A Chinese Command: A Story of Adventure in Eastern Seas

  CHAPTER THREE.

  UP-COUNTRY.

  No sooner had the anchor splashed into the water than Captain Drake gavethe order for the ship's lanterns to be lighted, and some of them slungin the rigging, while others were to be placed at intervals along thebulwarks. Blocks and tackles were then made fast to the end of the foreand main booms, the booms were triced up at an angle to serve asderricks, and the hatch-covers were stripped off.

  It was to be a case of all hands working all night to get the cargoashore; for now that the ship had arrived in Korean waters--andconsequently in the zone of danger--Drake was all eagerness to get hiscontract completed, to collect his payments, and to clear off out ofharm's way, with his steamer still in his own hands. For she was hisown property, and to lose her would mean ruin for her owner.

  Arrangements had long since been made between Drake and Frobisher as tothe method of procedure upon arrival at their destination, and the merefact that at the last moment the point of disembarkation of the cargohad been changed to Sam-riek made no difference in the plans.

  It had been agreed between Drake and the official negotiating for therebels that the latter should not put in an appearance at the point ofdebarkation, because of the possibility that things might at thecritical moment go wrong, but that the Englishman should land the armsin his own boats, and convey them up-country at his own risk, to a placewhich, it now transpired, was called Yong-wol, in the department ofKang-won, and situated on the river Han. Here they were to be handedover to the rebel representative and his escort; after which they couldbe conveyed by water to the environs of Seoul itself, where, in allprobability, they would in the first instance be used. This arrangementwould necessitate a journey across the entire peninsula of Korea; but toland the arms on the west coast, where the Government troops were mostlyposted, would have been simply courting disaster. On the east coastthere were only a _few_ scattered outposts of troops; the inhabitantswere hand-in-glove with the rebels--although none of them had as yetactually implicated themselves; and the inhabitants of Sam-riek, inparticular, could be relied upon not to offer any opposition to thelanding, or to inform the Government authorities of what was in thewind.

  When, therefore, about nine o'clock that night--at which time the deckswere packed with cases that had been got up from below in readiness tobe sent ashore in the boats--there came from the look-out whom Drake, asa precautionary measure, had posted in the foretop a hail of "Ho! boatahoy! What do you want?" every man on deck jumped as though he had beenshot, so little was any interruption of any sort expected.

  Drake and Frobisher darted to the side together, as though moved by thesame impulse, and leant over the bulwarks, peering into the darkness andlistening intently for any sound of oars that should enable them todiscover the whereabouts of the approaching craft.

  Whoever the occupant of the boat might be, he was evidently neither anenemy nor a spy; for hardly had the challenge left the seaman's mouthwhen the reply came out of the darkness, in a thin, high-pitched, timidvoice: "All alightee; all alightee; it only me."

  "And who the mischief may `only me' be?" growled Drake, who had beenvery considerably startled, and therefore felt rather annoyed withhimself.

  "Sh, sh! mastel," urged the voice; "you makee not so muchee shout; itvely dangelous. Thlow me lope, so I climb up; I got big piecee news formastel." And the sound of muffled oars was again heard, this timeevidently close to the ship.

  "H'm!" muttered Drake under his breath to Frobisher; "I don't much likethe look of this. It seems as though something had miscarried, for thisfellow to come out here at this time of night, with a `big piecee news'.I suppose there is no doubt the beggar really has a message of somesort for us, so I'll have to let him come aboard. But if he tries anyhanky-panky tricks, I'll send him over the side in double-quick time tofeed the sharks. I can't afford to have this venture miss fire now.Jones, open the gangway, and throw a rope over the side," he added,turning to one of the seamen; "and stand by to hit, and hit hard, ifeverything is not exactly as it should be."

  A rope was allowed to slide over the side through the open entry port;and a moment later it began to quiver as the occupant of the boat lefthis craft and proceeded to scramble up, hand over hand. Presently thereappeared on deck a little, thin, wizened man, who might have been anyage over sixty. He was clothed in nothing but a length of brown cottonmaterial swathed round his body, and round the upper part of each leg,the end being drawn up between the thighs so as to form a kind of roughapology for a pair of knickerbockers. His lower limbs and feet werebare, and on his head he wore one of those high, broad-brimmed, conicalhats that are so common among the Koreans.

