CHAPTER XI
David goes on a Journey
'And now to investigate the secrets of the ruined city wherein dwelled Tsin the mighty, Tsin, the ruler of a tiny principality, who years and years ago set himself one of the biggest tasks man has ever undertaken.'
They were seated in their tent in the light shed by a candle lamp, and the Professor lolled back on the tiny camp-bed which was to be his own special property. Indeed, a glance round the camp showed clearly that the expedition was organised thoroughly, and promised by the equipment it carried to give comfort to every one. For first, there was the large tent for the use of the Professor, David, and Dick, with its three narrow beds, its collapsible table and chairs, and its waterproof flooring. Then, a little distance away was a smaller, bell tent, in which Alphonse was to repose, and beside it, within easy reach, a field kitchen, while further still was a third tent, similar to that occupied by Alphonse, for the accommodation of the four Chinese.
'Of course, those whom we employ to help us with the digging will have to find their own quarters,' said the Professor at the very beginning of their forming camp. 'There happens to be a village some two miles away, and no doubt the inn there will take them in. But there are also one or two old buildings still standing in this ruined place, and they will probably elect to settle there.'
That, in fact, was what the dozen coolies whom he had hired had decided on. Already they had secured the basement of what had been a two-storied house, though now the upper part had gone, while to effect an entrance into that below needed quite a lot of excavation. For the rest, the camp was pitched on a grassy knoll some hundred yards from the ruins and within three miles of the huge Chinese wall, which, not so perfect now-a-days as it was wont to be, is still a marvel of human ingenuity and perseverance, stretching as it does for fourteen hundred miles over hill and valley, cutting the northern provinces of China from the rest of the world.
'As I was saying,' began the Professor again, 'we are about to investigate the ruins of the city – quite a small place, I imagine – in which dwelt Tsin, the one-time ruler of a small province in this neighbourhood. You must understand that he was one of many kings controlling the numerous provinces into which China was divided some two thousand years ago, a somewhat different condition to that now ruling, for there are only some fifteen provinces now-a-days. Tsin, like all the rest of these little kings, was for ever squabbling with his neighbours, so that there were frequent little wars, and as a natural consequence many additions were made to, or territory taken from, the various lands belonging to these kings. However, Tsin seems to have been fortunate, for he made additions. In fact, he ate up his neighbours, and with more wealth and more men increased wonderfully in power. He ended by conquering every part of China, and becoming Emperor of the Celestial Empire.'
'And richly deserved his reward, no doubt,' ventured David. 'I should imagine that the people were all the happier for having one ruler only. Trade and other matters must have gone more smoothly.'
'I agree with you; things probably were more fortunate. But Tsin was not without his troubles; his kingdom was for ever being invaded by Mongolian nomads from the north, nomads who were as elusive as they were warlike. They devastated portions of his kingdom, and when armies were sent in pursuit they melted away, taken in ambush, or lost hopelessly in the desert. It was to check those nomads that Tsin started the Great Wall of China beside which we lie, and no doubt, once completed, it fulfilled its purpose. It will repay a visit one of these days.'
Dick and David had, as a matter of fact, already visited the huge wall, and had marvelled at its vastness. For this Great Wall of China is not merely an erection two bricks thick; it is a huge earth wall, faced with masonry, buttressed and supported everywhere, and freely supplied with fortified gates and quarters for its garrison. Fourteen hundred miles of it, stretching across the kingdom! Think of the enormous labour, think of the host required to guard its length. And to-day it is deserted, or almost so. The broad track on its summit, constructed of such a width that three carts could conveniently be driven side by side, is now no longer of service. Mongolia has ceased to send in her nomads. Perhaps the very presence of the wall has prevented them, or maybe they have become less warlike. There the wall lies, a work to rouse the admiration of modern-day people.
'And now to speak of these ruins. They are small, as I have said already,' the Professor told them, 'and since I do not expect to discover much of interest, I have decided to send you two lads forward. John Jong shall go with you, while the naval officer who spoke such excellent English has provided me with passports. It seems that his father is a mandarin, and commands the district a hundred and fifty miles north, where are located the Mongolian ruins I am so anxious to investigate. Will you go?'
