The War Tiger

by William Dalton

  CHAPTER XXXVI.

  ONCE MORE PRISONERS, BUT WITH FRIENDS--THE GUIDE'S MISTAKE.

  With sorrowful hearts the two boys took leave of the houseless family,and proceeded along the ridges of the mountains till they came to theentrance of a great wood. Chow had custody of the guide, whom he held bythe rope, and pressed forward or jerked backward, as his sense ofindignation at the loss of his mother arose or subsided. At times hewould so slacken the rope that the man could scarcely feel his thraldom;then again, when he thought of the hopelessness of again recovering hismother, he would clench his teeth and pull it so violently, that themiserable guide would fall backward; whereupon Chow would say, "Get theeupon thy bamboo legs, thou rogue, or I will drag thee like a bale ofdemon's goods, as thou art;" and the fat body of the coward would shakelike a blanc-mange, rise upon its legs, and commence a trot, when, aftera little while, Chow would give another tug at the rope, saying, as theman tottered backward, "O, thou wouldst escape, wouldst thou, thou mouseof fat measure, who hath stolen the cream of our lives?"

  "Truly thy servant has been unfortunate, O noble youth, yet if his bodyis shaken like a jelly of cold soup, he cannot guide thee through thiscity of trees."

  "The rogue's words are good, Chow, we cannot find our way through thesetrees without his aid," said Nicholas; adding, "Fasten the rope aroundthy arm, so that he cannot slip from thy hands."

  "Truly the advice of my master is good," said Chow; and as they werethen passing through a thick copse, he fastened the rope around his ownbody, saying, "Now, thou rat, honesty will for once reverse things, andtake its place behind roguery, for surely I hear footsteps, and shouldthey be those of thieves, thy thick head may serve to blunt the pointsof their arrows."

  The sounds were unmistakable, and the guide fell backward, trembling soviolently that he could not walk, till, taking hold of his shoulders,Chow pushed him forward, saying, "On, thou coward, on;" and so they wentalong the narrow path, till the sounds became more distinct. Then avoice shouted to them, "stop!" when, trembling more than ever, the guidethrew one shoulder backward, and one foot forward, in order to prophimself against the propelling Chow, at the same time exclaiming, "Stay,O generous youth,--for the love of Fo, stay!--or the body of thy servantwill become a cushion for arrow-heads."

  "Silence, thou dog," said Nicholas; adding in a whisper to Chow, "Let usremain quiet, for doubtless it is some thief."

  Then came the twang of a bow, and an arrow flew by, in its flightclipping the ear of the miserable guide, who, now fairly frightenedout of his senses, twisted round like a teetotum, and fell upon theground, carrying Chow with him, exclaiming, "These are the thieves,these are the thieves, O honorable war tiger."

  And before Chow had disengaged himself from the rogue, they were allthree dragged into an open glade, where they found themselves surroundedby a party of cavalry, the guide upon the ground trembling, and Nicholasand Chow with their arms folded defiantly.

  Nicholas and Chow taken Prisoners.]

  "Who are the dogs? what their names, surnames, and rank?" said theofficer.

  "Travelers who have no fear of rebel rogues," replied Nicholasdauntlessly, believing them to be troops of Li-Kong.

  "Take my life, but save that of my venerable mother," said Chow, in asimilar belief.

  "These rogues are robbers, who would take a faithful and valiant subjectof the great Emperor Li-Kong a prisoner to the town of the thiefWoo-san-Kwei," said the guide, jumping upon his feet, with a mostwarlike mien, knowing that if with the soldiers of Li-Kong he was withfriends.

  "What means the slave? Who art thou, thou empty rice tub?" said theofficer.

  "It may please the fierce tiger of war to be amused at the person of hisservant; but if he be a rice-tub, he can serve the Emperor."

  "Emperor!--what Emperor, thou ox?" said the officer.

  "The great Li,--may he live ten thousand years."

  "Thy name, surname, and rank?" said the officer.

  "The mean name of thy insignificant servant is Leang, and he is theunworthy nephew of Ling, the innkeeper, of Kin-Chow," replied the guide,not doubting that he was in the hands of rebel troopers.

  "Then truly, Leang, the unworthy nephew of Ling, is a dangerous though acomical rogue."

  "The noble tiger of war is pleased----"

  "To have thee strangled with thine own girdle for being a follower ofthe great thief Li-Kong," said the officer; adding, as he turned to hissoldiers, "Let this be done."

  At this unexpected result, the terribly mistaken guide's face becamepaler and longer, and falling upon his knees, he said, "Let themagnificent commander be generous to an insignificant and witheredmouse, who is nothing but a poor and faithful guide, as these nobleyouths, whom he hath conducted all the way from Kin-Chow to the town ofthe great Woo-san-Kwei, can testify."

  "Bend thy neck at the name of the great prince, thou rogue," said theofficer, striking him on the back with his sword, and the guide fellflat--that is, as nearly so as his protuberant stomach wouldpermit--when the officer added laughingly, "Truly the animal is fatenough to kill at once; yet, as the rebels may cause us a siege so longthat we may be short of provender for our horses, let him be kept in astrong cage till that time arrives;" then beckoning to a soldier, thelatter seized the horrified guide and tied him before him on his saddle.

  Then turning to Nicholas and Chow, who, notwithstanding their seriousposition, had been laughing heartily at the merited misery of the guide,the officer said, "Are the rogue's words truth? Do my brothers seek thepresence of the great Woo-san-Kwei?" Then when Nicholas had related tothe officer the whole of their adventures from Kin, Chow aloneprudentially keeping back the fact that the lady of high rank was theprincess, he said, "What were the numbers of these rogues?"

  "There could have been no less than twenty, O noble commander," saidNicholas.

  Then turning to his second-in-command, the officer said, "Let the rogueof a guide be kept tied before thee on thy saddle, O Ching; take fiftyhorsemen, and return not to the camp till thou bringest these ladieswith thee. If the rogue of a guide directs thee so that thou artsuccessful, he shall be rewarded; if not, strangled."

  "Will not the noble commander let these horsemen be placed under thecharge of his younger brother, who truly hath the greater right to bringthese rogues to punishment?" said Nicholas, imploringly.

  "This may not be, my brother; for, although I doubt not thy honesty, itwould be at the risk of my life that I let thee pass from my sight tillthou hadst been taken before the prince."

  Although vexed that the chance of rescuing the princess, and punishingthe soldiers who had made her prisoner, had been denied to him,Nicholas felt too well pleased at the slightest possibility of her beingrescued, to complain; and, therefore, without another word, the boysfollowed the troops upon their march to Lao-yang, not by any meansregretting that they had fallen into the hands of this foraging party ofWoo-san-Kwei's army.