Freedom Again
The gates of the walled city of Hatsu were not calculated to inspire a
person eager to pass without them with a feeling of the greatest
enthusiasm, for they stood black and forbidding against the moon-lit
background, the battlemented wall on either side, the flanking towers
and bastions sharply outlined. Beneath the towers yawned a huge cavern,
so dark that no one could see beneath it, carrying the white road to the
huge double doors which, if they were shut, could bar the egress or the
entry of an army.
'Beastly looking place,' whispered Dick, as the little party came near
to it. 'Hope there won't be any parleying. Ah! here's Jong, come to ask
instructions.'
'Masser Davie,' whispered the man, 'what now? What do wid dese China
boys I bring wid me to help carry out de baskets?'
'Dismiss them here. Wait till they have gone out of sight, and then go
on. You have that note?'
'Yes, sar; him here. But not sure dat dey open de door for him. Suppose
not? What den?'
'You can expect to be busy, Dick,' whispered David, as Jong went ahead
again; 'if there's trouble here we've a way left out of it. You know
which basket contains his Excellency?'
'One on the left, the heaviest. Being a governor gives a fellow a chance
to put on flesh. He leads a life of ease and luxury.'
'You could manage, perhaps, to open it at the head, and pull the gag
from the noble fellow's mouth?'
'In a twinkling,' came the ready answer.
'Then, if I call, do so. I'll cover the guard while you get the fine
gentleman into a position for talking. If we're held up, he'll have to
give definite orders to the soldiers to open to us. If not----'
'If not?' echoed Dick, 'you'll shoot him.'
'Without hesitation, as if he were a dog, which indeed he is. Now, those
men have gone. Jong's moving forward. It does look a beastly hole to go
into.'
'Look, a gate is open,' whispered Dick quickly. 'That's promising. A man
has come into the archway with a lantern. Hope he won't hold it up so as
to inspect our faces.'
The same fear had evidently come to Jong, who was by no means a dullard,
and without doubt the intention of the guard who had so suddenly stepped
into the dark gateway was to take stock of those who passed with the aid
of his dangling paper lantern.
'Beware at whom you look,' cried Jong suddenly. 'Has not an order come
bidding you pass a party without noise and without inspection? Go then,
else his Excellency will not be best pleased with you. Does he desire
that any fool should see him passing, and be able to talk. Away with the
lamp quickly.'
They were already beneath the huge gateway, and glancing upward David
was able to distinguish the roof, which was blackened with the smoke of
ages, for in the cold months the guards were accustomed to place
braziers on the roadway so as to make watching possible. A second later,
however, the swaying lantern disappeared, the man who carried it diving
out of sight into a gallery leading from the gateway. On went the party,
Jong leading the ponies, while David had taken the rein of the animal
drawing the cart. He heard the wicker of the baskets creaking, and
guessed that his prisoners were struggling with might and main. But
there seemed no one near enough to hear the noise, while the strong
native cart did not feel the movement of the ruffians it carried. Just
at the very exit from the gates there stood one solitary sentry, and he,
as if bearing in mind the caution which Jong had given his fellow,
turned his face away. It was not well, perhaps, he thought, to look too
closely upon the doings of such a high personage as the deputy-governor.
'Else it might happen that I should be called in evidence,' he told
himself, 'when, had I, indeed, seen his honour, it would be hard to find
a reason for denying the fact. A deputy-governor is a mighty person. He
may come and go as he likes.'
After all, the incident in such a country as China, where conspiracy is
common enough, was not so very remarkable. 'Saving face' is an
expression thoroughly well known, and many and many an exalted person
has been under the need of cloaking his movements, so that when an
accusation of complicity in some conspiracy was levelled at him, he
could bring evidence to prove that he had never been seen in that
locality, and that, on the contrary, he was at home with his servants.
And, no doubt, here was some similar movement. His Excellency was,
without fear of contradiction, asleep in his palace. His servants could
swear that on the morrow. It was not the business of the guard at the
gate to inspect too closely, when he had received a direct message
ordering him to pass the governor secretly. Besides, there were the
foreign-devils, of whom the rumour had reached him that they had been
attacked. Doubtless the baskets he heard creaking in the cart held them
securely, though for his part, the guard was not going to be too
curious.
'Pass! All's well,' he whispered, as the cart issued from the gate and
crossed the drawbridge, with Dick in close attendance. 'Pass to your
business.'
