CHAPTER 31
Chris's thoughts were so taken up with the pleasure of the littleChinese Princess at her first rose that he had miscalculated. As amatter of fact he had forgotten about the guards in his excitement atholding the Jewel Tree and at getting away, and just as the eagle roseto the top of the wall, one of the guards saw him.
Had it been earlier, Chris could have risen quickly out of sight. Butthe Jewel Tree was heavy in itself; the earth holding its roots was anadditional weight, so that the eagle only rose half as quickly as ithad before.
The guard gave a shout, and a spear whistled past Chris's ear.Instantly the flames of bonfires spurted on all the walls, and to histerror Chris found himself in a glare of light as powerful as modernsearchlights. He clutched the Jewel Tree, urging the magic bird up,but there are limits even to magic and the bird was moving at the peakof its ability. Black racing figures darted along the walls, theflames of the watchfires leapt higher in the air, and now arrows weresinging their keening note of death about the boy lifting so slowlyinto the night.
Chris, crouching behind the Jewel Tree, was rocked and nearly unseatedfrom the eagle when an arrow hit the earth around the Tree roots,imbedding itself deeply and quivering there at an angle. The shoutsand confusion grew, but after a few terror-stricken moments Chris knewhe was high enough to be out of danger. He gave a deep shuddering sighof relief, and turned the head of the laboring eagle toward the city.His thoughts were on escape, but first he had a duty that as anhonorable person he felt bound to perform.
He was naturally observant; he had also made a point of noticinglandmarks, so that he found the garden from which he had taken therosebush without too much trouble. What he was totally unprepared forwas that the entire city of Peking, aroused by the watchfires on thepalace walls, was awake and in alarm, and the light of flares andlanterns glowed from every house.
Nevertheless, to replace the rosebush was an honorable necessity, andin spite of wide canary-yellow blocks streaming from the windows ofthe lesser palace and falling in broad sections over the lawns and farinto the gardens, Chris came down as much in the shadow of trees as hecould, and breaking off a sprig of the Jewel Tree, stuck it in theground where the rosebush had been. Then quickly regaining the eagle'sback, he was lifted into the air and up over the roofs.
What was his consternation, however, on nearing the pine knoll, to seethe whole group of scrubby trees aflame, and no sign of Amos! The pineneedles and tree trunks thick with resin burnt fiercely. Chris did notdare to come too close. Not only was the heat intense but the crowdscollecting below looked upward to watch in a puzzled way, while othersran from near the palace gates to gaze and speculate.
Chris turned sadly away, large tears for Amos running down his cheeks,his heart constricted and his eyes half blinded, when from a greatdistance, he heard a trailing call.
"Oo-h Chris! You--Chris!"
Chris's heart leapt up, and wiping his eyes clear he looked in thedirection of the sound. A balloon was moving rapidly away over thepeaked curved roofs of Peking, careening slightly from side to side asit sailed on the night breeze. By the time Chris had caught up withAmos in the balloon, Peking lay far behind them.
Holding on to the edge of the basket, Chris blurted out: "What in theworld goes on, Amos? I thought you were burned alive! I was never morescared in my life!"
Amos's eyes, wider than ever from the excitement of events, batted atChris. "_You're_ scared! What do you think _I_ am? Get me out ofthis--I never did want to be up in the air nohow, and I want out_now_!"
"But what about the fire, Amos?" Chris persisted, holding to the JewelTree with one hand and the balloon basket with the other. "How did youget out?"
Amos sent a squeamish glance out of the corner of one eye at themoving ground beneath them, and then, realizing that they were ontheir way back to the _Mirabelle_, swallowed and began to talk.
"I waited, like you said, an' I guess I fell asleep. All at once sucha noise, and flames flashing, woke me up, and right away, seeing firesand commotion all over the palace walls, I supposed they had spottedyou somehow. I thought--should another fire break out somewhere else,it might pull the crowds away from the palace, or make them thinksomething was goin' on up there. So I lit a fire with my flint, andthen ran right quick with the package to the ledge, struck threetimes, and shut my eyes"--here Amos covered his eyes with onehand--"and got in. And this silly thing's been a-tippin' anda-teeterin' ever since."
Chris brought balloon and eagle down into a rice field, and the twoboys transferred the Jewel Tree to the greater safety of the balloonbasket. Amos, having the wonderful Jewel Tree to guard, forgot hisfears and sat down beside it, where he soon fell asleep. Chris, tyingthe tail of the eagle to the side of the basket with his shirt, towedAmos and the Jewel Tree through the air all that night and all thenext day. They came down at noon in a deserted part of the country sothat Chris could sleep and rest, and Amos find fresh water for theleathern bottles they had strapped to their waists. Then they went onuntil they saw the sea and the wavering line of the coast below andahead of them.
The eagle and balloon came gently down at dusk. The balloon was foldedinto its small size and put back in the pouch around Chris's neck. Outof sight of Amos, Chris transformed the eagle to a boat in which, inthe dark of the night, the two boys reached the side of the_Mirabelle_ with their precious cargo. The sailors of the _Mirabelle_were asleep, but Chris roused the Captain, who helped them secretlycarry the Jewel Tree to a corner of his cabin.
All hands were then called on deck and everything was hurry andbustle. Before dawn had broken, the _Mirabelle_ had left the coast ofChina and was well out to sea.