumes of the opium poppy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come here, boy," said Cheong-Chau, who had not yet removed his eyes +from Frank. "I want to look at you more closely."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy went forward in fear and trembling. Cheong-Chau grasped him by +a wrist, and drew him downward, so that their faces were not more than +a foot apart.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You bear," said Cheong-Chau, speaking very deliberately, "a most +remarkable resemblance to the very man I am looking for. What is your +name?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah Li," said Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy's heart was beating like a sledgehammer. He felt instinctively +that the Sword of Damocles, which had been suspended for so long above +his head, was at last about to fall. That the result would be fatal to +himself, and those whose lives depended upon him, he could not for a +moment doubt.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I come from Sanshui," said he, in a weak voice that quailed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau suddenly rose to his feet and lifted his voice to a kind of +shriek. It was the voice Frank had heard when Cheong-Chau addressed +his followers in the gloomy nave of the temple; it was the same voice +the man had used on the occasion when he staggered into the cave, +senseless and drugged with opium.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is in my way of thinking," he shouted, "that you come from +Hong-Kong, that your name is no more Ah Li than mine is, that you are a +foreign devil in disguise!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu opened his eyes in astonishment. He lifted both hands with +fingers widespread. He looked like an old woman who has seen a ghost.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There is some mistake!" he cried.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This boy," roared Cheong-Chau, "is a foreigner."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>His voice was so loud that it carried to the farther end of the room. +Everyone heard his words, and those who were not asleep raised +themselves upon their elbows to ascertain what the disturbance was +about. Behind the embroidered curtains the mighty Ling, who had been +listening to all that was said, crouching like a cat, rose stealthily +and slowly to his feet. He was like a great beast of prey that +suddenly scents danger. It was as if he stretched the great muscles of +his body, preparatory to action.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You are a foreigner!" cried Cheong-Chau.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank knew not which way to look. He had put down the tray upon a +small lacquer table by the side of Cheong-Chau's couch. The brigand +still held him tightly by a wrist. Realising that he could not deny +the truth of the man's words, the boy made a foolish, headstrong effort +to escape. With a quick wrench, he freed his arm, and turned upon his +heel with the intention of dashing down the steps. Since subterfuge +had failed, he felt that he had nothing else to rely upon but physical +agility.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He had almost reached the head of the stairs when Ah Wu stretched forth +a hand to detain him. It is strange that the boy's exposure should +have been brought about by Ah Wu, in whose interests it was for the +deception to continue--at least, whilst Cheong-Chau was in the house.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ah Wu attempted to seize the boy by a shoulder, and failing in this, he +clutched at Frank's pigtail, which was flying out behind him. Needless +to say, as the boy plunged down the stairs, he left behind him his +false pigtail in the hands of the dumbfounded Ah Wu. Before he could +stop himself, Frank was at the bottom of the stairs, and there, for the +first time, he remembered that he would have to pass Ling at the outer +door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For the brief space of a moment, Frank looked about him like a hunted +beast. He could see no way of escape. Ling, he knew, was in front of +him, though not visible. The back door was locked. There were no +windows in the lower room. On the other hand, escape from one of the +balcony windows was impossible, for Cheong-Chau and his three followers +stood at the stair-head. The voice of Cheong-Chau filled the room, +uttering, in a weird, sing-song voice, a kind of triumphant pæan.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am Cheong-Chau," he cried, "and men fear me from the Nan-ling +Mountains to the sea. I have hunted down the fugitive and I have found +him. Those who foil me can expect no mercy. I live by the knife, and +my enemies die by the knife. Death to foreign devils!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At that, he dashed down the stairs. As he did so he drew from his belt +a long, curved Chinese knife, which he raised high above his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank turned and fled down the room, but Cheong-Chau was upon him as a +cat springs at a mouse. The boy was caught by the coat, and jerked +backward. With difficulty he maintained his balance. Looking up, he +beheld Cheong-Chau's knife raised on high, whilst the man's eyes were +fixed upon the region of the boy's heart.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"By the knife!" shrieked Cheong-Chau. "By the knife!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The cruel weapon glittered in the light emanating from the paraffin +lamps. Frank closed his eyes, knowing that the end was about to come. +He felt that he had not strength to look longer into that impassioned +face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Then, quite suddenly, there came a roar like that of a charging lion. +Frank was pushed aside and sent flying across the room, to pitch, head +foremost, over an unoccupied couch. Gathering himself together, he +beheld a feat of strength that was amazing.</span></p> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 62%" id="figure-65"> +<span id="there-came-a-roar-like-that-of-a-charging-lion"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""THERE CAME A ROAR LIKE THAT OF A CHARGING LION."" src="images/img-208.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">"THERE CAME A ROAR LIKE THAT OF A CHARGING LION."</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pnext"><span>The mighty Ling had swooped down upon his rival as an eagle snatches +his prey. A blow from his great fist sounded like a pistol shot, and +Cheong-Chau, without a sound, fell in a heap senseless on the floor. +And then two of the brigand's followers were seized by the throat, and +their two heads were brought together with a crash. One man pitched +forward on the instant, and lay upon his face, flat across the body of +his leader. As for the other, he went reeling round the room like a +man dazed and drunken. Then he dropped down upon both knees by the +side of a couch, holding his head between his hands.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The third man turned and fled in trepidation at the sight of the fate +of his comrades. However, he had gone no farther than half-way up the +stairs, when Ling snatched up one of the small lacquer tables, and +hurled it at the fugitive with such force that it crashed to atoms +against the banisters. This projectile was followed, a fraction of a +second later, by a lighted paraffin lamp, which stretched the man +senseless upon the balcony at the feet of the amazed Ah Wu.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>All this had happened in less than a minute. Frank Armitage had only +just time to observe that the lamp had fortunately gone out, and that +there was no danger of the place being set on fire. And then he +himself was plucked violently from off his feet.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling had picked him up as though he were a babe in arms. In his haste +and violence, the man tore down the embroidered curtains. Frank heard +the front door slam, and then he was conscious of the fact that he was +being borne onward at a terrific pace, through the dark and narrow +streets of the great Chinese city.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxi-of-the-glade-of-children-s-tears"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id22"><span>CHAPTER XXI--OF THE GLADE OF CHILDREN'S TEARS</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Frank had neither time to consider the extraordinary sequence of events +narrated in the previous chapter nor the slightest inclination to +speculate in regard to the future. He realised, somewhat dimly, that +he was no more than a pawn in the game. A few moments since, he had +stood defenceless in the stifling atmosphere of the opium den; he had +beheld the knife raised to strike him down. He had been delivered with +dramatic suddenness at the eleventh hour. At the same time, he could +not help realising that, in all probability, he had fallen out of the +frying-pan into the fire. If his deception had been detected by +Cheong-Chau, his identity had also been discovered by the formidable +Ling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the meantime he was being carried away to some unknown destination. +The boy realised the futility of attempting to struggle, and if he +cried out for help in those dark streets, no one was likely to take the +least notice of him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling kept--so far as he was able--to the by-streets: the narrow, +twisting lanes that form a veritable labyrinth in the poorer parts of +this wonderful and mysterious city. The hour was tolerably +late--approaching midnight. The main streets were lighted by means of +the flares in the shops and upon the hawkers' booths; and when it was +necessary to cross one of these, the spectacle of the great Honanese +carrying under his arm one who was apparently a foreign boy, dressed in +Chinese clothes, attracted no little attention. However, with every +Chinaman it is a fixed principle of life to mind his own affairs, and +no one interfered.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At last, Ling set down the boy upon his feet, and taking hold of him by +a wrist, proceeded to drag him forward. Presently they came forth upon +the outskirts of the town. It was a bright night; for though the moon +was on the wane, the sky was clear and there was a glorious canopy of +stars--stars such as can only be seen east of the Suez Canal. The boy +was able to make out the great gabled tower, situated upon a hillock to +the north of the city, which goes by the name of the Five-Storied +Pagoda. He remembered very well visiting this place, a few weeks +before, accompanied by Mr Waldron and his uncle.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling took a bridle path leading directly to the north, lying in a +bee-line across the down-like hills. The man strode forward, walking +at such a great pace that Frank was obliged to run to keep up with him. +All this time he said nothing. He walked, staring straight in front of +him--a gaunt, sinister and gigantic figure. Never for a moment did he +release his hold of Frank's wrist, which felt as if it was held within +a vice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>After a time they came to a river, or canal. Since the path led +straight into the water and was visible in continuation upon the other +bank, it was evident that there was a ford. Ling hesitated a moment, +and then, hoisting his captive upon his shoulder, carried him high and +dry to the other side, himself wading in water that reached to his +knees. Beyond, he once more set down Frank upon the ground; and they +went forward at the same steady pace. And at every step the water +squelched in the soft felt shoes the Chinaman was wearing.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At the end of an hour, Frank was beginning to feel fatigued; he was +considerably out of breath. Ling, on the other hand, appeared to be in +no way exhausted. They came to a hut--the habitation, in all +probability, of some swineherd or peasant.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling kicked open the door, and they found within an old man, very +disreputable and dirty, clothed in rags, sound asleep before the +glowing embers of a charcoal fire.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling touched the sleeper upon the shoulder, and the old man sat up.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The mighty Ling!" he exclaimed, the moment he saw his visitor.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Peace," said Ling. "I come in peace, my friend. You need not be +discomfited. I ask for nothing more than you can give me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The old man, who had now risen to his feet, bowed low.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A mandarin of the Blue Button has but to speak," said he. "Who is a +mere drover of foul pigs to gainsay the word of so distinguished a +personage? Is it food you desire, or water, or an hour's rest upon +your journey? All I have, sir, is your own."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I want that which will cost you nothing," answered Ling. "This will +not be the first time that you have aided me. I will reward you--at a +later date--if all goes well with me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"May the gods assist you," said the old man, bowing again.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I rely upon myself," said Ling. "Tell me, Cheong-Chau's men have come +from the mountains. They are reported on the Sang River. Have you +seen anything of them?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I have indeed," said the other. "There is a junk anchored about three +</span><em class="italics">li</em><span> west of the tower. I saw it this afternoon."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you notice how many men were on board?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"About five or six," said the old man.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That agrees," said Ling, "with what I already know."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly grasped Frank by an +arm and thrust him through the door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come!" he cried. "We have no time to lose."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The next moment Frank Armitage was on the road again, and throughout +the early hours of the morning he continued to travel northward, in +company with his grim and silent captor. Once the boy dared to speak, +asking Ling where they were going; but he was at once ordered to hold +his tongue.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You need what breath you have," observed the Honanese. "I am not here +to answer questions."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There was more than a little truth in the first remark, for the boy was +obliged to keep up a steady jog-trot mile after mile, with never a halt +or a rest by the wayside.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Presently they gained the crest of a chain of low-lying hills. The +moonlight was sufficient to enable them to see for a considerable +distance. Before them lay a valley--so far as Frank could make +out--exceedingly fertile and picturesque, in which was a tall, thin +tower, somewhat resembling a short factory chimney, except that at the +top there was a narrow, circular balcony protected both from the rain +and the powerful rays of the sun by one of those queer-shaped, +overhanging roofs that are peculiar to Southern China.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank knew at a glance that this was the tower from which, in days gone +by, it had been the custom of the Cantonese to throw little children, +whose existence had grown irksome to their parents. At one time this +barbarous and terrible custom was prevalent in the Middle Kingdom, +until finally even the Chinese themselves revolted against the laws +that permitted such a crime.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Flooded by the pure light of the moon, the valley appeared a perfect +haven of rest. No one would have believed that such a beautiful spot +had, in former times, been the scene of such terrible brutality. The +tall tower shone like brass, and at its feet the broad waters of the +Sang River flowed swiftly to the west.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling, still dragging Frank forward, descended the hill, and then turned +to the right, towards a clump of trees. It was then, for the first +time since they had left Canton, that, of his own accord, he spoke to +his prisoner.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Here is the place," he cried. "The Glade of Children's Tears. Here +it is that Cheong-Chau's ransom money will be hidden."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank did not think it advisable to answer. Ling no longer held him by +a wrist: such a precaution was now unnecessary. Frank could not +possibly escape.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For a distance of about a hundred yards they walked in the heavy +shadows under the branches of the trees, which were thick with leaves. +And then, quite suddenly, they came once again into the bright +moonlight, to find themselves confronted by a scene which was both +grotesque and picturesque.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In ancient times the place had evidently been the site of a temple, of +which only the ruined walls, a few stone steps and several flagstones +remained. Here and there, lying upon the ground, overgrown by weeds +and underwoods, were great broken, hideous idols, many of which were at +least twelve feet in length. In the ghostly moonlight, it was like +looking upon a scene which had been the battle-field of giants.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was manifest that Ling knew the place well, for he walked straight +up to a great circular stone, considerably darker in colour than the +surrounding brickwork and rocks. Though this stone must have been of +enormous weight, he rolled it away without difficulty. Beneath was a +large hole. Going down upon his knees, the man struck a match, the +light of which dimly illumined a vault as large as an ordinary room.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Empty!" he exclaimed. "However, I did not expect to find the money +here. It should arrive to-morrow, if my calculations are correct. I +do not think that your friends will venture to waste time. Too much is +at stake."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">My</em><span> friends?" said Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Exactly," said the other. "I was so fortunate as to discover who you +are. I confess that for days you deceived me. I never dreamt for a +moment that the boy whose services I enlisted in Sanshui was a +European. I congratulate you upon your accent and your knowledge of +the Cantonese language. You speak it as well as I, who am a +Northerner."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And why," asked Frank, "have you brought me here?" This was the +question he had long been burning to ask.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling shrugged his shoulders.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You may have deceived me," said he, "but I am not altogether a fool."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And that, apparently, was all the reply he would condescend to give.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I fail to understand," said Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you are very dense. Let me enlighten you: in a few hours, twenty +thousand dollars will be hidden in this place. That money is intended +for Cheong-Chau. Cheong-Chau will not receive a cent."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As he said these words, he rolled the stone back into its place.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Cheong-Chau's junk lies up-stream," he continued, once again as if +speaking to himself. "He had ten men with him. He took three with him +to Ah Wu's opium den. Of those three, I have accounted for one at +least, and I do not think the man I struck down with the lamp will be +fit to fight for many a day. In any case, neither those three men nor +Cheong-Chau himself are here. There are therefore only seven on board +the junk. It is now about three o'clock in the morning. Six of those +seven men are sound asleep. I propose to take the junk by storm."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You mean," said Frank, "that you will do this--single-handed?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I have this," said Ling. "If necessary, I shall use it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At that he produced the revolver he had taken from Yung How. He played +with it for a moment in his great hands, and then put it back in his +pocket.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall require the junk," he added, "in order to take the treasure +away. And even if I fail to get possession of it, I have you, my +little one, who are so clever. You are worth, to me, at least another +twenty thousand dollars."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank saw the truth as in a flash: once again he was a hostage. Ling +no doubt intended to demand a second ransom as the price of the boy's +freedom--perhaps his life. As the man remained silent for some +minutes, Frank had the greater time to think the matter out. And the +more he thought of it, the more was he obliged to admire the consummate +subtlety of Ling, who had the faculty of grasping a situation without a +moment's waste of time, estimating the salient factors at their proper +value.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the opium den, Frank's identity had been unmasked, and his life +threatened in a period of time which could not have been more than +thirty or forty seconds. And yet, in those brief and breathless +seconds, Ling, in hiding behind the curtain, had summed up the position +at a glance. He had seen that Cheong-Chau--who for the moment was +blind with rage--was about to throw away a human life that was likely +to be extremely valuable to himself. It was not a sense of humanity +that had prompted him to save the boy. He had done so for his own +personal ends.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come," he cried, "to the junk! I promise you I will flutter the +dovecot. I will scatter them like ducks."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At that he strode forward, followed by Frank, amazed at the man's +calmness and audacity.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxii-of-the-capture-of-the-junk"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id23"><span>CHAPTER XXII--OF THE CAPTURE OF THE JUNK</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Ling walked in an easterly direction, keeping at a distance of about a +hundred yards from the river bank. The morning was exceedingly still; +nothing disturbed the silence but the ceaseless sound of the current of +the river, stirring the tall reeds that grew in the shallow water. The +Sang River, which at this place was about a hundred and fifty yards +across, is one of the main tributaries of the Pe-kiang, which flows +into Canton from the north. As Frank knew well, it was navigable for a +considerable distance, even for sea-going junks. Presently Ling began +to talk to himself in a low voice, but loud enough for the boy to hear.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The sages have told us," he observed, "to think before we act. Men +speak of the 'road of life.' That is a false metaphor. In life there +are many roads; it is open to us to travel by one or by another. The +junk will be anchored in midstream." He broke off, turning quickly to +the boy. "Tell me, can you swim?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank replied that he was a good swimmer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is well," said Ling. "It will be necessary for you to accompany +me into the water. It is to your advantage to do so. On board, you +will find the two friends you left in Cheong-Chau's cave in the +mountains."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So if you capture the junk," said Frank, "if you overpower those on +board, you will have three hostages instead of one."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is true," said Ling. "But better for you and your friends to be +in my hands than in the hands of Cheong-Chau, who is a blind, senseless +fool."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You will be satisfied with the ransom?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Concerning that," said Ling, "I have not yet made up my mind."