“Oh, and are these your people?” I inquired.
“Yes. I have sent messengers ahead to warn them of my coming. So they are here to receive the body of their prince.”
As we continued to advance the group stood motionless, and I had leisure to examine them. They were finely formed fellows, tall and athletic, and many of them wore beards, some jet black, some gray, some snow white. It was easy to see that this reception committee was composed of the best element of the Kaitos, probably most of them nobles and holding important offices in the principality.
The mahout in charge of the elephant which bore the casket of the Prince now urged his beast slightly in advance of our party, and, as it passed the gateway marked by the towering pillars, the members of the group prostrated themselves and with loud wails and groans grabbed up the dust from the road and scattered it over their bowed heads and bodies, until they were a sight to behold. Then they raised themselves to their knees, extended their arms skyward, and howled in concert like so many coyotes. The din was ear-splitting, and while it continued Mai Lo descended from his elephant and groveled with the others in the dust before the casket of Prince Kai.
Then two aged Kaitos advanced and raised the governor, and escorted him to a tent. The others continued their cries until the casket had been lifted from the elephant and conveyed into another tent — the largest and most decorated one of the encampment.
During this time we had remained unnoted observers of the scene; but when the casket disappeared behind the walls of the tent the people, having risen and dusted themselves, began to look upon us with curiosity. Nux and Bryonia, who had dismounted with the casket and stood like ebony statues beside the elephant, attracted most of the scrutiny, but bore the ordeal with much dignity.
I was pleased to observe in these people a lack of that ferocious hatred that had marked the countenances of most of the Chinese we had encountered. These men seemed more curious than antagonistic. When we boys dismounted and stood among them they all inclined their bodies in more or less lowly obeisance.
Probably the messengers sent forward by Mai Lo had described us to these people as the friends of the late Prince, for they seemed not surprised to find us with the governor’s party.
The tent in which lay the casket of the Prince was at once surrounded by a cordon of guards, armed with scimitars shaped like those of the ancient Saracens. But no one entered the tent itself.
The principal members of the reception party followed Mai Lo into his tent, while others ushered us into still another tent, in which we found couches spread, and low tables before them bearing refreshments of tea and cakes. Here we remained all the afternoon. Nux and Bryonia stood guard outside the entrance, stolidly bearing the gaze of the natives.
When the sun went down there was another period of wailing throughout the camp; but the noise soon ceased. Shortly afterward one of our escort, who understood a few words of English, came to us with an invitation to join “the noble governor and the great Wi-to” at the evening banquet.
I inquired who the “great Wi-to” might be, and was told that he was the Chief Eunuch and Supreme Ruler of the palace of Prince Kai, and the most important personage, in short, in Kwang-Kai-Nong after the illustrious governor.
When we entered the banquet tent we found about twenty of the most important Kaitos assembled. A circle of low wicker tables stood in the center of the tent, with rugs spread before them. At one side, in the center of a small group, stood Mai Lo, arrayed in splendid costume, and beside him stood a slender, stooping individual with a smooth shaven face, whose magnificent robes caused even those of the governor to appear plain. Around his neck was a chain of superb rubies. When Mai Lo, in a pompous and somewhat haughty tone, presented us to Wi-to, the Chief Eunuch gave us a whimsical look and raised a pair of bright, intelligent eyes to meet our own. “The strangers are welcome,” he said in a low, soft tone — the first speech I had heard from a Chinaman that was not harsh and rasping since my conversation with Prince Kai. His English was not so perfect as that of the Prince, but much smoother than Mai Lo’s, and it gave me a sense of relief to find another English-speaking personage in this far-off country.
My notion of eunuchs had been that they were fierce creatures of powerful build, usually Ethiopians, and greatly to be feared. I had heard tales of their absolute power in the palaces of the nobles, and that even the mighty Empress Tsi An had failed to curb the influence of her palace eunuchs. So it pleased me to find Wi-to more agreeable in manner and speech than the imperturbable governor, and I answered him as pleasantly as I could, saying:
“We have come on a sad mission, your Highness; to escort the remains of your master and our beloved friend to his old home. Had the Prince not requested us to come here, we should not have ventured to intrude upon you at this unhappy moment.”
