CHAPTER XVI
Freedom Again
The gates of the walled city of Hatsu were not calculated to inspire a person eager to pass without them with a feeling of the greatest enthusiasm, for they stood black and forbidding against the moon-lit background, the battlemented wall on either side, the flanking towers and bastions sharply outlined. Beneath the towers yawned a huge cavern, so dark that no one could see beneath it, carrying the white road to the huge double doors which, if they were shut, could bar the egress or the entry of an army.
'Beastly looking place,' whispered Dick, as the little party came near to it. 'Hope there won't be any parleying. Ah! here's Jong, come to ask instructions.'
'Masser Davie,' whispered the man, 'what now? What do wid dese China boys I bring wid me to help carry out de baskets?'
'Dismiss them here. Wait till they have gone out of sight, and then go on. You have that note?'
'Yes, sar; him here. But not sure dat dey open de door for him. Suppose not? What den?'
'You can expect to be busy, Dick,' whispered David, as Jong went ahead again; 'if there's trouble here we've a way left out of it. You know which basket contains his Excellency?'
'One on the left, the heaviest. Being a governor gives a fellow a chance to put on flesh. He leads a life of ease and luxury.'
'You could manage, perhaps, to open it at the head, and pull the gag from 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 fine gentleman into a position for talking. If we're held up, he'll have to give 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, those men have gone. Jong's moving forward. It does look a beastly hole to go into.'
'Look, a gate is open,' whispered Dick quickly. 'That's promising. A man has come into the archway with a lantern. Hope he won't hold it up so as to 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 stepped into the dark gateway was to take stock of those who passed with the aid of his dangling paper lantern.
'Beware at whom you look,' cried Jong suddenly. 'Has not an order come bidding you pass a party without noise and without inspection? Go then, else his Excellency will not be best pleased with you. Does he desire that any fool should see him passing, and be able to talk. Away with the lamp quickly.'
They were already beneath the huge gateway, and glancing upward David was able to distinguish the roof, which was blackened with the smoke of ages, for in the cold months the guards were accustomed to place braziers on the roadway so as to make watching possible. A second later, however, the swaying lantern disappeared, the man who carried it diving out 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 animal drawing the cart. He heard the wicker of the baskets creaking, and guessed that his prisoners were struggling with might and main. But there seemed no one near enough to hear the noise, while the strong native cart did not feel the movement of the ruffians it carried. Just at 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 too closely upon the doings of such a high personage as the deputy-governor.
'Else it might happen that I should be called in evidence,' he told himself, 'when, had I, indeed, seen his honour, it would be hard to find a reason for denying the fact. A deputy-governor is a mighty person. He may come and go as he likes.'
After all, the incident in such a country as China, where conspiracy is common enough, was not so very remarkable. 'Saving face' is an expression thoroughly well known, and many and many an exalted person has been under the need of cloaking his movements, so that when an accusation of complicity in some conspiracy was levelled at him, he could bring evidence to prove that he had never been seen in that locality, 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 could swear that on the morrow. It was not the business of the guard at the gate to inspect too closely, when he had received a direct message ordering him to pass the governor secretly. Besides, there were the foreign-devils, of whom the rumour had reached him that they had been attacked. Doubtless the baskets he heard creaking in the cart held them securely, though for his part, the guard was not going to be too curious.
'Pass! All's well,' he whispered, as the cart issued from the gate and crossed the drawbridge, with Dick in close attendance. 'Pass to your business.'
The revolving gate scrunched on its runners. The huge hinges creaked. The mass of wood, with its heavy bronze bolts and locks, swung into position with a bang. Then the dull reverberation beneath the drawbridge died away, while the wheels of the cart began to rattle on the hard roadway. David wiped the perspiration from his forehead, while Dick let go a gentle whistle. But not one dared to alter his position. There might be, and probably were, many pairs of eyes watching them from the narrow slits on the outer face of the towers and bastions, the slits from which, even now-a-days, should there be a siege, Chinese soldiers would discharge arrows, using precisely the same weapons as did their forefathers, and that in spite of the fact that many of their comrades were armed with modern rifles. Yes, no doubt, many an inquisitive glance was cast after the party, and it was still necessary to preserve caution. And so they continued, showing black and easily distinguishable on the white roadway, till the latter curled out of sight of the city in a stretch of forest. It was only then that David dared to bring the animal hauling the cart to an abrupt halt, while a whistle caused Jong to draw rein promptly.
