Missee Lee

by Arthur Ransome

  “Make up your minds,” said Captain Flint.

  “Turn right,” said John. “We’ll go round outside Miss Lee’s garden and we’re bound to come to it.”

  They turned right from the gateway of the yamen, and followed a road that lay between the wall of the yamen and a row of low, earthbuilt, green-roofed houses. The road was just well-trodden earth and little clouds of dust rose about their feet. It presently turned sharply down hill, and though on their right was only a high smooth wall they knew that on the other side of it must be Miss Lee’s terraced garden. They came to the door in the wall that they had found when exploring the garden. Roger tried it. It was still locked. “Oh, well,” he said, “I expect she keeps the key to that herself.”

  “Everybody seems to know we’re free,” said Nancy.

  Indeed, it seemed so. Men smoking their little bamboo pipes, squatting on their heels outside their houses, hardly turned their heads to look at them. Women, spinning silk with distaffs like large spinning tops, never stopped their work. It was as if, overnight, they had become old inhabitants of the pirate town. They helped an old woman catch a runaway pig. Only one small boy made as if to chop off his own head, and he got it smacked instead by a passer by.

  “Free,” said Nancy again. “It’s almost as if we were pirates ourselves.”

  “Right again, I should think,” said Captain Flint.

  The houses were smaller here and there were more trees, palms and bamboos. Presently there were no more houses, and they caught a glint of water through the trees.

  “That’s the river,” said Captain Flint. “Are you sure about that creek?”

  “We must be coming to it,” said John, and a few minutes later they saw the masts of the little painted junk they had noticed from the ferry-boat when they were being brought across from Tiger Island. They came out from the trees and saw the whole of her, and her reflection, bright red and blue and white in the still water among the brilliant greens reflected from the wooded bank on the further side.

  “Swallow was on this side,” said Titty. “And Amazon.”

  “There they are,” cried John. “Just by those sampans. Somebody’s pulled them right up. Come on.”

  There was no need for him to say “Come on.” Nancy and the others were already running full tilt along the track.

  Suddenly, as from nowhere, a man was standing in the path before them. He said nothing but, with a jerk, unhitched a short carbine from his shoulder.

  ANYBODY COULD SEE WHAT HE MEANT

  “We’re only going to look at our boats,” said Nancy.

  The man put up a hand, wide open.

  John pointed at the boats. The man did not turn round. Instead, with his hand open, palm towards them, he came nearer by a step or two. Anybody could see what he meant. That path was closed.

  “There’s only one of him,” said Nancy hopefully, looking at Captain Flint.

  “There’ll be one less of us if we make him use his pop-gun,” said Captain Flint calmly. “Right about turn. We’ll have a look at the boats another day.”

  “Miss Lee can’t have told him,” said Titty. “Of course she didn’t know we’d want to go here.”

  “Let’s have that telescope,” said John. “He won’t stop us looking at them if we don’t go any nearer.”

  “Is it all right letting him know we’ve got one?” said Titty.

  “I don’t think that matters now,” said Captain Flint. “What we mustn’t let them know is that I’ve got a pocket compass. What’s happened to yours, John?”

  “It’s in Miss Lee’s temple,” said John, “with your sextant and everything else.”

  “We’ll have to get hold of that,” said Captain Flint.

  Titty handed over the telescope. John had a careful look first at one boat and then at the other. The Chinese with the carbine dropped his hand and turned round to see where the telescope was pointing. Roger took a step forward, but the man swung round in a moment, lifting his carbine.

  “You obey orders, Roger,” said Captain Flint.

  “They look all right,” said John. “I say, Nancy, the oars are back in Amazon.”

  “Not much good if we can’t use them. Let’s have a look. …”

  “Our sail’s in a bit of a mess,” said John. “I wish they’d just let us give it a proper stow. Somebody must have been having a squint at it.”

  “No good hanging about,” said Captain Flint. “This chap wants to see the last of us. Let’s make him happy.”

