*CHAPTER XVI*
*Fire Panic*
Sentry-go--Beneath the Wall--An Old Friend--Thirst--A Way Out--ThreeShots--The Signal--The Reply--A Countryside in Flames--At FullGallop--Alarms--Stampede--Chow-chow
At the most, the distance Jack had to traverse was but a short mile, yetso slow was his progress that nearly two hours had elapsed before, fromthe vantage-ground of a hillock a few feet above the surrounding fields,he caught a dim glimpse in the starlight of the farm buildings looming ashort distance in front of him. His intent ears had already caught themeasured tread of a sentry just ahead; stealing along for another fewyards he could now see his head and shoulders and the end of a carbineprojecting above the high grass. Jack stopped and watched. Thesentry's beat seemed to be about thirty yards; to his right Jack couldhear the hum of several low voices, no doubt from a picket. He hadtaken the precaution of approaching the farm at the point farthest fromthe main gate. The Chunchuses, if they made a sally, would not leavetheir horses behind, for on foot they would be at the mercy of theirenemy. Since they could not leap their steeds over the wall, they werebound to issue from the gate if at all; the exit, therefore, was sure tobe closely guarded, though no doubt there were sentries all round thefarm.
To the left of the sentry Jack had first seen there was another, whosebeat met that of his comrade. Jack could barely discern him in thedarkness, but he fancied that the man, on reaching the nearer end of hisbeat, awaited the arrival of the other before turning. That wouldevidently be the best point at which to attempt the passage to the farm;and the best time would be a second or two after they had turned theirbacks upon one another, when any slight noise Jack might make wouldalmost certainly be attributed by each man to his comrade. Jack wentdown on hands and knees and crawled very slowly to within a few paces ofthe meeting-place. Then he lay still, hoping that he had notmiscalculated and that there was no danger beyond. He listenedintently; on both sides he heard the men approaching; to the left thesound was fainter; the beats were evidently of unequal length. One mancame to a halt; in a few seconds he was joined by the other; theyexchanged a remark in a low tone, then separated and tramped in oppositedirections. Instantly Jack glided across their trail, and, still onhands and knees, crept towards the farm, which he distinguished as ablacker patch against the sky perhaps a hundred yards away.
He soon found that between him and the wall lay a stretch of almost bareground, no doubt made by the traffic around the farm. How was he tocross this? He might be seen by both Cossacks and Chunchuses, and ifseen he would be the target for perhaps scores of rifles.
All was still within the farm; from the distance came faintsounds--voices from the Russian camp; behind he heard the tramp ofsentries. Flat on the ground, already cold with the autumn night frost,he eagerly scanned the prospect for some cover by favour of which hecould creep across to the wall. His heart gave a jump as he noticed, afew feet to his right, what appeared to be a ditch running from the wallacross the bare patch and into the fields. Crawling noiselessly to it,he found that it was a shallow cutting, intended, as he judged by thesmell, to carry off the drainage from the courtyard. There was no helpfor it; he sidled into the channel, luckily dry, and wormed his wayalong it until he came to within a few feet of the wall. As heexpected, the drain passed through a hole in the wall, sufficiently deepfor a man to crawl through.
But the wall gave him pause. He dared not creep through; he would betaken for an enemy and shot. He must seek a means of communicating withthe garrison without drawing their fire. He crawled to the hole,hesitated for a moment, then, making a bell of his hands, sent throughthe shallow tunnel a low hiss, loud enough to awaken attention; softenough, he hoped, not to create alarm. Breathlessly he waited; therewas no response. Again he hissed; this time somewhat louder. There wasa quick footstep within; then silence. A third time; he heard a footstrike against the wall, and next moment became conscious that someonewas looking down at him over the wall. He lifted his head.
"I am a friend," he said in deliberate clear-cut Chinese. "I have newsfor your captain."
The man uttered an exclamation under his breath; then bade him remainperfectly still or he would shoot him. In a low tone he summoned acomrade and sent him for the commander. Jack heard a little bustlewithin, not loud enough to catch the attention of the sentries. A fewminutes later a second voice spoke from the top of the wall.
"Come through."
Jack wriggled through the narrow opening. Only his head projectedwithin the wall when he was told to stop.
"Who are you?"
"Mr. Wang, is that you?"
