A RESCUE
An hour after dawn they started. Early as it was the vegetables had
been cut and packed in three large baskets, and after paying for them
they put the straps of the baskets across their foreheads and started.
The loads were fairly heavy and although Ah Lo carried his without
difficulty, Rex found the strap press very heavily on his forehead.
“I was thinking it over in the night, master,” Ah Lo said, when they
had gone a short distance.
“Donʼt call me master, Ah Lo; you know that we agreed that you should
always call me Shen Yo.”
“I will try to do so. Well, I have been thinking it over, and I
consider that if we succeed in getting the ladies away, we should at
first go north. The search will be made for us chiefly on the roads
to Tientsin and Pekin. The distance is about the same to both towns.
They will scarcely suspect that we have gone north, and if we travel
all night, hide in a rice–field during the day, and then again travel
all night, we should be beyond the reach of searchers, and could then
travel round to Pekin, which would, I think, be safer than Tientsin,
where the Boxers will always be in numbers. Of course we must have
disguises for the ladies. Their best plan would be to dress as boys.
Chinese women do not travel about, and their doing so would at once
give rise to suspicion. We must, of course, get some stain to give them
the proper native colour. When we have turned our faces towards Pekin
we must state that you and I are going to enlist in the Chinese army,
that we have friends in Pekin, and that the boys are going with us to
get any work they can. We can account for our guns by saying that we
have obtained them from some of the Boxers who had brought them from
Tientsin.”
“Yes, we must stick to them if we can,” Rex agreed. “As they are
magazine rifles we ought to be a match for any twenty of these
villagers or a dozen Boxers; and at any rate, if the worst came to the
worst, we could be killed fighting and not be put to death by slow
torture.
“I have been thinking too,” Rex added, “that the best thing to do
will be to set the house on fire. If we take in with us a large can
of spirit, sprinkle it over everything in one of the rooms, and then
spill a lot in the passage and set it all alight, the sudden alarm will
create such a tremendous confusion and panic that we may be able to
seize the girls and carry them off without being noticed.”
“That would be a very good plan,” Ah Lo agreed. “We shall have to carry
a heavy sledge–hammer with us to break in the door of their prison,
for they are sure to be locked up. A sentry will probably be stationed
at their door, and of course we must stab him. If we set fire to the
house, as you propose, we had better carry thick clothes with us to
throw round them, as, in order to carry them off, we may have to run
through the flames. The wrappings will protect them, and besides people
wonʼt notice what we are carrying and will think that we are rescuing
valuables from the flames. It will be well also, if possible, to seize
porcelain jars or other valuables. I can carry the elder girl; and you
can take the younger on one shoulder, and carry a jar or some other
valuable on the other. We had better have cloaks and broad hats, like
those of the soldiers. There would be no fear, in the confusion, of
anyone noticing our faces.
“I really think, Shen Yo, that we may be able to succeed. It did not
seem possible at first, but I think now that with the aid of fire we
may be successful.”
“I certainly donʼt see why we shouldnʼt,” Rex said. “In such wild
confusion as there would be, no one would notice anyone else. The
great thing is to be quite sure where the girls are kept, and that we
must find out to–day if possible. We will get rid of our vegetables as
soon as we can, and then wander about with the empty baskets on our
shoulders. We shall then see if people go in and out of the yamen.
It is most likely that they will. Many will have petitions to make
and some complaints to lay before the governor. Some, perhaps, will
only go in to stare about. Possibly a little cash may induce one of
the soldiers to point out the door of the room where the girls are
confined, and that will be all that we shall want. When we have found
that out we shall have to buy two suits of clothes for the girls,
two cloaks and hats like those worn by the military, long lengths of
rope for climbing the wall and getting down, a hook of some sort for
catching the top of the wall, a sledge–hammer, a chisel for opening a
door or a window, and a bottle holding a couple of gallons of spirit.
Can you think of anything else?”
“We must get some provisions and leave them at the bottom of the wall
before we climb up, for we must not go anywhere to buy food for the
first day or two after we start.”
“Yes, that will certainly be a good plan.”
When they approached Chafui they overtook some other peasants also
carrying in vegetables, and, joining them, they entered the town
together. Numbers of Boxers in their red jackets were in the streets,
and a good many of the regular soldiers. The townspeople were moving
about; some were laughing and chatting with the soldiers, others moved
quietly about, evidently feeling by no means sure that the Boxers would
not, before they left the town, plunder the houses.