'I think,' began Dick, struggling to keep his impassiveness, and yet almost bursting in consequence, 'I think things begin to look a little more healthy. A fellow begins to actually believe that he may be wanting another breakfast. In fact, one may go so far as to say that it's a case of all right.'
Then he went off into a fit of the most hilarious laughter, which doubled him up, till he looked anything but the noble Governor of the city they had just quitted.
'What a tale for the Professor!' he shouted. 'Won't he enjoy the whole thing, and roar when he hears how you've turned the tables.'
'I! We, you mean,' came sharply from David, who was enjoying his friend'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 fellow impersonating Tsu-Hi. 'I did a terrible lot. I started the business, of course. It was I who managed to clamber out of my cell, and was then such a good comrade that instead of getting clear away, as sensible fellows would have done – '
'Sensible fellows! Oh, come now,' cried David hotly.
'Yes. Just what I said. Sensible fellows, just as sensible fellows would have done. I repeat, instead of clearing off as I had a right to do, of course 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 a few moments, nobbled the Governor of the city, and then, when things were getting ship-shape, called in the help of my friend to cure the wounds of the wretches I had been operating on. Look here, David, here's my hand. I'm not going to chip in with heaps of thanks. But I know how it 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 in his estimation.
'What'll you do with the baggage?' he asked after a while. 'Drop it into the river, upset it at the side of the road? What?'
'Take those villains on another fifteen miles,' answered David. 'Then fish out Tsu-Hi and send him back. Guess he'll have a deal of difficulty in explaining his absence. As for the other, this Chang, I shall keep him till I can hand him over to the authorities. It seems to me that if I fail in that he may very well attempt some other game and perhaps actually 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 suffocated deputy-governor from the basket in which he had been reposing, and having handed him his clothing; for both lads had by now donned their own, 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 the governor brought them at once a polite invitation written in purest English. Judge of their delight in discovering that Twang Chun himself, the enlightened governor of the province, was the writer, and that he was in those parts on a tour of inspection. He greeted them warmly, sent their prisoner to the cells, and at once arranged for comfortable quarters to be given to David and his following. And that night, after having joined them at dinner, which, by the way, was a feast of the utmost attraction, being of purely Chinese origin, and therefore most interesting to our heroes as well as appetising, Twang Chun called on the lads to give their story.
'I'm glad I had the good fortune to be in this direction,' he said, when Dick had finished; for no persuasion would induce David to tell of his own exploits in the prison. 'Very glad indeed, for had the question been left to the city's governor he would have found it difficult to decide how best to act. To be candid, foreign devils are still foreign devils to the majority of my countrymen, and more so at a time such as this is, when plague is stalking through Manchuria, and threatening to reach Pekin. I assure you that the people are driven frantic, and that I am here and am patrolling the province, solely with a view to making arrangements 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 in a case such as this, with such an exalted personage as Tsu-Hi implicated, the governor here could only hold him in prison till orders came 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 the benefit of the people. However, I am here, and will sift the matter. An example must be made of these wretches.'
Let the reader imagine the terror of Chang on the following morning when he was brought into the presence of Twang Chun, the governor who had once before condemned him. Little by little the whole story leaked out, so that David learned that this heartless rascal had been engaged in the murder of his father. In any case, there was no doubt of his guilt on this occasion. He had been taken red-handed, while the letter which he had had the boldness to write to Ebenezer Clayhill condemned him. Justice might be slow and lagging when the authorities at Pekin controlled it; but here it was swift – terribly swift – for the wrong-doer. Chang was beheaded that very morning, and thus Ebenezer Clayhill's rascally scheme came to an ending.
'To-night I shall be in the city of Hatsu,' said Twang Chun, when the sentence on Chang had been carried out. 'Perhaps you will accompany me.'
David and his friend agreed with the greatest pleasure, for seeing that they had now met the governor of the province, the very individual to whom the Professor had sent them, and had delivered their letter, it appeared hardly necessary to proceed.
'Might just as well return to our camp, and then come up with the whole party,' said David. 'Besides, I fancy his Excellency would be glad to have 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 which Chang had formed. Indeed it was hardly likely that such an act as he had been guilty of could go unpunished, and, like his comrade-in-guilt, he too was beheaded.
