CHAPTER FOUR.
BETRAYED.
Frobisher scrutinised the Korean's face closely, but there was no shadowof change in its Oriental impassivity. For all that the man's bearingbetrayed, he might never have moved from his post since the camp hadbeen pitched; yet the young Englishman could not rid himself of thesuspicion that Ling was not exactly what he appeared to be. Moreover,now that the man was standing inside the tent, Frobisher again becameconscious of a faint suggestion of the odour of sandal-wood oil.However, it would not in any way suit his plans to betray his suspicionsof the Korean at present, therefore he merely contented himself withremarking quietly:
"Very well, Ling. You had better get to sleep, so as to be rested bythe morning; and I'll wake you as soon as it is time to break camp andbe stirring. By the way, I fancied I heard someone prowling about mytent half an hour ago. I suppose you did not notice anything out of thecommon, or you would have reported it to me at once, eh?"
"Me no undelstand `anything outel le common', mastel; what mastel mean?"enquired Ling, his almond-shaped eyes opening in apparent puzzlement.
"I mean," replied Frobisher, rather testily--for he now felt almostconvinced that the fellow was trying to hoodwink him--"that I supposeyou are quite sure that no spy, no one belonging to the enemy, in fact,approached or entered the camp while I was asleep and you were onguard?"
"Oh!" exclaimed Ling, his face breaking out into a smile, "I undelstandnow. No, mastel; nobody not come neal camp. If anyone had come hewould be dead by now; me shoot any stlangel quick, without ask anyquestions."
"All right!" answered Frobisher, permitting himself to be almostpersuaded against his better judgment that the man was honest, soabsolutely child-like and bland was his manner; "get away to your ownquarters and secure as much sleep as you possibly can, for we have along march before us to-morrow." And he turned away, to show Ling thathis presence was no longer required.
But at the moment of turning he could almost have sworn that he caughtsight of Ling's lips parted in a sardonic smile. Frobisher wheeledagain immediately, but when he once more looked at the man, the Korean'sface was as indifferently emotionless as though carved from stone, andMurray was compelled to acknowledge that the expression which he thoughthe had noticed must have been due to the flickering shadows cast by thelantern that he carried in his hand.
Thus dismissed, Ling trotted off and threw himself down beside the innerwheels of one of the carts, covered his face with a fold of his amplecloak, and was, to all outward appearance, fast asleep on the instant.Frobisher, after regarding the recumbent form for a long minute or more,silently tiptoed away to his post of observation, having reached which,he extinguished the lantern, making sure, first of all, that his matcheswere ready to hand in his pocket, so that the light might not prove aconvenient target for any prowling sharpshooter of the enemy.
He remained motionless in the one position for at least half an hour,and then, beginning to feel a trifle cramped from his spell ofinactivity, made up his mind to traverse the sleeping camp, in order toassure himself fully that all was as it should be. Leaving the lanternbehind him, he made his way slowly and silently, by the dim light of thestars, round the sleeping bivouac. And it was not until he hadcompleted the entire circumference of the circle and was back again athis starting-point, that it occurred to him that he had not particularlynoticed Ling, who, of course, ought to have been lying asleep whereFrobisher had left him.
At once the Englishman's dormant suspicions again awoke into fullactivity, and, lighting the lantern, he proceeded to repeat hisinvestigation, going his rounds in the opposite direction this time;and, sure enough, when he came to the place where he had left Linglying, the spot was vacant--Ling had disappeared.
"Now what in the world is the explanation of this?" Frobisher askedhimself testily. "I'm certain there is something fishy about thefellow, and I would give a trifle to be able to discover what game it isthat he's playing. Where, in the name of Fortune, has he got to now, Iwonder?"
As the thought passed through his mind he heard a sudden, suspicioussound right on the other side of the camp. The idea it conveyed to himwas that a man had tripped or fallen over something; and this suggestionwas strengthened when, immediately afterward, certain low muttered wordsin the Korean tongue, which sounded remarkably like a string of heartyexpletives, issued from the same quarter. And the voice was undoubtedlythat of Ling.