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He spoke no more, but continued to stride forward, the boy following in +his footsteps. They came to marshy ground, where their shoes squelched +in the mud. And here, knowing that they could not be far from the +junk, they walked more slowly, as silently as possible.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A little after, at a place where the river turned abruptly to the +north, they found themselves before the junk, which lay at anchor not +fifty yards from the bank. Ling took off his coat, and the boy +followed his example. Then, without a word, the Chinese, like a great +water-snake, glided silently into the river.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank hesitated to follow. It was within his power to escape. Perhaps +the great Chinaman did not care whether he did so or not. For two +reasons, the boy divested himself of his coat and followed Ling: first, +he had by now so great a respect for the man's ability and prowess that +he doubted very much whether he would succeed in getting away; +secondly, and chiefly, he had an overmastering desire to set eyes upon +his uncle, to know that both Sir Thomas and Mr Waldron were still alive +and safe.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The current being somewhat swift, it was fortunate that Frank was a +strong swimmer. In the moonlight he could see before him the great +head of Ling, moving rapidly and silently forward upon the surface of +the water.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man reached the prow of the junk, and there, laying hold of the +chain to which the anchor was attached, he lifted himself half out of +the water, and in this position he remained, waiting for Frank. In a +few seconds the boy had joined him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The moonlight fell full upon the Honanese. The man's yellow skin +glistened. In his teeth he held his revolver which, whilst swimming, +he had held high and dry. Then quite slowly he drew himself up the +chain until he had gained the deck--the high forecastle-peak which is +to be found on every sea-going Chinese junk. There he crouched behind +the capstan.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In a few minutes, Frank Armitage had joined him. The boy was out of +breath from swimming.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Side by side, they lay quite still for about five minutes. Ling +evidently intended to give his young assistant time to recover his +breath. At last, the man whispered in Frank's ear.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Fools!" he exclaimed. "They have not even posted a sentry."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As he said the words, a man appeared from behind the mast--a man who +was smoking a cigarette.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The end of the cigarette glowed brightly. It was plain that the man +had just lighted it. In all probability he had gone behind the mast +for that purpose, in order to be sheltered from the wind. He appeared +to have no suspicion that intruders had come on board, for he walked +leisurely forward, smoking and singing to himself a weird Chinese +tune--a melody on three notes, each long sustained.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He reached the peak of the vessel, and there stood still for a moment, +looking across country towards the hills. And then it was that Ling +sprang upon him. The man was snatched from off his feet. He had no +time to cry out, to give the alarm, for almost at once one of the great +hands of the Honanese was placed upon his mouth. He was gagged in less +than a minute with an oily rag that was found lying upon the deck, +which must have been extremely unpleasant to the taste.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There is never any difficulty on board a ship of any kind in finding +rope, and it was not long before the unfortunate sentry was bound hand +and foot and left upon the deck.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Then Ling, still followed by Frank, advanced on tiptoe until he came to +a little hatchway, a kind of trap-door, which communicated with the +foul cabin in which Chinese fishermen and their families are wont to +live, eat and sleep.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Lying down at his full length, Ling turned an ear downward and remained +for some time listening. From below there issued sounds of heavy +snoring.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Having satisfied himself that everything was in order, the Honanese got +to his feet, and returned to the man whom he had gagged and bound in +the forepart of the ship. With his great fingers he tore the man's +coat into shreds. These he folded carefully. Then, searching the +deck, he found a long cord, which he cut into several pieces, each +about a yard in length. Thrusting all these materials into his +pockets, he returned to the hatchway, where he lowered himself +carefully and silently into the cabin below.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>What followed Frank could only guess. By reason of the darkness in the +cabin, the boy was able to see nothing. He heard faint sounds of +struggling--an occasional gasp or choke---once or twice a muttered +Chinese oath, stifled suddenly in the midst of a syllable.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was apparent that the mighty Ling fell upon his victims one by one, +in quick succession. He dealt with them in detail, pouncing upon each +man when he was deep in heavy slumber.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Not one of these unfortunates was given time to cry out, to give the +alarm to his comrades. Each in turn was gagged before he was fully +awake. And then his hands were bound behind his back and his feet tied +together.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Honanese had accounted for six in this manner, when he struck a +match and lighted a hanging paraffin lamp suspended from one of the +beams that supported the deck. He then ordered Frank to descend.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy found himself in a small cabin that extended from one side of +the ship to the other. It was indescribably dirty. All sorts of +things were scattered upon the floor: pieces of rope, fishing tackle, +unwashed plates and rice-bowls and articles of clothing. Upon the +floor lay six men in a row, gagged and bound, each one wearing the +scarlet coat which was the distinctive uniform of the followers of +Cheong-Chau.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The place was not high enough to enable Ling to stand upright. He +stood in the middle of the cabin, almost bent double, in which position +he resembled a huge gorilla. He was grinning from ear to ear.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A simple affair," said he. "They were delivered into my hands by that +benevolent Providence that unerringly guides the footsteps of those who +have acquired merit. Were I not a generous and kind-hearted man I +should throw them, one after the other, into the water. As it is, they +can lie where they are."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>By then he had discovered a door at the after end of the cabin. On +attempting to open this door, and finding it locked, he turned again to +Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Search those fools," he ordered. "On one of them, I have little +doubt, you will find a bunch of keys."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank did as he was commanded, but failing to find that for which he +looked, suggested that the man on deck might have had charge of the +keys.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That may be so," said Ling. "I am not disposed to wait. I have an +idea that beyond this door we shall find your European friends."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>So saying, with a great blow with his foot, he kicked in the door so +that the lock was broken. He then took the paraffin lamp from the hook +from which it was hanging, and followed by the boy, entered a small +cubby-hole.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This place was probably intended for a storeroom, for though it +extended from one side of the ship to the other, it was little more +than two yards across, terminating in a bulkhead which divided the junk +amidships.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Upon the floor were two men, both of whom were sitting bolt upright, +with their eyes wide open. They appeared to have been fast asleep when +they had been rudely awakened by the breaking open of the door. Each +man had his feet tied together, and his hands bound behind his back. +They were hatless, and their clothes were reduced to rags.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank Armitage gave vent to an exclamation of delight, and rushing +forward, flung his arms around his uncle. The other prisoner, it is +needless to say, was Mr Hennessy K. Waldron, who had certainly +undergone some very astonishing and unpleasant adventures since leaving +Paradise City, Nevada, U.S.A.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxiii-how-the-treasure-arrived"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id24"><span>CHAPTER XXIII--HOW THE TREASURE ARRIVED</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Sir Thomas Armitage did not at first recognise his nephew, and when he +did so, he could hardly believe the evidence of his eyes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Frank!" he exclaimed. "However did you come here?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is too long a story to tell you now," answered the boy. "What a +relief it is to see you! All these days I have not known whether you +were alive or dead."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Say," said Mr Waldron, "are we to be let loose? Am I a free citizen +of the United States or a condemned criminal? I should like to know."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank turned to Ling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Those are questions," said he, "which you are better able to answer +than I."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling, finding it inconvenient to remain standing in so cramped a +position, seated himself cross-legged upon the floor and spoke in +excellent English.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You are right," said he. "The situation is in my hands. I hold you +as hostages until the ransom is paid."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Here Mr Waldron was guilty of an injudicious action. He expressed +himself with extreme rashness in a moment of deep-seated indignation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I assure you," said he, "that I will pay this twenty thousand dollars +without question and without delay. To be frank, I consider the value +of my freedom and my safety to be far greater than that. Twenty +thousand dollars is nothing to me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am glad to hear it," said Ling. "I may demand forty or even fifty +thousand. In the meantime, I must satisfy myself with what I can get."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do I understand," said the judge, addressing himself to the Honanese, +"that you are not one of Cheong-Chau's band?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Does the tiger serve the wolf?" said Ling. "I am neither his coolie +nor is he mine. Understand that I have taken possession of this junk, +that at the present moment every man on board is bound hand and foot, +with the exception of this boy. The crew, the ransom money, +Cheong-Chau and yourselves--all are at the mercy of the mighty Ling. I +will tell you plainly what I intend to do.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"At any moment," he continued, "I expect the ransom money to arrive at +its destination. It is possible that Cheong-Chau may put in an +appearance. When he recovers his senses, he will probably behave like +a madman. If he puts his head into the tiger's jaws, the fault is +his--not mine. It would appear to be a simple matter for me to possess +myself of this money. I have but to wait here until it arrives, and +then, taking the treasure on board, to sail down-stream to the North +River, and thence to Canton. However, I have reason to suspect +treachery. I must therefore be careful to act with the greatest +circumspection."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Treachery from whom?" asked Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"From your friend, Yung How," said Ling, "the Hong-Kong 'boy.'"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He got suddenly to his feet, and passing through the door into the +cabin beyond, set foot upon the lowest rung of the little +companion-ladder that led to the deck above.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I leave you for a few seconds," said he to Frank. "In my absence you +are not to attempt to unbind your friends. I propose to inconvenience +them a little longer."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He mounted the ladder and returned soon afterwards, carrying the man +whom he had overpowered on the upper deck. This fellow he threw down +upon the ground alongside the others. He then returned to the inner +room.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I desire you to come with me," said he, still addressing Frank. "It +is not so much that I find your company indispensable, as that I am not +such a fool as to leave you on board. I propose to go to the tower, +from the top of which we shall be able to obtain a good view of the +surrounding country. So soon as the money arrives we will return to +the junk. You will assist me in hoisting the sail and navigating the +ship down-stream after we have taken our cargo on board. I know of a +village on the North River where I shall find friends who will assist +me--good seamen, who know their work. These will sign on as my crew, +and Cheong-Chau's men can be packed off ashore. We shall sail to an +island that lies not far from Macao. There I shall keep you and your +two friends in comfort and in safety--if not in luxury--until I obtain +a second ransom. This gentleman," he added, indicating Mr Waldron, +"has been so obliging as to inform me that he can well afford to pay +fifty thousand dollars. Very well, he shall do so. The matter can be +arranged."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He then told Frank to ascend the companion-ladder, he himself +following, the ladder creaking violently beneath his weight.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Upon the deck they were able to observe the first signs of daybreak +upon the horizon to the east. The old moon was setting; one by one, +the stars were disappearing in the sky. The river at that hour looked +ghostly. A thin white mist was drifting down the valley.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling, walking to the stern part of the ship, found a small boat, a kind +of dinghy. This he lowered into the water; and then he and Frank +climbed down by means of a rope. It required but a few strokes of the +oar, wielded by Ling's powerful arms, to drive the boat into the bank, +where he hid it among the rushes. A moment after they set off walking +rapidly in the direction of the tower and the Glade of Children's Tears.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>By that time the first rays of the sun had flooded the valley with a +stream of golden light. Frank observed that a great many of the trees +were covered with bloom, and that the surrounding country was rich in +colour, the slopes across the river being scarlet with the bloom of the +opium poppy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling came to a halt before a carved door at the base of the tower. +Opening this, he entered, followed by the boy, and found himself in a +small circular room. Owing to the semi-darkness of the place, Frank +could not at first take in his surroundings, but as soon as his eyes +grew accustomed to the light, he was able to make out a narrow spiral +staircase, built into the wall itself, which must have been at least +five feet thick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>By means of this they ascended to the top of the tower, where they +found themselves upon a narrow, projecting balcony, encircling a little +room that reminded Frank of a summer-house. From this position they +were able to look down upon the whole valley, which extended to the +east as far as the eye could reach, but which to the left vanished at a +distance of about a mile behind a great fold in the hills.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We wait here," said Ling. "At any moment the treasure may arrive. If +you take my advice you will go inside and snatch a few hours' sleep. +There are strenuous days in front of you. You will have to work for +your living. But I will reward you. I am a kind master, as those know +well who serve me to the best of their ability."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank, thinking that he might as well follow this suggestion, entered +the small circular chamber, and there lay down upon the floor, using +his rolled coat as a pillow. Almost immediately he fell asleep, and +must have slept for several hours, for, when Ling awakened him, he +noticed that the sun had passed its meridian, and was already sinking +towards the west.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy was exceedingly hungry, and accepted with eagerness the offer +of a large piece of rice-cake which Ling produced from his pocket. +Hardly had he taken a mouthful when he remembered his uncle and Mr +Waldron.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Your prisoners!" he exclaimed. "They will be starving!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Chinaman shook his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not so," said he, "whilst you were asleep, I returned to the junk and +attended to their wants. I gave them food to eat and water to drink. +Besides, I was anxious to see that all was well."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Supposing they are found," said Frank, after a pause, "by some junk +passing up or down the river? There is plenty of traffic upon the Sang +River, as you know, this part of the country being thickly populated."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They will not be found," said the Chinaman. "There is no reason why +anything of the sort should happen. They have no means of +communicating with anyone passing upon the river. And there is nothing +extraordinary in the spectacle of a junk lying anchored clear of the +mid-stream fairway. You yourself often must have seen upon the Chinese +rivers thousands of such boats with not a soul visible on board. In +all such cases the crew has either gone ashore to drink </span><em class="italics">samshu</em><span> or to +smoke opium, or else they lie asleep below. I am anxious about +nothing--except, perhaps, Yung How," he added, in an altered voice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And the money has not come?" asked Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is coming," said Ling. "That is why I awakened you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is coming now!" The boy sprang to his feet.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling pointed to the west, in the direction of the river. There, sure +enough, about half-a-mile down-stream, was a small white launch, +similar to those which may be seen by the score in Hong-Kong harbour, +heading straight for the southern bank, for the Glade of Children's +Tears.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Like a great vulture in the heavens that soars higher and higher in a +series of concentric circles, Ling from the top of the tower looked +down upon his prey. After the manner of a vulture, he did but bide his +time.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The launch ran into a narrow creek, and for a moment was hidden from +view by the trees of the little wood. Shortly after, it appeared +again, and both Frank and Ling watched the Chinese sailors tie her up +to a stunted tree that overhung the water. On board were three +Europeans, dressed in white ducks and wearing sun-helmets. The launch +was too far away for Frank to recognise these men.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And then they witnessed a sight that made the dark eyes of the great +Honanese glitter with triumph and greed; his wide mouth expanded in a +smile. A plank was thrown from the launch to the shore. Across this +gangway bag after bag was carried, each one so heavy with silver that +it required two men to lift it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At last the task was ended. The Europeans, who had superintended the +discharging of this precious cargo, returned to the launch, which +presently turned slowly round and made off down-stream. In the red +light of the setting sun, on the surface of the water, they could see +the convergent lines of ripples spreading from the bows of the launch.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling laughed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come!" he cried, seizing Frank by a wrist and dragging him out into +the open. "The ripe harvest awaits the reaper; the honey-comb is full. +Come, come, my little junk rat, let us hasten to the feast. Wisdom and +prudence are always triumphant. The victory is ever to the strong."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As the words left his lips, there came from the direction of the glade +the report of a revolver, and a bullet, speeding upon its way with a +soft, shrill whistle, cut off the lobe of one of the great Chinaman's +ears. On the instant Ling fell flat upon his face, and Frank was not +slow to follow his example.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxiv-how-the-tiger-vanished-in-thin-air"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id25"><span>CHAPTER XXIV--HOW THE TIGER VANISHED IN THIN AIR</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>They had thrown themselves down upon the ground in a place where the +grass was long enough to screen them from view. The light was fading +rapidly. It would soon be quite dark. A heavy mist was gathering in +the valley.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank looked at his companion. He could see blood flowing profusely +down the man's neck. For all that, the expression upon Ling's face did +not suggest that he suffered pain. He was grinning.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He held in his hand the loaded revolver he had taken from Yung How in +Ah Wu's opium den. It was manifest that every sense was alert. +Screwing his eyes, he endeavoured to pierce the gloom of the thickets +immediately in front of them.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing was to be seen. No sound disturbed the silence of the evening. +Slowly and stealthily Ling began to move forward through the long +grass, after the manner of a snake, never for a moment lifting his chin +more than a few inches from the ground.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank followed him. There was no reason why the boy should have done +so, and without doubt he had been wiser had he remained behind in +safety. But he was consumed by an overmastering desire to see the +matter out, to follow to the bitter end the fortunes of the mighty Ling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He followed in the man's wake, Ling in his progress was making a kind +of pathway through the grass. Frank was careful not to show himself. +He realised that the exposure of any part of his body would, in all +probability, immediately be greeted by another shot from the glade.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling was making for a great boulder that lay upon the outskirts of the +wood, about twenty yards from a place where the undergrowth was +exceedingly dense. He gained this without any mishap; and there, a +moment later, he was joined by Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You have followed me?" he asked, in a whisper.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy nodded his head, not venturing to speak.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you have done so at your own risk. I am not responsible for your +life."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Very cautiously, Ling peered round the boulder behind which they lay in +hiding. Almost at once, a single shot from a revolver was fired from +the thickets immediately before them.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling did not draw back, nor did he flinch. On the contrary, he drew +himself forward until at least half his body was exposed to view.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Then came another shot from the wood; Frank saw a bullet strike the +ground not three inches from the man's head. At that moment Ling +himself fired. Three revolver shots rang out in quick succession, and +then, with a roar like that of a charging tiger, the man rose to his +feet and plunged into the wood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank saw the flash of a long knife he carried in his left hand. In +his right he still held his revolver. He crashed into the undergrowth +like a wild bull, and the darkness swallowed him up.