'Do not think that I love these executions,' said Twang Chun, when seated with the lads. 'Had I my way, matters would be conducted as in your country. But we must always remember that we are in China, and that I am dealing with my own countrymen, who do not understand the meaning of 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 admonish Tsu-Hi, the people of the city would see in such leniency an encouragement to attack Europeans again. And see what follows. The tale is spread abroad. Your people, Americans, all the white race having dealings with us will distrust us absolutely. That feeling of amity between the white and the yellow race, for which I and men like me aim at, will be farther away than ever. Incalculable harm will, in fact, be done, and the advancement of this nation retarded to some extent. Therefore, to deter others who should set a good example, and who, above all things, should never descend to a depth where guests beneath their roof are abused and injured, I have had Tsu-Hi beheaded, and with him the Tartar under-officer. Only by such severity will the lesson be learned.'
'And now, Mr. David, tell me more about yourself. I know the name of Harbor.'
'My father,' exclaimed our hero promptly. 'He came out here to investigate 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 that David was the son of the very man in whose interests Chang had once before been arrested. He listened with the greatest attention as the question of the will was propounded, and lifted a hand to arrest David's conversation.
'You have come out here on a hopeless errand, I fear,' he said. 'But that your father made this will I am positive, since I myself witnessed the signature, though I was not aware of all of the contents. As to the fate of the document itself, it was doubtless burned, for the camp in which the party of excavators was located caught fire. It is strange to think that you are going to the very same spot; for the letter which your friend the Professor has sent me asks permission to investigate the relics of an ancient Mongolian city situated outside the Great Wall, the same city which engaged the attention of your parent. Whether you will reach that spot is a matter of doubt at the moment.'
Dick's eyebrows went up questioningly. With this important personage he dared not be so free and easy in his remarks as with the Professor.
'But tell us why, your Excellency,' he asked, politely. 'What will prevent us, supposing you give your consent?'
'The plague may prevent your going,' came the answer. 'You have no idea of the nature or of the importance of this pest. Manchuria to-day is in the last stage of disorder. Thousands die every twenty-four hours, while there is no time and not enough men to conduct the burials. The victims are being burned. From Manchuria to Pekin is not such a far cry, while the neighbourhood of these ruins you seek is even closer to the infected area. You must understand me, I do not say that your own fear of contagion will hold you back. That is not the position at all. What I do suggest is that it may be prudent of your leader to remain in these parts, rather than go farther afield. For disaster does not come of its own accord in the eyes of my countrymen. You have seen for yourself how their thoughts run. The poor ignorant fellows believe that a pest is brought, is settled upon them by way of punishment, and should you and your friends be away in some savage part, all alone, you might very well 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 this crime, and his ignorant tools snapped at the chance of killing you. In the neighbourhood of those Mongolian ruins the natives are, I fear, likely to be even more ignorant and stupid. However, we will see what can be done; I might be able to send an escort. And now I propose travelling farther with you. I myself shall visit the camp where your friends are situated, so that I may formally welcome them to my province.'
Imagine the Professor's astonishment at the return of David and Dick. He emerged from a deep excavation, which the coolies had been engaged in beneath the debris covering the ruined city wherein Tsin had dwelt once on a time, and advanced with something approaching consternation on his face.
'Returned already,' he cried. 'Why? And with an escort, and a mandarin too if my eyes don't cheat me. Not got into trouble, I do hope.'
'Heaps,' laughed Dick, enjoying the position. 'The exalted official following comes to greet you. He's already chopped off three heads while in our company.'
'It's Twang Chun himself, the governor of the province,' explained David, laughing at his chum's fun. 'We happened to meet him. The chopping off of heads is a long story. But his Excellency comes to welcome you to the province, and to discuss the question of your journey to the Mongolian city. He thinks there may be difficulties.'
'I trust not, indeed. This expedition of ours would be shorn of half its profit if we were unable to go to Chi-Seang, for, if report speaks true, 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 get washed, and put on clean clothing.'
The meeting between the two gentlemen was most cordial, and as may well be imagined, every one belonging to the Professor's staff worked hard so as to prepare entertainment for his Excellency, since Twang Chun was, indeed, an exalted official, and as became one of his high rank and importance, travelled with an escort and retinue to match. In a very short space of time his camp had been pitched, when David had an opportunity of seeing how such things could be done in this country of the Dragon. A most gorgeous silken tent was erected, boasting of an inner 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 in this country.
