gathered round the wrecked field-piece; pieces of timber, empty
ammunition-boxes, and even small branches of trees were secured and
placed alongside the gun; and several more men seized the piece and
lifted it up until it was partly supported upon its remaining uninjured
wheel. The pile of material which had been collected was then built
solidly up in place of the wrecked wheel, and the fresh gunners began to
serve the weapon as coolly as though its original crew had not been
blown into eternity a few minutes previously. There could be no doubt
that these Korean rebels were showing themselves to be a remarkably
brave and efficient body of men.
While the wrecked gun was once more being made serviceable, the
Englishman observed that two of the other guns were being slewed round
until their muzzles pointed seaward, and he at once surmised that this
must be the direction from which that devastating shell had come. But
crane his neck as he might, although he could see a portion of the sheet
of water forming Prince Jerome Bay, he could not see the whole of it.
The entrance was clear, however, and it was therefore obvious that the
vessel from which the shot had been fired--for vessel it must be--had
contrived to enter the bay unobserved, and must now be cruising about
somewhere near the south shore.
Frobisher was very anxious to obtain a sight of her, for he greatly
desired to get some idea of what her nationality might be. She might
belong to any of the fleets of the various Powers that maintained
squadrons in Chinese waters at that time; or she might be either a
Chinese or a Japanese war-vessel. Any man-of-war would consider herself
at liberty to interfere, in the event of a battle taking place on Korean
soil, if only for the protection of the foreign inhabitants, whose lives
might be imperilled in consequence of the hostilities; but Frobisher
could not help thinking that the captain of the man-of-war was taking
matters with rather a high hand in deliberately firing on one of the
parties concerned, without first offering that party the opportunity to
come to a peaceful arrangement. Such high-handed action did not appear
like that of a European naval officer, and therefore the most obvious
conclusion was that the vessel must be either Chinese or Japanese.
Even as Frobisher looked, however, the question answered itself, for
moving slowly into his field of vision there appeared the bow of a
cruiser, quite close inshore; and as she gradually revealed her whole
length, her guns flashing continuously meanwhile, the Englishman saw
that the Dragon ensign was flying from her peak, and that she was
therefore a Chinese man-of-war. China, then, had at length decided to
take a hand in the game, and her efforts were to be directed against the
rebels. Knowing as he did the terms of the Tien-tsin convention of 1884
between China and Japan, the words "international complications" at once
suggested themselves to Frobisher's mind, and, despite the awkwardness
of his own position, he could not help rubbing his hands gleefully.
Matters were rapidly developing; and if he could but escape from his
present unpleasant predicament there might be an excellent chance for
him to see active service again, either in the Chinese or the Japanese
Navy--he cared very little which--for that was what things would
evidently come to, sooner or later. Japan was herself too much
interested in Korea to permit China to play out her own game there
alone.
Frobisher had little leisure, however, for the contemplation of possible
diplomatic action on the part of the Chinese or Japanese, for he had now
other things to engage his attention. To his astonishment, as he
watched, he saw that the ship which had just steamed into view was not
alone; she was followed, close astern, by another cruiser of her own
size and class, also firing heavily with her broadside batteries, and
also flying the Chinese flag. A third and fourth vessel--gunboats
these--followed in her wake; and, bringing up the rear, there were three
hired transports which appeared to be crowded with men.
So this was no chance appearance of a single cruiser at a critical
moment; it was evidently part of a preconcerted scheme--some arrangement
previously made between Korea and China whereby the latter country was
to lend her assistance for the crushing of the rebellion, a task which
the Korean Government had apparently decided to be beyond its
capabilities.
The Chinese squadron had been steaming exceedingly slowly when it had
first come into view, and Frobisher could now see, from the flash of
white water under the ships' sterns, that their engines were being sent
astern; and a few seconds later the entire fleet came to an anchor,
their cables flying out through the hawse-pipes with a roar which was
plainly audible at the fort. The four men-of-war anchored stem and
stern, broadside-on to the shore, while the three transports took up
their berths about half a mile farther seaward, the ships themselves
being screened from the rebel fire by the steel hulls of the men-of-war.
Fully recovered now from their first surprise, the rebels resumed their
cannonade most pluckily, two of the field-pieces being directed against
the fleet, while the remaining four retained their original position,
and poured a well-directed and concentrated fire on the fort. It was
apparently the intention of the rebel commander to reduce and take
possession of the fort, if he could, before the Chinese troops should be
enabled to effect a landing, so that he might have some shelter behind
which to hold out until he could summon more rebel troops to his aid.
