*CHAPTER XXV*
*Nemesis*
Gagged and Bound--Flight--Into the Depths--Too Late--LastWishes--Taru--At Rest
Bob went up the winding stair, past the door now unbarred, until he cameto a spot where, unseen, he could see. After him, at a slower pace,ascended the Manchus with their haggard, tottering captive. They hauledhim into the room, shut and barred the door upon him, and descended totheir quarters. Bob waited till their footsteps had died away, then hetoo descended again; if he was to accomplish his purpose he must fix thepositions of the rooms so firmly in his mind that he could move withouterror or stumble. He stole once more along the passage around the wall,down the corridor leading from it to Chang-Wo's room, back to thepassage and along it farther until he came to a door opening to thekitchen, from within which he heard the voices of the servants. Then hereturned to the stairway, mounted to the roof, went down the outerstair, and so through the tunnel to the platform above the ravine. Helooked across to see whether the moonlight would reveal the form ofAh-Sam at his appointed post; but the Chinaman had kept out of sight.Bob himself could be seen; he loosened the rope from the staple and sentit flying downwards. It was caught as it swung under the iron girder. Afew minutes passed, then he saw the form of a man swinging acrosstowards him. Holding on to the staple, Bob caught Ah-Sam at the end ofthe swing, once more secured the rope, then retreating to the shelter ofthe tunnel he explained in a whisper to the amazed and breathlessChinaman what he had discovered and what he meant to do.
For some hours the two waited there in silence, until Bob thought theoccupants of the tower must be asleep. Then he led Ah-Sam by the way hehimself had traversed until they reached the passage at the foot of theinner stairs. Bidding Ah-Sam remain there, he stole forward toreconnoitre. As he came down the stairs he had seen that the lampopposite Kobo's dungeon was still burning, though dimly; he now saw thatthe lamp in the corridor also was still alight. Did Chang-Wo keep theselamps constantly burning? Was he, like all tyrants, fearful ofassassination? The constant lights, the massive iron-barred door in thepassage, suggested that he did not trust his followers; he himself was ausurper and an assassin; might not the measure he had meted to others bemeasured to him again? He ruled by fear; when men ceased to fear himhis authority would vanish like a pricked bubble.
Bob went along until he came to the door into the kitchen. It was halfopen, and peeping in, he was concerned to see that the three men wereimmersed in a game of "go"; two playing, the third looking on. Hewished they were asleep. Scarcely daring to breathe, he stood in thepassage for what seemed hours, ready to flee or to fight as the momentmight require. The players were absorbed in the game, exchanging onlyrare monosyllables. They were no doubt gambling, and to them the stakeswere important.
At last the looker-on, the man who had answered Chang-Wo's summons,turned away, retreated to a corner of the room near the door of hismaster's apartment, and curled himself up for the night. Bob gave aninaudible gasp of relief. The other two played on; when would this longgame be ended? The minutes lengthened themselves into at least an hourbefore one of the men rose with a sudden exclamation of anger, and,seizing his opponent, knocked his head smartly against the floor.Having taken this revenge for his losses, he went to his corner, spreadhis couch, and prepared for sleep. The victor, a much smaller man, borethe assault with a patient shrug, and, rubbing his head, tied his paltrywinnings in a bag which he took from somewhere among his clothes. Thenhe too retired to rest, leaving the lamp burning.
As soon as heavy breathing and snores in three different tones told thatall were asleep, Bob returned for Ah-Sam. He whispered a few words tohim, then both tiptoed along the passage until they came to the kitchendoor. Ah-Sam entered alone. A few minutes elapsed; he returned to thepassage, and handed Bob a soft pad of cloth a few inches long and astrip of cord, himself retaining a shorter piece. Bob looked hisapproval of his follower's quiet and successful search, and both wentinto the room.
The big fellow lying nearest Chang-Wo's door was clearly the toughestcustomer of the three, and Bob had decided to tackle him first. He waslying on his back, and his mouth was wide open. Bob crept to his head,Ah-Sam stood at his feet. With a sudden pounce Bob slipped the pad ofcloth between his jaws; at the same moment Ah-Sam seized his feet andbegan to tie them together, and Bob endeavoured to pinion his arms. TheManchu's position rendered this difficult; he wriggled over, and his armstriking against the floor, roused one of his companions, who half roseupon his elbow. Seeing that Ah-Sam had firmly bound the feet, Bob lefthim to complete the trussing of the first man and rushed over to dealwith the second. The half-dazed fellow had just sat up and begun tolook about him when Bob dropped upon him, dealing him a blow thatrendered him for the moment harmless. But before Bob could recover hisbalance, he was himself pulled to the ground by the third man, who hadawakened in full possession of his senses. Giving a shout, he got hisleft hand upon his assailant's throat; Bob was upon the floor, helplessto resist the horrid clutch. He writhed, he was choking; he felt alreadythat all was over, when the pressure suddenly relaxed; the Manchu fell,a huddled heap, to the ground. Ah-Sam had disobeyed orders. He sawwhat was happening to his master, and, finding the first man stillwriggling, had given him his quietus with the knife, and then dartedacross the room, to deal in the same way with Bob's opponent.
