Dave Darrin on the Asiatic Station
Page 14
CHAPTER XIII--ALL ABOUT A CERTAIN BAD MAN
Like a long-drawn-out snail the procession crept through the yamengates. The pace was set by the men most severely wounded.
Was it safe to leave the yamen while multitudes were yet abroad in thecity, and those multitudes angry over the shedding of Chinese blood?
How many Chinese had fallen in the fight Darrin had no means ofestimating. He had seen many fall, but dead and wounded alike had beenpromptly carried away by their own countrymen.
That the city of Nu-ping was in a ferment of anger there could be nodoubt. Yet the governor, who had professed that morning to be unable tostem the revolution, had, by a few words, sent the fighting throngsback in the dead of night.
Last of all in the line walked Dave, in as uncomfortable a frame ofmind as he had ever known. If his little party should be attacked andoverwhelmed, and the women killed, he had made up his mind that hewould make no effort to outlive the disaster. Death would bepreferable.
There was still one other who knew less of comfort than any in theprocession. That one was His Excellency, the Governor of Nu-ping.
In the sedan chair had been placed six kegs of powder, one of themopened. On top of the kegs, without as much as a cushion to soften thehardness of the seat, was his excellency, squatting, terror-stricken.
On either side marched a sailor with a loaded rifle. Also beside thesedan marched Sailorman Sampson, with a package of loose powder and apiece of slow-match found at the yamen. Seaman Sampson had his orders,with a considerable amount of discretionary power added, all of whichwas known to the governor with the greenish-yellow face.
As the line swung into the street on the way to the river, Danny Grinand two seamen trod softly ahead, alert for any surprises that might bemet, particularly at street corners.
Not a sound was heard from natives, however, save for the occasionalgroans of the greenish-yellow governor, who, at that moment, was morefully posted on the feeling of absolute terror than was any other manin China.
No move was made on the part of the natives to stop the progress of theAmericans. The party soon reached the wharf at the river front.
Now, with the women out on the wharf, Dalzell hastily drew up new linesof defense, pointing cityward, while Dave, with flashlight and whistle,managed to attract attention from the deck of the "Castoga" and toflash the signal to the watch officer.
It seemed but the work of a minute to get the launch and two ship'sboats under way. The launch chugged busily shoreward. No time waswasted on explanations. The women and wounded were hurried into theboats and taken out to the gunboat.
On the next trip the rest of the party was speedily embarked.
As the last act, Sampson relaxed his watch over his excellency. Signswere made to the governor's chair bearers to take their lord back tothe yamen. Nor did the departure of the governor take any time at all.
"Well done, Darrin! Fine, Dalzell!" boomed the hearty voice ofLieutenant-Commander Tuthill as the two young officers stepped on thedeck of the gunboat. "Every man under your command has behaved like anAmerican!"
Then, as his eye roved to Pembroke, standing under marine guard, heasked:
"How came Mr. Pembroke to be in trouble?"
"Attempted treachery," Darrin responded. "I caught him trying to openthe yamen gate to the Chinese rebels."
Tuthill's brow darkened.
"Pembroke, I did not think that of you, sir. You have a heavy burden ofguilt! You will be taken down to the brig and locked up until I candecide what is to be done in your case, sir."
After Pembroke had been marched below, to go behind bars, the commanderof the gunboat continued, in a low tone to Darrin:
"I am afraid not much of anything can be done with him. He is a Britishsubject, I suppose, and guilty of an offense committed on Chinese soil.The most that I can do will be to keep him locked up until to-morrow,and then turn him loose. Perhaps the Chinese will take care of him. Theladies are waiting in the wardroom to thank Dalzell and yourself. Youhad both better go inside."
"I'd rather face the Chinese again," laughed Dan, "than have to standand be thanked by a lot of women."
An hour later the ladies were established for the night, several of theofficers' quarters having been given over to them. The Americanmissionaries and civilians, like the sailors, were obliged to sleep inhammocks.
Just as Dave was seeking a mattress on the floor of the wardroomSurgeon Oliver hurried in. "Darrin," began the medical man, "did youknow that Pembroke was badly hurt?"
"By the blow I gave him on the head?" queried the young ensign,wheeling.
"No, though that was quite bad enough. A stray bullet hit the fellow inthe side, and he bound it up as best he could. He tells me that theshot hit him before you struck him down--perhaps an hour earlier."
"If I had known that," murmured Darrin, "he would have had somewhatsofter handling."
"Pembroke is really in a bad way," continued the surgeon. "I have hadhim removed from the brig to the sick-bay, and have put a hospitalattendant on watch over him to-night."
"Is he going to die?" asked Ensign Darrin.
"Can't say; I think not. But what brought me here is the fact thatPembroke asked if he might see you."
"Now?"
"Yes."
"Certainly."
Dave was tired out. Danny Grin was already sound asleep on a mattresson the floor. Darrin had been yawning heavily, but now the call ofhumanity appealed to him.
"I'll go with you, Doctor," Dave added, and followed the surgeon.
In a bunk down in the sick bay Pembroke tossed uneasily, his face abright red.
"Here is Mr. Darrin, Pembroke," announced the medical officer.
"You'll think I had a jolly large amount of nerve to send for you,"murmured the stricken man, holding out a hand. Under the circumstancesDarrin did not hesitate to take the hand.
"Sit down, won't you?" begged Pembroke, and Dave occupied a stoolalongside.
"I felt that I ought to see you," Pembroke went on. "Sawbones tells meI have plenty of chance to pull through, but I'm not so sure aboutthat. If my carcass is to be heaved over in canvas, with a solid shotfor weight, I want to go as clean as I can. So I want to tell you a fewthings about myself, Mr. Darrin. You don't mind, do you?"
"I shall be glad to hear whatever you have to say to me," Dave replied.
"You look jolly well tired out," observed the stricken man, "so I won'tdetain you long. To-night you accused me of being a scoundrel, and youhad the goods on me. There can be no doubt about my being crooked, andI may as well admit it."
"Then you are really Rogers, instead of Pembroke?" Dave asked.
"I've used both names, but neither belongs to me. I have had so manynames in my day that I barely remember my right one, which I'm notgoing to tell you, anyway. I came of decent people, and some of themare left. I'm not going to disgrace them. Darrin, I expect that I'mgoing to die, and I'm going to try to do it like a man--the first manlything I've done in years. If I wanted to live at all now, it would bethat I might stand and take my punishment for my connection with thisNu-ping affair."
"I don't believe that you could be punished for that by Americans,"Dave went on. "You are a British subject, and your offense wascommitted on Chinese soil."
"I'm about as English as you are," returned Pembroke. "If I were aBritisher, and any good I'd been serving my country, right now, inFrance. I was born on the Atlantic seaboard of the United States. Outof decency I'm not going to name my birth state. At times, when itsuited better, I've been an Englishman as a matter of convenience. Butwhat I want to tell you about, especially, Darrin, is my connectionwith this Nu-ping business."
"Did that connection begin back in Manila?" Darrin asked.
"In Nu-ping first, but there was a Manila end. It won't take long totell the story. I--"
In an instant a deadly pallor appeared in the stricken man's face. Thenhe lay silent.
"Doctor, I think Pembroke has gone," said Dave quietly, as h
e steppedover to the surgeon who was bent over another cot.