on deck, and he occupied the time until breakfast very pleasantly in
watching the cruiser's boats running out kedge-anchors. Everything
being then in readiness, and both ships being under a full pressure of
steam, the crews went to breakfast; and directly that was disposed of,
the _San-chau's_ boats were sent across to the cruiser with a light
steel hawser, Wong-lih accompanying them in person, to see that "that
fool of a captain" did not make any mistakes this time. The light
hawser having been taken aboard the _Chih' Yuen_, the towing hawser,
also of steel, was bent on to the end still on board the
dispatch-vessel, and was hauled from her through the water on board the
cruiser.
As soon as this was done, the ends of the steel hawser on board both
craft were backed by several thicknesses of best Manila hemp, in order
to procure the necessary elasticity and guard against the wire-rope
parting when the terrific strain should be put upon it. After this the
hemp portion of the tow-rope was secured to bollards on the
quarter-decks of both craft, the slack of the hawsers attached to the
kedge-anchors was taken up, the skippers stood by their respective
engine-room telegraphs, and, at a signal from Wong-lih, the _San-chau_
went slowly ahead until the towing hawser was taut. Steam was then
given to the after-winches aboard the cruiser, to which the
kedge-hawsers were led, the screws of the _Chih' Yuen_ were sent astern
at full speed, while the _San-chau_ went ahead with every ounce of steam
her boilers could supply to the engines.
The great steel cable vibrated until it fairly hummed with the strain,
the _Chih' Yuen's_ winches bucked and kicked until Wong-lih, on the
cruiser's bridge, momentarily expected them to break away altogether,
and the white water foamed and roared under both vessels' quarters as
the screws whirred round. For several minutes it seemed as though the
attempt was doomed to failure, and that all the cables would part
without the cruiser budging an inch; but quite suddenly, as Frobisher
watched, keeping the cruiser's mast in line with a pinnacle of rock
about a quarter of a mile behind her, he detected a slight movement.
The vessel's mast appeared to vibrate, as though the cruiser herself
were pulsing with life, and then it slowly, very slowly, moved backward,
until mast and pinnacle were a little out of line.
"She moves! she moves!" he shouted, waving his cap in his excitement;
and then, like a vessel gradually sliding off the stocks when being
launched, the _Chih' Yuen_ gathered way, and a few moments later she
slid bodily off the rock with a plunge that caused the _San-chau_ to
roll as though in a heavy sea, overrunning her kedge-anchors before her
_momentum_ could be checked.
She was afloat again, however, and Frobisher breathed a sigh of
thanksgiving. He had set his heart on commanding her, and he would have
been bitterly disappointed if so fine a ship had been lost to him and
the Navy through the despicable cupidity of a mandarin and the
incompetence of a Chinese so-called sailor.
Wong-lih remained aboard the cruiser for another hour or more, until he
had satisfied himself that the leaks resulting from her strained and
buckled plates were not so serious but that they could easily be kept
under by the pumps; and then, having signalled for the first lieutenant
of the _San-chau_ to come aboard and take charge of the cruiser, in
place of the incompetent captain, he ordered the latter to accompany him
back to the dispatch-boat under arrest, as a preliminary to his
appearance before a court martial at Tien-tsin on the charge of
stranding his ship.
Wong-lih and the captain having boarded the _San-chau_, steam was rung
for, and presently the two ships proceeded on their respective voyages,
dipping their flags to each other as they parted company.
"It was most fortunate that we saw those rockets last night," observed
Wong-lih, when he and Frobisher were again standing together on the
_San-chau's_ bridge. "Had we not happened to be on the spot at the
moment, the Navy would have lost the _Chih' Yuen_, without a doubt. As
it is, I fear she is rather badly damaged, and it will probably mean a
few months in dock for her before she is fit for service again--which is
all the more deplorable, because we may need her at any moment. At a
crisis like this every vessel counts, especially in such a small navy as
we possess. I am afraid you will not be joining your ship just yet, Mr
Frobisher; but I have not the least doubt that, when we reach Tien-tsin,
some congenial service will be found for you which will keep you
occupied until the _Chih' Yuen_ is repaired. There is plenty of work,
and very few officers to do it; so you need have no apprehension
whatever on the score of non-employment."