Frobisher whipped the revolver out of his pocket and leapt like a deerin the direction of the sound, arriving on the spot just in time todiscover Ling sitting upright on the dewy grass, alternately rubbing hishead and his shins. The Englishman stood looking down at the other fora few moments, and in that brief interval found time to notice that hisfeet were soiled and plastered with fresh clay, which had certainly notbeen on them when Frobisher had left him half an hour previously. Itwas also certain that he could not have accumulated that clay within theconfines of the camp, for the space where the wagons had been drawn upwas carpeted entirely with grass, and there was no vestige of clayanywhere within the circle. Frobisher therefore felt more convincedthan ever that Ling was something very different from what herepresented himself to be.
"Well, Ling," he remarked sternly, after a pause, during which theKorean had been vigorously rubbing himself, "what's happened to you?Where have you been; what have you been doing?" And as he spoke hebrought his right hand slightly forward, so that the rays of light fromthe lantern which he carried fell upon the gleaming barrel of hisrevolver.
Ling observed the motion, and shrank back guiltily. "Oh, mastel," hequavered, "me thinkee me heal a sound ovel hele--fol me too flightenedto sleep--and me come hele to see what the mattel."
"What kind of sound did you think you heard?" queried Frobisher, lookingthe man square in the eyes.
Ling tried to return the gaze, but failed. His almond-shaped eyes metthe other's for a few seconds, and then turned ground-ward.
"Me believe me heal someone moving ovel hele," he replied, "and so mecame see if anybody tly to get in."
"Then what did you fall over?" asked Frobisher.
"Me go look see if anybody hiding outside camp," explained Ling glibly,"and me fall ovel shafts of calt coming back. Me no see clealy withoutlanteln," he continued, volubly.
"If you believed you heard a movement," said Frobisher, "why didn't youcome and tell me, instead of going yourself? Besides, it seems strangethat you, who ought to have been sleepy after your spell of duty, shouldhave noticed those suspicious sounds, while I, who was wideawake, heardnothing."
"No undelstand, mastel," said Ling, regarding Frobisher with a blankstare.
"No, you scoundrel!" retorted Frobisher angrily; "you only understandjust what suits you, don't you? However, understand this, my finefellow," he went on, bringing the revolver into full view, and shakingit in front of the now thoroughly frightened Korean; "if I find thatyou've been up to any tricks, I'll shoot you, as sure as my name's whatit is, so you had better be very careful. Do you understand that? Verywell, then; get over to your place and lie down; and mark this--don'tlet me catch you slinking about this camp any more to-night. Savvee?"
"Me savvee plenty, mastel," replied Ling, gathering himself up andhobbling away. He added some other words in his own language, in a tonethat sounded anything but reassuring; but as Frobisher was totallyunfamiliar with the Korean tongue, he was compelled to let the matterpass unnoticed.
The remainder of the night slipped away without interruption. Butshortly after the incident above referred to, Frobisher noticed that thestars were becoming obscured, and about two o'clock in the morning rainbegan to fall, softly at first, then increasing in volume until, in halfan hour after the beginning, it seemed as though the very bottom hadfallen out of the heavens, and thus allowed the water pent up there tofall upon the earth in an overwhelming cataract.
One by one, as they became chilled by the wet, the sleepers awoke, andcrawled drowsily either into or beneath the carts; and so
on Frobisherwas the only human being in sight anywhere in camp. He was quicklydrenched to the skin, but realising how excellent a screen for rushingthe camp this downpour would make, he remained at his post, shiveringwith cold, for the rest of the night; and by the time that morningdawned, was feeling weary and wretched.
As soon, however, as the first hint of dawn paled the eastern sky, therain ceased as suddenly as it had begun, and Frobisher aroused Ling andgave him orders to call the men to their breakfast, so that an earlystart might be made.
