Under the Chinese Dragon: A Tale of Mongolia

by F. S. Brereton

  CHAPTER XVI

  Freedom Again

  The gates of the walled city of Hatsu were not calculated to inspire aperson eager to pass without them with a feeling of the greatestenthusiasm, for they stood black and forbidding against the moon-litbackground, the battlemented wall on either side, the flanking towersand bastions sharply outlined. Beneath the towers yawned a huge cavern,so dark that no one could see beneath it, carrying the white road to thehuge double doors which, if they were shut, could bar the egress or theentry of an army.

  'Beastly looking place,' whispered Dick, as the little party came nearto it. 'Hope there won't be any parleying. Ah! here's Jong, come to askinstructions.'

  'Masser Davie,' whispered the man, 'what now? What do wid dese Chinaboys I bring wid me to help carry out de baskets?'

  'Dismiss them here. Wait till they have gone out of sight, and then goon. You have that note?'

  'Yes, sar; him here. But not sure dat dey open de door for him. Supposenot? What den?'

  'You can expect to be busy, Dick,' whispered David, as Jong went aheadagain; 'if there's trouble here we've a way left out of it. You knowwhich basket contains his Excellency?'

  'One on the left, the heaviest. Being a governor gives a fellow a chanceto put on flesh. He leads a life of ease and luxury.'

  'You could manage, perhaps, to open it at the head, and pull the gagfrom the noble fellow's mouth?'

  'In a twinkling,' came the ready answer.

  'Then, if I call, do so. I'll cover the guard while you get the finegentleman into a position for talking. If we're held up, he'll have togive definite orders to the soldiers to open to us. If not----'

  'If not?' echoed Dick, 'you'll shoot him.'

  'Without hesitation, as if he were a dog, which indeed he is. Now, thosemen have gone. Jong's moving forward. It does look a beastly hole to gointo.'

  'Look, a gate is open,' whispered Dick quickly. 'That's promising. A manhas come into the archway with a lantern. Hope he won't hold it up so asto inspect our faces.'

  The same fear had evidently come to Jong, who was by no means a dullard,and without doubt the intention of the guard who had so suddenly steppedinto the dark gateway was to take stock of those who passed with the aidof his dangling paper lantern.

  'Beware at whom you look,' cried Jong suddenly. 'Has not an order comebidding you pass a party without noise and without inspection? Go then,else his Excellency will not be best pleased with you. Does he desirethat any fool should see him passing, and be able to talk. Away with thelamp quickly.'

  They were already beneath the huge gateway, and glancing upward Davidwas able to distinguish the roof, which was blackened with the smoke ofages, for in the cold months the guards were accustomed to placebraziers on the roadway so as to make watching possible. A second later,however, the swaying lantern disappeared, the man who carried it divingout of sight into a gallery leading from the gateway. On went the party,Jong leading the ponies, while David had taken the rein of the animaldrawing the cart. He heard the wicker of the baskets creaking, andguessed that his prisoners were struggling with might and main. Butthere seemed no one near enough to hear the noise, while the strongnative cart did not feel the movement of the ruffians it carried. Justat the very exit from the gates there stood one solitary sentry, and he,as if bearing in mind the caution which Jong had given his fellow,turned his face away. It was not well, perhaps, he thought, to look tooclosely upon the doings of such a high personage as the deputy-governor.

  'Else it might happen that I should be called in evidence,' he toldhimself, 'when, had I, indeed, seen his honour, it would be hard to finda reason for denying the fact. A deputy-governor is a mighty person. Hemay come and go as he likes.'

  After all, the incident in such a country as China, where conspiracy iscommon enough, was not so very remarkable. 'Saving face' is anexpression thoroughly well known, and many and many an exalted personhas been under the need of cloaking his movements, so that when anaccusation of complicity in some conspiracy was levelled at him, hecould bring evidence to prove that he had never been seen in thatlocality, and that, on the contrary, he was at home with his servants.And, no doubt, here was some similar movement. His Excellency was,without fear of contradiction, asleep in his palace. His servants couldswear that on the morrow. It was not the business of the guard at thegate to inspect too closely, when he had received a direct messageordering him to pass the governor secretly. Besides, there were theforeign-devils, of whom the rumour had reached him that they had beenattacked. Doubtless the baskets he heard creaking in the cart held themsecurely, though for his part, the guard was not going to be toocurious.

  'Pass! All's well,' he whispered, as the cart issued from the gate andcrossed the drawbridge, with Dick in close attendance. 'Pass to yourbusiness.'

