A Fight to a Finish
'Monsieur, I see men coming across the plain, and they are hurrying,'
said Alphonse, one early morning, bursting unceremoniously into the huge
apartment which the diggers had discovered in the ruins, and which for
nearly a month now had served as quarters for the Professor's party.
Indeed, thanks no doubt to the preservative nature of the material which
for ages now had covered up the ancient Mongolian city, there had been
no difficulty in finding room for all engaged in the work of excavating.
'_Monsieur le Professeur_, it would be well to come above with me and
see who it is who comes,' cried Alphonse again, striding across to the
little cot occupied by his employer. 'I declare to you, I was above
lighting the fire so as to boil the water for a cup of tea when, in the
far distance, I saw figures. There were many of them. They were
hastening hither as if they were pursued.'
It took the Professor and his two young comrades less than two minutes,
perhaps, to jump into their clothing, when all hastened out of the
apartment, and passing along the ancient covered way, clambered up the
steep, log-paved steps which led to the surface. It was a glorious
morning, with a cold, wintery sun flooding the dreary landscape, and
shining upon the uneven surface of sand where it lay over the ruins, and
on the tower, tottering near the centre, the same which had attracted
David so often.
'See!' cried Alphonse, dancing to the top of the steps as if he were
standing on hot bricks. 'See, there are thirty of the figures at least,
and now they are running.'
The Professor instantly threw up his field-glasses and fixed them upon
the advancing strangers. There was a look of anxiety on his face when he
lowered them again.
'Call Chu-Li and the other soldiers,' he commanded abruptly. 'Issue arms
to Ho-Hung and our other servants, and tell the diggers we may need
their help. David, those are the people who once helped you and your
comrades when you were attacked by wolves in the open. They are running
here as if they were pursued. I fear we are in for trouble, and had
better make our preparations now.'
At a sign from the Professor, David doubled out from the ruins, so as to
meet the men who were running towards them, and was soon in conversation
with the headman, who panted so hard that he could hardly explain
himself. But halting for a few moments he managed to tell his tale.
'It is as I have feared,' he said breathlessly. 'The country to the east
of us is in a turmoil. Scarcely a day passes that stray parties fleeing
from the plague scourge do not demand food from us, often with threats,
while one village has to my knowledge been burned, and every soul
within it murdered. The night before last we received news that a
thousand men were marching south and west, and had turned in our
direction from the more direct course, as soldiers had been sent to
intercept them. They passed the night in a village ten miles from us,
and ruthlessly robbed every one. Those who opposed them were killed. It
was clear that they would serve us in the same manner, and for that
reason we left hastily, bringing what possessions we could, as well as a
supply of provisions. This morning the invading army was within sight of
us, for they carry nothing but their clothes.'
'And are now near at hand?' demanded David eagerly, for common-sense and
scraps of news which had reached him told him that the danger was real.
The people of Manchuria, and portions of Mongolia, had in fact gone
stark staring mad in the past few weeks. Black plague was upon them, and
was decimating whole villages, while those not attacked were fleeing
towards Pekin regardless of the consequences, and without having made
provision for such a journey. And as a natural sequence they were soon
on the borders of starvation.
'There's not a doubt that we have come to China at a most unfortunate
time,' the Professor had declared. 'If I had heard of the plague in this
district before we sailed, I should have delayed my departure. But it is
always the same with severe epidemics. There is a case here, and another
there at first; then, suddenly, the disease blazes out in all
directions, spreads like wild-fire, and creates pandemonium and terror
everywhere. China is a country less prepared for such an event almost
than any other, for the people are so intensely ignorant. You see they
think to escape by rushing away from the infected areas, forgetting that
in every case they carry the infection with them.'
'There was news from a place forty miles to the east that a band had
taken up its quarters in a town of small proportions, and were
terrorising the inhabitants,' David reminded himself. 'Tell me,' he
asked of the headman, who had now almost recovered his breath, 'what is
there to fear from these fellows? A thousand strong you place them?'
