by Robert Wang
“They came and arrested me and my brother,” Chu Sing said between peanuts. “My father was in jail already. I found out they forced him to turn your father in; if he hadn’t done it, they would have killed us too.”
“And where is your brother?”
“He died yesterday—those bastards made a mess of the job and couldn’t stop the bleeding. He was just ten years old!” Chu Sing buried his face in his hands.
“Chu Sing, stop crying and listen to me carefully.” Su-Mei lifted his chin so she could look into his eyes. “You’re safe here for now, and we’ll take care of you, but you have to help us find Da Ping. Do you know where he could be? Think hard—tell me everything you know!”
Chu Sing tried to collect himself. He owed Da Ping this service after what his father had done. “We were out together with some friends the day your father was arrested. And then afterward, he said he was going to the Flower Lantern to visit Little Spring. He hadn’t heard the news—we didn’t find out until later.”
“What is the Flower Lantern? And who is Little Spring?” Su-Mei had to restrain herself from shaking him.
“The Flower Lantern is a place where, uh, men go to be entertained by women. I took him there about a month ago, and he liked it so much he’s been going back all the time.”
“But Da Ping is not a man! He’s thirteen!” exclaimed Su-Mei. “And Little Spring is a…?”
“Yes,” said Chu Sing. “Little Spring is your brother’s favorite lady at the Flower Lantern.”
“Chu Sing, here is what’s going to happen,” Su-Mei said, slowly and carefully so the sobbing teen could understand. “You are going to take us to this Flower Lantern place and find Little Spring. Maybe she can tell us what happened to Da Ping. If you do this, I will give you five taels of silver, and you can stay here until someone comes to take over the offices. My father is dead, but his associates or the magistrates or someone will have to sort out his affairs.”
Chu Sing brightened. “Can you give me the money first?”
Su-Mei explained the plan to Higgins and asked him to watch Chu Sing while she went into the office to get the silver. She felt sorry for what had happened to the boy, but her mind was focused on this possible trail to Da Ping. As she knelt to open the silver box, she prayed for heavenly assistance.
“Where are you going to get opium, Chu Sing?” she asked when she returned. “Everyone in the business has either been arrested or is in hiding.”
“Just because they’re cracking down doesn’t mean it’s not for sale. I’ll find some, don’t worry!”
“Take us to Little Spring first, please.”
Chu Sing moved very slowly. The pain in his groin was excruciating, and his withdrawal made his body clumsy and tired. Su-Mei wanted to scream with frustration every time he stopped and demanded a rest. Higgins constantly scanned the streets for anything that might mean trouble.
They hid out of sight of the main entrance to the Flower Lantern and watched men go in and out. The small private barges seemed to be very busy for so early in the evening. When business quieted down somewhat, Chu Sing and Su-Mei crept closer. Higgins kept watch from behind a barber’s stall that was still doing a robust business after dark. Suddenly Chu Sing tugged at Su-Mei’s sleeve and pointed to a young woman in a brilliant silk robe who had just stepped out of one of the barges.
“Pssst, Little Spring!” he whispered.
Little Spring pretended not to hear and turned a corner to head behind the main hall. When Chu Sing and Su-Mei followed her around the corner, she was waiting for them. In one quick motion, she slipped a dainty dagger out of her sleeve and held it to Chu Sing’s throat.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” she demanded in a hoarse whisper.
“Little Spring, it’s me, Chu Sing!”
“Oh, Master Chu!” She glanced at him in surprise. “What happened to you? You look terrible!” She had, of course, heard the news but wanted to spare his pride.
“I’ll explain later, but can you please come with us so we can talk? We need your help.” He indicated Su-Mei. “This is Lee Su-Mei, Da Ping’s sister.”
“Idiot! Why did you bring her here? You know they’re looking for her and her brother! You’re going to get me in big trouble.” Little Spring looked over her shoulder.
“Please, Miss Little Spring,” Su-Mei interrupted. “I beg of you, please give us a few minutes of your time! I can pay. I am desperate to find Da Ping—he is the only family I have left!”
