The Blue Dress Girl

by E. V. Thompson

  Kernow straightened up immediately and looked ahead. These waters were notorious for pirate activity and there were rumours that the Imperial Chinese authorities had recently broken up one of the large rebel triads – a Chinese secret society that had been terrorising the countryside around Canton for many months. The members who had been captured were immediately executed, but a great many escaped to swell the ranks of the pirates in the Canton river area.

  The junk was a couple of miles away, but the oars could be clearly seen, propelling the Chinese craft through the water like the legs of some giant, menacing spider.

  ‘Pass me the boat’s telescope, coxswain.’

  Taking the heavy brass telescope without removing his gaze from the approaching vessel, Kernow thought quickly. It was not only pirate junks that were powered by banks of oars. Imperial war junks were often operated in the same way, especially in coastal waters.

  He could see the junk clearly through the telescope now. It had no Imperial pennant flying at the mast head, but there was at least one cannon on the upper deck. It might be an Imperial war junk, but Kernow suspected the coxswain’s deduction to be correct. If so, there was good reason for concern.

  Pirate vessels were common around the China coasts and were destroyed whenever they were encountered by Royal Navy vessels. Because of this they usually stayed well clear of any vessel flying an ensign. But Kernow and his crew were sailing in an open pinnace. They were small enough for pirates on a well-armed junk to try to wreak revenge.

  ‘Alter course to starboard, coxswain. We’ll go as close to shore as we can. It’ll give the junk less room to manoeuvre if it does turn out to be unfriendly.’

  The boat’s passengers heard the urgency in Kernow’s voice. Realising that something was wrong, some of them stood up in an attempt to see what was happening.

  ‘You … the girls. Get down in the boat. Right down.’

  In an aside to the coxswain, he said, ‘If it is a pirate boat they’ll probably not risk taking us on without a very good reason, but the girls could prove reason enough. Get down, I say!’

  Kernow’s words were not understood, but his gestures were clear enough. The blue dress girls moved to obey him swiftly, used to following the command of anyone in authority.

  ‘What’s happening?’ She-she saw the movement all about her and put the question anxiously to Kau-lin who now crouched beside the stretcher.

  ‘I don’t know. I think it’s another boat. Perhaps an Imperial war junk.’

  Her words caused an immediate stir among the cowering blue dress girls.

  ‘Shouldn’t we show ourselves to them?’ The suggestion came from one of the youngest.

  ‘Why?’ Kau-lin rounded on the speaker. ‘An Imperial war junk wouldn’t turn around and carry us to Foochow. We’d be taken to Li Hung at Canton – and he doesn’t want us there right now. We’re an embarrassment to him.’

  ‘He wouldn’t send us away,’ said another of the girls, confidently.

  Conversation ceased as the coxswain signalled for the girls to crouch still lower in the boat. The unidentified junk had altered course in response to the pinnace’s change of direction. It would appear that someone on board the junk was determined to intercept the small British vessel.

  ‘Check your muskets,’ Kernow gave the order to his marines. If the crew of the menacing junk tried to board the pinnace he was determined his marines and the sailors from the Sans Pareil would give a good account of themselves.

  Kernow’s main fear was that the other, larger vessel would deliberately run down the pinnace. The naval vessel was stoutly built, but it would prove no match for the heavily timbered junk in a collision.

  Not until the very last moment did the junk alter course, passing no more than ten boat’s lengths from the pinnace. Kernow was convinced now it was a pirate vessel. It had altered course to allow the Chinese on board to inspect the small naval vessel.

  Nevertheless, the other craft passed by without any show of aggression, but just when Kernow was beginning to breathe more easily the wash from the junk hit the pinnace, causing the smaller boat to bounce alarmingly for a few moments. As a result one of the blue dress girls – the one who had suggested earlier they should show themselves – was thrown off balance. Instead of remaining in the bottom of the boat, she struggled to her feet and clung to the mast to steady herself.

  A number of the Chinese pirates were hanging over the stern of the junk, gesticulating derisively at the British sailors. When they caught sight of the blue dress girl a great yell went up.

