CHAPTER XXIX
FROM ONE DIFFICULTY TO ANOTHER
"Where is this going to end?"
It was Ben who asked himself the question, as he walked up and down thenarrow cell in which he had been confined in the prison at Port Arthur.
What had been written to Gilbert in the letter from Pekin had beensubstantially correct. Ben had aided Ken Gow in numerous ways, and forthis the Chinaman had been extremely grateful and had promised to do allhe could for the young captain should he manage to escape from theblockaded seaport. Then Ken Gow had disappeared one night, and that wasthe last Ben saw of him.
Three days later a guard entered the prison and announced that theprisoners were to be transferred to other quarters. With his hands boundbehind him, Ben was marched forth through a side street of Port Arthur,where stood an old building which had formerly been used as a market.Cells had been built in this structure, and into one of these he wasthrust, the guard sarcastically telling him to make himself ascomfortable as possible.
The young captain was sick in both body and mind and fast reaching thatpoint where one becomes desperate and fit for any deed of daring. Morethan once he was tempted to throw himself on the guard in an endeavor tooverpower the fellow and escape. But he realized that if caught at thishe would be immediately shot down.
Day after day passed, and from outside the prisoner heard the dullbooming of cannon. Occasionally a shell would explode close to theprison, causing a wild yell of alarm and a general rush by thoseoutside. There were flags over the prisons and over the hospitals,showing what manner of places they were, but, as said before, theJapanese were at a loss to see what they were firing at, so many shotsand shells went where they were not intended. These mishaps were whatcaused the report to circulate that the Mikado's men were not fightingaccording to the rules of modern warfare, but were doing their best toshatter the hospitals in which lay their own and the Russian wounded.
It was a cold, raw day, with a touch of snow in the air, and Ben feltone of his desperate moods coming over him. His hands and feet were freeand he peered forth from the one narrow window that the cell contained.All he could see beyond was a courtyard, surrounded by a stone wall.
"I wish I was out there--I'd get over that wall somehow!" he muttered tohimself.
The cell window was not over fifteen or sixteen inches wide and twicethat in height. The bars were of iron, but set in wooden frames but afew inches in thickness.
"A fellow might smash out those bars with the bench end," he thought."But after that what? I reckon the guard in the courtyard would shoot meon sight. I might try it at night."
Still in a desperate mood, Ben picked up the bench, a solid affairseveral feet long. He made an imaginary lunge at the window bars withit.
"I'll wager I could knock them out with one blow. They----"
Ben got no further, for at the moment a fearful explosion soundedsomewhere overhead. The explosion was followed by a crash and a wildyell of alarm. A Japanese shell had struck the top of the building,tearing away fully a quarter of the roof and sending the bricks andtimbers flying in all directions.
"Now is my chance!" he muttered, and without stopping to think twice herammed the window bars as hard as he could with the bench. A second andthird blow followed, and down went the irons, carrying a portion of thewindow frame with them. Then through the opening leaped the youngcaptain. As he landed in the courtyard, he picked up a small log of woodlying handy.
A glance around told him that the guard was nowhere in sight, theRussian having run to the other side of the building to note the damagedone by the shell. Log in hand, Ben leaped quickly across the courtyardand placed the bit of wood up against the wall. This gave him a footing,and in a twinkling he was on top of the wall.
But though he acted quickly a guard from the prison building saw him andran forth gun in hand.
"Halt!" came the command, in Russian, and then, raising his weapon, theguard fired at Ben.
The bullet whistled over the young captain's head, and without lookingback to see who had fired it, he dropped on the other side of the wall.Then he sprinted up the street and around a corner.
Ben knew not where to go, but his one thought was to put distancebetween himself and the prison, and he hurried on and on, until he cameto a barn which stood open. Into this he darted, to find the buildingempty of occupants.
The Japanese had begun a general bombardment of Port Arthur and shot andshells were flying in all directions. This being the case, the majorityof the troops and the inhabitants were out of sight,--hid away incellars and dugouts. Nobody paid any attention to him and he was thusgiven ample time in which to think matters over and decide upon his nextmovement.
From the barn Ben moved to the building next door--which was a sort ofdwelling and storehouse combined. Here, from the wide open doorway, hegazed at the scene of destruction before him. It was full of horror andmade him shiver.
"War is certainly a terrible thing," he thought. He saw some peoplerunning for their lives, and beheld one man go down struck in the backby a shell. Then he turned away to shut out the sight.
In one room of the warehouse he found an old overcoat and a slouch hat,and lost no time in donning these, both as a disguise and to keephimself warm. Then he hunted around for something to eat, but could notfind a mouthful.