Rex and Ah Lo were not long in disposing of the contents of their
baskets, and they moved nearer and nearer to the yamen as they did so,
getting rid of a large number of their goods within a short distance
of the gate. They sat down for a while near the gate of the yamen and
watched the people go in and out of the courtyard. Then, approaching
the gate, they laid their blankets down a short distance from the
soldiers standing at the gate, and entered. No questions were asked,
and, crossing the courtyard, they entered the house. They saw two
soldiers standing at a door and went up to them.
“What do you want?” one of them asked.
“Can we see the little white devils? We have come a long way to have a
look at them.” And he slipped a few coins into the manʼs hands.
“No, you canʼt see them,” the man said; “the orders of the governor are
strict. They wonʼt be here much longer; the governor expects a message
from the viceroy to–morrow, and then we shall put an end to them. It
might just as well have been done at first. If it had, we should have
been saved the trouble of keeping sentry over them for the past week.”
This was serious news, but they had seen all they required. There was
a door between the private apartment and the public rooms. This was
closed, and the room occupied by the prisoners was next to it. Having
ascertained this important fact, Rex and his follower left the house,
took up their baskets, and walked off.
“I think that is as well as we could expect,” Rex said. “We may take it
for certain that no sentries will be placed in the private part of the
house; so that if we enter on that side we can make our preparations
and light our fire without fear of being disturbed. Now we had better
take a turn round the place behind, to choose the spot where we will
climb over, and see if any sentries are placed on that side.”
The wall was about fourteen feet high, and there was a door at the
back. All was quiet, and there was a piece of waste ground behind the
garden. They examined the door carefully.
“I think, Ah Lo,” said Rex, “it will be better to cut round this lock,
if we cannot force it, instead of climbing over the wall. That would
take us time; while if the door could be opened at once we should
run straight down the garden, close the door behind us, and make off
without a momentʼs delay.”
“It would certainly be much better,” Ah Lo agreed. “We should have
plenty of time to cut through the door after it gets dark. If we decide
to do that we shall have to buy a saw and a tool for cutting a hole
through which to thrust it. It would certainly be a relief to get rid
of the ropes. We may as well get the other things at once, and then we
can sit down in some quiet place, eat our food, and talk matters over.”
When Ah Lo had bought all the various things they required, they sat
down with their backs against a wall. All their purchases were stowed
in the bottom of one of their baskets, the other being put into it so
that no one might see what they were carrying.
“Of course,” said Rex when they were seated, “it wonʼt be an easy job.
In the first place, we have to make an entrance; I donʼt think that
there will be much difficulty about that. Then, you see, we shall have
to light a fire in two rooms, one on each side, and as the flames rush
out of the doors, we must open the door of communication. Probably
it is fastened with a bar. There must be a sufficient blaze to cause
a panic among the sentries. For a moment there will, no doubt, be a
tremendous uproar, and anyone in the passage or rooms will rush out.
Then we must seize the moment to break in the door. If the sentries
should keep their place, which I should think is very doubtful, we must
throw ourselves upon them at once. The door once open, the rest will
be easy; we shall have but to wrap the girls in the blankets and run
through the fire with them. The critical moment will be that at which
we open the door; we must make perfectly sure that the two sentries
are taken by surprise. I have every hope that the place will be burnt
down, and in that case it is likely enough that they will never give
the captives a thought beyond concluding that they have been burnt
to death. I think it would be a good thing to take the hangings from
some of the rooms, roll them up into a bundle, and soak them with the
spirit. Then, when we have taken down the bar and have the door ready
for opening, we will light that bundle, so that when we open the door
there will be a great blaze close to the men and at the same time they
will see the flames from the rooms farther down the passage. The scare
is almost certain to make them bolt, and we can then break in the other
door. The noise will merely sound to them as if something on fire had
fallen down, and we shall have got the girls out through the door
before they can open the gate of the yard and call the sentries from
the guard–house.”
“I think it ought all to go right,” Ah Lo agreed. “Now, master, I think
that I will go back again. I must see my father and mother and tell
them that I have to go away on urgent business, for that I hear the
Boxers are coming to our village in the morning to search for every
able–bodied man, and that, therefore, I must leave at once. What will
you do?”