"I thank your Highness," answered Frobisher. "I am rejoiced to hear you
say that, for I confess I felt very sore when I saw my ship, or what was
intended to be my ship, cast away on the Miao-tao reef."
Twenty-four hours later the _San-chau_ steamed past the Taku forts,
flying the admiral's flag to announce that Wong-lih was on board, and
received and answered a salute from the batteries; and shortly afterward
the anchor was dropped in the middle of the river, opposite the handsome
city of Tien-tsin, upon which Frobisher now looked for the first time.
CHAPTER TEN.
THE PIRATES' LAIR.
It was about midday when the _San-chau_ anchored off the port of
Tien-tsin; and Wong-lih suggested to his young protege that they should
lunch aboard before going ashore to the Navy Buildings, which were at
that time situated in the "Street of many Sorrows"--an ill-omened name,
indeed, as after-events were to prove.
They were nearing the completion of the meal when there came a knock
upon the cabin door, and the sentry announced that a messenger had
arrived with a letter for "his Highness, the most honourable Admiral
Prince Wong-lih". The admiral opened and read it, wrote a brief reply,
and then explained to Frobisher that, the arrival of the _San-chau_
having been observed, and his own presence on board disclosed by the
fact of his flag flying from the fore-topmast head, the Council, then
sitting in debate at the Navy Buildings, had sent to say that they would
be glad to see him on a matter of importance as soon as he could make it
convenient to come ashore.
"Further developments in Korea, I suspect," observed the admiral,
frowning. "I pray that no open rupture between ourselves and Japan may
occur just yet; for we are utterly unprepared. We must put off the evil
day as long as possible, even if we have to humble ourselves before them
for a month or two; for it would be absolutely suicidal for us to engage
in a war with Japan at the present moment. Our ships are good; our men
are excellent fighters; and to the outsider it would naturally appear
that all the advantages are on our side: but alas! men, however brave
they may be, cannot fight to win under the command of inefficient
officers, and with arms, ammunition, and stores that may fail them at
any moment. Ah me! ah me!"
"You feel, then," said Frobisher, "that war is inevitable?"
"I am sure of it," replied the admiral. "Perhaps not to-day, or
to-morrow; but war there certainly will be before many months are past.
I only wish I could bring the realisation of this fact home to some of
those officials who are content to wait and wait, spending the country's
money, if not on themselves personally, at any rate upon things on which
it ought not to be spent; until the time comes, all too suddenly, when
they will awake to the fact that they have procrastinated too long, and
that their country is at the mercy of the enemy."
"Let us hope, sir," replied Frobisher, cheerfully--for he had begun to
have quite a strong liking for the cultured and patriotic Chinese
gentleman and sailor, and was sorry to find him taking so pessimistic a
view of the situation--"that matters are not so bad as you imagine, and
that China will issue from the coming struggle more powerful than
before."
"We will, indeed, hope so," said Wong-lih, rising. "But I greatly fear
that our hope will be unfulfilled. However, an end to these dismal
forebodings of mine, Mr Frobisher! I am growing old, and am on that
account more liable, perhaps, to look on the dark side of things. Let
us go ashore now, and see what it is that the Council wishes to talk
about. I will seize the opportunity to introduce you to the officials
composing it, and we will get your commission made out and signed, so
that you may be ready for service whenever called upon."
With these words Wong-lih went up on deck, followed by Frobisher, and
the two men, entering the _San-chau's_ gig, were pulled ashore.
Frobisher was very favourably impressed by the handsome appearance of
the various public buildings, and was quite astonished at the size and
magnificence of those devoted to the Navy Department, when he and his
companion finally halted before the wrought-iron gates which gave
admittance to the grounds surrounding them.