Bob sprang to his feet. Chang-Wo must by this time have been awakenedby the commotion, and might escape by the farther door. There was notime to lose. Pulling the dead Manchu from before the door, Bob flunghimself against it. The catch on the inside gave way; he burst into theroom; there was a blinding flash, and a bullet crashed through thewoodwork within a few inches of his head. In the middle of the roomstood the Manchu chief, with a pistol in his hand. Bob made a dash forhim, but keeping his eyes on Chang-Wo he failed to notice a pile ofquilts on the floor. He tripped. The figure of Ah-Sam coming insupport was seen by Chang-Wo, who waited no longer, but rushed to thedoor leading into the corridor, and slamming it behind him, disappeared.
Bob was after him in a moment. The door, he already knew, had nofastening on the outside. He pulled it open, and, followed by Ah-Sam,dashed into the corridor after the fugitive. He heard the pad of rapidfootsteps ascending the stairway. Springing up as fast as the narrowwinding steps allowed, he gained the roof just in time to see, in thethin light of dawn, the gigantic Manchu disappearing through the openingopposite. Bob leapt across the roof to follow. Down the stairs heplunged, staggering, recovering himself, gaining on the heavier man infront of him. So eagerly did he pursue that he forgot the existence ofthe door at the foot of this staircase, until, coming suddenly full tiltagainst it, he was brought up with a painful shock that rendered himalmost breathless. He remembered that the door fastened on the otherside; had there been time for Chang-Wo to slip the bolt against him? Hepressed it; it did not yield; he went back a few steps and flung himselfagainst it. There was a creak, a slight yielding; pray heaven the boltis old! Ah-Sam is by his side. Together they hurl themselves againstthe door with all the force the confined space admits. The bolt is tornfrom the woodwork, the door flies open, and the two dash through.
But with this interruption Bob bethought him of the man he had felled inthe kitchen. He might, he would, recover consciousness, and alarm thegarrison.
"Back!" he cried to Ah-Sam, halting for an instant. "Back, and securethat man. Do not kill him."
The Chinaman, after a moment's hesitation, ran to do his master'sbidding. Bob ran on, stumbling through the tunnel, down the path,towards the platform. Then he saw that a rope-ladder hung from thestaple. Chang-Wo must have kept it in readiness in the passage or onthe stairs, and snatched it up as he ran. As Bob emerged on to thenarrow platform the bandit was facing about to take the first stepdownwards. But with the quickness that had always served him, he saw ina flash that, once upon the ladder, he would be at the mercy of hispursuers, who could cut t
he rope and hurl him infallibly to destruction.One bound, and he caught at the rope by which Bob had crossed, slippedthe noose over the staple, and, with a desperate courage that extortedBob's admiration, flung himself off the platform into the abyss, just asBob came within arm's length of him. At the brink Bob stopped, watchingas if spellbound the hazardous course of the swinging figure. It grazedthe angle of the cleft by a hair's breadth, spinning round and round atthe end of the rope; then as its speed decreased on the upward flight,and it finally stopped, to begin the backward swing, Bob caught sight ofanother figure, a crouching form on the ledge below the girder--it wasSing-Cheng, who, obedient to instructions, had spent the livelong nightwatching in silent patience on the spot where Ah-Sam formerly had been.The sun was just rising across the opposite hills, and Bob saw the faceof the Chunchuse chief, and noticed its expression of rage and hatred ashe peered over the precipice at the swinging figure. In his right handhe grasped his revolver. Bob had an impulse to call to him, and bid himspare the wretch beneath; but even with the thought he recognized itshopelessness. Nothing could now intervene between the hunter and hisprey. The drama must play itself out.