When Frobisher poked his head under the hood of the cart where theKorean had taken refuge from the rain, he somehow very stronglysuspected that that individual had been awake and sitting up at themoment of his approach; yet he was obliged to shake the man vigorouslyfor a full minute before he could be made to comprehend that it was timeto bestir himself.
As soon as Ling permitted himself to realise this fact, however, hesprang from the cart with an admirable assumption of briskness, and soonhad the mule-drivers at work preparing breakfast and inspanning the wetand wretched-looking mules. He even took the trouble to light a firehimself and prepare a cup of hot tea for the "mastel", for which thedrenched and shivering young Englishman felt sincerely grateful.
The young man had taken only a single sip, however, when he detected avery peculiar taste in the liquid, and spat the mouthful out on to theground, with an exclamation of disgust. Happening to glance upward atthe moment, he caught sight of Ling regarding him with a peculiarexpression, in which hate, cunning, and satisfaction were curiouslymingled; and Frobisher could scarcely repress his anger as he realisedthe meaning of that malignant glare. Not content with having attemptedto murder him by means of the knife during the night, the scoundrel wasnow trying to put an end to him by means of poison; a powerful and verypainful poison, too, surmised Frobisher, if he might judge by theburning, biting sensation that tingled on his throat, lips, and tongue.
It was not Frobisher's policy, however, to let Ling see that he wassuspected, otherwise the man might become desperate and adopt some stillmore strenuous measure, which it might be difficult if not impossible tofrustrate. Therefore, forcing back the words of indignation andaccusation that leapt to his lips, and making a strong effort to commandhis voice so that it might not quiver, he remarked quietly: "Hi, Ling!This tea is very strong. You've forgotten to put in any sugar. Isuppose there is some, isn't there?"
Ling repressed a smile, dived under one of the cart hoods, and presentlyreappeared with a few lumps of the required sweetening, which Frobishercalmly dropped into his cup, stirring them round so as to dissolve themcompletely. He then set the cup down beside him, as though to let theliquid cool, and watched Ling keenly until that wily Oriental waslooking another way, when he quickly capsized the contents of the cup onto the grass, where the liquid was immediately absorbed by the dampearth.
When Ling returned for the cup Frobisher observed him closely, and couldnot avoid noticing the expression of satisfaction which even the man'susual impassivity failed to suppress completely. Frobisher was by thistime quite convinced that Ling was a traitor, either belonging to, or inthe pay of, the Government party; and he began to wonder whether, afterall, the man had spoken the truth when he had affirmed that Koreantroops were approaching to capture the caravan along the Yong-wol road.Might not the very reverse be the fact, and the troops be hiding inambush along the very road that they were about to traverse? Frobisherwas almost inclined to take the risk of altering the course of thecaravan in order to regain the main road; but a few seconds'consideration caused him to abandon that idea. There were no less thanfour roads to Yong-wol, including the customary route, and theEnglishman had only selected the one they were on at the last momentbefore starting--after the arrival of Ling from the ship, in fact; sothat, unless Ling had arranged to have messengers waiting for himashore, and had found means to communicate with them--which Frobishercould scarcely believe possible--the route they were taking could hardlyhave leaked out. He therefore made up his mind to stand by his originalplan; and, the men having finished their meal, he gave orders for thecaravan to proceed, himself leading the way and keeping a sharp look-outfor any sign of treachery on the part of the Korean.
It was but a short distance to the banks of the stream, previouslymentioned, which crossed the route of the caravan, but when they arrivedthere a disagreeable surprise was in store for the leader. The heavyrain of the previous night had swollen the river to such an extent that,instead of a placid, shallow stream, little exceeding in size a merebrook, it was now a roaring, foaming torrent, rising higher and higherevery minute; and there was no knowing how long it might be before thewater would subside to its normal level. Frobisher consequentlyrealised with dismay that he might be compelled to stay where he was forseveral days, allowing the enemy ample time to arrive on the spot andcapture the caravan.