Wong-lih, exhilarated at the near prospect of a discussion upon his
favourite subject, the Navy, ran up the steps leading into the building
with the activity of a boy; and in a few minutes the two men found
themselves in a beautifully-furnished antechamber, whither they had been
conducted to wait for the summons to present themselves before the
all-powerful Council. Frobisher himself felt just a trifle nervous at
the prospect, but Wong-lih's countenance was transformed by a happy
smile, while he actually sniffed the air from time to time, like an old
warhorse scenting battle.
Presently a door, opposite that by which the two had entered, opened,
and a gorgeously-dressed attendant stepped up to Wong-lih and saluted,
saying something at the same time in Chinese.
"Come along, my young friend," smilingly exclaimed the admiral, as he
rose to his feet; "the moment of your ordeal has arrived. Present a
bold front, my boy; there is nothing to be nervous about, I assure you."
He led the way, through the door which the attendant respectfully held
open, into another chamber--or rather hall, so large and lofty was it--
where Frobisher saw a group of Chinamen, nine in number, seated round an
oval table on which a quantity of official-looking documents were lying.
So far as it is possible to tell any Chinaman's age from mere
observation, they were all elderly men, with the exception of one
individual, who was obviously quite young, and who was seated at the
right hand of the one who was clearly the chief official present.
He was a man of perhaps thirty, or possibly younger still, with a very
yellow skin, a long, very thin, drooping moustache, and brilliant,
coal-black eyes, deeply sunken in their sockets, out of which they
glared with an emotionless, steely glitter that reminded Frobisher most
unpleasantly of a snake. There was also in them something of the deadly
malevolence that all snakes' eyes seem to possess, and the Englishman
could barely repress a shudder of disgust as he found those eyes fixed
on his, for he felt as though he had suddenly come in contact with some
noxious reptile.
As they entered, the Council, with the exception of the man just
referred to, rose and bowed solemnly to Wong-lih, who returned the bow
ceremoniously. He and Frobisher were then signed to seat themselves,
after which the Councillors resumed their seats.
Commencing with the old man at the head of the table, each of the
members of the Council in turn questioned Wong-lih, and a long
conversation in Chinese ensued, which Frobisher was of course unable to
understand. He occupied himself with looking round the room and
admiring the wonderful carving and the priceless tapestries on the
walls, and was quite taken by surprise when he suddenly heard Wong-lih's
voice calling his name.
He was then introduced to the Council collectively, and a number of
questions were put to him in English, with which tongue he was beginning
to think every Chinaman must be familiar, so many had he already
encountered who were able to speak it almost as fluently as himself.
Like many of his fellow countrymen, he had up to now imagined that the
Chinese were a barbarous race, knowing nothing of anything that happened
outside their own country.
Apparently he soon satisfied his examiners as to his nautical
attainments; and presently he found himself in possession of a parchment
which set forth the fact that Murray Frobisher was appointed to the
Chinese Navy with the rank of captain; and he was informed that he was
to take command of the _Chih' Yuen_ as soon as she was ready for service
again. Until that time he was to consider himself on the staff of
Admiral Wong-lih, who would find employment for him in the interim.
After this little ceremony a further lengthy discussion took place in
Chinese, and it was not until late in the evening that he and his
sponsor were able to get away and return to the ship.
Arrived there, they proceeded to the cabin where Wong-lih had taken up
his quarters, and here Frobisher received an account of what had
occurred at the meeting.
"It seems," announced the admiral, "that a dispatch has been received
from our Minister in Tokio, informing us that the Japanese, although
they have sent an escort for their Minister at Seoul, have decided to
delay for a time the dispatch of a large armed force to Korea, and to
await further developments. This is grand news, for it gives us a
little longer in which to make our preparations; but our Minister also
advises us to be on our guard, for Japan means to force a quarrel,
sooner or later. Now, as regards yourself, news has recently been
brought that the river merchants of the Hoang-ho have been greatly
troubled lately by the excesses of a band of pirates, who are believed
to have their head-quarters somewhere near the place where the old bed
of the river leaves the present channel--that is, not far from the
village of Tchen-voun-hien, three hundred miles from here. I wish you
to take command of the gunboat _Su-chen_, and proceed in her to this
place. You will investigate the matter thoroughly; and, if the stories
are anything approaching truth, you will hunt down that band of pirates,
and destroy them and their head-quarters. No quarter must be shown, Mr
Frobisher; those criminals must be dealt with severely.