But the commandant of the garrison had evidently no intention of letting
the fort slip through his fingers, now that assistance was so close at
hand; and from what Frobisher had already seen of him, he felt sure that
his visitor of yesterday was the exact type of man who would blow the
building into the air, with himself and all that it contained, rather
than surrender, even to an overwhelming force. The guns from the
battlements crashed out anew, and although their fire was not nearly so
accurate as that from the rebel pieces, yet, in the long run, weight of
metal was bound to tell; and, while the shot was solid and had not
therefore the devastating effect of the percussion shell fired from the
war-ships, it began to be apparent that some of them at least were
getting home, and that their effect was already becoming very galling to
the rebels. The latter, now harassed almost beyond endurance by the
combined fire of the fort and the ships, brought up, about midday, a
company of sharpshooters armed with the latest breech-loaders, which
they had somehow managed to secure; and by means of well-directed
volleys, contrived to keep the men of the fort from their guns to such
an extent that the fire from that building dwindled almost to nothing,
so that one more of the rebel guns was released to be trained on the
anchored cruisers, when the effect of the increased cannonade soon
became apparent in that direction also.
Now and again Frobisher saw flashes of fire leap up on board the
men-of-war, for it appeared that the rebels were also possessed of a few
percussion shells; and he further observed that the ten-inch gun in the
bow turret of the foremost cruiser had been put out of action entirely,
thus giving a good deal of relief to the men who had been exposed to its
fire. The weapon had been struck full upon the muzzle at the precise
moment when a shell was leaving it, and the combined explosion had torn
a length of about four feet off the end of the gun, and had lifted it
clean out of its bearings, so that it now pointed skyward, its under
side resting on the edge of the turret and threatening to crash down on
deck outside at any moment. The ruddy orange tint of the light and the
length of the shadows told that the sun was near his setting, yet up to
this time no effort had been made to land any of the men from the
transports. But now Frobisher observed that boats were being lowered
from the steamers, and that soldiers were beginning to clamber down into
them, while the war-ships redoubled their fire, with the evident purpose
of putting the rebel guns out of action, and so making it the easier for
the troops to effect a landing.
And now at length that terrible and continuous cannonade began to have
its effect, especially as the garrison of the fort had begun to imitate
the rebel tactics and were now harassing the foe with rifle fire. The
garrison, being sheltered by the parapet of the battlements, were able
to fire at leisure and without much danger to themselves; so that,
although they were not such good marksmen as their opponents, the mere
weight of their fire eventually began to tell upon the unfortunate men
in the open, who had nothing but the fringe of jungle to protect them.
The field-piece which had previously been put out of action was now
struck a second time by a fragment of flying shell, and collapsed once
more on to the sand; and so fierce was the rifle and shell fire that was
now being directed upon the little band of gunners that, although they
made the most valiant and desperate efforts to repair the damage, they
were driven away from the spot time after time, and were at last
compelled to abandon their efforts. Then a second field-piece was blown
completely off its carriage by one of the solid shot from the fort, and
a few seconds afterwards a third gun was dismounted and its crew
shattered to pieces by a shell from one of the Chinese gunboats.
Stubbornly, however, the rebels still clung to their position, and,
again swinging round the two pieces with which they had been playing on
the ships, they resumed the bombardment of the fort, in the hope of
battering in a breach through which the place might be carried by storm,
or compelling its surrender before the approaching reinforcements could
arrive from the fleet.
So absorbed was Frobisher in the little drama that was being enacted
before his eyes that, even when the muzzles of the rebel guns were
trained on what appeared to be the very window out of which he was
peeping, the idea never once occurred to him that he was in a position
of considerable danger, and that he would be well advised to climb down;
so that it was not until he saw the flashes of flame leap from the
pieces as they were all fired simultaneously that he realised the full
extent of his temerity.
Then, even as he flung himself backward off the support on which he was
standing, there came a terrific concussion, followed by a rumbling roar
as an avalanche of stone went crashing to the ground below; while the
very building itself, massive as it was, quaked as though the whole
edifice were on the point of crumbling to pieces. Frobisher, dazed and
half-stunned by the tremendous shock, and nearly blinded by the shower
of dust and mortar that came pouring in upon him, found himself lying on
his back on the floor, surrounded by a pile of instruments and machines,
blocks of stone, and other debris, until it seemed nothing short of a
miracle that he had not been crushed to pieces.
As it chanced, however, he had not received so much as a scratch, and
found, as he picked himself up, that nothing worse had befallen him than
the acquisition of sundry fresh bruises. And as he was already a mass
of contusions from head to foot, he felt that one or two more made very
little difference.
He was just about to climb up again to his point of vantage--for he was
intensely interested in learning the outcome of this stubborn little
fight by the sea-shore--when he happened to glance upward in order to
ascertain whether there were any more loose blocks of stone likely to be
dislodged and fall on him. As he did so he caught sight of another ray
of daylight shining into the gloom of his prison. Upon investigation he
saw that the last three shots from the rebel guns must have been so well
aimed as to have struck practically the same spot, for, sure enough,
there was a ragged hole in the wall, slightly above the window and a
little to the left of it, apparently at the junction of the ceiling of
his cell and the floor of the chamber above, just big enough for him to
thrust his head through. Also, what was more to the point, it was
evident that very little effort would be needed to pull down more of the
shattered masonry, and so enlarge the hole sufficiently to enable him to
crawl through.
