WHITE FACED DICK: A STORY OF PINE TREE GULCH
How Pine Tree Gulch got its name no one knew, for in the early daysevery ravine and hillside was thickly covered with pines. It may be thata tree of exceptional size caught the eye of the first explorer, thathe camped under it, and named the place in its honor; or, maybe, somefallen giant lay in the bottom and hindered the work of the firstprospectors. At any rate, Pine Tree Gulch it was, and the name was asgood as any other. The pine trees were gone now. Cut up for firing,or for the erection of huts, or the construction of sluices, but thehillside was ragged with their stumps.
The principal camp was at the mouth of the Gulch, where the littlestream, which scarce afforded water sufficient for the cradles in thedry season, but which was a rushing torrent in winter, joined the Yuba.The best ground was at the junction of the streams, and lay, indeed, inthe Yuba Valley rather than in the Gulch. At first most gold had beenfound higher up, but there was here comparatively little depth down tothe bedrock, and as the ground became exhausted the miners moved downtowards the mouth of the Gulch. They were doing well, as a whole, howwell no one knew, for miners are chary of giving information as to whatthey are making; still, it was certain they were doing well, for thebars were doing a roaring trade, and the storekeepers never refusedcredit--a proof in itself that the prospects were good.
The flat at the mouth of the Gulch was a busy scene, every foot was goodpaying stuff, for in the eddy, where the torrents in winter rushed downinto the Yuba, the gold had settled down and lay thick among the gravel.But most of the parties were sinking, and it was a long way down to thebedrock; for the hills on both sides sloped steeply, and the Yuba musthere at one time have rushed through a narrow gorge, until, in somewild freak, it brought down millions of tons of gravel, and resumed itscourse seventy feet above its former level.
A quarter of a mile higher up a ledge of rock ran across the valley, andover it in the old time the Yuba had poured in a cascade seventy feetdeep into the ravine. But the rock now was level with the gravel, onlyshowing its jagged points here and there above it. This ledge had beeninvaluable to the diggers: without it they could only have sunk theirshafts with the greatest difficulty, for the gravel would have been fullof water, and even with the greatest pains in puddling and timber workthe pumps would scarcely have sufficed to keep it down as it rose in thebottom of the shafts. But the miners had made common cause together, andgiving each so many ounces of gold or so many days' work had erected adam thirty feet high along the ledge of rock, and had cut a channel forthe Yuba along the lower slopes of the valley. Of course, when the rainset in, as everybody knew, the dam would go, and the river diggings mustbe abandoned till the water subsided and a fresh dam was made; but therewere two months before them yet, and everyone hoped to be down to thebedrock before the water interrupted their work.
The hillside, both in the Yuba Valley and for some distance along PineTree Gulch, was dotted by shanties and tents; the former constructed forthe most part of logs roughly squared, the walls being some three feetin height, on which the sharp sloping roof was placed, thatched in thefirst place with boughs, and made all snug, perhaps, with an old sailstretched over all. The camp was quiet enough during the day. The fewwomen were away with their washing at the pools, a quarter of a mile upthe Gulch, and the only persons to be seen about were the men told offfor cooking for their respective parties.
But in the evening the camp was lively. Groups of men in red shirtsand corded trousers tied at the knee, in high boots, sat round blazingfires, and talked of their prospects or discussed the news of theluck at other camps. The sound of music came from two or three plankerections which rose conspicuously above the huts of the diggers, andwere bright externally with the glories of white and colored paints. Toand from these men were always sauntering, and it needed not the clinkof glasses and the sound of music to tell that they were the bars of thecamp.
Here, standing at the counter, or seated at numerous small tables, menwere drinking villainous liquor, smoking and talking, and paying butscant attention to the strains of the fiddle or the accordion, savewhen some well known air was played, when all would join in a boisterouschorus. Some were always passing in or out of a door which led into aroom behind. Here there was comparative quiet, for men were gambling,and gambling high.
Going backwards and forwards with liquors into the gambling room of theImperial Saloon, which stood just where Pine Tree Gulch opened into YubaValley, was a lad, whose appearance had earned for him the name of WhiteFaced Dick.
White Faced Dick was not one of those who had done well at Pine TreeGulch; he had come across the plains with his father, who had diedwhen halfway over, and Dick had been thrown on the world to shiftfor himself. Nature had not intended him for the work, for he was adelicate, timid lad; what spirits he originally had having been yearsbefore beaten out of him by a brutal father. So far, indeed, Dick wasthe better rather than the worse for the event which had left him anorphan.