"Ch'hoy! It is Mr. Chack Blown. Rise, sir!"
All bemired and dishevelled, Jack sprang to his feet. The Chinamankowtowed, uttering an incoherent welcome; then led the way to thefarmhouse.
"That's the most ticklish half-hour I ever spent in my life," said Jack,when he was seated opposite to Wang Shih on the k'ang in theliving-room. "And I'm pretty hungry. I've had nothing but rice-cakesand monkey-nuts since morning. Have you got anything to eat?"
"Plenty, sir; it is water we are in straits for. I will get yousomething."
In a few minutes a hot dish of boiled chicken and rice, with a couple ofclean chop-sticks, lay before Jack. He ate the meal with keen relish,while Wang Shih at his request gave a rapid narrative of the events thathad led to his present predicament. With a small force he was beatingup recruits in the district when he suddenly came upon a troop ofCossacks outnumbering him by two to one. Knowing the country so well, hecould easily have got away, but unluckily he was sighted by a secondtroop, which cut across his line of retreat so rapidly that he had onlytime to throw himself and his handful of men into the farm before thetwo hostile bands united and closed upon him. He had kept them off forthree days; there was food enough to last another week, but hisammunition was running short, and, worst of all, the water supply hadalmost given out. His men had been put upon the smallest possibleallowance, but in spite of their care and self-denial there was barelyenough left to last for another twenty-four hours, and the horses werealready suffering terribly. He had been hoping that Ah Lum would send aforce to relieve him; but the chief was moving northward when he lastsaw him, and he doubted whether the man he had sent could reach him intime. In default of relief, his only course when the water failed wouldbe to make a sortie by night; but the odds against him were so heavythat very few of his men could possibly escape.
"That is why I am here," said Jack. "I was on my way to join Mr.Ah--the reason I will tell you presently--when I heard of your plight,in the village yonder. I came to see for myself how you were placed;your danger had not been exaggerated; and I was on the point of goingoff in despair when I had a sudden idea; it was suggested by something Isaw in the enemy's camp. I think there is a bare chance of escape ifyou will act on my plan."
There was a look of mingled eagerness and anxiety on Wang Shih's face ashe begged Jack to tell him what he had in mind.
"I am not alone," continued Jack. "I came up with a guide given me byMr. Ah's agent Me Hong in Moukden, and Hi Lo, our compradore's son, youremember. They are waiting on the hill less than a mile away. When Iwas looking out over the country I saw the Russians light fires forcooking their supper, and at first wondered why their kitchen was so faraway from the farm. But I saw the reason. As you know, there's astrong north-easter blowing; the smoke from their fires floated thisway, towards the farm. They had been prudent in selecting a spot awayfrom the fields, for a spark in the long grass might start a blaze, and,spreading through the kowliang, it would destroy their cover and makethem easy targets for your marksmen. What would happen if the grasschanced to burn in the night, eh?"
The Chinaman's expression changed; his chest heaved.
"We have tried to fire the grass more than once, but they always stampedit out. Go on, sir," he said.
"Well, you see, if a match were put to the grass to windward
of thefarm, in several places, and if the wind held, the flames would sweepupon the Russians in a very few minutes. Their horses would stampede;the men would be so startled that probably they would be quite unable tothink of anything but their own safety; and while they were scatteredand disorganized, you could sally out of the gate and get so good astart that, even if they caught their horses, you would be out of harm'sway before they could pursue."
"But the flames would set fire to the farm. We should be burnt alive;our horses would be frightened too, and we could never get them to facethe fire and smoke."
"I had thought of that. The thatch will probably catch fire; but theopen space outside the wall will prevent the flames from actuallytouching the wall, and that will serve as a partial protection. Thenyou can blindfold the horses so that they don't see the glare; they'llhave to risk suffocation by the smoke, but the men can avoid that bylying flat on their faces and holding wet rags to their mouths. If I'mright, the crops will burn very quickly and not smoulder; you must, ofcourse, wait until the fire has swept by the farm; but then dash outwithout losing a minute. I think you can rely on the Russians getting aterrible fright, and that will be your opportunity."
"But how is the fire to be lighted at the right place, and how are we toknow when it will be done?"