“Can we return to the back of this yamen without passing through the
town?”
“Yes.”
“Then I will go with you. We need not bring our baskets back with us;
we can make the things up into a bundle. I would rather walk home with
you and return than hang about here where I might be questioned.”
Accordingly they again took their baskets on their backs and returned
to the village, hiding their parcels before they entered. Hearing the
news they brought, several young men, who had managed to escape the
last search of the Boxers, at once made off into the country. Ah Lo
and Rex remained with the two old people until dusk. The old people
were much distressed to hear that their son had to leave them so soon.
He promised to pay them a longer visit as soon as it was safe to do
so, and having left a sufficient supply of money to last them for some
time, he took a tender farewell of them and started once more with his
companion.
They arrived without adventure at the back of the yamen, and at once
set to work on the lock, as it was now perfectly dark and the streets
were already deserted except by parties of Boxers. In an hour they
had cut round the lock, but then they found that the door was also
held by bolts. It did not take them long, however, to enlarge the hole
sufficiently for Rex to get his arm through and unfasten the bolts.
They now waited until the lights in the house gradually disappeared,
and then moved quietly up to it. They found, as they hoped would be the
case, that the door of the house was unfastened.
Having ascertained this, they waited another hour until they were sure
that everyone was asleep. Then they entered, lit a lamp that they
had bought for the purpose, and set to work. They soon piled mats and
curtains near the doors of the rooms on both sides of the passage, and
poured oil and spirit over them. When this was done they made up a roll
six feet high and six feet long, and, saturating this with oil, carried
it to the door. They then set a light to the great piles of inflammable
materials in the two rooms. These flashed up instantly, and the flames
came rushing through the doors. When they saw that the blaze had taken
a good hold of the material they set fire to the bundle in the passage.
As this blazed up they removed the bar and flung the door open. The
two sentries gave a loud cry as they saw the flames rushing out at the
end of the passage, and made a simultaneous rush for the front door.
Running in, Rex and his companion found that the door of the girlsʼ
prison was held by bars only. These they undid, and found to their
satisfaction that the door opened, and that there was no occasion to
break it down.
The light of the flames was amply sufficient to enable them to see. The
two girls lay in each otherʼs arms in one corner.
“It is all right, girls!” Rex cried. “I am Rex, and I have come here to
save you!”
Then, lifting the girls to their feet, they wrapped the blankets round
them. Each lifted one and sprang through the flames rising from the
roll, and then through the sheet of fire at the end of the passage.
When they reached the open air they released the girls from the
wrappings, and, snatching up their rifles, which they had left leaning
against the wall outside, ran down the garden. Once outside they felt
that they were for the present safe.
Already a babel of noises was arising from the yamen—shrieks of women
and shouts of men.
[Illustration: REX RESCUES HIS COUSINS FROM THE BOXERS.]
“I hope the women wonʼt be burned,” Rex said.
“If they cannot get down the staircase they can jump from the windows,”
said Ah Lo.
“Thank God, girls, that we have got you out! We have some native
clothes for you, but we must run for some little distance first; the
fire will bring all the town out.”
“Are we dreaming?” Jenny said. “Can it be really you, Rex?”
“It is, dear; you can seize me and shake me, to make sure that you are
awake. Are you strong enough to walk?”
“Yes, if I am really awake.”
The younger sister, however, could scarcely stand, and Ah Lo caught her
up and they at once started, Jenny pouring question after question into
Rexʼs ear as he hurried her along. When they were two or three hundred
yards away they broke into a walk.
“Now we can go on steadily,” Rex said. “We are absolutely safe till the
morning, and by that time I hope we shall be a good many miles away.”
When they had gone another mile Rex said: “We had better stop here and
eat something, for we shall want all our strength for the journey.”
“But how did you come to be here, Rex?”