Would they go? David and Dick were as eager as the Professor himself to dip into the past by investigating the ruins of the city in which Tsin had dwelled so many hundreds of years before. But a journey through China offered superior attractions; and besides, there was another city to be visited, or rather the ruins of one that had formerly existed.
'Go, sir? Of course!' declared David, with marked enthusiasm. 'Nothing I should like better.'
'Quite a little experience for us, sir,' declared Dick. 'Do we march or ride?'
'The latter. You will go in state; that is, you must create a good impression wherever you travel, for that will appeal to the natives. I don't think that there should be any difficulty, nor any danger. The passports I have and the letter you will carry to Twang Chun should command attention, for it seems that he is a very important official. More than that, like his son, he is westernised, speaks English and French, and longs for the day when his country will be less bigoted and cramped. Of course you will take arms with you, and since it is always as well to keep on the right side of the natives and attract little attention, you will travel in native costume. Jong will see to that part for you.'
There was jubilation in the faces of our hero and his friend. They glanced at one another as the Professor ceased speaking, and then grinned openly.
'Ripping!' exclaimed the latter. 'Swells we shall be. Jong will be too big after such a journey to speak to his countrymen. But how about putting up for the night, sir?'
'As far as possible you will avoid staying in a village, and in case it should happen that you find yourselves a long way from a town of any importance, you will camp in the open. I brought three tentes d'abris with me, and those will accommodate you very nicely. Of course you might go to the native rest-house or inn; but I don't advise it. There is, as a rule, only one guest-chamber, with one long kang or couch on which to lie, and since the Chinese are none too clean in their persons you would find such quarters most unpleasant, besides laying yourselves open to robbery. In the big towns you will at once ask for the residence of the mandarin, and this letter which I shall entrust to you will certainly obtain a lodging under a fine roof and with comfortable surroundings, unless, of course, the mandarin happens to be bigoted, and hates all foreign devils. There are few, I imagine, who will care to displease Twang Chun, the Governor of the province. Now, as practice in such matters is excellent for all people, I leave it to you two to organise your own expedition. Get out a list of the things you imagine you will want. You will each have a Tartar pony for riding purposes, and can take three more besides the one Jong will ride, making roughly a spare horse apiece for your baggage. Let me see the list when completed.'
It may be thought that such a task as was now given to the two young fellows would take but a little while to complete. But when they came to make the list of which the Professor had spoken they discovered that they were often in doubt. For instance, with regard to the question of ammunition.
'Twelve rounds apiece for magazine pistols, ditto for rifles,' said Dick, as if he had been at this sort of work a long while.
'More!' exclaimed David, with a knowing wag of his head. 'There might be a ruction; we might be attacked.'
'Pooh! Never did come across such a firebrand,' laughed Dick. 'Always imagining that we are going to run our heads up against some sort of trouble. Still, if you think so, we'll carry more. Say forty rounds each. How's that?'
'Right; far more sensible. Now for grub. My word, we mustn't run short of that!'
David was always a good man at his trencher. The open-air life they were now leading, the novelty of his surroundings, and the exercise he enjoyed had given him an appetite there was no denying.
'Of course we might shoot something,' he said, 'though we haven't seen much so far that would be worth the while. Besides, in this queer country one hardly knows what it would be proper to kill and what not. The Professor says one has to be careful not to touch other people's belongings, and the latter are often straying about. Vote we make our list of stores a handsome one.'
In the end they took sufficient tinned meats to last them for two weeks, having reckoned that the journey would not take longer than eight days. A small bottle of brandy was included in their stores, rice for Jong, a bag of biscuit, and a box of dried apples.
'Makes a splendid sweet,' declared David. 'Soak 'em over night in water, or milk if you can get it. Same with the rice you mean to use. Then put the two into a cloth, tie up the top and pop the whole into a kettle. Boil it, my boy, till the rice is done to a turn, and serve it with a sprinkling of sugar. That reminds me – tea's wanted, sugar too, and don't forget a kettle, a frying-pan, and a saucepan.'