'There is that number at least, Excellency. As to their intentions, I
tell you they will eat up all before them. Already they have emptied
every sack and bin in our village. That was two nights ago, or almost
so. By now they are starving once more, and will seize the first
provisions which come their way. They will know at once that men have
been camping here. They will investigate, and will gather the fact that
it is a European expedition, and therefore rich. That will be enough for
this army of frightened people, for though the thought of plague
terrifies them, they fear nothing else. Hunger makes them terribly
savage. They will murder us all if we do nothing to prevent them.'
'If that's the case I shall certainly object, and pretty strongly,' said
David, with a decision which seemed to put heart into the headman.
'Bring your men along. We will see at once what can be done.'
They found on their return to the entrance of the stairway that the
Professor and his helpers had been wonderfully busy. Every article of
value had been carried down from the surface, while even the ponies had
been transported bodily and placed in a position of safety.
'We've done all that's possible, I imagine,' said the leader. 'Now we
have only to wait and see what happens. I trust these people will pass
without giving us a call. Perhaps they will miss us altogether.'
'I hardly think so,' ventured David. 'The headman tells me that they are
wonderfully well informed, and that they have come round this way so as
to avoid soldiers sent to arrest their progress, and who are situated at
this moment about forty miles to the east. Wouldn't it be as well to
send a message across to their commanding officer?'
The Professor jumped at the suggestion. He hastily scrawled a message in
Chinese, explaining the situation, and then, having caused two of the
ponies to be carried to the surface again, he despatched one of the
soldiers with the note.
'Ride fast,' he ordered. 'If these men attack us we shall have need of
all the help that can be sent.'
No one who caught a glimpse of the fleeing army from Manchuria could
doubt that statement, for a more tattered and desperate set David had
never set his eyes on. They reached the excavation works in a straggling
mass of hollow-eyed people, many of whom were almost too weak to drag
one foot after the other. But there were strong men amongst them, in
spite of their sunken cheeks, men whose blazing eyes and hungry looks
showed that nothing but superior force would prevent their carrying out
whatever they aimed at. Nor did they leave the Professor and his party
long in doubt as to their intentions. A couple of ragged but huge men
came down the stairway, their pigtails swaying from side to side, and
called hoarsely to any one who might be in hearing. The Professor at
once showed himself at the door of the apartment which he and his
friends were occupying.
'What do you wish?' he asked.
'Food; give us food,' cried one of the men, not as if he were asking for
a favour, but as if for something that he would as soon take by force.
'I will give you three bags of rice; that is all we can spare,' answered
the Professor steadily.
'Hear him! Three bags of rice, when we know he has a pile. Hear the
foreign devil, brother,' shouted one of the men, the one who had not
previously spoken. 'Listen, foreign devil,' he bellowed, as if he wished
to terrorise the Professor by the force of his voice, 'we will be
satisfied with fifty.'
'Three is the allowance I will make; take it or leave it,' came the curt
answer.
'And you refuse more?'
The Professor nodded coolly. 'We refuse more; we have to provide for our
own needs.'
'Then we will take every sack you have, and strip you of all your
possessions. You have had fair warning.'
Without the smallest indication of what he intended doing the rascal
levelled a pistol, and fired point blank at the Professor, sending a
bullet crashing against the ancient doorpost. Then the two men turned
and swaggered up the stairs, calling loudly to their comrades. Nor was
it long before the latter put in an appearance.
'They will attack us without fail,' said the headman, when appealed to
by the Professor. 'In fact, you may say that they are bound to do so,
for the next place where they can possibly obtain food is more than a
day's march from here. Also, no doubt, they have learned that you have a
goodly store, and fancying you to be an easy prey they will fight to
take everything from you, thereby supplying the needs of all in the band
till they arrive in the neighbourhood of Pekin.'
'What arms do they carry?' asked David, suddenly.
'A few have pistols and guns, but the majority carry knives or swords,
and a few pikes. But it is their numbers which make them formidable.'
