DETAINED BY THE RUSSIANS
In spite of the fact, well known to all in Port Arthur, that the
Russians allowed no foreigners in or near their forts, Gilbert was much
astonished to find himself virtually a prisoner of the officer who had
detained him.
Almost before he knew it, he found himself in a small office attached
to the fort proper. Here two burly soldiers were on guard, and each
scowled ominously at him.
“I reckon I’ve put my foot into it this time,” he told himself.
He wished to explain to the officer, but the latter would not listen.
A few words were spoken to one of the soldiers, in a Siberian dialect
which Gilbert could not understand, and then the officer left as
quickly as he had come.
“What are you going to do with me?” questioned the young American,
after a moment of silence.
At this query each of the Russian soldiers merely shrugged his
shoulders.
“You have no right to detain me in this manner,” went on Gilbert. “I am
an American citizen and have done no wrong.”
For answer one of the soldiers motioned him to a bench and placed his
rather dirty hand over Gilbert’s mouth, at the same time raising his
gun. It was a hint to sit down and keep quiet, and feeling it would be
useless to resist, Gilbert did as suggested.
Half an hour dragged by slowly, and the young American was growing
impatient, when the officer who had first accosted him came back,
accompanied by a dark, surly individual dressed in the uniform of a
captain.
“Here is the American,” said the first of the pair. “I found him
watching us rather closely.”
“Ha!” came from the second. He turned to Gilbert. “And what have you to
say for yourself?”
“What is there to say?” returned the young American boldly. “Certainly
I have done no wrong.”
“You were acting the part of a spy.”
“Not at all. I am looking for a certain Captain Barusky, who is, so I
have been told, located at one of the forts in or near this port.”
“Captain Barusky? That is my name.”
“Indeed!” Gilbert was taken somewhat by surprise. He looked at the man
closely, and the face did not at all please him.
“What do you want of me? What is your name?”
“I want to see you on business,” was Gilbert’s bold answer. “My name
is Gilbert Pennington, and I am the selling agent for the Richmond
Importing Company. I think you have heard of that concern.”
Captain Barusky started slightly and changed color. But he quickly
recovered and took on a look of unconcern.
“I have heard of your company, yes, but I know little about it, and
nothing about you.”
“Probably you know more about Ivan Snokoff,” went on Gilbert dryly.
“Yes, I know him quite well.”
“You were partners in business, so I understand.”
“Partners? Never! I am not a business man.”
“Do you mean to say that you did not have an interest in the concern
which Ivan Snokoff ran?”
“Never. Why are you so curious to know?”
“Because Ivan Snokoff owes our company four thousand dollars, and he
has run away,” answered Gilbert flatly. He felt that the man before
him was not telling the truth. “I have been told upon pretty good
authority that you were his partner.”
“It is not true.” Captain Barusky glared at Gilbert savagely. “This
looks as if you had come here to make trouble for me. Let me warn you
to beware. You cannot attack the honor of a Russian officer recklessly.”
Gilbert felt the truth of the last words and resolved to be cautious.
He felt that he was among those who were more likely to prove enemies
than friends.
“Then you mean to tell me that you had nothing to do with Ivan Snokoff
or his company?” he asked, after a pause.
“I will not say that. I knew Snokoff fairly well, and when he came to
me for a loan I lent him several hundred _rubles_, which, later on, he
paid back.”
“And you had nothing to do with the company?”
“Nothing whatever.”
“If that is true, I must beg your pardon for troubling you. Can you
tell me where Ivan Snokoff is?”
“I cannot, although I think he has gone to Liao-Yang or Mukden.”
There was a pause, which was broken by the officer who had brought
Gilbert in.
“Do you think he is a spy?” he questioned abruptly.
“Hardly,” answered Captain Barusky, after some hesitation.
“Shall we let him go?”
“Yes. I will see that he does not linger around this vicinity.” The
captain turned to the young American. “Come with me, and be thankful
that you have escaped a night in the guard-house.”
Glad to get away at any cost, Gilbert followed Captain Barusky from
the office and out of the fort grounds. The two walked a distance of
several rods further, when the captain came to a halt.
“Now you are at liberty to go,” said he, in a low voice, so that the
soldiers standing near might not hear. “But before you do so, allow me
to give you a word of advice. Do not try to make trouble for me, for if
you do, I shall certainly make Port Arthur too hot to hold you.” And
with this warning he turned abruptly and hurried back to the fort.
For an instant Gilbert thought to answer back, but then he shut his
lips tightly and remained silent. He was satisfied in his mind that
Captain Barusky had not told him the truth concerning Ivan Snokoff and
his dealings with that rascal. Yet how to get hold of the captain in a
legal way was a question.
