by G. A. Henty
“But even an Edison would have required a workshop. We haven’t a machine of any kind, not even a simple lathe.”
“Well, he would have done without them,” Rex said positively. “It vexes me very much that no one here seems to have an inventive genius. Look at Archimedes, what wonderful dodges he invented for the defence of Syracuse!”
Sandwich and his two companions laughed loudly.
“I am afraid there is no Archimedes here, Bateman, and you must put up with the ordinary means of defence, which do not, after all, succeed so badly. We have held out for a month now, and at the end of another month we shall still be in possession of a good deal of ground; but by that time I should think relief must be at hand, even allowing for the fact that there will be troops of half a dozen nationalities in the relieving column and the consequent delays, for it is not to be expected that the different sections will work well together. Besides, it is evident, from the desultory manner in which they attack, that the Chinese are very much divided among themselves. Look at the way they get guns into good positions to annoy us, and then fail to use them. If they were to plant cannon all round us and keep up a steady fire, they could knock all the Legations to pieces in the course of a week. This must be due to disputes among the leaders, for we know that the Chinese soldiers are obedient as well as brave, and that if the guns are not used it can be from no fault on their part. I feel very confident, therefore, that even without the assistance of an Edison or an Archimedes we shall manage to hold out till relief comes.”
A day or two after this, Sandwich and Rex were chatting together in their own quarters, when the former said: “Those cannon will soon bring the whole place about our ears. They have already done terrible damage. Today three men have been killed, and the house is little better than a ruin; it is impossible for men to stay in the upper floor.”
Rex sat silent for some little time, and then, without making a remark, got up and went to find Ah Lo.
“Ah Lo,” he said, “you know the damage those guns across the market have been doing?”
“Yes, master, very serious. Other guns not do so much harm; those very bad.”
“Well, I am thinking that I might go out and silence them.”
Ah Lo looked at Rex by the light of a lantern, which was hanging overhead, to see if he were speaking in earnest.
“Master would get killed,” he said, shaking his head.
“I don’t think so, Ah Lo. Of course there is some danger in it, but I think that it might be managed.”
“Ah Lo is ready to go with his master, if he chooses to kill himself,” the Chinaman said; “but killed he would be for sure.”
“I don’t think so,” Rex said. “Anyhow, it is worth the risk. They will have that house down, and the wall behind it, if they are allowed to go on much longer. Then there will be a fierce rush and all will be over.”
“But how will master do it?”
“Well, I shall take a hammer and a long spike with me, and if you go with me—but mind you, Ah Lo, I don’t ask you to go——”
“You must take me too.”
“Very well then, as only two guns are worrying us, you take one and I take the other. We can do it in half a minute. Of course you must manage to get me some native disguise, for we shall have to mix with the enemy to some extent, they are sure to be sitting and talking round the guns. And then we must run for it.”
“Can’t run across the market. We know that there are lots of them in the houses on this side of it.”
“No, I quite see that, Ah Lo. We must run the other way. I think I can run faster than most Chinamen, and if we get a start of a few yards, which is likely, as they will not at first realize what has been done, we ought to be able to escape and find a secure hiding-place. Then the next day we can work our way back at some point the enemy are not watching.”
“Very well, master,” Ah Lo said in a more hopeful tone; “when do you go, sir?”
“I will go tomorrow night, as we shall require some time to make our preparations. Mind, you are not to say a word to anyone of what we are going to do, for if he heard of it, it is possible that Sir Claude Macdonald would stop us.”
“Ah Lo will tell nobody, master. It is all the same to him whether he is killed outside or starved inside.”
Rex went to bed, and lay awake for some time thinking how the affair had best be managed. He came to the conclusion that the only way would be to lower himself by a rope from the end of the burnt library, then make his way round and come up to the guns from behind. It struck him that it would perhaps be advisable to tie knots in the rope as a help to them when they were climbing back again, but in the end he decided to make a rope-ladder, for he had a strong idea that neither Ah Lo nor himself would be able to swarm up a rope. When morning broke he went down to the store, which he unlocked, and after rummaging about for some time found a long rope, two hammers, and some long spike-nails. He hid the hammers and spikes in his bed, and then, retiring to an unfrequented corner of the Residency, he soon manufactured a rope-ladder, cutting some boughs to form the rungs. This ladder he concealed near the spot where he intended to get over the wall.
Later in the day Ah Lo brought him a Chinese dress.
“We take guns with us, sir?”
“No, Ah Lo, they would only be in our way when we wanted to run. We can, however, hide our swords under our clothes, and I will get a revolver and ammunition for you. I can borrow them from Mr. Sandwich, telling him that I am going on guard, and that my own weapon has somehow got out of order.”