“Well, dear, we heard such terrible news of what was going on
throughout the country that Ah Lo and I determined to come out in
disguise to see if we could be of any assistance to you. Of course we
have heard all that has happened, so do not pain yourselves by talking
about it at present. We have got stain for you to colour your skin, and
the dresses of Chinese boys in which you must disguise yourselves. It
would not do for you to be travelling as girls. We shall try to make
our way to Pekin. Of course we shall have difficulties, but I trust
that we shall get through all right. We intend to give out that we are
going to enlist in the army, and we shall have to invent some story
to account for your going with us. We have got rifles, so that if we
should be interfered with by any small party we shall be able to give
a good account of them. We have got you out more easily than we had
expected, and no one is likely to notice that you have escaped. They
will have more than enough to do if they wish to save the house, and I
doubt whether they will succeed in putting out the fire, for I think we
set the place pretty well alight.”
Indeed, it was already evident that the fire had got a great hold,
for, from the point that they had now gained, the flames could be seen
leaping out of all the windows on the ground floor at the back of
the house. The fugitives went almost at a run for another mile, and
when they stopped and looked round, the yamen was in a blaze from top
to bottom. Ah Lo now set Mabel on her feet, and the two girls threw
themselves into each otherʼs arms and burst into tears.
“Now you had better eat something,” Rex said, after he allowed them a
short time to recover themselves. “Did the brutes feed you well?”
“We had enough to eat till to–day; they have given us nothing to–day,
and we thought that that was a sign that the end had very nearly come.”
“No doubt it was so. Now in the first place you must each eat and drink
something.”
“I donʼt feel as if I wanted anything.”
“Never mind, it is absolutely necessary that you should eat. We must
get as far away as we can before morning, and unless you eat you wonʼt
be able to walk.”
The girls ate slowly at first, but as their appetites came back they
managed to eat a hearty meal. While they did so Rex told them about the
fighting at Tientsin, and the way in which they had made their way
into the yamen and set it on fire.
“I can only just see the outline of your figure, Rex,” Jenny said, “but
you seem to have grown tremendously since I saw you last.”
“Yes, I have grown a good deal. Four years make a great difference at
my age. You have grown a good deal too, Jenny; you were quite a small
girl when I saw you last. How pleased my father and mother will be to
see you both again!”
“Did they send any messages?”
“No, Jenny, and for a very good reason. They did not know that we were
coming. We stole off quietly in the night, for I was not at all sure
that they would let me try if I asked their permission. I left a letter
for them saying where I had gone, and that, as I had Ah Lo with me, I
felt pretty sure that it would come out all right. You see, I speak
Chinese nearly as well as he does, and there was no real reason why
anyone should suspect that we were not what we looked. Now, dear, if
you have finished we will go on.”
They went for some ten miles before the day began to break. Ah Lo
carried Mabel for the last five, for both girls were weakened by the
scenes they had gone through, the grief at the loss of their parents,
and the fear as to their own fate. As day approached they went into a
large field of standing corn, which rose some feet above their heads.
“Now, girls, you go on a few yards and then change your clothes. Here
is the stain. You must dye your whole skin and darken your eyebrows,
eyelashes, and hair. You know a great deal better than I do how your
hair must be plaited into pigtails and wound up under these hats.
I think you will find the clothes all right; they are just jackets
buttoning up in front, and loose trousers. You can put on your own
boots as long as we are walking in an open country and there is no one
about, but when we are likely to meet anyone you must put on these
Chinese shoes. After you have dressed yourselves you had better lie
down and have a long sleep. We shall keep a look–out; but as we entered
the field in single file, and raised the stalks after us, it is not
likely that, even if the owner comes along, he will suspect that anyone
is in hiding here. Before you try to go off to sleep you had better eat
another meal.”
“Are we on our way to Pekin, Rex?”
“No, we have come north so far; for if a search is made it will be in
the direction of Pekin or Tientsin. I do not think it at all likely,
however, that they will trouble to look for us. They will not give
you a thought at first; and when they do think of you the place will
be in such a blaze that they wonʼt be able to get at your room, and
will certainly conclude that you have perished in the flames. The only
possible ground for suspicion will be that the door at the end of the
garden may be found open; but no one may think of going round there for
some days, and at the worst they will but fancy that robbers broke in
there, and, while plundering the rooms, accidentally set the house on
fire. At any rate, long before the idea can occur to them that it was
an attempt to rescue you, we shall be a hundred miles away.”
The day passed quietly. Ah Lo and Rex in turn slept and watched near
the edge of the corn. Men could be seen working in some of the fields,
but no one approached the edge of the field in which they were hidden.