"I might have known there would be no food squandered," he told himself."Didn't they say at the prison that they were slaughtering the horsesjust for the meat, and that butter and eggs were worth their weight ingold? I'll be lucky to get bread and soup--especially as I haven't adollar with which to pay for a meal."
Ben was about to leave the warehouse when he saw a file of Russiansoldiers approaching. With the soldiers were two officers, and as theycame closer he recognized one as Captain Barusky.
"It was a bad thing to let that American escape," said the captain tothe other officer. "If you catch sight of him, shoot him on the spot."
"Which we shall do with pleasure," was the ready answer; and thenofficers and soldiers passed on.
"I've got to keep out of sight, that's all there is to that," reasonedBen, grimly. "If they catch me again it's all up with me. I wonder if itwould be possible to get out of Port Arthur? Gilbert got out, but thingsweren't half so closely guarded as they are now."
Ben waited until nightfall before leaving the warehouse. Then, keeping aconstant lookout for Russian soldiers, he sneaked along one street afteranother. Where to go he did not know, but he realized that he must havesomething to eat or he would starve.
Presently he came to a small garden in the center of which was aneat-looking residence. On the doorplate was the name Nathan Chase.
"Nathan Chase!" Ben cried, half aloud. "I wonder if that can be thegentleman Gilbert knew? If it is perhaps he will aid me."
At first the young captain thought to ring the doorbell, but fearful ofmeeting the wrong person he resolved to investigate in a more privatemanner. The side windows of the residence were curtained, but thecurtains were only partly down. Going to one of the windows he peeredinside.
In a neatly furnished sitting room sat a young lady and a Russiansoldier. They were arguing about something--money matters as far as Bencould make out. The young lady did not wish to give the soldier themoney and he insisted upon having it. While Ben gazed at the scene, theRussian soldier leaped up, grasped the young lady by the shoulders andshook her roughly.
"Don't!" screamed the young lady, in English. "Let me go!"
"I want the money!" answered the soldier, in his native tongue. He was aCossack and of brutal features.
The young lady was pretty and she was helpless, and this combination wasmore than the young captain could resist. Regardless of consequences, heshoved up the window and leaped inside the apartment.
"Keep your hands off of that young lady!" he cried, and catching theCossack by the shoulder he threw him backward. "Don't you know how totreat a lady when you meet her, you big brute?"
The Cossack was startl
ed, first because he had not expected theinterruption and secondly because he had no business to be in themansion. He gave one look at Ben and then rushed out into the hallwayand left the premises with all possible speed.
As soon as the Cossack was gone the young lady and Ben stared at eachother. She started to speak, but stopped suddenly.
"Excuse me for coming in as I did, but I thought it was necessary," saidthe young captain. "I guess that fellow had no business here."
"You are right, sir. Papa is away, and he wanted me to give him money.He must have known I was alone in the house."
"Are you Miss Chase?"
"I am. But you have the advantage of me."
"I know it. I am Captain Benjamin Russell. Perhaps you know an oldfriend of mine, Gilbert Pennington. He knows your father, I believe."
"Oh, yes, I have met Captain Pennington. They tell me he is now in theJapanese army."
"He is." Ben paused and looked at the young lady keenly. "Miss Chase,can I trust you?" he asked, abruptly.
"What do you mean?"
"I will tell you," and in a few brief words he related his story, towhich Grace Chase listened with close attention.
"You were lucky to escape from that prison!" she cried, when he hadfinished. "To be sure I will assist you as far as I can. Papa is away onbusiness, but I expect him back in two or three hours. We haven't muchon hand to eat, but such as there is you are welcome to."
"I'm hungry enough to eat anything," said Ben, with a little smile.
"Then come with me to the dining room, Captain Russell, and I willprepare supper."
"You haven't any servants now, I suppose?"
"No; every one of them has deserted us."
They entered the dining room, and the young lady asked Ben to close theshutters. While he was doing this she prepared such a meal as the larderof the house afforded. It was not much, but he did not complain, and hethanked her warmly for giving what he felt she could ill afford to setbefore him.
The meal finished, they sat down to await the coming of Mr. Chase. Whiledoing this Ben related some of his experiences in the army and the younglady told of the horrors of the siege.
"One cannot understand it unless you are in the midst of it," she said."Papa says business is at a standstill, the hospitals are filled withthe sick and the wounded, and we are in constant dread that the nextmoment will be our last. The suspense is so great that in one or twocases the inhabitants have gone crazy."
"I can well believe that, Miss Chase. During the war in the PhilippinesI saw----"
Ben paused, as a heavy footstep sounded on the porch of the residence.Other footsteps followed, and then came a loud knock on the door.
"Open here!" demanded a voice in Russian. "Open, in the name of theCzar!"