The revolving gate scrunched on its runners. The huge hinges creaked.
The mass of wood, with its heavy bronze bolts and locks, swung into
position with a bang. Then the dull reverberation beneath the drawbridge
died away, while the wheels of the cart began to rattle on the hard
roadway. David wiped the perspiration from his forehead, while Dick let
go a gentle whistle. But not one dared to alter his position. There
might be, and probably were, many pairs of eyes watching them from the
narrow slits on the outer face of the towers and bastions, the slits
from which, even now-a-days, should there be a siege, Chinese soldiers
would discharge arrows, using precisely the same weapons as did their
forefathers, and that in spite of the fact that many of their comrades
were armed with modern rifles. Yes, no doubt, many an inquisitive glance
was cast after the party, and it was still necessary to preserve
caution. And so they continued, showing black and easily distinguishable
on the white roadway, till the latter curled out of sight of the city in
a stretch of forest. It was only then that David dared to bring the
animal hauling the cart to an abrupt halt, while a whistle caused Jong
to draw rein promptly.
'I think,' began Dick, struggling to keep his impassiveness, and yet
almost bursting in consequence, 'I think things begin to look a little
more healthy. A fellow begins to actually believe that he may be wanting
another breakfast. In fact, one may go so far as to say that it's a case
of all right.'
Then he went off into a fit of the most hilarious laughter, which
doubled him up, till he looked anything but the noble Governor of the
city they had just quitted.
'What a tale for the Professor!' he shouted. 'Won't he enjoy the whole
thing, and roar when he hears how you've turned the tables.'
'I! We, you mean,' came sharply from David, who was enjoying his
friend's remarks immensely. 'We, you should have said.'
'You're wrong. I said you, and I meant you. It's you all the time.
There's no one else in it,' declared Dick warmly.
'But, you----'
'Oh, yes, we know all about that,' interrupted the fine young fellow
impersonating Tsu-Hi. 'I did a terrible lot. I started the business, of
course. It was I who managed to clamber out of my cell, and was then
such a good comrade that instead of getting clear away, as sensible
fellows would have done----'
'Sensible fellows! Oh, come now,' cried David hotly.
'Yes. Just what I said. Sensible fellows, just as sensible fellows would
have done. I repeat, instead of clearing off as I had a right to do, of
course it is well known that I went back again at the risk of my skin,
knocked the sense out of the gentle Tartar soldier, took his place for a
few moments, nobbled the Governor of the city, and then, when things
were getting ship-shape, called in the help of my friend to cure the
wounds of the wretches I had been operating on. Look here, David, here's
my hand. I'm not going to chip in with heaps of thanks. But I know how
it is that I am alive and capable of thinking of a breakfast.'
Out there, beneath the shade of the trees, they gripped hands firmly,
and thereafter never a word did Dick say with regard to his gratitude.
But he knew who was his benefactor. David had stalked inches higher in
his estimation.
'What'll you do with the baggage?' he asked after a while. 'Drop it into
the river, upset it at the side of the road? What?'
'Take those villains on another fifteen miles,' answered David. 'Then
fish out Tsu-Hi and send him back. Guess he'll have a deal of difficulty
in explaining his absence. As for the other, this Chang, I shall keep
him till I can hand him over to the authorities. It seems to me that if
I fail in that he may very well attempt some other game and perhaps
actually earn the money Ebenezer promised him. But now for breakfast,
then we'll put our best leg forward.'
That afternoon they dragged the discomfited and almost suffocated
deputy-governor from the basket in which he had been reposing, and
having handed him his clothing; for both lads had by now donned their
own, they sent him back to the city of Hatsu a sorry and unhappy figure.
Then they pushed on again, arriving in the hours of dusk at Chi-Luang,
another walled city of great age, where their request to see the
governor brought them at once a polite invitation written in purest
English. Judge of their delight in discovering that Twang Chun himself,
the enlightened governor of the province, was the writer, and that he
was in those parts on a tour of inspection. He greeted them warmly, sent
their prisoner to the cells, and at once arranged for comfortable
quarters to be given to David and his following. And that night, after
having joined them at dinner, which, by the way, was a feast of the
utmost attraction, being of purely Chinese origin, and therefore most
interesting to our heroes as well as appetising, Twang Chun called on
the lads to give their story.
