*CHAPTER XVII*
*The War Game*
An Offer--Conditions--The Sweep of the Net--Military Instructor--TheSpur of Competition--Birds of a Feather--Short Commons--A Trap--MoreCossacks--Ah Lum in Danger--Initiative--A Race for Position--Sword andPistol--Driven Off
For four days Wang Shih and his band marched through the hills withouthearing anything of Ah Lum. Their progress was somewhat hampered by theadditional horses, and Wang Shih chose devious and difficult paths inorder to evade scouting parties of Cossacks; for he had little doubtthat when the news of the recent incident reached the Russian general incharge of the lines of communication, he would issue orders to hislieutenants to hasten their movements against their daring and elusiveenemy. On the fifth day it was reported by a peasant that Ah Lum, aftera continuous march northward, was now turning south before formidableRussian forces that were threatening to enclose him. He had felt theirstrength in one or two slight engagements, and found that they greatlyoutnumbered him; but, owing to his superior mobility and his knowledgeof the country, he had been able to escape without serious loss.
Next day, as the band was threading a defile leading to a well-wateredvalley, there was a sudden stoppage of the column. It turned out thatthe advanced patrol had been halted by Ah Lum's scouts, who, however, assoon as they learned the identity of the new-comers, allowed them topass. The Chunchuse chief was found to have encamped by the river-side,in the valley, the three exits to it being carefully guarded. When helearnt that Wang Shih had returned, with a welcome supply of remounts,he rode forward to meet his lieutenant. Great was his amazement to findamong the band the young Englishman who had served as unpaid tutor tohis son. His surprise was greater still when Wang Shih recounted thepart Jack had played; and the narrative did not minimize hisachievement; Wang Shih declared plainly that but for Jack's timelyarrival, quick wit, and fearlessness of character, the band mustinevitably have been wiped out. Ah Lum made no effort to conceal hispleasure. He had the soldier's delight in a brilliant feat; thebrigand's delight in a good haul; and the mere man's delight in thechance of again securing tutorial services for nothing. He warmlycongratulated Jack, and insisted on knowing all the circumstances thathad led up to the great event. When the story was fully told, hislittle black eyes gleamed through his goggles with undisguisedsatisfaction.
"Irresistible destiny has fulfilled her own decree," he said. "Allevents are separately fated before they happen. I repeat the offer Imade to you on the eve of your departure. If there be no faith in ourwords, of what use are they? I will give you a command in my army; youwill come next to my trusty lieutenant, Mr. Wang; he has muscle, youhave mind: both inestimable qualities in a warrior. Did not the poetWang Wei write in his _Essay on Military Matters_:
"'Know then the Proof: that Leader is most fit Who Thought to Valour joins, and Strength to Wit'?"
"Thank you!" said Jack gravely; "I accept your kind offer; but, to befrank, there are one or two points I think I ought to mention. As Isaid, our compradore has gone to Harbin to make enquiries for my father;if I hear from him, I may have to leave at any moment."
"That is understood. The son that forgetteth his father, shall he notdie childless?"
"And there is another point. As you know, Mr. Ah, it is not the Englishcustom--nor indeed the custom of any western nation--to tortureprisoners. I have heard that the ways of Chinese warriors are not likeours in that respect. You will pardon me if I say that it will bedifficult for me to take service in a force to whom such excesses arepermitted."
Somewhat to Jack's surprise the chief did not take offence.
"In that also," he said, "my mind is equally yoked with yours. AsConfucius says, 'The intelligence of the superior man is deep'; the wiseman is he that is ever learning. I have watched this war; I see thatthe Japanese have won their successes by adopting the red man's methods.I will make a decree that no prisoner shall suffer inordinatecorrection. But I must beg you to be patient. When water has onceflowed over, it cannot easily be restored; when the passions have oncebeen indulged, they cannot easily be restrained. Water must be kept inby dykes, the passions must be regulated by the laws of propriety. Iwill impress these laws on my men; they shall know what is right; and Iwill make them understand that knowing what is right without practisingit denotes a want of proper resolution."
"Thank you, Mr. Ah! that is a relief. For myself, I can only say that Iwill do my best to be worthy of your confidence."
"Now, is it not written, 'He that gives willingly is himself worthy ofgifts'? I beg of you a favour in return; it is that you will continueto give my son lessons in your honourable language. And, further, Ishall be grateful if you will deign to teach me something of thebarbarian's art of war, the learning of which has made the Japanese sovictorious."
