You may be sure we breathed easier when we were safe within our own quarters, for day was just breaking and our return had been timed none too soon.
Nux and Bryonia, whom we had left to guard our rooms from possible intrusion while we were absent, were mighty glad to see us back again, and their eyes opened wide with astonishment when Archie displayed his pearls as proof that we had found the treasure.
But the night of excitement had wearied us greatly, so we all turned in and slept like dead men until our faithful blacks called us to breakfast.
It was while we were at this meal that Joe uttered an exclamation, and glancing up I saw his face go white and frightened.
“What is it, old man?” I asked quickly.
“My handkerchief!” he replied. “I left it tied to the grating of the alcove!”
We looked at one another in stupid bewilderment for a moment, trying hard to think how to remedy such a blunder. But nothing could be done for that day, anyhow, and if Mai Lo happened to visit the Ancestral Halls during that time he would have ample proof that we had been there.
“Of course he may not notice it,” said Archie, comfortingly.
“Why, it’s a regular flag — white against all those dark hues of tapestries and black spots of alcoves. Of course he’ll notice it,” retorted Joe with a groan.
“Not any more than he’ll notice the absence of the pearls,” I suggested. “Mai Lo is evidently busy assorting the treasure he means to run away with, and his first visit there will assure him someone else has been in the vaults.”
“Oh, but without the handkerchief he would be unable to guess who it was,” answered Joe. “The handkerchief gives him just the clew he needed.”
“Never mind,” said I; “the governor can’t do anything about it that I can see. If he is onto our game, we are also onto his, and he won’t dare whisper to the people outside that he is visiting the vaults. When he enters the building he is supposed to be praying, and he must not enter the underground chih after laying the body of the Prince there. His only legitimate business now is to seal up the vaults and destroy all traces of them.”
“And then make an end of himself,” added Archie.
“Just so.”
But in spite of our brave talk we were decidedly uneasy over the way in which we had bungled our adventure of the night, and as soon as breakfast was finished we started out with one accord and took the path that led to the Ancestral Halls.
Nux followed us, but Bry remained in our rooms. This plan we had adopted several days before, having only one of our blacks with us when we ventured out of the palace and leaving the other to guard the entrance to our apartments. The reason for this procedure was that we soon expected to accumulate considerable treasure in our rooms, and we wanted it understood that we permitted no intrusion further than the outer reception-room. Indeed, Bry was guarding, this morning, a few pearls that Joe estimated to be worth over fifty thousand dollars; and the way he did it was to tie them in a handkerchief and carry them in his pocket. As for separating our faithful servants, it was evident that nothing could ever be done in this place by brute force, and a thousand men would be of no more use to us than one.
We sauntered carelessly along, so as not to convey the impression that we had any object in our walk more than to get a bit of air and exercise. Often we passed the magnificently attired house-hold eunuchs, singly or in groups; but we had now become familiar sights to these creatures, and they merely touched their yellow turbans respectfully and passed on.
Around the outbuildings the place thronged with less important servants, all under the general command of Wi-to and his lieutenants. Sounds of industry came from the House of the Artisans, where the bronze, brass and gold workers were busy. In front of the House of the Weavers were groups throwing shuttles back and forth or spinning the threads to be used in the looms.
Kitchen servants passed and repassed in every direction, and this part of the grounds was in many ways the most interesting of all, for here beat the pulse that gave life to the whole establishment.
Moving on, we took the path descending the mound toward the Ancestral Halls — not the one that led past the cage of Sacred Apes, for we hated those fearful creatures and avoided them — but a shaded, winding way that was very pleasant, though it led past a pond of black water which was said to be the home of a monster Devil-Fish. Before long we came to a halt directly in front of the north entrance of the beautiful bamboo palace of the dead, and the soldier on guard, radiant in the crimson and sapphire uniform of the governor’s service, waved his scimitar partly in salute and partly in warning.
