CHAPTER VIII
In a Tight Corner
'Excellency, we will see to those men for a time,' said Hung, as the mass of Chinese pirates crowding in the dark alley-way came charging forward. 'The bales of cotton will hold them in check, and a knife will be easier to use in such crowded quarters. But bring the lamp; hold it above our heads, so that the rays do not fall upon us, but upon the enemy.'
He gabbled the words at such a rate that David could scarcely follow his meaning, nor Dick either. But Jong came rapidly to the rescue, stopping for a while on his way to the barrier.
'Him tink you speakee and understandee ebelyting, Excellencies,' he said, smiling as if the fact amused him, and as if the affair in hand was a mere nothing. 'Hong say, supposee you comee along, leavee de fight altogeder to us Chinaboys. Yo hold de light high, so as to shine on de enemy only. Soon kill all dem men.'
He was wonderfully confident, and now went forward at a run. Meanwhile the other three Chinamen had reached the immediate neighbourhood of the barrier, which was placed some four yards along the alley-way, leaving, therefore, ample room for the defenders to stand at the foot of the ladder leading to the cabin above. At once Dick snatched up the lantern, while David dragged his magazine pistol from his pocket.
'Come along,' he shouted, for the din in this confined space was appalling. 'I think I know a trick that'll trouble them. Get along with the lantern, and hold it up at arm's length. I'll make use of the ladder I took from along there, and get well above our fellows; then I shall be able to shoot down into the enemy. Ain't they kicking up a row?'
'Enough to deafen any one; but be careful when you're roosting on that ladder. Don't forget the fellow with the pistol.'
David made a note of the warning promptly, and having reached the scene of the conflict, reared his ladder against one wall of the alley-way, leaving, however, ample room between its foot and the bales for Hong and his comrades to have free movement. Dick pushed his way right to the centre of the barrier, and finding a foothold on the edge of a low case, which formed the base of the obstruction, stepped on to it, and lifted the lantern at arm's length. At once he heard an exclamation of satisfaction come from their friends, for till that moment it was almost impossible for the defenders to take any action against the enemy. All they knew was that the latter were slashing and tearing at the far side of the bales, and with such exertion that the whole barrier threatened to topple over. However, the lamp flung its rays forward on to the struggling mass of men, leaving the part behind the barrier in dense darkness. At once a roar of anger went up from the pirates. One thin and exceedingly active man, whose eyes seemed actually to blaze in the lamp-light, pushed his comrades back forcibly, and with a howl of rage leaped at the top of the barrier. Clutching the sacking with his fingers, and digging his bare toes into any crevice he could find, he was on the summit in a wonderfully short space of time. Then his hand sought the long knife which, as seemed to be the custom with these marauders, he carried in his mouth. He was on the point of launching himself down upon the defenders, while David had already levelled his pistol at the man, when Hung gave a loud shout.
'Stand aside, let me deal with him,' he cried, and turning swiftly, as he dropped his pistol, David was able to catch a view of the gallant fellow as he prepared for the attack. His arms were thrown back over one shoulder, and the faint light reflected from the sides of the alley-way, and from the cotton clothes of the enemy, showed that he gripped in his hands the huge staff which he had showed some minutes before to our hero. It swished through the air as Hung swung forward, and meeting the Chinaman above as he leaped downward it felled him to the deck, striking him so hard that the man never even moved once he had fallen, but lay in a heap, his limbs curled up and contorted beneath him. Then, indeed, the turmoil and the din became so great that those defenders might have been forgiven had they suddenly lost heart, and, turning tail, had rushed to the ladder, there to struggle for the right to be the first to ascend to the security of the cabin above. But Hung was no chicken. To look at Jong he loved this class of thing, for he burst into a roar of laughter as the Chinaman was struck down, while Hu Ty and his comrade crouched behind the barricade, their sallow faces flushed, their eyes dancing, eager for more active effort. But let us remember that David and Dick never once flinched. The latter had been forced to step aside, else the man who had leaped upon the barricade would have jumped down on him, and also he would have been in Hung's way. But he was back in his place now, smiling, still holding the lamp above his head, cheering madly at this first success. As for David, all his old coolness had come back to him. Perched on the ladder well above the combatants, he felt as a general does who is posted on some commanding hill from which he is able to observe every movement in a battle, and give swift orders accordingly. He shouted encouragement to Hung, and then called suddenly to all his comrades to be cautious.
'Some more men have come into the alley-way,' he said, 'and there'll be a strong rush in a moment. Keep well down below the barricade; I can see that rascal reloading his pistol.'