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy waited an instant; then, as nothing happened, he rose to his +feet and followed after Ling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was able to see very little of his surroundings. He found himself +in twilight. Trees arose on every side of him like gaunt spectres, +twisted and deformed. Dark shadows upon the ground seemed to be +moving, floating here and there like silent ghosts.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Knowing not which way to go, for a few seconds the boy remained quite +motionless. Then suddenly there came a loud shout, in which Frank +recognised the voice of Ling. This shout was followed by an uproar, a +noise that bore no small resemblance to the crackling of green wood +upon a mighty fire. Branches were broken; dry sticks and twigs were +trampled under the feet of excited, hastening men.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank, running forward, found himself, before he had gone thirty yards, +upon the skirting of the Glade of Children's Tears. Here there was +more light. The boy could see the great broken idols, overgrown with +moss and lichen, lying upon the ground; he could see the ruins of the +ancient temple and the great red stone beneath which the treasure had +been hidden. Then, on a sudden, he became conscious of the figure of a +man crouching behind a rock, not ten yards away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Though he was well in the shadow, there was sufficient light to enable +the boy to make quite sure that the man in front of him was not Ling. +One could not fail to identify the gigantic proportions of the +Honanese; and this was a thin, small man. Moreover, he did not wear +the long robe of the upper classes in China, but a short jacket, +reaching not far below the waist; and so far as Frank could make out, +this coat was red. Also, the man was bareheaded, whereas Ling had been +wearing the buttoned hat of a mandarin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank remained silent and motionless, scarcely daring to breathe. On +hands and knees the man moved a few paces forward, which brought him +into the light. The boy recognised at once the shrunken, evil features +of Cheong-Chau, the brigand chief.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He could have been given no greater cause to regret the fact that he +was altogether unarmed. In this conflict, the sympathies of the boy +were wholly on the side of Ling. That Cheong-Chau was more evil than +Ling was not to be doubted, since the brigand was never to be trusted. +Ling, on the other hand--so far as Frank's experience went--was not +likely to go back upon his word. He was pitiless and wholly +unscrupulous; but at the same time, he had in his own way certain +estimable virtues. The boy considered that the worst calamity that +could, at this juncture, possibly befall him and his friends was for +Cheong-Chau to regain possession of his hostages. If the brigand +overpowered Ling, he would possess himself of the ransom money, he +would recapture his own junk, setting free the crew which Ling had +bound hand and foot; and then, it was more than probable, he would seek +satisfaction in the murder of his victims.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank therefore was eager to render all the assistance he could to +Ling. But since he had upon him neither fire-arms nor weapons of any +sort, he could do nothing but lie still and await the tide of events. +Cheong-Chau continued to move forward on hands and knees. He turned +his head rapidly first one way and then another. The boy was well able +to see that the brigand was armed to the same extent as Ling; in other +words, he carried in one hand a revolver of European manufacture, and +between his teeth a long Chinese knife.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was plain that the man was searching in all directions for his +adversary. He was still not many yards away from Frank. On a sudden, +he lay quite still, seeming to flatten himself into nothing, just as a +cat does when it lies in ambush. He had evidently seen something.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank, straining his eyes, observed another man, visible as a mere +shadow, moving slowly and silently amidst the undergrowth on the other +side of the glade. This man was steadily approaching. Cheong-Chau did +not stir.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When the two men were not fifteen paces away from each other, +Cheong-Chau raised his revolver, and was evidently about to fire, when +suddenly he brought it down again.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Tong!" said he, in a loud whisper.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Is that you, Cheong-Chau?" came back the answer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is myself. And have you seen aught of the tiger?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>By then the two men were together lying side by side behind a fragment +of the ruined temple wall. They were so close to Frank that, though +they spoke to one another in whispers, it was easy for him to hear +every word that they said.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought you were he," said the man who had answered to the name of +Tong.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And I too," said Cheong-Chau. "I was about to fire when I saw that +you were too small to be Ling."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is fortunate," said the other, "fortunate--for me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And where is Chin Yen?" asked the brigand chief.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He is close behind me," said the man. "He is here."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Indeed, at that moment they were joined by a third man, who crept +forward from out of the midst of the shadows. The night was descending +rapidly; it was already almost dark. Frank, however, had no doubt as +to the identity of these two men. He remembered very well hearing +their names when he was in the opium den of Ah Wu. Chin Yen was the +man who had fallen down upon his knees beside an opium couch, holding +his head between his hands. Tong was the unfortunate individual who +had been struck down with the paraffin lamp. It was subsequently +discovered that the third man never recovered from his injuries.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Chin Yen," said Cheong-Chau, "where is the tiger? Have you seen +nothing of him?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nothing at all," came the answer. "Three minutes ago I saw him +standing on the edge of the glade. I was about to fire, when suddenly +he disappeared. I think he fell upon his face."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He is somewhere here," said Cheong-Chau. "He is too big to hide +himself. We shall find him sooner or later. He cannot have been +spirited away."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tong shivered--or rather there was a tremor in his voice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't like this business," said he. "Presently, without a moment's +warning, the tiger will spring upon us from out of the darkness. And +then, woe betide him into whom he digs his claws."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You are a coward," said Cheong-Chau. "We are three to one, and we are +all armed with revolvers. What is there to fear, if we keep together? +Ling's strength will avail him nothing."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is true," said Chin Yen.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>All the same the tone of his voice carried not the least conviction. +He was obviously just as frightened of his opponent as his comrade. +Cheong-Chau himself was the most courageous of the three.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Obey my orders," said he, "and remain at my side. We will search the +place thoroughly. He lies somewhere in hiding. Keep as close to the +ground as possible. He will fire the moment he sees us."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He may have escaped," said Tong.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He has done nothing of the kind," said Cheong-Chau. "For two reasons: +first, we must have heard him; secondly, it is not the custom of Ling +to run away."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Let us go first to the junk," said Chin Yen. "We shall then be ten to +one."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Fool!" exclaimed Cheong-Chau. "We should never get there. Ling would +shoot us in the open. Come, we do but waste time talking. The glade +must be searched."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As he said the words, he began to move forward, straight toward the +place where Frank was hiding.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy's heart was in his mouth. He could scarcely hope that he would +not be discovered. He could not make his escape without being seen nor +was he in a position to offer resistance. And if he was discovered, he +had every reason to believe that Cheong-Chau would kill him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>These were the thoughts that passed rapidly through his mind. He lay +motionless, fearing to breathe, his eyes fixed upon the crouched, +gliding forms of Cheong-Chau and his companions. And then the boy was +discovered. The man called Tong caught sight of him and raised his +revolver to fire. At the moment Tong pressed the trigger, Frank struck +the weapon upward, so that the bullet flew wide through the branches of +the trees.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Knowing that he would be shot if he remained at arm's-length or +attempted to run away, the boy closed at once with his adversary. +Flinging himself into Tong's arms, he endeavoured to seize the man by +the throat; but almost immediately he was overpowered by the three of +them, and found himself pinned to the ground and once again a prisoner.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Chin Yen peered into the boy's face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This is not Ling!" he exclaimed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau came out with a brutal oath.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said he. "This is not the tiger; it is the foreign devil who has +twice slipped through my fingers."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank Armitage closed his eyes and caught his lower lip between his +teeth.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxv-and-how-cheong-chau-vanished-altogether"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id26"><span>CHAPTER XXV--AND HOW CHEONG-CHAU VANISHED ALTOGETHER</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>There is little doubt that Cheong-Chau would have killed the boy then +and there had he not been alive to the fact that he himself stood in +immediate danger of a sudden onslaught from Ling, who lay in hiding +somewhere amidst the shadows of the wood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was now almost dark. It was scarce possible to see across the +glade. Cheong-Chau turned to Tong--the man who had endeavoured to kill +the boy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You were a fool to fire," said he. "How so?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You have betrayed our whereabouts to the tiger. He cannot be far +away."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Let us keep together," whispered Chin Yen. "It will be as much as the +three of us can do to overpower him."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was quite plain to Frank that the three brigands stood in mortal +fear of the mighty Honanese. They had not forgotten their experience +in the opium den, when Ling had accounted for four of them in less than +a minute. They knew their opponent, and they were well aware that he +was the last man in the world to beat a hasty retreat. Indeed, Ling +had deliberately attacked them, charging blindly like an infuriated +beast into the darkness of the wood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For the time being they could give little attention to the boy. They +remained for a few minutes perfectly still, holding their revolvers in +their hands, keeping a sharp look-out in all directions.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And then the mighty Ling descended into their very midst. Small wonder +that they had not discovered him, for the man had climbed up a tree, +and had for the last four or five minutes been seated upon a branch, +immediately above their heads, listening to every word that was said. +They had looked to the right and to the left; their sharp eyes had +pierced the dark shadows beneath the underwoods and the crumbled ruins +of the ancient temple; but never for a moment had any one of them +dreamed of looking upward.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Like a thunderbolt, Ling descended to the ground. His great weight +fell upon Chin Yen. The man let out a loud cry, prompted by acute and +sudden pain. Then he lay upon the ground, groaning and writhing with a +broken arm.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling himself staggered, and with difficulty maintained his balance. +Indeed, he only succeeded in doing so by laying hands upon the +terrified Tong.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man had no time to fire. He was snatched from off the ground. He +endeavoured to struggle, but his efforts were hopeless. His revolver +was wrenched from his hand and thrown far across the glade. Then he +himself was hurled after it, thrown away like a half-filled sack. In +his descent his head struck the side of one of the fallen images, and +he lay upon the ground, motionless and stunned.</span></p> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 61%" id="figure-66"> +<span id="he-himself-was-hurled-after-it"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""HE HIMSELF WAS HURLED AFTER IT."" src="images/img-250.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">"HE HIMSELF WAS HURLED AFTER IT."</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the meantime, Cheong-Chau had made the most of the only chance he +was ever likely to have. He had fired at Ling at almost point-blank +range. Frank, who still lay upon the ground, heard a loud groan issue +from the lips of Ling, and a moment after he was just able to perceive +the dark blood flowing slowly from the man's side and staining his long +silken robe.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau, thinking that he had done his work, turned with the +intention of seeking safety in flight. He was caught by the pigtail, +and jerked backward, as a boy might flick a top. A moment after he +found himself held by the great hands of Ling, gripped by both +forearms, so that he felt as if he were wedged in a mighty vice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Fear took strong hold upon him. He knew, no doubt, that his last hour +had come. He shrieked in pain and in terror, calling upon his +followers to hasten to his help. But Tong lay senseless, and Chin Yen +had already gathered himself together and taken to his heels like one +possessed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Let it be said for Cheong-Chau that he made no plea for mercy. On the +contrary, he reviled his adversary, making use of a string of Chinese +oaths to which the boy was a stranger. And then he kicked, his legs +being the only part of him which was free. The more violently he +kicked and struggled, the greater became the pressure upon his arms; +until at last he was obliged to desist, lest his very bones should be +broken. Suddenly he became limp from exhaustion and despair.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Have you done?" asked Ling. His voice was deep and very low, and +there was in it something of a tremor that made it plain to Frank that +the man suffered considerable pain.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cheong-Chau made no answer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Listen," said Ling. "Last night, had I wished, I might have killed +you. I did not do so. The more fool I! And now, you have shot me. I +am wounded, perhaps mortally--I cannot say."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We are old enemies," said Cheong-Chau.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling laughed. In his laugh there was something of his old boisterous +manner; but at the same time, it was manifest from his voice that he +was already weak from loss of blood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The wolf," said he, "was never an enemy of the tiger, nor can the rat +be the foe of the dog. You, Cheong-Chau, are vermin. I would lose all +pride in myself, in my strength and dignity, if I killed you otherwise +than with my hands."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A shudder ran through the thin frame of the brigand chief. He had +lived a life of crime; he had sinned, time and again, against the gods +and his fellow-men, but he was no coward; he had always known that, +sooner or later, he must die a violent death.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He had thought that fate would bring him to the dreadful Potter's Yard, +the public and official place of execution in the city of Canton. The +inevitable conclusion of the West River pirate is the block. So +Cheong-Chau was prepared to die.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You will not torture me?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I would," said Ling, "if I meted out to you the fate you have more +than once prepared for others. But I am no such fiend. Moreover, I +have no time to spare. I go down-stream to-night on your own junk, +with the ransom money that you thought was yours. I go where tide and +current take me--perhaps to live for the remainder of my days upon the +fatness of the earth; perhaps to find my way amidst the stars in search +of the Unknowable."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you mean?" asked the other.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I mean that--for all I know--the sands of life are running out. The +blood issues from my wound. It may be that the breath of life goes +with it. And now, you die, by what strength remains in me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank Armitage was not able to see how it was done--indeed, he turned +away, and covered his eyes with a hand. It seems that Cheong-Chau was +taken by the throat and that either he was strangled or his neck was +broken. At any rate, it was all done in silence. The lifeless body of +the man was allowed to fall to the ground, and then Ling turned to the +boy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you safe?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank rose to his feet, but did not answer. Ling placed a hand upon +his shoulder. The boy felt that he was called upon to sustain much of +the man's great weight.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You must help me," said Ling. "I am hurt badly. You must help +me--back to the junk."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Together they left the wood and came out into the starlight. The moon +was already risen. It was crescent-shaped and very thin. Ling was +breathing heavily.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"In two days," said he, "it will be a new moon, but I do not think I +shall behold it. There is something to be said for the creed of the +Mohammedans, who hold the belief that the lives of us all, down to the +most insignificant details, are written in an unalterable Book of Fate. +I wonder," said he. "I wonder."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They walked slowly upon the river bank, Ling still leaning upon his +young companion. Presently they came to the boat, which they had +hidden amongst the rushes. Ling seated himself in the bows, and as he +did so he groaned again. Frank, placing himself in the stern, took +hold of the little oar.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come," said Ling, "row me to the junk."</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxvi-of-greed-of-gold"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id27"><span>CHAPTER XXVI--OF GREED OF GOLD</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>When they reached the junk, Ling was not able to ascend by means of the +rope up which he had swarmed so easily before. Frank went on deck, and +finding a rope ladder, lowered it over the side of the ship.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>By means of this Ling climbed to the deck, whence he descended to the +cabin below, where the paraffin lamp was still burning brightly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He asked Frank to procure for him a bucket of river water; and whilst +the boy was absent, the man took off his coat and the thin under-vest +that he wore. The bullet had passed under his ribs, on the left side +of his body. The wound, which was still bleeding profusely, was a +great, ugly rent. When Frank returned with water he was at once +shocked and astonished to observe the expression upon the man's face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>His features were pinched and drawn and haggard. The agony he suffered +had caused deep lines to appear upon his forehead and about his mouth, +and his eyes seemed to have sunk into his head. Beyond doubt, any +other man would have fainted; but Ling was possessed of something of +the vitality of a cat. He was able to speak with difficulty, yet his +mind was perfectly clear. Assisted by the boy, he washed and dressed +his wound.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He had evidently small regard for antiseptics, for in place of lint and +iodoform, he utilised ordinary ship's tow, which he held in place by +means of a silk sash tied tightly round his waist. Then he ordered +Frank to search the ship for opium.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy found a bowl of the treacle-like substance upon a table in the +cabin. This he brought to Ling, together with an opium pipe and a +spirit-lamp.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man smiled, at the same time thanking the boy for his kindness.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am too far gone to smoke," said he. "I desire to be released from +pain."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At that, he dipped his hand into the bowl and proceeded to eat the +contents. The boy stood by, amazed. He knew enough of the potency of +the drug to believe that Ling had swallowed enough to kill himself. He +knew nothing, however, of the man's capacity for consuming poisonous +doses of morphine.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In a few minutes the drug began to work. His eyes, which had become +dull, grew brighter; the wrinkles slowly vanished from his face. When +he spoke, his voice was stronger.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You may think," said he to Frank, "that the tables are turned, that +you are now master of the situation. It may have occurred to you that +you have but to go into the other room to release your European +friends, and then it will be an easy thing to overpower a wounded man. +I assure you, that is not the case."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I had no such thought," said Frank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling smiled again, regarding the boy even kindly--if such an expression +may be used in regard to a man whose face was like that of a hawk.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You are my friend," said he. "I know not why I like you. I think, +because you are brave. I am not fool enough to believe for a moment +that you love me; but I am sure that you have always realised that I am +a just man, whereas Cheong-Chau was no better than a fiend. I would +have you to understand--lest I be forced to harm you--that, wounded as +I am, I am still master of this ship and master of you. My strength is +going rapidly from me, as the tide goes down upon the margin of the +sea, or as the sun sets when the day draws to its close. But I can +still shoot, and if you play me false I shall kill you. Whilst the +breath of life is within me, you will be wise to obey my orders."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He got to his feet, and walking more briskly than before, ascended to +the upper deck, followed by Frank. There they hoisted the sail, and +going to the forepart of the ship, hauled up the anchor. A minute +later, the junk was sailing slowly down the river in the starlight, +Ling holding the tiller.