The Flying Boat: A Story of Adventure and Misadventure

by Herbert Strang

  CHAPTER III

  A MOVE UP COUNTRY

  The two young fellows settled down easily to their new life at Shanghai.Though they had been absent from China so long, the impressions of theirearly years had not been obliterated, but were only overlaid by thelater impressions received in England. Thus they felt little of thesense of strangeness which a man feels on coming into contact with whatis absolutely new to him. The narrow dirty streets, half the width ofan ordinary room, paved with stone slabs, and crowded all day long withpeople chaffering in shrill voices, and picking their way throughimmense heaps of fish, pork and vegetables; the low open shops,displaying silks and porcelain, ornaments and bronzes, and a thousandother varieties of merchandise more or less costly; the numeroustea-shops and dining-rooms, more frequent even than public-houses in theeast end of London; the immense variety of smells, in which Shanghaisurely outrivals Cologne: all these features of the native city soonceased to have the charm of novelty; and the clean, well-paved,well-tended quarters of the European community differed little ingeneral characteristics from the towns of the west.

  The boys met with nothing but the friendliness which Europeans settledabroad always extend to new-comers, and Errington in particular became agreat favourite. Mr. Burroughs insisted that he should live with him andhis family. Somewhat to Errington's surprise, he saw little of Mr.Ting. The Chinaman had met him at the quay on the boat's arrival, butafter inquiring about the voyage, and promising to give him anyassistance he needed, he left him to Mr. Burroughs. Reinhardt passedthe group as he walked off the gangway, and Ted Burroughs noticed thathe gave Mr. Ting a markedly effusive greeting, which the Chinamanreturned politely and with an inscrutable smile.

  Burroughs was vastly relieved when he learnt that Reinhardt was notpermanently stationed in Shanghai. The German was in charge of a branchestablishment of his firm at Sui-Fu, a populous treaty port many milesup the river, and paid only occasional visits to head-quarters.Errington never alluded to him, and Burroughs felt that he had perhapsbeen a little over-hasty in misjudging a mere shipboard acquaintance.His uneasiness returned, however, when, during a visit of a fortnight inShanghai, Reinhardt invited Errington to several card-parties, fromwhich he returned flushed and excited. Remembering the result of hisformer expostulation, Burroughs said nothing; he felt that he could notplay the grandmother with his friend; but his disapproval was easilyseen, and for a day or two there was a slight coolness between them.

  One day Mr. Ting met Errington in the street as if by chance: in realityhe had waylaid him.

  "Getting on nicely?" he said.

  "First chop," replied Errington, with a laugh: he had picked up somepidgin English.

  "That is good. You have many flends," said the Chinaman. "Good flendsare a delight in plospelity, and a stay in advessity. Bad flends--but ofcourse you have none. Leinhadt is, of course, no flend of yours."

  "I rather think he is," said Errington, nettled at once. "Why do yousay that?"

  "Well, you may eat with a flend, and talk to a flend, and play cardswith flends, at home; but the men you play cards with away from home,they are not often flends."

  "Look here, Mr. Ting, I don't understand what you are driving at. Iplay cards with Mr. Reinhardt: you seem to know it; have you gotanything to say against it? Is he a card-sharper? Has he swindled youor any one else? If he has, you'd better say so, and then I shall knowwhat to do."

  "He has not swindled me, or any one else, that I can prove."

  "Well then," cried the lad hotly, "I'll thank you to mind your ownbusiness. You bored me with your sermons when I was a kid at school;but I'm no longer a schoolboy, and I tell you flatly I won't be watchedand preached at by you, if you were ten times my father's friend. I'mquite able to take care of myself."

  "I could wish nothing better," said the Chinaman quietly. "I was yourfather's flend, and I hope I shall always be yours."

  Errington had already repented of his outburst, and Mr. Ting's dignifiedreception of it made him feel ashamed of himself.

  "Of course you are," he said. "I was always a hot-tempered brute; I'msorry."

  And the two parted on the best of terms.

  After about a year, when both Errington and Burroughs had began to get agrip of their work, the former came home from the office one evening,and seeking his chum in the little den they shared, said in a tone ofelation--

  "I say, old man, I'm getting on. They're going to raise my screw andtransfer me to Sui-Fu.

  "Under Reinhardt?" asked Burroughs quickly.

  "Yes. I shouldn't wonder if he got me the crib. He has to be away agreat deal, and though there's a capable comprador, they seem to think aEuropean ought to be on the spot. I wish you were coming too."

  "I should like it. It's a lift for you, Pidge, and I'm glad."

  Errington talked on in his impulsive way about what he would do, and howhe would make things hum, while Burroughs listened and said little. Hehad already made up his mind to go with Errington if possible; scarcelyconfessing it even to himself, he wanted to keep an eye on his friendwhen he came directly under the influence of the German; but he did notwish to hint at the possibility of arranging a transfer for himselfuntil he had spoken to his father.

  Late that night, when the rest had retired, he went to his father'sstudy.

  "Well, Ted, what is it?" said Mr. Burroughs, looking up from somepapers.