'Besides tin mugs, a teapot, spoons, forks and knives.'
'And a filter to pass the water through. Can't be too careful,' said David. 'Water supplies in this country are not often too reliable, and though one can be quite secure by drinking boiled water, yet one hasn't always the time, nor the fuel, so we'll take a filter.'
Having completed their list to their entire satisfaction, they consulted Jong, and with his help packed their stores into three lots, which were so arranged as to be easily secured on the pack saddles which the Professor had purchased. Then they took their list to the latter and asked for his approval.
'Very complete,' he agreed. 'All that I can suggest now is cash. You will want an abundance of the small coins on which the Chinese coolie places such value. A little scattered now and again will gain friends for you. A handful will buy you a sack of rice when your store is exhausted; I shall hand over a sufficiency, while for funds on your arrival, should you need money, this letter will obtain the same from Twang Chun. And now, the sooner you get away the better; let us say to-morrow. You had best be up early so that Jong can complete your toilets. Don't forget that it is necessary that your appearance should be correct in every particular, just as if you were endeavouring to disguise yourselves.'
On the following morning, before the sun had risen, and while still a grey mist hung over the cold land, David and Dick turned out of the tent, took a dip in a lake close at hand, and then submitted themselves to Jong's attentions.
'Allee lightee,' he lisped, grinning as they came to him. 'Soon makee Excellencies same as one Chinaman. Allee same, so that mother not be able to knowee dem. Jong shavee de head now. Den put on de pigtail. Not eber wear him before, Misser Davie? Den you soon see. Fine, Misser Davie. You one great big swell, wid a tail reachin' lightee down to de middle ob you. Now boil de kettle, get de soap, sharpen de razor.'
He set about his work humming a Chinese refrain devoid of all tune, while Alphonse emerged from his tent in his shirt sleeves, and using a native bellows soon had his fire going. It made the lads laugh to watch him hopping quickly about, and to see the extraordinary costume which he still adhered to. For if David and his friends out there in China were still, in spite of their local surroundings, in spite of essentially Celestial environment, undoubtedly Englishmen, Alphonse was as decidedly a Frenchman. His peaky little beard, and the way he carried himself, as well as the quickness of his movements, told one that. It was not necessary to regard his extremely loud shirt, his appalling cap, nor the pointed boots which he found comfort in wearing.
'Bien! You depart to-day. Bon voyage, messieurs,' he said, as he brought them each a steaming cup of tea. 'Let Alphonse tell you that you will find native costume comfortable, as comfortable as is mine, for he has tried it. Oui, messieurs, he has tried it. He owed his life to the disguise once.'
David could not imagine how any disguise could cloak this very obvious Frenchman. He smiled a little dubiously.
'Ah, you do not believe. Then I will tell you. It was on our last journey, the Professor's and mine. The people were angry with us; we were foreign devils who had caused the rain to fall for a month in succession. They surrounded the house; guns were fired; there was a great commotion.'
'What happened then?' asked Dick, eagerly.
'They dragged us out, the Professor and myself. They put us into wooden cages and carried us in them to their mandarin. But he, though he did not love foreign devils, was afraid to harm us. He took us into his house, saying to the mob that he would hand us over in the morning. Then he dressed us like natives, and passed us out through a back door very secretly. Bien, messieurs, we strolled through the mob. They would have torn us to pieces had they known that we were the foreign devils they had captured. We passed through them and got right away. It was what you call a narrow shave.'
'And the mandarin, how did he explain your flight?' asked David, curious to hear how such a matter would be arranged in this country of surprises, of ignorance and bigotry.
'I will tell you. He barred the door and the window. He burned our clothes. In the morning he took the ringleaders of the mob to the room and announced that they were free to kill us. Then he feigned as great surprise as they. He pointed to the charred remains of our clothing, and suggested that we had vanished into the air, perhaps to stop the rain, for as luck would have it, the downpour ceased that very evening. I tell you, for us it was a close shave.'
