by Eagle
But it was no use.
After moving everything he could in the blackness, Ying realized that his mother's chest and waist were wedged beneath a boulder as big as a horse. He would never be able to lift it alone.
Hesitantly, Ying took his mother's arm in his hands, dreading what he knew he had to do next. He placed his battered fingertips on her wrist and felt for a pulse.
He felt nothing.
For the first time since he'd lost his best friend, Luk, Ying felt tears welling up in his eyes.
Darkness enveloped Ying. He dropped his head, his mother's arm still in his hands. He felt as helpless as a toddler.
“I am so sorry, Mother,” Ying whispered. “So very sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help you … ”
Ying felt a twitch beneath his fingertips, and he nearly cried out in surprise. Was that a pulse? He concentrated hard and noticed that, yes, there was definitely something there, beating delicately, slowly, until it started to grow stronger and stronger.
Miraculously, just a few moments later, WanSow began to speak. Her words were faint but audible. Ying realized that she had slowed her heart rate to cause herself to slip into unconsciousness. Her heartbeat had been so slow that he couldn't feel it. Now she was bringing herself back.
“You can still help me,” WanSow whispered. “You can help us all. Stop Tonglong.” She coughed. “Go.”
“Go where?” Ying asked, his eyes darting futilely around the utter blackness. “The entrance is blocked. I don't even know where it is anymore.”
“There is a way out,” WanSow whispered. “Feel your way over to the smooth stone map and push on the right side with all your strength. It should swing outward like a door. There is a passageway beyond. A natural tunnel. It leads outside.” She coughed again. “I watched the rocks as they fell. The map should be unobstructed.”
“I can't leave you like this,” Ying said.
“Yes, you can,” WanSow whispered. “Listen to me. I am slowing my heart rate down again. I will soon slip back into unconsciousness. I will feel no pain. I believe I can survive like this for a day and a night. Perhaps two nights. Stop Tonglong first, then return and help me if there is time. Goodbye, my son.”
Before Ying could say a word, his mother slipped into a deep meditative state.
Ying ground his teeth. Tonglong was going to pay. He bowed farewell to his mother and began to fumble around for the stone map. It didn't take long to find, and it took even less time to open.
An hour later, Ying was back at the ransacked house. His ransacked house. Tonglong and the soldiers were gone. Ying began to look frantically for the skiff, and when he finally did find it, he shrieked in frustration. Tonglong's men had sunk it in the creek. He would have to head back on foot.
It was slow going, trying to run along the creek bank. There were many more twists and turns than Ying remembered. Also, the rocks on the shore were covered with thick algae and slime. Another hour passed before he reached the twin pagodas where the creek met the river. Ying turned to walk upstream and jumped as someone called out his name.
“Ying! Ying! Over here!” a girl shouted.
It was Hok. She was in a small sailing vessel with Charles, Fu, and Malao. Charles steered the boat toward the shore and yelled, “Swim out toward the center of the river, Ying! We'll pick you up!”
Ying jumped in. The river was colder than he'd expected. He caught his breath and swam hard across the current. Charles swung the boat near, and Hok tossed Ying a line. Ying grabbed hold of it and hauled himself aboard.
“Th-th-thank you,” Ying said to Hok.
Hok nodded. “You are welcome. Are you okay?”
Ying began to shiver uncontrollably. Whether it was a result of the cold water or stress, he wasn't sure. He glanced around the boat. “I'm fine. Where is ShaoShu?”
“I don't know,” Hok said. “He wandered off somewhere and hadn't returned by the time we needed to leave. We will go back for him soon.”
“We will have to go back for someone else, too,” Ying said. “My mother has been badly injured.”
“What happened?” Hok asked.
“Tonglong happened,” Ying said. “He is here.”
“We know,” Charles said. “Hok wanted to come here and warn you. I take it you've seen him?”
“Yes,” Ying replied. He looked at Hok. “There is a second map. Tonglong has seen it. We have to get to the treasure before they do.”