Little Spring nodded. There was no risk in speaking with Da Ping’s sister because she was in as much trouble as he was. And she still felt a little guilty about the role she’d played in Chu Sing’s father’s arrest, which had led to Lee Shao Lin’s execution and Da Ping’s new career.
“All right, but you can’t stay here, and you can’t be seen entering my barge.”
“Please come with us to my father’s office. It’s safe there—no one is bothering to guard it now.”
After another slow walk back, with Chu Sing panting from exhaustion and pain and occasionally hinting to Little Spring that he was looking for some medicine and did she know where he could find any, the four of them slipped into the office. Su-Mei found a small lamp that hadn’t been smashed and lit it, carefully shielding it so it wouldn’t be seen from outside. In the light Little Spring got a better look at Higgins in his disguise and realized he wasn’t Chinese.
“Who is this foreign devil?” She took a wary step back.
“It’s all right, Miss Little Spring,” said Su-Mei. “You can trust him. He is to be my husband. His name is Mr. Heegan.”
Higgins smiled and bowed his head respectfully. “Ni hao,” he said in his best Chinese.
Little Spring snorted and ignored him. “Husband? Really?”
“Please, Miss Little Spring, what can you tell us about my brother?”
“Your little brother is a kind and gentle boy, and I liked him,” Little Spring said. She could hear the anxiety in Su-Mei’s voice, and she didn’t want this woman to suffer any more pain. “He happened to come to see me on the day your father was arrested, and it saved his life.” She paused. “I saved his life.”
“So where is he now? Is he safe?”
“I took a big risk for him and convinced one of my customers, an army officer, to take him to Fu-Moon as a poor orphan recruit under a different name. He should be there now, serving in the army.”
“What?” exclaimed Su-Mei. “Da Ping is a soldier?”
“Yes, it’s better than being dead, and it was the only chance he had. He was lucky that the vice general was visiting me that night—I don’t know what would have happened to him otherwise.”
Su-Mei stared in disbelief, unable to speak.
“So if that’s all you needed to know, I’d better be going, Lady Su-Mei,” said Little Spring, talking quickly and edging toward the door. “Chu Sing, take care of yourself, all right? Come see me when you’re—well, maybe not.”
“Miss Little Spring!” Su-Mei dropped to her knees and bowed her head to the floor at Little Spring’s feet. “Thank you for saving my brother’s life! Please accept my prostrated thanks for your kindness! I cannot ever thank you enough.” She banged her forehead to the floor three times to show her sincerity, tears of joy falling to the polished wood each time.
“Oh, Lady Lee, please get up!” cried Little Spring, honored and embarrassed at the same time. “You must not prostrate yourself in front of a woman like me. I don’t deserve it.” Su-Mei remained kneeling but looked up at Little Spring, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Da Ping is using the name Ming Ming and serving under General Kwan Tien Pui. The general is very well known, and you should be able to find him easily.”
“You saved my brother’s life! You saved my brother’s life!” Su-Mei said, her voice bright with joy.
Higgins didn’t have to understand a word of Chinese to know from Su-Mei’s reaction that it was good news. He didn’t quite get why she knelt and banged her head
on the floor, but he didn’t care. When Su-Mei translated for him, he was elated that her brother was safe and this other woman knew where he was. He gave Su-Mei his hand to help her up, and she embraced him, not caring who saw.
“Da Ping is alive! We must go Fu-Moon!”
“Of course! We’ll leave tomorrow morning. But where and what is Fu-Moon?” Higgins asked.
“No far. Is ahmee place to potac Canton. Da Ping is now soja.”
“Wonderful news!” said Higgins. Su-Mei’s transformation from two days earlier warmed his heart.
Su-Mei tried to give Little Spring an overflowing handful of silver taels, but she refused. Su-Mei was on the run, no longer a wealthy lady, and she would need money. And Da Ping can probably use a big sister, she thought.
“Are we finished here now?” Chu Sing had been sitting in the corner shivering and rocking back and forth. “Do you know where I can get some opium, Little Spring? I really, really could use some.”
“Follow me back. I have some I can give you,” said Little Spring, feeling very charitable and full of goodwill all of a sudden. “But you must make it last. It’s very hard to find now.”
