ROB MAKES A STARTLING DISCOVERY
Finding Rob determined to go to Pekin, Jo yielded, though with many
misgivings, and at once began preparations for their dangerous journey.
Thanks to the general terror inspired by the fall of the rain-god's
head, the lads were secure from interruption so long as they remained
in the temple. Having thought over his plan the evening before, Jo had
brought with him from the city a number of things necessary to carrying
it out. Among them were shears and a razor, with which he removed
every trace of hair from Rob's head, after the fashion of the lamas or
priests of Buddha. Then his whole body, from the crown of his head to
the soles of his feet, was tinted yellow with a dye that would have to
wear off, since it never could be washed away. He was further disguised
in priestly robes of yellow, and, worst of all, was finally obliged to
give up his cherished boots in favor of sandals, which of all forms of
foot-wear he most despised. For head-covering he was given a priest's
huge straw hat, as large as a small umbrella.
As neither of the lads was sufficiently expert in "making up" features
to change Rob's wide-open eyes into oblique slits, he submitted to
the wearing of big, round, shell-rimmed, smoked-glass spectacles,
found among the temple properties. Another thing there obtained was an
inscribed iron tablet that had hung upon the breast of the rain-god,
and to carry this to Pekin was to be the ostensible reason for their
journey in that direction. Also the silence with which Rob was to
conceal his ignorance of the northern dialect was to be explained as
being imposed by a vow not to speak a word, even in prayer, until he
had safely deposited that holy tablet in the great Pekin temple of the
rain-god. The only bit of property formerly belonging to him that he was
allowed to retain was his revolver, which, together with a belt full of
cartridges, was concealed beneath his robe.
As their changed plan was to carry them in the very direction Jo had
announced his intention of taking before leaving the city, he decided
to maintain his character as an officer of imperial troops, escorting
the priest, rather than to assume that of a servant, as he at first
had proposed. Thus he would be able to ride horseback, carry weapons
in plain sight, and disburse money for many comforts that a priest's
servant could not obtain.
With these preparations completed, our lads waited impatiently for
darkness, and no sooner had it descended than they set forth, exercising
great caution in leaving the temple grove, but after that travelling as
briskly as Jo could walk. The latter insisted that Rob, being unused to
sandals, should ride his pony, while he proceeded on foot until they
could beg, borrow, steal, or buy another.
They had gone but a few li, or Chinese miles, each of which equals
about one-third of an English mile, when they heard the steady beat of
a horse's hoofs, accompanied by a grinding noise as of machinery. After
listening until he located the sound as coming from a field at one side
of the road, Jo crept softly in that direction. He quickly discovered
a horse, attached to a long, wooden beam, travelling in a monotonous
circle, and thus lifting an endless chain of earthen jars full of water
from a deep well. Each, as it came to the surface, emptied itself into
an irrigating ditch, and then went down to be refilled. All this was
simple enough, and did not particularly interest Jo, for he had seen
hundreds of just such irrigating plants in operation all over the great
plain. Heretofore, however, a prominent feature of the outfit had been
the man or boy who, armed with a bamboo whip, had kept the horse awake
and at work; but here no human figure was to be distinguished. At the
same time, there was a sound of blows, delivered at regular intervals,
each of which inspired the horse to fresh exertion. Finally, becoming
convinced that, in spite of the blows, there was no person in the
vicinity, Jo went closer to determine their origin. At the machine he
found working a scheme so practical, simple, and ingenious as to arouse
his admiration--a section of stiff but springy bamboo, and a stout
cord fixed on the beam to which the horse was attached. That was all.
Three revolutions of the beam wound up the cord and sprung back the
bamboo. At the beginning of the fourth revolution the cord suddenly was
slackened, and the liberated bamboo struck the horse a blow across the
hind quarters. Nor did these blows always descend at the same point of
the circle or at regular intervals, since their frequency depended upon
the speed of the horse, who, being blindfolded, was thus made to believe
that he was at the mercy of some constantly alert though invisible
person.
So impressed was Jo with the ingenuity of this contrivance that he went
back to persuade Rob to come and see it. The latter did so, though
somewhat unwillingly, not caring to waste time over Chinese inventions
just then; but when he had approached close enough to the horse to
discern its markings, he exclaimed: "Hello! That's my pony! The very one
I was riding yesterday when the rain-dancers got after me. And here he
is, being made to work all night by an infernal machine. I never heard
of anything so disgusting. Here! whoa, you beast! You have done the
tread-mill act long enough, and now we'll put you to a better service."
Thus it happened that the very ingenuity of this inventor of perpetual
motion, by which he gained a few hours of sleep, also caused him a heavy
loss; for, had he been on hand, Jo would have bought the horse from him
at his own price, while Rob would not have appeared on the scene at all.
As no saddle could be found near the tread-mill, Jo was forced to ride
bareback until they reached a town where one could be purchased. At
this same town they slept a few hours, during which their horses also
rested and were liberally fed on beans and chopped bamboo grass. Our
young travellers were again on the road by sunrise, and after this they
pushed ahead with all speed for the greater part of a week, riding early
and late, but taking long rests in the middle of each day.