“How are we supposed to know where to go?” Fu growled.
Ying tapped the side of his head with a jittery finger. “I saw the m-m-map, too, Pussycat.” Ying began to glance up and down the riverbanks.
“What are you looking for?” Malao asked.
“Our location in relation to the map,” Ying replied. He pointed downstream, toward the sea. “We need to go that way. The treasure is hidden in a small cove on the coast.”
“Aye, aye,” Charles said. “Is the cove far?”
“I'm not sure of the map's scale,” Ying replied. “How far is it to the sea?”
“Only about half an hour.”
“Then the treasure is quite close. Perhaps two hours south of the point where the river meets the sea.”
“How far ahead of us is Tonglong?” Charles asked.
Ying stopped to think. “I'm not sure exactly, but I would guess perhaps two hours.”
“I'll do what I can to catch up with them,” Charles said. “We're overloaded, but we're not at risk of sinking. This sloop overloaded is still faster than any other craft her size.”
Ying nodded and glanced around for a blanket or a tarp to help him get warm. Hok was one step ahead of him. She pulled a blanket from a storage bin in the bow and handed it to Ying.
“Thank you,” Ying said.
Hok nodded and hurried off to attend to something with one of the sails. Ying closed his eyes and tried to relax.
Charles’ sleek vessel raced down the river with amazing speed. Ying would have been exhilarated if he hadn't been so preoccupied with thoughts of his mother and their situation, not to mention Grandmaster.
They reached the end of the river in no time and spilled into the open sea. Charles’ sloop seemed to take on a life of its own here. It rode the waves like a playful dragon, slicing smoothly through the whitecaps as it raced south with Charles standing strong at the helm.
An hour later, Ying's shaking finally subsided. An hour after that, he could sense that they were getting close. He felt it in his bones.
Charles looked at him and shouted over the roar of the waves, “We're almost there, aren't we?”
“I believe so,” Ying shouted back.
“What are we looking for?” Charles asked.
“A hidden cave within a small cove,” Ying said. “On the map, it was little more than an indentation on the edge of a tiny beach.”
“It is probably well hidden,” Charles said. “More than likely, it is flooded by the tide and impossible to find unless you know exactly where to look. Hiding valuables in a cave like that is an old pirate's trick.”
Great, Ying thought. More caves. “Do you think it is flooded now?” he asked.
Charles stared at the shore for a moment, then shook his head. “The tide is coming in, but it's still fairly low. Look at the high-water marks on the rocks.”
Ying looked at the rocks and understood. He scanned the area for signs of Tonglong but saw nothing. There weren't any other boats in sight.
They rounded a bend in the coast, and Ying saw a narrow opening in the rocks far ahead. Charles noticed it, too.
“There!” Charles said, pointing. “That hole looks promising.”
“I think that's it,” Ying replied. “All we need to do is—”
A Chinese junk suddenly slipped through the hole into the open sea. It was quite some distance away, but Ying could tell that it was large.
“Tonglong!” Charles said. “That has got to be him.”
Ying slammed his fist into his palm.
Hok hurried over to Ying's side. “Are we too late?” she asked.
“I think so,” Ying hissed.
Malao scurried up to the top of the sloop's tall mast for a better view, while Fu ran to the bow, his eyes focused intently on the junk. “I think I see Tonglong on deck,” Fu said.
“I think so, too,” Malao said. “But my eyes aren't as good as Fu's. The boat is pretty far away.”
“Just a moment,” Charles said. He opened a small hatch beneath the sloop's steering wheel and removed a spyglass. “I forgot about this. I took it from HaMo back on the Yellow River.” He held the glass up to one eye and steered the boat with his hip.
“What do you see?” Ying asked.
“There are several soldiers on deck,” Charles said, “and there appear to be several piles of treasure. Wait … I see Tonglong! He is holding a large white sword.”
“We are too late!” Ying said, swearing. “Can we catch them?”