  The revolving gate scrunched on its runners. The huge hinges creaked.The mass of wood, with its heavy bronze bolts and locks, swung intoposition with a bang. Then the dull reverberation beneath the drawbridgedied away, while the wheels of the cart began to rattle on the hardroadway. David wiped the perspiration from his forehead, while Dick letgo a gentle whistle. But not one dared to alter his position. Theremight be, and probably were, many pairs of eyes watching them from thenarrow slits on the outer face of the towers and bastions, the slitsfrom which, even now-a-days, should there be a siege, Chinese soldierswould discharge arrows, using precisely the same weapons as did theirforefathers, and that in spite of the fact that many of their comradeswere armed with modern rifles. Yes, no doubt, many an inquisitive glancewas cast after the party, and it was still necessary to preservecaution. And so they continued, showing black and easily distinguishableon the white roadway, till the latter curled out of sight of the city ina stretch of forest. It was only then that David dared to bring theanimal hauling the cart to an abrupt halt, while a whistle caused Jongto draw rein promptly.

  'I think,' began Dick, struggling to keep his impassiveness, and yetalmost bursting in consequence, 'I think things begin to look a littlemore healthy. A fellow begins to actually believe that he may be wantinganother breakfast. In fact, one may go so far as to say that it's a caseof all right.'

  Then he went off into a fit of the most hilarious laughter, whichdoubled him up, till he looked anything but the noble Governor of thecity they had just quitted.

  'What a tale for the Professor!' he shouted. 'Won't he enjoy the wholething, and roar when he hears how you've turned the tables.'

  'I! We, you mean,' came sharply from David, who was enjoying hisfriend's remarks immensely. 'We, you should have said.'

  'You're wrong. I said you, and I meant you. It's you all the time.There's no one else in it,' declared Dick warmly.

  'But, you----'

  'Oh, yes, we know all about that,' interrupted the fine young fellowimpersonating Tsu-Hi. 'I did a terrible lot. I started the business, ofcourse. It was I who managed to clamber out of my cell, and was thensuch a good comrade that instead of getting clear away, as sensiblefellows would have done----'

  'Sensible fellows! Oh, come now,' cried David hotly.

  'Yes. Just what I said. Sensible fellows, just as sensible fellows wouldhave done. I repeat, instead of clearing off as I had a right to do, ofcourse it is well known that I went back again at the risk of my skin,knocked the sense out of the gentle Tartar soldier, took his place for afew moments, nobbled the Governor of the city, and then, when thingswere getting ship-shape, called in the help of my friend to cure thewounds of the wretches I had been operating on. Look here, David, here'smy hand. I'm not going to chip in with heaps of thanks. But I know howit is that I am alive and capable of thinking of a breakfast.'

  Out there, beneath the shade of the trees, they gripped hands firmly,and thereafter never a word did Dick say with regard to his gratitude.But he knew who was his benefactor. David had stalked inches higher inhis estimation.

  'What'll you do with the baggage?' he asked after a while. 'Drop it intothe river, upset it at the side of the road? What?'

&
nbsp; 'Take those villains on another fifteen miles,' answered David. 'Thenfish out Tsu-Hi and send him back. Guess he'll have a deal of difficultyin explaining his absence. As for the other, this Chang, I shall keephim till I can hand him over to the authorities. It seems to me that ifI fail in that he may very well attempt some other game and perhapsactually earn the money Ebenezer promised him. But now for breakfast,then we'll put our best leg forward.'

  That afternoon they dragged the discomfited and almost suffocateddeputy-governor from the basket in which he had been reposing, andhaving handed him his clothing; for both lads had by now donned theirown, they sent him back to the city of Hatsu a sorry and unhappy figure.Then they pushed on again, arriving in the hours of dusk at Chi-Luang,another walled city of great age, where their request to see thegovernor brought them at once a polite invitation written in purestEnglish. Judge of their delight in discovering that Twang Chun himself,the enlightened governor of the province, was the writer, and that hewas in those parts on a tour of inspection. He greeted them warmly, senttheir prisoner to the cells, and at once arranged for comfortablequarters to be given to David and his following. And that night, afterhaving joined them at dinner, which, by the way, was a feast of theutmost attraction, being of purely Chinese origin, and therefore mostinteresting to our heroes as well as appetising, Twang Chun called onthe lads to give their story.

