The Flying Boat: A Story of Adventure and Misadventure

by Herbert Strang

  CHAPTER XVIII

  WINGED

  For the first time in twenty-four hours Burroughs felt at ease;Errington was with him, Meichow was already far behind, and there waslittle more to fear from the enemy. Su Fing's launch was an old steamer,incapable of effective pursuit. The only vessel of any speed at Meichowwas Reinhardt's motor launch, though even in the water that could notvie with the flying boat. No doubt by this time the door of Errington'sroom in the yamen had been opened, and Reinhardt might have convincedthe sentinel that a trick had been played upon their captain, and thathe, not the insolent stranger, was the true German. But it was unlikelythat he would be wholly liberated until the chief's arrival, and then itwould be too late even to attempt pursuit.

  But all depended on the possibility of keeping the machine in goodrunning order, and Burroughs soon began to be anxious on this score.When flying, it consumed a great deal more petrol than when used as ahydroplane, and the trial trips and the false start had deplenished hissupply.

  "I doubt whether we've got enough to carry us to Sui-Fu," he said toErrington at his side.

  "Chia-ling Fu is still in the hands of the rebels?"

  "It was yesterday. We shan't be safe until we reach Sui-Fu."

  "You had better drop, then, and run in the water. We've come too faralready for them to overtake us."

  This seemed good advice, and Burroughs shut off the tractor and let thevessel drop gently into the water. Assisted by the current, and withthe engine at little more than half speed, it skimmed along at the rateof at least twenty-five knots.

  "I think I had better go and have a word with Chung Pi," said Burroughsto Errington. "He's in a terrible stew by the look of him."

  "He's done for with Su Fing, beyond doubt. Go and smooth him down aswell as you can, old man."

  Burroughs left Errington to navigate the boat, and sat down at ChungPi's feet, calling Chin Tai to interpret.

  "Have the evil spirits taken possession of the thing?" asked the unhappycaptain. "But no; I see that you are not perturbed in mind, honourablestranger. What is the meaning of this? Did you not see the chief'slaunch? Why do you not give him the boat, and the thousand dollars thatyour august mandarins sent to support him?"

  "I owe you a humble apology, noble captain," replied Burroughs. "I willconfess all to you, and when you have heard me, I hope you will pardonme. The prisoner there is my friend."

  "But you are a German!" Chung Pi interrupted.

  "No. I am an Englishman." Chung Pi groaned. "My friend, as you know,had the ill-fortune to interfere with your chief in a little fightdown-stream, and your chief very naturally got even with him as soon ashe could. Since he could be released in no other way, I came up on thisvessel to see what I could do. Imagine, then, my dismay when, onreturning with you from our little trip, I saw the launch of a man, aGerman, who had been a bad friend to my friend there, and had refused tohelp him, though I begged him to do so, knowing his relations with yourchief."

  "Ah! It is ill to catch a fish, and throw away the net," said Chung Pisententiously. "But you say he is a German. Where, then, is hismoustache?"

  "Here!" said Burroughs solemnly, pointing to his upper lip.

  The Chinaman gasped. Bending forward, he examined the moustacheclosely.

  "Such a thing I never heard of," he cried. "Are you speaking the truth?You have deceived me once and twice."

  "I know--I'm sorry I had to do it. The moustache was shaved from theGerman in an opium house, and a skilful countryman of yours fitted it tomy own hairless lip."

  The Chinaman smiled; then he appeared to reflect.

  "It was well done," he said presently. "Will you tell me where I canfind that man?"

  "My comprador can tell you," Burroughs replied. "Are you thinking ofemploying him?"

  "I should like my moustache to grow up instead of down," said Chung Pisimply. "Yours is so much more becoming to a warrior."

  "If it didn't tickle so! But, noble captain, we must consider yourposition."

  Chung Pi's look of anxiety returned; in his preoccupation with thiswonderful matter of the moustache he had forgotten that he too was afugitive.

  "Su Fing has a very hasty temper, by all accounts," Burroughs went on."The loss of his prisoner, and your treatment of his German friend, willmake him very angry with you; he will believe, no doubt, that you are aparty to the whole scheme, and I'm very much afraid that it won't besafe for you to show your face at Meichow again."

  "Su Fing would chop off my head," said the captain ruefully.