They had been traveling with a large party for mutual security againstIndians and Mormons, and so long as the journey lasted Dick had goton fairly well. He was always ready to do odd jobs, and as the draughtcattle were growing weaker and weaker, and every pound of weight was ofimportance, no one grudged him his rations in return for his services;but when the company began to descend the slopes of the Sierra Nevadathey began to break up, going off by twos and threes to the diggings ofwhich they heard such glowing accounts. Some, however, kept straight onto Sacramento, determining there to obtain news as to the doings at allthe different places, and then to choose that which seemed to them tooffer the surest prospects of success.
Dick proceeded with them to the town, and there found himself alone. Hiscompanions were absorbed in the busy rush of population, and each hadso much to provide and arrange for, that none gave a thought to thesolitary boy. However, at that time no one who had a pair of hands,however feeble, to work need starve in Sacramento, and for some weeksDick hung around the town doing odd jobs, and then having saved a fewdollars, determined to try his luck at the diggings, and started on footwith a shovel on his shoulders and a few days' provisions slung acrossit.
Arrived at his destination, the lad soon discovered that gold diggingwas hard work for brawny and seasoned men, and after a few feebleattempts in spots abandoned as worthless he gave up the effort, andagain began to drift; and even in Pine Tree Gulch it was not difficultto get a living. At first he tried rocking cradles, but the work wasfar harder than it appeared. He was standing ankle deep in water frommorning till night, and his cheeks grew paler, and his strength, insteadof increasing, seemed to fade away. Still, there were jobs within hisstrength. He could keep a fire alight and watch a cooking pot, he couldcarry up buckets of water or wash a flannel shirt, and so he struggledon, until at last some kind hearted man suggested to him that he shouldtry to get a place at the new saloon which was about to be opened.
"You are not fit for this work, young 'un, and you ought to be at homewith your mother; if you like I will go up with you this evening toJeffries. I knew him down on the flats, and I dare say he will take youon. I don't say as a saloon is a good place for a boy, still you willalways get your bellyful of victuals and a dry place to sleep in, ifit's only under a table. What do you say?"
Dick thankfully accepted the offer, and on Red George's recommendationwas that evening engaged. His work was not hard now, for till the minersknocked off there was little doing in the saloon; a few men would comein for a drink at dinnertime, but it was not until the lamps were litthat business began in earnest, and then for four or five hours Dick wasbusy.
A rougher or healthier lad would not have minded the work, but to Dickit was torture; every nerve in his body thrilled whenever rough minerscursed him for not carrying out their orders more quickly, or forbringing them the wrong liquors, which, as his brain was in a whirlwith the noise, the shouting, and the multiplicity of orders, happenedfrequently. He might have fared worse had not Red George always stoodhis friend, and
Red George was an authority in Pine Tree Gulch--powerfulin frame, reckless in bearing and temper, he had been in a score offights and had come off them, if not unscathed, at least victorious. Hewas notoriously a lucky digger, but his earnings went as fast as theywere made, and he was always ready to open his belt and give a bountifulpinch of dust to any mate down on his luck.
One evening Dick was more helpless and confused than usual. The saloonwas full, and he had been shouted at and badgered and cursed until hescarcely knew what he was doing. High play was going on in the saloon,and a good many men were clustered round the table, Red George washaving a run of luck, and there was a big pile of gold dust on the tablebefore him. One of the gamblers who was losing had ordered old rye,and instead of bringing it to him, Dick brought a tumbler of hot liquorwhich someone else had called for. With an oath the man took it up andthrew it in his face.
"You cowardly hound!" Red George exclaimed. "Are you man enough to dothat to a man?"
"You bet," the gambler, who was a new arrival at Pine Tree Gulch,replied; and picking up an empty glass, he hurled it at Red George. Thebystanders sprang aside, and in a moment the two men were facingeach other with outstretched pistols. The two reports rung outsimultaneously: Red George sat down unconcernedly with a streak of bloodflowing down his face, where the bullet had cut a furrow in his cheek;the stranger fell back with a bullet hole in the center of his forehead.
The body was carried outside, and the play continued as if nointerruption had taken place. They were accustomed to such occurrencesin Pine Tree Gulch, and the piece of ground at the top of the hill, thathad been set aside as a burial place, was already dotted thickly withgraves, filled in almost every instance by men who had died, in thelocal phraseology, "with their boots on."
Neither then nor afterwards did Red George allude to the subject toDick, whose life after this signal instance of his championship waseasier than it had hitherto been, for there were few in Pine Tree Gulchwho cared to excite Red George's anger; and strangers going to theplace were sure to receive a friendly warning that it was best for theirhealth to keep their tempers over any shortcomings on the part of WhiteFaced Dick.