  "Well," exclaimed Drake sharply, as this peculiar-looking individualreached the deck and stood staring round him, "what the dickens d'yewant? Who are ye? What's your name?"

  "My name Ling-Wong, mastel," replied the Korean, "and I come flomExcellency Kyong-Bah, at Yong-wol."

  "Phew!" whistled Drake, turning to Frobisher. "Kyong-bah is the man Inegotiated with about this cargo. What's in the wind, I wonder? Yes--go on," he added to Ling impatiently. "What's your message?"

  "Me wait, mastel, six, seven day," said Ling, "wait fol the smoke-junk,to tell you that the Govelnol at Seoul, he got know about evelything,and he sendee tloops catchee you, if he can. Excellency Kyong-Bah tellme say you he must havee those lifles, and think you get them safethlough if you vely quick and caleful; but he tell me say you musthully, ol you be caught."

  "And that's over a week ago!" groaned Drake. "What chance have we,think you, Mr Frobisher, of getting this cargo safely through now?"

  "Oh!" exclaimed Frobisher cheerfully, seeing that Drake was inclined totake a dismal view of things; "if we can get 'em ashore uninterferedwith, I'll engage to deliver them to Kyong-Bah, or whatever the johnny'sname is, safely enough. _Nil desperandum_, you know, skipper--that'sLatin for `You never know what you can do till you try'."

  "Those Latin chaps certainly did know how to say a lot in a few words,didn't they, Mr Frobisher?" remarked Drake, a little more cheerfully."But do you really think you can get through if we get the arms safelyashore?"

  "Sure of it," answered Frobisher, with a good deal more confidence thanhe really felt. "I'll take this chap as a guide, collect sufficientcarts and mules at Sam-riek to take the whole lot at one trip, and thenget this man Ling to show me some bypath over the hills which theGovernment troops are not likely to take. I understood you to say thatthere is a good road from Yong-wol to Sam-riek; and, if I know anythingof Orientals, the troops will take it. If, then, we take another route,you will have the pleasure of seeing those fellows sitting on theirhaunches in Sam-riek, waiting for you to unload your cargo into theirlap, while I shall be travelling another way, under a heavy press ofcanvas, conveying the consignment on its way to its proper owners.Savvee?"

  Drake brought his hand down on Frobisher's shoulder. "By the Great HornSpoon, Mr Frobisher," he exclaimed, "I don't know what I should havedone without you! That's a Hundred A1 plan; and if you can only getsafely away before the troops appear, I'll engage so to arrange mattersthat they shall believe the cargo to be still in the ship. That'll keep'em busy long enough to allow you to carry out your part withoutinterference. Of course a lot'll depend upon the extent to which thepeople of Sam-riek dislike the Government. If they are really on theside of the rebels, they'll keep mum about the stuff being alreadyashore; but if there are any traitors among them, the first thingthey'll do will be to curry favour by setting the troops after you,one-time."

  "Yes, that's so," agreed Frobisher, stroking his chin. "Still, it's theonly way out that I can see; and the sooner we get the cargo ashore andtest the scheme for ourselves, the better, I think."

  "Right!" answered Drake. "Come along, boys,"--to the listeningcrew--"you have heard what's been said, so you see we've got to hurry.Jones, take this fellow Ling down below, and lock him up somewhere untilMr Frobisher is ready for him--I'm not taking any risks this trip.Then,
when you've done that, take a few of the hands and swing eery oneof our boats over into the water. We have enough cases on deck now tobegin taking some of them ashore."

  Encouraged by the captain and Frobisher, both of whom worked as hard as,or harder than, any of the seamen, the men buckled-to again in earnest;and soon the chests and cases were leaping up out of the holds on to thedecks, off the decks into the boats, and so ashore, at a verysatisfactory rate of progress.

  All night the work went swiftly and steadily on, and well into thefollowing morning, with only a few minutes' break for meals. Frobisherwent ashore early in the morning with one of the loads, taking Ling withhim as interpreter, in order to make arrangements for the transport ofthe cargo, and also to try to discover if there were as yet any signs ofthe arrival of the troops.