'I'm glad I had the good fortune to be in this direction,' he said, when
Dick had finished; for no persuasion would induce David to tell of his
own exploits in the prison. 'Very glad indeed, for had the question been
left to the city's governor he would have found it difficult to decide
how best to act. To be candid, foreign devils are still foreign devils
to the majority of my countrymen, and more so at a time such as this
is, when plague is stalking through Manchuria, and threatening to reach
Pekin. I assure you that the people are driven frantic, and that I am
here and am patrolling the province, solely with a view to making
arrangements to stop all travellers who may come from infected areas,
and to arrest, if possible, the course of the disease. But, as I said,
Europeans are not much loved. The Chinese do not understand them, and in
a case such as this, with such an exalted personage as Tsu-Hi
implicated, the governor here could only hold him in prison till orders
came from Pekin; that might take months. I have known years to elapse,
so that the course of justice does not run either smoothly or for the
benefit of the people. However, I am here, and will sift the matter. An
example must be made of these wretches.'
Let the reader imagine the terror of Chang on the following morning when
he was brought into the presence of Twang Chun, the governor who had
once before condemned him. Little by little the whole story leaked out,
so that David learned that this heartless rascal had been engaged in the
murder of his father. In any case, there was no doubt of his guilt on
this occasion. He had been taken red-handed, while the letter which he
had had the boldness to write to Ebenezer Clayhill condemned him.
Justice might be slow and lagging when the authorities at Pekin
controlled it; but here it was swift--terribly swift--for the
wrong-doer. Chang was beheaded that very morning, and thus Ebenezer
Clayhill's rascally scheme came to an ending.
'To-night I shall be in the city of Hatsu,' said Twang Chun, when the
sentence on Chang had been carried out. 'Perhaps you will accompany me.'
David and his friend agreed with the greatest pleasure, for seeing that
they had now met the governor of the province, the very individual to
whom the Professor had sent them, and had delivered their letter, it
appeared hardly necessary to proceed.
'Might just as well return to our camp, and then come up with the whole
party,' said David. 'Besides, I fancy his Excellency would be glad to
have our evidence at Hatsu.'
This was, in fact, the case, and arriving at that city after nightfall,
the party, who were accompanied by a strong escort of mounted soldiers,
rested there for two whole days, two days of abject misery for Tsu-Hi,
the rascally deputy who had so readily fallen in with the plans which
Chang had formed. Indeed it was hardly likely that such an act as he had
been guilty of could go unpunished, and, like his comrade-in-guilt, he
too was beheaded.
'Do not think that I love these executions,' said Twang Chun, when
seated with the lads. 'Had I my way, matters would be conducted as in
your country. But we must always remember that we are in China, and that
I am dealing with my own countrymen, who do not understand the meaning
of leniency. In a case such as this the sternest example must be read,
and were I to behead the Tartar under-officer alone, and merely admonish
Tsu-Hi, the people of the city would see in such leniency an
encouragement to attack Europeans again. And see what follows. The tale
is spread abroad. Your people, Americans, all the white race having
dealings with us will distrust us absolutely. That feeling of amity
between the white and the yellow race, for which I and men like me aim
at, will be farther away than ever. Incalculable harm will, in fact, be
done, and the advancement of this nation retarded to some extent.
Therefore, to deter others who should set a good example, and who, above
all things, should never descend to a depth where guests beneath their
roof are abused and injured, I have had Tsu-Hi beheaded, and with him
the Tartar under-officer. Only by such severity will the lesson be
learned.'
'And now, Mr. David, tell me more about yourself. I know the name of
Harbor.'
'My father,' exclaimed our hero promptly. 'He came out here to
investigate ruins, just as the Professor has done before. He was killed.
Chang had a hand in his assassination.'
When they came to discuss the matter Twang Chun quickly learned that
David was the son of the very man in whose interests Chang had once
before been arrested. He listened with the greatest attention as the
question of the will was propounded, and lifted a hand to arrest David's
conversation.
'You have come out here on a hopeless errand, I fear,' he said. 'But
that your father made this will I am positive, since I myself witnessed
the signature, though I was not aware of all of the contents. As to the
fate of the document itself, it was doubtless burned, for the camp in
which the party of excavators was located caught fire. It is strange to
think that you are going to the very same spot; for the letter which
your friend the Professor has sent me asks permission to investigate the
relics of an ancient Mongolian city situated outside the Great Wall, the
same city which engaged the attention of your parent. Whether you will
reach that spot is a matter of doubt at the moment.'