  They turned. Nancy scowled at the Chinese, but Captain Flint gave him a friendly wave. The man lowered his carbine, grinned and stood there watching till they were back among the trees.

  “I don’t call that being free,” said Roger.

  “It’s just a mistake,” said Titty.

  Among the trees, after a look round to see that no one was watching them, Captain Flint pulled out his pocket compass, and made a note on a bit of paper.

  “What we’ve got to do first,” he said, “is to get the geography clear in our heads. I thought I saw some water over on the other side when they were carting me along in that rabbit-hutch.”

  “Hen-coop,” said Roger.

  “Mouse-trap,” said Captain Flint.

  “We saw water, too,” said John.

  Captain Flint glanced at his compass again. “Somewhere over there,” he said. “Let’s see if they’ve another landing place. If we keep on the low ground instead of going up into the town, we ought to be all right.”

  They followed the track back to the first of the houses and then bore to the right, through one lane after another. Nobody bothered them, and they were careful to saunter along as if they were going nowhere in particular. They came out on a well-beaten track, followed it through trees along the edge of a tiny stream and once more saw water ahead of them. Some distance away, to right and left, they saw high walls running to the water’s edge.

  “The whole town’s got a wall round it,” said Captain Flint. “Miss Lee’s father must have known what he was about.”

  “They’re building a junk,” said John.

  “Looks like another river,” said Captain Flint.

  “Shallow,” said Nancy, looking at reed banks on the further side.

  “There must be water to float a junk,” said Captain Flint, “or they wouldn’t be building. We’ll go on and have a look.”

  “It’s a little junk just like the other,” said Titty, as they came nearer to the shore and could see what sort of a vessel it was at which a lot of men were busy working.

  “Junks anchored lower down,” said Captain Flint.

  “Let’s go and look at them building her,” said John, but before they were near enough to have a proper look, a man with a carbine, who had been standing watching the boat-builders, turned, came towards them and waved them back.

  “Botheration,” said Roger.

  “Naval dockyard,” said Captain Flint. “Visitors not allowed.”

  He turned round and led them back towards the town.

  “Jibbooms and bobstays,” exclaimed Nancy. “She can’t mean us just to stay in the streets.”

  “We’ll soon see,” said Captain Flint.

  They began going up hill now among the houses, but presently came to a wide road, at the end of which they saw a gateway and a glimpse of open country outside.

  “Let’s try that,” said Nancy.

  They soon saw that the gateway led through the town wall. Half a dozen guards were squatting on the ground there, playing cards.

  “Bet the beasts stop us,” said Roger.

  “Worth trying,” said Nancy.

  They came to the gateway and strolled through it, and the guards hardly looked up as they passed.

  “That’s all right,” said Captain Flint.

  “They know we’re free,” said Titty. “It’s only that she never thought of our wanting to go down to the water.”

  “Well, we jolly well did,” said Roger.

  “What no
w?” said John.

  “More geography,” said Captain Flint, glancing privately at his compass, and looking at the long road crossing the paddy-fields and climbing the slopes beyond them. “Where does that road go? Left … Right … Left … Right. … Come on.”

  They were soon beyond the paddy-fields, where green rice was growing in shallow water, and small fish were rising at flies, splashing among the green stems. They were on open rising country. Away to their left they could see the great river, the junk anchorage, and the long hill of Tiger Island. Looking back they could see Miss Lee’s gateway tower, and the tall flagstaff, high above trees and houses inside the long brown wall of the town. They marched on at a good steady pace. The road climbed more and more steeply. It began to wind among rocks.

  “Listen,” said Nancy. “Rushing water.”

  “Rum,” said Captain Flint.

  Suddenly turning a corner between rocks, the road dipped, and they caught a glimpse of cliffs. A moment later they were looking down into a narrow gorge. Far, far below them they could see the white foam splashes of rapids.

  “It’s just a beck,” said Peggy.

  “Wolloping big beck,” said Nancy. “I say, that’s the sea over there.”

  “That chap said there were two islands,” said John. “When we were on the donkeys. I thought there must be a way through.”

