WINGED
For the first time in twenty-four hours Burroughs felt at ease;
Errington was with him, Meichow was already far behind, and there was
little more to fear from the enemy. Su Fing's launch was an old steamer,
incapable of effective pursuit. The only vessel of any speed at Meichow
was Reinhardt's motor launch, though even in the water that could not
vie with the flying boat. No doubt by this time the door of Errington's
room in the yamen had been opened, and Reinhardt might have convinced
the sentinel that a trick had been played upon their captain, and that
he, not the insolent stranger, was the true German. But it was unlikely
that he would be wholly liberated until the chief's arrival, and then it
would be too late even to attempt pursuit.
But all depended on the possibility of keeping the machine in good
running order, and Burroughs soon began to be anxious on this score.
When flying, it consumed a great deal more petrol than when used as a
hydroplane, and the trial trips and the false start had deplenished his
supply.
"I doubt whether we've got enough to carry us to Sui-Fu," he said to
Errington at his side.
"Chia-ling Fu is still in the hands of the rebels?"
"It was yesterday. We shan't be safe until we reach Sui-Fu."
"You had better drop, then, and run in the water. We've come too far
already for them to overtake us."
This seemed good advice, and Burroughs shut off the tractor and let the
vessel drop gently into the water. Assisted by the current, and with
the engine at little more than half speed, it skimmed along at the rate
of at least twenty-five knots.
"I think I had better go and have a word with Chung Pi," said Burroughs
to Errington. "He's in a terrible stew by the look of him."
"He's done for with Su Fing, beyond doubt. Go and smooth him down as
well as you can, old man."
Burroughs left Errington to navigate the boat, and sat down at Chung
Pi's feet, calling Chin Tai to interpret.
"Have the evil spirits taken possession of the thing?" asked the unhappy
captain. "But no; I see that you are not perturbed in mind, honourable
stranger. What is the meaning of this? Did you not see the chief's
launch? Why do you not give him the boat, and the thousand dollars that
your august mandarins sent to support him?"
"I owe you a humble apology, noble captain," replied Burroughs. "I will
confess all to you, and when you have heard me, I hope you will pardon
me. The prisoner there is my friend."
"But you are a German!" Chung Pi interrupted.
"No. I am an Englishman." Chung Pi groaned. "My friend, as you know,
had the ill-fortune to interfere with your chief in a little fight
down-stream, and your chief very naturally got even with him as soon as
he could. Since he could be released in no other way, I came up on this
vessel to see what I could do. Imagine, then, my dismay when, on
returning with you from our little trip, I saw the launch of a man, a
German, who had been a bad friend to my friend there, and had refused to
help him, though I begged him to do so, knowing his relations with your
chief."
"Ah! It is ill to catch a fish, and throw away the net," said Chung Pi
sententiously. "But you say he is a German. Where, then, is his
moustache?"
"Here!" said Burroughs solemnly, pointing to his upper lip.
The Chinaman gasped. Bending forward, he examined the moustache
closely.
"Such a thing I never heard of," he cried. "Are you speaking the truth?
You have deceived me once and twice."
"I know--I'm sorry I had to do it. The moustache was shaved from the
German in an opium house, and a skilful countryman of yours fitted it to
my own hairless lip."
The Chinaman smiled; then he appeared to reflect.
"It was well done," he said presently. "Will you tell me where I can
find that man?"
"My comprador can tell you," Burroughs replied. "Are you thinking of
employing him?"
"I should like my moustache to grow up instead of down," said Chung Pi
simply. "Yours is so much more becoming to a warrior."
"If it didn't tickle so! But, noble captain, we must consider your
position."
Chung Pi's look of anxiety returned; in his preoccupation with this
wonderful matter of the moustache he had forgotten that he too was a
fugitive.
"Su Fing has a very hasty temper, by all accounts," Burroughs went on.
"The loss of his prisoner, and your treatment of his German friend, will
make him very angry with you; he will believe, no doubt, that you are a
party to the whole scheme, and I'm very much afraid that it won't be
safe for you to show your face at Meichow again."
"Su Fing would chop off my head," said the captain ruefully.