“Mai Lo?” I said to him, questioningly. He spoke no English, but could not fail to understand I was asking for the governor; so he turned his thumb toward the entrance, to indicate that his master was inside the building, and then resumed his strut back and forth before the door. Well, that was all we wanted to know, and our hearts sank as we realized that our enemy was even now in the underground chih examining the traces of our midnight visit there. We slowly turned and retraced our steps as far as a group of trees that stood a little way up the mound and commanded an unobstructed view of the entire House of Ancestors. Here we seated ourselves upon shady benches and passed the next two hours moodily talking over the situation.
At the end of that time we observed Mai Lo appear from the building by the entrance nearest us. He was as deliberate and reserved in demeanor as ever, and after a word to the guard he took the very path that led past the trees where we were.
“Let’s get out,” advised Archie, hastily.
“No,” said Joe, “let’s stay and hear what the old duffer has to say. Don’t be afraid to talk up to him, Sam.”
“I won’t,” was my promise.
Then we grimly awaited the governor’s approach. He paced steadily up the path, his hands clasped behind his back and his face turned square to the front.
So he reached the trees and came to a halt before our bench. Upon his parchment-like yellow face there was no sign of expression; in the bead-like eyes turned upon us was no ray of intelligence.
Without doubt Mai Lo had been astounded by the discovery he had made that morning: that we were able to penetrate to the sacred chih of the Ancestors of Kai. If he was human, he must have been stirred to the very depths of his nature.
But here he stood, as passionless and cold as a statue, his glassy stare wandering from one to another of us in turn, but no word passing his thin, compressed lips.
What a relief it would have been had he denounced us, threatened us, cursed us for foreign devils and scoundrels! But no. He merely fixed his soulless eyes upon us, and I began to realize how the ancient Greeks might have got their idea of Medusa and the terrible gaze that turned men to stone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
THE ROYAL CABINET
When the governor had gone — and he returned along the path as silently as he had come, after his passionless inspection of us — we arose and walked to the palace, finding mighty little to say on our own account.
On the broad piazza that led into the main building of the palace we found the Chief Eunuch, leaning heavily against a pillar. I had been trying to communicate with Wi-to for several days, but Tun, who carried our messages, always returned to say that his master was closely occupied with his duties and begged to postpone the interview. During these days we had neither seen nor heard of the Chief Eunuch, so I was a little surprised to find him on the piazza. His face was haggard and worn, his eyes puffy and bloodshot and his person untidy.
“Good morning, Wi,” said I, cordially. “Have you been ill?”
He smiled at me rather childishly, and replied:
“The Earth Dragon has had me in his coils — and nearly strangled me. Ah — oh! how unhappy I have been! Who has such deep and dreadful sorrows as poor Wi-to? Who suffers such horrible pangs? Who — but never mind. The sun-god is smiling this morning, and the breeze is sweet and lovely. Are my master’s guests wholly cont
ent? Have they any orders for their lowly servant?”
I own this rambling, inconsequent speech somewhat puzzled me. Wi-to did not seem himself; he was surely not at his best today. Ordinarily the Chief Eunuch was the most intelligent, shrewd, courteous and agreeable Chinaman we had met, save only Prince Kai Lun Pu.
But I pretended not to notice his peculiar bearing and asked him when he could have the desk of Prince Kai moved into our rooms. I wanted to begin my work of inspection at once, I told him; but really the only reason I made the request at all was to allay any suspicions he might harbor.
To my surprise he at once blew his whistle and brought a dozen eunuchs running to answer the summons. Still leaning against the pillar Wi-to chattered away in Chinese for a time until his men prostrated themselves and hurried away to fulfil his commands.
“The cabinet will come to you, my master,” now answered the eunuch. “Is there anything else I can do?”