  “That’ll be Turtle Island the other side,” said Captain Flint.

  “Our island with the temple’s the other side of that,” said John.

  “They can’t go down and cross those rapids in boats,” said Captain Flint. “This road goes somewhere. There must be a bridge.”

  A few minutes later, at the next turn in the road, they saw it, and gasped. Seven or eight hundred feet above the water, the two cliffs leaned to meet each other. On either side was a small square tower, and between the two a narrow bridge, without rails of any kind, crossed the abyss.

  “Look at those people,” said Roger.

  Half a dozen men, carrying loads slung from bamboos, were walking easily across the bridge as if they did not know that a single slip would send them diving to their deaths.

  “Giminy,” said Nancy.

  “Bit of an engineer, old Lee, if he did that,” said Captain Flint. “I’ve seen something like it in the Himalayas.”

  “Let’s cross,” said John.

  “On all fours,” said Roger. “It’ll be easy that way.”

  But he did not have a chance of trying. Before they could get near the bridge, three or four guards came hurrying out of the guardhouse at the nearer end.

  “Forty million chopsticks,” said Nancy. “This is a bit too thick. I do believe they’re going to stop us.”

  There was no doubt about it. Guns were lifted, and they heard the sharp click of bolts as the men made ready their carbines.

  “No point in riling them,” said Captain Flint calmly.

  “But it’s them riling us,” said Nancy.

  “Right about turn,” said Captain Flint. After a last look down into the gorge and across at Turtle Island, they turned back along the road to the town.

  “Free!” said Nancy.

  “Free!” said Roger.

  “It’s a mistake,” said Titty. “It was all right at the gateways.”

  “Not at the creek,” said John.

  “They wouldn’t even let us look at their junk,” said Roger.

  “We’ll never be able to get away from here,” said Susan.

  “We’ll see what they say at the ferry,” said Captain Flint.

  “Shall we go through the town or along the wall outside?” said Nancy, as they were crossing the paddy-fields.

  “Better keep outside now we’re out,” said John.

  “If we once go in they may not let us out again,” said Roger. “Pretty piggish.”

  “It looks to me as if she’s got us on a string,” said Captain Flint.

  The guards at the gateway, who had watched them coming back, smiled at them and did not try to stop them when, instead of passing through, they turned along the wall to work round it to the road going down to the ferry. Their spirits rose again but dropped with a bump when they were not allowed even to go out on the landing-jetty to which the ferry boat was tied up.

  “But why not?” asked Nancy angrily. “Miss Lee said we could go anywhere.”

  The guard at the ferry was one of those who knew a little English.

  “No can do,” he explained with the friendliest of smiles delighted at being able to answer and expecting them to be pleased at hearing him.

  “Well, that’s that,” said Captain Flint. “We’ll go and have a word with our Miss Lee. Better know the worst while we’re about it.”

  There was no trouble about passing through the gateway into the town, the same gateway through which they had been led as prisoners on their way from Chang’s yamen. But, though people were working on the dragon just inside, even Roger had no heart to look at it. Footsore, dusty and angry, they came back to Miss Lee’s, and went to their own house, Captain Flint coming with them, because, as he said, there was no point in sitting in a cage if you didn’t have to. Miss Lee’s old amah had been on the verandah of the council room as they came into the courtyard and had gone in as soon as she saw them. They were scarcely back in their own house before Miss Lee herself appeared at the garden door.

  “Did you have a good walk?” she asked. “Velly fine view flom the high glound.”

  They were too angry to make polite speeches.

  “I don’t call this being free,” said Roger.

  “But I tell you, you are flee,” said Miss Lee. “Go anywhere. Do anything. Only not go away. All Dlagon Island for you. Now, when you have lested, pelhaps a little more glammar. … No. … Pelhaps better tomollow … after plepalation.”

  “They wouldn’t let us go anywhere,” said Nancy. “I told them you said we were free.”

  “Not to go away,” said Miss Lee.

  “We couldn’t even get near our own boats,” said Titty.

