Boy Scouts on Motorcycles; Or, With the Flying Squadron

by G. Harvey Ralphson

  CHAPTER XIV

  SANDY PROVES HIS CASE

  "They'll be dead if you don't get out of here an' do somethin'!" saidSandy. "The Chinks'll eat 'em up!"

  Frank looked around the dismal subterranean chamber and a cynical smilecame to his lips.

  "We might get out of here," he said, "if we had a ton of dynamite. Idon't know but I'd take a chance on getting injured myself in order tosee these Chinks sailing into the sky."

  Jack, still suspicious of Sandy, turned toward him with a frown. Thelad met the other's eyes steadily.

  "Do you know the way out of this?" Jack asked.

  "No," admitted the boy. "Never was in here before. Never knew therewas such a place."

  "Well," Jack went on, "the longer we remain here the longer we'll be infinding our chums. I'm going to make a break."

  "If you have a gun," Sandy said, calmly, "I'll go ahead with it. If Iget plugged, or anythin' like that, you boys may be able to get away.These Chinks are quick to run if there is danger ahead, and I think Ican scare them off. Give me the gun!"

  Sandy reached out his hand, but Frank did not extend the gun he hadtaken from his pocket.

  "You're nervy, all right," he said, "but you don't have to take all therisk. Suppose we wait until daylight and then make a rush?"

  "Why daylight?" asked Jack.

  "There may then be some friendly face in sight, if we are able to get tothe street."

  "There's force in that," Jack replied, "but this is no palace car towait in."

  "You let me go and try," Sandy urged.

  Frank shook his head gravely.

  "No use," he said. "There are probably a score or more of Chinks aroundthis old shack. We've got to wait until morning before we try to getaway. The only question in my mind is this: Will they let us alone untildaylight? If they don't, then it will be a scrap."

  The boys sat down against the earth wall of the chamber and waited. Nowand then they could hear whispers in a tongue they could not understand.Occasionally they heard a wagon creaking along the distant street. Thenthey knew that the doors connecting the mud hut with the outer worldwere open.

  "I wonder if old Chee is still asleep from the dope?" Sandy asked, aftera long time had passed.

  "Why did they dope her?" asked Jack. "I don't see any nourishment forthem in that."

  "Guess they thought I'd be apt to help you boys," Sandy replied, "andmade up their minds to catch me and chuck me away somewhere. Chee's anervy old lady, an' probably scrapped when they searched for me. I'dlike to help her."

  "Why do you call her Chee?"

  "Because she's so cheerful, an' because I don't know her name," was thereply.

  "It must be pretty near dawn," Jack said, after a long silence, with aprodigious yawn.

  Frank looked at his watch and found that it was six o'clock. It hadbeen a long night. The sun would rise shortly after six.

  Five minutes later sounds of trouble of a physical nature were heardalong the tunnel by which the chamber had been reached. There wereblows, grunts, and ejaculations of rage. Then they heard a voice theyknew:

  "Donner! I make your face preak! Come py mine punch of fives. Oh, youloaver!"

  "Hans!" cried Jack. "How the Old Harry did he get here?"

  "He'll soon be able to tell you himself," Frank said, "if he keeps oncoming."

  Indeed, the German's voice came nearer every instant, nearer and moreemphatic. He was panting, too, and the sound of blows reached the earsof the listening boys.

  "Get in there!"

  The words were spoken in English, but not by Hans.

  "There's that gink who rounded us up back in Taku," exclaimed Jack. "Heseems to be winning all the tricks. I wonder how he got hold of Hans?"

  "I thought Dutchy was back with the submarine," Frank replied. "How hegot to Tientsin is a mystery to me."

  The next moment Hans' broad face, now red from anger and exertion,appeared at the mouth of the tunnel, looking like a full moon, and thenhis bulky figure was projected violently into the chamber. He scrambledin on his knees, but arose instantly and swung his fists in thedirection of the tunnel, shouting imprecations on some out-of-sightperson.

  There were numerous cuts and bruises on his face from which blood wasoozing, and his clothing was torn and dirty, as if it had been draggedthrough the mud.

  "Loaver! Loaver!" he shouted, still shaking his clenched fist at theentrance. "Vait a liddle, yet! I eats dern alife!"

  "I wish you would!" cried Jack.

  "Give me a bite while you are at it," Sandy cut in.

  Hans gazed around in bewilderment for a time, and then his facebrightened as he caught sight of Frank and Jack. It did not take thelads long to arrive at a mutual understanding of the happenings of thenight.

  Hans had been followed from the place where he had left the other boysand captured. He did not know what had become of Ned and the others anymore than Frank and Jack did.

  His story brought some relief to the others, for it was presumable thattheir chums were now well on their way to Peking. Once there, theimprisoned lads knew that every effort for their release would be made--then the whole power of the United States government, through theambassador, would be exerted in their behalf.

  "But what's the use of all that," Jack asked, grumblingly--for he wasgetting hungry! "What's the use of all that if the Chinks sit out therelike blooming cigar-store images and never give a hint as to where weare? We are likely to starve before the American ambassador can act withsuccess."

  Hans rubbed his stomach protectingly.