Although as a priest and an officer of imperial troops they were
suffered to pass, without delay, many points at which any other class
of travellers would have been detained for rigorous examination,
they met with ever-increasing evidences of trouble as they advanced
northward. Everywhere they came across dead bodies, ruined buildings,
and occasionally whole villages swept by fire. Everywhere people gazed
on them with suspicion or fled at their coming. They heard of the great
Boxer army gathering near Pekin, and encountered numerous small bodies
of armed men hastening to swell its ranks. Also they came into constant
contact with prowling bands of starving peasantry. Several times, in
order to escape from the latter, our lads joined themselves to one or
another of the Boxer companies, and remained with it until the immediate
danger was passed. Then, on the plea of urgent haste, they would push
ahead.
Finally, when thus travelling with a company who would have hacked them
to bits had they discovered their identity, they crossed the Hu-Tho-ho
(the river that goes where it pleases) and approached the walled city
of Cheng-Ting-Fu. In this city stands a Roman Catholic cathedral, built
of stone, and having a massive square tower that looms like a great
fortress above the low roofs of the surrounding temples and native
dwellings.
In this stronghold were many foreign refugees, priests, nuns, and
Belgian engineers who had been engaged on the railway running south from
Pekin; also several American missionaries who, wounded and plundered of
everything, had gained this asylum barely in time to save their lives.
For more than a month the great gate of Cheng-Ting-Fu had been kept
closed to all companies of friends and foes alike, only a little
wicket being occasionally opened for the passage in or out of one or
two persons at a time. In addition to this precaution, which was taken
by the Chinese authorities of the city, the foreign refugees inside
the cathedral were compelled to remain hidden behind its stout doors
for fear lest their appearance on the streets should excite the local
population to acts of violence. On the sandy plain beyond the city
wall was a large and ever-changing encampment of Boxers thirsting for
foreign blood, undisciplined soldiers, highwaymen, and outlaws of every
description.
Upon reaching Cheng-Ting-Fu our lads, wearied by a day of continuous
riding, felt that they could go no farther that night. In fact, there
was no place for them to go to nearer than the city of Pao-Ting-Fu,
a long day's journey away, so bare had this section of country been
swept of inhabitants. At the same time, they regarded with dismay the
prospect of spending a night amid the horrors and dangers of the lawless
outside camp, where robbery and murder were committed unchecked and
unpunished at all hours of day and night.
"We must try to get inside the wall," said Jo, in a low tone, "for if we
stay out here it is pretty certain that neither of us will live to see
another sunrise."
With this they turned their jaded ponies towards the city gate and rode
to it, followed at a short distance by a small crowd of pig-tailed
cut-throats, who only awaited a favorable opportunity for making a rush
upon them. So desperately hungry were these wretches that they joyfully
would have killed even a priest and an imperial officer for sake of the
meagre food-supply represented by the animals they rode.
At the gate Jo's demand for admittance was at first received with stout
refusal by a guard who gazed carelessly at the travellers from behind
a small, heavily barred opening. Fortunately, Jo still had money with
him, and a handful of silver, temptingly displayed, finally unclosed
the coveted entrance. As the wicket opened, the starving rabble, seeing
their prey about to escape them, made their threatened rush; but Jo,
leaping to the ground and calling on Rob to get the horses through the
gate, held them at bay with his revolver. Only one minute was necessary,
for the ponies, as though aware of their danger, scrambled through the
narrow wicket like cats. Rob followed close at their heels; Jo, firing
one shot over the heads of the crowd for effect, sprang after him, and
the gate was slammed shut, not again to be opened that night.
Even now the officer of the guard, who had yielded to a silver
influence, dared not give the strangers the freedom of the city; but,
under threat of again being thrust outside, compelled their promise to
spend the night in a temple to which he would conduct them, without
attempting to leave it before morning. Also, they must not hold
communication with a soul outside the temple walls, and they must depart
from the city at sunrise.
When Jo had given this promise in words, and Rob had assented to it by
nodding his priestly head, they were conducted to the temple selected as
their lodging under an escort of soldiers detailed to act as their guard
during the night. On their way the travellers, thus cautiously welcomed,
gazed curiously about them at the sights of the beleaguered city, and
especially at the grim walls of the great cathedral uplifted above its
houses. Especially was Rob affected by this ecclesiastical fortress,
which at that very moment was giving safe shelter to persons of his own
race.
As they passed it he stared hard at a row of narrow windows, with the
hope of seeing an American face, but none presented itself until the
last window was reached. In it was dimly outlined the form of a woman
who turned upon the passers-by a face expressive of hopeless weariness.
She gave them one listless glance and then stepped from sight, but that
fleeting view caused Rob Hinckley to utter a choking exclamation and to
reel in his saddle until only a supreme effort saved him from falling.
He had seen his mother.