A Question of Seconds]
Meanwhile beneath the girder the rope swung heavily backwards andforwards for some time before it came almost to rest. Then, allunconscious of the fierce eyes watching him from above, the Manchu beganto climb up the rope, slowly, painfully, carefully, for he knew thecleft and its ragged bottom two hundred feet below. Foot by foot heascends; he is more than half-way up; thirty more feet and he issafe--when he suddenly catches sigh of the stooping enemy on the ledgeabove. He stops his upward progress, twisting his legs round the ropeto ease his straining arms. For a few seconds he remains thus; Bob,watching with fascinated eyes, sees not a shade of emotion on his face.Above, the ruthless enemy; below, the jagged rocks; both alternativesare fearful. To drop is certain death; to ascend is to meet an armedfoe. But a man may miss his aim; it is here a chance in a million. Itis the only chance, and Chang-Wo takes it.
He climbs up a few more feet; his eyes are now fixed unswervingly uponthe waiting enemy. Reading their expression of vengeful hate, he stopsagain. At that instant a shot rings out, and from behind Bob a flightof birds spring with clattering wings into the air, almost smothering ascream of pain from the dangling figure. He has loosed his hold with theright hand; the right arm falls helpless to his side. He swings round,still clinging to the rope with the left hand, though he knows full wellthat with one hand he can never raise himself. For half a minute hehangs thus, swaying; the strain is unendurable; he lets go his hold, andwithout a cry falls into the gulf.
A moment afterwards there was a sharp report from the wall of the fortabove Bob, followed by a babel of shouts. Bob, who had watched the scenebefore him in silent horror, saw a puff of dust struck from the side ofthe cleft just above the spot where Sing-Cheng lay peering gloatinglydown upon his lifeless enemy. The chief instantly rose to his feet,glared for an instant towards the fort, then raised his hand and shouteda few words to the men who, as Bob surmised, though he could not seethem, were now lining the wall. Whatever the words signified, they hadan instantaneous effect. The clamour ceased. Then the chief raisedhimself to his full height, and began to harangue the crowd, turningthis way and that, pointing with his finger, using many strange gesturesto emphasize the words that fell in a rapid staccato from his lips. Hespoke long, and the crowd heard him in complete silence. When his speechcame to an end, he put the tips of his fingers together, and made threedignified movements with his head. Then he stood waiting.
Immediately afterwards Bob heard a great bustle and chatter from theunseen crowd. All seemed to be talking at once; the noise was like thatof a hundred parrots holding a parliament. Again silence fell, and fromthe wall a loud voice shouted what was apparently a brief question tothe stolid, immobile figure on the other side of the ravine. The answercame instantly, with a proud gesture, and was received with a storm ofapproving shouts from the crowd.
At this moment Ah-Sam came from the tunnel and stood beside Bob, whoturned to him and asked:
"Is all safe in the tower?"
"Yes, massa; one piecee man makee no bobbely; he tied velly mucheetight, galaw!"
"Ask Sing-Cheng yonder what is happening."
Ah-Sam stepped forward and called across the ravine. The chief repliedin a few words.
"What does he say?" asked Bob.
"He say come this-side velly soon; he hab catchee allo piecee man, nowallo belongey he."
"Made friends with the enemy, has he? How is he coming here?"
"He go long down that side; come lound chop-chop. He velly mucheetopside man this-tim', galaw!"
"Tell him he will find me in the tower."
Bob did not understand what means of persuasion Sing-Cheng had found,but he had complete faith in the man's discretion. As soon as the chiefhad disappeared up the cleft, Bob went in haste with Ah-Sam back intothe tower; he felt with a deep sense of relief that there was nownothing to prevent the release of Kobo.
They returned to the kitchen. Bob suspected that the keys of thedungeon would be found on the person of the big Manchu who had slept byChang-Wo's door, and told Ah-Sam to search him. In half a minute thekeys were in his possession, and with eager steps he hastened along thecorridor, up the staircase, until he came to the doorway. The lamp hadburnt itself out; the passage was so dark that he had to feel for thekeyhole. Then he threw open the door and entered the room. It was indarkness, save for the thin light filtering through a narrow slit highup in the wall. In the middle of the room lay, amid his chains, thehuddled figure of the Samurai. Bob went up to him, stooped, and touchedhim on the shoulder. In a low, husky whisper came an exclamation thathe did not understand.
"Speak to him," murmured Bob to Ah-Sam; he feared lest the sound of anEnglish voice might prove disastrous to the overwrought prisoner. AtAh-Sam's first words the prostrate man stirred and opened his eyes. Hetried to lift his hand, but it fell back, and the chain clinked againstthe stone floor.
"Mr. Fawcett!" he murmured. "Water, water!"
Reproaching himself for forgetting, in the excitement of the moment, thescene he had witnessed in Chang-Wo's room, Bob sent Ah-Sam back to thekitchen, whence he returned with a full cup. Handing this to hismaster, he knelt down and raised the prisoner's head. Bob held the cupto Kobo's lips, allowing him to take only one sip at a time. TheJapanese gave a sigh of ineffable content; for several minutes not aword was spoken by any of the three; Bob's heart was too full forspeech. Presently Kobo signified that he had drunk enough, and Bobplaced the cup beside him on the floor.