  Hearing the sound, Kernow knew they were in trouble. His fears were confirmed when the junk began to execute a wide, ragged-oared turn.

  There was only a light breeze blowing. The pinnace could not outsail the junk and the use of oars would not greatly increase their speed. It was doubtful too whether the pinnace could win a race to the uncertain sanctuary of the shore.

  ‘Coxswain, have your men bring the howitzer aft – and hurry! What shot are we carrying for it?’

  The howitzer was heavy and as a weapon it was not particularly accurate, but fired from the stern of the pinnace it might prove sufficient to beat off an attack by the pirate vessel.

  ‘We’re carrying half-a-dozen canister shot, sir. Is that the sort of thing you want?’

  ‘It’s exactly what I want. Is there someone in the crew who’s expert in firing the thing?’

  ‘I’m as good as anyone, sir – but if them pirates keep up their speed they’ll run us down before I can get the gun loaded.’

  In spite of the coxswain’s pessimism and the speed of the pirate junk, the first shot from the howitzer was got off when the junk was still many lengths astern of the pinnace. However, the shot fell short and to one side of the pursuing junk.

  The second shot had a good line, but this time it dropped behind the pirate vessel. At the same time there was a puff of smoke from a cannon in the bows of the junk. Fortunately it was fired wildly and the round shot dropped harmlessly into the sea, far from the pinnace.

  ‘We can’t afford to miss again, coxswain. Another minute or two and they’ll run us down.’

  Kernow spoke in near desperation. The junk was overhauling the pinnace at an alarming rate. He would need to order avoiding action very soon, but this was likely to bring only a brief respite.

  ‘We won’t miss again, sir. I’ve got their range now. Watch this….’

  The coxswain fired off a third shot. Once again the pinnace shook with the force of the explosion. At the same time a shot from the junk’s cannon hummed low overhead to splash in the sea, close enough to send spray over the occupants of the pinnace. It was the best shot so far from the Chinese and one of the blue dress girls screamed in fear.

  Suddenly there was an explosion from the direction of the pirate junk and a plume of smoke rose from its deck. The oars on both sides faltered momentarily and Kernow thought they had scored a vital hit, but the oarsmen recovered quickly. The shot had not affected the junk’s progress, although it appeared to have silenced the cannon.

  ‘I thought I had their range. Now let’s see what this one will do,’ the coxswain muttered as he fired yet again.

  The shell from the howitzer landed squarely upon the junk once again, but with far more effect than before. The explosion was more muffled and the smoke marginally later in rising. However, when it came it rose not only from the deck, but billowed from the ports housing the oars on either side of the junk.

  A number of oars were actually blown clear of the pirate vessel and strewn around it in the water. The few oars that continued to thresh the water were hopelessly unsynchronised and soon became entangled with each other, causing the junk to slew around in the water, presenting its beam to the pinnace.

  As a great cheer rose from the sailors on board the pinnace, Kernow ordered his marines to commence firing upon the pirates who could be seen staggering about the upper deck.

  ‘That was a fine shot, coxswain. It must have dropp
ed through a hatchway to the rowing decks.’

  ‘I can’t ever remember making a better one, sir, nor one that was more needed, but don’t ask me to try it again. I reckon we had a lucky escape there, and no mistake.’

  ‘Nonsense, coxswain. We taught those pirates that it doesn’t pay to attack a vessel of the Royal Navy, whatever its size. I’ll see that your remarkable gunnery skill is brought to the attention of Captain Hamlyn when we return to the Sans Pareil. Well done indeed.’

  Pleased with Kernow’s praise, the coxswain ordered the return of the howitzer to its position in the bows before resuming his place at the helm.

  The blue dress girls realised it was now safe to sit up but they rose from the bottom of the boat uncertainly, as though expecting to be ordered to crouch down once more.

  One of the sailors pointed to the junk drifting aimlessly astern of the pinnace, smoke still seeping from the oar-decks. The blue dress girls immediately recognised the pirate vessel for what it was and set up an excited clamour.