Dick's eyebrows went up questioningly. With this important personage he
dared not be so free and easy in his remarks as with the Professor.
'But tell us why, your Excellency,' he asked, politely. 'What will
prevent us, supposing you give your consent?'
'The plague may prevent your going,' came the answer. 'You have no idea
of the nature or of the importance of this pest. Manchuria to-day is in
the last stage of disorder. Thousands die every twenty-four hours, while
there is no time and not enough men to conduct the burials. The victims
are being burned. From Manchuria to Pekin is not such a far cry, while
the neighbourhood of these ruins you seek is even closer to the infected
area. You must understand me, I do not say that your own fear of
contagion will hold you back. That is not the position at all. What I do
suggest is that it may be prudent of your leader to remain in these
parts, rather than go farther afield. For disaster does not come of its
own accord in the eyes of my countrymen. You have seen for yourself how
their thoughts run. The poor ignorant fellows believe that a pest is
brought, is settled upon them by way of punishment, and should you and
your friends be away in some savage part, all alone, you might very
well be set upon as the cause of the disaster. In this city of Hatsu,
thanks to the scheming of that rascal Chang, you were accused of this
crime, and his ignorant tools snapped at the chance of killing you. In
the neighbourhood of those Mongolian ruins the natives are, I fear,
likely to be even more ignorant and stupid. However, we will see what
can be done; I might be able to send an escort. And now I propose
travelling farther with you. I myself shall visit the camp where your
friends are situated, so that I may formally welcome them to my
province.'
Imagine the Professor's astonishment at the return of David and Dick. He
emerged from a deep excavation, which the coolies had been engaged in
beneath the debris covering the ruined city wherein Tsin had dwelt once
on a time, and advanced with something approaching consternation on his
face.
'Returned already,' he cried. 'Why? And with an escort, and a mandarin
too if my eyes don't cheat me. Not got into trouble, I do hope.'
'Heaps,' laughed Dick, enjoying the position. 'The exalted official
following comes to greet you. He's already chopped off three heads while
in our company.'
'It's Twang Chun himself, the governor of the province,' explained
David, laughing at his chum's fun. 'We happened to meet him. The
chopping off of heads is a long story. But his Excellency comes to
welcome you to the province, and to discuss the question of your journey
to the Mongolian city. He thinks there may be difficulties.'
'I trust not, indeed. This expedition of ours would be shorn of half
its profit if we were unable to go to Chi-Seang, for, if report speaks
true, there are relics to be discovered of the very greatest interest.
But I will speak with his Excellency; bring him to the tent. I will get
washed, and put on clean clothing.'
The meeting between the two gentlemen was most cordial, and as may well
be imagined, every one belonging to the Professor's staff worked hard so
as to prepare entertainment for his Excellency, since Twang Chun was,
indeed, an exalted official, and as became one of his high rank and
importance, travelled with an escort and retinue to match. In a very
short space of time his camp had been pitched, when David had an
opportunity of seeing how such things could be done in this country of
the Dragon. A most gorgeous silken tent was erected, boasting of an
inner lining of painted silk which made of the place a veritable palace.
And in rear were placed tents for his retinue, less imposing perhaps,
but grand in their magnificence when compared with those to be seen in
this country.
'Him wonerful man,' lisped Jong, who was something of a hero now that he
had returned to his comrades, and whose busy tongue was already wagging
freely. Indeed, long before the Professor or Alphonse gathered the full
details of David's exploit, and of Dick's assistance, all else within
the camp were familiar with them. There was even violent movement
amongst the stolid Chinese. Ho Hung leaped wildly into the air, and gave
free vent to his enthusiasm, while the more placid Fing chuckled
hugely. As for Jong himself, he vowed that he would never stop
giggling, for the reversal of the fortunes of attackers and attacked was
so amusing. It tickled the faithful Chinaman immensely, when he
recollected how he and his masters had hoodwinked every one, and how
they had conveyed the deputy-governor of Hatsu from the city and right
under the noses of the soldiery. Next to David and Dick, perhaps the
wise and strong Twang Chun claimed his admiration.
'Velly velly fine, Excellency,' he lisped again. 'Him knowee so velly
well how to manage little tings like dat which happen to us. Him oh so
nicee and gentle. Kuttee off de heads of de rascal nicee. Jong tink him
fit almost to be de Empelor.'