"I left instructions with my guide. If he hears three rifle-shots insuccession at noon to-morrow he is to creep down with Hi Lo at dusk andchoose two spots about half a mile apart, just beyond where theCossacks' horses are picketed. They will set fire to the grass where itis thickest, then run towards each other and fire it in two otherplaces, and make their way as rapidly as possible back to the copsewhere our ponies are. The only risk is that they may be discoveredbefore they can complete their work; but it's to their own interest tobe careful, and I think I can trust Hi Lo, at any rate, to outwit anyRussian."
Wang Shih was convinced. Greatly impressed by the care with which Jackhad thought out the details of the stratagem, he smiled and rubbed hishands together with gleeful satisfaction. Suddenly he checked thesesigns of pleasure; he rose from the seat, pressed his closed fists tohis breast, and bent over until his brow all but touched the ground.
"I thank you, sir," he said. "I am grateful; Mr. Ah will be grateful;you have risked your life for us, and we Chinamen never forget abenefit."
"You saved me from death, Mr. Wang; look at it as an acknowledgment ifyou like. Besides, we are not out of the wood yet; the farm may bestormed to-morrow before the time for trying our little plan."
The Chinaman scoffed; he had held the Russians off for three days, andit was not to be supposed that, with an additional motive for a stoutresistance, his men would fail at the last.
"But what if the wind drops? We require the wind to make the blaze ashort and merry one."
"No, no, sir. At this time of year the wind when it sets from thenorth-east blows for weeks at a time----"
"Bringing snow as often as not. A snow-storm would spoil it all."
Wang Shih's face fell; he looked so much distressed that Jack laughed.
"I was only imagining the worst, Mr. Wang. The sky is clear and the airas dry as a bone. Barring an accident, or some very sudden and unlikelychange in the weather, there will be a pretty bonfire to-morrow night."
"Shall I tell the men to-night, sir?"
"On no account. Let them sleep. The place is carefully watched, ofcourse?"
"Yes. Six men are on duty for two hours at a time; the watches arecarefully arranged."
"That's all right, then. Now I'm pretty tired; this k'ang is very warmand cosy, and if you don't mind I'll coil myself up on it and go tosleep. Don't wake me unless anything happens."
Jack slept like a top till ten next morning. It was bright and clear,and he was delighted to find that the wind had increased in force. WangShih had been self-restrained enough to withhold the details of Jack'splan from his men, curious as they were to learn what had brought theEnglishman into their midst at such risk to himself. They had merelybeen told that there was a prospect of escape. At noon the three shotsarranged as a signal were fired by Wang Shih himself. The Russians tookno notice of them. Hidden by the kowliang they were content to wait,knowing that the water supply must ere long fail. In the afternoon themen were informed of the scheme and given their instructions. Theybecame voluble as they discussed the plan among themselves. There is abed-rock of stoicism in the Chinese character; these brigands were notgiven to a facile display of emotion; they showed little surprise,little pleasure, but talked over the approaching event almostdispassionately, as if it had been an academic problem. They preparedmaterial for blindfolding the horses, and rags to steep in the last inchof turbid water in the tank; then the most of them settled down tobeguile the remaining hours with fan-tan.
Jack could not achieve such composure of mind. He gave no outward signof his feelings; but as the hours passed and the time drew near for theexecution of his plan he began to feel restless and impatient. He wasamused at himself, remembering how his father had been wont to poke funat him for this very characteristic. "It's only in the Arabian Nightsthat an acorn becomes an oak in a moment," Mr. Brown once said. Butthough he could smile at himself he did not become less impatient as theday wore on. As the sun crept round towards the west, and sank over thepurple hills, he looked anxiously from a secure corner of the walltowards the spot whence he expected the flames to spring. The twilightthickened; there was no sign. All at once he thought he saw an objectmoving down the opposite hillside. Surely the guide could not be soarrantly stupid as to approach in full view of the camp! In a fewmoments Jack's anxiety was relieved, and at the same time increased,when he found that the moving object was a Cossack slowly riding towardsthe farm. He was a messenger, perhaps; probably his approach haddelayed the execution of the scheme; Jack could only hope that thiswould not be frustrated entirely. The rider came nearer and nearer; hemight discover the man and the boy lurking in the long grass, for he wasapproaching the very spot that Jack had pointed out as an excellentplace for the first match to be struck. An intervening hillock now hidthe Cossack from view; Jack waited; it was growing darker; would theexpected flame never spring up? The minutes passed, lingeringly; allwas quiet; nothing could be heard but the rustle and clash of the grassand stalks as the wind struck their tops together.