  “I wanted to go out on that bridge,” said Roger.

  “They wouldn’t even let us go and look at the ferry,” said John.

  “You closs to Tiger Island and Chang will cut off heads,” said Miss Lee.

  Nancy stamped her foot. “Then we’re still prisoners,” she said.

  “Not prisoners,” said Miss Lee. “Guests. Fliends. Students. Can you not understand? My counsellor and the Taicoons, Wu and Chang, think you ought not to be here, not to be here alive. They lemember my father’s law. I bleak it evelly day by keeping you here. They think gunboats will come and smash up evellything. I tell them it is safe. You do not know where you are. Gunboats do not know where you are. I, Miss Lee, must show evellybody they need not be aflaid. I must let them see you cannot get away.”

  “But we’ve got to some time,” said Susan.

  “How?” asked Miss Lee.

  “You could let Chang’s captain, the one who picked us up, take us out to sea till we meet an English ship,” said Nancy.

  “All light,” said Miss Lee angrily. “Nan-see, you have no blains. Chang’s captain take you out to sea. He will come back next day and say he stopped a British steamer and put you all aboard. I tell you, he will say that. But I tell you, Chang is aflaid. Wu is aflaid. My counsellor is aflaid. Chang’s captain, any captain of Thlee Island junk, will take you out to sea. Yes. He will take you out to sea. But when night comes he will dlop you, one, two, thlee, four, five, six, seven and monkey and pallot. He will dlop you all to be chow for sharks. You think that is all light? Better stay here and be good students.”

  She turned her back on them and walked out.

  “You’ve done it now,” said Susan. “Making her mad.”

  “Miss Lee’s just about right,” said Captain Flint slowly. “She’s our only hope.”

  “But if she won’t let us go,” said Susan.

  “Irish pigs,” murmured Captain Flint. “Irish pigs.”

  “We are
n’t,” said Roger.

  “Pig yourself,” said Nancy. “You too, Susan. It wasn’t my fault.”

  “When an Irishman drives a pig,” said Captain Flint slowly, “he ties the string to its hind leg. Well, the pig thinks the Irishman wants it to hang back. So it goes forward. What we’ve got to do is to make these blessed pirates think we want to stay. That’s the best way to make them want to boot us out. It’s the only way with people like Miss Lee.”

  “Um,” said Nancy. “I’d rather like to stay if only we were free.”

  “Good,” said Captain Flint. “You try to show it. Now Miss Lee is the Irishman. We are the pigs. Miss Lee wants to give us lessons in Latin and what not. She thinks that even Roger doesn’t really want them.”

  “I don’t,” said Roger.

  “We’ve got to be so blooming keen on lessons that Miss Lee herself gets sick of giving them.”

  “Jibbooms and bobstays,” said Nancy. “But she’d like to have twenty-four hours of lessons every day.”

  “Well,” said Captain Flint, “we’ve got to let her see that we’re glad of the chance and only wish we could cram thirty-six hours of lessons into the twenty-four.”

  “She’ll just be pleased,” said Titty.

  “Well,” said Captain Flint, “let’s please her. We wouldn’t stand much of a chance if she left us to the others. … Except you, perhaps, with the bird-fancier.”

  “It was Polly he liked,” said Titty.

  “Put Roger in a sweetshop,” said Captain Flint, “and he’d soon get sick of chocolate. We’ll try that with our Miss Lee.”

  “Chopsticks and congee,” said Nancy, grinning. “If we’ve all got to sweat at lessons you must too. She thought you were awful this morning.”

  “I will,” said Captain Flint. “Where’s that Latin Grammar. If I don’t know ‘Artifex and Opifex’ by tomorrow morning I’ll eat my hat. Come on, the Lower School. And you, too, John and Roger. Get on with Aeneas where you left off.”

  “Come on,” said John. “No skulking, Roger, even if you have read it already.”

  “I’m no good at languages,” said Susan.

  “We none of us are,” said Captain Flint. “But we soon will be.”

  “Mensa, mensa, mensam,” said Nancy ruefully.