It was queer to see even this somewhat Westernised native of the
Celestial Kingdom cover his face and kowtow deeply when he mentioned the
name of the Emperor of China, or when he even referred to that august
personage. For while we in Europe give due observance and respect to
rulers, and while the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the huge
Empire we possess beyond the seas, is at once the king and the first
gentleman in all our vast territories, yet one may speak of him without
sign of fear, and without grovelling. But in China, the home of much
that is extremely ancient and mysterious, the Son of Heaven, as the
Emperor is known to his millions of people, is as far removed from the
masses as is the sun from the earth. He is never seen save by the palace
attendants. He lives for the most part in majestic seclusion. And should
he venture abroad, borne in a palanquin of the utmost gorgeousness, it
is not that he may be seen by those who bow to his rule; for in China
it is death to look upon the Son of Heaven. All who happen to be abroad
when the Emperor sets out in procession must fly to their houses, there
to hide their faces, and if that is not possible, they must retire from
the streets through which his cavalcade will pass, and turn towards the
wall.
But if Jong were interested in Twang Chun, the governor of the province,
so also was Alphonse.
'_Parbleu!_' he cried, when David accosted him, 'this is a man to cater
for, this Excellency. I tell you he has travelled, he has dined on the
best that Paris can provide, and where else, Monsieur David, in all this
wide world is there entertainment to be found to equal that in Paris.
Ah! You think in London. That is not so. I, Alphonse, tell you so. It is
true that we send some of our finest gentlemen to London, some of the
grandest chefs that we have ever produced. _Bien!_ what then? There is
the Parisian atmosphere. How can even the king of chefs turn out even so
simple a thing as an omelet to perfection in your city of fogs and
blizzards?'
The pompous little fellow bustled about his camp kitchen, still clad in
those curious clothes, so altogether incongruous with such surroundings.
The perspiration stood on his forehead, his peaky little beard was
thrust if anything a little more abruptly forward, while the hideous hat
he insisted on retaining was perched somewhat jauntily on the side of
his head, where his energetic movements had jerked it.
'_Nom du Roi_, but he shall have a dinner to-night that even _Monsieur
le Président_ would not sniff at, this Excellency,' he cried, as he
shifted pot and pan swiftly. 'Ah, you shall see, Monsieur David. Here,
in the wilds, I will serve up a dainty feast that shall make the eyes to
open. Yes, I tell you. _Hors-d'oeuvres_ to commence with. Soup, ah,
you will wonder from what it is produced. An _entrée a la Reine
d'Angleterre_ that will make the Excellency clap his hands. _Légumes_!
Pah! such a country as this is for their provision. I tell you not one
_haricot vert_ is there to be obtained between this and the south of
China. But, there, it is not finished, the telling of this dinner. You
shall see. You will applaud. His Excellency will be delighted, and when
_Monsieur le Professeur_ has complimented me, I, Alphonse, shall retire
to bed as proud as any Emperor of China.'
That dinner was, indeed, a feather in the cap of the voluble and clever
Frenchman. He surpassed all previous attempts in his culinary art, and
delighted Twang Chun and all who sat at the table.
'My friend, this is indeed a surprise,' said the governor, when course
followed course without cessation. 'And I speak not of the variety which
you so liberally place before me. It is the cooking that delights my
heart. Not that we in China do not produce chefs who study their
profession, or art, whichever you style it; we do. But then the dishes
are peculiar to the country. And there, believe me, is one of the charms
of travel, even to the man who is not a gourmand. There is pleasure to
be obtained by tasting food as foreigners eat it, and always there is
charm in partaking of a dainty meal, such as this one, originating, as
one may fairly claim, in Paris, and brought to a triumphant issue in
the wilds of China. Ah! it brings one back to Western civilization.'
That night there was no happier nor prouder man in all the world than
Alphonse. The statement is a bold and wide-sweeping one, we imagine, but
still we repeat it. Alphonse was undoubtedly in the seventh heaven of
enjoyment. The praise he received spurred him to greater effort, so that
had Twang Chun been but a luke-warm friend on his arrival, he left the
camp a firm and undoubted adherent of the party.
Then tents were packed, ponies laden, and the Professor and his staff
set off for that Mongolian city.
'We shall have to chance trouble,' he said. 'I cannot afford not to see
the place and undertake excavations. We must hope for the best, and if
there is need, make good use of the escort the governor has promised.'
Two weeks later they arrived in the neighbourhood of the ruins, nor was
it long before the Professor had reason to congratulate himself that
Twang Chun had proved so friendly.