Brown of Moukden: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War

by Herbert Strang

  *CHAPTER II*

  *Mr. Wang and a Constable*

  The Flowing Tide--Backsheesh--At the Window--Hu Hang--QuisCustodiet?--Mr. Wang's Grip

  Mr. Brown, like many another active and enterprising Englishman, hadleft home as a young man and done business in many parts of the globe.He was a struggling merchant in Shanghai when Jack, his elder son, wasborn. Nine years later he seized a promising opening in Vladivostok,and removed thither with his family, now increased by another boy and agirl. When Jack was eleven he was sent to school in England, beingshortly afterwards followed home by his mother, sister, and brother.Then, at the age of fifteen, he was recalled by his father, who wishedfor his assistance in a new business he was starting in Moukden. Jackwas nothing loth; he had a great admiration for his father, and anadventurous spirit of his own. He had done fairly well at school; nevera "swot", still less a "smug", he had carried off a prize or two formodern languages, and counted a prize bat and a silver cup among histrophies. Everybody liked him; he always "played the game".

  Mr. Brown had at first prospered exceedingly in Moukden. His businesshad been originally that of a produce broker; but when the Russiansextended their railway and began to develop Port Arthur, he added branchafter branch, and soon had many irons in the fire. He supplied theRussian authorities with innumerable things, from corn to buildingstones; he had large contracts with them in connection with their greatengineering feat, the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and inthis part of his business Jack had taken a special interest, picking upthus a considerable knowledge of railway plant, locomotives, and otherdetails. Being a man of absolute integrity, respected and trusted bythe natives, Mr. Brown before long won the confidence of the officialswith whom he came in contact. But he was a shrewd student of affairs aswell as a man of business. He had foreseen the outbreak of war, andviewed with amazement the careless assurance of the Russian attitudetowards the "yellow monkeys", deemed so insignificant. Making manyfriends among the Russians, he saw much to admire in them: theirkindliness and abounding hospitality, their perseverance in face ofobstacles, their vital faith in their country's destiny. With theJapanese his personal relations had not been so intimate; but he hadwatched their progress from afar with the keenness of a clear-eyedobserver, and he knew that when the trial came, the Russians would findthe little men of Nippon no mean foes.

  Events proved the accuracy of his forecast. The Russian fleet wasbottled up, the Yalu crossed, Port Arthur was already beleaguered, andStackelberg's attempt to relieve it had failed. Mr. Brown talked withsome of the wounded who had been sent back from the Yalu to Moukden, andwere now in hospital in a Buddhist monastery near the outer wall. Theywere not downcast: they spoke of being outnumbered and unprepared; whenGeneral Kuropatkin's army was complete the tide would turn, and then----But he got them to talk of their actual experiences in battle. Some ofthem had been within arm's-length of their enemies in a bayonet charge;and what he learnt of the eager joy, the buoyant audacity, displayed bythe Japanese, strengthened his belief that, given equal generalship,equal numbers, equal equipment, such a spirit could scarcely be matched,and was bound to lead them to victory.

  Prudent but not alarmist, Mr. Brown considered how the war would affecthim. The Japanese were pressing northward; should Port Arthur fall, thebesieging army would be able to strengthen Marshal Oyama's forces in thefield. If the Russians were compelled to withdraw from Manchuria, Mr.Brown could hardly hope to save his business, and it behoved him to sethis house in order. Another consideration weighed with him. Thedevelopment of the railway and the imminence of war had brought new menon the scene. The Russian officers whom he knew so well were withdrawn,and replaced by men of another stamp--men who were not all soclean-handed as their predecessors. He soon became aware that he wasexpected to grease their palms, and his uncompromising resistance tocorruption in every shape and form made him disliked. Several contractswere given over his head; he found that in many cases the new-comer,Sowinski, of whose antecedents nothing was known, was favoured at hisexpense; and it was clear that these circumstances, together with thegeneral Russian distrust of England and all things English, boded illfor his business. He was turned fifty years of age, and had amassed acomfortable fortune. It appeared the part of discretion to wind up hisaffairs before it was too late, and return to England, where a man ofhis wealth and energy might find occupation for his maturer years. Whenhe had once made up his mind, Mr. Brown wasted no time. He proceeded toput his design into effect, and now expected in a few days to leaveMoukden for home.

  It was past midnight before he had finished sorting his papers. Thatdone, he smoked a final cigarette at the door, then shot the bolt,turned out the lamp, and went to bed in the room next to Jack's.

  Jack had found it somewhat difficult to get to sleep. He could not putWang Shih's plight from his thoughts. He had seen something of Chinesemethods; there came before his mind the vision of a poor wretch he hadonce met on his way to execution, emaciated to a skeleton, one of hislegs blackened and withered, almost fleshless, and wanting its foot,which had dropped off as the result of his being chained by the ankle toa ring in his prison wall. Such evidence of inhumanity was horrible; itmade him shudder to think of Wang Shih, so good a fellow, so fine aspecimen of manhood, suffering and dying thus. And he admired theChinaman's fortitude, his loyalty to his family, his refusal to availhimself of means of escape lest his people should suffer. Could notsomething even yet be done for him? Jack did not wish to complicatematters; but, after all, they were on the eve of departure, and he knewhis father well enough to be sure that he would not refuse to lend ahelping hand if required. But puzzle as he might, he could see no wayof saving both Wang Shih and his family, and the problem was stillunsolved when he at length fell into a troubled sleep.