Charles lowered the spyglass and frowned. “I don't know. We have a lot of weight in this boat right now. I think we're out of luck.”
“Let's try,” Ying said.
Charles paused and shook his head. “No. They have a deck full of soldiers, and most of them are carrying qiangs. I also saw several cannons on deck. They would shred this sloop to pieces, and us along with it.”
“Do you think they can see us?” Hok asked.
“If we can see them, they can see us,” Charles said. “However, I didn't see anyone on their deck with a spyglass. I suppose it's just a matter of time before someone picks one up.”
“What are our options, then?” Ying asked.
“We could disguise ourselves as best we can and follow them from a safe distance, out of cannon range,” Charles said. “They might stay on the water for days or even weeks, though.”
Ying thought about his mother, pinned inside the cave. He didn't have that kind of time.
Ying pointed to the spyglass. “Let me see that.”
Charles handed the glass to Ying, and Ying raised it to his eye. He scanned the junk's deck and saw the armed soldiers and the piles of treasure, just as Charles had said. Tonglong was there, too, standing beside a soldier. They were examining the large white sword. Three more white swords and a suit of flexible white armor lay at Tonglong's feet.
Ying spat. He was about to put the spyglass down when he noticed something move behind the largest of the treasure piles. It was small and fast and darted underneath an old tarp the moment Tonglong bent down to pick up a different sword.
Ying burst out laughing and lowered the spyglass. He slapped Charles on the back. “Perhaps we still have a little luck left!”
“What is it?” Hok asked. “What did you see?”
“Not what,” Ying said. “Who.”
He handed the spyglass to Hok.
“It's ShaoShu.”
The Chinese junk pitched and rolled in the pounding surf, its ancient timbers groaning under the heavy load. The boat lay low in the water, cold spray blowing over its rails with each gust of the frigid autumn wind. Hidden below a tattered tarpaulin on deck, ShaoShu—Little Mouse—wondered what he'd gotten himself into.
He shivered. The damp sea air had soaked through his thin skin, deep into his tiny bones. He had only been aboard one day, but he already yearned to have his feet back on dry land.
ShaoShu had little experience on the water. True, he'd just spent more than a week traveling down the Grand Canal with his new friends, Hok and Ying, but that ride was nothing like this one. That was fun. This was agonizing. The sooner he was off this ship, the better.
The boat lurched suddenly on the choppy seas, and a wicked crosswind lifted one corner of the tarp. ShaoShu quickly snatched it back down, catching a glimpse of General Tonglong's long ponytail braid swaying just a few paces away. ShaoShu shuddered. Tonglong—the Mantis—was uncomfortably close.
As a homeless street urchin, ShaoShu had a lifetime of practice hiding in small, inconspicuous places. He had an unnatural ability to bend and twist his small body into all sorts of strange shapes, and he put these skills to use stowing away here on Tonglong's Chinese man-o-war in order to steal some information for his new friends. This, however, had been more than he'd bargained for. Perhaps he'd pushed his luck too far.
ShaoShu shifted his position ever so slightly, and he felt the weight of the shiny cylindrical object resting on his lap. It was nothing really, some sort of spyglass. While it might prove useful to him, he had mainly taken it because it was made of a highly polished brass and glimmered with a luster he couldn't resist. It was this same fascination with shiny objects that had brought him to his current hiding place.
With each passing wave, ShaoShu sank deeper into the largest pile of treasure he'd ever seen. He was surrounded by riches that even the Emperor would be hard-pressed to imagine: golden goblets, impossibly intricate jade figurines, mounds of pearl jewelry— all of it piled here on the boat's deck and covered with a tarp like a worthless bale of straw. There were other piles, too, though none as large or magnificent as this one.
The treasure was connected to a series of dragon scrolls that contained secret dragon-style kung fu fighting techniques. One of the scrolls was also a map, and Tonglong had used it to first find Ying's mother's house, then to locate the treasure in a secret seaside cave. The cave was only accessible at low tide, and Tonglong had timed his arrival perfectly. In less than an hour, his men had stripped the cave of its contents. Now Tonglong was headed south to take care of what he called “personal business.”