"And that would be an irreparable loss," said Burroughs. ("Not like the
loss of a moustache," added Chin Tai in translating.) "We are going to
Sui-Fu. Will you come with us, or shall we put you down somewhere near
Chia-ling Fu, and leave you to make your peace with the chief?"
"Not that," said Chung Pi decisively. "A fish may sport in the kettle,
but his life will not be long. I will go with you to Sui-Fu. And
then----"
He fell into a train of deep reflection. Burroughs waited, expecting him
to reveal something of what was passing in his mind; but after some
minutes' silence, he said--
"I feel that I have treated you very shabbily, noble captain; but
perhaps if you consider what you yourself would have done in the same
circumstances----"
"Say no more, illustrious stranger," Chung Pi interrupted, with a smile
which Burroughs at the time was at a loss to understand. "I feel that I
am hanging on the tail of a beautiful horse."
"What does he mean?" asked Burroughs of Chin Tai, who grinned as he
translated the captain's remark.
"Hai! He say he catchee tailo numpa one hoss," said the man; "that tell
he tink he belongey some time topside fella."
"Get a rise in the world? I don't quite see it."
"Massa no unastand this time; some time massa savvy pidgin all same,"
said Chin Tai.
The explanation was as obscure as the original statement; but Burroughs
did not press the matter; he had caught sight of Chia-ling Fu in the
distance.
His intention was to run past the town at full speed. It was in the
occupation of the rebels: the river was no doubt crowded with their
sampans and other small craft; but the speed of the hydroplane was so
great that it ought to be easy to slip past almost before the rebels
were aware of their approach. When once they had run by, there was
nothing in the harbour that could catch them. Then, with evening
closing upon them, the remainder of the journey down to Sui-Fu would be
free from peril.
The Englishmen were, however, much startled when, on drawing nearer to
the town, they saw, apparently anchored in mid-stream, one of the
gunboats which had been lying early that morning in the river above
Mei-chow. Burroughs remembered now that when he had accompanied Chung
Pi down to the landing-stage the vessel had left its moorings. He had
supposed that it had gone up-stream to meet the chief; but it seemed
probable that it had been sent downstream to announce at Chia-ling Fu
the victory which Su Fing wished his supporters to believe that he had
won.
"This is rather awkward," said Errington. "That's the very boat that
took me to Mei-chow. If they see me here they'll smell a rat."
"You can duck down: then they won't see you. Besides, if they see Chung
Pi they'll never dream there's anything wrong."
"There's something in that; but it looks to me as if they are waiting
for us. If they are they may fire before we are near enough for them to
see Chung Pi."
They knew the vessel well. She had been employed for some time in
patrolling the river, before she was captured by the pirates. She
carried a ten-pounder and a couple of machine guns. Su Fing, on
arriving at his headquarters and learning what had happened, had at once
telegraphed to Chia-ling Fu, ordering the gunboat to intercept the
hydroplane.
Almost as soon as Errington had spoken, there was a spurt of flame from
the bows of the vessel, and a heavy splash in the water only twenty or
thirty yards behind them. No further proof was needed that the gunboat
had been lying in wait for them, and that the gunners had got the range
to a nicety. Only the great speed of the hydroplane had saved it.
Burroughs did not lose a moment in meeting this emergency. Throwing the
differential gearing into action, he set the air tractor in motion, and
managed to lift the vessel above the surface just as a second shot
dashed up a shower of spray beneath him. He glanced at the banks right
and left: the country was too open to give any shelter from the enemy's
fire, and no matter in which direction he steered, he could hardly be
safe against the gun for several minutes, when he should have succeeded
in rising to an altitude at which only high-angle fire could be
effective. And to make matters worse, the machine guns were brought
into action, and a stream of bullets rattled and hissed around him.
Chung Pi and the other Chinamen had at the first shot thrown themselves
face downwards in the bottom of the boat.
"Straight forward, Ted; right over their heads," cried Errington, "it's
the only chance. They can't use their guns then, and I'll give odds
against their doing any damage with rifles."
Clearly this was the best thing to be done. The next few moments were
tense with excitement. The vessel rose, but it seemed to Burroughs that
she had never answered so slowly to the elevating lever. Above the hum
of the tractor could be heard the zip of bullets as they tore their way
through the canvas of the planes and the sides of the boat. Burroughs
felt a nervous dread lest a shot should reach the petrol tank or the
cylinders. But the boat still rose; it was drawing rapidly nearer to the
enemy, and the Englishmen held their breath with suspense.