Evidently, he told himself, it would never do to be delayed by thisobstacle; but how was he to overcome it? that was the question.
"Ling," he demanded, "how long will it be before this water will go lowenough to allow us to cross?"
The Korean shrugged his shoulders. "Me no know, mastel," he said."Pelhaps by to-night; pelhaps not fol week. No can do nothing, can onlystop hele."
"Don't you believe that for a minute, my man," retorted Frobishertartly, for it annoyed him to observe the calm satisfaction with whichthe Korean regarded the situation. "We've got to get across, do youhear? And we are going to do it; so make up your mind to that. If Ihave to drown every man of the caravan, and you too," he added, "I'mgoing to manage it somehow, so you understand. And now that I've toldyou this, tell me in return whether there is any other place beside thiswhere we can cross?"
"No, mastel," said Ling, "no othel place. This only place anywhele.And no can closs hele, mastel can see fol himselluf."
"Well," said Frobisher determinedly, "if this is the only place, this iswhere we cross. The river is rising very rapidly, and the longer wedelay the worse it will be; you see, therefore, that there's no time towaste. I'm going to ride in to find how deep the water is, and, what'smore, my friend, you are coming with me." As he spoke, the young sailorgrasped the bridle of Ling's mule, dug his heels into his own animal'ssides, and together the Englishman and the now thoroughly frightenedKorean descended the steep bank and plunged into the river.
Not until he was actually in the water did Frobisher realise how deepand how swift was the current; yet his horse seemed to betray nouneasiness, and the river deepened only very slightly as they pushedforward. He therefore grasped the Korean's bridle more firmly, took hisown bridle between his teeth, so as to have one hand free, drew his feetout of the stirrups in order to get clear of the horse if the animalwere washed off its feet, and brought his open hand down with aresounding smack upon the brute's hind-quarters.
With a snort, the beast plunged forward with a rush, the mule followingreluctantly after, with Ling clinging desperately to its neck.Fortunately the water remained shallow, and the adventurous Englishmanwas just congratulating himself on getting safely across without mishapwhen there came a despairing shriek from Ling, the bridle was wrenchedfrom Frobisher's hand, and he wheeled in the saddle in the nick of timeto see Ling's mule lose its footing and sink back into the swirlingtorrent, flinging the shrieking Korean off its back into the water. Theman immediately disappeared from view, all that was visible of him beinga hand and an arm, waving frantically to and fro and clutchinghelplessly at the empty air. Evidently the mule had planted its foot ina hole, stumbled, and been swept off the narrow ford into deep water;and, unless something were done quickly, it looked as though Ling werein danger of being drowned.
The Korean had twice attempted to take Frobisher's life, and it wouldhave been far more convenient and safer, as regarded himself, for theleader of the expedition to have let the man drown; but that leader wasan Englishman, with all an Englishman's traditions behind him, and hecould not stand idly by and see a fellow creature perish, howeverwell-deserv
ing of such a fate the man might be. So, without a moment'shesitation, Frobisher dragged his horse's head round by main force, andurged him, by voice, heel, and hand, off the causeway into the flood,and headed downstream after Ling, who had by this time risen to thesurface and was yelling madly for mercy and help. But the sailor soonperceived that if he pursued his present tactics the Korean would beswept away and drowned before being overtaken; so, casting his eyeskeenly about him, Frobisher picked out a spot a little distance lowerdown, where the banks appeared slightly less steep than elsewhere, andurged his animal in that direction.
