"I should like to ask a favour. When I was captured by the Korean
troops I had in my possession a pair of rather valuable revolvers, which
I prize very much, apart from their intrinsic value, from the fact that
they were given me by a very dear friend. I feel convinced that the
officer who seized them has not allowed them to pass out of his hands;
and, if he happens to be in the fort, I shall be very much obliged if
you will request him to return them to me. Also, if the jacket that was
taken from me has been preserved, I should like to have that as well. I
may perhaps be permitted to mention, too, that I have not tasted food
for fully twenty-four hours, and am feeling the need of a meal."
"My dear sir," exclaimed Wong-lih, in tones of genuine concern, "what
can I have been thinking of not to have enquired if you were hungry! My
only excuse is that I was so full of the matter we have just been
discussing, that the first rules of hospitality escaped me for the
moment. If you will remain here for a few minutes I will myself see
that food is served to you. I will at the same time make enquiries
about all your property; and if it is indeed here it shall most
certainly be returned to you. I will be with you again very shortly."
With these words the kind-hearted admiral left the room, returning
presently with Frobisher's pistols in one hand and the jacket in the
other, bringing also the welcome information that a meal was being
hastily prepared, and would be served with the utmost expedition.
Half an hour later Frobisher, feeling a new man and quite himself again,
followed Wong-lih out of the fort and down to the beach, where the
admiral's own boat was now waiting to take him on board. On the way
thither it was necessary to pass over the scene of the day's battle, and
although it was night and the only illumination came from the moon, and
the lantern which the admiral's coxswain was carrying, there was light
enough to reveal many of the horrors of the past day's fight, and
Frobisher was more than glad when that blood-stained field was left
behind and they came to the margin of the clean, wholesome sea.
Here they found the officer in command of the troops who were to remain
in Korea and to assist the Government in stamping out the rebellion.
They were, it afterward transpired, first of all to occupy the town of
Asan, and operate against the insurgents, with Asan as their base, until
further instructions were received or other developments arose; and the
officer was then waiting to hold a short consultation with Wong-lih with
reference to his future course of action, so that the admiral would be
in a position to report fully to his Government upon his return to
China. The transports, which had also been fitted up as store-ships,
were to remain behind in Prince Jerome Bay, with one of the gunboats to
protect them, while the two cruisers and the other gunboat were to
proceed to sea immediately.
The general plan of campaign had evidently been already arranged, for a
quarter of an hour later the officer and Wong-lih saluted each other in
farewell, and the Army man returned to the fortress, where the troops
were quartered for the remainder of the night, while the admiral entered
his barge, and, with his latest recruit in the stern-sheets beside him,
was pulled swiftly away to the _Hai-yen_.
Once on board, the admiral conducted Frobisher to a handsomely-furnished
cabin, of which he was to have the exclusive use during the voyage, and
also, with his characteristic kindness, presented him with a complete
Chinese Naval captain's suit in perfectly new condition, which by a
lucky chance proved to be a very passable fit. Of course Frobisher was
not as yet entitled to wear it, but Wong-lih was so certain that the
proposed appointment would be promptly confirmed that he had no qualms
in donning it.
It was by this time not very far off daylight. Frobisher therefore
decided that, tired though he felt, he would not turn in just yet, but
would wait for sunrise in order to watch the squadron get under way.
Wong-lih also had no intention of retiring during the short time that
still remained before they were ready to leave, so he invited the young
Englishman into his own spacious and luxuriously-fitted quarters in the
stern of the ship, where the two remained smoking, talking, and drinking
coffee, until the sound of the morning gun from the fort, followed by
the report of one of the twenty-four pounders on deck, announced that it
was "official sunrise", and that the hour had arrived for them to take
their departure.
With the admiral's permission Frobisher followed him on deck and up on
to the bridge, where a yeoman of signals was already waiting to hoist
the necessary flags as a signal to the other ships to weigh and proceed
to sea. Thick, greasy columns of smoke were rising from the funnels of
all three craft, proving, to the Englishman's experienced eye, that the
coal they were using was quite unsuited to Naval requirements; while a
white feather of steam rising from their steam-pipes showed that there
was already full pressure in their boilers. After a comprehensive look
round, the admiral spoke a few words to the signalman, and a moment
later a string of parti-coloured flags soared aloft to the cruiser's
yard-arm.
