Sir Thomas Armitage did not at first recognise his nephew, and when he
did so, he could hardly believe the evidence of his eyes.
"Frank!" he exclaimed. "However did you come here?"
"That is too long a story to tell you now," answered the boy. "What a
relief it is to see you! All these days I have not known whether you
were alive or dead."
"Say," said Mr Waldron, "are we to be let loose? Am I a free citizen of
the United States or a condemned criminal? I should like to know."
Frank turned to Ling.
"Those are questions," said he, "which you are better able to answer
than I."
Ling, finding it inconvenient to remain standing in so cramped a
position, seated himself cross-legged upon the floor and spoke in
excellent English.
"You are right," said he. "The situation is in my hands. I hold you as
hostages until the ransom is paid."
Here Mr Waldron was guilty of an injudicious action. He expressed
himself with extreme rashness in a moment of deep-seated indignation.
"I assure you," said he, "that I will pay this twenty thousand dollars
without question and without delay. To be frank, I consider the value
of my freedom and my safety to be far greater than that. Twenty
thousand dollars is nothing to me."
"I am glad to hear it," said Ling. "I may demand forty or even fifty
thousand. In the meantime, I must satisfy myself with what I can get."
"Do I understand," said the judge, addressing himself to the Honanese,
"that you are not one of Cheong-Chau's band?"
"Does the tiger serve the wolf?" said Ling. "I am neither his coolie
nor is he mine. Understand that I have taken possession of this junk,
that at the present moment every man on board is bound hand and foot,
with the exception of this boy. The crew, the ransom money, Cheong-Chau
and yourselves--all are at the mercy of the mighty Ling. I will tell
you plainly what I intend to do.
"At any moment," he continued, "I expect the ransom money to arrive at
its destination. It is possible that Cheong-Chau may put in an
appearance. When he recovers his senses, he will probably behave like a
madman. If he puts his head into the tiger's jaws, the fault is
his--not mine. It would appear to be a simple matter for me to possess
myself of this money. I have but to wait here until it arrives, and
then, taking the treasure on board, to sail down-stream to the North
River, and thence to Canton. However, I have reason to suspect
treachery. I must therefore be careful to act with the greatest
circumspection."
"Treachery from whom?" asked Frank.
"From your friend, Yung How," said Ling, "the Hong-Kong 'boy.'"
He got suddenly to his feet, and passing through the door into the cabin
beyond, set foot upon the lowest rung of the little companion-ladder
that led to the deck above.
"I leave you for a few seconds," said he to Frank. "In my absence you
are not to attempt to unbind your friends. I propose to inconvenience
them a little longer."
He mounted the ladder and returned soon afterwards, carrying the man
whom he had overpowered on the upper deck. This fellow he threw down
upon the ground alongside the others. He then returned to the inner
room.
"I desire you to come with me," said he, still addressing Frank. "It is
not so much that I find your company indispensable, as that I am not
such a fool as to leave you on board. I propose to go to the tower,
from the top of which we shall be able to obtain a good view of the
surrounding country. So soon as the money arrives we will return to the
junk. You will assist me in hoisting the sail and navigating the ship
down-stream after we have taken our cargo on board. I know of a village
on the North River where I shall find friends who will assist me--good
seamen, who know their work. These will sign on as my crew, and
Cheong-Chau's men can be packed off ashore. We shall sail to an island
that lies not far from Macao. There I shall keep you and your two
friends in comfort and in safety--if not in luxury--until I obtain a
second ransom. This gentleman," he added, indicating Mr Waldron, "has
been so obliging as to inform me that he can well afford to pay fifty
thousand dollars. Very well, he shall do so. The matter can be
arranged."
He then told Frank to ascend the companion-ladder, he himself following,
the ladder creaking violently beneath his weight.
Upon the deck they were able to observe the first signs of daybreak upon
the horizon to the east. The old moon was setting; one by one, the
stars were disappearing in the sky. The river at that hour looked
ghostly. A thin white mist was drifting down the valley.
Ling, walking to the stern part of the ship, found a small boat, a kind
of dinghy. This he lowered into the water; and then he and Frank
climbed down by means of a rope. It required but a few strokes of the
oar, wielded by Ling's powerful arms, to drive the boat into the bank,
where he hid it among the rushes. A moment after they set off walking
rapidly in the direction of the tower and the Glade of Children's Tears.
By that time the first rays of the sun had flooded the valley with a
stream of golden light. Frank observed that a great many of the trees
were covered with bloom, and that the surrounding country was rich in
colour, the slopes across the river being scarlet with the bloom of the
opium poppy.