"The interpreter I mentioned to you shall be attached at once to your
person, and I shall be glad if you will enter upon your new duties
immediately. Oh, by the way, I have also had news of your friend,
Captain Drake. He was told of what had happened by a survivor from your
party; and he came round here in the _Quernmore_ to demand that we send
an expedition to rescue you. He appears to be very much attached to
you.
"Of course he was told that such a course was not to be thought of,
besides being quite useless; and he appeared to be very much cut up at
the news, so I am told. He accepted a contract from the Navy Department
for the supply of a cargo of arms, ammunition, and guns, and left in his
ship for England only a week before our own arrival here. When he
returns, should you not be here yourself, I shall of course inform him
of your rescue, and so ease his mind.
"Now, Captain Frobisher, I have little more to say. Get away as soon as
you can. Your crew is already aboard; and, if you need any stores or
ammunition, indent for them in the usual way; they will be duly
supplied. But there, I need not tell a British Navy man how to do his
business. Good-bye, my boy, and Heaven grant you a safe return!" he
concluded, affectionately.
The two men clasped hands, Wong-lih buried himself in a mass of papers,
and Frobisher departed to bed to refresh himself in readiness to
commence his duties early on the following morning. His last thought,
as he dropped off to sleep, was that he was now Captain Frobisher, of
the _Chih' Yuen_; and that it would not be his fault if he did not make
her name famous in Chinese Naval history.
He awoke in the morning, however, utterly unrefreshed, for he had slept
badly. A vague feeling of foreboding and a strong presentiment of
disaster had oppressed him throughout the night, and his dreams had been
haunted by a thin, yellow face, with long, attenuated, drooping
moustache--a face out of which peered a pair of eyes, glowing like flame
and with hideous possibilities of evil shining in their black depths.
The face was the face of Prince Hsi, the youngest member of the Council.
The splendid, keen, invigorating air of a Chinese morning soon blew the
cobwebs away from Frobisher's brain, and half an hour after leaving his
bed he was smiling to himself at his own folly in allowing Prince Hsi's
evil countenance to affect him to such an extent as to spoil his rest.
The man couldn't help being born with a face like that; and perhaps an
ugly exterior might in reality hide a very kind and gentle soul. By the
time that Frobisher had arrived at the wharf where the _Su-chen_ was
lying, he had completely forgotten the existence of "the man with the
snake's eyes", as he afterwards came to call him.
The interpreter promised by Wong-lih had duly presented himself to
Frobisher on board the _San-chan_ that morning, and the Englishman very
soon began to find the man's services invaluable. With his assistance,
the _Su-chen_ was easily located, and Frobisher at once boarded her and
made himself known, and read his commission to her officers and crew
through the medium of Quen-lung, the interpreter. A very quiet, decent
set of men they seemed to be, to all appearance. They gave him such
information as he asked for, quickly and without hesitation; and, so far
as he could learn on such brief acquaintance, seemed thoroughly
conversant with their duties. He made enquiries about the amount of
water and provisions that was aboard, satisfied himself that there was a
sufficiency to serve them for the expedition, and then went into the
question of the quantity of ammunition remaining on board.
This did not at all satisfy his requirements; for he found that,
although there appeared to be plenty of small-arm ammunition, there was
very little belonging to the machine-guns and the guns in the batteries;
so, taking Quen-lung with him, he made his way to the magazines, taking
his requisition book with him in his pocket.
It was then that he obtained his first insight into the subtle ways of
Chinese Naval officialdom. He knew perfectly well what kind of
ammunition he required, and how much of it, but he seemed utterly unable
to find anybody who possessed the necessary authority to issue it. He
was sent from one official to another, all of them gorgeously dressed
and very eager to give every assistance; yet when the moment arrived for
the stores to be actually given into his hands--well, they were
heart-broken to give the honourable captain so much trouble, but would
he be pleased to obtain the approval of his Excellency the honourable
Somebody Else, whose signature was also needed before the ammunition
could be removed.