  The villagers proved only too glad of the chance to hire out their cartsand animals; and after a lengthy ride along the Yong-wol road, on ahorse which he had borrowed, Frobisher satisfied himself that, thus farat any rate, there was no sign of troops in the neighbourhood.

  By the time he got back to the ship the last of the cases was just beingplaced on deck, and two more trips of the little fleet of the_Quernmore's_ boats would see the whole of the cargo safely ashore.Frobisher therefore ran down to his cabin and, throwing off his uniform,dressed himself in a pair of khaki-coloured riding-breeches, which hehad brought out with him from England, thick-soled brown boots, and goodleather leggings. An old Norfolk jacket completed the outfit, so far ashis outer garb was concerned. And when he had donned an old andsomewhat battered, but still serviceable, topi helmet--a relic of moreprosperous days--and had fastened round him a leather belt and bandoliercombined, filled it with cartridges, and attached to it one of Penryn'srevolvers in a leather holster, it would have been rather difficult torecognise in him the erstwhile smart and spruce Murray Frobisher.Rather he resembled a South African transport-rider in a state ofdisrepair, and of so truculent an appearance that he might have beenexpected to put to flight with ease, and singlehanded, a considerabledetachment of Korean soldiery. He slipped the second revolver into oneof the side pockets of his jacket, and an extra supply of cartridgesinto the other pocket, and then ran up on deck, ready to start on hisperilous journey into the interior.

  By the time he had said good-bye to the skipper, and had received hisinstructions with regard to the collection of the purchase-money andsundry other matters, the last of the cargo had been sent ashore; andDrake's own gig was waiting at the foot of the accommodation-ladder totake the young man to the landing-place.

  As he was on the point of descending the side-ladder, Drake asked him towait a moment, and ran down below; reappearing, a few seconds later,with a serviceable ship's cutlass in his hand, which he himself beltedround Frobisher's waist.

  "Revolvers are all very well in their way," remarked the little skipper;"but sometimes a man is too busy fighting to have time to reload, andthen he is very glad to have a yard of good, stout steel in his fist.Take it along with you, Mr Frobisher. If there should happen to be ascrap, I feel sure you will find it mighty handy. Avoid a fight if youcan, of course; but, as Charlie Dickens says in that play of his, _Jimthe Penman_, `once in a fight so carry yourself that the enemy shall besorry for himself.' Good-bye, my boy, and take care of yourself!"

  With a laughing reply Frobisher clasped Drake's hand once more, and ranlightly down the ladder into the boat; and fifteen minutes later hefound himself safely ashore. The boat pulled back to the ship, wherethe remainder of the small fleet were already being hoisted up to thedavits; and he was alone in a strange land, charged with a dangerousmission, with no white man to share his burden, and with only one man,Ling, who had even a nodding acquaintance with the English language.

  Escort there was none, in the usual sense of the word, for the driversof the carts containing the arms and ammunition-chests, although armedwith old-fashioned muzzle-loading muskets, out-of-date halberds, and, insome cases, bows and arrows, could not possibly be relied upon to put upany sort of a fight in the event of an encounter with the regular Koreansoldiery. The only person beside himself who was armed with a modernweapon was the interpreter, Ling, who carried a fairly recent andreliable Marlin repeating rifle, holding eight cartridges; but this wasall the ammunition he had, so that, if trouble arose, he could not berelied upon very far, either.

  Having reached the village, Frobisher took Ling with him and went off tosee that the carts were properly loaded, and the mule-drivers at theirstations; and to his astonishment found that, in spite of the proverbialslackness of the Korean, everything was in readiness, and only his wordwas necessary to enable the caravan to start. During his previous visitto the shore he had done a little exploration, and had quite made up hismind which road to take in order to avoid the troops coming fromYong-wol--provided, of course, that they came by the direct route. Sohe did not waste any time, but, after a last look round, to see thateverything was satisfactory, commanded Ling to set the caravan inmotion, himself remaining behind until the last cart had left thevillage, in order to make sure that, at the last moment, none of thedrivers should shirk the risks and try to desert.