'Him wonerful man,' lisped Jong, who was something of a hero now that he had returned to his comrades, and whose busy tongue was already wagging freely. Indeed, long before the Professor or Alphonse gathered the full details of David's exploit, and of Dick's assistance, all else within the camp were familiar with them. There was even violent movement amongst the stolid Chinese. Ho Hung leaped wildly into the air, and gave free vent to his enthusiasm, while the more placid Fing chuckled hugely. As for Jong himself, he vowed that he would never stop giggling, for the reversal of the fortunes of attackers and attacked was so amusing. It tickled the faithful Chinaman immensely, when he recollected how he and his masters had hoodwinked every one, and how they had conveyed the deputy-governor of Hatsu from the city and right under the noses of the soldiery. Next to David and Dick, perhaps the wise and strong Twang Chun claimed his admiration.
'Velly velly fine, Excellency,' he lisped again. 'Him knowee so velly well how to manage little tings like dat which happen to us. Him oh so nicee and gentle. Kuttee off de heads of de rascal nicee. Jong tink him fit almost to be de Empelor.'
It was queer to see even this somewhat Westernised native of the Celestial Kingdom cover his face and kowtow deeply when he mentioned the name of the Emperor of China, or when he even referred to that august personage. For while we in Europe give due observance and respect to rulers, and while the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the huge Empire we possess beyond the seas, is at once the king and the first gentleman in all our vast territories, yet one may speak of him without sign of fear, and without grovelling. But in China, the home of much that is extremely ancient and mysterious, the Son of Heaven, as the Emperor is known to his millions of people, is as far removed from the masses as is the sun from the earth. He is never seen save by the palace attendants. He lives for the most part in majestic seclusion. And should he venture abroad, borne in a palanquin of the utmost gorgeousness, it is not that he may be seen by those who bow to his rule; for in China it is death to look upon the Son of Heaven. All who happen to be abroad when the Emperor sets out in procession must fly to their houses, there to hide their faces, and if that is not possible, they must retire from the streets through which his cavalcade will pass, and turn towards the wall.
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 cater for, this Excellency. I tell you he has travelled, he has dined on the best that Paris can provide, and where else, Monsieur David, in all this wide 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 is true that we send some of our finest gentlemen to London, some of the grandest chefs that we have ever produced. Bien! what then? There is the Parisian atmosphere. How can even the king of chefs turn out even so simple a thing as an omelet to perfection in your city of fogs and blizzards?'
The pompous little fellow bustled about his camp kitchen, still clad in those curious clothes, so altogether incongruous with such surroundings. The perspiration stood on his forehead, his peaky little beard was thrust if anything a little more abruptly forward, while the hideous hat he insisted on retaining was perched somewhat jauntily on the side of his head, where his energetic movements had jerked it.
'Nom du Roi, but he shall have a dinner to-night that even Monsieur le Président would not sniff at, this Excellency,' he cried, as he shifted 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 to open. Yes, I tell you. Hors-d'œuvres to commence with. Soup, ah, you will wonder from what it is produced. An entrée a la Reine d'Angleterre that will make the Excellency clap his hands. Légumes! 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 of China. But, there, it is not finished, the telling of this dinner. You shall see. You will applaud. His Excellency will be delighted, and when Monsieur le Professeur has complimented me, I, Alphonse, shall retire to bed as proud as any Emperor of China.'
That dinner was, indeed, a feather in the cap of the voluble and clever Frenchman. He surpassed all previous attempts in his culinary art, and delighted Twang Chun and all who sat at the table.
'My friend, this is indeed a surprise,' said the governor, when course followed course without cessation. 'And I speak not of the variety which you so liberally place before me. It is the cooking that delights my heart. Not that we in China do not produce chefs who study their profession, or art, whichever you style it; we do. But then the dishes are peculiar to the country. And there, believe me, is one of the charms of travel, even to the man who is not a gourmand. There is pleasure to be obtained by tasting food as foreigners eat it, and always there is charm in partaking of a dainty meal, such as this one, originating, as one may fairly claim, in Paris, and brought to a triumphant issue in the wilds of China. Ah! it brings one back to Western civilization.'
That night there was no happier nor prouder man in all the world than Alphonse. The statement is a bold and wide-sweeping one, we imagine, but still we repeat it. Alphonse was undoubtedly in the seventh heaven of enjoyment. The praise he received spurred him to greater effort, so that had Twang Chun been but a luke-warm friend on his arrival, he left the camp a firm and undoubted adherent of the party.
Then tents were packed, ponies laden, and the Professor and his staff set off for that Mongolian city.
'We shall have to chance trouble,' he said. 'I cannot afford not to see the place and undertake excavations. We must hope for the best, and if there is need, make good use of the escort the governor has promised.'
Two weeks later they arrived in the neighbourhood of the ruins, nor was it long before the Professor had reason to congratulate himself that Twang Chun had proved so friendly.