CHAPTER VIII
In a Tight Corner
'Excellency, we will see to those men for a time,' said Hung, as themass of Chinese pirates crowding in the dark alley-way came chargingforward. 'The bales of cotton will hold them in check, and a knife willbe easier to use in such crowded quarters. But bring the lamp; hold itabove our heads, so that the rays do not fall upon us, but upon theenemy.'
He gabbled the words at such a rate that David could scarcely follow hismeaning, nor Dick either. But Jong came rapidly to the rescue, stoppingfor a while on his way to the barrier.
'Him tink you speakee and understandee ebelyting, Excellencies,' hesaid, smiling as if the fact amused him, and as if the affair in handwas a mere nothing. 'Hong say, supposee you comee along, leavee de fightaltogeder to us Chinaboys. Yo hold de light high, so as to shine on deenemy only. Soon kill all dem men.'
He was wonderfully confident, and now went forward at a run. Meanwhilethe other three Chinamen had reached the immediate neighbourhood of thebarrier, which was placed some four yards along the alley-way, leaving,therefore, ample room for the defenders to stand at the foot of theladder leading to the cabin above. At once Dick snatched up the lantern,while David dragged his magazine pistol from his pocket.
'Come along,' he shouted, for the din in this confined space wasappalling. 'I think I know a trick that'll trouble them. Get along withthe lantern, and hold it up at arm's length. I'll make use of the ladderI took from along there, and get well above our fellows; then I shall beable to shoot down into the enemy. Ain't they kicking up a row?'
'Enough to deafen any one; but be careful when you're roosting on thatladder. Don't forget the fellow with the pistol.'
David made a note of the warning promptly, and having reached the sceneof the conflict, reared his ladder against one wall of the alley-way,leaving, however, ample room between its foot and the bales for Hong andhis comrades to have free movement. Dick pushed his way right to thecentre of the barrier, and finding a foothold on the edge of a low case,which formed the base of the obstruction, stepped on to it, and liftedthe lantern at arm's length. At once he heard an exclamation ofsatisfaction come from their friends, for till that moment it was almostimpossible for the defenders to take any action against the enemy. Allthey knew was that the latter were slashing and tearing at the far sideof the bales, and with such exertion that the whole barrier threatenedto topple over. However, the lamp flung its rays forward on to thestruggling mass of men, leaving the part behind the barrier in densedarkness. At once a roar of anger went up from the pirates. One thinand exceedingly active man, whose eyes seemed actually to blaze in thelamp-light, pushed his comrades back forcibly, and with a howl of rageleaped at the top of the barrier. Clutching the sacking with hisfingers, and digging his bare toes into any crevice he could find, hewas on the summit in a wonderfully short space of time. Then his handsought the long knife which, as seemed to be the custom with thesemarauders, he carried in his mouth. He was on the point of launchinghimself down upon the defenders, while David had already levelled hispistol at the man, when Hung gave a loud shout.
'Stand aside, let me deal with him,' he cried, and turning swiftly, ashe dropped his pistol, David was able to catch a view of the gallantfellow as he prepared for the attack. His arms were thrown back over oneshoulder, and the faint light reflected from the sides of the alley-way,and from the cotton clothes of the enemy, showed that he gripped in hishands the huge staff which he had showed some minutes before to ourhero. It swished through the air as Hung swung forward, and meeting theChinaman above as he leaped downward it felled him to the deck, strikinghim so hard that the man never even moved once he had fallen, but lay ina heap, his limbs curled up and contorted beneath him. Then, indeed, theturmoil and the din became so great that those defenders might have beenforgiven had they suddenly lost heart, and, turning tail, had rushed tothe ladder, there to struggle for the right to be the first to ascend tothe security of the cabin above. But Hung was no chicken. To look atJong he loved this class of thing, for he burst into a roar of laughteras the Chinaman was struck down, while Hu Ty and his comrade crouchedbehind the barricade, their sallow faces flushed, their eyes dancing,eager for more active effort. But let us remember that David and Dicknever once flinched. The latter had been forced to step aside, else theman who had leaped upon the barricade would have jumped down on him, andalso he would have been in Hung's way. But he was back in his place now,smiling, still holding the lamp above his head, cheering madly at thisfirst success. As for David, all his old coolness had come back to him.Perched on the ladder well above the combatants, he felt as a generaldoes who is posted on some commanding hill from which he is able toobserve every movement in a battle, and give swift orders accordingly.He shouted encouragement to Hung, and then called suddenly to all hiscomrades to be cautious.
