Stan Lynn: A Boy's Adventures in China

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

  "THE UPROAR WAS TREMENDOUS."

  That day passed wearily away, but there were a couple more visits fromthe jailers, who looked at the prisoner curiously before going back.

  At the second visit they brought more rice and water--nothing more--andto all Stan's questions about Wing, the mandarin, and the merchant towhom he had sent a message, there was nothing but a dull, stolid,exasperating stare, and then once more he was left.

  Twice over there was the cracking and tearing sound as if the monkey wasworking away at the wood, but with darkness all was silent within thegate-tower. Plenty of sounds arose from outside, but the prison wasevidently right at the back, and the trampling and voices heard fromtime to time seemed far away.

  That night sleep was long in coming, for Stan had much thinking to do,and he carefully examined his prison while the monkey clung to the barsasleep. As far as he could make out, there was not much prospect ofescape. By working hard Stan felt that he could perhaps have succeededin getting through into the monkey's partition, but nothing wouldapparently be gained by that, and he sank into a moody fit, full ofdiscontent at his ill-fortune, wishing that he had refused to come upthe country, and that he had stayed with father and uncle; ending byworking himself up into a low, despondent state, from which he wasreleased by sleep.

  Three days dragged their slow course along without change. Plenty ofsoldiers came in with the jailers to stare at him, and from time to timeparties of men and women were admitted to the narrow yard, where theydivided themselves between staring at him and the monkey, till the ladgrew at times half-maddened.

  "Oh," he groaned to himself, "the miserable, conceited brutes! To betreated like a curiosity! I believe they look upon me as no better thanthat monkey. Well," he added mockingly, "it's only fair. I don't lookupon them as being as good. Poor wretch! How every one teases andill-uses it! I wish he'd do one of the miserable cowardly wretches someharm."

  But as time went on in a horribly monotonous state of imprisonment, Stannoted that, in spite of the way in which the soldiery prodded and struckat the poor beast with their spear-shafts, it seemed less vicious. Whenhe and the monkey were free from interruption, its great delight was tocome to the bars of the cage and thrust out its long, thin arm, while ifStan would take its hand it was perfectly still and happy.

  What it was doing up by the top of the bamboos Stan could not make out,but from the beautifully white, sharp state of its two great rows ofteeth, the lad came to the conclusion that it was following the exampleof carnivorous animals and sharpening and cleaning them upon thewoodwork; but after that hurried visit from the men when Stan firstheard the cracking and splintering noise, they came no more save atregular times, when they made sure that he was safe, and treated all hisattempts to make himself understood as if he were some lower-classanimal kept for show.

  And during the next two days this seemed to be more and more the case,for the soldiers kept on ushering in common-looking country-people, tillat one time the yard was nearly full of gaping spectators, for whosedelectation the monkey would be sent bounding about its cage, flying upthe bars in front to avoid the shaft of some spear thrust in brutally,but, in spite of rapid strokes, rarely striking it. For the activelittle creature made prodigious leaps, or swung itself from side to sideby its long, thin, muscular arms; and as often as not it scrambled upthe partition bamboos to take refuge in the corner farthest from thefront, to hold on in full view of Stan, keeping itself in position closeto the roof by clinging with both arms round a couple of the bamboos,its head being thrust away in the extreme angle.

  There it would stick, well out of reach of the soldier who playedshowman, till the spectators were turned out of the yard, when it wouldsuddenly snatch its head out of its nook, turning it sharply to lookdown and listen, keeping quite motionless and on the _qui vive_ to hideitself ostrich fashion if there was another sound; but if not, it wouldhold on by the two bamboos with all four hands and shake them savagely,making them rattle again, snarling and chattering savagely at itsfellow-prisoner, and snapping its sharp ivory trap-jaws as if to showhow it would bite if it had a chance, before uttering its favourite cry,_tchack_!

  "Poor old chap!" Stan always said. "I should like to see you get looseamong them."

  No sooner had he spoken than the quaint-looking little creature loosenedits hold slightly and slid down the two bars, to squat at the bottom andthrust one hand into Stan's compartment, reaching in as far as possiblefor it to be taken, when it held on tightly, drooping its head as ifenjoying the sympathy shown for it. But not for long. Suddenly drawingits hand back, it began to trot like a dog about its cage, to keep onpicking up, examining, and smelling the scraps of food and fruit thathad been thrown in by the people, stopping to eat some tempting piece,before scrambling up the bars again to the corner nearest the front,where the cracking and tearing noise went on again in the part of thecage beyond the reach of Stan's eyes.