Suddenly, from a spot somewhat to the right of the place where theCossack had disappeared, a thin spiral of smoke shot up into the indigosky. Almost simultaneously another appeared, far to the left; in thedark they could scarcely be detected except by eyes so intently lookingfor them as Jack's. They grew in volume; other spirals rose betweenthem; fanned by the steady wind they swelled into a bank of smoke,through which Jack's anxious gaze now discerned tongues of flame.
"Now!" he cried to Wang Shih at his elbow.
The word was given to the men; in a few seconds the horses wereblindfolded; and by the time the rags were steeped a vast blazeilluminated the sky; the four fires, spreading with amazing rapidity,were sweeping towards the farm at the rate of a trotting horse. Shoutsbroke the stillness; amid the crackling of the flames the clatter ofmetal, the shrill whinnies of terrified horses, then the thunder ofhoofs. From the fields men ran helter-skelter, some attempting to catchtheir horses, others in their confusion rushing towards the open spacebefore the farm, careless whether the rifles of the Chunchuses markedthem down. Onward came the dense volume of smoke bellying towards thefarm. Jack already felt the heat; above his head red wisps of grasswere streaking the sky; one fell upon the thatch, extinct; anotherfollowed, dying before it could kindle the straw; the next was larger,burned more brightly; it held; the thatch was alight.
The men were prone upon the ground, pressing wet rags to their mouths.Their horses were snorting, whinnying, straining on their halters; onehad broken loose, and was madly dashing round the courtyard when Jackseized it by the broken halter and endeavoured to soothe it. The mudwall beat off the flames; but the smoke enveloped the whole
farm in adense cloud, pungent, spark-laden, becoming every moment more stifling.Jack was forced to earth; he could not breathe; still clutching thehalter he crept under the lee of the wall, and there lay fighting forbreath. The thatched roof was now ablaze; the fields were a mass offire; would the smoke never pass and leave a passage for the almostsuffocated men?
A red glare lit up the farmyard. The flames had devoured the thatch,and were licking the joists. Jack glanced round the scene, his eyessmarting so keenly that he could scarcely see. The horses wereshivering with terror; two or three of the men, braving the smoke, wereendeavouring to calm them; the rest of the Chunchuses were still flat onthe ground. But to the north-east the smoke was thinning. Jack rose tohis feet and looked over the wall. The fields between the farm and theriver were black, with here and there a smouldering stalk. On the otherside the flames were still raging; there was nothing to check theirfury. The passage from the gateway was now open; the ground indeed wasvery hot; but it would be folly to wait for it to cool. Jack called forWang Shih.
"Now is the time," he said.
Wang Shih gave the word; the men sprang to their feet and vaulted intothe saddle; the bar across the gate was let down; and then, tearing thebandages from their horses' eyes, the men dashed out at a furious gallopacross the still scorching soil. Jack, mounted on a spare horse, ledthe way towards the river, making for the bridle path which must havebeen followed by the Cossack just before the match was struck. For thefirst half-mile it was a terrible race; sparks and smoke flew up as thehorses stirred the smouldering embers; the poor beasts screamed withpain as their unshod hoofs felt the heat; the men breathed stertorously,half-choked by the acrid fumes. Then, in an instant as it seemed, theypassed from an inferno into the elysian fields. They had reached thelimit of the burnt grass, the keen cold wind struck their faces; men andanimals took deep breaths; they were free, and in the pure air again.Floundering through the fresh-ploughed field where the Russians had lefttheir cooking-pots, they came to the river. For one moment they haltedto allow men and horses to slake their thirst; then they pushed on, upthe northern slope, in the direction of the place where Jack hoped tofind Hi Lo and the guide.
On the crest of the slope he reined up for a moment and looked to theleft. The sheet of fire was still sweeping on towards a plantation onthe south-west side. It seemed that the whole country in that directionmust be devastated; nothing could stop the flames but the bare rockyridge a mile or more away. Faint shouts came from the distance; then afitful succession of shots scarcely audible through the crackle androar. Who could be firing? Jack was puzzled to account for the soundsuntil he guessed that the Cossacks in their headlong flight had flungaway their loaded carbines, and that, as the fire swept over them, thesewere exploded by the heat.