'Some more men have come into the alley-way,' he said, 'and there'll bea strong rush in a moment. Keep well down below the barricade; I can seethat rascal reloading his pistol.'
He handled his own weapon, for through a break in the mass of men infront he had caught a view of the skinny individual, who was possessed,by the way, of a most malevolent and ugly countenance, busily ramming afresh charge into his ancient pistol. Through the sudden silence, whichfollowed the downfall of the man who had attempted to scale thebarricade, there came the ring of a ramrod, and now as David watched hesaw the rascal pushing his way forward.
'Lie low all of you,' he called again. 'That fellow's going to fire hispistol.'
Up went his own weapon, though he did not fire, for other men as yetcovered the ruffian. Suddenly the man with the pistol appeared to havecaught a glimpse of the figure perched above the level of the barricade.He shouted; the same skinny arm was thrown up, and before David couldrealise his danger he was staring into the expanded muzzle of asmurderous a weapon as could be found anywhere. Yes, murderous; for itwas but ten feet away, and carried a ball like a young cannon-shot. Andhow it roared as the rascal pulled the trigger! A wide stream of flamespurted from the muzzle, and then such a dense cloud of smoke that thealley-way, the men within it, even the barricade was swallowed up.Moreover, the bullet as near as possible put an end to this narrative,and to the quest of David Harbor; for it tore past his cheek, rattledand ricochetted along the stout wooden wall of the passage, and strikingthe runner of the ladder behind more than half severed it. In addition,it considerably startled our hero.
'Hit?' called out Dick, swinging his head round, for, of course, he likeDavid had obtained a clear view of the man. 'There still, old chap?'
A growl was his only answer, and then a hasty order.
'You've swung the light off him, though the smoke is too thick to letone see just now. Get it shining down the passage. We must put a stop tothat fellow's antics; his bullet as near as possible took my head off.Ah, steady! I can see.'
Yes, he could see. The lamp-light shining into the alley-way wasdirected upon the ruffian who had just fired; but it showed more thanhe. It showed a couple of dozen men pressing along behind him, the lookon their faces telling plainly that they were determined to rush thebarricade. Instantly David gave warning, and levelling his own weaponfired at the pirate who had so recently discharged the pistol; but hedid not stop him. The bullet went astray, and striking a man just behindhim brought him tumbling to the deck. However, the next proved moresuccessful. The rascal howled with pain, then, as if driven frantic byit, he threw his pistol at the figure which he could only dimly discernabove the barricade, and led his comrades forward. For ten whole minutesnone of the defenders had so much as a breathing spell. Those fourChinamen at the back of the barricade fought as if they were possessed,and fought too, like Englishmen, in silence. Their knives rose and fellconstantly. Now one of them would spring upward, and grabbing anattacker by the shoulder would haul him within reach; now Hung wouldgive vent to a guttural exclamation, at which Dick and his comradeswould unconsciously move aside. Then there came the thud of the hugeclub he wielded, a sickening, dull
thud, followed by a heavy fall on thefar side of the bales placed across the alley-way. A sudden fusilladefrom David's magazine pistol drove the assailants out of sight, andallowed the defenders to rest after their exhausting efforts.
'Put the lamp on the top of the bales,' said David at once. 'We mustchance a fellow firing at it and smashing it altogether. Hung, post aman up here to watch. I'll go up and report progress, unless, of course,you'd like to, Dick.'