  'I'm glad I had the good fortune to be in this direction,' he said, whenDick had finished; for no persuasion would induce David to tell of hisown exploits in the prison. 'Very glad indeed, for had the question beenleft to the city's governor he would have found it difficult to decidehow best to act. To be candid, foreign devils are still foreign devilsto the majority of my countrymen, and more so at a time such as thisis, when plague is stalking through Manchuria, and threatening to reachPekin. I assure you that the people are driven frantic, and that I amhere and am patrolling the province, solely with a view to makingarrangements to stop all travellers who may come from infected areas,and to arrest, if possible, the course of the disease. But, as I said,Europeans are not much loved. The Chinese do not understand them, and ina case such as this, with such an exalted personage as Tsu-Hiimplicated, the governor here could only hold him in prison till orderscame from Pekin; that might take months. I have known years to elapse,so that the course of justice does not run either smoothly or for thebenefit of the people. However, I am here, and will sift the matter. Anexample must be made of these wretches.'

  Let the reader imagine the terror of Chang on the following morning whenhe was brought into the presence of Twang Chun, the governor who hadonce before condemned him. Little by little the whole story leaked out,so that David learned that this heartless rascal had been engaged in themurder of his father. In any case, there was no doubt of his guilt onthis occasion. He had been taken red-handed, while the letter which hehad had the boldness to write to Ebenezer Clayhill condemned him.Justice might be slow and lagging when the authorities at Pekincontrolled it; but here it was swift--terribly swift--for thewrong-doer. Chang was beheaded that very morning, and thus EbenezerClayhill's rascally scheme came to an ending.

  'To-night I shall be in the city of Hatsu,' said Twang Chun, when thesentence on Chang had been carried out. 'Perhaps you will accompany me.'

  David and his friend agreed with the greatest pleasure, for seeing thatthey had now met the governor of the province, the very individual towhom the Professor had sent them, and had delivered their letter, itappeared hardly necessary to proceed.

  'Might just as well return to our camp, and then come up with the wholeparty,' said David. 'Besides, I fancy his Excellency would be glad tohave our evidence at Hatsu.'

  This was, in fact, the case, and arriving at that city after nightfall,the party, who were accompanied by a strong escort of mounted soldiers,rested there for two whole days, two days of abject misery for Tsu-Hi,the rascally deputy who had so readily fallen in with the plans whichChang had formed. Indeed it was hardly likely that such an act as he hadbeen guilty of could go unpunished, and, like his comrade-in-guilt, hetoo was beheaded.

  'Do not think that I love these executions,' said Twang Chun, whenseated with the lads. 'Had I my way, matters would be conducted as inyour country. But we must always remember that we are in China, and thatI am dealing with my own countrymen, who do not understand the meaningof leniency. In a case such as this the sternest example must be read,and were I to behead the Tartar under-officer alone, and merely admonishTsu-Hi, the people of the city would see in such leniency anencouragement to attack Europeans again. And see what follows. The taleis spread abroad. Your people, Americans, all the white race havingdealings with us will distrust us absolutely. That feeling of amitybetween the white and the yellow race, for which I and men like me aimat, will be farther away than ever. Incalculable harm will, in fact, bedone, and the advancement of this nation retarded to some extent.Therefore, to deter others who should set a good example, and who, aboveall things, should never descend to a depth where guests beneath theirroof are abused and injured, I have had Tsu-Hi beheaded, and with himthe Tartar under-officer. Only by such severity will the lesson belearned.'

  'And now, Mr. David, tell me more about yourself. I know the name ofHarbor.'

  'My father,' exclaimed our hero promptly. 'He came out here toinvestigate ruins, just as the Professor has done before. He was killed.Chang had a hand in his assassination.'

  When they came to discuss the matter Twang Chun quickly learned thatDavid was the son of the very man in whose interests Chang had oncebefore been arrested. He listened with the greatest attention as thequestion of the will was propounded, and lifted a hand to arrest David'sconversation.

  'You have come out here on a hopeless errand, I fear,' he said. 'Butthat your father made this will I am positive, since I myself witnessedthe signature, though I was not aware of all of the contents. As to thefate of the document itself, it was doubtless burned, for the camp inwhich the party of excavators was located caught fire. It is strange tothink that you are going to the very same spot; for the letter whichyour friend the Professor has sent me asks permission to investigate therelics of an ancient Mongolian city situated outside the Great Wall, thesame city which engaged the attention of your parent. Whether you willreach that spot is a matter of doubt at the moment.'