At last, so disgusted did Frobisher become at all this delay and
prevarication that he went back to the _Su-chen_, selected some twenty
of the strongest members of his crew, and himself took them up to the
magazine with a number of hand-wagons which he had collected, under much
voluble protest, _en route_. Then, having found the required pattern of
cartridge, he ordered his men to load the cases on to the wagons, and,
amid the intensely-shocked expostulations of the outraged officials of
the Ordnance Department, who were quite unaccustomed to fill a
requisition in less than a month, the several indents were wheeled down
to the gunboat by the Chinese sailors, who already began to show the
respect they felt for a man who knew what he wanted, and got it.
The task was finished at last, and that afternoon the _Su-chen_ dipped
her ensign to the _San-chau_, on board of which Admiral Wong-lih had his
quarters, steamed down the river Pei-ho, past the Taku forts at its
mouth, and out into the open sea on her way to the mouth of the
Hoang-ho, some three hundred miles up which lay the village of
Tchen-voun-hien, at or near which the pirates' lair was said to be
situated. During the hundred-mile run across the gulf of Chi-lih,
Frobisher set his men to clean ship thoroughly, overhaul and polish the
guns, and make things in general a little more shipshape than they had
been since the time when the _Su-chen_ left her builders' hands on the
Thames.
Frobisher was fortunate in the moment when the gunboat arrived off the
mouth of the Hoang-ho, for the sea was smooth, and the usually dangerous
bar at the mouth of the river was passed with ease. But there were many
reminders, in the shape of broken spars, and in some cases fragments of
hulls, projecting out of the water, to show that the sea was not always
in so gentle a mood, and that many other captains had been less
fortunate. The bar at the mouth of the Hoang-ho is indeed one vast
graveyard, both of men and ships.
Frobisher anchored a few miles up the river, and spent a whole day
exercising his men at cutlass and small-arm drill, to smarten them up a
little and prepare them as far as possible for the cut-and-thrust work
which, he felt sure, the task of exterminating the pirates would
ultimately involve. Early on the following morning the voyage upstream
was continued, the _Su-chen_ making not more than about six knots an
hour against the strong current, the result, evidently, of heavy rains
up-country, for the river--well named the "Yellow River"--was thick and
turbid with mud, which had been washed off the surface of the land by
the floods.
Mile after mile the _Su-chen_ crept along, and the low, flat,
uninteresting banks slipped gradually astern. A few junks were passed,
but they were all too far away for Frobisher to communicate with them,
as they were well in under the land, while the gunboat was obliged, on
account of her draught, to keep more or less in the centre of the river.
One afternoon, however, there came from the man whom Frobisher had
posted in the foretop, to give warning of rocks or shoals, a shout that
there was a dismasted junk about a mile ahead which appeared to be
trying to intercept the gunboat. She seemed, the look-out reported, to
have been on fire, as well as having lost her mast, for he could plainly
make out through his telescope the black patches where her deck and
bulwarks had been charred. There were only two men on deck, he added,
and these men were doing all they could to attract attention, waving
something--he could not quite make out what--above their heads, and
leaping about excitedly. There were other dark-coloured patches about
the deck, but at that distance it was not possible to say whether they
were the result of fire, or of something else. Frobisher, however, who
had carefully listened to a report of the details from the interpreter,
had the conviction that there had been some happening on board that junk
other than that of mere fire, and that he was shortly to receive
evidence with his own eyes of the activities of the pirates whom he was
going to exterminate; for he felt certain that the dark stains were not
those of fire, but of blood.
As soon as the unwieldy craft, which was progressing solely by the force
of the current, approached to within a quarter of a mile of the
_Sit-chen_, Frobisher rang his engines to half-speed, so that the
gunboat barely made headway against the current, and thus awaited the
junk's arrival. The gunboat was skilfully manoeuvred alongside her, and
the crew, with ropes and grapnels, soon secured her, and assisted the
two men who formed her sole complement up on deck. Here Frobisher,
after giving them some refreshment, of which they were plainly in great
need, questioned them through the interpreter as to the cause of their
present condition.