  Making his way among them, Kernow looked down at She-she. Still flushed with the excitement of his first successful engagement with an enemy whilst in command, the young marine officer felt a twinge of disappointment when he saw a momentary expression of fear cross the girl’s face at sight of him.

  Kau-lin did not share her friend’s apparent aversion to Fan Qui men, especially not a smooth-shaven young Fan Qui officer. She smiled at Kernow when he looked in her direction.

  ‘Tell your friend the excitement’s over now. We’ll have her in Hong Kong before long,’ said Kernow, returning the smile.

  ‘Kau-lin take care She-she.’ Kau-lin pointed to where the pirate junk was now far behind the pinnace. ‘You shoot them good, eh?’

  Kernow’s smile spread. ‘That’s right, we shoot them good.’ He glanced down at She-she once more then returned to where the coxswain was steering the pinnace farther out into the estuary once more.

  Watching Kernow chatting to the coxswain of the pinnace, Kau-lin turned her head and saw She-she was watching him too.

  ‘The young Fan Qui officer likes you, She-she. Why are you so frightened of him? He’s not hairy, like Trader Courtice.’

  She-she started guiltily, as though caught out doing something wrong. She looked away from the young Marine second lieutenant. ‘He’s a Fan Qui. His eyes are cold. Like the sky.’

  ‘The sky in summer is more blue than in winter, She-she. I don’t think the Fan Qui officer is cold. He is a brave man. A good man too. His name is Lieutenant Keats, I heard the men say. He has twice saved our lives. He could have left us on Li Hung’s junk when it was sinking. It would have been better for him. These sailors say the number one man on the Fan Qui ship was angry with Lieutenant Keats for saving us. The number one man did not want us on his ship. He has punished Lieutenant Keats by making him bring us to Hong Kong. Now he has saved our lives again. The pirates are our people, yet they would have treated us far worse than any Fan Qui. It would have been better to be dead than taken by them. We should all be grateful to Lieutenant Keats. I am. I will show him if I get the chance.’

  She-she knew the form Kau-lin’s gratitude would take and should have been shocked, but she was feeling too tired – and confused. In spite of her remarks to Kau-lin she did not find the young officer unattractive. He was not like the bearded and hairy Trader Courtice.

  She-she was also in pain. The effects of the opiate had quite gone now and every small wave encountered by the pinnace sent pain stabbing through her wounded side.

  ‘What is to happen to us when we reach Hong Kong?’

  ‘Lieutenant Keats says he will take us to the “Shang Ti people”, those they call missionaries.’

  One of the listening blue dress girls gave a gasp of horror. ‘It’s said the Shang Ti people suck the spirit from the Chinese and offer it as a sacrifice to their Gods.’

  ‘Who is better for us, a missionary who takes our spirit or Li Hung who lets men use our bodies?’ retorted Kau-lin. ‘You’re repeating gossip passed on by fools. Anyway, I like the Fan Qui officer and so does She-she. He can have my spirit if he wants it – or my body if he would rather.’

  Chapter 7

  ENTERING HONG KONG’s busy harbour, the pinnace threaded its way through an armada of trading vessels from which flew the flags of a dozen nations. Around the larger vessels lighters clung like leeches, three and four deep.

  Shoals of sampans, propelled by a single oar over the stern, plied between ships and both shores. In spite of the current hostilities between the government of China and the Western nations, Hong Kong was rapidly becoming one of the most important trading centres in the world.

  Kernow directed the coxswain to the foreshore on the Wanchai side of the growing town of Victoria. He knew from earlier visits to the colony that this was the most convenient spot on the waterfront for the mission hospital.

  Once the pinnace had been pulled half out of the water, Kernow left the blue dress girls in the care of the marines and sailors from the Sans Pareil while he set off to locate the mission doctor.

  When Kernow returned he was accompanied by Doctor Hugh Jefferies, Hannah, the doctor’s wife, and a number of coolies. They discovered an inquisitive crowd had gathered about the boat and its attractive cargo. Most were Chinese, but there was also a fair sprinkling of Europeans, some dressed in Chinese clothes. These were men who had come to Hong Kong as seamen, or employees of a trading company, and had chosen to remain and cast off Western ways, when their contracts had ended. They now occupied a twilight world that embraced both east and west, although they were fully accepted by neither society.