He handled his own weapon, for through a break in the mass of men in front he had caught a view of the skinny individual, who was possessed, by the way, of a most malevolent and ugly countenance, busily ramming a fresh charge into his ancient pistol. Through the sudden silence, which followed the downfall of the man who had attempted to scale the barricade, there came the ring of a ramrod, and now as David watched he saw the rascal pushing his way forward.
'Lie low all of you,' he called again. 'That fellow's going to fire his pistol.'
Up went his own weapon, though he did not fire, for other men as yet covered the ruffian. Suddenly the man with the pistol appeared to have caught a glimpse of the figure perched above the level of the barricade. He shouted; the same skinny arm was thrown up, and before David could realise his danger he was staring into the expanded muzzle of as murderous a weapon as could be found anywhere. Yes, murderous; for it was but ten feet away, and carried a ball like a young cannon-shot. And how it roared as the rascal pulled the trigger! A wide stream of flame spurted from the muzzle, and then such a dense cloud of smoke that the alley-way, the men within it, even the barricade was swallowed up. Moreover, the bullet as near as possible put an end to this narrative, and to the quest of David Harbor; for it tore past his cheek, rattled and ricochetted along the stout wooden wall of the passage, and striking the runner of the ladder behind more than half severed it. In addition, it considerably startled our hero.
'Hit?' called out Dick, swinging his head round, for, of course, he like David had obtained a clear view of the man. 'There still, old chap?'
A growl was his only answer, and then a hasty order.
'You've swung the light off him, though the smoke is too thick to let one see just now. Get it shining down the passage. We must put a stop to that fellow's antics; his bullet as near as possible took my head off. Ah, steady! I can see.'
Yes, he could see. The lamp-light shining into the alley-way was directed upon the ruffian who had just fired; but it showed more than he. It showed a couple of dozen men pressing along behind him, the look on their faces telling plainly that they were determined to rush the barricade. Instantly David gave warning, and levelling his own weapon fired at the pirate who had so recently discharged the pistol; but he did not stop him. The bullet went astray, and striking a man just behind him brought him tumbling to the deck. However, the next proved more successful. The rascal howled with pain, then, as if driven frantic by it, he threw his pistol at the figure which he could only dimly discern above the barricade, and led his comrades forward. For ten whole minutes none of the defenders had so much as a breathing spell. Those four Chinamen at the back of the barricade fought as if they were possessed, and fought too, like Englishmen, in silence. Their knives rose and fell constantly. Now one of them would spring upward, and grabbing an attacker by the shoulder would haul him within reach; now Hung would give vent to a guttural exclamation, at which Dick and his comrades would unconsciously move aside. Then there came the thud of the huge club he wielded, a sickening, dull thud, followed by a heavy fall on the far side of the bales placed across the alley-way. A sudden fusillade from David's magazine pistol drove the assailants out of sight, and allowed the defenders to rest after their exhausting efforts.
'Put the lamp on the top of the bales,' said David at once. 'We must chance a fellow firing at it and smashing it altogether. Hung, post a man up here to watch. I'll go up and report progress, unless, of course, you'd like to, Dick.'
The latter shook his head vigorously, and was about to answer when another voice came from behind them in the alley-way. It was the Professor, jaunty and high-spirited as ever, a silent witness of the late conflict. He stepped from the foot of the ladder, and came towards them, turning the slide of a lantern he carried. And the light reflected from the narrow passage showed up everything distinctly – the dead Chinaman at the foot of the barricade; David on the ladder, and Dick and the other defenders at their posts. It even showed the huge splinter of wood half torn from the ladder by the bullet which had so nearly put an end to the existence of one of the party. And the Professor was as easily seen as any one. There was a bland smile on his clean-shaven face. His eyes sparkled; he laughed outright.
'Please don't move,' he said, coming closer. 'A more perfect picture I never beheld; but I do congratulate you all. You know I hate fighting, and always have done so; but when it's necessary, I can admire the men who show a good front. No need to report, David boy; my own eyes have shown me everything.'
Turning suddenly to the Chinamen, he spoke to them in their own language, which he knew as a native, praising them warmly, and sending the blood flying once more to their cheeks.
'A gallant fight, well organised and generalled,' he said, turning again to Dick. 'Whose idea was the ladder?'
'His,' came the curt answer. 'He fixed everything: David is a born leader.'
'I say!' came indignantly from our hero, who was still perched on his ladder.
'It's true,' came warmly from Dick, for the young fellow had formed a great opinion of David. Secretly he had admired the lad, partly for the courage which he knew he possessed, for had he not been instrumental in saving Dick's mother; and also there was the case of those burglars at Bond Street. But it was not pluck alone that roused his enthusiasm for our hero; it was his grit, his staunchness.