The day passed off quietly, except that the guns across the market still continued to batter the house and to make a breach in the wall behind it. Soon after midnight Ah Lo joined his master. Rex’s disguise had been laid down by the rope-ladder, and as soon as he got there he changed and prepared for a start. They got safely over the wall and then struck off in a direction opposite to the market. For some time they saw no one in the streets, but as they got farther away they here and there met people hurrying along, evidently fearful of being within the range of the firing from the wall. When they had gone some distance they turned and made a sweep towards the market. Now they came upon groups of soldiers. Firing had ceased for the day, and would not begin again until two or three hours before daybreak. An occasional bullet whistled overhead, showing that the garrison were on the alert; for although the firing generally ended with the day, yet fierce attacks were often made during the night.
Rex and Ah Lo sauntered quietly about among the soldiers, gradually getting nearer and nearer to the spot where the guns were placed.
“I suppose we can look at them,” said Ah Lo, who with several others was standing near them.
“Certainly you can,” the man said. “They are doing good work. In another couple of days we shall have the wall down, and then we shall finish off with the white devils.”
“That is good,” Ah Lo said.
“They have been here too long as it is, and ought to be cleared off without delay. When we have got rid of the last of them we shall be our own masters again. They are always meddling in our affairs, just as if they were our masters instead of only living here by permission of the Empress. They even venture to tell us what we should do, and their bishops get made mandarins, and then, if their people commit crimes, they will not have them punished. We have put up with it too long; now we are going to make an end of it once and for all.”
“Quite right!” Ah Lo said, as he lounged up to the gun, for at that’ moment Rex moved towards the other. While they pretended to be examining the guns, they quietly inserted the points of the spikes into the touch-holes. Then Rex looked round. The moment seemed favourable. Eight or ten soldiers were standing close to them, talking over the fighting of the day, and the prospect of making a breach in the morning. Farther back other soldiers were laughing, talking, and cooking their rice. He waited a minute, and then signalled to Ah Lo. On the instant two heavy hammers fell on the heads of the spikes. With three qui
ck strokes they drove them up to the head in the touch-holes, then, throwing down the hammers, they started off at full speed.
The soldiers shouted as they saw the spikes being driven in, but the strikers had gone some thirty or forty yards before they had sufficiently recovered from their surprise to think of pursuit. Rex and Ah Lo increased their lead to fifty yards before their pursuers had fairly got up their pace. They turned down the first lane they came to and then down another. Glancing back, Rex saw that so far they were holding their own, except that two Boxers, swifter than the rest, were some yards ahead of the main body of their pursuers. The Chinamen, as they ran, set up a perpetual shouting, which did not improve their speed.
“We must get rid of these two men,” said Rex, speaking for the first time since they started. “Slacken your speed a little and let them come up to us, then suddenly turn round upon them.”
“All right, sir!” Ah Lo said.
“I shall use my revolver, Ah Lo, you can use either your revolver or your sword, whichever you like.”
A minute later the two foremost of the pursuers came rushing upon them, but the sudden pause of the fugitives had left them no time to draw their swords. Rex’s revolver cracked out, laying one of them low, and Ah Lo, using his sword, struck the other with such force that he nearly decapitated him. There was a shout of rage from the party behind. Rex and his companion, needless to say, did not stop to listen, but at once turned and continued their flight. They ran down till they were brought up suddenly at the end of a lane where a house rose straight in front of them. It was too late to retrace their steps.
“What is to be done, master?” Ah Lo asked.
“We must break in the door, if it is not open.”
The first door they tried, however, was unfastened. They entered, shot the bolt to, and ran to the back of the house. They were disappointed, however, for there was no opening through which they could escape. Without wasting time they turned and ran upstairs to a terrace on the top of the house. Here a number of clothes flapped in the wind; it was evidently the family drying-ground.
“We can defend this ladder for a bit, Ah Lo, but they must beat us in the end. Let us scramble up to the other end of the street.”
Looking down they saw that the lane was now full of soldiers, some of whom carried lanterns. It was no easy matter getting along on the roofs, as the houses were irregular in height. Sometimes they had to jump down ten or twelve feet, at others to help each other up walls of equal height. They were some distance along when they heard a sudden shout, and knew that their pursuers had broken down the door of the house and had entered, and another that told that the enemy had gained the roof and found that it was deserted. In a short time lanterns appeared on the roofs of some of the houses, but the fugitives were already within a house or two of the end of the lane.
“The streets are full of people,” Rex said, peering over. “We can’t get down here. We must jump upon the house behind; it is four or five feet lower than this, so we shall have no difficulty.”
Without hesitation he stood upon the parapet behind and leapt. Ah Lo followed his example.
“Now,” said Rex, “let us run down. The house will probably be empty, as the family is sure to run out to see what the row is about.”
There were, indeed, some women standing in the lower room, and these gave a cry of astonishment when the two fugitives rushed past them through the open door and joined the people who were hurrying up to the other end of the lane. Now that they were mixed up in the crowd, Rex felt that there was little fear of being detected. Only the soldier they had been talking to would know their faces, and as he had been among the first to take up the pursuit he must now be down at the farther end of the next lane, or more probably on the roof of the house they had entered. As the crowd was already very dense, he could not possibly make his way back.