  Some of those gathered about the boat were carrying on an increasingly animated conversation with the pinnace’s passengers, but they parted to allow Kernow and the missionaries through.

  Much of the excitement had been caused by the revelation that the girls belonged to the Hoppo of Canton, but their account of the battle with the river pirates was also being loudly repeated to newcomers joining the crowd.

  The merchants in the crowd were most concerned over the actions of a Royal Navy man-o’-war in sinking a vessel belonging to the Hoppo. It marked a further deterioration in relations between China and Britain.

  A desultory and uncertain state of hostility had existed between the two nations for some time, but the traders had never taken it too seriously. Those engaged in commerce between the two countries hoped it would prove to be mere posturing, a prelude to a new trade treaty between the two countries. It had often been so in the past.

  The Sans Pareil, by sinking the Hoppo’s junk, had dealt their hopes a serious blow. The Chinese authorities would undoubtedly take action to avenge the sinking.

  The Chinese in the crowd had mixed feelings about the situation. Many were resentful of a European presence in their country, and highly critical of the arrogance shown by Britain’s diplomats, confident in the support of their vastly superior navy. Other Chinese were merchants, dependent for their living on the very lucrative trade centred upon Hong Kong. Any disruption of commerce was to be avoided at all costs.

  Kernow faced a barrage of questions, levelled at him by the Europeans among the crowd. Most were a demand to know what was happening upriver, in the Canton area. Only a few proffered congratulations to the young Royal Marine officer on his victory over the pirate junk. It was these Kernow chose to answer.

  ‘It was my coxswain who saved the day by his splendid shooting. He’s the one to tell you about the battle – but will you first clear a way through from my boat? There’s a badly wounded girl on board who needs to be taken to the hospital.’

  As the crowd cleared a narrow path from the water’s edge, She-she was lifted in the stretcher from the boat by the mission’s coolies and carried ashore. Everyone was eager to catch a glimpse of her and it seemed to She-she that she was caught in some dreadful nightmare, submerged beneath a sea of faces, some leering, some grinning, many mouthing words she could not hear.

 
; The truth was that the rigours of the eventful voyage were beginning to take a heavy toll upon the wounded girl. The opiate she had been given by the Sans Pareil’s surgeon had not been effective for as long as was intended. In great pain for the final part of the voyage she was now close to delirium.

  The difficulties the coolies were having in carrying the stretcher through the inquisitive crowd added to her torment in these final minutes of the long journey. When he became aware of the problem, Kernow came to their aid. With harsh words and occasional physical force he succeeded in clearing a way for She-she’s stretcher, helped by a shrill-voiced Kau-lin. Without seeking permission from anyone, she had left the pinnace to accompany her wounded friend. No one attempted to stop her.

  Meanwhile, still on board the small open boat, the remaining blue dress girls were less certain of what was expected of them. Unused to acting upon their own initiative, they huddled in the centre of the boat, waiting for someone to tell them what to do.

  They were rescued by Hannah Jefferies, wife of the mission doctor. Hannah was a missionary of the China Inland Mission who had spent many years in the country before meeting and marrying her husband. Smiling reassuringly at the blue dress girls, she spoke in their own language. ‘You girls will come with me. I’ll take you somewhere a little quieter than this and find you something to eat.’

  As the blue dress girls filed from the pinnace, more than one well-known Hong Kong trader stepped back into the anonymity of the crowd, nervous of being recognised by these new and unexpected arrivals in the colony.

  When the crowd had been left behind and only a few curious children were still following them, one of the girls asked Hannah, ‘Where are you taking us?’

  ‘To the mission.’

  The gasps of dismay and fearful exchanged glances did not escape the missionary. She smiled. Missionaries in China were fully aware of the wild rumours that circulated about their activities.

  ‘Don’t worry. If you’re ever fortunate enough to find God you’ll realise He gives to you, not takes. You need remain at the mission no longer than you wish. No one’s going to force you to stay against your will and you’ll be given every assistance to continue your journey to wherever you wish to go.’