He bustled off to his camp kitchen, leaving the lads wondering greatly. To them the tale seemed impossible. But then they did not know China very well. They had no idea of the crass ignorance and superstition which even to-day sways the mass of the people. Had they had more knowledge, they would instantly have realised that such a sequel was possible, and that in the Celestial Empire one can encounter hopeless ignorance on one hand, and a depth of cunning adjacent to it. But Jong had his pot of water boiling now, and had put a fine edge on to the wedge-shaped native razor which he intended to use. He quickly lathered the hair over the temples and round the crown of each lad's head, and rapidly removed those portions. Then he produced two wonderful pigtails, and having snipped the hair left on the crown as short as possible, he heated the base of the pigtails, thus melting the adhesive already there, and applied them. A touch with a stick of charcoal to their eyebrows made a vast effect, while a line drawn outside the eyes gave a distinctly Celestial expression. After that it took but little time to don the native costume, and before Alphonse announced breakfast both David and Dick were dressed for their journey.
'You look at least forty,' declared the latter, surveying his friend, and bursting into a merry peal of laughter, 'and as wise as any judge.'
'While you should be at least the governor of a province,' grinned David, delighted at his friend's appearance. 'Now for the Professor.'
'Excellent!' declared the latter, walking all round them. 'I can find no fault; Jong has turned you out wonderfully well. But you mustn't stride along like that, David – nor walk with such an elastic step, Dick, my lad. Recollect that a Chinese gentleman, as you are supposed to be, has little if any call to show energy. He is essentially a tranquil person. His face is as impassive as that of a Red Indian's, while he seldom smiles. And above all he is deeply imbued with his own dignity. So, however youthful and merry you may feel when by yourselves, remember to look austere when in the company of strangers. And now to discuss the route. I have a map here, and as I have been over the ground before I have been able to put down all the chief towns you will pass. Of course there are thousands of completely walled cities in China, particularly up in this direction, where Mongolian incursions are always likely. You will pass several, and will, no doubt, sleep the night in more than one. Now, I have looked over your list of stores, and have suddenly remembered drugs. Alphonse has packed a box containing useful tabloids and other medicines, besides a supply of bandages and dressings. Ah! breakfast's ready; come along.'
An hour later the little cavalcade was ready to set out, and once more the Professor inspected the lads and their mounts. To speak the truth, even a native of the country would easily have been deceived, for David and his friend looked exactly what they were meant to look, namely, two Chinese gentlemen of some importance travelling through the country with their servant.
'Of course you are not bent on commerce,' said the Professor. 'No Chinaman of any importance would soil his hands with trade. You are two officials going through to see Twang Chun. Good-bye! Look for me in a month's time.'
'Gee-up!' shouted Dick, shaking his reins. 'Good-bye, Professor!'
They headed at once for the road that stretched across the country adjacent to the camp, and which perhaps had even borne Tsin, the mighty ruler of the Celestial Empire in those far-off days. Then they settled down to their long journey, David and Dick alongside one another, chatting and laughing, and Jong behind, his bare toes in the stirrups, – for the cold weather was not yet on them, – his reins knotted on his pony's neck, and leads from the other three animals attached to the bow of his native saddle.
'I rather fancy it will be as well to have some sort of regulations for marching,' said David, when they had accomplished some ten miles, and the camp was only a memory to them. 'You see we are foreigners, though we don't look it, and something might turn up when we least expect it.'
Dick laughed loudly. David vastly amused him, and, if he had only made a clear confession, interested him also. For the lad displayed so many sides to his character. At one moment he was as dashing and plucky as one could wish. A regular fire-eater he had shown himself in the affair in the gulf of Pechili. And at other times he was as cautious as any old woman.