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>With a skill that proved that he had spent a portion of his life upon +the sea, he steered the junk into the narrow creek which had been +entered by the launch. There Ling, assisted by Frank, lowered a +gangway, conducting from the deck to the shore. The sail had been +hauled down and the ship secured by hawsers made fast to the trunks of +trees that grew upon the edge of the water.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank Armitage is never likely to forget that tragic night, its grim +work and pitiful conclusion. He was led by Ling to the Glade of +Children's Tears--so named, perhaps, because, in a barbarous age, the +murdered infants had been buried there, and the temple erected so that +men might pray to the heathen gods of China for those young souls who +had passed so soon into the Celestial Kingdom.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The faint, cold light of the dying moon here and there pierced the +branches of the trees, so that it was possible to distinguish the old +moss-clad ruins, the great fallen images, and the lifeless body of the +man whose very name had once spread terror from the Nan-ling Mountains +to the sea. There was no sign of Tong; the man had evidently recovered +consciousness and taken to his heels.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank stood by, a mute and wondering spectator of the fruitless efforts +of the wounded giant. The air was heavy with the scent of the blossom +which was on the trees; no sound disturbed the silence save the heavy +breathing of Ling, becoming shorter and shorter as he worked, and the +ceaseless washing of the water against the river bank.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling walked to the centre of the glade. His gait was steady, though +his stride shorter than usual. He stood at his full height; and had he +not once or twice carried a hand to his left side, the boy might have +forgotten that the man suffered grievous pain and was weak from loss of +blood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He stood for a moment, thinking. It may have been that then he prayed +to the god he worshipped, the god of Confucius and Mencius and the +sages of all China: the Eternal Spirit of the Universe, the +Incomprehensible Wisdom of the world.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Then he passed on to the great stone, which, not without difficulty, he +rolled from its place. That done, he descended into the vault below, +where he struck a match, lighting a candle he had brought with him from +the junk.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank, looking down, beheld a subterranean chamber, about five yards by +six in area, and not more than six feet deep--for Ling's head and +shoulders protruded above the level of the ground. And in this vault +were sacks, to the number of twenty, each of which was filled with a +thousand Mexican dollars.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now a thousand silver dollars are no mean weight; and yet Ling unaided, +and in spite of his fast-failing strength, lifted the sacks one after +another and placed them upon the ground above.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Then he himself came forth from the vault, and stood for a moment +holding his left side, with the pale moonlight full upon his face. It +was the face of death itself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man's features were more drawn and haggard-looking even than +before. It may have been the moonlight that caused his countenance to +appear snow-white. He breathed like one who is spent from running; his +great chest heaved, and Frank perceived that his wound had opened +again, and the red blood was even then staining his clothes. Towards +this man--of whom, throughout all the adventures through which he had +passed, he had stood in the greatest dread--the boy now experienced +feelings of infinite commiseration.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Let me help you?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And Ling laughed aloud--a laugh that sounded forced and hollow, in +which there was more of irony than mirth. He pointed to one of the +bags.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Lift that up," said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank attempted to do so, but found that he had not the strength.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You must go back to the junk," said he. "I give you my word of honour +I will be true to you. I will attend to your wound. I will do all I +can to help you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You do not know me," answered Ling. "I never give in. I go through +with that which I have begun. And besides, there is no time to lose. +I feel sure that Yung How has not wasted his time. If I delay I may be +captured."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If you do not rest," cried Frank, "you will kill yourself."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ling was silent a moment. Then he snapped his fingers. "And what does +that matter?" he asked. "What difference does it make to you--or, for +the matter of that, to me? Death is nothing. We are only put into the +world to die."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At that he lifted one of the bags upon his shoulder, and set forward in +the direction of the place where the junk was moored.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxvii-how-ling-drifted-to-the-stars"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id28"><span>CHAPTER XXVII--HOW LING DRIFTED TO THE STARS</span></a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Ling staggered under the weight of his burden. For all that, he gained +the junk, where he threw the sack into an open hatchway in the forepart +of the ship.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He then returned to the glade, and by a great effort lifted a second +sack upon his shoulder. In all, he made the journey twenty times; and +on each occasion his gait was more unsteady, his breathing shorter and +faster. It appeared to Frank, who watched him, that the man diminished +in stature; his shoulders became round--when he had once been so +upright--and he walked like an old man, with bent knees and hollowed +chest.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was not able to complete his final journey without a rest. Half-way +between the glade and the junk, he threw down the last sack upon the +ground, and seating himself upon it, placed his head between his hands +and came out with a great sob that was pitiful to hear. He needed his +last ounce of strength to steady himself to walk the narrow gangway. +No sooner had he reached the deck of the junk than the sack fell from +his hands, and he himself collapsed. His knees gave way from under +him, and he lay for several minutes quite motionless, curled up like a +great dog that sleeps.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank, thinking that the man was unconscious, knew not what to do. He +began to search for a tin can or pannikin of some sort in which to give +him water, but he had failed to find anything suitable for such a +purpose when Ling struggled to an elbow.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come here," said he. "I would speak to you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>His voice was so low as to be scarcely audible. Frank hastened to his +side and, kneeling down, placed an ear close to his mouth.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy had no fear now of the mighty Ling. Indeed, it would have been +mere foolishness to fear one so stricken, in so sorry a plight. Ling +was no longer an incarnate monster, a blustering, boisterous bully. +The tiger was caught, choked and enfolded in the meshes of a net. And +yet, he still struggled for life--struggled to the last.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was a man who, during the last few hours, had been possessed by but +one idea, which had absorbed the whole of his mind and strength and +energy. Call it avarice, greed of gold, or the nobility of a supreme +endeavour, it is all the same--it means that there was something in him +of the earthly hero. It means that a power that is immortal had given +him strength to accomplish all that he desired, had given him courage +to live but a little longer. And now, with the plunder safely on +board, and the wide river of the valley extending to the open sea, he +knew that his days were numbered, his time on earth was short.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I would speak with you," he whispered. "I would tell you, you are my +friend. Go below and release the European prisoners, but keep +Cheong-Chau's men bound hand and foot. You cannot trust them. They +are all of a breed--of the same breed as their leader. In Canton--if +you wish it--you can hand them over to justice. Tell the prefect that +they were captured by the mighty Ling."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In that thought he appeared to find some degree of satisfaction. He +had always been vain of his strength, his wisdom and his courage.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was silent a moment. Frank noticed that he smiled--a smile that was +terrible to see, because his face was so pinched and haggard. His +thoughts must have turned to things divine, for when he spoke again, it +was in the words of the Celestial Emperor's prayer. He had turned over +upon his back, and lay with his eyes wide open, looking up at the stars.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"To Thee, O mysteriously working Maker, I look up in thought. How +imperial is Thy expansive arch! I, Thy child, dull and unenlightened, +come to Thee with gladness, as a swallow rejoicing in the spring, +praising Thine abundant love."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>All his vanity had left him now. The heart of the monster was that of +a little child. The violence of the life he had lived, the cruelty of +his deeds, departed from him as the life's blood flowed from his wound; +and the wisdom and the reverence he had learned on earth rose superior +to earthly joys. He closed his eyes, and lay for a long time, +breathing more easily, as if asleep.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Frank got to his feet and, descending into the cabin below, cut the +bonds that bound Mr Waldron and his uncle. In as few words as +possible, the boy explained exactly what had happened; and then all +three went on deck, to the place where Ling was lying at the foot of +the mast.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As they approached, he endeavoured to lift his head, but it fell back +again, as if he had lost control of the muscles of his neck.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Can you sail the junk?" he asked, speaking for the first time in +English.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I think so," said Frank. "In any case, if we can but get her out into +mid-stream, she will drift upon the current."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That is what I would wish," said Ling. "Let me drift into the other +world. Forty years since, I was born upon the turbulent waters of the +Hoang-Ho. Let me breathe my last upon the tranquil Pe-kiang. One is +inclined to believe," he continued, "that destiny is expressed in +symbols. The Hoang-Ho is the most boisterous, violent and unmanageable +river in all the thirteen provinces of this celestial land. And my +life has been such, in very truth. I have lived by violence, and now I +die a death by violence. But--I know not why--I die calmly, in peace +with all men and my Maker. I think that, perhaps, the bad that was +within me has gone out of me with the brute strength that was mine, and +the good that was within me has taken possession of my soul, to conduct +me to the expansive arch of heaven. And now, that I may rest in peace, +bring me a pillow for my head. You cannot move me--I am too heavy. +Besides, I desire to remain here, to regard the stars."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Searching the junk, they found several cushions, and these they +disposed so that the man could lie in greater ease. And Mr Waldron, +who--as a man who had lived much of his life in the wilds--had some +little experience in surgery and medicine, attended to Ling's wound, +washing away the blood and folding another and a cleaner bandage.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And then they loosed the junk from her moorings, and with difficulty at +last succeeded in getting the ship clear of the creek. She at once +swung round with the current. And when they lowered what little canvas +she carried, the ship drifted down the river, with Sir Thomas Armitage +at the tiller.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On this account progress was very slow, and they had not progressed +many miles when the red dawn began to appear in the east. They passed +villages upon both banks of the river, surrounded by flooded +ricefields, purple in the dawn. As the light grew, they were able to +perceive distant wooded hills, with ancient temples and pagodas built +upon their slopes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They had taken turn and turn about at the work of steering, relieving +one another every half-hour, so that there were always two of them in +attendance upon Ling. He did not speak again until the sun had risen, +when he complained that the light was trying to his eyes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As he had said, he was far too heavy to be moved. They constructed an +awning above him, a small sail tied to the mast. He thanked them with +Chinese courtesy, and then closed his eyes again, as if he desired to +sleep.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A little after, they rounded a bend of the river, and found that they +had gained the Pe-kiang, or North River, which joins the West River a +little above Canton. And there, lying in mid-stream, like a watch-dog +at the mouth of its kennel, was a British gunboat, her paint glistening +in the sun, the great muzzle of a 4.5 gun directed at the bows of the +junk. They could see the gunners, each man in his place, standing +ready to fire.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The junk drifted nearer and nearer to the man-of-war. They could see +the commander on the bridge. He shouted to them through a megaphone, +ordering them to heave to and drop their anchors, or else he would open +fire. When he saw that there were Europeans on board, however, who +were free to do what they liked, and that the only Chinaman visible was +a man stretched at full length upon the deck beneath an awning, he +threw back his head with an exclamation of surprise.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At the commander's side upon the bridge stood a long-coated Chinaman; +and as the junk drew alongside, Sir Thomas and his nephew recognised +their old servant, Yung How.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A moment later, the lieutenant-commander was on board the junk, +listening in astonishment to the extraordinary tale which Frank +Armitage had to tell. It was not easy to believe, but there was on +board the junk indisputable evidence that the boy spoke the truth. For +there was the sack of silver dollars upon the deck, where Ling had +thrown it; Cheong-Chau's seven men were below, bound hand and foot; and +there was the great Honanese himself, with the spark of life no more +than glimmering in that colossal frame.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Whilst Frank was relating his story, Sir Thomas addressed himself to +Yung How, who stood upon the deck of the gunboat. The man explained +that he had done all in his power to atone for his treachery and +ingratitude. He had reached Hong-Kong--as we know--on the same boat as +the letters, but had not been able to pluck up sufficient moral courage +to present himself before the police authorities until after he had +been several hours on the island. The ransom had already been +despatched, when the Chief of Police presented himself before Sir John +Macintosh, the Governor.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It would have been easy to telegraph to Canton, instructing those on +board the launch to wait for His Majesty's gunboat </span><em class="italics">Ferret</em><span>. It was +decided, however, to allow the ransom money to be taken over by the +brigands, who could afterwards be brought to book at the junction of +the Sang River with the Pekiang. It would not be possible for +Cheong-Chau to remove the treasure by any other means than by junk or +</span><em class="italics">wupan</em><span>. Of the operations of Ling and the undoing of Cheong-Chau and +his band, the Hong-Kong police authorities, of course, knew nothing.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Yung How himself was ordered to accompany the ship's doctor, who +immediately hastened to the assistance of the dying man on board the +junk. When the servant found himself face to face with his master, he +immediately fell upon his knees, imploring Sir Thomas to be merciful. +The judge was not slow to forgive, realising that Yung How had at last +been made to realise the evils of the drug to which for so many years +he had been a slave, and the depths of degradation to which the opium +smoker can sink.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Upon that fateful morning, however, beyond a few brief words of mutual +congratulation, little enough was said. The attention of all was taken +up by the prostrate figure of the notorious Canton robber, who for +years past had defied all authority and law.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The naval surgeon declared that he could do nothing. The man was +already as good as dead. The surgeon's sole cause for wonderment was +that Ling still lived.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The great Honanese remained insensible until the moment when +Cheong-Chau's brigands were brought on deck. Then, opening his eyes, +he looked at them, at first not appearing to remember who they were. +Then, very slowly, a smile spread upon his face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They go the way of all men," said he; "to the Potter's Yard, if +evidence can be produced against them; at all events, to the wooden +cages that are to be found at the gates of the city. As for myself, I +go before a greater court of justice. And I am not afraid."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He remained silent for a moment, and then, seeing Frank, he asked the +boy to come to him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Had I not met you," said he, "that morning on the wharf at Sanshui, +perhaps I should not now be bidding farewell to all my earthly +troubles. Still, that is a matter of no importance. I would like to +thank you, because you have been true to me. It does not flatter me to +think that you preferred me to Cheong-Chau. You obeyed me in the first +instance through fear, and then because you saw that I was one upon +whom you could rely. Tell me, is that so?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I think it is," said the boy, and then he added: "You are a strange +man indeed."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I believe I am," said Ling. "A singular mixture: evil and good, +brutality and kindness, strength and weakness."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I should not call you weak," said the boy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you do not know me, after all. What was all my vanity and +boasting but weakness? What right has any man to boast? In the midst +of the universe he is smaller than the ant; his voice, beside the +thunder, is no more than the croaking of a frog. And now, bid me +farewell, for I am about to die, and would gladly do so, that the pain +I suffer may be ended."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was just as if the man passed into the other world of his own free +will. Slowly he closed his eyes; and then he breathed no more. The +features of his face relaxed; the hardness and the cruelty, the lines +of agony and crime, vanished from his features. The tiger was no more. +And let us believe what he himself believed: that the evil that was in +him remained upon this earth in that great casket of sinew, nerve and +muscle, destined to decay, and the good that was within him--all that +was noble and heroic, the great thoughts that he had had and the wisdom +he had acquired--was carried by his soul into what he himself had +described as "the expansive arch of heaven."</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"> </div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +<div class="center line"><span class="small">THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED, EDINBURGH</span></div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +</div> +<div class="align-None container margin transition"> +<p class="center pfirst"><span>――――</span></p> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="x-large">A Select List of Books for</span></div> +<div class="center line"><span class="x-large">Young People: Published by</span></div> +<div class="center line"><span class="x-large">Humphrey Milford, Oxford</span></div> +<div class="center line"><span class="x-large">University Press</span></div> +<div class="center line"> </div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="x-large">Books for Boys</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Boys who read Mr. Strang's works have not merely the advantage of +perusing enthralling and wholesome tales, but they are also absorbing +sound and trustworthy information of the men and times about which they +are reading.</em><span>"--DAILY TELEGRAPH.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="large">By HERBERT STRANG</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Blue Raider</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by C. E. BROCK.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Phil Trentham, a young English trader, and his friend Hoole, an +American, are amongst the few survivors of a tramp steamer sunk by a +German raider in the Pacific. Together with Grinson, the boatswain, +and Meek, a seaman, they reach the coast of New Guinea, and find +themselves between the devil and the deep sea, in the shape of cannibal +natives on the one hand and the German raiders on the other. After +running imminent risk of being devoured, the party come to terms with +the natives, who have themselves suffered much at the hands of the +Germans; and they unite against the common foe. By a clever stratagem +Trentham wrecks the German raider and outwits the crew, who make an +attack on his party. The fat boatswain, Grinson, and the lean, +melancholy Meek are good examples of Mr. Herbert Strang's power of +characterisation.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Long Trail</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by H. EVISON.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This is a story of African adventure that carries the reader on +breathlessly. Two English lads, who had gone to Africa prospecting for +tin, come into contact with the wild race of the Tubus, and unwittingly +cross the ambitions of their leader, Goruba. They are besieged, with +their carriers, in a tumble-down fort, have encounters with savage +beasts as well as savage men, and ultimately, getting the better of +Goruba, have their reward in the shape of a hoard of ivory which lay +concealed beneath the fort.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">A Gentleman-at-Arms</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>A Story of Elizabethan Days. Eight plates in Colour by CYRUS CUNEO, +and thirty-eight line drawings by T. H. ROBINSON.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This book is unique In literature for boys. It relates the adventurous +career of an Elizabethan gentleman, in a style carefully modelled on +the simple prose of the century which produced the Authorised Version +of the Bible. No previous writer for boys has ever attempted a similar +achievement. Apart from its romantic and exciting incidents, this +story has great value by reason of its historical and geographical +information, and its exceptional style.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Sultan Jim</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Empire Builder. Coloured illustrations by CYRUS CUNEO.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Asia and Australia have been the scene of Mr. Strang's most recent +romances of Empire. In this book he turns to Africa, where the +colonising activity of rival powers is raising problems of the greatest +interest and importance. The presence of a young Englishman in one of +the debatable lands at a time of upheaval and international rivalry +enables him to uphold the interests of the Empire against formidable +opposition. The story is brimful of adventure, and its moral is that +of patriotic self-sacrifice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Father Christmas brings many good things in his train, but It Is +doubtful If he brings anything better in its own way than a new story +by Mr. Herbert Strang. The multitude of his youthful readers are +likely to find their most insatiable thirst for adventure satisfied by +this new volume."