The latter shook his head vigorously, and was about to answer whenanother voice came from behind them in the alley-way. It was theProfessor, jaunty and high-spirited as ever, a silent witness of thelate conflict. He stepped from the foot of the ladder, and came towardsthem, turning the slide of a lantern he carried. And the light reflectedfrom the narrow passage showed up everything distinctly--the deadChinaman at the foot of the barricade; David on the ladder, and Dick andthe other defenders at their posts. It even showed the huge splinter ofwood half torn from the ladder by the bullet which had so nearly put anend to the existence of one of the party. And the Professor was aseasily seen as any one. There was a bland smile on his clean-shavenface. His eyes sparkled; he laughed outright.
'Please don't move,' he said, coming closer. 'A more perfect picture Inever beheld; but I do congratulate you all. You know I hate fighting,and always have done so; but when it's necessary, I can admire the menwho show a good front. No need to report, David boy; my own eyes haveshown me everything.'
Turning suddenly to the Chinamen, he spoke to them in their ownlanguage, which he knew as a native, praising them warmly, and sendingthe blood flying once more to their cheeks.
'A gallant fight, well organised and generalled,' he said, turning againto Dick. 'Whose idea was the ladder?'
'His,' came the curt answer. 'He fixed everything: David is a bornleader.'
'I say!' came indignantly from our hero, who was still perched on hisladder.
'It's true,' came warmly from Dick, for the young fellow had formed agreat opinion of David. Secretly he had admired the lad, partly for thecourage which he knew he possessed, for had he not been instrumental insaving Dick's mother; and also there was the case of those burglars atBond Street. But it was not pluck alone that roused his enthusiasm forour hero; it was his grit, his staunchness.
'Just fancy a fellow doing so much all on his own,' Dick had exclaimedmore than once to the Professor. 'Many fellows of his age would havebeen browbeaten by that man who married his stepmother. Very few wouldhave taken the post of lift-boy as he did. I've known young fellows sentup to London to make their way who would have turned up their noses atit, and because they could not get just the class of job that suitedthem would prefer to live with relatives and do nothing. That's out andout cadging. And here's David, still all alone, determined to go out toChina to find a will which may never have existed.'
'I beg your pardon; it did exist,' the Professor corrected. 'I knewEdward Harbor. If he said he had made a new will, he had done so withoutdoubt. He was most exact and painstaking in everything. He made thatwill in David's favour, but circumstances over which he had no controlprevented his having it conveyed to a safe quarter. He perished; perhapsthe will perished with him. Perhaps it was purloined along with hisother belongings by some rascally mandarin, and is lying forgotten atthe bottom of a heap of rubbish at this moment. But I interrupted.'
'I was saying he's so determined,' said Dick. 'He says he'll go to Chinawhen he has hardly a sixpence to bless himself with. But he takes thepost of lift-boy, and in a twinkling he's made enough to take him roundthe world. It's grit that does it, sir. Sheer perseverance anddoggedness.'
'And knowing that your cause is just; yes,' reflected the Professor.
But to return to our friends in the alley-way, the Professor againdemanded who had led in the conflict which he had watched from the footof the ladder.
'He did without a doubt,' declared Dick, pointing at David. 'Ask himabout the ruction along there, sir, and then ask Hung and the others.'
Slowly the Professor dragged the details from David and from theChinamen. Then he solemnly shook hands with every one present.
'I'm awfully glad I wrote that letter to you, David boy,' he said, whenhe came to the figure still perched on the ladder, 'and it was a luckychance which sent Dick here along to trouble me. Together you've made afine defence in this quarter. Alphonse will be delighted. But now let usgo to the cabin; Hung and his friends will watch here and send us awarning if there is to be another attack. Meanwhile, there are otherparts to be considered. I tell you plainly, those demons will not resttill they have taken every one of us and looted our belongings. I knowthe pirates of this gulf; they are a detestable set of cut-throats. Butdon't let that statement trouble you; we're a long way from being taken,or I'm much mistaken.'
The smile came back to his face, a cheery, confident smile. He spokeswiftly to the men present, and then skipped to the ladder.