I did not know whether it was proper to address the Chief Eunuch as “your Highness” or not; but perhaps the compliment pleased him, for he smiled, then screwed up his face into a semblance of grief, then smiled again.
“We are deeply grieved and inconsolable,” said he, cheerfully. “The illustrious and royal Prince Kai, whose memory I serve as faithfully as I did his person, has lived at Kai-Nong but little since he was a boy, and we had hoped that upon his return he would command the affairs of his province and become a mighty Viceroy of the Celestial and August Emperor. But he has passed on to a greater Empire.”
Mai Lo now summoned us to the feast in a voice that I thought a trifle impatient; but the eunuch paid no attention. He was examining Archie as he had me, and asked him how he liked China.
“I don’t want to be impolite,” said the bluff Archie, “and perhaps this country is all right for the people who live here; but for my part I prefer America.”
“That is natural,” returned Wi, laughing; “and curiously enough, Prince Kai had the same idea, or rather he preferred any part of Europe to his old home. Did my duties permit, I too would travel.”
Mai Lo called again, and the eunuch turned and nodded. Then he said to Joe:
“I hope the journey has not tired the friend of my Prince?”
“I’m as fresh as a daisy,” said Joe. “But I can hardly call the Prince my friend, although I knew and liked him. Sam, here, was the especial friend of Prince Kai.”
That was what the shrewd eunuch had wanted to find out. He turned good-naturedly toward the governor and asked his pardon for the delay, in English.
When we seated ourselves upon the rugs, I found that I was at the right hand of the Chief Eunuch and Joe at his left. Archie sat next me, and far away on the other side squatted Mai Lo, with dignified Kaitos on either side of him.
The meal was excellently prepared and served, though I had no idea of what the dishes consisted. Wi-to plied me with questions concerning the death of the Prince and the details of his accident. I gave him the story as clearly as I could, and our conversation, held in low tones, did not interrupt the chatter in Chinese going on around us. I asked Wi-to where he learned to speak English, and he said that Prince Kai had taught him.
“It is an excellent language to converse in, and easier than our own,” said he, “for it is much more simple. And when my Prince and I talked together no listeners could understand what he said. That is a great convenience in palace life, I assure you.”
Two things of importance impressed themselves upon me during this interview. One was the fact that the Chief Eunuch was not afraid of Mai Lo, and was rather inclined to snub the governor, and the other that Wi-to seemed disposed to be friendly toward us.
Joe observed another fact that escaped me, and that was the evident disfavor with which all the nobles present regarded the eunuch. They treated him with great respect, but shunned his society, and Joe declared that we had forfeited the general regard by hobnobbing with him.
This was disconcerting, at first, but when I came to think it over I decided that it was best for us to be on a friendly footing with Wi-to, whatever the others might t
hink of us. For he was in command of the palace, and the palace was to be the scene of our adventures. Mai Lo we knew to be opposed to us, and therefore a friend such as the Chief Eunuch was not to be despised.
After the feast, which lasted far into the night, we all went out and joined the throng which had congregated before the tent where the supposed body of Prince Kai lay in state. There an interesting ceremony was performed. First there was much wailing, grief being expressed in childish “boo-hoos” accompanied by the clang of cymbals and gongs. The uproar was deafening for a time, but gradually subsided. Then the people advanced one by one to the entrance of the tent and there burned papers cut into queer shapes. These papers represented the things Prince Kai might need while his spirit was wandering in the land of the Genii, and consisted of chairs, tables, chests, wearing apparel, jewelry, nuts, fruit and the like. Many sheets of gold and silver tinsel were likewise burned, the idea being to supply the Prince with wealth to purchase whatever he might need in the mysterious country to which he had gone.
