Stan Lynn: A Boy's Adventures in China

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

  "OH!--HAH!"

  "Where there's a will there's a way," says the old proverb.

  It is not quite true, but there's a great deal of truth in it; and Stanhad made up his mind how to gain possession of the boat almost beforethe boy had caught another fish.

  The first idea was to wait till it was quite dark, so that hisproceedings might not be seen by people in the many boats or from eithershore; but he dared not wait, for at any moment the boy might besatisfied with the fish he had caught--scores, for aught Stan couldtell--pull up his anchor, and row ashore, and the chance of getting themeans of reaching the _hong_ would be gone. What he did must be done atonce, Stan concluded, and he prepared to act.

  Fortune was favouring him, for the boat swung by a rope from the bows,and the boy was at the other end, facing the stern, over which he hunghis line. And consequently he was sitting with his back to him who wasplanning the onslaught upon his peace.

  Stan's thoughts ran fast as he watched through the gap in the side ofthe junk and completed his plans, getting them so compact and clear thatat last, as the boy fished on, it seemed as if he had nothing to do butmake a start and succeed; but when at last he was quite strung up to thesticking-point, obstacle after obstacle began to appear and suggestimpossibilities.

  He was safely hid in the hold of the junk, but the moment he appeared ondeck in his white flannels he would be a mark for every eye, from thecrews on the high poops and sterns of the great junks to the people onthe house-boats and shore, as well as the busy folk paddling here andthere in the little _sampans_ which were constantly on the move up,down, and across the river.

  He seemed to hear the shout raised, "Foreign devil!" and to see thefishing boy, warned thereby, jumping up in his boat, pulling up thelittle wooden anchor, and rowing out of his reach, while scores of eagerpeople joined in to hunt him down.

  Stan's venture seemed to become more and more mad, and he breathed hard,feeling that he must give it up. But there was the river before him,one wide-open way, flowing down and ready to bear him onward night andday toward his friends.

  But he wanted the boat, and the only way was to seize it--steal it, hetold himself, though he comforted himself with the thought that he was aprisoner trying to escape from his enemies, and that such a reprisalwould be just.

  "I must--I will do it," he panted. "Oh, I wish I wasn't such a cowardto hesitate like this!--And there's another fish. He must have caughtenough to leave me a good meal, and I am so, so hungry! Now then! Onceto be ready!" he muttered, with his old school-games rising before him.

  "Twice to be steady!"

  He paused here long enough to see the boy hook and draw in another fish,then bait again, and--

  Stan was in agony, for the boy hesitated, paused to pick up a basket andexamine its contents, and then he seemed as if he were satisfied andabout to haul up his anchor and make for the shore.

  "Too late!" groaned Stan. "I ought to have tried before. It's allover. I must look out for another boat."

  He was casting his eyes in other directions, when, with a feeling ofrelief that is impossible to describe, he saw the boy drop down againand continue fishing.

  Stan's nerves and muscles were now like steel, and he began to crawl forthe broken portion of the deck, got well hold of a cross-piece of bamboowith both hands, and commenced swinging himself to and fro from hishands till he could get one foot up, then the other, level with hisface; and by a clever effort he raised himself so that he could, thanksto old gymnastic games at school, fling himself on to the unbroken part,where, after a few moments' pause, he began to crawl to the edge of thedeck where the bulwarks had broken and rotted away. Then, feeling thathe must dare everything now, he lowered himself down, his feet sinking,and the water rising about him as he stretched his arms out till it wasup to his hips.

  And there he hung, a white figure in the evening glow, right in view fora few moments, as he hesitated before making the final effort.

  "Suppose he shows fight," he thought to himself. "Well, I must showfight too. I've licked English chaps as big as myself, and it will gohard if I can't lick a Chinese."

  At this point he straightened his fingers, which were crooked over aragged piece of bamboo, and _plosh_! he went down feet first with aheavy, sucking noise; the water closed over his head with a deep,thundering roar, and keeping himself quite rigid and his eyes wide-open,he waited till, after what seemed an immensely long time in darkness,his head rose above the ruddy surface of the water, and he found that hehad turned as the current carried him along, so that he was looking atthe rotten old vessel he had left.

  Stan was skilful swimmer enough to reverse his position, and found itnone too soon, for there was the boat he sought to reach some fortyyards away, and so much out of the course he was taking that he had tobegin swimming till he was well in a line with his goal, but so muchnearer that as he ceased striking out he was close upon the anchor-line.

  The next minute he had touched it gently, and at the happiest moment forhis success, the boy having hooked a fish--a large one--which took uphis attention so much that Stan softly seized the bow with both hands,let his legs float on the swift current, and then by a quick effort drewhimself well up and rolled over into the bottom of the boat, where helay quite still beside the folded-up little matting sail.