"I will go on with Ah Fu with pleasure," said Jack, adding with a smile:"but I'm afraid I can't do anything in the other line. I have made nostudy of warfare; my father has trained me to a commercial career."
"But you have seen the barbarian armies at their exercise?"
"I admit that."
"Well, I am sure you can be of great service to me if it is your augustpleasure."
"I will do what I can, Mr. Ah,--if your men will carry out instructions.I'm a 'foreign devil', after all."
"'In the world there are many men, but few heroes', as the proverb says.I know your worth; do I not remember the boar, and the saving of myson's life? surely it would ill become me to forget; and this lateemployment of fire against our enemies? Modesty is attended withprofit; whereas arrogance courts destruction. My men, those that Iplace under you, will obey you. I will see to that."
Jack thus found himself lieutenant in a regiment of some twelve hundredmen, armed for the most part with Mausers, and well mounted. Except fora wholesome dread of their chief, however, they had very littlediscipline, and but scant military cohesion. Although there was no lackof arms and ammunition, Ah Lum was not too well provisioned. He had beendriven by the encircling Russian movement into a somewhat poor district,the hills being more fruitful in forest trees than in grain. The valleyof his encampment was fertile enough, but its products would soon beexhausted, and it was separated from the grain-bearing plains to thewest by a chain of barren heights. The bandits were being drivenfarther and farther into the mountainous regions, where it would becomeincreasingly difficult to feed so large a force. Messengers hadrecently come in, reporting that Russian troops operating on thenorthern frontier of Korea were pushing reconnoitring parties into thehills in their rear with the object of locating them. There were manysmaller parties of Chunchuses scattered over the country, but Ah Lum'swas the only considerable band left in the angle between the two railwaylines connecting Harbin with Kirin and Vladivostok respectively. Thelull after the battle of Liao-yang had enabled the Russians to devotemore attention than heretofore to clearing their flanks of thesetroublesome irregulars. Ah Lum was well served by scouts, the countrypeople being anxious to purchase immunity by giving such information asthey could without risk; and from them the chief had learnt that thelargest force opposed to him was at this time about two marches away.Some days would probably pass before they came on his trail. It hadbeen throughout the war the Russians' experience that the Chinese werevery reluctant to give them news of any kind, and this reluctance hadbeen still more marked since the unbroken success of the Japanese hadbecome common knowledge through the country.
Day after day passed, and the bandits were still left unmolested. Jack,settling down to his new position, had his hands fully occupied. Hegave Ah Fu lessons in English daily, to his father's great delight. Buthe had wider scope for his tutorial faculty. He had felt a littlenatural amusement at the idea of being placed--he, a civilian, with justas much military experience as his school drill-ground and some practiceat the butts afforded--in command of a troop of warriors--a motleyhorde, indeed, but all seasoned, determined, fearles
s fellows. But, aswas inevitable in a force indiscriminately recruited and entirelylacking in regular training, the men had much to learn; and Jack had notmade a whole-hearted study of the Boer war without feeling that,civilian though he was, he was better acquainted with the generalprinciples of warfare than possibly any other member of the band. TheChunchuses were little accustomed to organized movements on anyconsiderable scale; they were most adept in sniping at single travellersor small bodies whom they could attack unawares from the vantage ofcover. Something more was required if they were to defeat the seriousattempts now being made to crush them, and Jack was determined to showhimself worthy of Ah Lum's confidence by his manner of handling his owndivision of two hundred and fifty men.
Marksmanship and cover: these he took to be the principal factors inmodern warfare. So far as the use of cover was concerned, he found thathis men had little to learn; several months of hard fighting againsttroops carrying arms of precision had enforced the value of cover in themost practical way. In each engagement the Russians had taken toll ofthose who failed to recognize its importance: their bodies lay among thehills from the Yalu to the Sungari. But in marksmanship the Chunchuseswere not so efficient. A large proportion of them had never handled,perhaps never even seen, a rifle until they joined the band. Withoutdefinite instruction they were apt to blaze away at their own will andpleasure, absolutely reckless of the wastage of ammunition, which hadhitherto, owing to one or two lucky raids, been plentiful. Jacksuspected that the proportion of hits to misses was woefully small. Hetherefore set earnestly to work to effect an improvement in thisrespect. He rigged up butts, put every man in his command through acourse, and, taking advantage of the Chinaman's love of competitiveexamination, started a shooting competition, with badges of differentform and colour for the prizes. This especially pleased Ah Lum; itaroused a keen spirit among his men; the example of Jack's division wassoon followed by the rest, and the general proficiency was very largelyincreased.
