* * * * *
The steam hooter sounded again, but the coolies were not taken back to
the ships; they seemed to be all collected round one of the sheds, and
were making a great clamour. Something unusual seemed to be going on,
but we could not make out what.
Half an hour later the Commander passed me the glasses and pointed to
the side of the high hill. Looking through them I saw a long file of
coolies slowly tramping along a zigzag path, looking like a great snake,
and winding up the hill towards the gun. They were in groups of eight,
and each group of eight had some very heavy weight between them, going
very slowly and frequently stopping.
"They are taking up shell," the Commander said.
I watched that long procession toiling up the hill for a long time, and
watching it made me sleepy, and I dropped off to sleep. It was nearly
dark when I woke, and I heard Jones and the Commander talking softly.
Jones was saying: "The tide don't ebb till nigh three bells, sir, and it
won't be running strong till eight or nine o'clock."
"I've been watching the morning ebb, and it ran very strongly past the
end of the landing-stage," replied the Commander, "so that if we creep
down in the dark, get hold of one of those boats and cast off, we shall
be whisked out in no time. We may have to knock a sentry or two on the
head, though," he chuckled. "You'll have to do that part of the show,
Jones."
"Right you are, sir. I'm a bit cramped now, but I'll be all right
soon."
*CHAPTER XVIII*
*The Escape from the Island*
We Scramble Down--We Secure the Sentries--We Capture the
Steam-boat--We Run the Gauntlet
_Midshipman Glover's Narrative continued_
At six o'clock (we could hear the cruisers striking their bells, so knew
what time it was), and just as it was getting dusk, a little steam-boat
came across from the opposite fort, the European we had seen in the
morning landed at the jetty below us, and went up towards the fort,
leaving the boat with a coxswain, bowman, and a stoker.
In a few minutes he returned and went back to his own side.
At seven o'clock, or a few minutes afterwards, he came again. It was
quite dark, but we heard the bowman make the boat fast by hooking: the
bow rope into a ring on the landing-stage. The bowman then lighted a
lantern and showed the way up the cliffs to the European, the two
sentries who had been crouching in front of their now fiercely blazing
fire following him round the corner.
In about ten minutes they returned.
Another hour dragged past--my goodness, how it did drag!--the lights
went out in the little town, and just as the _Hong Lu's_ bell struck the
hour the steam-boat came puffing across again.
The same routine was carried out, and for ten minutes the little
steam-boat lay alongside the landing-stage with no one aboard her except
the coxswain and the stoker. Evidently this European had to visit the
fort every hour, and we noticed as he passed across the glare of the
fire that he appeared to be walking unsteadily.
"We must stretch our legs," the Commander whispered. "I can hardly move
mine;" and he rose to his feet and began hopping up and down. Jones and
I did it after him, one at a time, and though at first our legs were
horribly cramped and painful, the blood at last began to flow through
them, and we were able to move freely.
"My old rheumatism, sir--the same what I had up the Straits--won't be no
better for this, sir, I'm afraid," said Jones.
Then the Commander told us to be prepared to climb down to the path
directly the guard-boat came alongside again and the European and the
sentries had gone away.
There was no doubt at all that he was visiting the fort every hour, for
as two bells (nine o'clock) rang out away over the harbour, we heard the
crew of the steam-boat chattering as they took her alongside the
opposite landing-stage.
Then a lantern came down the cliff path swinging jerkily, we heard
several rough oaths, a command in Chinese, and the steam-boat shot
across into the light of the camp-fire to our jetty.
"Stand by," whispered the Commander as coolly as possible, though my
heart was beating tremendously fast; "I will go first, and, when I'm at
the bottom, you, Glover, will follow, and Jones will bring up the rear."
We heard the hook-rope catch the ring, the European landed, lurching
unsteadily, and disappeared up the path with the bowman and the two
sentries.
Instantly the Commander slid over the edge of our ledge and went
wriggling down. He made hardly any noise, and gave a low whistle when
he had reached the bottom.
With my heart in my mouth I followed, grasping every branch and bit of
rock, and lowering myself down. Everything I touched seemed to make an
awful noise.
When I was half-way down my foot slipped, I grabbed at a branch, missed
it, and went falling headlong, smashing through bushes, dislodging
stones, and falling with a crash into a bush at the bottom.
The Commander was at my side in a moment.
"Not hurt, Glover? No. That's all right. Keep absolutely still; the
men in the boat heard you, but they are not moving."
We waited a minute; the two men began talking to one another (we could
just see their faces in the glow of the sentry's fire above them), and
then Jones commenced to climb down, making wonderfully little noise for
such a big man as he was. Some stones came rattling down, however, and
the men became uneasy again, looking over their shoulders towards us,
but not leaving the boat, and, of course, not being able to see us.
As Jones joined us the lantern reappeared, and the European came
stumbling down the steps.
The coxswain began excitedly talking to him, pointing in our direction
("Get hold of a big stone, each of you, and hide in the long grass," the
Commander whispered), but the European, evidently rather drunk, only
cursed him, got into the boat, and still cursing made them shove off.
We breathed freely again and then waited.
"We have to settle those two sentries--Jones and I will do that. You,
Glover, cast off one of the boats and get her alongside."
The steam-boat had shot across to the other side, the drunken man had
gone staggering up the path, and then we heard the engines working again
and heard the guard-boat going up harbour, the thud of her engines
getting fainter and fainter in the night.
"Now wriggle along through the grass till I tell you to stop."
Even as the Commander gave this order he gave a warning hiss, and we
sank down in the grass, for the two sentries, more concerned about the
noises the coxswain had described than the officer was, or perhaps
anxious for something to do to pass the time, lighted a lantern, and,
coming down the steps, began walking along the path towards us.
"The Lord hath delivered them into our hands," the Commander muttered
piously. "Jones, you seize the one with the lantern--by the throat,
mind you--I'll seize the other. You put out the light, Glover, and
stand by to help. Not a word and no noise."
Chattering to themselves they came along swinging the lantern
unconcernedly. Perhaps they had expected to find that a goat had fallen
down and broken his neck, and hoped to make a good supper of its strong
meat. At any rate, they were not the least on their guard, and were
quite unarmed.