  There was no attempt of the kind, however. The Korean mule-driversappeared absolutely apathetic and indifferent to any possible danger.They were being well paid for their trouble, and "sufficient unto theday" was evidently their motto. Satisfied, therefore, that there wasnothing to fear in that respect, Frobisher mounted the elderly steedwhich he had managed to purchase at about ten times its proper value,and rode to the head of the column, where he found Ling, already fastasleep on the back of the mule which he had elected to ride.

  So the long column was at last fairly started on its perilous hundredmiles' journey into the interior of Korea--a journey which involved thenegotiation of heavy, ill-made roads, the fording of deep, swift riversand streams, and, most difficult of all, the passage of the range oflofty hills on the other side of which the town of Yong-wol, theirdestination, was situated.

  For a long time, until, in fact, the caravan disappeared from view amongthe trees, Captain Drake watched it through his telescope; and, whenfinally the last cart disappeared in the forest, the man whom Frobisherhad once called his "little pirate" was not ashamed to follow theexample of his illustrious namesake of immortal memory. He went down tohis cabin and remained there for some minutes, actually praying for thesafe return of the man to whom he had grown to be very sincerelyattached--our friend Murray Frobisher.

  It was about three o'clock in the afternoon when the caravan got awayfrom Sam-riek, and urge and command and even implore as he might,Frobisher was quite unable to get the expedition farther than ten milesfrom the coast before darkness fell and it became necessary to camp forthe night. A suitable place for an encampment was eventually found, onan open, level strip of ground by the side of a considerable stream,about half a mile ahead, a distance which Frobisher was compelled toforce the drivers to traverse almost at the muzzle of the pistol. Hemanaged, however, to convince the dull-witted Koreans that anotherhalf-mile would not kill them; and about seven o'clock the party pulledup at the spot selected. A couple of the carts contained provisions,and on the top of these Frobisher had placed a bundle containing a tentand blankets for his personal use.

  He pitched the tent, spread his blankets on the ground, and then, beforeallowing the men to prepare their supper, ordered that all the vehiclesshould be formed into a circle, with his own tent in the centre, theshafts of each being run in under the hind wheels of the one in front,so as to form a fairly effective barricade, which would at least preventthe camp being rushed without warning, should an attack be made by theenemy. He also took care that the mules were picketed within theenclosure so formed, so that they might not stray away or be stolen; andfinally, he told off half a dozen of the best-armed and mostresolute-looking men, under the command of Ling, to act as sentries indifferent watches during the first half of the night, resolving to keepwatch himself during the second half--the period dur
ing which there wasmost likelihood of danger.

  These arrangements having been made, Frobisher served out their rationsto the men, partook of his own supper, and, leaving strict orders withLing that he was to be called at midnight, went to his tent, rolledhimself up in his blankets, laid his cutlass and revolvers beside him,and was soon asleep.

  He did not know how long he had been sleeping when he suddenly awoke,with a sense of danger and oppression strong upon him. Like most menwho pass their lives at sea, or in uncivilised parts of the world, heseemed to be possessed of a sixth sense which always gave him warningwhen there was peril at hand; and it was this sense which now broughthim broad awake in an instant, with his ears straining to catch theleast sound, and his eyes peering through the darkness to catch thefirst glimpse of an intruder.

  Like a wise man, he refrained from making the slightest sound that mightbetray his whereabouts to a prowling assassin; but, slowly and verycarefully, he disengaged his arms from the blankets and reached out forone of his revolvers. With this in his hand he felt much morecomfortable, and fully prepared for eventualities.

  Then, sitting up carefully, Frobisher again listened intently for somesound which might tell him the position of the danger, if any; but,strain his ears as he might, he could catch not the slightest suggestionof a warning. There was, however, a certain faint, peculiar odour inthe tent, which he felt sure proceeded neither from the canvas nor fromthe blankets. Very faint indeed it was, and it would perhaps have beenquite imperceptible to anybody with a less keen olfactory sense thanFrobisher possessed; but it was there, all the same, and he felt that hewould very much like to identify it and determine its origin. It wasnot unpleasant--indeed the suggestion was of a pleasant perfume, aperfume which he had often smelt before; but what that perfume was hecould not for the life of him recall just at the moment.