Among Jack's men were the greater part of the company he had rescued.One of them was Hu Hang, the ex-constable. This man showedextraordinary skill with the rifle. As Hi Lo said:
"Policeyman he can shootee allo plopa first-chop what-time no piecee manhe shootee back."
This was a somewhat caustic remark; but Hi Lo had no love for theconstable, who indeed was not popular among the band. His comradeswould have been hardly human if they had not made the most of theiropportunities of paying off against Hu Hang the scores that many of themowed to members of his hated class. He kept a good deal apart, findinga congenial soul only in C'hu Tan, the former second in command, who hadbeen deposed for grave neglect of duty, and replaced by Wang Shih. Thetwo malcontents were often together, condoling with each other on theirwrongs; and their animus against Wang Shih extended to Jack, who struckthem as an additional supplanter, the more hateful from being aforeigner. Jack knew nothing of this himself; but it did not escape theshrewd eyes of Hi Lo, who kept quiet and unobtrusive watch upon C'huTan, dogging him at every turn.
After a fortnight's steady practice Jack felt that the fighting value ofhis little force was well-nigh doubled. But at the end of that time AhLum suddenly ordered the rifle practice to be stopped. A scout hadreported that the Russians had approached within striking distance, andthe chief feared lest the sound of the firing should betray hiswhereabouts.
At last one morning, after hearing a messenger who came in faint andgasping after a long night's ride, Ah Lum felt that the coil was beingdrawn too tightly around him. He gave a sudden order to decamp; theband quitted the valley that had sheltered them so long, and set offinto the hills. Lack of provisions was beginning to be felt. Theponies, hardy little animals, were able to pick up a subsistence on thehillsides, sparse though the grazing was at this time of year; and forthem stalks of kowliang could always be obtained as a last resource.But the supply of rice and buckwheat, on which the men depended, wasrunning short. Ah Lum somewhat dismally told Jack that it would now benecessary to reduce the rations. He confessed that he was in a tighterplace than ever before. At no time previously had the Russians made suchdetermined efforts to crush him. In addition to the Korean frontierforce far to his rear, which for the present need not be reckoned with,there were, as he had learnt, three large forces of Cossacks, eachstronger than his own band, converging upon him from north, east, andwest. General Kuropatkin had hitherto been able to make little use ofthese characteristic cavalry of the Russian army, so that they wereavailable for the less dignified but very necessary work ofbandit-hunting. The three forces directed against Ah Lum were still aconsiderable distance apart from one another, but it was clear to himthat in a few days he would have to try conclusions with one of thembefore they got into touch. He had only escaped this necessity so longbecause the Cossacks were unaccustomed to hill work. Matchless in rapidfurious charges on the plain, they had shown little capacity formountain fighting or even for scouting; and, as Jack learnt afterwards,they were desperately chagrined at their hard luck in having so fewchances of the kind of work that suited them.
The Chunchuses marched for several days into the hills, their conditiongoing from bad to worse. The rations were verging on exhaustion. TheCossacks were no doubt well supplied, and Ah Lum felt that the momenthad come for an attack on one of their forces. The nearest was only along march distant. Breaking up his camp early one morning, when thenight's frost lay white on the ground, he led his men across the hillsnorthward, and, proceeding with great caution, located the enemy late inthe afternoon. Throwing out scouts in advance--men intimatelyacquainted with the country--he sighted the Cossacks before they sightedhim, and at once fell back behind a forest-clad ridge so that hispresence might not be discovered that day. During the night his scoutsreported, apparently by a calculation from the enemy's watch-fires, thatthe Cossacks were at least a thousand strong, and thus about equalnumerically to Ah Lum's effective force, with the advantage of betterdiscipline and training. But the chief, in common with all hiscountrymen, had shrewdly studied the invaders; he had not been blind tothe Cossacks' failure in the war, and he was hardly the kind of man toallow himself to be terrorized by the mere name of Cossack, the effectof which was due merely to the memory of past exploits when theconditions of warfare were different.