Presently he was fortunate enough to feel solid ground under his horse'sfeet, and a few moments later was safely ashore and riding hard alongthe bank, parallel with the stream. By this time Ling had swallowed aconsiderable quantity of water, and his lungs were already half-full; itwas evident, therefore, that in a few minutes the fellow would sink forthe last time. But Frobisher was now abreast of him, and a few secondslater he sighted another low place in the bank where he could re-enterthe stream. Urging his animal to top speed, in another moment he wasplunging down the bank into the water. The plunge submerged both horseand rider for the moment, and when Frobisher's head again appeared hesaw Ling's body swirling past him in the strongest part of the current.Another moment and Frobisher had drawn the man to him, hoisting his headclear of the water on to the peak of the saddle in front of him. Hethen steered the horse to the bank, and was fortunate enough to be ableto regain solid ground without further mishap. He lowered Lingcarefully to the ground, dismounted himself, and, after securing hishorse by the bridle to a convenient tree, set about the task ofrestoring the half-drowned Korean to consciousness.
Frobisher had had a good deal of "first-aid" experience during theperiod of his service in the Navy, and he therefore knew exactly what todo. Laying the Korean flat on his back, he knelt on the ground astrideof the body, seized both Ling's wrists in his hands, and then proceededto move the man's arms slowly backward and forward from a position rightabove his head forward to the sides of his body, and then back again,thus actually pumping air forcibly into the lungs.
After a few minutes of this treatment Ling began to show signs ofreturning life, and before long he opened his eyes, coughed chokingly,and then rolled over on his side, vomiting up the water he had swallowedand coughing it out of his lungs as well. Then Frobisher completed hiswork of restoration by administering a sip or two of brandy from the cupbelonging to his emergency flask, and a few more moments later Ling wasable to stagger to his feet.
Then, and not until then, did the Korean appear to recover his fullfaculties and recognise who it was that had saved him from a waterygrave.
The Korean licked his dry lips and, carefully avoiding looking hisrescuer in the face, stammered out some kind of thanks to his master forsaving his life; and Frobisher observing the man's manner, became morethan ever convinced that there was treachery in the wind, and determinedto be thoroughly on his guard, day and night.
But there was no time to think about such matters just now; the riverwas rising higher every moment, and if the carts were to be got safelyacross without the loss of men, mules, or cargo, it was necessary to setthings in motion immediately. On the opposite bank of the stream werenow collected some of the Sam-riek drivers who had run along so as to be"in at the death" as they fully expected, and Frobisher sharply orderedthem back to their posts, telling them to get the caravan in motion andprepare to cross.
The men had seen their leader negotiate the ford in safety, so they werenot quite so timid as might have been expected, and as the heavily-ladencarts formed a kind of anchorage and support to both mules and drivers,the young man soon had the satisfaction of seeing the entire caravansafely on the desired side without loss, when he immediately got theprocession once more in motion toward Yong-wol.
During the whole of that day they travelled along the jungle road, withthe thick, solid greenery hemming them in on each side, and the sunpouring down upon them like a flame. Ling marched along, silent andmorose, never speaking a word unless Frobisher actually addressed him orordered him to translate some command to the men; and it was withunfeigned thankfulness that, just as the sun was about to set, the youngman saw, not far ahead of him, a small clearing somewhat similar to theone where they had camped on the previous evening, and determined tospend the night there.
The carts were drawn up in precisely similar formation, and supper wascooked; and by the time that this was disposed of, all hands were morethan ready to seek their couches. Frobisher had already pitched histent, and had just entered it to get his cutlass and second revolverwhen Ling came up to him.
"Me keep filst watch, mastel, same as last night," he remarkedingratiatingly.
Frobisher looked fixedly at him for a few moments, and Ling lowered hiseyes.
"No, my man," answered the Englishman; "I keep first watch to-night.You kept it yesterday, I keep it to-day. Now run away and get yourrest, Ling. I expect you need it after your experience this morning."
Ling gritted his teeth under his long, scanty moustache. Thisarrangement would not suit his plans at all. Why could not theseeccentric westerners be consistent? he wondered. The Englishman keptsecond watch yesterday, and Ling had fully expected that he would do thesame again; while now--
"Me lathel watch filst, mastel," he pleaded; "me no sleepy. You sleepnow, mastel; me look out."