"Thank God I came in time to save you!" he said, laying his hand onKobo's. He had a terrible sinking of the heart as he felt the thinhand--it was mere skin and bone, the hand of a skeleton; it was clammyto his touch.
"I thank you, Mr. Fawcett," said Kobo feebly. "I thank you, but it istoo late. I am dying."
"Don't say that," replied Bob. "We'll take you out of this horribleplace. In the fresh air and sunshine, with good food, you will beyourself again."
"Tell me," went on the prisoner, in the same low, difficult tones, "didyou give my message to the general?"
"Yes; I remained with him, and was able to do something to guide theTwelfth Division. We are across the Yalu, sir."
"Banzai! Banzai!" exclaimed Kobo with sudden vigour. "The Russians arebeaten?"
"Thoroughly--driven from all their positions; we captured forty of theirguns."
"Banzai! My country! She will win. I know it. We have crossed theYalu: then we shall drive the enemy before us--from Kiu-lien-cheng toLiao-yang, from Liao-yang to Mukden, from Mukden to Harbin, fromHarbin-- Ah! why should we drive them farther? Dai Nippon shall cometo her own."
"But yourself, sir; we must take you out of this. You will be morecomfortable in Chang-Wo's room, and then, when you have rested andeaten, we will take you slowly into the Japanese lines, and you willlive to see the triumph
you have done so much to secure."
Kobo shook his head.
"I cannot stand," he said. "I shall die. But what is death?--Rest,peace, eternal quiet."
Bob felt a lump in his throat.
"Help me lift Kobo San," he said, turning to the Chinaman.
Tenderly they carried the slight figure between them down the stairsinto Chang-Wo's room, where they laid him on the soft quilts that stillbore the impress of his enemy's form. And then Bob saw that there wasindeed no hope. Kobo was almost unrecognizable. He was haggard,emaciated to a shadow; but for his open eyes he would have seemed acorpse. At Bob's orders Ah-Sam hurriedly prepared some food, but afterone or two mouthfuls Kobo refused to take any more.
"Rest," he said; "I want rest, that is all. I thank you."
His eyes roved round the room as though in search of something orsomeone.
"Your enemy will not trouble you again," said Bob. "Chang-Wo is dead."
"He died first! He has starved me, beaten me; he kept me withoutwater--how many days? I do not know. He tempted me, held a cup beforeme; I might drink if I would do as he wished: betray my country. WeJapanese do not fear death.--My servant! Have you any news of him?"
"No, I have not seen him since I left you."
"No matter. Taru will know how to die. If he should survive, and youmeet him, tell him to return to Nikko; my wife will have need of him.And my son, my boy Takeo in England. You will see him? You will tellhim?"
"Yes; I will go to him as soon as I can."
"I thank you. Will you give me a little water?"
Kobo lay back on the padded quilts, and his eyes spoke his thanks. Bobwas troubled, and watched him in silence. Ah-Sam, with stolidcountenance, was busy preparing a meal for his master. Suddenly throughthe walls of the tower penetrated the sound of a multitudinous dischargeof firearms. Bob rose to his feet, and leaving Kobo in Ah-Sam's chargehurried to the top of the tower, his mind filled with apprehension. WasKobo's end to be disturbed? From the roof he saw a strange sight. Theinner wall of the fortress was thronged with the garrison, who wereshouting and gesticulating with excitement. The huge gate stood wideopen, and beyond, half a mile across the green plain, a tall figure hadjust mounted a beautiful horse, which had evidently been taken out tomeet him by three men from the garrison. The horseman rode up slowly,and as he approached, Bob saw that it was his late companion,Sing-Cheng.
At the gate of the fortress the chief halted and made a speech to themen, who responded with loud cries and another discharge of theirrifles. Then he rode through the gate into the courtyard. Looking up,he caught sight of the solitary figure on the roof of the tower.Instantly springing from his horse, he bowed himself low to the ground,and ordered the surprised Manchus to do the same. The kow-towing over,he sent a man to knock at the outer door of the tower. Bob hurrieddown, and bade Ah-Sam open the door. Sing-Cheng entered, bowed humblyto the Englishman, and followed him into Chang-Wo's room. He gave oneglance to the figure prostrate on the floor, looked a mute question atAh-Sam, and then explained what had happened.