But, he decided, it would be sheer suicide for him to attempt to escape
at this particular juncture. The mere appearance of his head through
the hole would be enough to attract the entire fire of the rebels, since
they would naturally take him for one of the garrison; and there was
also the very probable chance of his being seen by the riflemen on the
battlements, who would be able to pick him off with the utmost ease as
he climbed out. No; it would be necessary to delay the attempt until
after dark, trusting that meanwhile everybody in general, and the
Governor in particular, would be much too busy to pay him a visit of
investigation and inspect the damage done.
He therefore placed himself at the window once more, and soon saw that,
even during the short interval of his absence, matters had altered
considerably. Another rebel gun had been dismounted, leaving only two
remaining, while of these one had had its carriage very badly damaged.
Also, several more shells from the war-ships must have fallen among the
riflemen, for the dead and wounded were now lying scattered about in
heaps upon the sand, while the fire from the men in the jungle had
dwindled very considerably.
The boats, too, had by this time pushed off from the sides of the
transports and were heading--twelve of them altogether, crowded with
men--in three lines, "in line ahead", as Frobisher would have phrased
it, for the shore. Each of the leading boats was a steam pinnace whose
work it was to tow the rest, and in the bow of each pinnace the
Englishman was able to make out a small swivel-gun, with the gunners
standing by ready to open fire as soon as the boats drew within range.
It could not now be long before the end came, for, when once the boats
had landed the troops, the rebels would be hopelessly outnumbered; and
it seemed evident that Frobisher's hope of being rescued by the latter
was doomed to disappointment.
By this time the dusk had closed down sufficiently to enable Frobisher
to distinguish the trains of small sparks left behind by the fuses of
the time-shells which were now bursting thickly over the jungle, the
idea of the Chinese evidently being to drive the men concealed there out
into the open; and the plan succeeded admirably, although not quite in
the manner anticipated.
Frobisher had watched shell after shell fall among the brush and reeds,
and had seen group after group of men come reeling out from cover, only
to be mowed down by the rifle fire from the fort, when suddenly he
perceived a small tongue of flame shoot upward from the seaward corner
of the jungle--the corner which was, unhappily for the rebels, right to
windward of them; and although a number of men immediately rushed to the
spot and did all in their power to trample or beat out the flames, it
was of no avail. The fire spread with appalling rapidity, and five
minutes after that incendiary shell had fallen the whole of the outer
edge of the jungle was a continuous sheet of flame, the roar of which
was plainly audible to the imprisoned spectator.
Great masses of dense smoke were driven upward and forward through the
jungle, and presently the hidden rebel soldiery came streaming out,
driven forth by the flames and smoke; and so swift had been the advance
of the fire that the clothing of some of the last to escape was actually
smouldering.
Darkness was now falling rapidly, and, sorry as he felt for the rebels
in their defeat, the young Englishman could not but admire the weird
magnificence of the scene displayed before him. A section of thick
jungle, fully a quarter of a mile long and a hundred yards wide, was one
roaring, crackling mass of fire. The flames were leaping forward at the
rate of many yards a minute, while they must have attained a height of
fully thirty feet. Clouds of dense smoke billowed upward, their under
surfaces vividly illuminated by the ruddy reflection of the leaping
flames. Even the sea itself, for a mile round, was brilliantly
illuminated by the glare, and the three little fleets of boats, which
were now approaching the shore, with jets of flame spurting from the
muzzles of their swivel-guns, appeared to be floating in liquid flame.
Here, there, and everywhere could be heard the explosions of ammunition
as the flames reached the loose piles of cartridges which each man had
placed beside himself while firing on the fort; and, with the continuous
flash and explosion of the shells as they plunged into the earth, the
black silhouettes of the men and guns upon that background of smoke and
flame, and the deep, orange glow of the reflected flames in the sky, the
scene so indelibly impressed itself upon Frobisher's memory that he is
not likely to forget it as long as he lives.
The fire greatly assisted the garrison and the men in the boats, for it
afforded them ample light to direct their volleys accurately, and also
to choose the most favourable spot at which to effect their landing; and
it soon became perfectly clear that all hope of success on the part of
the rebels was at an end. Yet, even now they would not admit, to
themselves, much less to their enemies, that they were beaten. Slewing
round their two remaining guns, and collecting their scattered and
sadly-depleted forces into one compact body, they abandoned the attack
on the fort, and directed the whole of their energies to the task of
preventing the troops from landing from the boats; enduring the
persistent volleys poured into their ranks from the fort with the most
stoical resignation. The gunners pointed and elevated their pieces as
coolly as though they were firing for practice at a target, and the
riflemen loaded, and fired their volleys at the word of command as
steadily and as accurately as though there were no foemen returning
their fire, and no remotest possibility that every man of them would be
shot or cut to pieces within the next quarter of an hour.