Late in the afternoon the girls joined them, looking their character
so well that even Ah Lo said that he would not have suspected them of
being anything but what they seemed. A hearty meal was then eaten,
and an hour after dark they started again, this time making towards
the east. They passed through many small villages during the night,
and walked, they calculated, over twenty miles, Ah Lo, as before,
carrying Mabel the last seven or eight miles. Again they hid during the
day, and in the evening turned their faces towards Pekin. Their stock
of provisions was now exhausted, and the next day Ah Lo went into a
village and brought a fresh supply.
They met with no adventure until they were half–way on their journey,
when one evening as they were passing through a village, the door of
one of the houses opened and three men whose dress showed them to be
Boxers came out.
“Hello!” one of them said, “who are you?”
“We the travellers,” Ah Lo replied.
“What makes you travel so late?”
“We are anxious to push on to the next village.”
“Come in here and let us have a look at you,” one of them said.
“Shall we go in, master?” Ah Lo said in a whisper.
“Yes, you had better; there is a large party of them. You go on, girls;
stop by the side of the last house in the village on the right–hand
side.”
Rex and Lo then followed the men into the house. Inside were nine
others, several of them smoking. “Now where are you going to?” demanded
the Boxer who had before spoken, and who was apparently the leader of
the party.
“We are going to enlist in the army.”
“You had better join us. I see you have a good gun; where did you get
it from?”
“I got it from some men who were fighting at Tientsin and returned home
wounded.”
“Well, you will get others there,” the man said; “you had better hand
them over to us. You must stop here for the night and go on with us. It
appears to me that there is something suspicious about you. Where are
the two boys who were with you?”
“They have gone on. I told them to.”
“Two of you run after them and fetch them back,” the man said angrily.
Ah Lo and Rex both unslung their guns from their shoulders as if
to hand them over. They were still standing in the doorway, and Ah
Lo shoved one of the Boxers, who tried to pass him, and sent him
staggering backwards. The captain, with an exclamation of fury, drew
his sword. Ah Lo dropped his rifle against the manʼs chest and fired.
The others at once sprang to their feet.
“Donʼt throw away a shot!” Rex exclaimed. “Now it is begun we must
finish them,” and he shot down the man next him. “Step back outside the
door, then only one can get at us at a time.”
The rifles rang out again, and three more of the Boxers fell. The
others, seizing their arms, rushed in a mass towards them.
“Fire by turns, Ah Lo,” Rex said as he fired, and then drove the muzzle
of his rifle with all his force into the chest of the next man coming
at him; the man fell as instantaneously as though he had been shot. Two
or three of the Boxers were armed with guns, and these attempted to
press forward so as to be able to use them. Rexʼs thrust had cleared
the crowd a little back, and Ah Lo shot one of the men with a gun as
he pressed forward. Almost at the same moment one of the others fired,
and the ball passed along Rexʼs arm and came out in the shoulder.
With a howl the man rushed forward again. Rex and Ah Lo fired at the
same moment. There were now but four Boxers left, and these charged
before they were ready to fire again. Ah Lo clubbed his musket; Rex,
as before, used his gun as a spear, and as a Boxer rushed at him with
uplifted sword, caught him full in the chest.
“Hold the door while I load, Ah Lo,” he said.
It took but a couple of seconds to discharge the cartridge and reload
and close the breech, and then Rex shot one assailant just when Ah Lo
struck down another. The last man threw down his weapon, but Ah Loʼs
blood was up, and knowing that none of the party must be allowed to get
away, he brought the butt of his musket down with all his strength upon
the manʼs head.
“That has been sharp work, Ah Lo,” Rex panted. “Now, we must be off.”
“I donʼt think they are all killed,” Ah Lo said.
“Well, most of them must be, and certainly none of the others can be
in a position to take up the pursuit. We had better not wait another
moment, or we shall have the villagers out on us.” So saying he started
to run.
“I will run,” Ah Lo said, “but there is no fear that the villagers will
come out. When they hear the firing they will think that the Boxers are
quarrelling among themselves, and certainly no one will venture out to
see about it.”
They found the girls waiting at the appointed place, and they gave a
cry of joy as Rex ran up.
“What has happened?” they asked together.