  The boat rocked so that the owner looked sharply over his left shoulder,but not far enough to see the invader of his boat; and probablyattributing the movement to his own exertions, he went on playing hisbig fish; while, reaching up his hands, Stan got hold of the painter andbegan to haul, till, to his great delight, he weighed the little anchor,and saw that the stream was carrying them down.

  Still the boy did not turn, but hauled away at his line and gave it outagain, as if afraid that if he were too hard upon his prize it wouldbreak away.

  This went on for a good five minutes, till, apparently satisfied, theboy sank upon his knees and reached over the stern, hanging down so asto get a shorter hold, and ended by bringing the fish's head well withinreach, and while holding on with his left hand, he crooked his rightfinger ready, so as to turn it into a gaff-hook.

  Stan saw a part of what was going on, and suspected the rest, as heseized his opportunity to get hold of the anchor-stock.

  The next moment the fisher had raised himself up and swung a fish ofsome five pounds weight flop into the boat; while, as if acting by aconcerted motion, Stan reached over and swung in the little grapnel--theactions of the lads bringing them round, from being back to back, nowface to face.

  _Flop! flap! flap_! went the fish.

  _Bang! bang_! went the anchor.

  "Oh!" ejaculated the Chinese lad, opening his mouth wide.

  "Hah!" ejaculated Stan, springing up to seize his adversary.

  But the latter did not wait to be seized.

  Grasping the fact that the boat was gliding down-stream, and that he wasface to face with a foreign devil, he raised his hands together wellabove his head and dived over the side in the easiest, most effortlessway, gliding over like a blue seal blessed with a bald head and a bigtail; when, as Stan dropped down in the boat, keeping only his head overthe side, he saw him rise again far enough behind, and begin swimmingwith all his might for the shore.

  Stan had something else to do besides watch the boy. He had someknowledge of boat management, and felt that he must risk everything nowin the way of being seen; so, seizing the little mast, he stepped it,hauled up the yard and with it the matting sail, found it easy enough toget in position, and in five minutes more, as he drifted rapidly downwith the stream, he had the mat sheeted home, and an oar over the sternfor rudder. With the evening breeze quite sufficient for the purpose,he found himself gliding rapidly down the river, able to steer whilelying down upon his back pretty well out of sight, and not a soundbehind announcing that there was any pursuit.

  "Hah!" he panted out at last. "They'll have to come fast to catch menow. I wonder how far that poor fel
low has to go before he can get helpand another boat. Oh! if it would only turn dark, I could escape.

  "What's that?" he ejaculated, raising his head; for there was a loudsmack as if something had struck one of the planks of the boat, and heturned cold with a despairing feeling, being sure that something hadhappened to check his flight.

  But three or four more sharp spangs on the bottom of the craftenlightened him directly after, and he bore smilingly upon his oar so asto give a junk anchored in the river a wide berth, thinking the while ofthe shore lower down and a fire, if it was to be had, at which he couldtry his hand at cooking; for he knew with joy in his heart that thenoise was made in the expiring efforts of what he meant to be his suppertrying to leap over the side and failing dismally.

  "Hah!" sighed Stan again. "I never saw it turn dark so rapidly before.In another few minutes it will be impossible for any one to see me fromthe shore."

  In fact, as he glided abreast of the anchored junk he saw a man busy atwork hoisting a great round yellow paper lantern to the mast-head, toobusy to pay any heed to him; and soon after he could see light afterlight beginning to dot the broad surface of the stream.

  "I'm going to escape," cried the poor fellow exultantly. "Oh, if I onlycan!"

  _Flap_! said the fish softly, turning his thoughts into another groove.

  "Yes, I hear you," said Stan. "Fish--roast fish must be as good asfried. I wonder whether there's a lantern anywhere on board. If thereis there'll be--Hooray! I've got my little silver box of matches in myrevolver-pocket. I only wish I had my pistol too. But even if I hadn'tgot the matches, I could glide up quietly to one of those boats, lowerdown and steal a lantern in the dark, and slip away.

  "Steal! Yes, steal," he said, laughing bitterly. "That's the way thesethings grow. I begin by stealing the Chinese soldiers' prisoner; then Isteal a boat with a lot of fish; and now I'm thinking quite coolly ofstealing a lantern. Who'd ever have thought that I should turn out sucha thief?"

  The fish gave one more flap, and lay still in the bottom of the boatlike something of silver very dimly seen.

  "I'm horribly hungry," muttered Stan; "but the boat goes splendidly, andI'll eat some of that fish raw before I'll run her ashore to make afire. Why not? I dare say it wouldn't taste bad, and I only want justenough to keep me alive. I shall eat a piece as soon as it's quitedead."

  An hour later he was tasting raw fish for the first time, and findingthat it tasted very fishy indeed, but not more so than a big oyster justtorn from its newly opened shell.