--</span><em class="italics">Bookman</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Air Patrol</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Story of the North-West Frontier. Illustrated in Colour by CYRUS</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">CUNEO.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>In this book Mr. Strang looks ahead--and other books have already +proved him a prophet of surprising skill--to a time when there is a +great Mongolian Empire whose army sweeps down on to the North-West +Frontier of India. His two heroes luckily have an aeroplane, and with +the help of a few Pathan miners they hold a pass in the Hindu Kush +against a swarm of Mongols, long enough to prevent the cutting of the +communications of the Indian army operating in Afghanistan. The +qualities which marked Mr. Strang's last long story, "The Air-Scout," +and won extraordinarily high commendation from Lord Roberts, Lord +Curzon, and others, as well as from the </span><em class="italics">Spectator</em><span> and other great +journals, are again strikingly displayed; and the combination of +thrilling adventure with an Imperial problem and excellent writing, +adds one more to this author's long list of successes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"An exceptionally good book, written moreover In excellent +style."--</span><em class="italics">Times</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The 'Air Patrol' is really a masterpiece."--</span><em class="italics">Morning Post</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Air-Scout</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Story of National Defence. Illustrated in Colour by W. R. S. STOTT.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The problems of National Defence are being discussed with more and more +care and attention, not only in Great Britain, but also in all parts of +the Empire. In this story Mr. Strang imagines a Chinese descent upon +Australia, and carries his hero through a series of exciting +adventures, in which the value of national spirit, organisation, and +discipline is exemplified. The important part which the aeroplane will +play in warfare is recognised, and the thousands of readers who have +delighted in the author's previous stories of aviation will find this +new book after their own heart.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>LORD ROBERTS writes: "It is capital reading, and should interest more +than boys. Your forecast is so good that I can only hope the future +may not bring to Australia such a struggle as the one you so +graphically describe."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>LORD CURZON writes: "I have read with great pleasure your book, 'The +Air-Scout.' It seems to me to be a capital story, full of life and +movement: and further, it preaches the best of all secular gospels, +patriotism and co-operation."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We congratulate Me. Strang on this fine book--one of the best fighting +stories we have read."--</span><em class="italics">Morning Post</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Rob the Ranger</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Story of the Fight for Canada. Illustrated in Colour by W. H.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">MARGETSON, and three Maps.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Rob Somers, son of an English settler in New York State, sets out with +Lone Pete, a trapper, in pursuit of an Indian raiding party which has +destroyed his home and carried off his younger brother. He is captured +and taken to Quebec, where he finds his brother, and escapes with him +in the dead of the winter, in company with a little band of New +Englanders. They are pursued over snow 'and ice, and in a log hut +beside Lake Champlain maintain a desperate struggle against a larger +force of French, Indians, and half-breeds, ultimately reaching Fort +Edward in safety.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">One of Clive's Heroes</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Story of the Fight for India. Illustrated In Colour, and Maps.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Desmond Burke goes out to India to seek his fortune, and is sold by a +false friend of his, one Marmaduke Diggle, to the famous Pirate of +Gheria. But he escapes, runs away with one of the Pirate's own +vessels, and meets Colonel Clive, whom he assists to capture the +Pirate's stronghold. His subsequent adventures on the other side of +India--how he saves a valuable cargo of his friend, Mr. Merriman, +assists Clive in his fights against Sirajuddaula, and rescues Mr. +Merriman's wife and daughter from the clutches of Diggle--are told with +great spirit and humour.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"An absorbing story.... The narrative not only thrills, but also +weaves skilfully out of fact and fiction a clear impression of our +fierce struggle for India."--</span><em class="italics">Athenaeum</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Samba</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Story of the Congo. Illustrated in Colour.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The first work of fiction in which the cause of the hapless Congo +native is championed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It was an excellent Idea on the part of Mr. Herbert Strang to write a +story about the treatment of the natives in the Congo Free State.... +Mr. Strang has a big following among English boys, and anything he +chooses to write is sure to receive their appreciative +attention."--</span><em class="italics">Standard</em><span>,</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Herbert Strang has written not a few admirable books for boys, but +none likely to make a more profound impression than his new story of +this year."--</span><em class="italics">Scotsman</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Barclay of the Guides</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Story of the Indian Mutiny. Illustrated in Colour by CYRUS CUNEO.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">With Maps.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Of all our Native Indian regiments the Guides have probably the most +glorious traditions. They were among the few who remained true to +their salt during the trying days of the great Mutiny, vying in +gallantry and devotion with our best British regiments. The story +tells how James Barclay, after a strange career in Afghanistan, becomes +associated with this famous regiment, and though young in years, bears +a man's part in the great march to Delhi, the capture of the royal +city, and the suppression of the Mutiny.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">With Drake on the Spanish Main</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by ARCHIBALD WEBB. With Maps.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>A rousing story of adventure by sea and land. The hero, Dennis +Hazelrig, is cast ashore on an island in the Spanish Main, the sole +survivor of a band of adventurers from Plymouth. He lives for some +time with no companion but a spider monkey, but by a series of +remarkable incidents he gathers about him a numerous band of escaped +slaves and prisoners, English, French and native; captures a Spanish +fort; fights a Spanish galleon; meets Francis Drake, and accompanies +him in his famous adventures on the Isthmus of Panama; and finally +reaches England the possessor of much treasure. The author has, as +usual, devoted much pains to characterisation, and every boy will +delight in Amos Turnpenny, Tom Copstone, and other bold men of Devon, +and in Mirandola, the monkey.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Palm Tree Island</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by ARCHIBALD WEBB.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>In this story two boys are left on a volcanic island in the South Seas, +destitute of everything but their clothes. The story relates how they +provided themselves with food and shelter, with tools and weapons; how +they fought with wild dogs and sea monsters; and how, when they have +settled down to a comfortable life under the shadow of the volcano, +their peace is disturbed by the advent of savages and a crew of +mutinous Englishmen. The savages are driven away; the mutineers are +subdued through the boys' ingenuity; and they ultimately sail away in a +vessel of their own construction. In no other book has the author more +admirably blended amusement with instruction.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Written as well that there Is not a dull page in the book."--</span><em class="italics">The +World</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Herbert Strang's Romances of Modern Invention</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Each of the following stories is concerned with some particular +discovery of Modern Science, such as the aeroplane and the submarine, +which is made use of in the working out of the plot; and the heroes of +these adventures, who face dangers that were unknown in olden times, +cannot fail to make a strong appeal to boys of to-day.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Flying Boat</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The flying boat Is a logical development of the hydroplane. At a +sufficiently high speed, the hydroplane leaves the water and becomes a +hydro-aeroplane. The possession of such a machine gives the hero of +the story (the scene of which is laid in China) opportunities of highly +exciting adventures, and Incidentally the chance of rescuing an old +chum who has fallen into the hands of Chinese revolutionaries.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The book is alive with vigorous action from cover to cover, 'The +Flying Boat' is a rattling good story."--</span><em class="italics">Bookman</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Motor Scout</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Story of Adventure in South America. Illustrated in Colour by CYRUS</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">CUNEO.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>In the interest aroused by the solution of the problem of flying, the +motor bicycle has been entirely overlooked by story-writers. Happily +Mr. Herbert Strang has now thought of making it the pivot of a story, +the scene of which is one of the Latin States of South America. Mr. +Strang tells the story of an Irish boy who is living in this State just +at the time when one of the periodical revolutions breaks out. He is +forced to take sides, and with the help of his motor-cycle is able to +assist his friends, but not without running risks unknown to scouts +provided with less novel means of traversing the country. "A really +fine story, full of life, and one that any bay can enjoy."--</span><em class="italics">Outlook</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Round the World in Seven Days</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">The Story of an Aeroplane. Illustrated in Colour by A. C. MICHAEL.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"This is a book which any boy would revel in, and which people who are +no longer boys will read with equally breathless +interest."--</span><em class="italics">Educational News</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Cruise of the Gyro-Car</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by A. C. MICHAEL.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>(The Gyro-Car, which is a road vehicle or a boat at pleasure, is the +logical outcome of the gyroscope applied to the bicycle.)</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Swift and Sure</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">The Story of a Hydroplane. Illustrated in Colour by J. FINNEMORE.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"It is one of the most exciting of this season's works for boys, every +page containing a thrill, and no boy will leave it to a second sitting +if he can help it."--</span><em class="italics">Teacher</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">King of the Air</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">or, To Morocco on an Aeroplane. Illustrated in Colour by W. E. WEBSTER.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"One of the best boys' stories we have ever read."--</span><em class="italics">Morning Leader</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The best book of its kind now in existence."--</span><em class="italics">Manchester Guardian</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Lord of the Seas</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">The Story of a Submarine. Illustrated in Colour by C. FLEMING WILLIAMS.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"The excitement lasts from cover to cover."--</span><em class="italics">Manchester Courier</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By Captain G. B. McKEAN, V.C., M.C., M.M.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Scouting Thrills</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by JOHN DE WALTON.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Captain G. B. McKean is a Canadian officer who served throughout the +war, first as a private, afterwards gaining a commission, and winning +successively the Military Medal, the V.C., and the Military Cross. In +his book he recounts some of his most thrilling experiences on the +Western Front, particularly the exploit by which he gained the V.C. +Captain McKean was Scout Officer in his battalion, and his chapters are +amongst the most vivid and thrilling accounts of the war yet +written--not the war of "big pushes," massed attacks, bayonet charges, +and the capture of miles of trenches, but of nights spent crawling +about in the mud of No-Man's-Land, of lonely vigils in shell-holes, +bombing raids, and unpleasant experiences "on the wire."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>GENERAL SIR ROBERT BADEN POWELL writes: "I have devoured it with great +relish.... It gives a life-like representation of the risks and +thrills of scouting and the 'real thing'; and as a moral lesson of +chucking everything aside to get your duty done, it is bound to have +powerful results."</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By HYLTON CLEAVER</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Brother o' Mine</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A School Story. Illustrated by H. M. BROCK.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"Brother o' Mine" is a story of Harley, a great public school. Toby +Nicholson, an old Harleian, after making a shot at one or two possible +openings for a career, accepts the post of Games Master at his old +school. To his younger brother Terence the prospect of being at Harley +with Toby is one of unalloyed pleasure, and as he is pretty sure of his +First XI. colours next term, the world for him is rose-coloured. But +his anticipations are not altogether realised, for Slade, the Captain +of Cricket, having no particular liking for Terence to start with, +feels that the presence of Toby is a direct challenge to him to assert +his independence; and on the plea that he will not show favouritism to +a boy because his brother happens to be Games Master, he refuses to do +him simple justice and keeps him out of the XI. In the duel that +ensues, Slade makes several false moves that show him to be actuated by +petty spite rather than by any high motive of justice and fair-play; +and his own play proving anything but fair, his career at Harley comes +to an abrupt conclusion. Terence is a fine bat, and the force of +public opinion and his own worth secure him the coveted "last place" in +the XI.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Harley First Eleven</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by C. E. BROCK.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"The Harley First Eleven" is a collection of Mr. Hylton Cleaver's best +short stories, all centring on the great public school Harley, and, +individually, dealing with the sports for which it is famous. Mr. +Cleaver's knowledge of public school-boy character is extensive and +profound; he has a ready fund of wit and humour at his call, and he can +describe a Rugger match in a way that makes the blood tingle with +excitement. Rugger was Harley's great game, though the school produced +many first-class cricketers; and the two games form the pivot of +several stories. Others are concerned with boxing, running and +swimming; and we are let into secrets regarding the giving or +withholding of colours for which the school at large saw no +justification at the time. The book is a history of battles fought and +won on the playing-fields of Harley.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By CLAUDE GRAHAME-WHITE AND HARRY HARPER</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Heroes of the Air</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by CYRUS CUNEO.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This book deals with the labours and exploits of those who have played +an important part in bringing about the conquest of the air. It not +only contains personal memoirs of the men themselves, but traces the +progress of aerial flight from the early gliders to the aeroplanes of +to-day. The story of the experiments of those who first essayed to +fly--the problems that long baffled them and the difficulties they +overcame--together with the accounts of the daring feats of modern +aviators, make a stirring narrative, and carry the history of heroism +and endurance a. stage further forward.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This will prove a great attraction to a multitude of readers who wish +to read of deeds of great daring and very narrow escapes."--</span><em class="italics">Nation</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">With the Airmen</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by CYRUS CUNEO.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Mr. Grahame-White has not only repeatedly proved his skill and daring +as a pilot, but the well-known type of biplane bearing his name shows +that he is in the forefront of designers and constructors. With his +practical and technical knowledge is combined the somewhat rare ability +to impart his knowledge in a form acceptable to boys, as he has already +shown in his "Heroes of the Air." This time he has written a vade +mecum for the young aeroplanist, who is conducted to the aerodrome and +initiated Into all the mysteries of flying. The structure of the +aeroplane, the uses of the different parts, the propulsive mechanism, +the steering apparatus, the work at a flying school, the causes of +accidents, and the future of the aeroplane are all dealt with.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is surely one of the most entertaining books on a technical subject +that have ever appeared, as well as one of the most instructive and +comprehensive."--</span><em class="italics">Nation</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By CAPTAIN CHARLES GILSON</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">On Secret Service. Illustrated by JOHN DE WALTON.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Captain Gilson's new book carries us back to the early days of the war, +when the hidden menace of spies in our midst was scarcely less +formidable than the obvious menace from the enemy without. Daniel +Wansborough, a retired Scotland Yard detective, takes up active service +again in the hour of his country's need, and becomes aware of a +well-organised system of espionage at work, with its headquarters in +London; but for a time he cannot discover whose is the brain directing +the organisation. His nephew, George, a lad of sixteen, is +instrumental in obtaining this information. George falls into the +hands of the arch-spy, and is kept a prisoner in London. Here he +learns the details of an ingenious plan whereby the chief Government +offices in Whitehall are to be destroyed by Zeppelins. The detective, +in trying to unravel the mystery of his nephew's disappearance, finds +the threads mingling with those of the spy-plot, and when at length he +locates the house in which the boy is shut up, he finds himself with +his hand upon the very nerve-centre of the German Secret Service +organisation. George is able to supply the missing links in the chain +of evidence, and the scheme for the destruction of Whitehall if +frustrated at the eleventh hour.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Spy</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Story of the Peninsular War. Illustrated in Colour by CYRUS CUNEO.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>To the work of story-writing Captain Gilson brings a remarkable +combination of talents: an unrivalled knowledge of military history, an +imagination that never flags, a dramatic literary style, and a keen +sense of humour. These qualities are seen to perfection in "The Spy." +The hero, Sir Jeffery Jones, Bart, when a boy of sixteen, secures a +commission in a famous foot regiment, then under orders to sail for +Portugal under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley. His first +encounter with the enemy takes place before he is fifty miles from +home, for on the road to London he pursues and comes near to capturing +a spy in the pay of Bonaparte. Several times subsequently the paths of +the two cross, and eventually Sir Jeffery is the means of thwarting the +Frenchman's schemes. He takes part in much of the fighting in the +Peninsula, and, at the storming of Badajoz and elsewhere, renders his +country good service.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Every boy who loves tales of war and perilous enterprise--and what boy +does not!--will read 'The Spy' with unqualified enjoyment."--</span><em class="italics">Bookman</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Lost Empire</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Tale of Many Lands. Illustrated in Colour by CYRUS CUNEO. With Map.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This is the story of a middy who was taken prisoner by the French at +the time of the Revolution. While in Paris he obtained possession of +Napoleon's plans for the capture of India, and, after many adventures, +was the means of frustrating that ambitious scheme.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Lost Column</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Story of the Boxer Rebellion. Illustrated in Colour by CYRUS CUNEO.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>At the outbreak of the great Boxer Rebellion in China, Gerald Wood, the +hero of this story, was living with his mother and brother at Milton +Towers, just outside Tientsin. When the storm broke and Tientsin was +cut off from the rest of the world, the occupants of Milton Towers made +a gallant defence, but were compelled by force of numbers to retire +into the town. Then Gerald determined to go in quest of the relief +column under Admiral Seymour. He carried his life in his hands, and on +more than one occasion came within an ace of losing it; but he managed +to reach his goal in safety, and was warmly commended by the Admiral on +his achievement.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Pirate Aeroplane</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by C. CLARK, R.I.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The heroes of this story, during a tour In an entirely unknown region +of Africa, light upon a race of people directly descended from the +Ancient Egyptians. This race--the Asmalians---has lived isolated from +other communities. The scientific importance of this discovery is +apparent to the travellers, and they are enthusiastic to know more of +these strange people; but suddenly they find themselves in the midst of +exciting adventures owing to the appearance of a pirate aeroplane--of a +thoroughly up-to-date model--whose owner has learnt of a vast store of +gold in the Asmalians' city. They throw in their lot with the people, +and are able in the end to frustrate the plans of the freebooter.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The story is a riot of adventure. There is the groundwork of a +complete new novel on every page."--</span><em class="italics">Manchester Guardian</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Lost Island</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by CYRUS CUNEO.