“The Boxers were nasty and were sending two men off to catch you, so we
stopped them, and we had a tough fight, but none of them got away.”
“How many were there?”
“Twelve.”
“And you killed them all?”
“We shot eight of them. Ah Lo broke the skulls of two, and I knocked
the wind out of the other two. Whether I killed them or not I do not
know, but it is quite certain that they cannot be in a fit condition
to take up the pursuit. We can now go on again; only for the rest of
the journey we must avoid villages.
“You neednʼt grieve for the Boxers,” he said, as the girls uttered an
exclamation of horror at what he had said. “As likely as not they have
come from Chafui; but if not, no doubt they have taken part in some
of these massacres and were making for Tientsin to join their fellows
there.”
“Oh, how could you do it, Rex? I am not sorry for the Boxers a bit, but
it is wonderful that you two should have killed twelve of them in two
minutes; I am sure the firing did not last longer than that.”
“It was quick work certainly, Jenny; but with these breech–loaders one
can fire all the shots in a magazine in less than a minute, and at such
close quarters there was no possibility of missing oneʼs aim. If there
had been a few more of them we should probably not have succeeded so
well, for our magazines were nearly empty when we had finished. Still,
holding the door as we did, so that only one man could really get at us
at once, I think we should have given a good account of ourselves even
if there had been five or six more.”
They made an unusually long journey that night; the girls would not
hear of stopping, although Rex assured them that there was no chance of
being overtaken. When day dawned they were more than usually careful in
hiding themselves among some very high grass. Rex and Ah Lo took turns
to watch all day, but to their satisfaction they saw no one hurrying
along the road as if carrying a message of importance.
“I did not expect to see one,” Ah Lo said; “the villagers will be
frightened out of their lives when they venture out in the morning and
see what has happened. I think it likely that they will at once bury
all the bodies, for they will be afraid that should a party of Boxers
come along and see what has taken place, they would plunder and burn
the village and kill all the inhabitants. No, I do not think there is
any fear that the alarm will be given.”
They continued their journey thus till they were within fifteen miles
of Pekin. Here the road was no longer unfrequented during the day,
bands of armed men and Boxers frequently passing along. The next day
they made ten miles and then lay down to sleep. Soon after daybreak
natives in carts, with vegetables and grain, came along. As soon as
they had passed, the fugitives issued out, and presently overtaking one
of the parties journeyed on in company with them until they reached the
gates of the city. They wandered about for some hours before they found
the quarter where the Legations were situated, for they did not like
to ask directions, as that would have shown that they were strangers
in the city. They came at last to a building where two marines were
keeping guard. From these they heard that the British Legation was
in the next street, and soon they were gladdened by the sight of an
English uniform.
They were stopped by the sentries, but on Rex saying in English that
they were fugitives from one of the missions that had been destroyed
they were allowed to enter.
The Legation stood in a very large enclosure which had at one time been
a palace belonging to a member of the imperial family. The gardens
were charmingly laid out, and it contained several courtyards, each
surrounded by buildings.
They were conducted by one of the servants of the Legation to the house
of the minister, Sir Claude Macdonald, and upon Rex sending in their
names they were at once admitted.
“We have made our escape, sir,” Rex said, “from Chafui, where the
mission has been destroyed and all save these two young ladies,
daughters of the missionary in charge, murdered. I myself am the son of
Mr. Bateman of Tientsin. These young ladies are my cousins, and with
the aid of this faithful Chinaman, who has for many years been in my
fatherʼs service, I have succeeded in rescuing them from the hands of
the Boxers.”
“I congratulate you indeed, sir. A considerable number of fugitives
have already arrived here. I will hand the ladies over at once into the
charge of Lady Macdonald, who will see that they are well cared for.”
He rang a bell and told a servant to take the girls to Lady Macdonald,
and then turned again to Rex:
“We had heard reports of the massacre at Chafui, and were afraid that
all had perished. I shall be glad to know how you and these young
ladies escaped?”
Rex gave a brief account of the incident.
“I congratulate you most warmly on the success of your enterprise, and
on the courage you displayed in undertaking it and carrying it out. It
certainly seemed, on the face of it, to be a most mad–brained attempt,
but it has been amply justified by the success that has attended it.