'My word,' he cried, as he reached it, and his lamp fell upon thewoodwork. 'That must have been done by the shot I heard. It was a bigbullet that tore away this piece of the ladder.'
'And precious nigh took David with it,' laughed Dick. 'He got quiteangry.'
That set them all laughing, for, somehow, what with the success they hadalready had, and the Professor's cheery presence, there seemed amplecause for merriment, merriment that was accentuated to no small degreewhen they reached the cabin; for Alphonse was there, in his shirtsleeves, and posted beside a huge rent torn through the doorway.
'Ah, ha!' he cried, coming towards them. 'You have made much noisebelow. There has been shooting. None are hurt I hope?'
'None but the fellows who attacked us,' answered Dick. 'How have thingsgone here?'
'Wonderful! I tell you, wonderful.'
The little man puffed out an enormous chest, and stretched his armsbefore him. He was pomposity itself, while the manner in which he swungthe rifle, that he gripped with one hand, hardly gave one confidence.That and his peaky little beard, which seemed to project even moreabruptly forward now, the huge check pattern of his shirt, and the longpointed-toe boots, which he still insisted on wearing, made one moreinclined to smile at little Alphonse; and if not at his appearance, thenat his gestures and his antics, for the lamp which the Professor carriedplayed full upon him. But a moment or two later one gathered a differentimpression of the man.
'Ah!' he ejaculated suddenly, bending his head to one side as if he werea bird, and placing his hand behind the ear. 'Did I hear some onecoming? Monsieur, Alphonse was never deaf, and he has trained his earsto catch the sound of bare feet. You do not believe it? _Bien_, thensee.'
His eyebrows went up a little, as if he were unable to credit the factthat his listeners did not believe him, then calling on all for silence,he stole towards the door of the cabin, and almost at once his riflewent to his shoulder. He bent swiftly, then there came a sharp report. Acrash on the deck outside, and a thunderous explosion told all withinthe cabin that Alphonse had accomplished something, and crowding at onceto the gaping hole which the ringleader of the pirates had torn in thedoor with his muzzle-loader, they stared beyond at the deck. A man wascrawling painfully along the boards, while immediately outside the door,as shown by the lantern, the blunder-bus the man had carried, thatundoubtedly he had intended firing through the hole in the door, laystill smoking after its recent discharge.
'_Parbleu!_ Did I not say so?' declared Alphonse with a flourish. 'Ihave ears to hear, monsieur. I caught the slither of a bare foot and Iwas warned. My shot caught him just at the right moment. But it might bewell to hold a council. Eh? A council of war, monsieur.'
He dragged a seat close to the door, and sat down there with his head atthe jagged opening. The Professor drew a cigar from his pocket, bit theend off with a snap, and lit the weed.
'A council, yes,' he said. 'I will state the facts. We chartered a shipat Shanghai captained by a rascal, and with a crew none the better. Theyhad accomplices in the Gulf of Pechili, and the ruffians hoped to securetheir booty
without a struggle. Of course, we should have been cut topieces and dropped overboard.'
Alphonse shivered, though every one could see that he was merely makingpretence to be frightened. '_Dites donc_,' he cried pleadingly, 'butthat is dreadful. It makes me feel faint. They would surely not be soharsh with us.'
The grimace he made set Dick roaring, while the Professor smiled grimly.
'Easy enough to make fun of it, Alphonse, but if it hadn't been for yourwatching we should be down below already. Other Europeans have sufferedin the same way, have disappeared and never been heard of again.'