Suddenly flames broke out from one of the houses they had crossed, and soon it was seen that other houses were on fire also. A cry of dismay broke from the Chinese standing near. They were accustomed to high-handed proceedings, for many houses had been burnt by the Boxers in the pursuit of plunder or in their indignation at failing to find any. They had now evidently fired the houses as the easiest way of destroying the fugitives, who had shown that they would sell their lives dearly.
Gradually Rex and Ah Lo withdrew themselves to the edge of the excited crowd. Many of the people were already moving off to carry their goods from the houses in the adjoining lanes, for the wind was blowing strong, and there was no saying how far the conflagration would spread, as the houses were but flimsy erections, being composed chiefly of bamboo and mud, which would catch like tinder when attacked by the flame. They moved away from the scene gradually, and without any appearance of haste. The alarm had evidently spread some distance, for they met a fire-brigade of men carrying tubs of water slung on poles hurrying towards the spot. People were standing at their doors watching the blaze, and calculating whether, if it spread, it would come their way.
“Well, Ah Lo,” Rex said, “you see it has not been a very dangerous business after all, and if those two soldiers we killed had not been so fast we might have got away without being pressed at all.”
“It was very unfortunate for them,” Ah Lo said quietly, “and I don’t suppose they knew what they were running for. Very few of them could have known that we had spiked the guns. It was lucky that those two houses were so close to each other that we were able to leap across, otherwise they might have had us.”
“I don’t think they would, even in that case, Ah Lo. We might really have gone down through that last house and joined the crowd there.”
“We might, master, but I don’t think we could. Everyone had run to the streets by that time, and doubtless many were standing at their doors, and would have noticed two strange men running behind them.”
“At any rate we are well out of it, Ah Lo. We can now walk quietly round and go up our ladder; but mind you do not say a word to anyone about this affair.”
“Why not, master?” Ah Lo asked in surprise.
“For two or three reasons. In the first place, the governor might blame us for undertaking a business of that sort without asking permission. You see, although I did not think so at the time, any Chinaman coming along there and seeing that ladder might have gone and reported the fact, and by its means a large number of the enemy might have crossed the wall before they were discovered, and the safety of the garrison would then have been endangered. That is one reason. The next is, that I don’t want everyone to be making a fuss now that it is over. Some might blame me for my recklessness, while others might pat me on the back because of my success. That is a thing that I should specially hate. We did not do it for praise, but to be of service to the garrison. For these reasons I want you to hold your tongue, and not whisper a word to anyone. We are quite content that we have rendered good service to the Legation, saved many lives, and put the garrison in a position to repair damages unmolested. That ought to be satisfaction enough for anyone.”
“Very good, master; Ah Lo will keep his mouth shut if master wishes it. He is not a talker, and now that he knows what master wishes he will do it.”
Half an hour’s walking brought them to the foot of the ladder, and having climbed over the wall they coiled up the rope again, and Rex took it to the magazine and put it where he had found it. Then, satisfied that he had done a good piece of work, he went and lay down until it was his turn to go on sentry.
The next morning there was considerable surprise when it was found that the two troublesome guns were silent. It was some time before there was any thought of making good the damage, but as the hours went by, and there was still no firing, a strong body of men was put on to repair the defences as fast as possible.
Many were the surmises and conjectures circulated through the Residency as to the cause of the change. Some said that the Peace party had again got the upper hand, and that fresh terms had been offered. Others asserted that f
resh cannon had been planted round the Residency, and that the others were to hold their fire till these were ready for action, when an overwhelming fire would be poured in. Some again were of opinion that the soldiers had mutinied on account of the heavy losses they had sustained without making any appreciable progress, while a few maintained that the relieving army must be near at hand, and that every fighting-man had been sent out to oppose them. The next morning Sandwich came into the room where Rex was eating his breakfast after being relieved from guard.
“You know, Rex,” he said excitedly, “about those two guns being silenced.”
“Yes. I suppose everyone in the Residency knows about it,” Rex replied quietly.
“I have just heard a report that your servant asserts that it was your doing.”
Rex jumped up with an angry exclamation.
“The rascal! I will break every bone in his body. He promised me faithfully that not a word about it should pass his lips.”
“Then it is really true?” Sandwich said in surprise.
“True! Yes, but I was particularly anxious that it should not be known, so that I should escape the fuss that people are always ready to make about every little thing. I will go out and talk to Master Ah Lo. I can’t think how he can have spoken about it after his promises to me, for he has always proved himself a most faithful fellow. I can’t believe he did it to get a reward, but I don’t see any other motive that he can have had.”
So saying he hurried out of the room, followed by Sandwich, who in vain attempted to get some of the particulars from him. He found Ah Lo standing with the Provost Marshal’s hand on his shoulder.
“Your servant has been making a row,” the latter said, “and thrashing a servant of the Belgian embassy.”
“Yes, sir, and I would thrash him again,” Ah Lo blurted out.