As he stood at the edge of the cleft, looking towards the wall, he hadrecognized among the crowd one who had been his comrade when he himselfhad served the old chief. Addressing him by name, he had reminded him ofhis own former importance in the band before the chieftainship had beenusurped by Chang-Wo. He explained that Chang-Wo had met a terrible fatethrough his ill-considered adhesion to the Russian side in the greatstruggle now desolating the country. Chang-Wo was dead; if he hadlived, the extermination of the whole band could only have been a matterof time. But now he, Sing-Cheng, the chief of a rival band, haddisposed of his old enemy and proved himself a better man. Let themaccept him, therefore, as their new chief. He would lead them with moresuccess; under him let them relinquish the losing side and do yeomanservice for the conquering Japanese. The alternative? If they did notaccept his leadership he would deliver them into the hands of an army ofJapanese whom he had guided into the neighbourhood, and they would beslain to a man. The strong tower of the fortress was already in thehands of two powerful friends of his, who had crossed the ravine by anunheard-of means, had faced the Mountain Tiger in his lair, and drivenhim headlong to destruction.
The bold offer had been accepted. Sing-Cheng had demanded that anescort of three men, with a horse suited to his dignity, should meet himat the distance of a li from the fortress, and, as Bob had seen, he hadridden in to receive the submission of the garrison.
The chief's story was hardly finished when one of the garrison camerunning in with a message. Sing-Cheng instantly went out into thecourtyard.
"He say Manchu hab catchee one piecee Japanee," explained Ah-Sam.
"Follow the chief, and bring me word what is happening," said Bob.
A few minutes passed. Kobo was restless, his eyes wide open with a lookof strained eagerness, his breath coming and going in quick feeblepants. Bob sat by his side, moistening his lips at intervals.Presently the door opened, and Ah-Sam first appeared, restraining asmall gray-headed man, who seemed to be in haste to enter.
"One piecee boy Kobo San," said Ah-Sam to his master.
The man came forward eagerly, and Bob saw that it was Taru, his friend'sservant. The little Japanese flung himself down at his master's feet,and muttered a few words brokenly. Kobo smiled. Beckoning to Ah-Sam,Bob went out of the room, leaving the two lifelong friends, master andman, together. Outside he learnt what had happened. The rider whom hehad seen leave the fortress on the memorable night when he hadreconnoitred the position had returned, bringing with him the disguisedJapanese servant, who had been making his way by devious routes to thehaunt of his old enemy. Taru had explained to Ah-Sam that while inYongampo he had heard that his master had been captured by Chang-Wo, andhad instantly set out to track him; if possible to rescue him; if not,to die with him. He had come safely to within two miles of thefortress, and then fallen into the hands of a small party led by theManchu courier.
For half an hour Bob remained in conversation with the chief, discussingthrough Ah-Sam the measures that were to be taken to consolidate his newauthority, and to do service to his new allies, the Japanese. Then Tarucame hurriedly from the tower, and asked Bob to return with him. Theyfound Kobo now raised to a sitting posture. His eyes were closed, but heopened them as Bob entered. He was pale with the pallor of death.
"I am going--to my fathers," he whispered.
Bob sat down by his side, and looked at him with dim eyes. He breathedpainfully; Taru, on the other side, gave him at intervals a spoonful ofwater.
"I rejoice to have--two faithful friends," said Kobo. "Mr. Fawcett, Taruwill--return to Nikko; you will remember--Takeo, my son in England. Ishall rest."
He closed his eyes and remained silent. Taru took one hand and held itfast, Bob held the other. He waited, sad at heart, grieved that Japanwas to lose one who had served her so well. He thought of the longhours of agony this hero must have suffered; the tortures of hunger andthirst, the fierce temptation that must have assailed him. Kobo hadbeen reticent of details, but Bob understood that he might havepurchased his life by disclosing the methods of the Japanese secretservice. How small a thing, thought Bob, to meet death bravely in theheat of battle! in a moment a man passes from full life to quietude. Butto endure such horrors as Kobo had faced without flinching neededanother kind of courage, a higher mind, a greater soul. Bob thrilledwith sympathy and admiration, and all the time felt an achingdisappointment that he had not been able to avert this tragic martyrdom.
Kobo's eyes slowly opened. In tones almost inaudible he said a fewwords in Japanese to his servant. Taru bent to the floor, and placedhis master's hand upon his head. Kobo looked at Bob, and attemptedfeebly to press his hand.
"It is good-bye," he said. "I am going into the dark--which is rest.Good-bye."
Bob could not speak. There was a moment of silence. The dying mangasped painfully.
"Taru," he murmured. "Taru--sayonara!"
His
head sank. Taru waited a few moments; then, lifting Kobo's hand, herose saying:
"Be at peace, dear master."