ShaoShu didn't know what that business was, but he was certain he had already gathered plenty of information for Ying and Hok. The moment he saw an opportunity to sneak off the ship, he would make a break for it.
Having been aboard the better part of a day and a night, ShaoShu had learned the rhythms of the ship's watches. The laziest sailors were assigned to the watch that began at sunset, so that would be the best time to make his move. In the meantime, he would just have to wait.
From somewhere high above the deck, he heard a lookout shout, “Sail ho!”
“What do you see?” Tonglong asked, his metallic voice too close for ShaoShu's comfort.
“It's a foreign sloop, sir,” the lookout replied. “By the shape of the stern and the rake of the mast, I'd guess she's Dutch built. Single mast with a reefed mainsail and a storm jib set taut. She's fast, sir, and sailed by seasoned seamen. No question about it, the way that rigging is set. She's off our stern, if you'd like to have a look.”
“Has anyone found my telescope yet?” Tonglong roared.
No one replied.
Tonglong stormed across the deck. “Whoever stole it will be strung up in the rigging for the birds to pluck out his eyes and feast on his liver!”
Uh-oh, ShaoShu thought, silently taking Tong long's spyglass off his lap and placing it on the treasure pile.
“Can you see who's aboard?” Tonglong called to the lookout.
“Aye, sir. Looks to be a bunch of children, if you can believe it. Four boys and a girl. At least, I think it's a girl. She's in a dress.”
ShaoShu's heart leapt. That had to be Hok, along with some helpers! Maybe Ying was with her, too. ShaoShu had last seen Hok at the apothecary shop, and she must have figured out where he'd gone. She was coming to rescue him! Hok and Ying were the smartest, kindest, bravest people he'd ever met.
“What would you like me to do, sir?” someone asked Tonglong.
“If they get close enough, blow them out of the water. People in this region need to learn to steer clear of me.”
A large lump formed in ShaoShu's throat. He'd forgotten about the gigantic qiangs, or cannons, as the sailors called them, lashed to the deck rails.
As he tried to decide what to do next, a quick darting movement caught ShaoShu's eye. He froze, and his nose twitched. He locked his gaze on the far side of the tarp and saw a small brown blur darting about close to the ground. A mouse! He couldn't believe his good luck
.
ShaoShu relaxed, grateful for the company. He reached into the folds of his dirty robe and fished out the remains of a bean-paste bun he'd swiped from a sailor earlier. ShaoShu dropped a few crumbs on the treasure pile around him and sat perfectly still. A moment later, the mouse scurried over, greedily consuming the sweet treat.
As the mouse was finishing its snack, ShaoShu gently held out a larger piece, away from his body. The small furry creature hurried over and began to nibble on ShaoShu's offering. ShaoShu smiled. He had always had good luck getting animals to come to him.
ShaoShu began to slowly, carefully, move his free hand toward the mouse to pet it when a second blur of movement, this time white, caught his eye. His body went rigid. He had had enough experience living on the streets to know what it was.
Dropping the bun, he scooped up the mouse and slipped it into one of the empty pouches he always had tied to his sash. The mouse squeaked in protest, and a white head with long flowing fur poked beneath the tarp. It was a cat.
The cat hissed, and a voice called out, “Mao? What is it? Have you found something?”
Before ShaoShu could react, the tarp was thrown back and he found himself staring into a pair of the palest brown eyes he'd ever seen. The stone-faced young man glanced at the shiny telescope on the treasure pile; then he called out to Tonglong.
“Sir, I believe I've found your thief.”
Copyright © 2008 by Jeffrey S. Stone
Illustrations copyright © 2008 by Richard Cowdrey
All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stone, Jeff. Eagle / Jeff Stone. p. cm. — (The five ancestors; bk. 5)