Ling came to a halt before a carved door at the base of the tower.
Opening this, he entered, followed by the boy, and found himself in a
small circular room. Owing to the semi-darkness of the place, Frank
could not at first take in his surroundings, but as soon as his eyes
grew accustomed to the light, he was able to make out a narrow spiral
staircase, built into the wall itself, which must have been at least
five feet thick.
By means of this they ascended to the top of the tower, where they found
themselves upon a narrow, projecting balcony, encircling a little room
that reminded Frank of a summer-house. From this position they were
able to look down upon the whole valley, which extended to the east as
far as the eye could reach, but which to the left vanished at a distance
of about a mile behind a great fold in the hills.
"We wait here," said Ling. "At any moment the treasure may arrive. If
you take my advice you will go inside and snatch a few hours' sleep.
There are strenuous days in front of you. You will have to work for
your living. But I will reward you. I am a kind master, as those know
well who serve me to the best of their ability."
Frank, thinking that he might as well follow this suggestion, entered
the small circular chamber, and there lay down upon the floor, using his
rolled coat as a pillow. Almost immediately he fell asleep, and must
have slept for several hours, for, when Ling awakened him, he noticed
that the sun had passed its meridian, and was already sinking towards
the west.
The boy was exceedingly hungry, and accepted with eagerness the offer of
a large piece of rice-cake which Ling produced from his pocket. Hardly
had he taken a mouthful when he remembered his uncle and Mr Waldron.
"Your prisoners!" he exclaimed. "They will be starving!"
The Chinaman shook his head.
"Not so," said he, "whilst you were asleep, I returned to the junk and
attended to their wants. I gave them food to eat and water to drink.
Besides, I was anxious to see that all was well."
"Supposing they are found," said Frank, after a pause, "by some junk
passing up or down the river? There is plenty of traffic upon the Sang
River, as you know, this part of the country being thickly populated."
"They will not be found," said the Chinaman. "There is no reason why
anything of the sort should happen. They have no means of communicating
with anyone passing upon the river. And there is nothing extraordinary
in the spectacle of a junk lying anchored clear of the mid-stream
fairway. You yourself often must have seen upon the Chinese rivers
thousands of such boats with not a soul visible on board. In all such
cases the crew has either gone ashore to drink _samshu_ or to smoke
opium, or else they lie asleep below. I am anxious about
nothing--except, perhaps, Yung How," he added, in an altered voice.
"And the money has not come?" asked Frank.
"It is coming," said Ling. "That is why I awakened you."
"It is coming now!" The boy sprang to his feet.
Ling pointed to the west, in the direction of the river. There, sure
enough, about half-a-mile down-stream, was a small white launch, similar
to those which may be seen by the score in Hong-Kong harbour, heading
straight for the southern bank, for the Glade of Children's Tears.
Like a great vulture in the heavens that soars higher and higher in a
series of concentric circles, Ling from the top of the tower looked down
upon his prey. After the manner of a vulture, he did but bide his time.
The launch ran into a narrow creek, and for a moment was hidden from
view by the trees of the little wood. Shortly after, it appeared again,
and both Frank and Ling watched the Chinese sailors tie her up to a
stunted tree that overhung the water. On board were three Europeans,
dressed in white ducks and wearing sun-helmets. The launch was too far
away for Frank to recognise these men.
And then they witnessed a sight that made the dark eyes of the great
Honanese glitter with triumph and greed; his wide mouth expanded in a
smile. A plank was thrown from the launch to the shore. Across this
gangway bag after bag was carried, each one so heavy with silver that it
required two men to lift it.
At last the task was ended. The Europeans, who had superintended the
discharging of this precious cargo, returned to the launch, which
presently turned slowly round and made off down-stream. In the red
light of the setting sun, on the surface of the water, they could see
the convergent lines of ripples spreading from the bows of the launch.
Ling laughed.
"Come!" he cried, seizing Frank by a wrist and dragging him out into the
open. "The ripe harvest awaits the reaper; the honey-comb is full.
Come, come, my little junk rat, let us hasten to the feast. Wisdom and
prudence are always triumphant. The victory is ever to the strong."
As the words left his lips, there came from the direction of the glade
the report of a revolver, and a bullet, speeding upon its way with a
soft, shrill whistle, cut off the lobe of one of the great Chinaman's
ears. On the instant Ling fell flat upon his face, and Frank was not
slow to follow his example.