  Suddenly he awoke. The night was very close, and at the first moment hethought his waking was due to the heat. But then he heard a slightscratching at his left. He raised himself on his elbow to listen; he hadnever seen or heard mice in the house. The scratching continued; it wasvery close at hand. Surely at that time of night it could not be anyonescratching at the paper window? He got out of bed; it was too dark tosee anything; he put his ear against the thin paper. The noise wascertainly caused by the moving of a finger-nail.

  "Who is there?" he asked softly in Chinese.

  "Wang Shih, sir."

  "Mr. Wang! You've escaped, then. All right! I'll come to the door."

  On the way he went into his father's room, and touched him on the elbow.

  "Hey! Who's that? What's the matter, Jack?"

  "Wang Shih is outside, Father."

  "By Jove! What does he want?"

  "I don't know. He has evidently escaped."

  "Send him about his business. I can't be mixed up in this sort ofthing."

  "You might see him, Father. He wouldn't have come unless he saw someway of getting off without harming anyone."

  "Well, well! Light the lamp, and let him in. I'll slip on mydressing-gown and follow you."

  Jack went to the door, opened it, and was confronted, not by one bigform, as he expected, but by two.

  "Who is with you, Mr. Wang?"

  "Mr. Hu."

  "Who is Mr. Hu? Come inside both of you, and let me lock the door."

  The two Chinamen entered, blinking in the light of the little oil lampJack had lit.

  "Now, Mr. Wang, explain. Who is Mr. Hu?"

  "He is Hu Hang, the constable, sir."

  "The constable!" exclaimed Jack, now recognizing the low brow and shiftyeyes.

  "Yes; I had to bring him."

  "What's this, what's this?" said Mr. Brown, coming from his bedroom."What you two piecee man makee this-side?"

  Like almost all English merchants, he had found Chinese too much forhim, and in his intercourse with the natives made use of pidgin English,the lingua franca of the Chinese coast.

  There was a world
of humility and apology in Wang Shih's kowtow.

  "My lun wailo," he said. "My no wantchee catchee killum. Mucheebobbely yamen-side. Allo piecee fightey-man bimeby look-see Wang Shih;no can wailo outside that-time."

  His exceptional size was certainly against him. It was clear thatwithout some disguise the man could not hope to escape from the city.

  "Yes, that's all very well," said Mr. Brown reflectively. Then turningsuddenly to the second man: "But what this piecee man makee this-side?"

  "He Hu Hang; muchee bad policeyman, galaw!"

  "Policeyman! Yes, but what-for policeyman he come this-side too?"

  "Hu Hang he my policeyman. He watchee my. My hittee Hu Hang vellymuchee plenty hard, hai-yah! Hu Hang plenty silly top-side; my tinkeelun wailo chop-chop. 'Stoppee, stoppee!' say Hu Hang; 'what-for youmakee leavee my this-side?' Ch'hoy! My tinkee Hu Hang belongey mucheeleason. Hu Hang lun wailo all-same."

  Mr. Brown still looked puzzled.

  "Don't you see, Father," broke in Jack, "Mr. Wang couldn't leave thepoor wretch to bear the brunt of his escape. They would have cut hishead off as sure as a gun."

  "Not much loss to his fellow-citizens, by the look of him," said Mr.Brown, glancing critically at the scowling, sullen countenance of thetruant constable. "Still, it was uncommonly decent of Mr. Wang. Wemust really do what we can to get him away. What you tinkee makee, Mr.Wang?"

  The man turned to Jack and addressed him in Chinese with much movementof the hands and frequent glances at Hu Hang.

  "He says that after I left him," explained Jack, "he heard that theyamen runners were already ill-treating his people. That means, ofcourse, that they'll be stripped of all they have. His only chance wasto get away and join the Chunchuses. If he can only join Ah Lum, nomandarin will be rash enough to interfere with them. Even the Viceroyof Moukden is afraid of the brigands. Mr. Wang's only difficulty is toget out of the city."

  "A rather serious one. No doubt by this time they're keeping a prettysharp look-out for him, and"--glancing at the man's huge bulk andmuscular development--"he's not the kind of man to pass in a crowd."

  The Chinaman, though unable to follow Mr. Brown's English, had gatheredthe gist of what he said. He spoke again to Jack.

  "If only we can lend him a cart, he says, and a new tunic andpantaloons, he hasn't much doubt of being able to get through. We cansurely manage that, Father."

  "Well, it's risky; but I can't see the man come to grief if it can behelped."

  That Wang Shih understood this was clear, for his face beamed, and hekowtowed with every mark of gratitude.

  "But what about the constable?" said Mr. Brown to Jack. "Suppose hecuts up rough?" Turning to Wang Shih, he said: "Supposey policeymanmakee bobbely; what you do that-time?"

  Mr. Wang grinned. He took the constable by the scruff of the neck andheld him half-throttled at arm's-length.

  "Ch'hoy! My keepee Mr. Hu allo-time long-side: he plenty muchee 'flaid,savvy my belongey plenty stlong, galaw!"

  He gave the gasping wretch a final shake. Mr. Brown was satisfied. Thedemonstration was complete.