After Chu Sing left, hobbling after Little Spring, Su-Mei blew out the lamp and locked the door. As they walked back toward the factory compound, they began to formulate a plan.
“Fu-Moon too far walk. Need boat.”
“Then tomorrow we must hire a boat,” Higgins said. “And I will alert Chief Superintendent Elliot and Captain Robertson that we know your brother’s whereabouts.”
Under cover of darkness, Su-Mei slipped her hand into his. He squeezed it gently, wondering if anyone would be awake on the upper floor of the factory building to notice where the lieutenant and the young Chinese lady spent the night.
When morning came, Su-Mei and Higgins slipped out of the compound and bought a strong wheelbarrow with two wheels, designed for heavy loads. She was careful to look down and conceal her hands from the man who sold it to her. No lady would ever want such a thing. Higgins wheeled it back to Shao Lin’s shop, and Su-Mei, with Higgins’s help, emptied the iron box, lifted it into the wheelbarrow, and refilled it with the silver. They covered it with blankets. He quickly worked up a sweat pushing the wheelbarrow; the silver and iron were heavier than they looked. Once inside the compound, they concealed it in one of the storerooms.
Chief Superintendent Elliot was pleased to see that the chief mate and his Chinese lady had returned safely. It was part of his duty to protect all British subjects in China. However, when he heard the plan to locate Da Ping, he took a dim view of risking the safety of one of those subjects.
“Highly irregular, Mr. Higgins. I’m afraid I can’t allow it.”
“Sir, I have asked Miss Lee to marry me, and she has agreed, which will make her a British citizen and therefore under the protection of our laws. As soon as we find her brother, I plan to bring both of them to London with me. But for now, I wonder if you could use your authority to marry us.”
“Marry you? Indeed. Well, I expect you know your own business, sir,” Elliot replied stiffly. “But I’m afraid I have no authority to grant her British citizenship without permission from London, so you’ll have to wait for that.”
“Sir, the authorities are looking for her and her brother, and they will both be executed if we don’t get them out of China soon.”
“That’s regrettable, but unless she has some intelligence of a sensitive nature, I’m afraid it’s out of the question. We cannot take her out of the country on a British ship without permission from her government or ours. Hard luck, lad.” He clapped Higgins on the back.
“Sir, I believe Miss Lee could be helpful to us if we go to Fu-Moon,” said Higgins, scrambling for anything that would change the chief superintendent’s mind. “I’ve had a look in the map room, and Fu-Moon is the main fort outside the entrance to Canton. If this becomes a military matter, sir, we will need all the intelligence we can get on the Chinese defenses.”
“And what makes you think Miss Lee will divulge the military secrets of her own people, Higgins? Are you mad?”
“Sir,” said Higgins, “Miss Lee witnessed her family being executed, as we all did. The Chinese authorities are looking for her so they can kill her too. So where do you think her loyalty lies? Do you think she will side with the people who murdered her family? Miss Lee has told me there’s nothing left for her here now, except her brother, and she only wishes to rescue him and seek asylum in Britain. She will do anything that furthers that goal, including spy for our side.” Higgins drew a deep breath and waited for Elliot’s response.
Elliot considered, tapping his teeth with a fingernail. “Very well, then, sir. Having intelligence about the Chinese defense would be valuable. I will authorize passage to London for Miss Lee and her brother. I hope she finds him—and some valuable information.”
“Yes, sir, Chief Superintendent!” Higgins saluted smartly and prepared to leave.
“A word of advice, lad,” Elliot’s brows drew together in concern. “Don’t bring her home.”
“Sir?”
“Take her to London to have your papers sorted, but don’t set up housekeeping there. It will be hard on you both—and devastating for any children. You could get on quite happily in Singapore, or even Macau after this bit of mafficking is finished.” Elliot turned back to the papers on his desk. The meeting was over.
Su-Mei threw herself into Higgins’s arms when she heard the news.
“My dear Su-Mei, before we leave, I have a proposal.”
“What that mean, dallink Televas?”
“Let’s get married before we leave!”