  Dick's eyebrows went up questioningly. With this important personage hedared not be so free and easy in his remarks as with the Professor.

  'But tell us why, your Excellency,' he asked, politely. 'What willprevent us, supposing you give your consent?'

  'The plague may prevent your going,' came the answer. 'You have no ideaof the nature or of the importance of this pest. Manchuria to-day is inthe last stage of disorder. Thousands die every twenty-four hours, whilethere is no time and not enough men to conduct the burials. The victimsare being burned. From Manchuria to Pekin is not such a far cry, whilethe neighbourhood of these ruins you seek is even closer to the infectedarea. You must understand me, I do not say that your own fear ofcontagion will hold you back. That is not the position at all. What I dosuggest is that it may be prudent of your leader to remain in theseparts, rather than go farther afield. For disaster does not come of itsown accord in the eyes of my countrymen. You have seen for yourself howtheir thoughts run. The poor ignorant fellows believe that a pest isbrought, is settled upon them by way of punishment, and should you andyour friends be away in some savage part, all alone, you might verywell be set upon as the cause of the disaster. In this city of Hatsu,thanks to the scheming of that rascal Chang, you were accused of thiscrime, and his ignorant tools snapped at the chance of killing you. Inthe neighbourhood of those Mongolian ruins the natives are, I fear,likely to be even more ignorant and stupid. However, we will see whatcan be done; I might be able to send an escort. And now I proposetravelling farther with you. I myself shall visit the camp where yourfriends are situated, so that I may formally welcome them to myprovince.'

  Imagine the Professor's astonishment at the return of D
avid and Dick. Heemerged from a deep excavation, which the coolies had been engaged inbeneath the debris covering the ruined city wherein Tsin had dwelt onceon a time, and advanced with something approaching consternation on hisface.

  'Returned already,' he cried. 'Why? And with an escort, and a mandarintoo if my eyes don't cheat me. Not got into trouble, I do hope.'

  'Heaps,' laughed Dick, enjoying the position. 'The exalted officialfollowing comes to greet you. He's already chopped off three heads whilein our company.'

  'It's Twang Chun himself, the governor of the province,' explainedDavid, laughing at his chum's fun. 'We happened to meet him. Thechopping off of heads is a long story. But his Excellency comes towelcome you to the province, and to discuss the question of your journeyto the Mongolian city. He thinks there may be difficulties.'

  'I trust not, indeed. This expedition of ours would be shorn of halfits profit if we were unable to go to Chi-Seang, for, if report speakstrue, there are relics to be discovered of the very greatest interest.But I will speak with his Excellency; bring him to the tent. I will getwashed, and put on clean clothing.'

  The meeting between the two gentlemen was most cordial, and as may wellbe imagined, every one belonging to the Professor's staff worked hard soas to prepare entertainment for his Excellency, since Twang Chun was,indeed, an exalted official, and as became one of his high rank andimportance, travelled with an escort and retinue to match. In a veryshort space of time his camp had been pitched, when David had anopportunity of seeing how such things could be done in this country ofthe Dragon. A most gorgeous silken tent was erected, boasting of aninner lining of painted silk which made of the place a veritable palace.And in rear were placed tents for his retinue, less imposing perhaps,but grand in their magnificence when compared with those to be seen inthis country.

  'Him wonerful man,' lisped Jong, who was something of a hero now that hehad returned to his comrades, and whose busy tongue was already waggingfreely. Indeed, long before the Professor or Alphonse gathered the fulldetails of David's exploit, and of Dick's assistance, all else withinthe camp were familiar with them. There was even violent movementamongst the stolid Chinese. Ho Hung leaped wildly into the air, and gavefree vent to his enthusiasm, while the more placid Fing chuckledhugely. As for Jong himself, he vowed that he would never stopgiggling, for the reversal of the fortunes of attackers and attacked wasso amusing. It tickled the faithful Chinaman immensely, when herecollected how he and his masters had hoodwinked every one, and howthey had conveyed the deputy-governor of Hatsu from the city and rightunder the noses of the soldiery. Next to David and Dick, perhaps thewise and strong Twang Chun claimed his admiration.

  'Velly velly fine, Excellency,' he lisped again. 'Him knowee so vellywell how to manage little tings like dat which happen to us. Him oh sonicee and gentle. Kuttee off de heads of de rascal nicee. Jong tink himfit almost to be de Empelor.'