'Just fancy a fellow doing so much all on his own,' Dick had exclaimed more than once to the Professor. 'Many fellows of his age would have been browbeaten by that man who married his stepmother. Very few would have taken the post of lift-boy as he did. I've known young fellows sent up to London to make their way who would have turned up their noses at it, and because they could not get just the class of job that suited them would prefer to live with relatives and do nothing. That's out and out cadging. And here's David, still all alone, determined to go out to China to find a will which may never have existed.'
'I beg your pardon; it did exist,' the Professor corrected. 'I knew Edward Harbor. If he said he had made a new will, he had done so without doubt. He was most exact and painstaking in everything. He made that will in David's favour, but circumstances over which he had no control prevented his having it conveyed to a safe quarter. He perished; perhaps the will perished with him. Perhaps it was purloined along with his other belongings by some rascally mandarin, and is lying forgotten at the bottom of a heap of rubbish at this moment. But I interrupted.'
'I was saying he's so determined,' said Dick. 'He says he'll go to China when he has hardly a sixpence to bless himself with. But he takes the post of lift-boy, and in a twinkling he's made enough to take him round the world. It's grit that does it, sir. Sheer perseverance and doggedness.'
'And knowing that your cause is just; yes,' reflected the Professor.
But to return to our friends in the alley-way, the Professor again demanded who had led in the conflict which he had watched from the foot of the ladder.
'He did without a doubt,' declared Dick, pointing at David. 'Ask him about the ruction along there, sir, and then ask Hung and the others.'
Slowly the Professor dragged the details from David and from the Chinamen. Then he solemnly shook hands with every one present.
'I'm awfully glad I wrote that letter to you, David boy,' he said, when he came to the figure still perched on the ladder, 'and it was a lucky chance which sent Dick here along to trouble me. Together you've made a fine defence in this quarter. Alphonse will be delighted. But now let us go to the cabin; Hung and his friends will watch here and send us a warning if there is to be another attack. Meanwhile, there are other parts to be considered. I tell you plainly, those demons will not rest till they have taken every one of us and looted our belongings. I know the pirates of this gulf; they are a detestable set of cut-throats. But don't let that statement trouble you; we're a long way from being taken, or I'm much mistaken.'
The smile came back to his face, a cheery, confident smile. He spoke swiftly to the men present, and then skipped to the ladder.
'My word,' he cried, as he reached it, and his lamp fell upon the woodwork. 'That must have been done by the shot I heard. It was a big bullet that tore away this piece of the ladder.'
'And precious nigh took David with it,' laughed Dick. 'He got quite angry.'
That set them all laughing, for, somehow, what with the success they had already had, and the Professor's cheery presence, there seemed ample cause for merriment, merriment that was accentuated to no small degree when they reached the cabin; for Alphonse was there, in his shirt sleeves, and posted beside a huge rent torn through the doorway.
'Ah, ha!' he cried, coming towards them. 'You have made much noise below. There has been shooting. None are hurt I hope?'
'None but the fellows who attacked us,' answered Dick. 'How have things gone here?'
'Wonderful! I tell you, wonderful.'
The little man puffed out an enormous chest, and stretched his arms before him. He was pomposity itself, while the manner in which he swung the rifle, that he gripped with one hand, hardly gave one confidence. That and his peaky little beard, which seemed to project even more abruptly forward now, the huge check pattern of his shirt, and the long pointed-toe boots, which he still insisted on wearing, made one more inclined to smile at little Alphonse; and if not at his appearance, then at his gestures and his antics, for the lamp which the Professor carried played full upon him. But a moment or two later one gathered a different impression of the man.
'Ah!' he ejaculated suddenly, bending his head to one side as if he were a bird, and placing his hand behind the ear. 'Did I hear some one coming? Monsieur, Alphonse was never deaf, and he has trained his ears to catch the sound of bare feet. You do not believe it? Bien, then see.'
His eyebrows went up a little, as if he were unable to credit the fact that his listeners did not believe him, then calling on all for silence, he stole towards the door of the cabin, and almost at once his rifle went to his shoulder. He bent swiftly, then there came a sharp report. A crash on the deck outside, and a thunderous explosion told all within the cabin that Alphonse had accomplished something, and crowding at once to the gaping hole which the ringleader of the pirates had torn in the door with his muzzle-loader, they stared beyond at the deck. A man was crawling painfully along the boards, while immediately outside the door, as shown by the lantern, the blunder-bus the man had carried, that undoubtedly he had intended firing through the hole in the door, lay still smoking after its recent discharge.