“Why, as regards the selection of the gifts — ”
“Don’t hurry,” he interrupted, rubbing one eye with his knuckles. “Take it easy; much time; no hurry; only Mai Lo want you out of the way. Mai Lo? Dlam Mai Lo! English dlam. Pah!”
Really, I couldn’t understand Wi-to in this peculiar condition, so we left him still leaning against the post and went away to our own rooms.
Pretty soon there was considerable racket in the passageway, and we sent Bry to see what it meant. He returned grinning from ear to ear, and said the eunuchs were moving a house. So we looked out, and there were some twenty or more of the palace servants, perspiring and struggling with the immense cabinet that had been standing in the Prince’s bed-chamber. How they ever moved it at all was a wonder; but move it they did, inch by inch, and squeezed it through the great entrance door to our reception-room. I had them place it against the wall nearest the door and then they went away glad that the task was accomplished.
It was an absurd thing to do, and in all reason and common sense we should have been permitted to examine the cabinet where it originally stood; but oriental prejudices are difficult things to overcome, and since it was forbidden strangers to enter the royal apartments, the mountainous cabinet had to come to Mahomet Sam.
Now I had no right, as a matter of fact, to examine this private cabinet of the royal line of Kai, and my request to do so was but a blind to further our real plans. But since it was here, and since Wi-to had sent me a bunch of keys to unlock the different compartments, the temptation to look inside was irresistible.
“It’s this way,” I said to the boys; “if we don’t look over these things, others who may not be as friendly to Prince Kai’s memory are sure to do so. The estate and palace will shortly pass to the Emperor, who will either retain it for himself or give it to some favorite. So I believe we are justified in seeing what this old mystery-box contains.”
They agreed with me fully, so we began the examination. First we opened the desk part and found many documents in Chinese, sealed, signed and filed in a very business-like manner. These we could not read, and their importance was all unknown to us. Also there were numerous letters. One bunch of yellow missives bore the Imperial Vermilion Seal of the Emperor.
In order to carry out our deception I tore up a number of the least important looking papers and burned them in a brazier. At the bottom of the heap of letters I found a book in which the Prince had written in English a sort of diary, although the entries were seldom dated and seemed to be whimsical sentences he had recorded merely to relieve his mind. The poor fellow had had no one around him in whom he could confide, as to an intimate friend; so he had made this little book his confidant.
Believing that here, if anywhere, we would be likely to find clews to guide us in our undertaking, we read this book aloud, so that among the three of us, to say nothing of Nux and Bry, we might catch whatever ideas it contained that might be of service to us.
Many of the passages were sarcastic comparisons between the customs of his own people and those of Europeans, and I must admit that, from Prince Kai’s point of view, the Europeans did not always come out best. One entry that interested us was as follows:
“What unselfish and responsible servants am I blest with! What competent officials direct my affairs in my absence! Look upon them, oh my ancestors, and pity me. At the head of my province is a man born to be its governor who, lacking such birthright, would be unfit for the duties of the humblest slave. Cold, unfeeling, ambitious and without honor, this man works but for his own selfish interests, and lacks the strength of intellect to ruin me for his own gain. Since I read him so truly he cannot injure me; but what a farce is this hereditary right to govern a great province such as Kwang-Kai-Nong! When Mai Lo lies with his ancestors there will be his son to govern, a weak imbecile, helplessly degenerate. I am quite certain I must find an excuse to behead both father and son, that I may free myself of this incubus of the House of Kai.
“The Fuh-yin of the city of Kai-Nong is even a worse scoundrel than Mai Lo. I have proof that he murdered his own brother, in order to become mayor and rob the city of its revenues. Some day when I have time I shall accuse and condemn my Fuh-yin, and invent a horrible execution worthy of his sins.”
“In the palace the one power is the Chief Eunuch, who might make things very unpleasant for me were he not by nature faithful and obedient to his master. I made him chief when old Koa-Ming-Dhu was stabbed by one of my father’s wives, raising Wi-to from the ranks of the eunuchs. I believe he is grateful, and so am willing to overlook his one weakness. For Wi-to gets drunk periodically, and frequently stays drunk a week, and while he is in this condition everything about the palace is neglected.”