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>A rousing story of adventure in the little-explored regions of Central +Asia and in the South Seas. The prologue describes how Thomas +Gaythorne obtained access to a Lama monastery, where he rendered the +monks such great service that they bestowed upon him a gem of priceless +value known as Gautama's Eye. Soon after leaving the monastery he was +attacked and robbed, and only narrowly escaped with his life. "The +Lost Island" describes the attempt of one of Thomas Gaythorne's +descendants to re-discover the missing gem; and he passes through some +remarkable adventures before he succeeds in this quest.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Race Round the World</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">An Account of the Contest for the £100,000 Prize offered by the</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Combined Newspaper League. Coloured Illustrations by CYRUS CUNEO, and</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">a map of the route of </span><em class="italics medium">The Swallow</em><span class="medium">.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Old Silas Agge has invented a new motor spirit, far more potent than +petrol, and with this secret in his possession he has no doubt that he +will win the £100,000 offered by a Newspaper League to the winner of +the Aeroplane Race round the World. But a foreigner, with whom Silas +has had business relations, succeeds in obtaining, first, the design of +the aeroplane which the old man has built, and next, a sufficient +quantity of the new spirit to carry him round the world. The race thus +becomes a duel between these two rivals. Guy Kingston, a daring young +aviator and nephew to Silas, pilots his uncle's aeroplane, and at every +stage of the race finds himself matched against an unscrupulous +adversary. The story of the race is exciting from beginning to end. +Readers of Captain Gilson's earlier books will be particularly happy in +renewing acquaintance with Mr. Wang, the great Chinese detective.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Suggestive of Jules Verne in his most ambitious and fantastic +vein."--</span><em class="italics">Athenaeum</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Boys will like it, and they will want to read it more than +once."--</span><em class="italics">Scotsman</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">SCHOOL STORIES BY DESMOND COKE</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Bending of a Twig</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by H. M. BROCK.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>When "The Bending of a Twig" was first published it was hailed by +competent critics as the finest school story that had appeared since +"Tom Brown." It is a vivid picture of life in a modern public school. +The hero, Lycidas Marsh, enters Shrewsbury without having previously +been to a preparatory school, drawing his ideas of school life from his +imagination and a number of school stories he has read. How Lycidas +finds his true level in this new world and worthily maintains the +Salopian tradition is the theme of this most entrancing book.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A real, live school story that carries conviction in every +line."--</span><em class="italics">Standard</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Desmond Coke has given us one of the best accounts of public +school life that we possess.... Among books of its kind 'The Bending +of a Twig' deserves to become a classic"--</span><em class="italics">Outlook</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The School Across the Road</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by H. M. BROCK.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The incidents of this story arise out of the uniting of two +schools--"Warner's" and "Corunna"--under the name of "Winton," a name +which the head master fondly hopes will become known far and wide as a +great seat of learning. Unfortunately for the head master's ambition, +however, the two sets of boys--hitherto rivals and enemies, now +schoolfellows--do not take kindly to one another. Warner's men of +might are discredited in the new school; Henderson, lately head boy, +finds himself a mere nobody; while the inoffensive Dove is exalted and +made prefect by reason of his attainments in class work. There is +discord and insurrection and talk of expulsion, and the feud drags on +until the rival factions have an opportunity of uniting against a +common enemy. Then, in the enthusiasm aroused by the overthrow of a +neighbouring agricultural college, the bitterness between them dies +away, and the future of Winton is assured.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This tale is told with a remarkable spirit, and all the boys are real, +everyday characters drawn without exaggeration."--</span><em class="italics">British Weekly</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The House Prefect</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by H. M. BROCK.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This story of the life at Sefton, a great English public school, mainly +revolves around the trouble in which Bob Manders, new-made house +prefect, finds himself, owing to a former alliance with the two wild +spirits whom, in the interests of the house, it is now his chief task +to suppress. In particular does the spirited exploit with which it +opens--the whitewashing by night of a town statue and the smashing of +certain school property--raise itself against him, next term, when he +has been set in authority. His two former friends persist in still +regarding him as an ally, bound to them by their common secret; and, in +a sense, he is attracted to their enterprises, for in becoming prefect +he does not cease to be a boy. It is a great duel this, fought in the +studies, the dormitories, upon the field.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Quite one of the books of the season. Mr. Desmond Coke has proved +himself a aster."--</span><em class="italics">World</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Quite the hot school story of the year."--</span><em class="italics">Morning Leader</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By A. C. CURTIS</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Voyage of the "Sesame"</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Story of the Arctic. Illustrated in Colour.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The Trevelyan brothers receive from a dying sailor a rough chart of a +locality where much gold is to be found in the Arctic regions. They +set out in quest of it, bat do not have things all their own way, for +some rival treasure-seekers have got wind of the enterprise, and +endeavour to secure the gold for themselves. There is a race between +the two expeditions, and fighting takes place, but the crew of the +Sesame are victorious, and after enduring great hardships amongst the +ice, reach home safely with the gold on board.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Good Sword Belgarde</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">or, How De Burgh held Dover. Coloured Illustrations by W. H. C. GROOME.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This is the story of Arnold Gyffard and John Wotton, pages to Sir +Philip Daubeney, in the days when Prince Lewis the Lion invaded England +and strove to win it from King John. It tells of their journey to +Dover through a country swarming with foreign troops, and of many +desperate fights by the way. In one of these A mold wins from a French +knight the good sword Belgarde, which he uses to such good purpose as +to make his name feared. Then follows the great siege of Dover, full +of exciting incidents, when by his gallant defence Hubert de Burgh +keeps the key to England out of the Frenchman's grasp.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By FRANK H. MASON, R.B.A.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">A Book of British Ships</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Written and Illustrated by FRANK H. MASON, R.B.A.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The aim of this book is to present, in a form that will readily appeal +to boys, a comprehensive account of British shipping, both naval and +mercantile, and to trace its development from the old wooden walls of +Nelson's time down to the Dreadnoughts and high-speed ocean liners of +to-day. All kinds of British ships, from the battleship to the +trawler, are dealt with, and the characteristic points of each type of +vessel are explained.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By GEORGE SURREY</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Mid Clash of Swords</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Story of the Sack of Rome. Coloured Illustrations by T. C. DUGDALE.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Wilfrid Salkeld, a young Englishman, enters the employ of Giuliano de +Medici, the virtual ruler of Florence, whom he serves with a zeal that +that faint-hearted man does not deserve; he meets Giovanni the +Invincible; and makes friends with the great Benvenuto Cellini. He has +many a fierce tussle with German mercenaries and Italian robbers, as +well as with those whose jealousy he arouses by his superior skill in +arms.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">A Northumbrian in Arms</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">A Story of the Time of Hereward the Wake. Illustrated in Colour by J.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">FINNEMORE.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Harold Ulfsson, companion of Hereward the Wake and conqueror of the +Wessex Champion in a great wrestling bout, is outlawed by the influence +of a Norman knight, whose enmity he has aroused, and goes north to +serve under Earl Siward of Northumbria in the war against Macbeth, the +Scottish usurper. He assists in defeating an attack by a band of +coast-raiders, takes their ship, and discovering that his father has +been slain and his land seized by his enemy, follows him into Wales. +He fights with Griffith the Welsh King, kills his enemy In a desperate +conflict amidst the hills, and, gaining the friendship of Harold, Earl +of Wessex, his outlawry is removed and his lands restored to him.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By REV. J. R. HOWDEN, B.D.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Locomotives of the World</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Containing sixteen plates in Colour.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Many of the most up-to-date types of locomotives used on railways +throughout the world are illustrated and described in this volume. The +coloured plates have been made from actual photographs, and show the +peculiar features of some truly remarkable engines. These +peculiarities are fully explained in the text, written by the Rev. J. +R. Howden, author of "The Boy's Book of Locomotives," etc.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By JOHN FINBARR</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Mystery of Danger Point</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by ARCHIBALD WEBB.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>A story of a hundred years ago, when there were highwaymen on every +public road and smuggler! in every cove. When their school breaks up, +the two youthful heroes go to spend the holidays with Robin's uncle, +who lives in a tumble-down castle at Danger Point on the western coast, +and they soon discover that the local people are doing a brisk trade in +contraband goods. To assist in putting down this illegal business +seems to them the obvious course. They find a cave which has every +appearance of being used for smuggled goods, and keep their eyes upon +certain suspicious characters. In the absence of Uncle Reuben, the +boys get wind of a big cargo about to be run, and resolve to inform the +nearest Justice of the Peace; but before they can put their scheme into +operation, they are quietly smuggled away themselves out of England +into France. Here an opportunity presents itself for assisting a +French nobleman and his daughter to escape from the Reign of Terror, +and they return to England to invoke the aid of Uncle Reuben and his +ship In this enterprise. Their success brings reward in several ways. +The story is very brightly written, and has many humorous touches.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By JOSEPH BOWES</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Aussie Crusaders</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by WAL PAGET.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Mr. Bowes' latest story, "The Aussie Crusaders," deals with the British +Campaign in Palestine. The hero is a young Australian officer, who, +having distinguished himself in the Gallipoli struggle, was given a +commission and quickly attained his majority. He is still, however, +"one of the boys" in spirit, and the story gives a pretty good idea of +the informal, friendly relations that existed between the officers and +men of the A.I.F. Major Smith is taken prisoner by a party of Bedouins +after the fight at Rafa, and on escaping from them, falls into the +hands of the Turks, from whom he also breaks free, obtaining possession +of papers giving valuable information about the enemy's strength and +movements. After rejoining his squadron, the Major takes part in the +great sweep that, starting with the attack on Gaza, culminated in the +fall of Jerusalem.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By WILLIAM J. MARX</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">For the Admiral</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by ARCHIBALD WEBB.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The brave Huguenot Admiral Coligny is one of the heroes of French +history. Edmond le Blanc, the son of a Huguenot gentleman, undertakes +to convey a secret letter of warning to Coligny, and the adventures he +meets with on the way lend to his accepting service in the Huguenot +army. He shares in the hard fighting that took place in the +neighbourhood of La Rochelle, does excellent work in scouting for the +Admiral, and is everywhere that danger calls, along with his friend +Roger Braund, a young Englishman who has come over to help the cause +with a band of free-lances.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This story won the £100 prize offered by the Bookman for the best story +for boys.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">THE ROMANCE SERIES</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Romance of the King's Navy</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By EDWARD FRASER. New Edition, with Illustrations in Colour by N.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">SOTHEBY PITCHER.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"The Romance of the King's Navy" is intended to give boys of to-day an +idea of some of the notable events that have happened under the White +Ensign within the past few years. There is no other book of the kind +in existence. It begins with incidents afloat during the Crimean War, +when their grandfathers were boys themselves, and brings the story down +to a year or two ago, with the startling adventure at Spithead of +Submarine 64. One chapter tells the exciting story of "How the Navy's +V.C.'s have been won," the deeds of the various heroes being brought +all together here in one connected narrative for the first time.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Fraser knows his facts well, and has set them out in an extremely +interesting and attractive way."--</span><em class="italics">Westminster Gazette</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Romance of the King's Army</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By A. B. TUCKER.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>A companion volume to "The Romance of the King's Navy," telling again +in glowing language the most inspiring incidents in the glorious +history of our land forces. The charge of the 21st Lancers at +Omdurman, the capture of the Dargai heights, the saving of the guns at +Maiwand, are a few of the great stories of heroism and devotion that +appear in this stirring volume.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We cannot toe highly commend this beautiful volume as a prize-book for +school-boys of all classes."--</span><em class="italics">School Guardian</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Romance of Every Day</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By LILIAN QUILLER-COUCH.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Here is a bookful of romance and heroism; true stories of men, women, +and children in early centuries and modern times who took the +opportunities which came into their everyday lives and found themselves +heroes and heroines; civilians who, without beat of drum or smoke of +battle, without special training or words of encouragement, performed +deeds worthy to be written in letters of gold.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"These stories are bound to encourage and Inspire young readers to +perform heroic actions."--</span><em class="italics">Bristol Daily Mercury</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Romance of the Merchant Venturers</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By E. E. SPEIGHT and R. MORTON NANCE.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Britain's Sea Story</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By E. E. SPEIGHT and R. MORTON NANCE. New Edition, Illustrated in</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Colour by H. SANDHAM.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>These two books are full of true tales as exciting as any to be found +in the story books, and at every few pages there is a fine +illustration, in colour or black and white, of one of the stirring +incidents described in the text.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">By MEREDITH FLETCHER</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Pretenders</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">With Coloured Illustrations by HAROLD C. EARNSHAW.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>A tale of twin-brothers at Daneborough School, Tommy Durrant (the +narrator) has been a boarder for about a year, when Peter arrives upon +the scene as a day-boy. The latter's ill-health has prevented him +joining the school before, and, being a harum-scarum youngster, his +vagaries plunge Tommy into hot water straight away. The following +week, unaware of all the mischief he has made, the newcomer, who lives +with an aunt, urges his twin to change places one night for a spree. +Tommy rashly consents, and his experiences while pretending to be Peter +prove both unexpected and exciting.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Meredith Fletcher is extremely happy in his delineation of school +life."--</span><em class="italics">People's Journal</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Complete Scout</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Edited by MORLEY ADAMS, with numerous Illustrations and Diagrams.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This is a book intended primarily for boy scouts, but It also possesses +an Interest for all boys who like out-of-door amusements and scouting +games. It contains many articles by different writers on the various +pursuits and branches of study that scouts are more particularly +interested in, such as wood-craft, tracing, the weather, and so on, and +the book should form a sort of cyclopaedia for many thousands of boys +who hail Baden-Powell as Chief Scout.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By D. H. PARRY</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Kit of the Carabineers</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">or, A Soldier of Maryborough's.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by ARCHIBALD WEBB.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This story tells how Kit Dawnay comes under the notice of the Duke of +Marlborough while the latter is on a visit to Kit's uncle, Sir Jasper +Dawnay, an irritable, miserly old man, suspected, moreover with good +reason, of harbouring Jacobite plotters and of being himself favourable +to the cause of the exiled Stuarts.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Kit, instructed by the Duke, Is able to frustrate a scheme for the +assassination of King William as he rides to Hampton Court, and the +King, in return for Kit's service, gives him a cornet's commission in +the King's Carabineers. He goes with the army to Flanders, takes part +in the siege of Liege; accompanies Marlborough on those famous forced +marches across Europe, whereby the great leader completely hoodwinked +the enemy; and is present at the battle of Blenheim, where he wins +distinction.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The story bristles with dramatic incident, and the thrilling +adventures which overtake the young hero, Kit Dawnay, are enough to +keep one breathless with excitement."--</span><em class="italics">Bookman</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By W. H. G. KINGSTON</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Hurricane Hurry</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Coloured Illustrations by ARCHIBALD WEBB.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This Is one of W. H. G. Kingston's best books in the sense that It has +an atmosphere of reality about it, and reads like the narrative of one +who has actually passed through all the experiences described; and this +is no mere illusion, for the author states in his preface that the +material from which the story was built up was put into his hands by a +well-known naval officer, who afterwards rose to the position of +admiral. Mr. Hurry enters the navy as midshipman a few years before +the outbreak of the American War of Independence, and during that war +he distinguishes himself both on land and sea.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Will Weatherhelm</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Coloured Illustrations by ARCHIBALD WEBB.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>A splendid tale of the sea, full of incident and adventure, and a +first-rate account of the sailor's life afloat in the days of the +press-gang and the old wooden walls. The author reveals his own ardent +love of the sea and all that pertains to it, and this story embodies a +true ideal of patriotic service.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">By G. A. HENTY</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">In Times of Peril</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Story of India. Illustrated in Colour by T. C. DUGDALE.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Major Warrener and his children are stationed at Sandynugghur when news +arrives that the native troops at Meerut have mutinied and murdered all +the Europeans there and are marching upon Delhi. Almost immediately +the Major's house is attacked and his family flee for their lives. The +Major himself and some of his companions are taken prisoners, but only +for a short time, for his sons, Ned and Dick, disguising themselves as +Sepoys, are able to rescue them. The party after an anxious time fall +in with a body of English troops who are on the way to relieve Delhi. +Dick and Ned are in Cawnpore when the Europeans are attacked, but they +escape by swimming instead of trusting themselves in boats. They take +part in the storming of Delhi, which had been taken by the natives, and +in the relief of Lucknow. The end of the Mutiny finds the whole family +once more united.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">Edited by HERBERT STRANG</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Early Days in Canada</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Pioneers in Canada</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Early Days in Australia</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Pioneers in Australia</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Early Days in India</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Duty and Danger in India</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Each book contains eight plates in Colour.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The story of the discovery, conquest, settlement, and peaceful +development of the great countries which now form part of the British +Empire, is full of interest and romance. In this series of books the +story is told in a number of extracts from the writings of historians, +biographers, and travellers whose works are not easily accessible to +the general reader. Each volume is complete in itself and gives a +vivid picture of the progress of the particular country with which it +deals.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">HERBERT STRANG'S LIBRARY</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This is a new series of standard books for boys and girls, comprising +the great works of history, fiction, biography, travel, science, and +poetry with which every boy and girl should be familiar, edited by Mr. +HERBERT STRANG.