'Parbleu! Did I not say so?' declared Alphonse with a flourish. 'I have ears to hear, monsieur. I caught the slither of a bare foot and I was warned. My shot caught him just at the right moment. But it might be well to hold a council. Eh? A council of war, monsieur.'
He dragged a seat close to the door, and sat down there with his head at the jagged opening. The Professor drew a cigar from his pocket, bit the end off with a snap, and lit the weed.
'A council, yes,' he said. 'I will state the facts. We chartered a ship at Shanghai captained by a rascal, and with a crew none the better. They had accomplices in the Gulf of Pechili, and the ruffians hoped to secure their booty without a struggle. Of course, we should have been cut to pieces and dropped overboard.'
Alphonse shivered, though every one could see that he was merely making pretence to be frightened. 'Dites donc,' he cried pleadingly, 'but that is dreadful. It makes me feel faint. They would surely not be so harsh with us.'
The grimace he made set Dick roaring, while the Professor smiled grimly.
'Easy enough to make fun of it, Alphonse, but if it hadn't been for your watching we should be down below already. Other Europeans have suffered in the same way, have disappeared and never been heard of again.'
Unconsciously David's thoughts went to his father. He had been assailed more than once when in China; for even at this day, when Western influence is slowly beginning to gain ground in the Celestial Empire, Europeans are still foreign devils to the common mob, intruders, to be killed whenever possible. True, in some quarters the old animosity is beginning to disappear. Wealthy Chinese travel now-a-days, and return home imbued with the wish to give up old and useless institutions and habits, to substitute a modern education for one dating back to the days of Confucius, and to throw open the doors of their native land, so that the miles and miles of rich territory may be developed and bring forth its wealth. That is something. Thirty years ago there was hardly one single Chinaman amongst all the millions the Emperor boasted of who had been away from his native shores, and though an ambassador here and there may have returned with his eyes widely opened, with a desire to westernise his country, what was the value of his influence when all else were against him? It was death almost to suggest change. Arrogance was always a failing of the pig-tailed race, and only time and severe lessons could teach the people that there were other races on a higher footing. And lessons China has had. She has seen foreigners snatch corners of her territory. She has stood helplessly aside and watched Russia enter Manchuria and lay her railways to Port Arthur, and again has watched her neighbour, whom she formerly despised, throw herself upon the Russians and conquer them. And why? Because she had westernised her people. Because Japan had organised her navy and her army on modern lines, and armed them with modern guns. Then why should China not follow? Slowly but surely the desire to do so is filtering through the country, and slowly the change will come. As we have said, a European is still a 'foreign devil' to the bulk of the people to-day. To-morrow he may be as a brother.
'My father was killed during a sudden attack,' said David. 'He was up country, north of Pekin – '
'Where I shall hope to take you all,' interrupted the Professor. 'That is to say, if these rascals will allow us.'
'There was a missionary with him, one who knew the people well. But they were murdered for what they carried, and, as it afterwards appeared, on a sudden suggestion made to the people in the nearest village. There had been several cases of fever, and four persons had died. It was put down to the white men, and that was the excuse for their murder.'
'And that is nearly always the case ashore,' agreed the Professor. 'A missionary, for example, is the best of fellows. He helps the people, is great friends with them, and all goes well till some bigoted ruffian comes along. He wants the odds and ends the missionary possesses. He trumps up some paltry charge, works up his ignorant comrades into a fury, and sends them to murder the "foreign devil." The rascal himself generally disappears with all the white man's possessions. But here there is no working up. The pirates of the Gulf have existed for centuries; murder and pillage is their profession.'
'Hark! I heard something more; stay still if you please, messieurs.'
Alphonse again canted his head to one side like a bird, and one could see that he was listening. His peaky little beard seemed actually to bristle. He jerked his head. His blue eyes sparkled in the lamp-light, then he leaped to his feet.
'The lamp, monsieur,' he cried, 'put it out. They are above us; they have clambered on to the roof of the cabin.'
David could hardly believe it, and though the whole party stood absolutely silent for nearly five minutes, it was not till that time had elapsed that a sound came to their ears to confirm Alphonse's statement. There was a loud bang on the roof, followed by others.
'Pardon, monsieur,' said Alphonse quietly, taking the lantern from the Professor's hand. 'I go to see what is doing. Perhaps one of the messieurs will support me.'
He moved to the doorway promptly, and David sprang to follow. Dick and the Professor drew the bolts silently, though there was little fear of being heard, for the noise above was now very great, the sound of rending wood coming clearly to them. Then they pulled the door open, and Alphonse and David stepped out.