With a glow of content at the success of his scheme, Jack hastened onafter the brigands, now walking their horses towards the uplands. Therewas no fear of pursuit; the Russians were far too much demoralized, andtheir horses were gone, none knew whither. When Jack overtook the band,Wang Shih suggested that they should follow up their advantage anddestroy the enemy. But from this Jack dissuaded him; there wereprobably other detachments of Cossacks in the neighbourhood; it was bestto let well alone, and rejoin his chief as soon as possible. Ah Lummight himself be hard pressed by the encircling movement which theRussians had apparently begun. The Chunchuses therefore rode on, stillat a walking pace.
The moon was rising, throwing her silvery mantle over the quiet country.Skirting a black clump of trees the riders were startled to hear thedistant clatter of a large body of horses galloping towards them.Moment by moment the sound grew louder. Had another troop of the enemylearnt of what had happened and started on their tracks? Wang Shihlooked anxiously around; nothing could be seen, but the sound appearedto come from beyond a stretch of rolling country to the left of theirline of march. Giving a brief word of command, Wang Shih wheeled hishorse towards the copse; and his band following him at a quick trot,they were soon in the cover of the leafless trees, waiting in anxioussilence for the appearance of the enemy.
Nearer and nearer came the thud of hundreds of hoofs. Wang Shih orderedhis men to maintain absolute silence; he hoped that the enemy, unawareof his proximity, would pass by and give him the opportunity to slipaway undetected. A few minutes passed; Jack was wondering why he couldnot hear the rattle of sword-cases on the horses' flanks, when on thecrest of the low ridge opposite appeared the head of the column, and theearth seemed to shake as score after score of dark forms swept forwardtowards the path the Chunchuses had so lately left. The brigands hadmuch ado to quiet their ponies, which were pricking their ears andsnuffing with distended nostrils in restless excitement. Then, as themoonlight fell upon the advancing mass, every man in the copse heaved asigh of relief--and something more. Their pursuers were not horsemen,but horses, every one of them riderless--clearly the stampeded horses ofthe enemy, rushing blindly into the night, the fire panic at theirheels.
"We ought to catch them," said Jack to Wang Shih as they thundered past.
The Chinaman smacked his lips with approval. Such a capture would be aturning of the tables indeed. But how was it to be done? One of hismen, knowing in the ways of horses, proposed a plan. The principalthing was to prevent the fugitives from heading back towards theCossacks. Let the brigands then extend on a wide front and follow; therunagates would keep together, and by and by, when their flight waspast, come to a halt. Adopting the suggestion, Wang Shih led his men ata smart trot up the slope. For a long time the beat of the runaways'hoofs could be heard in the night air--the more clearly because theywere to windward. Then the sound gradually died away. Wang Shih wasanxious not to outrun them in the darkness; the country was uneven, withpatches of timber here and there, and the animals if they stopped in theshelter of the hills might easily be passed. But with the number of menat his command it would not be difficult to find the most of them, atany rate, with the morning light. He pushed on, therefore, until hereached the spot where Hi Lo and the guide were eagerly awaiting Jack'sarrival. There the band off-saddled, and, worn out with fatigue andexcitement, the men flung themselves down on the leaf-strewn ground andsought their much-needed rest.
Jack did not fail to bestow warm praise upon the man and the boy who hadso faithfully and cleverly carried out their part of the scheme. Hi Lohad been just on the point of striking his match when the Cossackmessenger whom Jack had seen came riding behind him. The boy had barelytime to slip into the tall kowliang, whence he had watched theunsuspecting horseman ride past.
"You did very well," said Jack. "Your father will be pleased when Itell him."
Hi Lo beamed with delight.
"My hab makee velly big fire; my look-see allo-piecee Lusski manbelongey velly muchee 'flaid; my walkee long-side chow-chow pots;catchee plenty muchee bellyful, that-time lun wailo."
Jack laughed, and bade the boy make a pillow of his pony's saddle and goto sleep.
Next morning the stampeded horses were discovered peacefully croppingthe grass in a narrow valley about a mile from the Chunchuses' bivouac.They allowed themselves to be caught easily; and with the booty ofnearly two hundred Transbaikal ponies in excellent condition Wang Shihpursued his march.