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Each volume is prefaced by a short introduction, giving a biographical +account of the author, or such information concerning the book itself +as may be useful and interesting to young readers. Notes, maps, and +plans are given where necessary.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The text of the books, many of which were not written primarily for +children, is carefully edited both in regard to matters that are +inherently unsuitable for their reading, and to passages that do not +conform to modern standards of taste. In these and other respects the +Editor will exercise a wide discretion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Library Is illustrated with colour plates, reproduced by +three-colour process from designs by H. M. BROCK, JAMES DURDEN, A. +WEBB, and other well-known artists,</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The following volumes are now ready:--</span></p> +<pre class="literal-block"> +<span>Adventures in the Rifle Brigade By Sir John Kincaid +Westward Ho! By Charles Kingsley +The Life of Wellington By W. H. Maxwell +The Boy's Country Book By William Howitt +Mungo Park's Travels +The Coral Island By R. M. Ballantyne +True Blue By W. H. G. Kingston +Little Women By Louisa Alcott +Good Wives By Louisa Alcott +Tales from Hans Andersen +Stories from Grimm +Tom Brown's Schooldays By Thomas Hughes +The Life of Nelson By Robert Southey +Quentin Durward By Sir Walter Scott +A Book of Golden Deeds By Charlotte M. Yonge +A Wonder Book By Nathaniel Hawthorne +What Katy Did By Susan Coolidge +What Katy Did at School By Susan Coolidge +What Katy Did Next By Susan Coolidge +Ivanhoe By Sir Walter Scott +Curiosities of Natural History By Frank Buckland +Captain Cook's Voyages +The Heroes By Charles Kingsley +Robinson Crusoe By Daniel Defoe +Tales from Shakespeare By Charles and Mary Lamb +Peter the Whaler By W. H. G. Kingston +Queechy By Elizabeth Wetherell +The Wide Wide World By Elizabeth Wetherell +Tanglewood Tales By Nathaniel Hawthorne +The Life of Columbus By Washington Irving +Battles of the Peninsular War By Sir William Napier +Midshipman Easy By Captain Marryat +The Swiss Family Robinson By J. R. Wyss</span> +</pre> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="large">Books for Girls</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By CHRISTINA GOWANS WHYTE</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Uncle Hilary's Nieces</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by JAMES BURDEN.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Until the death of their father, the course of life of Uncle Hilary's +nieces had run smooth; but then the current of misfortune came upon +them, carried them, with their mother and brothers, to London, and +established them in a fiat. Here, under the guardianship of Uncle +Hilary, they enter into the spirit of their new situation; and when it +comes to a question of ways and means, prove that they have both +courage and resource. Thus Bertha secretly takes a position as +stock-keeper to a fashionable dressmaker; Milly tries to write, and has +the satisfaction of seeing her name in print; Edward takes up +architecture and becomes engrossed in the study of "cupboards and +kitchen sinks"; while all the rest contribute as well to the +maintenance of the household as to the interest of the story.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We have seldom read a prettier story than ... 'Uncle Hilary's Nieces.' +... It is a daintily woven plot clothed in a style that has already +commended itself to many readers, and is bound to make more +friends."--</span><em class="italics">Daily News</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Five Macleods</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by JAMES DURDEN.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The modern Louisa Alcott! That is the title that critics In England +and America have bestowed on Miss Christina Gowans Whyte, whose +"Story-Book Girls" they declare to be the best girls' story since +"Little Women." Like the Leightons and the Howards, the Macleods are +another of those delightful families whose doings, as described by Miss +Whyte, make such entertaining reading. Each of the five Macleods +possesses an individuality of her own. +Elspeth is the eldest--sixteen, with her hair "very nearly up"--and her +lovable nature makes her a favourite with every one; she is followed, +in point of age, by the would-be masterful Winifred (otherwise Winks) +and the independent Lil; while little Babs and Dorothy bring up the +rear.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Altogether a most charming story for girls."--</span><em class="italics">Schoolmaster</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Nina's Career</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by JAMES BURDEN.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"Nina's Career" tells delightfully of a large family of girls and boys, +children of Sir Christopher Howard. Friends of the Howards are Nina +Wentworth, who lives with three aunts, and Gertrude Mannering. +Gertrude Is conscious of always missing in her life that which makes +the lives of the Howards so joyous and full. They may have "careers"; +she must go to Court and through the wearying treadmill of the rich +girls. The Howards get engaged, marry, go into hospitals, study in art +schools; and in the end Gertrude also achieves happiness.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We have been so badly in need of writers for girls who shall be in +sympathy with the modern standard of intelligence, that we are grateful +for the advent of Miss Whyte, who has not inaptly been described as the +new Miss Alcott,"--</span><em class="italics">Outlook</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Story-Book Girls</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by JAMES BURDEN.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This story won the £100 prize In the Bookman competition.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Leightons are a charming family. There is Mabel, the beauty, her +nature, strength and sweetness mingled; and Jean, the downright, blunt, +uncompromising; and Elma, the sympathetic, who champions everybody, and +has a weakness for long words. And there is Cuthbert, too, the clever +brother. Cuthbert is responsible for a good deal, for he saves +Adelaide Maud from an accident, and brings the Story-Book Girls into +the story. Every girl who reads this book will become acquainted with +some of the realest, truest, best people in recent fiction.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is not too much to say that Miss Whyte has opened a new era in the +history of girls' literature.... The writing, distinguished in itself, +is enlivened by an all-pervading sense of humour."--</span><em class="italics">Manchester +Courier</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">By J. M. WHITFELD</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Tom who was Rachel</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>A Story of Australian Life. Illustrated in Colour by N. TENISON.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This is a story of Colonial life by an author who is new to English +readers. In writing about Australia Miss Whitfeld is, in a very +literal sense, at home; and no one can read her book without coming to +the conclusion that she is equally so in drawing pen portraits of +children. Her work possesses all the vigour and freshness that one +usually associates with the Colonies, and at the same time preserves +the best traditions of Louisa Alcott In "Tom who was Rachel" the author +has described a large family of children living on an up-country +station; and the story presents a faithful picture of the everyday life +of the bush. Rachel (otherwise Miss Thompson, abbreviated to "Miss +Tom," afterwards to "Tom") is the children's step-sister; and it Is her +Influence for good over the wilder elements in their nature that +provides the teal motive of a story for which all English boys and +girls will feel grateful.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Gladys and Jack</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">An Australian Story for Girls. Coloured Illustrations by N. TENISON.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Gladys and Jack are sister and brother, and, up to the point when the +story opens, they have been the best of friends. Then, however, +certain influences begin to work in the mind of Gladys, as the result +of which a coolness springs up between her and her brother. Gladys +puts on a superior air, and adopts a severely proper attitude towards +Jack. Gladys has been in society, has come to be regarded as a beauty, +and has been made a fuss of; consequently she becomes self-conscious. +She goes to spend a holiday up-country, and here, too, her +icily-regular line of conduct seems bound to bring her into conflict +with her free-and-easy-going cousins. After some trying experiences, +Gladys finds herself in a position which enables her, for the time +being, to forget her own troubles, and exert all her strength on behalf +of the rest. She comes worthily through the ordeal, earns the +affection of her cousins, and Jack rejoices in the recovery of a lost +sister.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We have a large number of characters all clearly differentiated, +plenty of incident, and much sparkling dialogue."--</span><em class="italics">Morning Post</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Colters</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">An Australian Story for Girls. Illustrated in Colour by GEORGE SOPER.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This book deals with a merry family of Australian boys and girls. +There are a good many of them, and to each one Miss Whitfeld has +imparted a distinct individuality. There is Hector, the eldest, manly +and straightforward, and Matt, the plain-spoken, his younger brother. +Ruby, quiet and gentle, with an aptitude for versifying, is well +contrasted with her headstrong, impulsive cousin Effie. The author +seizes upon the everyday occurrences of domestic life, turning them to +good account; and she draws a charming picture of a family, united in +heart, while differing very much in habit and temperament.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By ELSIE J. OXENHAM</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Mistress Nanciebel</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by JAMES BURDEN.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This is a story of the Restoration. Nanciebel's father, Sir John +Seymour, had so incurred the displeasure of King Charles by his +persistent opposition to the threatened war against the Dutch, that he +was sent out of the country. Nothing would dissuade Nanciebel from +accompanying him, so they sailed away together and were duly landed on +a desolate shore, which they afterwards discovered to be a part of +Wales. Here, by perseverance and much hard toil, John o' Peace made a +new home for his family, in which enterprise he owed not a little to +the presence and constant help of Nanciebel, who is the embodiment of +youthful optimism and womanly tenderness.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A charming book for girls."--</span><em class="italics">Evening Standard</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">A NEW ALBUM FOR GIRLS</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">My Schooldays</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>An album in which girls can keep a record of their schooldays. In +order that the entries may be neat and methodical, certain pages have +been allotted to various different subjects, such as Addresses, +Friends, Books, Matches, Birthdays, Concerts, Holidays, Theatricals, +Presents, Prizes and Certificates, and so on. The album is beautifully +decorated throughout.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By MRS. HERBERT STRANG</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Girl Crusoes</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center left line"><span>A Story of Three Girls in the South Seas. With Colour Illustrations by</span></div> +<div class="center left line"><span>N. TENISON.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>It is a common experience that young girls prefer stories written for +their brothers to those written for themselves. They have the same +love of adventure, the same admiration for brave and heroic deeds, as +boys; and in these days of women travellers and explorers there are +countless instances of women displaying a courage and endurance in all +respects equal to that of the other sex. Recognizing this, Mrs. +Herbert Strang has written a story of adventure in which three English +girls of the present day are the central figures, and in which the girl +reader will find as much excitement and amusement as any boy's book +could furnish.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By WINIFRED M. LETTS</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Quest of the Blue Rose</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by JAMES BURDEN.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>After the death of her mother, Sylvia Sherwood has to make her own way +in the world as a telegraph clerk. The world she finds herself in is a +girls' hostel in a big northern city. For a while she can only see the +uncongenial side of her surroundings; but when she has made a friend +and found herself a niche, she begins to realise that though the Blue +Rose may not be for her finding, there are still wild roses in every +hedge. In the end, however, Sylvia, contented at last with her +hard-working, humdrum life, finds herself the successful writer of a +book of children's poems.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Letts has written a most entertaining work, which should become +very popular. The humour is never forced, and the pathetic scenes are +written with true feeling."--</span><em class="italics">School Guardian</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Bridget of All Work</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by JAMES BURDEN.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The scene of the greater part of this story is laid in Lancashire, and +the author has chosen her heroine from among those who know what it is +to feel the pinch of want and strive loyally to combat it. There is a +charm about Bridget Joy, moving about her kitchen, keeping a light +heart under the most depressing surroundings. Girl though she is, it +is her arm that encircles and protects those who should in other +circumstances have been her guardians, and her brave heart that enables +the word Home to retain its sweetness for those who are dependent on +her.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Letts has written a story for which elder girls will be grateful, +so simple and winning is it; and we recognise in the author's work a +sense of character and sense of style which ought to ensure its +popularity."--</span><em class="italics">Globe</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By ANGELA BRAZIL</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">A Terrible Tomboy</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">New Edition. With Coloured Illustrations by N. TENISON.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Peggy Vaughan, daughter of a country gentleman living on the Welsh +border, is much too high-spirited to avoid getting continually into +scrapes. She nearly gets drowned while birds'-nesting, scandalises the +over-prim daughters of rich up-starts by her carelessness in matters of +dress and etiquette, gets lost with her small brother while exploring +caves, smokes out wild bees, and acts generally more like a boy than a +girl. Naturally enough her father and school mistresses find her very +difficult to manage, but her good humour and kindness of heart make it +impossible to be angry with her for long. At the end of the story, +when the family have become too poor to remain any longer in their old +home, she makes a discovery which enables them to stay there.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By E. L. HAVERFIELD</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Happy Comrade</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by ALBERT MORROW.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Monica, the heroine of this story, is a wealthy girl who has never been +to school, but has formed a close home friendship with Penelope, a girl +somewhat older, upon whom she has been accustomed to lavish valuable +gifts, partly out of innate generosity, partly from love of +appreciation. Her affection for Penelope induces her to enter the same +school, expecting that the home relations will continue there. To her +chagrin, however, she finds that Penelope's high position as head +prefect prevents close intercourse, and in some bitterness of spirit +she allies herself with a set of girls who delight in lawlessness and +engage in mischievous and unruly pranks. She soon finds herself in +serious trouble; and the story shows how her better nature overcomes +her weaknesses, how she learns to despise the dishonourable conduct +into which her associates have lured her, and how the tribulation which +she has brought on herself leads ultimately to a firmer, purer +friendship for the girl whom she has all along admired and loved.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Sylvia's Victory</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by JAMES BURDEN.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Owing to a change in the family fortunes, Sylvia Hughes is obliged to +attend a day school in a small seaside town where she has the +misfortune to make an enemy of the head girl, Phyllis Staunton-Taylor, +who regards Sylvia as one belonging to an inferior set to her own. One +day during the holidays Sylvia swims out and rescues Phyllis, who has +got beyond her depth; but even this fails to establish amity between +them, and no word of Sylvia's heroism gets abroad in the school. It is +not until after she has experienced many trials and heartburnings that +Sylvia learns the reason of Phyllis's apparent ingratitude, and +friendship is restored.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Audrey's Awakening</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by JAMES DURDEN.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>As a result of a luxurious and conventional upbringing, Audrey is a +girl without ambitions, unsympathetic, and with a reputation for +exclusiveness. Therefore, when Paul Forbes becomes her step-brother, +and brings his free-and-easy notions into the Davidsons' old home, +there begins to be trouble. Audrey discovers that she has feelings, +and the results are not altogether pleasant. She takes a dislike to +Paul at the outset; and the young people have to get through deep +waters and some exciting times before things come right. Audrey's +awakening is thorough, if painful.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Is far above the Average tale of school and home life."--</span><em class="italics">Aberdeen +Free Press</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Conquest of Claudia</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by JAMES BURDEN.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Meta and Claudia Austin are two motherless girls with a much-occupied +father. Their upbringing has therefore been left to a kindly +governess, whose departure to be married makes the first change in the +girls' lives. Having set their hearts upon going to school, they +receive a new governess resentfully. Claudia is a person of instincts, +and it does not take her long to discover that there is something +mysterious about Miss Strongitharm. A clue upon which the children +stumble leads to the notion that Miss Strongitharm is a Nihilist in +hiding. That in spite of various strange happenings they are quite +wrong is to be expected, but there is a genuine mystery about Miss +Strongitharm which leads to some unforeseen adventures.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A convincing story of girl life."--</span><em class="italics">School Guardian</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Dauntless Patty.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by DUDLEY TENNANT.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Patricia Garnett, an Australian girl, comes over to England to complete +her education. She is unconventional and quite unused to English ways, +and soon finds herself the most unpopular girl in the school. Several +times she reveals her courage and high spirit, particularly in saving +the life of Kathleen Lane, a girl with whom she is on very bad terms. +All overtures of peace fail, however, for Patty feels that the other +girls have no real liking for her, and she refuses to be patronised. +Thus the feud is continued to the end of the term; and the climax of +the story is reached when, in a cave in the face of a cliff, in +imminent danger of being drowned, Patty and Kathleen for the first time +understand each other, and lay the foundations of a lifelong friendship.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A thoroughly faithful and stimulating story of schoolgirl +life,"--</span><em class="italics">Schoolmaster</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The story is well told. Some of the incidents are dramatic, without +being unnatural; the interest is well sustained, and altogether the +hook is one of the best we have read."--</span><em class="italics">Glasgow Herald</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By BRENDA GIRVIN</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Jenny Wren</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by C. E. BROCK.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Jenny Ferguson, the only child of a retired admiral, is sent as +wireless decoder to a Scottish naval base. On her arrival she meets an +old friend of her childhood, Henry Corfield, who is apparently the +skipper of a fishing trawler. Jenny, ignorant of the real object of +the man's "trawling," calls him a slacker. In his turn, Corfield, who +has a lively recollection of Jenny's impulsive tongue, reminds her of +her nurse's saying, "Miss Jenny can never keep a secret," and says he +will not shield her should she fail to preserve secrecy in her work. +After a few days, Jenny finds that information is leaking out. Code +books are lost and mysteriously replaced, envelopes lapped. Corfield +attributes this leakage to Jenny's carelessness. In the nick of time +Jenny has a clue and tracks down the criminal. The breach between the +two friends, however, is a long time in healing, for Jenny does not +learn till towards the end of the book that "Skipper" Corfield, on his +humble little boat with her hidden guns, is one of the heroes of the +war. The story ends with the coming of peace.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Girl Scout</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by N. TENISON.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This is the story of a patrol of Girl Scouts, and the service they +rendered their country. Colonel Norton announces that some silver +cups, which he values as souvenirs of the time when he could win races +and gymnastic competitions, have been stolen, and calls on the Boy +Scouts to catch the thief, promising, if they succeed, to furnish their +club-room in time for the reception of a neighbouring patrol. Aggie +Phillips, sister of the boys' leader, hears of this, and at once +organises a girls' patrol to help solve the mystery. In tracing the +thief, the girls manage to entrap two foreigners, who, in all kinds of +disguises, try to get hold of valuable papers in the hands of the +Colonel. Meanwhile the boys continually follow up the tracks left by +the girls, or are purposely misled by Aggie. The girls win the prize +but arrange to join forces with the boys.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By ANNA CHAPIN RAY</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Teddy: Her Daughter</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by N. TENISON.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Many young readers have already made the acquaintance of Teddy in Miss +Anna Chapin Ray's previous story, "Teddy: Her Book." The heroine of +the present story is Teddy's daughter Betty--a young lady with a strong +will and decided opinions of her own. When she is first introduced to +us she is staying on a holiday at Quantuck, a secluded seaside retreat; +and Miss Ray describes the various members of this small summer +community with considerable humour. Among others is Mrs. Van Hicks, a +lady of great possessions but little culture, who seeks to put people +under a lasting obligation to her by making friends with them. On +hearing that a nephew of this estimable lady is about to arrive at +Quantuck, Betty makes up her mind beforehand to dislike him. At first +she almost succeeds, for, like herself, Percival has a temper, and can +be "thorny" at times. As they come to know each other better, however, +a less tempestuous state of things ensues, and eventually they cement a +friendship that is destined to carry them far.