“I see,” said Joe, when I read this extract. “That was the trouble with Wi-to today. He’s been on a drunk and is just coming ‘round.”
“That is an unfortunate trait,” I said, musingly. “For if we happened to need the services of the Chief Eunuch and he failed us, being on one of his sprees, we might lose our lives.”
Presently we found another interesting item in the book. It said:
“I’ve been making a careful inspection of the riches contained in the tombs of my ancestors. It seems strange that I am the first of our race to abjure ancestor worship and look upon these dead effigies of my forefathers as they really are — heaps of dust. Nothing could be more foolish, according to the enlightened age in which I live, than burying wealth in the tomb of its owner, where neither he nor any one else can apply it to use. Yet so ingrained in my nature are racial prejudices that it was long before I could induce myself to touch that wealth. When finally I did so I took the contents of several jars in the chih of the first Kai. The Jews to whom I sold the treasure in London robbed me, but I obtained enough money to make a lavish display of wealth while I was at college. But today I discovered a rare treasure indeed in the tombs of my ancestors. It is in the chih of Kai-Abon, the seventh of our royal race. The contents of his alcove seemed so unattractive that I had never given the place much attention before; but today I discovered that the great wealth of this prince was carefully arranged to deceive any one who might be tempted by an open display. Turning over a heap of cheap brass trinkets I uncovered a superb gem which has been known to the world as the Beryl of Tartary. No one has ever known what became of this family heirloom until now. I covered it up again, because the time has not yet come when I can sell it or use it myself. In a corner was an old scimitar with plaster and mud covering its surface. I rubbed away the filth and found upon the handle the Seven Rubies of Persia, which one of my ancestors won in battle. Each ruby is said to contain a drop of blood from the heart of a king, and whoever wields this scimitar is considered invincible, for the spirits of the seven kings fight for its champion. This treasure I could not leave buried, so I have brought it to my chamber and concealed it in the lower drawer of my cabinet. No one now alive will know where I got it.”
“Hold on a minute,” cried Archie. “Let’s take a look at this wonderful weapon.”
So we unlocked the lower drawer and at first could find nothing. But Archie soon saw that the drawer was so deep that it must have a false bottom. This was indeed the case, and when we had pried up this false bottom with our knives, we came upon a chamois bag in which was the famous scimitar. It had no sheath and the Prince had carefully polished it. Its delicately tempered blade of blue steel was bright as a mirror. The handle was of gold, and seven splendid rubies, blood-red in color, were imbedded in the yellow metal.
Also in the drawer were a necklace of magnificent pearls and a single emerald as big as a pigeon’s egg. These we gave to Bry to add to our collection, but the scimitar we replaced in the top of the drawer, where it could easily be obtained if required. Upon examination we found many of the compartments of the cabinet empty. At a recent period someone — probably the Prince — had evidently cleared it out.
There was more written about the wonderful treasures in the tomb of Kai-Abon, which there is no need to repeat in these pages. Nor were any of the other entries in the book of especial interest to my patient reader, although we read them all and got a clearer idea of Prince Kai’s inner nature than we had ever had before. Only once did he mention his sister, Nor Ghai, and then it was merely to say that he intended some day to send her to England or America to be educated according to modern methods.
We passed the rest of the day in the examination of this wonderful cabinet, and when evening arrived we were undecided whether or not to make another trip that night to the underground vaults. Somehow I could not get that inscrutable glassy stare of the mandarin out of my mind, and the recollection of it seemed to trouble my comrades as it did me.
We finally decided to postpone our next trip through the underground passage until we were prepared to carry away a portion of the treasure; so we locked the cabinet, put the keys away and quietly went to bed.
Complete Works of L. Frank Baum Page 694