  It was queer to see even this somewhat Westernised native of theCelestial Kingdom cover his face and kowtow deeply when he mentioned thename of the Emperor of China, or when he even referred to that augustpersonage. For while we in Europe give due observance and respect torulers, and while the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the hugeEmpire we possess beyond the seas, is at once the king and the firstgentleman in all our vast territories, yet one may speak of him withoutsign of fear, and without grovelling. But in China, the home of muchthat is extremely ancient and mysterious, the Son of Heaven, as theEmperor is known to his millions of people, is as far removed from themasses as is the sun from the earth. He is never seen save by the palaceattendants. He lives for the most part in majestic seclusion. And shouldhe venture abroad, borne in a palanquin of the utmost gorgeousness, itis not that he may be seen by those who bow to his rule; for in Chinait is death to look upon the Son of Heaven. All who happen to be abroadwhen the Emperor sets out in procession must fly to their houses, thereto hide their faces, and if that is not possible, they must retire fromthe streets through which his cavalcade will pass, and turn towards thewall.

  But if Jong were interested in Twang Chun, the governor of the province,so also was Alphonse.

  '_Parbleu!_' he cried, when David accosted him, 'this is a man to caterfor, this Excellency. I tell you he has travelled, he has dined on thebest that Paris can provide, and where else, Monsieur David, in all thiswide world is there entertainment to be found to equal that in Paris.Ah! You think in London. That is not so. I, Alphonse, tell you so. It istrue that we send some of our finest gentlemen to London, some of thegrandest chefs that we have ever produced. _Bien!_ what then? There isthe Parisian atmosphere. How can even the king of chefs turn out even sosimple a thing as an omelet to perfection in your city of fogs andblizzards?'

  The pompous little fellow bustled about his camp kitchen, still clad inthose curious clothes, so altogether incongruous with such surroundings.The perspiration stood on his forehead, his peaky little beard wasthrust if anything a little more abruptly forward, while the hideous hathe insisted on retaining was perched somewhat jauntily on the side ofhis head, where his energetic movements had jerked it.

  '_Nom du Roi_, but he shall have a dinner to-night that even _Monsieurle President_ would not sniff at, this Excellency,' he cried, as heshifted pot and pan swiftly. 'Ah, you shall see, Monsieur David. Here,in the wilds, I will serve up a dainty feast that shall make the eyes toopen. Yes, I tell you. _Hors-d'oeuvres_ to commence with. Soup, ah,you will wonder from what it is produced. An _entree a la Reined'Angleterre_ that will make the Excellency clap his hands. _Legumes_!Pah! such a country as this is for their provision. I tell you not one_haricot vert_ is there to be obtained between this and the south ofChina. But, there, it is not finished, the telling of this dinner. Youshall see. You will applaud. His Excellency will be delighted, and when_Monsieur le Professeur_ has complimented me, I, Alphonse, shall retireto bed as proud as any Emperor of China.'

  That dinner was, indeed, a feather in the cap of the voluble and cleverFrenchman. He surpassed all previous attempts in his culinary art, anddelighted Twang Chun and all who sat at the table.

  'My friend, this is indeed a surprise,' said the governor, when coursefollowed course without cessation. 'And I speak not of the variety whichyou so liberally place before me. It is the cooking that delights myheart. Not that we in China do not produce chefs who study theirprofession, or art, whichever you style it; we do. But then the dishesare peculiar to the country. And there, believe me, is one of the charmsof travel, even to the man who is not a gourmand. There is pleasure tobe obtained by tasting food as foreigners eat it, and always there ischarm in partaking of a dainty meal, such as this one, originating, asone may fairly claim, in Paris, and brought to a triumphant issue inthe wilds of China. Ah! it brings one back to Western civilization.'

  That night there was no happier nor prouder man in all the world thanAlphonse. The statement is a bold and wide-sweeping one, we imagine, butstill we repeat it. Alphonse was undoubtedly in the seventh heaven ofenjoyment. The praise he received spurred him to greater effort, so thathad Twang Chun been but a luke-warm friend on his arrival, he left thecamp a firm and undoubted adherent of the party.

  Then tents were packed, ponies laden, and the Professor and his staffset off for that Mongolian city.

  'We shall have to chance trouble,' he said. 'I cannot afford not to seethe place and undertake excavations. We must hope for the best, and ifthere is need, make good use of the escort the governor has promised.'

  Two weeks later they arrived in the neighbourhood of the ruins, nor wasit long before the Professor had reason to congratulate himself thatTwang Chun had proved so friendly.