The ceremony was interesting, as I said; but it grew tedious, and we were glad when it was over and we were permitted to retire to our tent for the night.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE ROYAL HOUSE OF KAI
Early next morning the procession was formed for the journey to Kai-Nong, the capital city of the province.
The casket of the Prince was loaded upon a magnificent elephant, which was caparisoned from head to foot with silken streamers and bunting of gorgeous colors. No one now rode beside the casket, but a guard of three score warriors, each with the emblem of the Sacred Ape embroidered upon the breast of his tunic, formed a cordon around the elephant and marched solemnly beside it.
Following the royal elephant came that of the governor, Mai Lo, and then five elephants bearing the most important nobles. After these came our own elephant, and behind it that of Wi-to, the Chief Eunuch. A troop of horsemen, good riders and martial looking fellows, followed in our wake, and in the rear were our former escort and the baggage animals.
Before the royal elephant and its guards was a motley crowd of natives beating gongs, clashing cymbals and wailing their nerve-racking “boo-hoos.” As we proceeded, men left their fields and gardens and the wayside houses and joined these mourners, so that by noon there was a black mob ahead of us for a quarter of a mile, all wailing and making as much noise as they could — which I assure you was considerable.
I was glad to be in the rear and as far away from the mourners as possible, and it was with great relief that I saw before us, as we mounted a slight eminence, the white walls of a great city. Behind it towered the nearest peaks of the Himalayas, still many miles distant, and the scene was picturesque and impressive.
Another hour’s riding brought us to the gates of the city, and here the mob halted and redoubled its clamor while we all passed through.
But now we found fresh crowds of the citizens awaiting us with tom-toms, cymbals and gongs, and these caught up the wails of those outside and made more noise than ever. The streets through which we passed were broad and smooth, and lined with substantial dwellings of stone. On either side of the streets, as we passed, were rows of prostrate forms scattering dust upon their heads as evidence of grief for the death of their prince. The bazaars were closed and the entire city of Kai-Nong seemed in mourning. We afterward learned that the capital contains three hundred thousand inhabitants, and is one of the most prosperous cities of northwestern China.
We had ridden fully a half-hour through the streets, our ears saluted every instant with the deafening and discordant notes of grief, when at last we reached a vast garden surrounded by a high wall.
Here we halted, being confronted by a group of officials headed by the Fuh-yin, or mayor of the city. He evidently delivered an oration of much power, judging from its length and the groans from our party which interspersed it. At its conclusion Mai Lo made a brief reply from his seat on the elephant. At the end of this the Fuh-yin and his officials prostrated themselves while the royal elephant bore the casket through a huge ornamental gateway into the gardens.
And now, to my surprise, the elephant of the Chief Eunuch pressed forward and that officer took the position of honor in the procession — immediately following the casket. The guards, too, fell away and remained outside the walls, while only the elephant of Mai Lo and our own were permitted to pass the gateway.
But once inside the gardens we saw that a new escort had been provided for the royal remains. Sixty gorgeously appareled men, armed with scimitars and broad axes, formed a circle around the elephant that bore the casket and prepared to guard it. They were stalwart, erect fellows, of proud bearing but evil and ferocious countenances, and each wore a yellow turban coiled upon his head, with a golden clasp, in effigy of the Sacred Ape, fastening the folds just above the forehead.
These were the eunuchs, the palace guards, or servants and attendants of the harem. For now we were within the palace grounds, and Wi-to had assumed command of the procession.
The wailing and clamor died away to a faint murmur behind us as we wound in and out by intricate paths between stately trees and beside beds of brilliant flowers; but from afar at moments we still heard the sounds of grief, which were continued in the city until midnight.
The gardens were of astonishing extent and were artistically planned and carefully tended. The trees and shrubbery were thick in places. We emerged from their shade to find beautiful gardens of flowers surrounding us. Once in a while I caught glimpses of the buildings, which seemed very ornate and constructed mainly of teak, mahogany and dressed stone, all with tiled roofs, curved and serrated.