Unconsciously David's thoughts went to his father. He had been assailedmore than once when in China; for even at this day, when Westerninfluence is slowly beginning to gain ground in the Celestial Empire,Europeans are still foreign devils to the common mob, intruders, to bekilled whenever possible. True, in some quarters the old animosity isbeginning to disappear. Wealthy Chinese travel now-a-days, and returnhome imbued with the wish to give up old and useless institutions andhabits, to substitute a modern education for one dating back to the daysof Confucius, and to throw open the doors of their native land, so thatthe miles and miles of rich territory may be developed and bring forthits wealth. That is something. Thirty years ago there was hardly onesingle Chinaman amongst all the millions the Emperor boasted of who hadbeen away from his native shores, and though an ambassador here andthere may have returned with his eyes widely opened, with a desire towesternise his country, what was the value of his influence when allelse were against him? It was death almost to suggest change. Arrogancewas always a failing of the pig-tailed race, and only time and severelessons could teach the people that there were other races on a higherfooting. And lessons China has had. She has seen foreigners snatchcorners of her territory. She has stood helplessly aside and watchedRussia enter Manchuria and lay her railways to Port Arthur, and againhas watched her neighbour, whom she formerly despised, throw herselfupon the Russians and conquer them. And why? Because she had westernisedher people. Because Japan had organised her navy and her army on modernlines, and armed them with modern guns. Then why should China notfollow? Slowly but surely the desire to do so is filtering through thecountry, and slowly the change will come. As we have said, a Europeanis still a 'foreign devil' to the bulk of the people to-day. To-morrowhe may be as a brother.
'My father was killed during a sudden attack,' said David. 'He was upcountry, north of Pekin----'
'Where I shall hope to take you all,' interrupted the Professor. 'Thatis to say, if these rascals will allow us.'
'There was a missionary with him, one who knew the people well. But theywere murdered for what they carried, and, as it afterwards appeared, ona sudden suggestion made to the people in the nearest village. There hadbeen several cases of fever, and four persons had died. It was put downto the white men, and that was the excuse for their murder.'
'And that is nearly always the case ashore,' agreed the Professor. 'Amissionary, for example, is the best of fellows. He helps the people, isgreat friends with them, and all goes well till some bigoted ruffiancomes along. He wants the odds and ends the missionary possesses. Hetrumps up some paltry charge, works up his ignorant comrades into afury, and sends them to murder the "foreign devil." The rascal himselfgenerally disappears with all the white man's possessions. But herethere is no working up. The pirates of the Gulf have existed forcenturies; murder and pillage is their profession.'
'Hark! I heard something more; stay still if you please, messieurs.'
Alphonse again canted his head to one side like a bird, and one couldsee that he was listening. His peaky little beard seemed actually tobristle. He jerked his head. His blue eyes sparkled in the lamp-light,then he leaped to his feet.
'The lamp, monsieur,' he cried, 'put it out. They are above us; theyhave clambered on to the roof of the cabin.'
David could hardly believe it, and though the whole party stoodabsolutely silent for nearly five minutes, it was not till that time hadelapsed that a sound came to their ears to confirm Alphonse's statement.There was a loud bang on the roof, followed by others.
'Pardon, monsieur,' said Alphonse quietly, taking the lantern from theProfessor's hand. 'I go to see what is doing. Perhaps one of themessieurs will support me.'
He moved to the doorway promptly, and David sprang to follow. Dick andthe Professor drew the bolts silently, though there was little fear ofbeing heard, for the noise above was now very great, the sound ofrending wood coming clearly to them. Then they pulled the door open, andAlphonse and David stepped out.
'Up the ladder, _mon cher_,' whispered the Frenchman. 'I will climb, andyou after me. I will cast the light upon them, and at once descend. Youcan cover me with your pistol; but first to see if the deck is clear.'
They stood still for some seconds, staring into the gloom. But alreadythe light was coming, so that they could see further than at thebeginning of the attack. Without a doubt the deck was unoccupied, saveby the bodies of those who had fallen. Alphonse nudged David at once,and slid across to the ladder that mounted to the roof of the cabinright at the side of the ship. In a minute both were high enough, thenAlphonse coolly turned the slide and threw a broad beam on the enemy.The roof was packed with them. A dozen men, at least, armed with nativeadzes, were hacking at the deck in as many different places. TheFrenchman, undismayed by the angry shouts which greeted his appearance,coolly cast the beam on either side, and only desisted when one of theenemy, a huge fellow with muscular limbs, leaped forward, swinging hisadze.