Instantly the shrill clamour of boatswains' whistles was heard from each
ship, and next followed the measured "clank-clank-clank" of iron cable,
as the steam-capstans got to work and began to haul the vessels up to
their anchors. For a few seconds the clatter subsided as the strain of
"breaking out" the anchors came upon the cables, then it started again
with a rush; and presently the dripping, mud-bedaubed anchors made their
appearance under the bows, and were catted and promptly stowed.
Then, slowly at first, but with gradually increasing speed, the
_Hat-yen's_ screws revolved, the decks quivered, and the ship began to
slide through the water, her bows turning toward the entrance of the bay
as she did so. The other cruiser fell into line astern of the flagship,
and, with the gunboat bringing up the rear, the squadron headed for the
open sea in line-ahead formation, sped upon its way by the salutes of
the fort and the remaining gunboat, to which the _Hai-yen's_ guns
replied.
Wei-hai-wei is only a matter of some two hundred miles from Asan; and at
midnight the squadron found itself entering the Chinese harbour, where a
number of twinkling lights betrayed the presence of other ships
belonging to the Navy. The anchors were let go just opposite the fort,
and both Frobisher and the admiral went below to enjoy a well-earned
rest and refresh themselves in readiness for the duties that awaited
them on the following day.
CHAPTER NINE.
ON THE ROCKS.
Bright and early the next morning Frobisher met Wong-lih on the
quarter-deck of the _Hai-yen_, and the admiral announced his plans with
regard to both his own affairs and those of the Englishman. He
mentioned that he would be detained for some days at Wei-hai-wei making
arrangements for the repair of the ships--each of which had been more or
less damaged by the rebel fire during the fight in Prince Jerome Bay--
and getting a new ten-inch gun mounted in the _Mai-yen's_ forward
turret, to replace the one which had been dismounted on the same
occasion. This, he estimated, would occupy about a week; and, when this
work had been put in hand, there were several minor duties in the
dockyard which he reckoned would occupy him for another week, making
about a fortnight before he would be able to get away to Tien-tsin to
make his report in person.
It would therefore be necessary for him to send a messenger with
dispatches to the Council, giving an outline of what had taken place;
and he gave Frobisher the choice of accompanying the flag-lieutenant who
was to carry the dispatches to Tien-tsin--with a letter from himself to
the Council recommending his appointment--or of remaining in Wei-hai-wei
until he, the admiral, was ready to go to Tien-tsin and personally
present his protege to the Council.
To this Frobisher made reply that, if it suited the admiral equally
well, he would much prefer to accompany him to Tien-tsin; for he was
extremely anxious to secure the appointment as captain of the cruiser,
and knew--from what he had already learned of Chinese officialdom--that
he would have a far better chance with Wong-lih by his side as sponsor,
than he would as the mere bearer of a letter of recommendation from the
admiral. It was accordingly so arranged; and he spent the intervening
time in looking round the port, arsenal, and dockyard of Wei-hai-wei,
picking up all the information he could with regard to Chinese Naval
matters, and also managing incidentally to acquire a small--very small--
smattering of the Chinese language, which was afterwards of considerable
use to him.
On a certain afternoon, Wong-lih drove up to the hotel where Frobisher
was staying, and announced that his duties were now completed, and that
he was ready to start for Tien-tsin. There was, luckily, a
dispatch-boat in the harbour which had just arrived at Wei-hai-wei from
Chemulpo, on her way to Tien-tsin; and the admiral had decided to take
passages in her for Frobisher and himself. The Englishman therefore had
only to pack the few belongings which he had purchased in the town; and
five minutes later the curiously-assorted pair were being conveyed in a
rickshaw, drawn by a Chinese coolie, down to the dock, where the
_San-chau_, dispatch-boat, was lying.