  There had been more visitors than usual, with a fresh jailer to play thepart of showman, and while some of the people stood gaping stupidly atStan, the monkey was hunted about till those who watched it were tired,when it took refuge out of reach, refusing to come down.

  Upon this the party shifted their attention to Stan, joining the rest intheir miserably stupid, gaping stare, which exasperated the lad intoimitating the monkey's tactics and turning his back in the far corner,but of course on the floor.

  Instead of doing good, Stan found it result in harm, for a mostirritating form of annoyance began, the people beginning to take aim andpelt him with oranges, bananas, and pieces of bread-cake; all of whichthe prisoner, who was simmering with wrath, ignored, declining to make aspectacle of himself, and remaining quite motionless till he felt aheavy dig in his back.

  This made him turn sharply, to find that his fresh custodian wasreaching in as far as he could, holding his spear by the extreme end ofthe shaft, and poking at him with his cheek close against the bars andone hand extended to the full extent of his arm.

  "Beast!" growled Stan, with a jerk forward, as he flung out his arm; andthe next moment, as much to his own surprise as to that of his jailer,he had caught hold of the spear-head and jerked the weapon out of theman's hand.

  The little crowd uttered a yell of delight and excitement, while thesoldier burst forth into a torrent of bad--Chinese--language, leapingabout, shaking his fist at the prisoner, and evidently threatening whathe would do if the spear was not handed back on the instant.

  But this last affront had made Stan regularly boil over, and a freshyell came in chorus from the crowd as they saw him swing the spear roundto make a thrust at the owner, who shrieked aloud as he darted back,while the swift drawing of the spear-shaft across the bamboos made everyone in the yard utter a yell of dismay and begin tumbling one over theother to reach the yard door; an example followed by the gallantwarrior, whose speed was hastened, and who began thumping the backs ofthose who hindered, when Stan thrust the spear out between the frontbars and gave him a few digs in the back.

  The uproar was tremendous, and increased by the excitement of themonkey, who, upon seeing his friend armed with the instrument used fortorturing him, began to bound about, leaping at and shaking the bars,and chattering savagely, till the last of the occupants of the yard hadescaped by the door, which was banged to.

  Then, seeing that Stan had drawn in the spear again to stand upon hisguard, the monkey stopped short too, watching him, and, like hiscompanion, gazing hard at the inner door, beyond which there was afierce buzz of voices, the shuffling of feet, and other sounds whichannounced the coming of more soldiers to disarm the prisoner. But Stanfelt in no humour for being disarmed. There was something invigoratingin feeling possessed of a weapon, and at the first indications of theprison door being opened he stepped back, drove the head with a thudinto the wood, snatched it back, and then, after a step to the rear, hebrought the stout elastic shaft across the door with an echoing bang,which had the double effect of sil
encing and putting to flight thebraves in the passage and making the monkey shriek, chatter, and rattlethe bars in a way that helped the retreat.

  "Hah!" ejaculated Stan as he stood with the spear-head lowered ready tomake a thrust at the first man who appeared. "Let them come. I don'tcare now."

  This was a fact, for the lad had grown reckless, and determined toattack, extra nerved as he was by the thought that if he made a boldcharge with the spear the Chinese soldiers would turn tail, and if hefollowed them up he might in the confusion escape.

  But he neither charged nor escaped, for the simple reason that the doorwas not unfastened; and after waiting for some time Stan came to theconclusion that the Chinese braves would not attack, but would probablytry to starve him into a state of submission--thoughts which becamestrengthened later on.

  After waiting some time, watching the inner door alternately with thatwhich opened out of the yard, Stan turned to speak to the monkey.

  "Hullo, Tchack! Did I frighten you?" he said.

  But there was no reply, and no fellow-prisoner in sight, the poor beastbeing so much alarmed by seeing the torturing spear in the hands of itsfriend that it had climbed up the bars into its favourite place out ofsight, and declined to be coaxed down.

  The time went on, and no one returned to the yard, or even ventured, asfar as Stan could make out, into the passage; so that the afternoon andevening were passed with the prisoner in the novel position of guard,playing sentry, and waiting for the next jailer to attack.