  "And that would be an irreparable loss," said Burroughs. ("Not like theloss of a moustache," added Chin Tai in translating.) "We are going toSui-Fu. Will you come with us, or shall we put you down somewhere nearChia-ling Fu, and leave you to make your peace with the chief?"

  "Not that," said Chung Pi decisively. "A fish may sport in the kettle,but his life will not be long. I will go with you to Sui-Fu. Andthen----"

  He fell into a train of deep reflection. Burroughs waited, expecting himto reveal something of what was passing in his mind; but after someminutes' silence, he said--

  "I feel that I have treated you very shabbily, noble captain; butperhaps if you consider what you yourself would have done in the samecircumstances----"

  "Say no more, illustrious stranger," Chung Pi interrupted, with a smilewhich Burroughs at the time was at a loss to understand. "I feel that Iam hanging on the tail of a beautiful horse."

  "What does he mean?" asked Burroughs of Chin Tai, who grinned as hetranslated the captain's remark.

  "Hai! He say he catchee tailo numpa one hoss," said the man; "that tellhe tink he belongey some time topside fella."

  "Get a rise in the world? I don't quite see it."

  "Massa no unastand this time; some time massa savvy pidgin all same,"said Chin Tai.

  The explanation was as obscure as the original statement; but Burroughsdid not press the matter; he had caught sight of Chia-ling Fu in thedistance.

  His intention was to run past the town at full speed. It was in theoccupation of the rebels: the river was no doubt crowded with theirsampans and other small craft; but the speed of the hydroplane was sogreat that it ought to be easy to slip past almost before the rebelswere aware of their approach. When once they had run by, there wasnothing in the harbour that could catch them. Then, with eveningclosing upon them, the remainder of the journey down to Sui-Fu would befree from peril.

  The Englishmen were, however, much startled when, on drawing nearer tothe town, they saw, apparently anchored in mid-stream, one of thegunboats which had been lying early that morning in the river aboveMei-chow. Burroughs remembered now that when he had accompanied ChungPi down to the landing-stage the vessel had left its moorings. He hadsupposed that it had gone up-stream to meet the chief; but it seemedprobable that it had been sent downstream to announce at Chia-ling Futhe victory which Su Fing wished his supporters to believe that he hadwon.

  "This is rather awkward," said Errington. "That's the very boat thattook me to Mei-chow. If they see me here they'll smell a rat."

  "You can duck down: then they won't see you. Besides, if they see ChungPi they'll never dream there's anything wrong."

  "There's something in that; but it looks to me as if they are waitingfor us. If they are they may fire before we are near enough for them tosee Chung Pi."

  They knew the vessel well. She had been employed for some time inpatrolling the river, before she was captured by the pirates. Shecarried a ten-pounder and a couple of machine guns. Su Fing, onarriving at his headquarters and learning what had happened, had at oncetelegraphed to Chia-ling Fu, ordering the gunboat to intercept thehydroplane.

  Almost as soon as Errington had spoken, there was a spurt of flame fromthe bows of the vessel, and a heavy splash in the water only twenty orthirty yards behind them. No further proof was needed that the gunboathad been lying in wait for them, and that the gunners had go
t the rangeto a nicety. Only the great speed of the hydroplane had saved it.

  Burroughs did not lose a moment in meeting this emergency. Throwing thedifferential gearing into action, he set the air tractor in motion, andmanaged to lift the vessel above the surface just as a second shotdashed up a shower of spray beneath him. He glanced at the banks rightand left: the country was too open to give any shelter from the enemy'sfire, and no matter in which direction he steered, he could hardly besafe against the gun for several minutes, when he should have succeededin rising to an altitude at which only high-angle fire could beeffective. And to make matters worse, the machine guns were broughtinto action, and a stream of bullets rattled and hissed around him.

  Chung Pi and the other Chinamen had at the first shot thrown themselvesface downwards in the bottom of the boat.

  "Straight forward, Ted; right over their heads," cried Errington, "it'sthe only chance. They can't use their guns then, and I'll give oddsagainst their doing any damage with rifles."

  Clearly this was the best thing to be done. The next few moments weretense with excitement. The vessel rose, but it seemed to Burroughs thatshe had never answered so slowly to the elevating lever. Above the humof the tractor could be heard the zip of bullets as they tore their waythrough the canvas of the planes and the sides of the boat. Burroughsfelt a nervous dread lest a shot should reach the petrol tank or thecylinders. But the boat still rose; it was drawing rapidly nearer to theenemy, and the Englishmen held their breath with suspense.