  "I'd like to go up with Pidge if you can manage it, Dad," replied theboy, coming straight to the point.

  "You would, eh? What an excitable fellow he is, Ted! He talked aboutnothing else at dinner--or hardly anything, and it's all done sopleasantly you can't resent it. Well, you want to go: any particularreason?"

  "Well, you see, we've always been together, and ... Dad, why do peopledislike Reinhardt?"

  "Off at a tangent, aren't you? I think it's a case of 'I do not likethee, Dr. Fell; the reason why I cannot tell.' Some say he's got abrute of a temper behind his pleasant manner, and he's rather fond ofcards; but I never heard any definite charge against him."

  "Well, I detest the fellow, and I don't like to think of Pidgeconstantly in his company. You've seen enough of Pidge to know what Imean, dad, so I'm not giving him away. He's a jolly good sort, the bestof pals, wouldn't do a dirty trick to any one; but he's hasty, makesfriends too easily, thinks every one is as decent as himself----"

  "In short, you think he wants looking after."

  "Oh, I'm not ass enough to want to hold him on a lead; but I do think ifI were with him I might be useful. You see, if Reinhardt is a bad egg,and Pidge finds it out, he'll never look at him again--if he doesn'tgive him a kicking by way of good-bye. If I'm on the spot, I can keepmy eye on the fellow, and perhaps open Pidge's eyes in time. Can't youshift me to your branch there?"

  "You would have gone there anyhow in course of time, so if you're set onit I shan't raise any objection. It won't do you any harm to be incharge of a branch, and with Sing Wen there--a capital fellow--you won'thave the chance to make many mistakes. We'll consider that settled,then."

  "Thanks, Dad; I thought you'd agree. Pidge will be glad: he said hewished I was coming too."

  "He won't resent the curb, eh?"

  "He won't feel it if I can help it. He's very touchy, and I learnt alesson on the boat. Good-night, Dad."

  "Good-night, old man. By the way, in case I forget it when you go,always carry a revolver with you up there, but never use it except as alast resort. That's a good working rule for a European in an up-riverdistrict. Good-night."

  Another person besides Ted Burroughs was uneasy at the prospectivetransference of Errington to Sui-Fu. Mr. Ting, who knew everything thatwas going on, or at least as much as he wished to know, heard of it assoon as it was decided, and would have taken some trouble to prevent itif he could have urged anything definite against the character ofReinhardt. But he was a very discreet person. He had reasons of hisown for maintaining cordial r
elations with Errington, and reflected thateven at a distance he could still find means of looking after him. Andwhen he learnt that Burroughs was to accompany his chum he felt more atease; he had great confidence in the steady, down-right Mole.

  Reinhardt invited the boys to go up river in his motor-launch, a verypowerful vessel in which he made his journeys between Shanghai andSui-Fu. The launch had been bought out of the German navy as acondemned vessel; but some people remarked that if the Germans couldafford to condemn vessels of this kind, their navy must be even more"tip-top" than was supposed. As the boys intended to take theirhydroplane to their new quarters, they declined Reinhardt's invitation,resolving to follow in the wake of the launch and test the relativespeed of the two vessels.

  The hydroplane was now by no means identical in appearance with thevessel that had roused a passing curiosity at Plymouth. During the yearthey had been in China the boys had devoted all their spare time toturning it into a hydro-aeroplane. They replaced the original hull witha much lighter frame of canvas, fitting a kite-shaped half-keel underits forward part. They kept their engine, but adapted it to work twopropellers, one at the stern, below the water-line, for driving thevessel through the water; the other raised some feet above the forepart,for driving it through the air. To the sides they fitted floats, andlarge planes, capable of being folded back when the vessel was to beused as a hydroplane, and adjustable at various angles. By means ofdifferential gearing they contrived that the power of the water screwcould be gradually reduced, while the air tractor gained in the sameproportion. The effect of their arrangements was that as the speed inthe water increased, the vessel rose a little; then, bringing into playan elevator and the tractor, they made the vessel rise completely out ofthe water and behave in all respects as an aeroplane.

  The flying boat, as it came to be known in Shanghai, gave them at firstas much trouble as it gave amusement to their friends. Their earlyexperiments with the new model were exasperating. They found that theycould rise above the water for a short distance, but then fell, notalways gently, and sometimes with anything but pleasant consequences tothemselves and the machine. More than once they had diverted thespectators on the bank by having to swim for it, and subsequently tofish up the machine from the bottom. They had never yet risked a flyingexperiment in deep water; but the good-humoured advice of their friendsto let the boat remain a boat only made them the more determined tosucceed.

