A Tale of Red Pekin
Page 10
CHAPTER X.
A DARING ATTEMPT.
It was a hot, sultry night, but in the Legations people had other thingsto think of besides the weather. Another day of suspense and agitationhad passed. An Envoy had appeared, and a letter couched in the usualterms of studied Chinese politeness, purporting to be from Prince Ching,had been discovered posted on the gates. They were grieved indeed thatthe foreigners had broken the peace by firing on their troops, thusstirring up unfriendly relations! Their only wish was to establishpeace, and they concluded by suggesting that all the foreign ministersshould leave the Legations in detachments, to be protected bytrustworthy officers whom the Chinese would themselves select; so greatwas their affection for the foreigners, and so intense their anxiety toprotect them! But _not a single armed foreign soldier_ could bepermitted to pass out, as this would only have caused doubt andsuspicion in the breasts of the peaceable Chinese! An answer must besent at once, or consequences might follow which it would be impossibleto prevent, notwithstanding the depth and extent of their affection forall the foreigners residing in the Legations at Pekin! This manifestowas read and re-read, and received the contempt and derision itdeserved. Did they really think, men asked themselves, that they wouldabandon the Chinese Christians who had stood by them so loyally, to bedeserted and massacred; had they forgotten Cawnpore, with its namelesshorrors; and were they going to leave their wives and children at themercy of these polite demons, without striking a blow in their defence?No, a thousand times no; in whatever else they might differ they wereall at one here; they might temporize to gain time, but at their post inthe Legation they would remain until death or relief came--and fromChristian hearts prayer went up to One who was able and willing to help.
Colonel Leicester paced restlessly to and fro in front of the pavilion.It was late, but he could take no rest--his stern face was furrowed withcare, and there were lines about his eyes and mouth which had not beenthere a short time previously. Wang had been with him that day--Wang hadoften been with him lately. It was difficult to get into the Legation,but for astuteness Wang had not his equal, and he expected a largereward. The Colonel knew that his child and her friend were safe, stillhe felt wretchedly anxious and unhappy, especially on account of Nina'sillness; and the worst of it was, his hands were tied; there was nothingfor it but to wait--he could not leave the Legation, even if he had beenable to do so; it would not be right to desert his post, his honourforbade that; besides, it would have been certain death, and he had nowish to risk the certainty of leaving his child unprotected. For CaptainRoss it was the same. Half distraught when he first discovered that hiswife was missing, he had begged the Colonel to let him go and see whathe could do to recover her and Nina, or avenge their death; indeed, itwas with the greatest difficulty that the Colonel prevented him fromprecipitating himself over the wall into the seething cauldron outside.
After a time he grew calmer. News was brought that his beloved one wasin comparative safety, that there was no immediate danger. Still hecould not rest--it was torture to imagine what might be taking place,and yet he could do nothing. He tore his hair and wrung his hands inagony. A common sorrow is a wonderful cementer of friendship, and thetwo men were drawn very close to each other during that awful time. Butto-night Captain Ross was absent on duty, and his place by the Colonel'sside was occupied by a younger man. It was a young, eager, boyish facethat looked up at the Colonel, a young voice trembling with emotion thatspoke with eager entreaty. "I shall not be missed, I don't count foranything; do let me go, sir. I can't bear to think of Mrs. Ross andMiss--Miss Leicester being in danger with no one to do anything for thembut these Chinese devils."
The Colonel's face took on, if possible, an added shade of sternness,but he did not speak.
"You know, sir, what a relief it would be to you and Captain Ross; youcannot go--of course that goes without saying--but I can, and this verynight, if only you will give the necessary permission."
"Crawford," said the Colonel, kindly, laying his hand on the young man'sshoulder, "do you know what you are doing? As surely as you leave hereyou go to certain death, and how can I, even for the sake of my own andonly child, send you to that death? It would be murder, you have notcounted the cost."
The young man lifted his face, pale with the fixity of a noble resolve,and his brilliant blue eyes shone like stars in the dusk.
"I _have_ counted the cost," he said, fervently, "I _must_ go. If youwithhold your permission out of consideration for my life, then, thoughI have never been insubordinate before, I shall be now. I go to-night."
The Colonel seized his hand and wrung it.
"Then go," he said, "go, and God bless you, and be merciful to me," headded, brokenly.
"Amen," Mr. Crawford reverently murmured, adding in his full, richvoice, "The Lord knoweth them that trust in Him."
"You are a good fellow, Crawford," said the Colonel, "you know I havenever been a great talker. Perhaps I ought to have said more to youyoung fellows, but I must say one thing, and it is this: I cannotunderstand what men can do at times like these without a saving faith inChrist."