"Look here, my man," exclaimed Frobisher, wrathfully, "who's masterhere, you or I? Just understand this, as it will save trouble in thefuture. When I tell you to do a thing, just remember that you've got todo it, and do it at once. Now, get away to wherever you're going to liedown, and I'll call you when it's time for you to go on duty. No, notanother word; off you go, without any more palaver."
For a moment it seemed as though Ling intended to disobey. Then theEnglishman's great stature and commanding presence had their effect, andhe slunk off and lay down under one of the wagons, but not to sleep. Hesimply lay there leaning on his elbow, regarding Frobisher with amalignant expression. About a couple of hours later, after darkness hadfallen upon the camp for some considerable time, and the rest of the menwere asleep, he began to listen for something; and Frobisher would havebeen intensely interested could he but have glanced into Ling's mind andread what was working there.
About ten o'clock Frobisher began to feel so drowsy, that although hehad made the rounds only half an hour previously he determined to repeatthem, in order to avoid falling asleep at his post; so, taking up thelantern and cautiously feeling his way, to avoid stepping on theslumbering forms of any of the men, he began again to make the circuitof the camp.
Ling had been in his place, apparently sound asleep, when Frobisher hadpassed half an hour previously, but when the young man now directed thelight of his lantern under Ling's cart he saw that the fellow was nolonger there; and a hurried survey of the camp soon convinced him thatthe Korean was nowhere within the circle of the carts. He musttherefore be outside, Frobisher argued; and, if outside, where, and whatdoing?
There could be but one answer to that question, so, without a moment'shesitation, Frobisher set to work to arouse the slumbering Koreans,afterwards herding them in front of him until he had them all collectedtogether in a little knot in the centre of the camp.
He next endeavoured, in "pidgin" English, to make them comprehend thesituation as it presented itself to him; but, unfortunately, they weremen who had seldom or never come in contact with white people, and hesoon saw that they did not understand a word he was saying. He wascompelled, therefore, to fall back upon signs; and after a time theybegan to comprehend dimly what it was that their leader was trying totell them.
When at length he had succeeded in impressing upon them the fact thatthe camp was in imminent danger, he took four of their number to one ofthe carts, unloaded one of the chests of rifles and one of ammunition,broke both open, and distributed the weapons and a quantity ofammunition to each Korean, at the same time carefully instruc
ting themby repeated action how to load and fire the rifles. Luckily, the menwere quick to learn, and appeared delighted with the weapons, which theyseemed to look upon as presents; but Frobisher fully realised that,however willing they might be, they would scarcely be able to hold outlong against regular troops, even though the latter were poorlytrained--especially if those troops should appear, as might be fullyexpected, in overwhelming numbers.
It was his duty, however, to protect the property committed to hischarge as long as he could; and there was always the possibility thatthe rebels at Yong-wol might come part of the way to meet him, and thatthe sound of firing might bring them to his assistance. He thereforeselected a rifle for himself, stuffed a quantity of ammunition into hisbreeches pockets--the pockets of his coat being full of revolvercartridges--and then went round, placing his small force of some twentymen in the most sheltered and advantageous positions he could arrange.After this there was nothing to be done but to keep a sharp look-out andawait developments.
These were not long in coming. Frobisher had barely found time to gethis men to their places, and to arm himself--having previously enjoinedstrict silence, by signs again, of course--when his straining earscaught slight, rustling sounds in the jungle close at hand. They werethe sounds of bush, fern, and shrub being cautiously pushed aside--thesounds of the stealthy approach of a considerable body of men; and itsoon became abundantly evident that the camp was entirely surrounded,and that it was to be attacked from all sides at once.