An hour or two before they sighted the Russians, the bandits hadadvanced through a narrow pass, enclosed between steep and ruggedbluffs. Upon this pass Ah Lum decided to fall back; it offered everyadvantage for an ambuscade. Withdrawing thither during the hours ofdarkness, he allowed his men a brief spell of sleep; then, while thedawn was yet but a glimmer, he set them to fell trees in the copses thatcrowned the hills, and to pile them across the pathway at the far end.It was still early when he placed half his men in cover upon the heightsoverlooking the track; the rest, consisting of the divisions of WangShih and Jack, were sent to threaten the Russian rear. A mist hung overthe hills; it was bitterly cold, and the ponies often slipped on thefrosty ground. Luckily Wang Shih had with him a peasant of theneighbourhood who acted as guide. But for him the Chunchuses couldhardly have found their way.
It was but an hour after daybreak when they found themselves on theright rear of the Russians about two miles from the latter's camp. WangShih's orders were to wait until the Cossacks had advanced to the end ofthe pass and been checked by the ambuscade there. Then, before theenemy could recover from the confusion into which they would be thrown,he was to follow up rapidly in the hope that a movement seeming tothreaten their line of retreat might complete their disorder. Hetherefore waited until, from a secure hiding-place, he saw them quittheir camp and march out. Then he moved his men with Jack's down thehill somewhat closer to the enemy's line of march, and awaited the soundof firing in the distance that would announce the beginning of the fightat the ambuscade.
Meanwhile Jack narrowly scanned the surrounding country. The mist hadcleared away, and a bright cold October sun was painting the distanthills with various charming tints. Suddenly Jack'
s attention wasattracted by a dark, narrow, tape-like something moving down a slope farto the north-west. Before many seconds were past he was convinced thatit was a body of horsemen. The question was, what horsemen? In thedistance their character could not be distinguished; the one thingcertain was that they were not Japanese, for their clothes were verydark; the Japanese were wearing khaki. They were scarcely likely to beChunchuses; from their regular even progress Jack concluded that theycould not be native carriers; surely they must be a second body ofCossacks who had advanced by forced marches to co-operate with those nowapproaching the ambush.
Jack had moved some little distance in advance of his troop. What hehad seen sent him in haste to rejoin Wang Shih.
"We must get our men under cover," he said. "There are Cossacks, Ibelieve, descending the opposite hills. They may not have seen us yet."
The Chunchuses moved within cover of the nearest trees, and Wang Shihsent forward his keenest scout on foot to ascertain whether thenew-comers were enemies or friends. He returned in a few minutesdeclaring that even at this distance he had distinguished thecharacteristic head-dress of the Cossacks. Wang Shih was disposed toremain in cover until the time came for him to carry out Ah Lum'sorders. In his present position he ran little risk of being seen by theoncoming party, and being entirely without imagination it did not occurto him that the situation was now perhaps radically altered. But toJack the discovery seemed to be serious. The line of advance taken bythe second body of Cossacks would bring them within an hour across AhLum's rear. The position had been strangely reversed. While Ah Lumbelieved that Wang Shih was cutting off the retreat of the first body,his own rear was in process of being threatened by a force twice asnumerous as the one he could dispose of. He was probably in ignoranceof the danger, for the advancing Cossacks were shut from his view by thecontours of the hills, and there was little likelihood now of a warningbeing conveyed to him by a Chinese villager. It was impossible for amessenger to reach him from Wang Shih, for the first Russian force laybetween.
Jack pointed out to Wang Shih the peril in which his chief lay. TheChunchuse admitted it, but asked what he could do. With his assistanceAh Lum might beat the first body of the enemy before the second couldarrive, and then could turn his attention to it in its turn.
"But suppose the fight takes a long time? And suppose we do not succeedin beating the first Russian force? If they hold us until the secondarrives, Mr. Ah's men will be attacked from the rear, and they willcertainly be crushed between the two."
"It is as you say. But the chief has given me orders; he will be angryif I disobey. It is better to carry out orders."
It was evident that Wang Shih was disinclined to assume anyresponsibility. Jack was by no means satisfied that things must beallowed to take their course. It appeared to him of the utmostimportance that the second Russian force should be held in check untilthe first had been disposed of. He went through the clump of bare treesuntil he reached the summit of the crest, and looked anxiously towardsthe advancing band.