And, had their numbers not been so dreadfully reduced during that
fierce, all-day struggle, it is quite possible that they might have won,
after all; for the guns were so well served, and the rifle volleys
directed with such deadly aim, that the boats and their crews were
beginning to suffer severely. Already two of the towed boats had been
sunk, and had been cut adrift so that they should not delay the others;
and so terrible was the punishment inflicted by their enemies that the
landing party could not afford to stop to pick up their crews. The bay
was known to be swarming with sharks, and it was not therefore probable
that very many, even of the unwounded, would reach the shore alive.
One of the swivel-guns, too, mounted aboard the steam launches, had been
struck and hurled overboard by a well-directed shot, and Frobisher could
distinguish many a limp and lifeless form hanging over the boats'
gunwales, with arms trailing helplessly in the water.
But the Chinese were no less obstinate and determined than their
opponents. They had set out with the intention of landing, and they
meant to carry out their resolve. The three steamers were still puffing
bravely onward, and moment by moment the distance between their bows and
the beach became less.
Then, suddenly, high above the crackling of flames, the rattle of rifle
fire, and the crashing explosions of the guns, the young Englishman
heard the clear notes of a bugle pealing out. It was evidently the
command to fix bayonets, for the flash and glitter of steel could be
seen as the Chinese drew them from their scabbards and fixed them to
their rifles. A second call pealed forth, and the towropes were cast
off, oars splashed into the water, and, with a wild exulting yell from
their occupants, the boats dashed for the shore, the men in them hurling
themselves into the shallow water as the keels ground into the beach.
And now the time had plainly come for the rebels to make their last
stand. They were hemmed in on three sides--on one side by the fire,
which was now raging furiously; on the opposite side by the cannon and
rifle fire from the fort; and on the third by the men from the ships,
who were now forming up in line on the beach. The only avenue of escape
left to them was in the direction of the town, nearly four miles
distant. But if they chose to retreat in that direction they could
scarcely avoid being cut to pieces by their pursuers; there seemed,
therefore, to be nothing for them but to remain where they were and
fight until they were overwhelmed by superior numbers, killing as many
of the enemy as possible before they died. And this was evidently what
they meant to do.
The two remaining field-pieces were brought close together, their
muzzles pointing seaward, and all the ammunition-boxes belonging to them
and to the wrecked guns were brought up and placed behind them. Then
the survivors from the day-long struggle formed up, three deep, on
either side of the guns, the first line lying down, the second kneeling,
and the third standing, so that the rear-rank men should not fire into
their comrades in front when the volley firing commenced. The gunners
loaded their guns to the very muzzle with solid shot--case, chain,
grape, and whatever else they could find--and then took up their
positions behind the pieces, waiting for the command to fire.
For a few tense seconds the two bodies of men remained motionless,
forming a tremendously impressive tableau. There was the line of
uniformed Chinese soldiery, their bayoneted rifles held at the charge,
their officers standing in front and on the flanks with drawn swords;
and on the other side was the little body of rebels, smoke-grimed,
blood-stained, ragged and weary, but with indomitable resolution written
all over them. Then the Chinese bugles again sounded, the officers
shouted a word of command, and the landing party, with a wild yell of
defiance, charged headlong up the beach, their swords and bayonets
flashing in the lurid light of the flames. But they had scarcely
covered half a dozen yards when the rebel guns crashed out, and their
contents went hurtling through the closely-packed ranks, leaving wide
lines of dead and wounded in their track, while immediately afterward
came the rattling report of volley-firing as the rebels discharged their
rifles. The Chinese troops seemed to be literally smitten to a halt
before that awful storm, almost as though they had charged up against a
solid wall, while the cries, shrieks, and groans that uprose into the
still evening air thrilled Frobisher with horror.
The check, however, was but momentary. The troops instantly rallied,
and before those cruel guns, or even all the rifles, could be reloaded,
the Chinese were among the rebels, the cold steel got to work, and a
scene of sanguinary, relentless, hand-to-hand fighting ensued, the
memory of which was to remain with Frobisher for many a long day.
Before the end was reached he could no longer bear to look on, but,
climbing down from his perch, seated himself on the floor and covered
his face with his hands.
For another ten minutes the fearful sounds continued unabated, and then
silence gradually fell; and a little later the moon rose over a scene of
carnage such as had seldom been witnessed even upon the blood-stained
soil of Korea. Of the rebels not a single man remained alive.