RIVER PIRATES
One day Errington had occasion to go some sixty or seventy miles up
river, to look after a consignment of goods which had been wrecked in
one of the native junks. He had some reason to suspect that the wreck
had not been merely an accident. There was a good deal of unrest in
that part of the country. Various cases of piracy had been reported
both up and down the river, and in Reinhardt's absence Errington thought
he had better run up himself, see that the cargo was safe, and make a
few inquiries into the state of affairs generally.
Burroughs and he had devoted much of their spare time to their flying
boat, which they were determined should thoroughly deserve the name by
the time they visited Shanghai again. The journey offered an
opportunity of testing it over a longer distance and in deeper water
than hitherto, so Burroughs was nothing loath to accept his friend's
invitation to accompany him, and took a day off for the purpose. They
employed the vessel as a hydroplane on the way up, being reluctant to
run any risks until Errington's business had been attended to.
On arriving at the scene of the wreck, Errington found that to all
appearance this had been purely accidental. He arranged for the salvage
of the goods, and the forwarding of them in another junk, and then set
off in the early afternoon on the return journey.
It was a brilliant day, with very little wind; and having no further
anxieties on the score of business, they felt free to experiment with
the vessel in the air. They had no doubt of the power of the motor to
generate sufficient speed to lift the hydroplane from the surface; their
only concern was the stability of it when flying. Opening out the
planes, which lay folded close to the vessel, like the wings of a
dragonfly, when not required for aerial use, they fixed the collapsible
stays and switched their motor on to the air tractor at the bows. The
vessel was already planing under the stern propeller; she now rose from
the water and sailed along for some time within a few feet of the
surface. Then, tempted by the apparently favourable conditions, they
rose gradually to a greater height, and felt very well pleased with
their success.
Unluckily, however, they came suddenly upon an air pocket, caused no
doubt by the difference between the temperature of the air above the
banks and that of the cooler air above the river. The machine dropped
with a rapidity that took them both by surprise, for as yet they were
not very expert airmen. It plunged heavily into the water. They had
provided themselves with air-bags, so that the immersion lasted only a
few seconds; but the ignition of the engine was stopped, and they found
themselves in the unfortunate position of being unable to use the vessel
now even as a hydroplane.
With some difficulty they managed, with the help of their Chinese
engineer, to get the machine to the bank. Recognizing the awkwardness
of their situation if they should find themselves overtaken by night so
far from home, they set to work energetically to overhaul the engine.
It was a long time before they could make it work again. Meanwhile dusk
was drawing on, and they were at least fifty miles from Sui-Fu. When at
last they were satisfied that the engine would work well enough to
propel them through the water, they knew that it would be quite dark
before they reached home.
They pressed on with all the speed of which the engine was capable,
keeping well out in the broad river in order to avoid the masses of
reeds that fringed the banks. The sky grew darker and darker, though
there was a little more light on the water than over the surrounding
country. Suddenly their attention was attracted by a continuous
whistling, evidently from the siren of a steamer some distance down
stream. They felt some curiosity as to the reason of so prolonged a
noise; but they had already learnt that in China people do such
inconceivable things at such unusual times, looked at from the Western
standpoint, that their interest was not seriously engaged.
"Some old buffer of a Chinaman amusing himself, I suppose," said
Errington. "They seem to like to hear how much row they can kick up."
They were travelling at the rate of about twenty-five knots, and the
whistling grew louder moment by moment. As they steered somewhat nearer
to the bank, to take a short cut round a bend, they suddenly came in
sight of a small steamer about three hundred yards ahead of them. It
was now so nearly dark that the vessel was not very clearly
distinguishable.
Almost as soon as they caught sight of it, the scream of the siren
suddenly ceased; but immediately they became aware of a shrill babel of
voices--cries and shouts in the high tones that Chinamen invariably
employ. And as they drew swiftly nearer, they perceived that the vessel
was surrounded by a number of sampans, the low punt-like boats used by
the lightermen of the ports, and also by the pirates who infested the
river.
A moment later they recognized the steamer. There were few vessels of
the kind in these high reaches of the Yang-tse-kiang, and they had lived
long enough at Sui-Fu to be able easily to distinguish them.
"It's Ting's vessel," said Errington.
Scarcely had he spoken when two or three pistol shots rang out. There
was not a doubt that the steamer was being attacked. Burroughs, at the
wheel, steered straight for it. Errington snatched up his revolver, but
an uneasy suspicion suggesting itself to him, he snapped it, and found
that its immersion had rendered it useless.
Only a few seconds had passed since they had first caught sight of the
steamer. Unarmed as they were, they meant to take a hand in behalf of
Mr. Ting. Each seized a heavy spanner from their tool chest, and
Burroughs, telling the engineer to tie the machine to the steamer's
stern rail, shut off the engine and drove the hydroplane among the
sampans, sinking two of them by the impact.