About a mile away the hill path it was following disappeared in a cleftin the hills, reappearing a quarter of a mile farther on. It seemed toJack that at this spot, resembling somewhat the position Ah Lum hadtaken up, it was possible to hold the Russians in check. So far as hecould see, there was no better place along their route for such anattempt, and he instantly made up his mind that the attempt must bemade. It was doubtful whether the Chunchuses could reach the cleft intime to occupy it before the Cossacks arrived, but there was a barechance, and he resolved to take it.
Hastening back to Wang Shih he explained that he proposed with his owndivision of men to make for the cleft, leaving the rest to carry out AhLum's instructions. Wang Shih raised no objection; he merely stipulatedthat Jack should accept the full responsibility for his action. In a fewminutes, therefore, Jack rode off at the head of his band; almostimmediately after starting he heard the dull sound of firing in Ah Lum'sdirection; the fight in the pass had begun. Clearly there was no timeto lose, for the same sound would certainly quicken the approach of thesecond body of Russians.
Keeping down the hill in order to screen his movements as long aspossible from the enemy, Jack led the way at as rapid a trot as therugged ground allowed. Only a few minutes had passed when the littleforce rode out on to the open hillside, where they must be seen by theRussians. Jack fancied that the enemy was at this time nearer to thecleft than his own men; but the Chunchuses were riding downhill, theRussians up, which gave room for hope that he might reach the positionfirst. He was helped also by the more open character of the ground onhis side, and by the fact that for some time the Russians failed torecognize the object of the horsemen riding at full speed towards them.During these precious moments Jack's party gained several hundred yards.Keeping one eye on the rough ground and the other on the enemy, Jacknoticed that the leading files broke from a walk into a trot and theninto a headlong scramble. It was now neck or nothing. Throwing cautionto the winds, he dug his spurs into his pony, and clattered at breakneckspeed down the slope, the Chunchuses hard at his heels. Several poniesstumbled and came to their knees, flinging their riders; but the rest,intoxicated with the excitement of the race, rode unheeding after theirleader. A dip in the ground now hid the two forces from one another;they would not again come in sight until the cleft was reached. Betweenthe Chunchuses and the point they aimed at lay a comparatively clearspace, dotted by a few single boulders without any of the smaller stonesthat for most of their ride had impeded their progress. Now Jack urgedhis panting steed to a mad gallop; the quarter-mile was covered in a fewseconds; he dashed into the cleft, the foremost of his men but a lengthbehind.
At full Tilt]
Eagerly he peered ahead through the narrow tortuous passage. None ofthe Cossacks was in sight. He galloped on, hoping to reach the otherend before they arrived; it would be easy to hold the entrance againstthem. He had almost reached the farther opening when he came full tilton the leading Russian horseman, a Transbaikal Cossack riding with looserein, pistol in hand. He was some twenty yards in advance of the troop.In the heat of the race Jack had not anticipated the chance of a fighton horseback. Before he could draw his pistol the Russian had fired:the bullet whizzed harmlessly past Jack's head. With astonishingdexterity the Russian whipped his sword from the scabbard; by the timeJack had his pistol ready only a few yards separated the two. Then Jackfired; the Russian's uplifted sword dropped from his hand, and theponies came together with a thud. Both riders fell to the ground, Jackbeing thrown lightly on the slope to the right, thus fortunatelyescaping the hoofs of the ponies following. He arose dazed, saw aconfused mass of men in front of him, heard shouts and the crack ofpistols. Pulling himself together, he ordered his men to dismount andline the sides of the gully. In an instant some scores of them werescrambling up the bluffs on both sides, leaving their ponies to begradually passed to the rear by their comrades.
The men in front, finding themselves unsupported, began to give way, butslowly and stubbornly. As the Russians could only advance two abreast,and that with difficulty, two or three precious minutes were gained,during which the crests of the slopes on either side were manned by theChunchuses. Now Jack gave the word to open fire. His men werebreathless; their limbs were quivering; and their hasty ill-directedshots did little execution. But several horses and men fell in theRussian van; the pressure on the mounted Chunchuses who were stemmingthe Russian advance was reduced; and then, as the marksmen steadied andtook deliberate aim, a hot and deadly fire was poured into the enemy'sranks. The Russians made an attempt to reply, taking advantage of coverwhere they could, some of them sheltering themselves behind the poniesthat had fallen. But the bandits had all the advantage of position; theCossacks, after a gallant stand, were forced to give way; and leavingmore than thirty of their number on the ground they galloped back ahalf-mile to a shoulder of the hill, where they found protection fromthe rifle-fire of the Chunchuses.