Frobisher flitted hither and thither silently, peering into the junglefrom between the carts and underneath the wheels; and he was presentlyable, by the dim light of the stars, to distinguish that the whole bushwas in barely perceptible motion. The attackers were at the very edgeof it, evidently only waiting for the command to commence operations;the Englishman, therefore, determined, by being first, to secure theadvantage of surprise himself. At his shouted word the Koreansdischarged their rifles into the jungle at point-blank range, reloadingon the instant; while Frobisher heightened the effect by selecting aspot where he could already see the glint of rifle barrels in thestarlight and discharging all six chambers of both his revolvers in thatdirection.
The effect upon the attackers must have been considerable, forimmediately following the discharge there arose a tremendous outburst ofshrieks, yells, and groans, shouted orders, and cries of encouragement;and Frobisher saw several forms leap out of the bush and go crashing toearth in the clearing.
He had just time to re-load his revolvers before the surrounding bushburst into a perfect tempest of flame and lead, indicating that theGovernment troops must be present in force. One of the Sam-riek men,right at his elbow, uttered a pitiful cry, clutched frenziedly at hisbreast, from which the blood was spouting, and dropped to the ground,his chest torn to pieces by five charges of pot-leg, or stout nails,which had struck him at the same moment; while groans and screams fromvarious parts of the enclosure showed that the little force had sufferedpretty severely.
The men were now, however, re-loading and firing as rapidly as theycould, each independently of the other, and Frobisher, not knowing theirlanguage, found it impossible to control them sufficiently to make themfire only at the word of command. He realised that, at the rate atwhich they were firing, an enormous wastage was taking place, but he waspowerless, and could only hope that the result would justify theexpenditure.
The attackers presently lighted a large fire at the edge of theclearing, that they might have light to fight by; and what with theruddy flickering of the flames and the incessant flashing of the rifles,the running crouching forms of the troops, and the desperate energy withwhich the defenders fought, the scene was a fit subject for the brush ofa Wiertz or a Verestchagin. Men on both sides were falling fast, andFrobisher himself was half-blinded by the blood from a wound in hisforehead inflicted by a ricochetting slug or bullet. And presently hebegan to realise that, despite the stubborn resistance of his men, theGovernment troops were slowly but surely closing in on him, and that theend could not be very long delayed.
He himself fought as Englishmen fight, doing as much execution as anyfour of his men; but he could not be everywhere at once, although herushed here and there, encouraging and urging the defenders to fresheffort. Grimy, bleeding, and powder-stained, they did their best toobey; but the pelting rain of lead was rapidly reducing their numbers,and as their fire slackened for want of men, the troops edged in evercloser and closer until, at a sudden shouted word of command, theysurged forward and stormed the enclosure, carrying it by sheer weight ofnumbers.
The Sam-riek men were slaughtered like sheep, and Frobisher foundhimself surrounded by at least a dozen men, shooting and stabbing at himuntil it seemed miraculous that he still survived. He laid about himdesperately, and many a man of the enemy went down under the terrificsweep of his cutlass--his revolvers he had emptied long ago, save for asingle shot which he was hoarding against some special emergency.
But the fight could not last much longer; his foes pressed so closelyabout him that Frobisher could no longer freely swing his cutlass, whilethe blood running down into his eyes half-blinded him. Out of thecorner of one eye, however, he suddenly caught sight of a heap ofcartridges that he had emptied on the ground for his men to helpthemselves from. His foes had driven him almost on the top of the pile,and, seeing that there was no possible escape, the young Englishmandetermined to sell his life dearly.
With his cutlass hand he warded off the blows that were raining upon hishead, and with the other he fired the last chamber of his revolver rightinto the middle of the heap of ammunition. The next instant there shotforth a dazzling burst of flame accompanied by a crackling report, andfor a brief instant Frobisher had a confused vision of torn and writhinglimbs and bodies. Then something struck him sharply; there was a soundas of roaring, tumbling, thundering waters in his ears; and he knew nomore.
A Chinese Command: A Story of Adventure in Eastern Seas Page 4