  RUNNING THE GAUNTLET]

  There fell a sudden silence. Burroughs' intention had been seen by thegunners, and as they could not lift their pieces high enough to take aimat the vessel now that it was rising, and the range altering everymoment, the gunboat was slewing round as if to head down-stream. It wasbroadside against the stream when the flying boat flashed by at a heightof sixty feet. The occupants heard the reports of several rifles; butthey were now travelling at the rate of fifty or sixty miles an hour,and nothing but a shower of bullets from the machine guns had anylikelihood of striking them.

  "All right now," said Errington, with a gasp of relief, when the flyingboat was a good two hundred yards down-stream, and the gunboat was stillturning.

  "I hope so," replied Burroughs.

  He glanced from right to left, undecided whether it would not beadvisable to strike inland and return to the river lower down; for thechannel was pretty straight for a long distance, and the vessel, if itflew directly forward, would still be in danger from the guns. In a fewmoments, however, he decided that there was even more risk in leavingthe river if any mischance should happen to the boat. For one thing,the longer he flew, the more petrol he consumed; for another, if theengine failed, and he was forced to descend, on land he would be at themercy of any wandering predatory band, whereas on the water he couldalways drift on the current, with some chance of safety if he did nothappen to be observed. Accordingly he flew straight ahead, intending tosink upon the surface as soon as a bend in the river hid the vessel fromview.

  In another half-minute the machine guns recommenced firing. The aim ofthe gunners appeared to be even wilder than before. Chung Pi and theservants had recovered courage enough to rise to their knees and peerover the edge of the canvas side at the gunboat far behind. The captainlaughed as he heard the report of the guns, and made a jocular remarkabout the paltry skill of Su Fing's gunners. There was no longer thewhistle of bullets flying around, nor the slight ripping sound of theshots passing through the planes. It seemed that all danger was over.

  The flying boat was now skirting the edge of the swamp in which it hadbeen concealed by the river pirates, and Errington remembered thatBurroughs had never heard the full story of that strange episode. Hehad been tempted to refer to the matter during the lunch with Reinhardt,but the German was in a sense their guest; and since Burroughs did notmention it, Errington said nothing. After all it was Burroughs' affair.The story would keep until they reached Sui-Fu.

  They were now about three-quarters of a mile from the gunboat, andBurroughs, with his eye on a bend in the course a short distance ahead,just where the painted rocks gave warning that the water-way was notclear, was congratulating himself that at that point he might safelydescend. Suddenly the firing behind redoubled in fury; it seemed thatthe gunners had realized that in a few seconds their chance would begone. Bullets sang around; the Chinamen again ducked their heads belowthe gunwale; and once or twice there were the ominous sounds of bulletstearing through the planes, or flattening themselves against the metalparts of the framework.

  They were within a hundred yards of safety when a double catastrophehappened. Almost at the same instant the engine ceased to work and oneof the stays was cut clean through. In the excitement and anxiety ofthe moment Burroughs was unaware that he was wounded, and a cry utteredby Chung Pi passed quite unnoticed. The vessel tilted; for a terriblesecond it seemed that it must turn completely over; but Burroughs by adexterous movement succeeded in partially righting it, at the same timeshifting the rudder so as to steer to the right over the swamp. He hadat once recognized that to fall into the river would have thrown thewhole party into the hands of the rebels. Flight and hydroplaning wereequally impossible; and the only chance of evading capture was to steerover the swamp. He had seen at a glance that the intricate network ofchannels, overgrown with weeds, might furnish a temporary refuge untilthe vessel's injuries had been examined and if possible repaired.

  The momentum of the boat carried it perhaps a quarter of a mile afterthe accident happened. Burroughs was able to bring it safely to thesurface of one of the channels.

  "Here's a pretty look-out!" he said to Errington. "They'll see what hashappened, run down at full speed, and be up with us in ten minutes atthe most. Luckily the gunboat can't follow us into this swamp; they'llhave to lower boats to find us; we've got a few minutes to discover ahiding-place."

  "That's all right, old man," said Errington cheerfully. "I know thisswamp. We'll give them a chase at any rate."