'Monsieur, I think it rests with you,' he said quickly, sliding to oneside to allow David to clamber a little higher. 'Monsieur shoots well.He has nerve, eh? That fine fellow will trouble us no longer.'
There was no trace of excitement about him, even when David with awell-directed shot brought the ruffian crashing to the deck. Alphonsemerely chuckled, then squeezed himself still more to one side, politelymaking more room for our hero.
'We will return now if monsieur is ready,' he said. '_Merci_, I willfollow.'
He came slowly down the ladder after David, and entered the cabin againas unconcerned as if he had merely been out to look at the weather. Asfor our hero, the recent exploit concerned him far less than did thereport he brought to the Professor.
'Two dozen of them, working like demons to break through into thecabin,' he said. 'I can't see how we can prevent them. We can shootthrough one or more of the gaps, but when there are so many we shall notbe able to watch them.'
The Professor took a long pull at his cigar. David and Dick saw the endof the weed redden in the darkness, while the smoke he blew from hislips was visible in the reflected light. Then Alphonse opened just acrevice of the lamp, thus allowing them to see one another. Even now thefeatures of the leader of the expedition were anything but mournful. Thejaw was, if anything, a little squarer. The Professor wore theappearance of a man who is confident, but who at the same time has hisback against a wall.
'Call Hung,' he commanded, and when that worthy appeared, 'Run alongbeyond the barricade,' he urged him. 'Take Hu Ty with you. Report if menare in the bows, and if so, how many. Do not appear on deck. Send theother two to me.'
They came clambering up from the dark alley-way a moment later, Jongstill grinning, the more so when he listened to the racket taking placeoverhead, while Lo Fing kow-towed before his master.
'We are here, Excellency,' he said. 'Your orders?'
'Take everything you see that is of value. You know what the boxescontain; carry them down below at once. Quickly! There is no time tolose. Dick, David, Alphonse, put your backs into the work.'
'Going to make a stand down below,' thought our hero. 'The only move wecan make. I wonder if we could get right forward.'
Like the others, he seized upon the boxes that contained all theirpossessions, and which the Professor, with a knowledge of Chinesecupidity and cunning, had insisted should be stacked in the cabin.Then, when after some three minutes every bale and box was below, heventured to broach
his ideas to the Professor.
'Thought of it myself,' came the short answer. 'Go along with Hung. He'sbeen back to say that the coast is clear. Report as soon as possible ifthere is a place where we can make a stand. I don't care for thisalley-way. Too much like rats in a trap. Quick with it, David.'
In that instant, if never before, David realised that here was indeed aleader; for the Professor was not in the smallest degree flurried. Hischeroot still glimmered redly. He drew in the smoke and blew out hugebillows. But all the while he was listening to the sounds above,calculating the chances of his party, thinking how best to act so as tosecure their safety.
'Why not?' he suddenly exclaimed aloud. 'It's been done before. Why notagain?'
'Pardon, monsieur,' ventured Alphonse, standing beside his master, as ifto guard him. 'You spoke.'
'Of something that occurred to me. All in good time, my friend. What doyou think of the situation?'
The Frenchman threw up his eyes and shrugged his shoulders in a mannersufficiently expressive. 'Monsieur knows better than I,' he said. 'Ishall still live to cook and valet for monsieur.'
'Then you shall if I can contrive it. Ah, there is David. Well?' askedthe leader of the party.
'Not a soul forward. It's lighter by a long way,' reported our hero. 'Isneaked on deck, and counted forty-three Chinese over our heads. Theyare hacking away like madmen.'
'Then we will leave them to it. In five minutes at least they will havebroken through into the cabin. Get below and shoulder a box, David. Weare following.'
The Professor marshalled his little force into the alley-way, andstepped coolly down the ladder after them. Not one word did he utter tohint what were his intentions. All that his supporters knew was thatthey were retreating from a position that was no longer tenable. But asto the future--well, Alphonse's shrug gave them little indication.