“Mallied? Now?”
“Yes, why not? I love you, and you love me, and Chief Superintendent Elliot can perform the ceremony. We can have a church wedding when we arrive in England.”
“No. Fada, Mudda dead—no mally. Sit mont, maybe moah.”
“I don’t understand, Su-Mei,” said Higgins. “Six months of mourning? Is there no way to get around it?” It had never occurred to him that her fury with Chinese law enforcement had no bearing on the traditions with which she had been raised.
“Celabate no come after famalee die,” said Su-Mei stubbornly. “Is bad joss.”
Higgins sighed. Anything could happen in that time. “As you wish, my love. We shall wait six months. The last thing we need is more bad luck.”
Su-Mei smiled wide. “You good man, Televas. I love so much!”
“I love you too, dearest! And I am counting the days until you’re legally mine.”
Chapter Eighteen
At first light, Higgins and Su-Mei were on their way to the Flower Lantern, where there were always chop boats for hire. Higgins tried to push the wheelbarrow as though it didn’t contain a fortune in silver.
“Stop a moment,” he called to Su-Mei. He set the wheelbarrow down and went to investigate what looked like a pile of rags in an alley. It was Chu Sing, motionless, his face dark and his skin ice cold. “Damn! Poor bastard.” Higgins covered the boy’s face with part of his coat.
“What is it?” Su-Mei asked, coming closer.
“Stay there, darling. You shouldn’t see this.” Higgins turned around and put his hands on Su-Mei’s shoulders. “It’s your brother’s friend, Chu. He must have smoked too much opium. I am sorry.”
Su-Mei ignored his warning and bent down to look at Chu Sing. “We shouldn’t leave him, but we can’t tell the police,” said Higgins. He looked around nervously. “In fact, we should be going on now.” Su-Mei noticed that Chu Sing clutched something to his chest with one hand. She reached forward and tugged at his fingers, revealing a cloth pouch. She pulled the drawstring and saw what was left of the silver she had given him. She hid the pouch in her tunic and turned away. “He not need. Let go.”
The only chop boat operator who would agree to take them to Fu-Moon demanded ten taels of silver.
“That is much too high!” Even Su-Mei, who was accustomed to the most luxurious
transportation available, knew that price was too much.
The operator shook his head. “I can’t be caught with a foreign devil, not these days. That disguise is fooling no one. Ten taels, or you find another boat.”
Hastily, they paid and got on board before the operator decided to charge even more for the bulky wheelbarrow. They crouched down inside the chop boat, out of sight, for the journey. The boat sailed with the current, so the fifty-mile journey only lasted a day, but it felt like an eternity to Su-Mei. They nibbled the dried fish and rice they had brought and whispered quietly to one another, muscles cramping in the tight space.
When they arrived, night had fallen. Staying in a hotel was out of the question because foreigners were never seen in Fu-Moon, but they couldn’t wander the streets all night with a wheelbarrow of silver.
“Sihmiao,” said Su-Mei, pointing. A small Buddhist temple overlooked the bay; it was empty, and they could hide there till morning. Su-Mei thanked God for providing her with the silver to buy warm coats and blankets. They hid the wheelbarrow behind the temple, covered with straw.
In the morning, shivering and stiff, Higgins took a look at the bay. He counted more than fifty junks, all bearing weapons. Looks like the Chinese are preparing for war, he thought. But if that’s the extent of their defensive force, we’ll blast them out of the water. He felt torn between pride in his country’s navy and shame for what would be a very lopsided contest.
“Good morning, my darling,” he said as Su-Mei approached.
“Good mahning, Telavas.” She smiled and rubbed her arms to get warm.
“So how do we go about finding your brother?”
Su-Mei considered. “I ask where soja live.”
Higgins shaved his face carefully and pulled the cap with the false queue low over his eyes, and they began walking toward what seemed to be the center of town.
“How are you? My name is San San,” Su-Mei said to a street vendor as she paid for a bowl of hot dumplings. She inhaled the steam gratefully in the chill morning. “I am from Canton, and I’m visiting my brother who is serving under General Kwan. Can you tell me where the barracks are?”