The voyage from Wei-hai-wei to Tien-tsin is only a short one, of some
three hundred miles, but the course lies across the Gulf of Chi-lih,
notorious for its dangerous fogs at this season of the year and the
typhoons which, at all times, are liable to spring up with only the
briefest warning; and about two hours after they had left port, and were
passing the bold headland beneath which stands the city of Chi-fu, it
began to look as though they were in for one of the latter.
Wong-lih and the captain of the dispatch-boat held a short consultation
as to the advisability of running into Chi-fu harbour for shelter; but
as the roadstead was somewhat open, it was finally agreed to push on, at
top speed, and endeavour to get clear of the Shan-tung peninsula and the
Miao-tao islands before the storm broke. Otherwise, they might find
themselves in rather an awkward situation.
Steam was therefore ordered for full speed--about seventeen knots--and
the _San-chau_ began to move more rapidly through the water, at the same
time altering her course so as to pass outside the islands instead of
through the Chang-shan-tao channel, as had at first been intended.
The sun set luridly in the midst of a blaze of wild and threatening
cloud, and the light breeze which they had so far carried with them
suddenly died away to nothing, leaving the surface of the sea like a
sheet of oil, through which the _San-chau_ drove her bows as through
something solid. The air felt heavy and damp, and so devoid of life
that Frobisher found it difficult to supply his lungs with sufficient
air; and although the weather was intensely cold, the atmosphere still
felt uncomfortably oppressive.
About two hours later, while the ship appeared to be steaming through a
sheet of liquid fire, so brilliant was the phosphorescence of the water,
there came, without the slightest warning, the most dazzling flash of
lightning Frobisher had ever beheld, followed almost on the instant by a
deafening peal of thunder, indicating that the centre of disturbance was
almost immediately overhead. So dazzlingly bright was the flash that
almost every man on deck instinctively covered his eyes with his hands,
under the impression that he had been blinded; and several seconds
elapsed before any of them were able to see again distinctly.
As though that first flash had been a signal, the air at once became
full of vivid darting lightnings, so continuous that an almost
uninterrupted view of the sea, from horizon to horizon, was possible,
and the man on the look-out in the bows was therefore enabled to give
timely warning of the approach of a white-capped wall of water of
terrible aspect. So rapid was its rate of travel that the steamer's
skipper had barely time to make a few hasty preparations to meet it, and
to shout to the men on deck to "hold on for their lives", when, with an
unearthly howl and roar, the storm was upon them. The wall of water
crashed into and over the _San-chau_ with a power that made it appear as
though she had struck something solid; and for a few moments Frobisher,
clinging to the bridge rail beside the captain and Wong-lih, could see
nothing of the deck of the ship, so deeply was she buried in the wave.
The wind, too, wrestled with and tore at ventilators, awning stanchions,
and the boats slung from the davits, until he momentarily expected to
see the latter torn from their lashings and blown overboard.
The canvas dodgers round the navigating bridge, which they had not had
time to remove, were ripped from their seizings and blown away to
leeward, where in the glare of the lightning they showed for a few
moments like white birds swept away on the wings of the wind. The men
themselves, thus exposed to the full fury of the blast, were obliged to
cling to the bridge rails for their very lives, to avoid being torn from
their hold and whirled overboard; and when the first lull came their
muscles felt as though they had been stretched on the rack, so severe
had been the strain.
Then, as though the wind had taken a breathing space to recover fresh
energy, the hurricane burst upon them again, almost more furiously, if
that were possible, than at first; and Frobisher knew instinctively
that, so far from making headway, the _San-chau_ was being driven back
over the course she had just covered, at a rate of probably five knots
an hour, in spite of the fact that her engines were going full speed
ahead at their utmost capacity. Anxious glances were cast ahead and
astern--ahead to ascertain whether there were any signs of the typhoon
breaking, and astern in momentary dread of sighting the distant loom of
the land toward which, as all knew, they were being slowly but
inexorably driven.
Suddenly the skipper, who had been peering eagerly to windward under the
broad of his hand, turned to Wong-lih and spoke a few rapid sentences in
Chinese, at the same time pointing in the direction towards which he had
been looking. The admiral's eyes followed the outstretched finger, and
Frobisher also glanced in the same direction. The captain had
apparently seen, or believed he had seen, something strange away to the
westward.