[Illustration: RUNNING THE GAUNTLET]
There fell a sudden silence. Burroughs' intention had been seen by the
gunners, and as they could not lift their pieces high enough to take aim
at the vessel now that it was rising, and the range altering every
moment, the gunboat was slewing round as if to head down-stream. It was
broadside against the stream when the flying boat flashed by at a height
of sixty feet. The occupants heard the reports of several rifles; but
they were now travelling at the rate of fifty or sixty miles an hour,
and nothing but a shower of bullets from the machine guns had any
likelihood of striking them.
"All right now," said Errington, with a gasp of relief, when the flying
boat was a good two hundred yards down-stream, and the gunboat was still
turning.
"I hope so," replied Burroughs.
He glanced from right to left, undecided whether it would not be
advisable to strike inland and return to the river lower down; for the
channel was pretty straight for a long distance, and the vessel, if it
flew directly forward, would still be in danger from the guns. In a few
moments, however, he decided that there was even more risk in leaving
the river if any mischance should happen to the boat. For one thing,
the longer he flew, the more petrol he consumed; for another, if the
engine failed, and he was forced to descend, on land he would be at the
mercy of any wandering predatory band, whereas on the water he could
always drift on the current, with some chance of safety if he did not
happen to be observed. Accordingly he flew straight ahead, intending to
sink upon the surface as soon as a bend in the river hid the vessel from
view.
In another half-minute the machine guns recommenced firing. The aim of
the gunners appeared to be even wilder than before. Chung Pi and the
servants had recovered courage enough to rise to their knees and peer
over the edge of the canvas side at the gunboat far behind. The captain
laughed as he heard the report of the guns, and made a jocular remark
about the paltry skill of Su Fing's gunners. There was no longer the
whistle of bullets flying around, nor the slight ripping sound of the
shots passing through the planes. It seemed that all danger was over.
The flying boat was now skirting the edge of the swamp in which it had
been concealed by the river pirates, and Errington remembered that
Burroughs had never heard the full story of that strange episode. He
had been tempted to refer to the matter during the lunch with Reinhardt,
but the German was in a sense their guest; and since Burroughs did not
mention it, Errington said nothing. After all it was Burroughs' affair.
The story would keep until they reached Sui-Fu.
They were now about three-quarters of a mile from the gunboat, and
Burroughs, with his eye on a bend in the course a short distance ahead,
just where the painted rocks gave warning that the water-way was not
clear, was congratulating himself that at that point he might safely
descend. Suddenly the firing behind redoubled in fury; it seemed that
the gunners had realized that in a few seconds their chance would be
gone. Bullets sang around; the Chinamen again ducked their heads below
the gunwale; and once or twice there were the ominous sounds of bullets
tearing through the planes, or flattening themselves against the metal
parts of the framework.
They were within a hundred yards of safety when a double catastrophe
happened. Almost at the same instant the engine ceased to work and one
of the stays was cut clean through. In the excitement and anxiety of
the moment Burroughs was unaware that he was wounded, and a cry uttered
by Chung Pi passed quite unnoticed. The vessel tilted; for a terrible
second it seemed that it must turn completely over; but Burroughs by a
dexterous movement succeeded in partially righting it, at the same time
shifting the rudder so as to steer to the right over the swamp. He had
at once recognized that to fall into the river would have thrown the
whole party into the hands of the rebels. Flight and hydroplaning were
equally impossible; and the only chance of evading capture was to steer
over the swamp. He had seen at a glance that the intricate network of
channels, overgrown with weeds, might furnish a temporary refuge until
the vessel's injuries had been examined and if possible repaired.
The momentum of the boat carried it perhaps a quarter of a mile after
the accident happened. Burroughs was able to bring it safely to the
surface of one of the channels.
"Here's a pretty look-out!" he said to Errington. "They'll see what has
happened, run down at full speed, and be up with us in ten minutes at
the most. Luckily the gunboat can't follow us into this swamp; they'll
have to lower boats to find us; we've got a few minutes to discover a
hiding-place."
"That's all right, old man," said Errington cheerfully. "I know this
swamp. We'll give them a chase at any rate."