There was little doubt that that was the true aspect of the affair, for
this army of people flying from Manchuria, and rendered desperate by
their hunger were dangerous even if unarmed. Their huge numbers told
wonderfully in their favour, while the ease with which they had wiped
out other parties had given them confidence. The situation was, in fact,
one of extreme danger.
'Hadn't we better block up every sort of place through which they could
fire?' asked David. 'We can easily leave port-holes for ourselves, and
if we place them properly we shall be able to command the stairway. I
rather think, too, that it would be as well to set our diggers at work
to discover a way out of this apartment. We may be so hard pressed that
flight will be necessary.'
The suggestion was one which the Professor eagerly accepted, and as
promptly adopted. Calling Ho-Hung he set him to work to organise some of
the diggers, and requested David to supervise the work they were to do
until the enemy appeared in sight. Then every available man was pressed
into the task of blocking up the wide doorway leading to this ancient
house, and in filling the only window. But in spite of the many helpers
the task was only half completed when there was a commotion above. The
two ragamuffins who had descended and so haughtily demanded food
appeared in sight, leading a huge following to the stairway. Those who
led bore with them the trunk of a tree felled a week before to serve as
fire-wood, but now intended to be used as a species of ram.
'Silence!' called the Professor. 'Let every man go on with his work
quietly and take advantage of every second we have. Use anything you can
lay your hands on to help the barricades so long as it be not
provisions. Ah, they are coming in their hundreds.'
The wide stairway which the men employed by the Professor had made as
they proceeded with their work, and which they had paved with stout tree
branches, was now crammed with men who presented a terrible spectacle.
For, whereas in former attacks David had noticed that the Chinese
advanced with loud shouts, these people crowded down the stairway in a
stony silence that was remarkable. Not one but wore a haggard
appearance. Their faces were pinched without exception, while in every
pair of eyes there was a desperate look, something altogether savage
that reminded him of the eyes of the wolves which had so recently
surrounded himself and his three comrades.
'One can see that it is not a question of bearing us ill will,' he
whispered in the Professor's ear. 'It is a case of sheer necessity.
Either they must secure what we have, or they will starve.'
'It is they or us, David,' answered the Professor solemnly. 'If I had
food in abundance, willingly would I give it. But were I to dole out all
we have, there would hardly be enough to go the round of this multitude,
and even so we ourselves would starve. Tell me, what are the diggers
doing?'
'Cutting a hole through the wall at the back, Sir. We thought it sounded
hollow, and have an idea that there may be another covered way there.
They will make only a hole large enough to let us get through with the
ponies, so that we can easily fill it again. What are you going to do
with these fellows?'
'Warn them that we shall defend our goods. Then leave it to them to
clear off or to make the first attack. I hate firing at poor wretches
such as these are, but, candidly, I look upon them as infinitely more
dangerous than a well-fed mob.'
Rearing his head over the top of the barricade with which the doorway
was now almost completely blocked, the Professor called loudly to the
mob, and at once they came to a halt. Perhaps three hundred pair of
hungry eyes were directed on his face.
'Good people,' he called, 'I beg of you to retire and be satisfied with
what I have already said. If I feed you all, my stores will but allow
for one meal at most, while I and my men must starve. Go, therefore, for
if you persist I warn you I will defend this place till I and all are
killed.'
A loud chorus of shouts greeted his words. Men shook their fists at him
and brandished a hundred different weapons, while the very mention of
food seemed to madden the desperate individuals. Then the rascal who had
fired at the Professor, and who was leading the band, once more lifted
his weapon and sent a second bullet thudding against the doorpost.
'Listen to him, comrades,' he bellowed. 'He admits that he has food
there sufficient for all of us. Are then we who own the country to
starve while foreign devils live on the fat of the land? Forward! We
have cleared more than one roost now with more bantams in it to stand in
our way.'
At once there was a rush outside. The covered way, which no doubt had
sheltered many a thousand Mongolian in the old days, was soon crammed to
overflowing, while still more of the mob thronged the stairs. Then with
shouts the leaders cleared a patch for the men carrying the tree trunk.