  The journey up the great "outside old river," as their Chinese servantscalled it, was full of interest to the young traders. At first so wideas to seem rather a sea than a river, six hundred miles from its mouthit was still nearly a mile wide, crowded with fine cargo steamers, andinnumerable native junks, rafts, lorchas and cormorant boats, conveyingthe produce of the interior to the various treaty ports. They passedlarge riverside villages teeming with an industrious population: thencame into vast stretches of swamp choked with reed-beds, beyond whichthe country for miles presented an unbroken vista of forest, or ofluxuriant crops. Here clustered a village almost at the edge of thestream, the quaint pagoda-like houses raised several feet above thelevel, behind stone or brick embankments, necessary in time of flood.At another place the houses were perched on a cliff, nestlingpicturesquely among trees and shrubs. Between Ichang and Chung-king theyentered a region of rock-strewn rapids, which, however, were now partlyobscured by the summer floods. The river here swirled seaward at therate of from seven to ten knots, forming dangerous whirlpools, andneeding skilful navigation. Reinhardt had performed the journey manytimes, and his crew were familiar with every part of the course. Thelaunch thrashed its way against the current, and the hydroplane had nodifficulty in following in its wake, escaping the full force of theenormous volume of water by skimming the surface. In mere speed it wasthe superior craft.

  Reinhardt had not been very well pleased when he learnt that Burroughswas to join his friend. He was too astute not to be aware that the boydisliked him; but he was also too astute to betray his consciousness ofit, and his manner towards Burroughs was if anything even moreconciliatory and gracious than to other people. On the day of theirdeparture, when they met at the quayside, he greeted him with theeffusiveness of an old friend; and after their arrival at Sui-Fu, seemedto lay himself out to please. But the more pleasant he was, the moredistrustful Burroughs became; and the younger man was always annoyedwith himself because he feared he only imperfectly concealed his realfeelings.

  Sui-Fu was a large city at the junction of the Min and the Chin-sharivers, which unite to form the Yang-tse-kiang. It was a busy place,and contained a considerable European community, whose houses stood inwooded grounds on the river bank. After spending a few days in theEnglish consul's bungalow, the two friends started a little chummerynear the river--a sitting-room, and a bedroom apiece, with a compoundand outbuildings for their native servants. In addition to a cook and aman-of-all-work, they had each a personal servant. The two Chinamensoon cordially hated each other, as is the rule in such cases; butneither had any dislike for the other's master. Lo San, Errington'sman, was just as attentive and respectful to Burroughs as his own man,Chin Tai. The Englishmen more than once had to intervene between thetwo Chinamen when they were fighting with their feet and nails, and theythreatened at last to dismiss them both if they could not keep thepeace. The threat was effective so far as it prevented fights andshrill abuse; but the masters would have been amused, perhaps, if theycould have seen how the servants in their own quarters managed toexpress their hate without making a noise.

  There was a difference between the positions of the two boys at Sui-Fu,inasmuch as Burroughs was nominally head of his branch, whereasErrington was only an assistant to Reinhardt. But it turned out thatthe German was very often absent, travelling inland in variousdirections. He appeared to have an extensive acquaintance among Chineseviceroys and other high officials, and had a very large personalcorrespondence, which apparently had no relationship to the business ofhis firm. The result was that a great deal of the routine work of theoffice was left to Errington, who in a short time had practically asmuch responsibility as Burroughs. The two branches were in a sensecompetitors--that is to say, they dealt in the same class of goods, andbargained with the same merchants and dealers. But thanks to thepersonal relationship between the two Englishmen, their firms, so far asthe branches at Sui-Fu were concerned, acted in concert, to their mutualbenefit, because the Chinese merchants were unable to play one offagainst the other.

  One day, after the conclusion of a certain transaction between Burroughsand a cotton-grower, Reinhardt remarked dryly to Errington that EhrlichSoehne had lost a chance of making a considerable profit.

  "I dare say," said Errington quickly, "but Burroughs and I must eitherwork together, or definitely work against each other. If we are goingto cut each other's throats I'd better go back to Shanghai."

  "Nonsense, my dear fellow: nozink farzer from my soughts. You do verywell; only I am vexed to lose good business."

  The matter dropped. Reinhardt found Errington too useful to be willingto quarrel with him. But a little later he let fall a hint that ifErrington held his tongue, it would be possible to carry through certainbusiness deals from time to time without Burroughs' knowledge. Vague asthe hint was, it disgusted Errington, and he felt a dawning distrust ofReinhardt; but the German, quick to read him, laughed it off as a joke,saying that no one could suppose that Damon and Pythias could for amoment be separated. Errington did not mention these matters to hisfriend, from a reluctance to admit that Burroughs' opinion of Reinhardtwas justified.

  It was soon evident to them both that Reinhardt, however much he mightbe disliked by the community at Shanghai, enjoyed somewhat unusualprivileges. His frequent absences were known to his principals, and hemade many visits to Shanghai and Kiauchou--visits which Errington, whohad good means of judging, knew were not connected with the business. Alittle light was thrown on the matter by Burroughs' comprador, who toldhis master one day that he had a brother whose
brother-in-law kept anopium den at a small town a few miles up the river. Opium-smoking wasforbidden in China, but, like gambling and lotteries and otherprohibited things, it was winked at by the local mandarins in many partsof the country, in consideration of heavy bribes. Reinhardt's launchwas often seen anchored off the place, sometimes when he had gone thereostensibly to transact business with a cloth-dealer, at other times as astage in his longer journeys. He had not the appearance of a victim ofthe opium habit, and Burroughs concluded that he gave way to occasionalbouts, of which the effects were temporary.