jewels of the most magnificent description, unset, every one of them,
and all flashing and scintillating in the glare of the torches like a
boxful of the most exquisitely coloured liquid fire. The sight was so
extraordinarily beautiful that it fairly took the beholders' breath
away, and for quite a minute neither of them could speak a word; they
simply stood still, gasping with wonder and delight.
Another chest, and then another was opened, both of
Missing pages 223 and 224.
Missing page.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
MUTTERINGS OF WAR.
The single, and scarcely original, exclamation of "Oh!" was all that
Captain Drake appeared to be capable of uttering for the moment. His
eyes continued to bulge from their sockets, and he looked like a
suddenly-awakened somnambulist. He was trying to realise the meaning of
what Frobisher had just told him, and was finding it altogether too much
for him.
At last Frobisher said, with a laugh: "Well, skipper, the money's here,
sure enough; but so are we, and it remains to be seen whether or not we
can get out."
"We'll get out all right, don't you trouble," returned Drake
confidently; "but"--unable as yet to detach his mind from the subject of
his suddenly-acquired fortune--"just now you mentioned the name of the
gentleman who collected all this stuff--Jenkins Can, I think you said he
was called. Who was he, and how did he come to pouch such a pile of
loot? Was he one of those old buccaneers, like Morgan and Kidd, that we
read about?"
"Well," replied Frobisher, "he was not exactly a buccaneer, for he was
not a sailor, but a landsman; and he operated in a much larger way than
either Morgan or Kidd. As a matter of fact he was a Tartar chief in his
young days, many centuries ago, who gradually drilled and armed his own
tribe, then other tribes, and still others, until he came, in course of
time, to have an enormous army under him. The idea then occurred to him
to make use of this vast army; and he determined upon no less a task
than that of conquering Asia. He did it, too; there's hardly a square
mile of this continent that has not echoed to the tread of his troops.
Everywhere he went he was victorious. He took and sacked cities,
destroyed them, and sowed the ruins with salt; and it is said that, to
this day, no grass will grow where Genghiz Khan's armies trod.
Naturally, in the course of time, he accumulated a vast booty from the
cities he captured, and it finally became too large and cumbersome for
him to carry about with him, so he determined to alter his tactics for
once, and, instead of destroying, to build a city for himself where he
could bury his hoard, and which he could make his head-quarters.
"It is well known that he actually did this--various records state it,
but those records do not say exactly where. The city, it is said, was
founded somewhere in northern China--on the banks of a mighty river, is
the wording, I believe; but there are several rivers in China answering
that description, so the place might be almost anywhere. Then, years
afterward, this man determined to conquer Japan. He fitted out a great
armada and sailed for Nippon; but, as in the case of the famous Spanish
Armada, a storm arose, and the entire fleet was wrecked. Hundreds of
thousands of Chinese lost their lives, and Japan was saved. From that
time onward, Genghiz Khan and the records relating to his treasure
disappeared; and the city he founded, as well as the treasure, gradually
passed into legend, the story being handed down from father to son by
word of mouth. The man himself is supposed to have been cast ashore in
Japan, where he adopted the dress and customs of the Japanese, in course
of time becoming one of themselves, and winning great renown under
another name--which I forget for the moment. But antiquarians insist
that the name he assumed was but the Japanese rendering of his own
former one of Genghiz Khan.
"At any rate, he never returned to China to recover his treasure; and
legend has it that it still remained where it had been originally
hidden. From time to time, expeditions have been formed for the purpose
of searching for this legendary deserted city; but it has remained for
us, Drake, to discover it, and to secure Genghiz Khan's millions. This
must be the town, this must be the treasure; for not otherwise can such
an enormous hoard be accounted for. Nobody but the conqueror of Asia
could ever have amassed so much."
"That's very interesting, Mr Frobisher," said Drake, who had been
listening intently; "and it's a very comforting thought that all this
belongs to us, if we can only get out. I suppose, in any case, we had
better fill our pockets, lest we should not be able to get back here?"
"It would not be at all a bad idea, skipper," returned Frobisher; and
the two men slipped a few handfuls of the jewels into their pockets, as
coolly as though they had been so many pebbles instead of gems worth
several thousands of pounds.
"And now," said Frobisher, "we had better turn our attention to getting
out of this. I shall not feel comfortable until I have satisfied myself
that this place is not going to prove a living tomb for us."
They closed the lids of all the chests, and passed through what
Frobisher called "the door-way of swords", carefully closing the door
behind them by means of a stick, lest the closing should again set the
swords in motion. But it did not; the mechanism was evidently so
arranged as only to operate upon the opening of the door.
"I do not think we need fear burglars here," said Drake with a smile, as
the door clanged shut.
The two men then decided to explore the remainder of the corridors, for
unless an exit from one of them could be found there was little doubt
that the treasure would prove as useless to them as it had been to
Genghiz Khan himself.
The first passage they explored ended in a blank wall, as the three
others had done; but in the next, to their great relief, they found
another passage branching away to the left. This they followed for some
distance, until they reached a spot where it branched into two. As
there was no knowing which, if either, was the right one, they took the
one on the left, as the previous opening had been on the left of the
corridor, and followed it for a considerable distance. But they were
doomed to disappointment; the corridor led nowhere. It simply came to
what seemed to be a dead end, like the others. Frobisher felt the drops
of sweat forming on his forehead, for it was beginning to look
remarkably as though there was but one entrance to the vault--that
through which they had come--and that all these other passages were
either natural, or had been cut simply with the idea of mystifying and
misleading possible intruders.
"Never say die" was, however, Frobisher's motto, and Drake's too, for
that matter, so they tried back and entered the right-hand branch. But
no better success attended them here, this ending in a blank wall also.
There was now only one corridor untried, and with sinking hearts they
proceeded to explore it.
No exit of any sort rewarded them here either, and hardly daring to look
each other in the face, from fear of what they might see there, they
returned to the main chamber, into which Drake had fallen headlong in
the first instance. Here they could still hear the distant shouts and
trampling of the pirates, who were evidently moving about in the chamber
directly overhead, continuing the search for their prey; but even the
thought that they were safe from those barbarous savages was now hardly
sufficient to cheer them. It would have been almost better to have met
death in the open, fighting, than to be compelled to watch his slow
approach in this dismal place, far below the level of the ground.
Unable to remain still, Frobisher again most carefully examined the
inside of the secret door in search of a hidden spring, but no sign of
it could he discover. It seemed evident that, unless the door were
actually propped open by the person entering the vault, there was no
getting back by that way; and Frobisher could not help thinking that
surely some other exit must have been provided. The people accustomed
to using the vault could not be expected always to remember to prop the
door open when they entered; and it did not seem reasonable to suppose
that the place had been so constructed that a mere lapse of memory would
be tantamount to a person signing his own death-warrant. An emergency
exit must have been made for use in case the main door became closed
accidentally or otherwise; but the question was, where was it situated?
Drake suggested that there must undoubtedly be an opening somewhere,
because the air in the vault was comparatively pure and fresh; at least
it had not the dead, stale, stuffy smell of air confined in a
hermetically-sealed chamber. But Frobisher pointed out that the door by
which they had entered, although an excellent fit, did not butt up
against the jambs so closely as to exclude the air altogether; yet he
acknowledged that the air in the vault certainly seemed sweeter than
might have been expected, had the main door been the only channel
through which it could filter in.
Under the stimulus of the new glimmer of hope thus caught, every
corridor was once more explored, even more closely than before, but with
no other result than that Frobisher completely satisfied himself that
there was most certainly no exit from any of the passages. Even a
concealed door, opened by a spring, could hardly have evaded the close
scrutiny of the two men; and it became more and more apparent that they
had been caught in a trap from which there was no escape. Both were
feeling famished for want of food, and were parched with thirst; and
Frobisher could not help wondering how long the agony of death from
starvation and thirst would be prolonged before blessed unconsciousness
came to their relief.
Suddenly--they had both been sitting dejectedly on the floor--Frobisher
jumped to his feet.
"Look here, Drake," he exclaimed, "there is just one place that we never
thought of searching, and that's the treasure chamber itself. We were
too deeply interested in the valuables we found to think of looking for
an exit in there. Who knows?--the very thing we are hunting for may be
in there all the time."
The two men fairly raced down the passage leading to the chamber, opened
the latch, with all due caution, and re-entered the vault. At first
sight there appeared to be no semblance of a second door, and their
hopes dropped to zero once more. Then Drake proposed that, as a last
chance, they should remove the chests to the centre of the room and see
whether, possibly, there might be a door concealed behind any of them.
They set to work feverishly, and in doing so spilled the jewels and
coins in heaps on the floor. But what did that matter? Unless they
found a way of escape from their prison, jewels and coin would be of far
less value to them than a loaf of bread and a jar of water.
Then, at the very end, when their hopes were practically extinguished,
the last chests removed disclosed a little oaken door set into the wall,
not more than four feet high by three feet broad. Drake was about to
open it impulsively when Frobisher restrained him. He did not want
either of them to be killed on the very threshold of success by some
other hidden and fiendishly ingenious piece of mechanism. But when
cautiously opened with the aid of one of the sticks, nothing happened in
this instance, and they crawled safely through into another passage,
being careful to close the door behind them.
This passage looked a good deal more promising, there being no less than
four other corridors branching off it at right angles, each, curiously
enough, leading away to the left. But they determined to go straight
ahead in the first instance, exploring the corridors afterwards, if not
successful in their present direction. They traversed so long a
distance in a perfectly straight line, the ground rising gently all the
way, that they soon became convinced that they were at last on the right
track, as the passage must, some distance back, have passed from under
the foundations of the palace itself, and be leading, undoubtedly, to
some exit at a considerable distance from the building. It seemed
probable that it might have been constructed with a view to providing a
means of escape, should the palace ever be attacked and stormed.
That they were correct in their surmise was proved shortly afterward
when, a little distance ahead, Frobisher caught sight of a pin-hole of
light. This presently resolved itself into sunlight shining through the
keyhole of another door; and they realised that, since it was now broad
daylight, they must have spent several hours in Genghiz Khan's
treasure-house. The door did not open with a handle, as the others had
done, and there was no key hanging handily on the wall, as there had
been when Frobisher escaped out of the pirate fortress; so that, after
all, there was still a rather formidable obstacle to be overcome before
they could actually stand in the blessed light of day again.
"We must not let this stop us, Drake," exclaimed Frobisher; "though I
don't yet quite see what we are to do. If we had a big stone we could
burst the lock off, or out; but there isn't so much as a pebble to be
seen anywhere about."
"How far are we away from the palace, do you think?" asked Drake. "If
we are out of earshot of the pirates, I can easily manage it."
"A good quarter of a mile, I should say," replied Frobisher. "You could
fire a rifle in here and they would never hear it."
"I mean to do something like that," returned the other. He produced his
revolver, the muzzle of which he thrust against the keyhole, and pulled
the trigger, turning his face aside at the same time.
The explosion in that confined space sounded like the roar of a
twelve-inch gun, and dust and splinters flew in clouds; but when the air
cleared the lock was gone, and in its place a ragged hole appeared,
through which a clenched fist could easily be thrust. One or two strong
pulls, both together, while gripping the edges of the hole, sufficed to
loosen the whole affair, and presently, with a rattle of falling pieces
of broken iron and springs, the door grated open, and they once more
beheld the blessed light of day.
On stepping outside, they found themselves in the midst of a thick clump
of bushes and vegetation which completely concealed the door from
outside, and which had evidently not been disturbed for centuries, so
thick and matted was the growth. Through this they pushed and broke
their way, coming out a few moments later into what was evidently the
remains of a once-spacious and magnificent garden. There were still
traceable the outlines of old walks and lawns; ruined fountains and
marble basins for gold-fish were scattered about; and there were even
the remains of marble seats and couches whereon the warriors of Genghiz
Khan's retinue had been wont to take their ease during their
all-too-brief respites from fighting. Sundials, beautifully modelled in
bronze, and statues, in bronze, copper, marble, and in some cases even
solid silver, were to be found in many of the corners. A few were still
on their pedestals, but most of them lay broken on the ground, though
all gave evidence of the high level to which Chinese art had advanced,
even in those far-off days.
A quarter of a mile away was to be seen the palace the pair had recently
vacated, and, peering cautiously from behind a screen of brushwood, they
were able to make out the figures of some of the pirates, still
apparently searching industriously; while the smoke of a fire, a little
distance away, showed that they had by no means given up the pursuit,
but were cooking a meal preparatory to instituting a fresh search of the
palace precincts. They had not yet, apparently, thought of looking in
the gardens.
"Think we dare risk it?" enquired Drake, voicing the idea uppermost in
both their minds, and pointing toward the groups of unconscious pirates.
"Yes," replied Frobisher. "They seem to be pretty fully occupied with
their own concerns just now, and are evidently under the impression that
we are still hiding somewhere in the building, so I think we could not
hope for a better opportunity. They must, without fail, eventually
discover that we are nowhere in the building, so we had better get away
before they take it into their heads to start searching in this
direction. I expect both groups have joined forces by this time, to
participate in that meal they are preparing, so we should be able to get
clear of the town without being seen."
This point settled, the pair made their way cautiously out of the
gardens, and soon gained the streets, which they traversed slowly, to
save themselves as much as possible in case the pursuit should again be
taken up. And in about half an hour, during which they had perceived no
cause for alarm, they realised, by the gradual thinning of the houses,
that they were approaching the outskirts of the city on its eastern
side.
They were proceeding carefully, conversing, and noting the interesting
relics of a bygone civilisation, when, without a word, Drake suddenly
seized his companion's arm and hastily dragged him behind a convenient
wall. Frobisher, too much astonished for words, could only look round,
wonderingly, imagining that the pirates were after them again; and as he
did so, he perceived the cause of the skipper's alarm.
The danger was not behind, but in front. The pirates had proved to be
wider awake than either of the Englishmen had anticipated, and had
posted a sentry at the eastern gate. Fortunately for them, the man
happened to be looking in another direction at the moment when they
turned the corner, or discovery would have been inevitable. As it was,
the question arose--how was this fresh obstacle to be overcome? They
might possibly avoid the man by making a long detour to some other gate,
but this plan appealed to neither of them, for even should they succeed
in escaping by some other outlet, the ground outside the walls was so
bare that the man must inevitably see them. The alarm would be raised,
when of course the pursuit would at once be resumed, and their capture
become certain.
A few words between the two Englishmen sufficed to show that the same
plan--the only practicable one--had occurred to both; and, avoiding the
main street, they made their way through side lanes and back alleys
until they emerged at a spot only a few yards distant from the
unsuspecting sentinel. Then, watching through a convenient cranny until
his back was turned, they ran swiftly forward and concealed themselves
behind a low stone wall which the man was passing and repassing on his
beat.
The next time he passed that wall the sentry experienced the unpleasant
sensation of being jumped on from behind by two men, one small and the
other very large and heavy; the latter kneeling on his chest and
squeezing his windpipe, while the other securely lashed his wrists and
ankles together with strips torn from his own robe, their operations
being completed by thrusting a gag made of the same material into his
mouth and securing it there firmly. The Englishmen then carried him
between them into one of the adjacent ruined houses, took him to an
upper room, and left him there for his companions to find, if fate
should so decree.
As a matter of fact, fate evidently decreed against the unhappy man, for
several months afterwards the remains of a gagged and bound Chinaman
were found in that very house by a party of travelling nomads; but it
was a case of the pirate's life or those of the Englishmen, and it did
not take them long to decide which the world could best spare.
The sentry having been thus disposed of, Drake and Frobisher struck off
across the desert, by the margin of the river, at a good round pace; for
since the pirates had posted a guard, it was probable that they would
visit him sooner or later, and the Englishmen wanted to be well out of
sight before anything of that sort should occur.
A little later on they were fortunate enough to come to a village, most
of the inhabitants of which were away, as it happened, probably hunting,
or fishing, or otherwise engaged upon their usual occupations. Here
they secured a hearty meal of rice, bread, cheese, and goats' milk;
after which they found themselves marvellously refreshed, and thought
the meal cheap at the price of one of Genghiz Khan's gold pieces,
specially cleaned up for the purpose of payment.
It is unnecessary to relate in detail the incidents of the journey of
the fugitives back to Tien-tsin, for nothing in the way of real
adventure occurred after they had once left the ruined city behind. On
the way Drake explained to Frobisher how he had come to attempt his
friend's rescue; and, in a few words, this is how it came about.
Drake had returned in the _Quernmore_ from England with his cargo, which
he duly delivered. Then, as China was purchasing steamers for use as
transports, and he was offered about twice his ship's actual value, he
sold her, and so found himself at a loose end, without employment. He
regarded this as a favourable opportunity to commence enquiries
respecting Frobisher, whom he believed to be still a prisoner in Korea;
and, happening to encounter Wong-lih--who had by that time returned from
his visit to southern China--he heard the whole of Frobisher's history,
from the moment when the admiral found and rescued him at Asan, to that
of his expedition up the river after the pirates. He was also informed
that the expedition had failed, and that his friend was either dead or a
prisoner. Wong-lih, said Drake, was greatly cut up at losing so
promising an officer, a man, too, of whom he had made a friend; but he
could not be induced to send a rescue party. He was altogether too
busily occupied with matters of moment to his country, and war was so
imminent, that, as a matter of fact, the admiral found himself
absolutely unable to spare a ship or a crew for such a purpose. Drake
therefore determined to ascertain for himself if Frobisher were still
alive, and, if so, to attempt his rescue. And as he happened to be a
good Chinese linguist, and possessed in a high degree the art of
disguising himself, the attempt proved, as has been seen, completely
successful.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was exactly two months after Frobisher's escape from the pirates'
fortress when two very weary, very ragged Englishmen arrived in
Tien-tsin; and so bronzed and disreputable did they appear that they
could obtain accommodation nowhere until they had proved, by the
exhibition of some of their gold, that they were not up-country robbers,
but solvent citizens, of merely a temporarily unattractive exterior.
This condition was soon altered, with the assistance of a few baths, a
shave, and new drill suits; and, having made their toilets, Frobisher
proposed starting immediately to report himself to Wong-lih, or whatever
admiral happened to be on the spot at the moment. Drake insisted on
accompanying him; and accordingly the two men sauntered off toward the
Navy Buildings, where they were told that Admiral Wong-lih might be
found at the dockyard, busily superintending the fitting out for sea of
several repaired and re-boilered cruisers.
Upon enquiring the reason for all the bustle and confusion that were
everywhere apparent, and the quite unaccustomed businesslike air of the
port, Frobisher was informed by the officer to whom he applied for
information that Japan had, a few days previously, perpetrated an act
which could hardly be interpreted otherwise than as meaning war; and
that consequently all possible preparations were being hurriedly made to
meet the contingency. Guns were being mounted, ships were being
dry-docked, scraped, and painted, nucleus crews were being brought up to
fighting strength, and, in short, everything that could be done was
being done to place China in a position to send her Navy to sea to
encounter the Japanese squadrons; for it was plainly to be seen, said
the officer, that, since the first acts of hostility had taken place, a
formal declaration of war was merely a matter of a few days, and there
was a great deal to be done in the time. Frobisher thanked the man for
his information, and then he and Drake hurried on their way toward the
dockyard. Truly, the air was full of mutterings and rumours of war.