Then seizing the stern rail, the two lads drew themselves up, and
vaulted on deck. There was no one at the wheel, but a crowd of
struggling forms was to be seen scrambling up the narrow gangways to the
bridge, where there or four men were striving desperately to force the
assailants back. At a glance Errington saw that the men on the bridge
were the officers and crew of the vessel, and shouting to Burroughs to
take the port gangway, he himself made a dash towards the starboard one,
and fell upon the rear of the crowd.
The darkness, the excitement, the noise of the fight, had prevented the
attackers from discovering the approach of the hydroplane, so that the
sudden onslaught of the two white men, wielding heavy iron tools with
the vigour of sturdy youth, took them completely by surprise. Both
Errington and Burroughs were very "fit" through much exercise, and three
or four of the crowd at each gangway had gone down under their vigorous
blows before those in front became aware of their danger. When they
turned and found that their new opponents numbered only two, they rushed
upon them with yells of rage. But they had now to reckon with the men on
the bridge, who instantly took advantage of the diversion, and springing
down the gangways, threw themselves upon what was now the rear of their
assailants.
But for this rapid movement, the fight would have gone badly for the
Englishmen. One or two pistols were snapped at them, and they had
already received several gashes from the ugly knives of the pirates.
But it was evident from what happened now that the men on the bridge had
been husbanding their ammunition. Shots fell thick among the pirates
huddled on the gangways and the deck adjacent. One slightly built
Chinaman, his pigtail streaming behind him, flung himself down from the
bridge towards the spot where Burroughs, half stunned by a blow from a
burly ruffian, had been beaten to the deck. This little man carried a
knife in each hand, and used these weapons with such demoniacal fury
that in a second or two he cleared the space between him and the fallen
Englishman.
The sudden turning of the tables took all the spirit out of the pirates,
who, though they were still three to one, sprang overboard on both sides
of the vessel, and swimming to their sampans, scuttled away like rats
shoreward.
"A velly good fight," said Mr. Ting, wiping his knives and raising
Burroughs from the deck. "No bones bloken?"
"It's nothing," said Burroughs. "I got a whack over the head that made
me see stars. Jolly glad you came to the rescue, sir, or there wouldn't
have been much left of me."
"Hai! I think it is all vice vessa. Without you and Pierce, where
should I be? You got a whack, Pierce?"
"Oh, a baker's dozen or so, but I've had worse at rugger," said
Errington coming up. "No: hang it! they've cut me, I see; we don't use
knives in our scrums. What's it all about, Mr. Ting?"
"As you see, these pilate hogs attacked me. I was going back after
doing a little business--plomised myself I would dine with you. But let
us see who these pigs are."
[Illustration: A BRUSH WITH RIVER PIRATES]
His crew had already thrown overboard two dead bodies, and collected
several wounded at the foot of the gangway. A lamp was lighted, and one
of the prisoners, whose head bore plain marks of contact with
Errington's spanner, was recognized by Mr. Ting's engineer as a
notorious bandit and pirate named Su Fing.
"The blessings of Heaven descend upon the just," murmured Mr. Ting.
"This man is the worst water-lat of the liver. He is plotected by one
of the seclet societies that are the cuss of this countly, and all the
mandalins and plefects and likin[#] officers are aflaid of him, and hate
him as much. Suppose we take him to the yamen and accuse him befo' the
mandalin, he would be aflaid to pass sentence upon him. Why? Because he
would be killed dead by the assassins of the seclet society. No: we
will take him to the Consular Court at Sui-Fu; there we shall have
justice. Of course his punishment will not be so heavy as if he was
condemned by a mandalin. Then he would have his head cut off, or stand
in the cage, after a beating with the bamboo or the leather. The
consuls do not punish thus. But when you cannot get the moon, a cheese
is velly acceptable: that is what we will do."
[#] Customs house.
The pirate captain and his wounded men were conveyed on the steamer to
Sui-Fu, and Mr. Ting accompanied the boys to the consul's court to see
the matter through. The consul declared, however, that since the crime
had been committed against a Chinaman, he as an Englishman had no
jurisdiction, and the prisoners had to be brought before the local
mandarin. The result was as Mr. Ting had foreseen. The evidence was so
clear that it was impossible, even for a Chinese magistrate, to decide
in favour of the pirates. He condemned them all to be beaten on the
cheeks with the leather, and then to stand tiptoe in the cage, with
their heads held up at the top so that they could get no ease from the
intolerable pain. But the administrators of the beating laid their
strokes on very lightly, and the custodians of the cages left the
fastenings conveniently loose, so that within a few hours the men were
at large. They remained quiet for a few weeks, while their wounds
healed: then it was evident, from reports brought down the river, that
they were at their old trade again.
"A nice country this is," said Errington in disgust. "We'll take care
in future, old man, to keep our revolvers dry."