“I’ll have to go slow,” he thought. “If I don’t the captain will try to
prove that I am a spy—and then I may be put in prison or shot. I wish
this war scare was over. Then a fellow might get down to real business.”
The next day was a busy one for the young American. He had several
bills to collect, and in some instances it was hard to get the money.
There was also something wrong about a consignment of goods, and this
matter had to be straightened out at the customhouse.
Gilbert had had an account at one of the banks, but now he resolved to
close this and stow his cash about his person.
“There is no telling what is going to happen soon,” he thought. “If
there is any fighting here, financial matters will be all upset. I’ll
keep the money where I can lay my hands on it.”
There was another matter to worry Gilbert fully as much as did the
money. He had had consigned to several firms in Manchuria goods to
the value of sixteen thousand dollars. These goods were on board the
three-masted schooner _Columbia_, which was now somewhere in Japanese
waters, with part of her cargo consigned to firms in Nagasaki. What
would happen to the schooner, if she should attempt to come into Port
Arthur during the outbreak of a war, there was no telling.
“If she came here from Nagasaki, perhaps the Russians would capture or
sink her,” he reasoned. “I wish I could get Captain Ponsberry to remain
at Nagasaki until the atmosphere clears just a little.”
Gilbert knew Captain Ponsberry very well—a sailor of the old school,
who had plowed the waters of the Pacific and the Far East for many
years. The captain had been to Manchuria twice before and knew the
surrounding waters very well.
“I must get word to him somehow,” said the young American to himself.
But how to send word was a question, for no steamer was sailing and the
mails were closed.
On returning to the hotel at which he was stopping Gilbert
found several letters awaiting him. The majority were business
communications, but one was of a private nature, and as soon as he
beheld the hand-writing he tore it open in surprise.
“From my old chum, Ben Russell!” he cried, as he looked at the
signature. “Where in the world can he be now? I thought he had gone
home to stay there. Dated from Manila, too, and I thought he was in
Buffalo or New York.”
The communication was a long one, filling sixteen closely written
pages, and ran in part as follows:
“MY DEAR CHUM GILBERT: I know you will be surprised to receive this,
written from the above-named place, but the fact of it is, I changed
my mind after writing to you that I was going home to visit my Uncle
Job Dowling, and my brothers Larry and Walter, who left for home, as
you know, two years ago.
“Some time ago I received several letters from home, including one
each from Larry and Walter. Walter has gone into business and is
doing remarkably well, so he tells me. But Larry did not want to stay
on land, and after knocking around for the best part of a year he
entered into communication with his old friend, Captain Ponsberry of
the _Columbia_, and the upshot of the matter was that Larry is now
on board of the _Columbia_, acting as second mate. He is certainly a
sea-dog if ever there was one, and I begin to believe he will end his
days on the ocean in spite of all we can do to make him settle down on
land.
“Larry knew that the old _Columbia_ was carrying a cargo for your
company, and as soon as he could he communicated with me stating that
the schooner was going to stop at Manila while on her way to Japan
and Manchuria, and asking me to wait there until he could see me.
“The _Columbia_ came in several days ago, and I can tell you I was
mighty glad to see Larry, and to see old Captain Ponsberry, too. It
was like a touch of old times, and I was sorry you and Walter were
not there. Do you remember the good time we had at our last meeting?
How we talked of all the hardships we had endured, and of the narrow
escapes we had had? And how you told us of your adventures in China? I
shall never forget that meeting, and of how we celebrated with a big
dinner.
“As soon as I saw Larry I knew he had a card up his sleeve, and
it came out pretty quick. He wanted me to take the trip on the
_Columbia_. He had arranged it with Captain Ponsberry so that I could
have half of his quarters (Larry’s, I mean), and he said it would
give me a chance to try an ocean trip on a sailing vessel and also an
opportunity to see you and see another part of the world.
“I didn’t think so much of the trip on a sailing vessel, but I did
think it would be pleasant to sail with Larry and with our old friend
the captain, and when he mentioned you that settled it, and I said yes
almost before I knew it. And then you ought to have seen Larry hug
me! ‘It’s just boss, Ben,’ said he. ‘We’ll have the best times ever!’
And he fairly danced a jig over the prospect. The captain was pleased,
too, and said so.
“We sail early in the morning, and you know as much about when the
_Columbia_ will arrive as I do. I shall look for you either at
Nagasaki or Port Arthur, and let me say frankly that I can hardly
await the time when we shall be together again. When I arrive you must
knock off for awhile and go sight-seeing and holiday-making with me.”