“Our position here is very precarious, and although the court continue
to give us assurances of the most friendly intentions, we have the best
grounds for believing that the Empress and her advisers are bent upon
our destruction. However, we are making every preparation for defence,
and believe that we shall be able to hold out until assistance arrives.
What are your own intentions?”
“My intentions, sir, are to make my way at once down to Tientsin. My
parents cannot but feel the most lively anxiety as to my safety, and my
first duty is to go back to relieve their suspense. If any expedition
is sent up here to your relief, I shall hope to accompany it in some
capacity. I can speak Chinese like a native, and may be useful as an
interpreter. I shall, of course, leave my cousins here if you will
kindly permit them to stay, for although with my Chinese follower I
might make my way without difficulty through any bodies of the Chinese
who may be on the road, I could hardly do so if I were accompanied by
two girls, however well they might be disguised.”
“Certainly not,” the envoy said; “that would be quite impossible.
There are, we know, a considerable number of the Chinese between us
and Tientsin. They have already torn up the railway, and although
my messengers do get through, direct communications are entirely
interrupted. Still, as you have made the journey from Chafui here
without difficulty, I should think that you might manage to accomplish
the journey to Tientsin safely. Of course you will remain here a day or
two. One of the members of my staff will lend you a suit of clothes.”
He touched the bell. “Send Mr. Sandwich here. He is one of the student
interpreters,” he said, turning again to Rex, “and is about your own
height; and I have no doubt that his things will fit you well. I shall
be glad if you will dine with me and afterwards give me more detailed
accounts of your adventures.”
In a few minutes the young man made his appearance. “Mr. Sandwich,” Sir
Claude said, “I will hand over this gentleman, who has just arrived
from Chafui, to your charge, He will only be staying here for a day or
two, for he is going to try to make his way down to Tientsin. I shall
be obliged if you will lend him a suit of clothes while he stays here.”
“Certainly, I will do all I can to make him comfortable.”
“I should be obliged, sir,” Rex said, “if you would allow a surgeon to
dress my arm. A bullet entered just above the wrist and ran up to my
shoulder. I think the wound is going on all right, but it is rather
painful, and I should be glad to have it dressed properly.”
“Certainly, I will send our doctor to the college at once. He will be
there almost as soon as you. You did not tell me that you had been hit.”
“It is not a serious wound, sir; the bullet only just went under the
skin, and I fancy that when it has once been properly dressed it will
give me no more trouble.”
“You are well disguised,” Sandwich said as he left the room with Rex.
“I am sure that I should not have had any suspicions, however closely I
inspected you. How did you manage to get here from Chafui?”
“I speak Chinese like a native. I was born in Tientsin, and was sent
home to England four years ago; but as my father was most anxious that
I should keep up Chinese, he sent with me one of the coolies who had
always been my special servant, and so I came back speaking it as well
as when I went.”
“We heard that there had been a massacre at Chafui.”
“Yes, I managed, with the aid of my man, to rescue my two cousins, who
are the daughters of the missionary there. I was just in time, for they
were to have been murdered on the following day.”
“But how was it that you were not murdered yourself?”
“For the simple reason that I was not there when the massacre took
place. The news of the massacre came to us at Tientsin, and I set off
with my man to see if any of them had survived and if possible to
rescue them. This we effected by setting fire to the governorʼs yamen,
where the girls were confined, and carrying them off in the confusion
that ensued. The only adventure we met with on the road was that we
were interfered with by a party of a dozen Boxers. We had a fight with
them; but as we had breech–loaders, and they were jammed up in a room,
we had no difficulty in disposing of them all.”
“By Jove, that was a plucky thing,” Sandwich said; “and so you are
going off again?”
“Yes, I am in a hurry to get back to my people, who must be in great
anxiety about me.”
“Well, this is our college,” the young man said, stopping before
a building of some size. “We are all trained here for the Chinese
Consulate service. I will take you to my room first and rig you out. We
shall be having a meal directly, and then I can introduce you to the
fellows, when I promise you a hearty reception.”
Half an hour later Rex went down in a suit of white clothes to the
dining–room. He had already asked Sandwich to hand over Ah Lo to
the proper quarter, where he could get rations and lodging. He was
introduced to eight or ten young men who were studying at the college,
and, after the meal was over, related the story of the rescue of his
cousins. The narrative excited great interest, and he was warmly
praised.