'Up the ladder, mon cher,' whispered the Frenchman. 'I will climb, and you after me. I will cast the light upon them, and at once descend. You can cover me with your pistol; but first to see if the deck is clear.'
They stood still for some seconds, staring into the gloom. But already the light was coming, so that they could see further than at the beginning of the attack. Without a doubt the deck was unoccupied, save by the bodies of those who had fallen. Alphonse nudged David at once, and slid across to the ladder that mounted to the roof of the cabin right at the side of the ship. In a minute both were high enough, then Alphonse coolly turned the slide and threw a broad beam on the enemy. The roof was packed with them. A dozen men, at least, armed with native adzes, were hacking at the deck in as many different places. The Frenchman, undismayed by the angry shouts which greeted his appearance, coolly cast the beam on either side, and only desisted when one of the enemy, a huge fellow with muscular limbs, leaped forward, swinging his adze.
'Monsieur, I think it rests with you,' he said quickly, sliding to one side to allow David to clamber a little higher. 'Monsieur shoots well. He has nerve, eh? That fine fellow will trouble us no longer.'
There was no trace of excitement about him, even when David with a well-directed shot brought the ruffian crashing to the deck. Alphonse merely chuckled, then squeezed himself still more to one side, politely making more room for our hero.
'We will return now if monsieur is ready,' he said. 'Merci, I will follow.'
He came slowly down the ladder after David, and entered the cabin again as unconcerned as if he had merely been out to look at the weather. As for our hero, the recent exploit concerned him far less than did the report he brought to the Professor.
'Two dozen of them, working like demons to break through into the cabin,' he said. 'I can't see how we can prevent them. We can shoot through one or more of the gaps, but when there are so many we shall not be able to watch them.'
The Professor took a long pull at his cigar. David and Dick saw the end of the weed redden in the darkness, while the smoke he blew from his lips was visible in the reflected light. Then Alphonse opened just a crevice of the lamp, thus allowing them to see one another. Even now the features of the leader of the expedition were anything but mournful. The jaw was, if anything, a little squarer. The Professor wore the appearance of a man who is confident, but who at the same time has his back against a wall.
'Call Hung,' he commanded, and when that worthy appeared, 'Run along beyond the barricade,' he urged him. 'Take Hu Ty with you. Report if men are in the bows, and if so, how many. Do not appear on deck. Send the other two to me.'
They came clambering up from the dark alley-way a moment later, Jong still grinning, the more so when he listened to the racket taking place overhead, while Lo Fing kow-towed before his master.
'We are here, Excellency,' he said. 'Your orders?'
'Take everything you see that is of value. You know what the boxes contain; carry them down below at once. Quickly! There is no time to lose. Dick, David, Alphonse, put your backs into the work.'
'Going to make a stand down below,' thought our hero. 'The only move we can make. I wonder if we could get right forward.'
Like the others, he seized upon the boxes that contained all their possessions, and which the Professor, with a knowledge of Chinese cupidity and cunning, had insisted should be stacked in the cabin. Then, when after some three minutes every bale and box was below, he ventured to broach his ideas to the Professor.
'Thought of it myself,' came the short answer. 'Go along with Hung. He's been back to say that the coast is clear. Report as soon as possible if there is a place where we can make a stand. I don't care for this alley-way. Too much like rats in a trap. Quick with it, David.'
In that instant, if never before, David realised that here was indeed a leader; for the Professor was not in the smallest degree flurried. His cheroot still glimmered redly. He drew in the smoke and blew out huge billows. But all the while he was listening to the sounds above, calculating the chances of his party, thinking how best to act so as to secure their safety.
'Why not?' he suddenly exclaimed aloud. 'It's been done before. Why not again?'
'Pardon, monsieur,' ventured Alphonse, standing beside his master, as if to guard him. 'You spoke.'
'Of something that occurred to me. All in good time, my friend. What do you think of the situation?'
The Frenchman threw up his eyes and shrugged his shoulders in a manner sufficiently expressive. 'Monsieur knows better than I,' he said. 'I shall still live to cook and valet for monsieur.'
'Then you shall if I can contrive it. Ah, there is David. Well?' asked the leader of the party.
'Not a soul forward. It's lighter by a long way,' reported our hero. 'I sneaked on deck, and counted forty-three Chinese over our heads. They are hacking away like madmen.'
'Then we will leave them to it. In five minutes at least they will have broken through into the cabin. Get below and shoulder a box, David. We are following.'
The Professor marshalled his little force into the alley-way, and stepped coolly down the ladder after them. Not one word did he utter to hint what were his intentions. All that his supporters knew was that they were retreating from a position that was no longer tenable. But as to the future – well, Alphonse's shrug gave them little indication.