'You do make me smile,' declared Dick, searching for a handkerchief, a luxury which neither had yet abandoned, but for which, nevertheless, it was somewhat difficult to find a handy place in the strange garments they were wearing. ''Pon my word, you make a chap roar. Always imagining danger's coming; always taking precautions; always getting ready; and then, no sooner does something spring up, all unforeseen, as it were, than you chuck all precautions, venture out into the open, and practically invite people to shoot you. Look at the ship – helped to get the party away from what was an ugly trap, and then, when all were safe, walked peacefully back in search of an axe. You do really take it.'
'Shut up!' growled David, crossly. 'I'm serious.'
'So am I.'
'Look here,' declared our hero, with some warmth, 'I'll not stand any more of – oh, I say, let's be serious,' he laughed, for who could be angry with Dick – Dick the merriest and most light-hearted of the party? For if ever contrasts were asked for, a better example could not be brought forward than David and his companion. The one, as Dick had said, a strange mixture of dash and daring, and of shrewd, almost nervous caution; and the other, Dick Cartwell, as jolly as the day was long, the most thoughtless individual breathing, an inconsequent, harmless sort of fellow, who made friends of all and sundry with an ease which was astonishing. Caution! Dick threw it to the winds.
'Don't get looking round for trouble till trouble troubles you, old boy,' he had said on more than one occasion when twitting David. Dick followed the proverb strictly. He made no effort to look into the future, to prepare for squabbles, even in a country not altogether friendly. Left in command of the Professor's party, he would have been soundly asleep when the pirates so stealthily slipped aboard the vessel and slid along the decks towards the cabin. But once the danger was present, once he was with his back against a wall, there was no better nor more reliable fellow. Dick fought with as light a heart as he possessed when eating his dinner. Light-heartedness was his one fault, in fact, if one could actually declare it a fault; for on the march and under everyday conditions it cheered his companions and helped wonderfully to keep every one going.
'Well, let's hear all about this matter,' he asked, smiling at our hero, and urging his steed beside him with a kick from his heel. 'You are anticipating trouble.'
'Nothing of the sort. I do declare you are an aggravating fellow. I say that we are in a country where foreign devils are not too popular, and though we don't appear to be foreigners, yet people might discover our nationality. In fact, they are sure to when we put up in the towns. Very well, then. We must take it turn and turn about to watch, Jong doing his share with us. Of course I'm speaking of the time when we are out on the road, or in camp, should we settle down outside a village or town. In the house of a mandarin we should be free from interference. Now, what do you say to the plan?'
'A beastly bother, but necessary perhaps. I agree. When do we start?'
'Right away; nothing like getting settled down to our duties. We'll have a chat with Jong.'
They pulled their ponies round and edged them up alongside the single store pony trotting at the Chinaman's left hand.
'We're going to take it in turns to watch when on the road,' said David. 'I'll start now, and continue till noon; then Dick till late in the afternoon; then you'll come on duty. We'll share the night out evenly when we're in the open.'
Jong took a few minutes to absorb his meaning. Not that the man was dense; it was simply because he had not a very abundant command of English.
'Allee lightee; savvey,' he exclaimed at last, with a curious little lisp which rather became him. 'Jong say dat allee lightee. Watch, den no easy to be cut to piecee. Neber know who or what comin' along. P'laps dere robbers. Dey make mincemeat of de lot of us before you have time to breathe. Jong watch like a dog. Him savvey!'
'Then I start right off; let's get back to our places.'
The two young fellows kicked their lazy little ponies into a canter, and pulled them in again when they were some fifty yards ahead of the Chinaman. And until the hour of noon David kept a careful eye all about him. Then they halted for a spell, Jong quickly getting a kettle over a fire and the water boiling. A cup of tea and a slice from a tin of meat put all in a good temper, and made them ready to proceed. That evening, as the shades were lengthening, they slid through the gates of a walled city. Dick's hours for duty were almost ended. In a little while they would be under a roof and, they hoped, in hospitable quarters. But neither Dick nor David nor the talkative Jong saw that figure trailing along behind them on the main road. Not one had observed a man creep from a ditch a mile from the gates of the city, and slink cunningly after the party. For it was Chang, and his object so far was to remain in the background, undiscovered till the hour for action had arrived.