'Rush at the barricade with it,' called the rascally leader. 'Smash it
and then fetch out the food which is ours by right. You will know how to
deal with the foreign devil and his supporters, my comrades.'
There was a growl from the mob, and then a roar, as the men bearing the
tree trunk rushed forward. As for the defenders, they sprang to the
loopholes which had been left and awaited the Professor's signal. It
came in a moment, for the battering-ram almost levelled the barrier at
the first effort.
'Fire on them!' shouted the Professor. 'Pick off every man who attempts
to lift the tree. That is where our real danger lies. Once this barrier
is down they will be on us; nothing can resist such numbers.'
David and Dick, with Ho-Hung and his comrades, as well as Chu-Li and his
four fellow-soldiers, had before now each chosen an aperture for his
weapon, and at once a hot fire was opened on the enemy. Meanwhile every
available article was thrown on the barricade to strengthen it, for
there were numbers of willing hands amongst the Professor's party. As
for the mob outside, half a dozen fell at the first discharge, all of
whom bore the ram, while every time a man leaned over to pick it up
again he was fired at instantly. In three minutes a round dozen were
biting the sand.
'Then let us tear it down with our hands, comrades,' shouted the burly
ringleader. 'They can hit one man as he leans to pick this thing up, but
they cannot kill us all. Better to eat than to live on starving.'
The words drew a howl from the mob. Those on the stairway were now so
pressed and packed together that they could not turn, while the space
below was filled to overflowing. With an angry roar the latter leaped
forward close on the heels of their leader, and struggled desperately
with one another to come at the barricade. Those who could reach it tore
madly at the sawn logs, striving to pull them out of the way.
[Illustration: STORMING THE BARRICADE]
'Steady, lads!' called out the Professor, by whose side stood Alphonse,
his hat awry, his keen eyes shining. 'If they break through we must make
a sortie. I shall lead the way.'
'With Alphonse beside you, monsieur,' cried the Frenchman. 'But I am
thinking Ho-Hung can wield a stake, and Jong also. Those two perched on
our barricade could deal hard blows to these ruffians, while we at the
loopholes could shoot down those who have fire-arms. What says
monsieur?'
'That the plan is excellent. Hung! Jong!' He shouted, and at once gave
them their instructions. The movement did indeed help the defenders
wonderfully, for few of the attackers had fire-arms, and those who had
could use them with difficulty only owing to the press. With swinging
blows the two Chinamen beat back the mob tearing at the barricade, while
the more dangerous of the latter were shot down from the loopholes. Then
the Professor again stood before them.
'Good people,' he shouted, so that all could hear, 'I beg of you to
retire. You see for yourselves that we are able to oppose you, and
already numbers of your brothers have fallen. Let that suffice. Go now
before worse happens.'
For one whole minute, perhaps, there was silence outside, while not a
man moved. No doubt the opposition had taken the mob by surprise, for
elsewhere they had been able to rob and murder without danger or
difficulty. The sight of wounded and fallen men unnerved a few, and
made them wish that the stairway were not so crammed and that retreat
were possible. But deep embedded in the hearts of the majority was the
knowledge that they were hungry, and that failure here meant starvation.
It needed, therefore, but a tiny spark to kindle their courage once
more. The rascally fellow who had so nearly hit the Professor on two
occasions was still at hand, and he it was who quickly had them once
more racing for the barrier.
'It is a dodge,' he shouted. 'Believe not the foreign devil. Pull the
barricade aside and you have every bag of food that belongs to these
people. Hesitate now, and go on your way. What will happen? You will
starve. You will leave your bones by the road. The dogs and the wolves
will come and feed off your carcases. Forward, then. There is food, and
plenty of it behind that barricade.'
He led a silent host at once against the defenders, a host frantic with
its woes, rendered as fierce as any pack of wolves by its privations.