A moment later Frobisher knew what it was. Far away, on the edge of the
horizon, appeared a small spark of light which shot rapidly up into the
sky, where it hung for a few seconds and then burst into a
mushroom-shaped cluster of red stars that gradually floated downward
again, fading from view as it did so.
"That," shouted Frobisher excitedly to Wong-lih, "is a rocket, sir.
There's a ship away there which has been less fortunate than ourselves;
she's evidently in distress; and, from her position, I should say that
she has probably been driven on to the Miao-tao rocks."
"Without doubt," returned Wong-lih, "that is the fact of the matter; and
there are probably many poor fellows perishing away there, almost before
our eyes, while we are utterly unable to help them. If a vessel has
really gone ashore on those rocks I fear that her crew is doomed; for no
ship could long survive in this weather. Get my telescope," he added,
in Chinese, to a quartermaster who happened to be on the bridge at the
moment; and when the man reappeared with the glass, Wong-lih brought it
to bear upon the spot where the rocket had appeared, which he was easily
able to do with the assistance of the lightning, still blazing almost
continuously.
"By Kin-fu-tzi!" exclaimed the admiral, a few seconds later, "that craft
is very much nearer than I thought from the appearance of her rocket--
not more than seven miles away, at the utmost. She is a two-masted,
one-funnelled steamer, and, I'm almost certain, is a man-o'-war. Now,
what should she be doing just there? Have the Japanese sent a vessel
over here for scouting purposes, or is she one of our ships? She looks
very much like--and yet she cannot be, surely,--the ship I intend you to
have, Mr Frobisher--the _Chih' Yuen_, the new cruiser which we have
purchased from Great Britain, and which only arrived out here a few
weeks ago. But I do not understand what she is doing there, if it is
she; for, as I told you, we had no captain in our whole service to whom
we cared to entrust her, which was one of my reasons for asking you to
take service with us. I cannot understand it at all," and he began to
gnaw his moustache perplexedly. "But perhaps," he continued, "I may be
mistaken. I must be mistaken; it cannot possibly be the _Chih' Yuen_."
At this moment another rocket went soaring up into the night sky,
followed by another and another; and then the distant boom of a
signal-gun came to their ears, borne on the wings of the hurricane.
"May the spirits of their ancestors protect them!" exclaimed Wong-lih
piously. "We, alas, can do nothing! She will be lying fathoms deep in
the gulf by morning."
But, as though in answer to the admiral's prayer--so suddenly did the
change take place--there came a lull in the furious wind, and the three
men on the bridge were able to spare a hand to dash the spray from their
eyes before the gale struck them again. This time, however, the wild
outburst lasted only a few minutes, then ceased as suddenly as before;
the thunder was less loud, and the lightning was far less vivid and
terrifying. Then the black pall of sky above them began to break up
into isolated patches, and a few minutes later the moon and stars showed
intermittently between the rifts; the storm was dying away almost as
quickly as it had sprung up. But, unfortunately, as soon as the wind
dropped the sea began to rise, until within a very short time there was
quite a heavy swell running.
The captain of the dispatch-boat lost not an instant in heading his ship
direct for the spot from which the rockets had been seen to rise. The
vessel's search-light was brought into action, and the skipper told off
a man to sweep the sea ahead with its powerful beam, so that the exact
position of the wreck might be located at the earliest possible moment;
for during the last few minutes no rockets had been sent up, which was a
very sinister sign.
With the cessation of the wind the heavy sea did not very greatly
interfere with the _San-Chan's_ speed, and she raced through the water
on her errand of mercy at the rate of fully eighteen knots, the bearings
of her engines smoking as the oil from the cups dripped upon their
heated surfaces; and it was not more than half an hour before the man at
the search-light found his object and kept the beam playing on her. She
was then only a few miles ahead, and stood out, a great mass of silver
in the rays of the search-light, against the black background of the
night, with the sea breaking over her. Through the telescope her people
could be seen running about her decks, and steam was still blowing off
through her waste-pipes, so, apparently, the water had not yet reached
her engine-room. Frobisher noticed that no effort was being made to get
the boats out; but this might be because of the heavy sea running.