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By CHRISTINE CHAUNDLER</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Pat's Third Term.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by HAROLD EARNSHAW.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Pat Baxter is a turbulent, impulsive member of the Lower Fourth in a +famous Girls' School. She begins her Third Term by "cheeking" the Head +girl herself, thereby earning a good deal of hostility. She falls from +favour in other quarters as the story goes on, for though she has a +genius for getting into scrapes, she is too honest and honourable to +disavow her share in any plot, as many of her school-fellows do. +Through her disobeying a stringent rule, and going alone into the town, +the whole school, upper and lower, is put into quarantine, the result +of this isolation being that Rhoda, the Head girl, generally beloved in +the school, will have to "scratch" from a local tennis match, the +winning of which would have brought her her coveted tennis colours. +The whole school, in indignation, unknown to Rhoda, sends Pat to +"Coventry." Pat also becomes the object of a good deal of mean, unfair +treatment from a few of her form fellows, about which, in the end, +Rhoda herself learns. Horror-stricken at the treatment meted out, +Rhoda puts Pat under her special protection, and a deep friendship +springs up between the two. Pat finishes her third term by saving the +life of her greatest enemy, earning a special medal for bravery.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">By MARY BRADFORD WHITING</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">A Daughter of the Empire</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by JOHN CAMPBELL.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Christina, a curiously vivid character, is suddenly thrown from the +backwoods of Australia into the family circle at Strafford Royal, where +Lady Stratford, her second cousin, reigns supreme. Lady Strafford +dislikes Christina from the first, patronises her and snubs her, and +the girl is thrown for sympathy and companionship into the society of +Miss Luscombe, a lovable woman whose home is on a neighbouring estate. +Christina finds herself continually faced by the stone wall of the +prejudices of Lady Strafford, who looks on all foreigners with +suspicion and her own family with placid pride, and is continually +voicing her determination that the War shall not be allowed in any way +to upset the even tenour of her life. Just how the War very +successfully breaks in on to Strafford Royal, sweeping away the heir, +rendering halt and maim the second son, is told in the course of the +story. Christina's part in the denouement is characteristically plucky +and honourable, and in the end she breaks down even Lady Stratford's +dislike and mistrust. The story is told with much charm and sympathy.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By L. B. WALFORD</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">A Sage Of Sixteen.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by JAMES DURDEN.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Elma, the heroine of this story, is called a sage by her wealthy and +sophisticated relations in Park Lane, with whom she spends a +half-holiday every week, and who regard her as a very wise young +person. The rest of her time is passed at a small boarding-school, +where, as might be supposed, Elma's friends look upon her rather as an +ordinary healthy girl than as one possessing unusual wisdom. The story +tells of Elma's humble life at school, her occasional excursions into +fashionable society; the difficulties she experiences in her endeavour +to reconcile the two; and the way in which she eventually wins the +hearts of those around her in both walks of life.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By ANNIE MATHESON</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">A Day Book for Girls</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Containing a quotation for each day of the year, arranged by ANNIE</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">MATHESON, with Colour Illustrations by C. E. BROCK.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Miss Annie Matheson is herself well known to many as a writer of hymns +and poetry of a high order. In "A Day Book for Girls" she has brought +together a large number of extracts both in poetry and prose, and so +arranged them that they furnish an inspiring and ennobling watchword +for each day of the year. Miss Matheson has spared no pains to secure +variety and comprehensiveness in her selection of quotations; her list +of authors ranges from Marcus Aurelius to Mr. Swinburne, and includes +many who are very little known to the general public.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="large">Books for Children</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">A Book of Children's Verse</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Selected and Edited by MABEL and LILIAN QUILLER-COUCH.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by M. ETHELDREDA GRAY.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This is a splendid anthology of children's verse. In addition to the +old favourite poems, the volume contains many by modern authors, and +others not generally known. The work of selection has been carried out +with great care, and no effort has been spared to make the volume a +worthy and comprehensive introduction to English poetry. The book is +illustrated by a series of magnificent plates in colour.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By LUCAS MALET</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Little Peter</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A Christmas Morality for Children of any age. New Edition.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by CHARLES E. BROCK.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This delightful little story Introduces to us a family dwelling upon +the outskirts of a vast pine forest in France. There are Master Lepage +who, as head of the household and a veteran of the wars, lays down the +law upon all sorts of questions, domestic and political; his meek wife +Susan; their two sons, Anthony and Paul; and Cincinnatus the cat--who +holds as many opinions and expresses them as freely as Master Lepage +himself; and--little Peter. Little meets, and all who read about him +will certainly make friends with </span><em class="italics">him</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is quite an ideal gift book, and one that will always be +treasured."--</span><em class="italics">Globe</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By CHRISTINA GOWANS WHYTE</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Adventures of Merrywink</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by M. V. WHEELHOUSE.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">This story won the £100 prize in the Bookman competition for the best</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">story for children.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This story tells of a pretty little child who was born into Fairyland +with a gleaming star in his forehead. When his parents beheld this +star they were filled with gladness and fear, and they carried their +little Fairy baby, Merrywink, far away and hid him, because of two old +prophecies: the first, that a daughter should be born to the King and +Queen of Fairyland; the second that the King should rule over Fairyland +until a child appeared with a star in his forehead. Now, on the very +day that Merrywink was born, the little Princess arrived at the Palace; +and the King sent round messages to make sure that the child with the +gleaming star had not yet been seen in Fairyland. The story tells us +how Merrywink grew up to be brave and strong, and fearless and truthful.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By MRS. HENRY DE LA PASTURE</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Unlucky Family</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">New Edition with Coloured Illustrations by C. E. BROCK.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This is one of the most humorous children's books published in recent +years, and the many awkward dilemmas and diverting experiences which +ensue upon the Chubb family's unexpected rise in the social scale +cannot fail to delight young readers as well as their elders. In the +matter of showing the propensity for gelling into mischief these +youngsters establish a record, but their escapades are generally of a +harmless character and lead to nothing very serious.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is a clever and amusing talc, full of high spirits and good-natured +mischief which children not too seriously inclined will +enjoy."--</span><em class="italics">Scotsman</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By M. I. A.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Sir Evelyn's Charge</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">New Edition, Illustrated in Colour.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"Sir Evelyn's Charge" is one of the most popular books for Sunday +School prizes published within recent years, and has already run into +very many editions. The object of the story is to show how the quiet, +unconscious influence exerted by a little child upon those around him +may be productive of lasting good. This new edition, with a. new +cover and colour plates, makes a very attractive gift-book.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">THE PENDLETON SERIES</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Pendleton Twins</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By E. M. JAMESON, Author of "The Pendletons," etc. With Coloured</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrations.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The adventures of the Pendleton Twins begin the very day they leave +home. The train is snowed up and they are many hours delayed. They +have a merry Christmas with plenty of fun and presents, and in the +middle of the night Bob gives chase to a burglar. Nora, who is very +sure-footed, goes off by herself one day and climbs the cliffs, +thinking that no one will be any the wiser until her return. But the +twins and Dan follow her unseen and are lost in a cave, where they find +hidden treasure, left by smugglers, buried in the ground. Len sprains +his ankle and they cannot return. Search parties set out from Cliffe, +and spend many hours before the twins are found by Nora, cold and tired +and frightened. But the holidays end very happily after all.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Jameson's books are written with such humour and lightness of +touch that they hold the young readers, and not only amuse but instruct +them."--</span><em class="italics">Dundee Courier</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Pendletons</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By E. M. JAMESON.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">New Edition. Illustrated in Colour.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"Young people will revel in this most Interesting and original story. +The five young Pendletons are much as other children in a large family, +varied in their ideas, quaint in their tastes, and wont to get into +mischief at every turn. They are withal devoted to one another and to +their home, and although often 'naughty,' are not by any means 'bad.' +The interest in the doings of these youngsters is remarkably well +sustained, and each chapter seems better than the last. With not a +single dull page from start to finish and with twelve charming +illustrations, the book makes an ideal reward for either boys or +girls."--</span><em class="italics">Schoolmaster</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Peggy Pendleton's Plan</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By E. M. JAMESON. New Edition. Illustrated in Colour by S. P. PEARSE.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>To many young readers the Pendleton children are quite old friends, as +indeed they deserve to be, for they are so merry, so full of fun and +good spirits, that nobody can read about them without coming to love +them. In the opening chapter of this book the family meet together in +solemn conclave to discuss plans for the holidays, which have just +commenced. Every one of them has a favourite idea, but when the +various selections are put to the vote, it is Peggy Pendleton's plan +that carries the day. All the other children think it splendid. What +that plan was, and what strange adventures it led to, are here set +forth.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Book of Baby Beasts</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By FLORENCE E. Dugdale. Illustrated in Colour by E. J. DETMOLD.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This book contains a series of simple little talks about baby animals, +both wild and domestic. Each chapter is accompanied by a charming +picture in colour by E. J. DETMOLD, whose work as an illustrator is +well known, and whose characteristic delicacy of colouring is +faithfully reproduced.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Book of Baby Dogs</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By CHARLES KABERRY. With nineteen plates in Colour by E. J. DETMOLD.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Book of Baby Pets</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By FLORENCE E. DUGDALE. Illustrated in Colour by E. J. DETMOLD.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"A valuable family possession, and one which admirably fulfils the role +of guide, counsellor and friend."--</span><em class="italics">Athenaeum</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Book of Baby Birds</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By FLORENCE E. DUGDALE. Illustrated in Colour by E. J. DETMOLD.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"Simply irresistible."--</span><em class="italics">Observer</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Queen Mab's Daughters</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">From the French of JEROME DOUCET. Illustrated by HENRY MORIN.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This book consists of twelve stories, each concerned with an episode in +the life of one of Queen Mab's daughters. These are very enterprising +and adventurous princesses, somewhat wilful, indeed; and their +activities, innocent though they are, often bring them into hot water. +They fall into the hands of witches and wizards, and are the means of +releasing from enchantment an equal number of princes who have been +changed into bears, eagles, monkeys, and other animals by the powers of +witchcraft. Their adventures are related with the charming daintiness +wherein French fabulists, from Perrault downwards, have excelled; and +the book is a decided acquisition to the store of fairy literature in +which all children delight.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By VIOLET BRADBY</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Capel Cousins</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour in C. E. BROCK.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The children in the Capel family hear that a cousin from South America +is to live with them until his education is finished. On his arrival +he is found to be very frank and outspoken, accustomed to say just what +he thinks; and as his cousins are more reserved, the misunderstandings +are by no means few. In time, however, he becomes used to English +ways, and his good nature and cleverness win his cousins' admiration +and affection. Mrs. Bradby writes as one who knows children +thoroughly, and her pictures of home life are very charming.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The authoress shows a power of depicting a large family of delightful +and quite natural children which recalls the stories of Miss Yonge at +her brightest."--</span><em class="italics">Church Times</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A very pleasant, natural, and brightly written story "--</span><em class="italics">Lady</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Happy Families</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated by LILIAN A. GOVEY.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Most children have probably played the game of "Happy Families," and it +Is possible that they have woven stories round the grotesque characters +that appear on the cards. This is what Mrs. Bradby has done in this +book, and she has imagined a little girl being suddenly transported to +Happy Family Land and finding herself beset on all hands by the Grits, +the Chips and the Boneses, and all the other members of this strange +and wonderful community.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By FLORENCE E. DUGDALE</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="small">(MRS. THOMAS HARDY)</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">In Lucy's Garden</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by J. CAMPBELL.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Miss Dugdale describes Lucy's garden from month to month, the plants +that grow there, the insects that visit it, and the imaginary beings +with which Lucy peoples it. During the first year Lucy is without any +companion to share her experiences, but at the beginning of the second +year, just when she begins to feel lonely, she makes the acquaintance +of a little boy, Peter, who is staying with his grandmother next door, +and who, too, has grown tired of playing by himself. They gladly +arrange that in future they will play together, as they like each other +very much. Little ones who have gardens of their own will enjoy +reading about Lucy's, especially when they know that she was capable of +understanding what the apple trees and leaves and roses had to tell her +about things in general and themselves in particular.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A delightful 'Nature story' written in a charming vein of playful +fancy, and daintily illustrated."--</span><em class="italics">Lady</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By TERTIA BENNETT</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Gentleman Dash</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by P. H. JOWETT.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This is a book that will appeal to all lovers of animals. Gentleman +Dash Is a fine collie who lives at a big house with a number of other +dogs and cats. In spite of his handsome appearance, however, Dash +sometimes falls so far from dignity as to run away and steal meat from +butchers' shops. Then he is brought back and punished, and the other +four-footed members of the family come round and offer sympathy--which +is not pleasant. The relations that exist between the various dogs and +cats of the establishment are friendly on the whole, though not +invariably so. In the course of their conversations, the animals throw +fresh light on the problems of life as viewed from the kennel and the +yard.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">By ALICE MASSIE</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Family's Jane</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">Illustrated in Colour by JOHN CAMPBELL.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>This is the story of a little girl's search for her lost brothers and +sisters. At first Jane did not know that she had any brothers or +sisters, and she used to feel lonely. Then one day, quite by accident, +she discovered that such was indeed the case, although for some +unexplained reason they did not live at home and she had been kept in +ignorance of them. Then Jane set to work to reunite the dismembered +family. The fact that Jane was only eight, and some of the others were +quite grown up, with children of their own, did not turn her from her +purpose, and eventually her efforts had the happy issue which they well +deserved.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">The Children's Bookcase</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="center line"><span class="medium">Edited by E. NESBIT</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"The Children's Bookcase" is a new series of daintily illustrated hooks +for little folks, which is intended ultimately to include all that is +best in children's literature, whether old or new. The series is +edited by Mrs. E. Nesbit, author of "The Would-be Goods" and many other +well-known books for children; and particular care is given to binding, +get-up, and illustrations.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Mrs. Overtheway's Remembrances</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By JULIANA HORATIA EWING.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>A delightful little book of short stories in which "the little old +lady" who lives over the way relates incidents from her girlhood for +the amusement of a young friend.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Little Duke.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Sonny Sahib</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By SARA JEANNETTE DUNCAN (Mrs. Everard Cotes).</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>A charming story of Anglo-Indian life.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Water Babies.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By CHARLES KINGSLEY.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">The Old Nursery Stories.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By E. NESBIT.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>In this book Mrs. E. Nesbit relates the old stories of the Nursery-- +"Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," etc.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Cap-o'-Yellow.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By AGNES GROZIER HERBERTSON.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>A charming series of fairy stories by one of the very few modern +writers whose work compares with the classics of fairy-tale literature +such as Grimm and Perrault.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">Granny's Wonderful Chair.</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">By FRANCES BROWNE.</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The author of "Little Lord Fauntleroy" declared this book to be the +best fairy story ever written. Two generations of little readers have +been of the same opinion as Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett.</span></p> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="medium">BY THE SAME AUTHOR</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">THE LOST EMPIRE. A Tale of the Battle of the Nile.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">THE LOST COLUMN. A Tale of the Boxer Rebellion.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">THE LOST ISLAND. A Tale of the Mysterious East.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">THE SWORD OF FREEDOM. A Tale of the English Revolution.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">THE SPY. A Tale of the Peninsular War.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">THE RACE ROUND THE WORLD. A Tale of a New Motor Spirit.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">THE PIRATE AEROPLANE. A Tale of Ancient Egypt.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">IN ARMS FOR RUSSIA. A Tale of the Great War in Russia.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">IN THE POWER OF THE PIGMIES. A Tale of the Great Forest.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">ON SECRET SERVICE. A Story of Zeppelins.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">A MOTOR SCOUT IN FLANDERS. A Tale of the Fall of Antwerp.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">ACROSS THE CAMEROONS. A Tale of the Great War in West Africa.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">SUBMARINE U93. A Tale of the Great War at Sea.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">THE MYSTERY OF AH JIM. A Tale of the Sea.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">THE FIRE-GODS. A Tale of the Congo.</span></div> +<div class="left line"><span class="small">THE SCARLET HAND. A Chinese Story.</span></div> +<div class="left line"> </div> +<div class="left line"> </div> +<div class="left line"> </div> +<div class="left line"> </div> +</div> +<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> +<div class="backmatter"> +</div> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 39254 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |