THE HELP SEEKER
Doctor Cameron satisfied himself that the wound was not bleeding, and
a little sprinkling with cold water soon brought the sufferer to, but
nothing more could be done till daylight lit up their refuge.
Meanwhile they waited anxiously, and ready to sell their lives dearly
should they be attacked by the returning barge, Sree having given his
opinion that their pursuers would not go very far.
He was quite right, for before half an hour had passed the sound of
oars came over the water with what seemed to be a regular throb, which
grew more distinct as the minutes passed away.
And now, to hide the clean, superior aspect of the boat, three or four
of the mats, which had been taken down, were roughly torn and damaged,
after which they were hung clumsily from the bamboos overhead, the
lower part trailing in the water, so that, in addition to the damaged
look they gave the boat, they formed a shelter behind which the party
waited, weapon in hand.
Faint signs of the coming day were visible, and the notes of birds
could be heard; but it was still dark enough to help their
concealment, for the stars were shining faintly when the barge came in
sight and swept by without its occupants noticing the boat in its tiny
harbour.
But no one stirred till the barge had passed quite out of sight, and
then as the daylight rapidly broadened, Doctor Cameron helped his
patient to the stern of the boat, and, with Mr. Kenyon and Phra
looking on, drew off the boy's jacket and proceeded to examine the
wound.
"Only a slight, clean cut, Hal, my boy," he said, as he tore up a
handkerchief for a bandage, and bound the wound. "It bled freely, but
the edges are well together, and it will rapidly heal. How was it?"
Harry explained, watching the doctor the while, as he drew out his
pocket-book, took needle and silk from within, and neatly sewed up the
end of the bandage.
"Lucky for you it did not strike you in the chest. There; to-morrow or
next day I will put on a little strapping. You need not even carry
your arm in a sling."
Mr. Kenyon sighed with relief, and then proceeded with the others to
examine the weapons Adong and Lahn had handed down from the barge
before they were heard and had to make their escape.
And now it was seen that the pair had done more than merely obtain the
spears, for as they rose from the bottom of the boat and stood
stooping in the light which streamed clearer and clearer through every
opening, they proudly showed that their lingouties, or waistbands,
were stuck full, back and front, of the krises or native daggers in
their wooden sheaths.
"Capital!" cried Mr. Kenyon, and the two men's eyes flashed with pride
at the words of praise bestowed upon them. Even the doctor looked less
sombre, and took eager interest in the process of arming their
followers, the krises being handed round, and each man apportioned one
of the spears, which were now laid neatly along the thwarts of the
boat on either side, ready for use.
Fortunately there was a sufficiency of food left in the boat to last
for a couple of days or more, for it had been well provisioned at
starting, so that there was no need to attempt any search for more,
and Harry drew Sree's attention to the fact that the fishing bamboos
and lines were still untouched where they had been placed across the
bamboo rafters. But it was a day of agony for those who had so much at
stake.
Mr. Kenyon refused to look at the ruins of his home, but Harry could
not resist the temptation to creep out on to the bamboo floor and then
crawl a short distance up the garden, keeping well in shelter among
the bushes till he could see all that was left of the charming,
well-tended home.
"And all the beautiful specimens gone!" he sighed.
"Yes, sir, and all my clothes and treasures in my pantry," said a
familiar voice.
"You here, Mike!" said Harry, starting.
"Yes, sir; the master said I might crawl after you to have a look. Oh
dear, dear! burnt to ashes! Why didn't they build the place of stone
instead of wood?"
"I don't know, Mike. I was too little to have any voice in the
matter."
"Yes, sir, you was, and precious little too; but oh dear, oh dear! I'm
a ruined man. Think it would be safe to go to the tool shed and get a
shovel? I see it ain't burnt."
"No; we must not risk being seen. But what do you want to do?"
"Try and find something among the ashes where my pantry was, sir."
"No, you must not go now. What is it you want to search for?"
"Honour bright, sir? You won't go along with Mr. Phra and dig for it
yourself?"
"Dig for _it!_ Is it likely? What is _it?_"
"That little old Chinee teapot o' mine as stood on the shelf."
"What, that old bit of rubbish, Mike! Why, both the spout and handle
were knocked off."
"That's so, sir," said Mike, with a queer look; "but the lid was all
right."
"Pooh! I could buy you a better one for--"
"No, you couldn't, Master Harry, because you see there's no chance for
spending such money here, so I saved a bit."
"Saved a bit?" said Harry.
"Yes, sir; there was just a hundred and one silver Chinese dollars in
that teapot. Now do you understand?"
"Yes, Mike, I understand," said the boy sadly. "But never mind;
they'll be safe enough till we've got the mastery over these
wretches."
"Don't think they'll all ha' melted away, do you, sir?"
"They may have melted, Mike, but not away. Perhaps they'll have all
run down into the shape of the bottom of the teapot; but if they have,
the silver will be worth the money."
"Oh, come, sir; there's some comfort in that. I say, Master Harry, are
we going to have to fight?"
"I think we are sure to, Mike."
"Well, I s'pose I am a coward now, sir. I used to be a bit of a dab
with my fists when I was your age; not as I was over fond of it; but
I've never killed anybody, and I'd rather clean the guns any day than
shoot men with 'em. But after hearing all I have, and after seeing
what they'll do with spears--for it wasn't that chap's fault that he
didn't send that spear through you instead of your arm--and what with
the business last night, and the doctor's trouble, and now seeing our
house and my pantry turned into just a heap of ashes, it's a bit too
much. It makes me want to fight, sir; and if there is any going on, I
will."
"That's right, Mike. You will stand by us then?"
"That I will, Master Harry," said the man, with the tears in his eyes.
"I aren't been all I should ha' been as your father's servant, but I
am a man, sir, and an Englishman, and Englishmen must stick together
out in foreign parts like this."
"They must indeed, Mike."
"Then I'll be close at your back, Master Harry, wherever you go; and
if I gets killed, well, I do, sir, and I leave you all the silver in
that old pot."
"_Phee--ew!_"
"Quick! let's get back," whispered Harry, giving the man a grateful
look, and hiding a disposition to laugh; "that was Sree whistled. Some
one must be coming along the river."
The warning was repeated softly before they reached the landing-place.
"Quick, quick!" said Mr. Kenyon, in a loud whisper, and they had only
just time to creep down into the shelter when half a dozen large boats
were seen coming up the river, each filled with men, whose
spear-points glittered in the sunshine; and once more all crouched in
readiness to defend their little stronghold, should the boat attract
the attention of the enemy as they passed by.
But the boats passed on, following in each other's wake, the occupants
being too much taken up by the sounds which suddenly arose from the
direction of the palace; for just as the first boat was nearly abreast
of the landing-stage the sharp reports of guns told that a fresh
attack was being made upon it, the first discharges producing a
strange excitement amongst the enemy, who began rowing with all their
might, so that they soon passed, but without giving much relief to
those who watched, for the firing increased, and it was evident that a
desperate attack was going on.
Then the firing ceased as suddenly as it had begun, leaving the
listeners in a frightful state of doubt.
For the cessation might just as probably mean that the enemy had
forced their way in as that they had been beaten off; and as the
silence continued for quite an hour, Harry and Phra moved so as to be
close to the doctor, and then gently take his hand.
The sound of firing, when every shot may mean the death of a fellow
creature, is a strange reviver of hope--a peculiar comforter; but when
at the end of that weary hour the firing began again, both Phra and
the doctor started up with their faces flushed with eager excitement,
and Harry felt ready to shout.
"They're not beaten," he said proudly. "The King's too strong, and he
drives the wretches back every time. Why, father, when we get to them
to-night, they will all be in such good spirits that it will be
dangerous for the enemy to show themselves again."
"We must be thinking about our attack, Sree," said Mr. Kenyon, without
making any reply to his son's outburst.
"I am going as soon as it grows dark, Sahib. There is not much to do.
A little brown earth to moisten and rub over your hands, arms, and
faces."
"Yes, yes, that is easy enough; anything will do as it is night; even
gunpowder could be used. But the garments? it is of them that I was
thinking."
"The sahibs will have to use those of the common people, and so many
are away from their boats that it will not be long before I can get
padungs enough. Those are all that you will need, and be the best
things to hide you; for no one would think that you could be sahibs,
dressed like that."
The rest of the day went sluggishly by, with total cessations of the
firing filling the listeners with despair and hope returning whenever
it was resumed.
At last, after many alarms from passing boats, the sun sank low, and
the question of sending off a message to some English vessel in the
port had to be decided for Mr. Kenyon had pencilled a few lines
containing an urgent appeal for help from any captain into whose hands
it might fall, begging that he would at once set sail for the nearest
port where a British man-of-war might be found--Hong-Kong or
Singapore--and lay before the authorities the critical position in
which the tiny English colony was placed, and imploring that steps
might be at once taken for their rescue.
To deliver this note, a trusty messenger was needed, and a boat.
And now there was a feeling of bitter regret that the sampan in which
Adong had followed them up the river had been abandoned from the hour
the man came on board as being a useless appendage at such a time of
peril. But Sree declared that there would be no difficulty in finding
one after dark, so part of the trouble was at an end.
The question then arose as to who should be the messenger, and Sree
now proposed Adong.
He would soon find a boat, Sree said, but he thought that some one
should accompany him, and that the some one should be Sahib Harry.
"I couldn't go," said Harry hastily. "I must stay to help here."
"But the young Sahib is wounded; and if he took the letter with Adong,
he would be safe."
"I don't want to be safe like that," said Harry hastily. "I can't go,
father; I must stay with you."
"But it is most important that the letter should be placed in some
Englishman's hands," said Mr. Kenyon; "and Sree is right, my boy; you
would be safe."
"Oh no, father," cried the boy excitedly; "there would be as much risk
in sending me there as in letting me stay. I may be of some help here;
and, besides, I couldn't go and leave you."
Mr. Kenyon gave way. The paper was rolled up small, a bamboo was cut,
and into one of its hollows the paper was thrust, and then the place
was plugged so that it was water-tight, in case the messenger had to
swim. Lastly, armed with a kris in his waist-band, and with one of the
spears, Adong, who fully appreciated the importance of his mission,
proudly took his departure, going off through the garden; for, as Sree
said, no one was likely to interfere with such a man as he at a time
like that.
The little party breathed more freely when the man had gone, for it
was like the first step towards a rescue; but in a few minutes there
was a short, earnest conversation with Sree as to how his man would
manage.
"He will journey down the river till he sees a boat that he can take,
and then go on, lying up close to the shore when there is danger, and
going on down again towards the sea."
This decided, the perilous enterprise of joining with some portion of
the attacking force was discussed in what was really a little council
of war; and it was determined that Sree should assume the character of
leader, with Phra as his lieutenant, the rest being followers. How and
where they were to join the enemy must, it was agreed, depend upon
circumstances.
The men were eager to a degree, declaring themselves ready to die so
that they might save the King; and as soon as it was quite dark the
well-armed party quitted their cramping position in the boat to
assemble in the forlorn and deserted garden, the boat being well
secured, and left as a place of _rendezvous_ in case of fortune being
against them, and as a means of escape in dire peril. Then Sree went
away for an hour, and returned, declaring the time had come.
In the few words which passed in whispers as they made for the gateway
opening on the riverside track leading to the rest of the English
bungalows, and beyond that to the palace, it was quite decided that
they had nothing to fear in marching boldly onward through the
darkness, for their appearance as so many well-armed men going to join
in the attack would be quite natural, the second king's army
consisting as it did merely of an armed rabble, with which some of the
King's half-drilled guards were mixed after they had deserted him in
his peril.
Of all this Sree in his efforts to spy out the state of affairs had
thoroughly convinced himself; the great danger was that Phra or the
gentlemen might excite suspicion; but the efforts to disguise them had
been most successful, the simplicity of their garb and the coloured
skins promising in the darkness and confusion to be enough.
Then a few words were addressed by the old hunter to the men, and the
adventurers moved out of the gateway, and with beating hearts made for
the lights whose reflections could be seen above and through the
trees.