And in a trice it seemed that it must succeed. Even the lusty blows of
the two Chinamen and the shots of those at the loopholes failed to keep
it back. Already a foot or more of the barricade had toppled over, while
a dozen of the men outside had again seized the battering-ram. And then,
so fickle and so changing is fortune in such matters, a small affair
turned the scale in favour of the defenders. The excitement of those who
were unable, because of their position on the stairway, to join in the
contest was so intense that they struggled and pushed their way
downward in spite of all difficulties till the covered way was crammed.
But still they came till even those struck by the bullets from the
loopholes could not fall on account of the press. Then someone above
bellowed a warning.
'I see men coming!' he shouted. 'I see soldiers--they are galloping this
way; they will cut us to pieces.'
Instantly there was a rush for the stairway. Two hundred and more
frantic people fought to be the first away. They tore at one another
with as much ferocity as they had displayed when attacking the
barricade, and those who were strongest, or who had taken up the most
commanding positions, prevailed. Men were dragged down and trodden
underfoot, an eddy as it were on the stairway caused the mass thronging
every step to heave backward, and at once numbers lost their balance and
fell, helped to their death by those who were nearest. Knives flashed
here and there. Men snarled at one another. Altogether it was a horrible
and terrifying spectacle. And the movement itself proved to be as
unnecessary as it was horrible in its results, for the same man appeared
above once more.
'It was a false alarm,' he shouted. 'Stop, comrades, there is nothing to
fear. They were not soldiers; they were men like ourselves who had
stolen ponies doubtless from the last village. Stop or you will all be
crushed and killed.'
Deep and bitter were the voices of those who had survived. They turned
again, and slowly descended where a moment before they had struggled to
mount And catching sight of David standing at the barricade they set up
a howl which showed something more than mere desperation induced by the
pangs of hunger. There was hate in their tones. The matter had now
become a personal one as between them and the defenders.
'We warn you people down below that we will kill you all,' shouted the
same leader. 'We will kill you slowly, making you suffer for what you
have done. Stop, my comrades. I have a plan to propose. Let some rest
here and watch for us; we will be back ere many minutes have passed.'
He raced up the stairway accompanied by a mob, leaving the Professor and
his party to wonder what movement would now be attempted.
'Perhaps another battering-ram,' suggested the Professor.
'Or these rascals will supply themselves with hooks with which they will
the easier be able to reach the logs on our barricade,' chimed in
Alphonse.
'Or perhaps it's worse,' said David slowly. 'I wish we had shot that
rascal, for he is capable of the worst mischief. Ah! see them! I guessed
what they were up to. They are going to smoke us out.'
There could be little doubt as to the intentions of the mob. They had
seized bundles of fodder kept on the level sand above for the use of the
ponies, and a couple of dozen of the men were bearing these down the
stairway, while the same mass followed on their heels, shouting
excitedly, and shaking their fists in the direction of the defenders.
'Put them down against the barricade in a heap,' called their leader.
'Be not afraid of the foreign devils, for harm will not come to you.
When the bundles are placed I will fire them.'
'_Parbleu_, I think not,' exclaimed Alphonse, smiling grimly, for he had
understood. 'Monsieur, with your permission I will shoot this man.'
Shoot him the Frenchman did. His bullet caused the rascally leader to
sway from side to side and to grip at the air. Then with a shriek he
came bounding forward, and, clambering the outside of the barricade,
attempted to enter. There was a flash as Dick Cartwell ended the matter.
'Look out! There's a fellow coming along with a torch,' called out the
Professor. 'Shoot every man who attempts to light those bales.'
But in spite of every effort a cunning fellow armed with flint and steel
managed to set fire to a bunch of straw which he picked from the ground
and held behind his fellows. Then with a quick jerk he threw it forward,
causing it to fall at the edge of the piled-up bales of fodder. Next
second a sheet of flame was sweeping up to the ancient roof of the
covered way, while, owing to dampness in the bales, a dense smoke was
given off, and began to penetrate the apartment occupied by the
defenders. Indeed, in a few seconds they were coughing loudly, while
every member of the party was forced to retire as far as possible from
the flames. Death from suffocation, if not from burning, stared them in
the face. David and his friends were in a horrible dilemma.