At last we deployed into a broad space at the foot of a green mound, upon which stood the palace and outbuildings, rambling structures so numerous and extensive that they presented almost the appearance of a village.
The main building was a splendid one. Polished stone formed the walls, and blue tiles the many gabled, turreted and curved intricacies of the roof. Carved teakwood covered the face of the stone in many places. At the great portico of the entrance the carving was elaborate almost beyond relief.
From the mound to the broad space where we had halted were terraces with many steps leading up to the palace, and at intervals on these steps were urns of graceful design, statues of wood and bronze and lamps of artistic ironwork.
We all dismounted here, and the mahouts led away the elephants. Some of the eunuchs bore the casket of the Prince up the broad steps of the terrace, while Wi-to bowed low, first to the Governor and then to us, and welcomed us to the Royal House of Kai.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE GOVERNOR SHOWS HIS TEETH
Followed by Nux and Bryonia, who never relaxed their vigilance over us, we three boys attended the governor and the Chief Eunuch to the entrance of the palace — the first foreigners to step foot in this retired stronghold of an ancient race.
At the carved portico Mai Lo turned and regarded us intently, and then began a long lingo in Chinese to which the eunuch listened carefully. The casket had disappeared through the entrance; the army of eunuchs had melted away and disappeared; we seemed quite alone with these two natives, one of whom we knew distrusted and hated us.
The result of the conversation was that we were shown into a broad, lofty hall just within the entrance and asked to seat ourselves until rooms could be prepared for our accommodation.
The Chief Eunuch, who made this request, looked at us shrewdly and with an expression more grave and reserved than he had yet shown us, and then turned and entered a side room in company with the governor.
We were much annoyed at this discourteous treatment. It was now the middle of the afternoon, and we had eaten nothing since breakfast, at daybreak. Wi-to certainly should have given us some food before leaving us to sit in the hall awaiting his convenience. The pretence of preparing rooms for us was absurd. With such an army of servants the palace should have been, and doubtless was, perfectly appointed. But here we were, se
ated upon stiff carved sofas in the great hall of the palace, and here we must remain until it suited Mai Lo and the eunuch to relieve us.
The magnificence of the palace aroused our admiration in spite of our annoyance. The floor was tiled and covered here and there with costly rugs; the woodwork everywhere was elaborately carved, and every nook and corner was crowded with rare ornaments and bric-a-brac, art treasures which would have filled the soul of a collector with envy. On one face of the wall was a display of ancient armor and weapons inlaid with gold and silver and set with precious gems. At either side of the entrance stood a huge bronze figure of the Sacred Ape, its grinning jaws filled with ivory teeth and its eyes set with immense rubies.
We had ample leisure to look around us, for no one came to our relief during the next hour. Also we had time to discuss our situation.
“What do you think it all means, boys?” I asked.
“Looks as if they had allowed us to come this far so that they might murder us,” answered Archie, frowning.
“Mai Lo must have said something to the Chief Eunuch that turned him against us,” remarked Joe.
“That’s my idea,” I said; “but if I get a chance I intend to put a spoke in Mai Lo’s wheel. We’ve got to win the good will of the eunuch or we’re done for. He seems to have unlimited power in the palace.”
“Do you think Mai Lo has said anything about the — the body?” whispered Archie, glancing suspiciously around. “Speak low, fellows; we don’t know how many ears may be listening behind that carving.”
“I’m quite sure Mai Lo won’t betray his own secret,” said I. “He has probably warned the eunuch not to trust us, as we might steal the whole palace.”
Joe had started to reply when a door opened and Mai Lo entered the hall and approached us.
“Why are we kept here waiting?” I demanded, trying to control my temper. “I won’t stand such treatment, Mai Lo, I assure you. We must be treated with proper respect or something unpleasant is going to happen.”
Complete Works of L. Frank Baum Page 689