"I know that I should be lost without Him," replied the subaltern,simply.
The two men then began to speak in hurried whispers; it seemed a reliefafter the tension and indecision of the last few moments to have decidedupon some course of action. After conversing together earnestly for afew minutes they retraced their steps to the Colonel's quarters, and fora long time after that silence reigned so far as they were concerned.The night was comparatively still--every now and then flames leapt upinto the sky, telling the story that another house had been wrecked bythe Boxers, or the stillness was broken by their shrill cries; likebeasts of prey they awoke, in the darkness, to prowl about seeking whomthey might devour and destroy.
* * * * *
Two hours later, when the clocks pointed their hands to midnight, twoChinamen might have been seen stealing from the Colonel's quarters. TheColonel's dog must have been a bad house dog, for he seemed ratherpleased than otherwise, and wagged his tail appreciatively when theyounger of the two men put out his hand to stroke him; the guard, too,allowed them to pass; indeed, until they passed the outmost sentry, noone impeded their progress.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
"A friend."
The voice was the voice of Jacob! He must indeed have been a cleverChinaman to speak English with that intonation: and yet the sentryhesitated; here were two Chinese stealing out of the camp, and to allappearance hailing from the Colonel's quarters. The sentry's challenge,clear, and incisive, rang out on the night air; but they knew thepassword, that was enough for him; he had no business to detain them.
The two figures stole silently on until they reached the wall--now iftheir progress was not arrested here, all might still be well, but, ifthe British saw them, and an alarm was given, they might be shot as theydropped over the wall.
"I had not reckoned on this," said the younger man of the two, "We runmore risk here than outside the Legation."
"That is true, sir," replied the other, deferentially, "but everythingseems pretty quiet now, this is our best time." They looked cautiouslyround--not a soul was in view. In the distance they heard the tramp ofthe guard--every now and then a shrill cry from the besiegers rent theair, and flames shot up into the sky from the burning houses, but noimmediate danger appeared to threaten them.
"Now, sir," said the elder of the two, who seemed to possess the agilityof a cat. In a moment he had scaled the wall and prepared to lowerhimself on the other side.
"Leave the talking to me, sir; it will be best for you to be silent."
"Yes, yes," agreed the other, hastily, "you may be quite sure I shallrisk nothing; too much depends upon it," he added under his breath.
They had reached the top of the wall in safety and were about to lowerthemselves on the other side, when all of a sudden the sil
ence of thenight was broken; they were discovered and the alarm was given--thesharp whiz of a bullet passed within an inch of their faces.
"Down, sir! Down quick for your life!"
In less time than it takes to write it, the two men had dropped silentlyover the wall, and were now running as fast as they could from theLegation.
"Keep as much under cover as possible, sir, or they will mark us down."
"I never thought of this," said Mr. Crawford, laughing. "My friends aremore to be feared than yours."
"Oh, we shall come upon mine soon enough, sir," Wang replied, "and thenit will be best for you to be silent."
He had hardly finished speaking when they almost ran into a company ofBoxers, but with great adroitness, Wang contrived to mingle and joinwith them, raising the cry as he did so, "Sha, sha, sha." They keptwith them until the Chinese began to loot and burn some buildings, thenthey slipped off.
"Now, sir, we are safe, unless we meet any of the men who were here theday the ladies were taken." They were passing, as he spoke, the rudehall where Lilian and Nina so nearly lost their lives.
As they left it behind they heaved a sigh of relief.
"We are very near now, sir; the secret entrance, known only to Mr. Liand myself, is just ahead; I will wait here in case anyone comes up, anddistract their attention whilst you make the entrance. About twentyyards ahead you will see a curious stone in the ground, close by theplane tree; measure again six feet from that, and you will come toanother tree; hit the tree three times smartly and they will let youin."
Mr. Crawford walked on quickly. Time was passing; there was already aglimmering of dawn in the East. It was necessary that he should effectan entrance, and also necessary that the entrance should not be betrayedto the enemy. His heart beat high, the goal was almost reached, andhalf, at least, of his mission had been accomplished. He approached thetree indicated, hit it three times smartly with his sword, and thenwaited anxiously. After a few seconds, which seemed to him ofinterminable length, he thought he distinguished a faint sound beneathhim, but, to his horror, he saw a party of men approaching from the roaddown which he had just come. He had only just time to slip behind theplane tree, and from this post of observation he noticed that Wang wastalking to them, and had adroitly contrived to distract their attention;he was pointing to the hall in the distance, and they were all eagerlylooking the other way.