  One thing was certain, however, and that was that there had been no suchodour in the tent when he went to sleep; and it must therefore have beenbrought in by somebody since then. Now, nobody but himself had anybusiness there, unless it were Ling come to wake him. But Ling would,or should, have stood at the entrance and called him; or at the most, ifcalling had not aroused him, have come boldly in and shaken him.

  There was no sound, however, in the tent, and therefore the intruder, ifthere were one, had no legitimate business there; and the more Frobisherthought about the matter, the more certain he became that all was not asit should be.

  He therefore very slowly and very silently divested himself of hisblankets, leaving them in a bundle on the ground, and, with the revolverstill grasped tightly in his hand, started to crawl noiselessly towardthe open flap of the tent, which he located by seeing the glimmer ofstars shining through. At the same time he took care to keep close tothe side of the tent walls, so as to avoid, if possible, colliding withhis supposed unknown visitor.

  The odour was much more pungent now, and Frobisher knew that in a fewseconds he would recognise it for what it was. Surely, he thought,there was a suggestion of oiliness about it, and--then in a moment heknew. The strange perfume was that of sandalwood oil, and he instantlyrealised what the circumstance meant. There was a human being in thetent, somebody who had planned murder, or robbery, or both; and the manhad oiled himself so that, if his intended victim happened to be awakeand grappled with him, he would be able to twist himself loose andescape.

  Frobisher was by no means easily flurried, but when he realised that hewas alone in a dark tent with a desperate man seeking his life; that hewas possibly within arm's-reach of the fellow at that moment; and thatin another second he might feel a long, keen blade sliding in betweenhis ribs, it was only with difficulty that he restrained himself fromfiring off all six chambers of his revolver into the darkness, in thehope that one of the bullets might find its billet.

  And then, at the very moment when he felt that his nerves would bear thestrain no longer, the spell was broken. Suddenly there came a long,hissing breath close beside him, and immediately afterward a terrificthud, as something--Frobisher could easily guess what--was driven withdeadly force into the heap of blankets close beside him.

  With a tremendous bound the young Englishman leaped forward, droppinghis revolver as he did so, and grappled with the intruder; but the manhad been prepared for any mishap by oiling his body, and twisted andsquirmed like an eel. So slippery was his skin that Frobisher, with allhis tremendous strength, recognised that he could not hold him. Hetherefore gripped the fellow's wrist as firmly as he could with his lefthand, and drew back his clenched right fist for a knock-out blow. Butbefore he could deliver it he received a fearful kick in the stomachfrom one of the man's feet--which luckily were bare, or he would havebeen killed--and he doubled up like a jack-knife, involuntarilyloosening his grip on the other's wrist. In an instant the man hadgained the door of the tent, and was lost in the darkness, while poorFrobisher lay upon the ground gasping.

  It was fully ten minutes before he had so far recovered as to be able tostand upright; but as soon as his strength returned he struck a matchand lighted a lantern. By its light he examined the pile of blanketswhich had formed his bed, and, as he expected, found them pinned to theground by a long, wavy-bladed knife, very similar in appearance to aMalay kris, which had been driven into the earth up to the very hilt bya blow that would assuredly have killed him, had he continued to slumberfor another five minutes.

  Frobisher drew out the knife, and tried to remember whether he had everseen it before--whether he had observed it in the possession of any ofthe men composing the caravan; but he could not remember having seen aknife of the kind in the hands of any of the drivers. He thereforethrew it aside, and cautiously opened the flap of the tent to seewhether there was any mischief going on outside. But all was silent,and he could see some of the shadowy forms of the men on guard.

  It was then half-past eleven, as he found by looking at his watch, andtoo late to go to sleep again, even if he felt inclined.

  Precisely half an hour later a figure appeared at the door of the tent,and a voice observed quietly: "Time to wake up, mastel. You tellee mewake you one piecee time twelluf. Twelluf now, and me welly sleepy."

  It was Ling.