  "Empty!" he said. "I could eats a Schinks!"

  "Eat one for me," advised Jack.

  Sandy, who had been listening in silence to the explanations which hadbeen made, now asked:

  "How many Chinks are there out there?"

  "Army!" answered Hans.

  This was discouraging, for, as has already been stated, the boys weremeditating a rush as soon as the city was astir. They did notanticipate much help from bystanders, even if they should gain thestreet, but they knew that such a ruction as they would be able to putup would attract the attention of the authorities, and so bring thematter before the courts.

  While they talked the chances over, another breeze of trouble blew infrom the entrance tunnel. An argument of some kind was in progressbetween the men stationed there.

  Sandy moved forward to the mouth of the dark hole and listened. Theargument was being carried on in the language of the country, but nowand then a few words in English were heard.

  "I tell you they got away, slick and clean!" the Englishman said, asSandy listened.

  A mumbling of native talk, and then another sentence:

  "And some one will be here directly."

  Jack, who had heard the words, turned to Frank with a grin.

  "Is that a promise or a threat?" he asked.

  "I think our friends are coming," Frank replied.

  "They can never find us in this hole," Jack complained. "Suppose wemake a little noise?"

  "If they are headed this way, they know where we are," Frank said, "andit seems as if we ought to wait for them.".

  "I'll starve!" muttered Jack. "I could eat a fried telegraph pole, andlike it!"

  "I eat since yesterday only plue sky!" Hans contributed. "My pellymakes argument mit my konscience! But?"

  Sandy sat dejectedly by the wall and said nothing. He knew that he wasstill suspected of leading the boys into the trap in which they nowfound themselves, and was studying over plans to assist them out and atthe same time establish his innocence.

  It seemed to the lads that a whole day passed without a single thing tobreak the monotony, but Frank's watch insisted that it was only eleveno'clock. It was dark most of the time in the chamber, for the boys weresaving of their flashlight batteries.

  Finally one of the plans which had been slowly maturing in Sandy's brainbrought the lad into action. Noiselessly he crept away from the littlegroup and
moved on his hands and knees, along the tunnel leading to thecellar of the old mud house.

  He reasoned that that point would not be so closely guarded as the exitwould be; also that Ned and his companions, if they returned to the cityin quest of the boys and sought the mud house, would be more apt to bewatching the house itself than the exit, which was some distance awayfrom the road.

  After proceeding a few feet, Sandy stopped and listened. There were noindications of human presence in the tunnel ahead, or in the cellar,which was not far away now, and from which a faint light shone.

  When the boy reached the entrance to the cellar he saw three Chinamenlying on the earth floor, either asleep or under the influence of opium.It did not take the lad long to make up his mind as to which one of thecauses, sleep or opium, had put his guards off their guard.

  There was a strong odor of opium in the cellar, and a closer examinationof the place showed him that the watchmen had been "hitting the pipe,"as the boys on South Clark street, Chicago, would have expressed it.However, the way did not seem to be clear, for there were soft footstepson the patch of board floor which covered a part of the cellar, and thena Chinaman backed down the ladder.

  He came down slowly and stood for an instant on the cellar floor beforelooking around. When at last he saw the men asleep on the floor hemuttered some jargon which Sandy could not understand and turned back tothe ladder again.

  Sandy believed that the man he saw was the only one the "pipe" had lefton guard. If he could prevent him reaching the street, he might be ableto get the other boys out of the trap in which they had been caught.

  The Chinaman seemed large and strong, but Sandy would have taken evengreater chances in order to convince the boys that he was not theirenemy, so he sprang upon him. The struggle was a desperate one for atime, for Sandy was not very strong as compared with his opponent, andthe man he was fighting with fought viciously.

  Sandy did not dare cry out to the boys in the chamber for help, for thatmight bring other enemies into the fight. The only way seemed to be toconquer the Chinaman and then get the boys into the street as silentlyas possible. Once there, they would have little difficulty in makingtheir way out of the city.

  It is quite probable that Sandy would have come off second best in theencounter if Jack had not heard the racket the two made and came intothe cellar with a bound. The two boys soon had the Chinaman down andwell tied up.

  "You're a brick, Sandy," Jack said, as the boys faced each other in thedim light. "While we sat in there waiting for some one to get us out,you got a move on and did something! Say," he added, with a grin,"ain't this tie-up game getting stale? Suppose we knock this fellow onthe head? He may get away if we don't. And these others? Think theyare sufficiently soused with opium?"

  "They won't make any trouble for a long time," Sandy answered. "It is awonder they got into such a trance! There must have been somethingstronger than opium in their pipes."

  "Didn't know there was anything meaner than opium," Jack said.

  "There is a drug that is used by old soaks after the poppy stuff getstoo mild for them," replied Sandy. "Perhaps these men got some of that.Keep quiet, boys!"

  This last as Frank and Hans came through the tunnel and stood staring atthe men on the floor and their chums.

  "Who did it?" asked Frank.

  "Sandy did it!" answered Jack. "Ain't he the broth of a lad? Sure he'sthe goods."

  "Perhaps we'd better be getting out," Sandy observed. "I hear some oneupstairs. They're comin' down here, too."