At all events, the craft was still above water; and there was little
doubt that her crew could be saved, even though they might not be able
to save the ship.
In another quarter of an hour--speed having been meanwhile reduced so as
to lessen the danger of their running aground--the _San-chau_ arrived
abreast of the other craft, which proved indeed to be a cruiser, and
laid off at a distance of about half a cable's length, her screw
revolving slowly, so as to keep her from drifting down upon the wreck.
Then, seizing a megaphone, Wong-lih hailed, and asked the stranger's
name.
A man in a drenched Naval uniform similar to that which Frobisher was
wearing leant over the rail of her navigating bridge and gave a lengthy
reply, which the Englishman, of course, could not understand; but from
the expression on the admiral's face he could see that the news was not
at all of a satisfactory character. When the other officer had finished
speaking, Wong-lih ground out a few tense words that sounded
suspiciously like a Chinese execration, and, turning to Frobisher,
exclaimed in tones of the deepest annoyance:--
"This is most unfortunate indeed, Mr Frobisher. As I almost suspected
the moment I discovered that yonder craft was a cruiser, she is the
_Chih' Yuen_, the ship to which I intended you to be appointed. And now
look where your future command lies! So surely as either Admiral Ting
or I are out of the way, something of this sort inevitably happens.
It's those mandarins again, of course, who are at the bottom of the
whole trouble. That fool aboard there who calls himself the captain
tells me that, shortly after I sailed, Prince Hsi, who considers himself
an authority on Naval matters, decided that the guns in the fore
barbette of the _Chi' Yuen_ were of too small a calibre, and in my
absence he managed to prevail upon the Council to send her to
Wei-hai-wei to be docked and have her 9.4's replaced by 12-inch guns.
Twelve-inch guns in a ship of her size! The man is mad! But I know his
game. His intention was to have sold the 9.4's, replacing them with a
couple of old, out-of-date 12's which I happen to know are lying in the
yard, and pocketing the difference.
"That is the sort of thing that goes on in my unhappy country all the
time, Mr Frobisher--theft, bribery, corruption, all manner of petty
chicanery, especially in matters connected with the Army and Navy; and
then they expect us unfortunate officers to do our work with any old
material that the high officials have not thought it worth while to
pilfer! It is heart-breaking. There, in order to replenish the pockets
of Prince Hsi, lies one of the finest cruisers in our Navy, wrecked, and
likely to be lost entirely if it comes on to blow again. But," he went
on, still more excitedly, "she shall not be lost. I will get her off,
and she shall go to Wei-hai-wei to be repaired in dock--but not to have
her guns exchanged. Those in her shall remain there; and his Highness
can look elsewhere for something to fill his coffers."
Again seizing the megaphone, Wong-lih entered into a long conversation
with the temporary skipper of the _Chih' Yuen_, during which he
ascertained that the vessel had fortunately struck only very lightly;
and, as she had been considerably sheltered from the seas by the part of
the reef through which she had somehow managed to blunder before
striking, she had not bumped to any extent, and was making but little
water. It was therefore to be hoped that her bottom was not so badly
injured as Wong-lih had at first anticipated, and that, at the rising of
the tide, it might be possible, with the assistance of the _San-chau_,
to get her safely off again. The admiral intimated to her captain that
he would stand by all night, and would commence salvage operations as
soon after daylight as the state of the tide would permit. Meanwhile
steam was to be kept in the boilers, and the pumps were to be kept going
continuously, so as to free the ship from water by the time that morning
dawned.
High tide, Admiral Prince Wong-lih ascertained from his almanack, was at
about seven-thirty on the following morning; so before daybreak all
hands were mustered and preparations put in hand for running a hawser
across to the _Chih' Yuen_. The sea had gone down during the night
until, when the first streaks of daylight came stealing up out of the
east, it was almost as calm as on the previous afternoon before the
storm.