Grateful as he was for Red George's interference on his behalf, Dickfelt the circumstance which had ensued more than anyone else in thecamp. With others it was the subject of five minutes' talk, but Dickcould not get out of his head the thought of the dead man's face as hefell back. He had seen many such frays before, but he was too full ofhis own troubles for them to make much impression upon him. But in thepresent case he felt as if he himself was responsible for the death ofthe gambler; if he had not blundered this would not have happened.
He wondered whether the dead man had a wife and children, and, if so,were they expecting his return? Would they ever hear where he had died,and how?
But this feeling, which, tired out as he was when the time came forclosing the bar, often prevented him from sleeping for hours, in no waylessened his gratitude and devotion towards Red George, and he felt thathe could die willingly if his life would benefit his champion. Sometimeshe thought, too, that his life would not be much to give, for, in spiteof shelter and food, the cough which he had caught while working in thewater still clung to him, and as his employer said to him angrily oneday:
"Your victuals don't do you no good, Dick; you get thinner and thinner,and folks will think as I starve you. Darned if you aint a disgrace tothe establishment."
The wind was whistling down the gorges, and the clouds hung among thepine woods which still clothed the upper slopes of the hills, and thediggers, as they turned out one morning, looked up apprehensively.
"But it could not be," they assured each other. Everyone knew that therains were not due for another month yet; it could only be a passingshower if it rained at all.
But as the morning went on, men came in from camps higher up the river,and reports were current that it had been raining for the last two daysamong the upper hills; while those who took the trouble to walk acrossto the new channel could see for themselves at noon that it was filledvery nigh to the brim, the water rushing along with thick and turbidcurrent. But those who repeated the rumors, or who reported that thechannel was full, were summarily put down. Men would not believe thatsuch a calamity as a flood and the destruction of all their season'swork could be impending. There had been some showers, no doubt, as therehad often been before, but it was ridiculous to talk of anything likerain a month before its time. Still, in spite of these assertions, therewas uneasiness at Pine Tree Gulch, and men looked at the driving cloudsabove and shook their heads before they went down to the shafts to workafter dinner.
When the last customer had left and the bar was closed, Dick had nothingto do till evening, and he wandered outside and sat down on a stump, atfirst looking at the work going on in the valley, then so absorbed inhis own thoughts that he noticed nothing, not even the driving mistwhich presently set in. He was calculating that he had, with his savingsfrom his wages and what had been given him by the miners, laid by eightydollars. When he got another hundred and twenty he would go; he wouldmake his way down to San Francisco, and then by ship to Panama and upto New York, and then west again to the village where he was born. Therewould be people there who would know him, and who would give him workfor his mother's sake. He did not care what it was; anything would bebetter than this. Then his thoughts came back to Pine Tree Gulch, and hestarted to his feet. Could he be mistaken? Were his eyes deceiving him?No; among the stones and boulders of the old bed of the Yuba there wasthe gleam of water, and even as he watched it he could see it wideningout. He started to run down the hill to give the alarm, but before hewas halfway he paused, for there were loud shouts, and a scene of bustleand confusion instantly arose.
The cradles were deserted, and the men working on the surface loadedthemselves with their tools and made for the high ground, while those atthe windlasses worked their hardest to draw up their comrades below. Aman coming down from above stopped close to Dick, with a low cry, andstood gazing with a white scared face. Dick had worked with him; he wasone of the company to which Red George belonged.
"What is it, Saunders?"
"My God! they are lost!" the man replied. "I was at the windlass whenthey shouted up to me to go up and fetch them a bottle of rum. They hadjust struck it rich, and wanted a drink on the strength of it."
Dick understood at once. Red George and his mates were still in thebottom of the shaft, ignorant of the danger which was threatening them.
"Come on," he cried; "we shall be in time yet," and at the top of hisspeed dashed down the hill, followed by Saunders.
"What is it, what is it?" asked parties of men mounting the hill.
"Red George's gang are still below."
Dick's eyes were fixed on the water. There was a broad band now ofyellow with a white edge down the center of the stony flat, and itwas widening with terrible rapidity. It was scarce ten yards from thewindlass at the top of Red George's shaft when Dick, followed closely bySaunders, reached it.
"Come up, mates; quick, for your lives! The river is rising; you will beflooded out directly. Everyone else has gone!"
As he spoke he pulled at the rope by which the bucket was hanging, andthe handles of the windlass flew round rapidly as it descended. When ithad run out Dick and he grasped the handles.
"All right below?"
An answering call came up, and the two began their work, throwing theirwhole strength into it. Quickly as the windlass revolved it seemedan endless time to Dick before the bucket came up, and the first manstepped out. It was not Red George. Dick had hardly expected it wouldbe. Red George would be sure to see his two mates up before him, and theman uttered a cry of alarm as he saw the water, now within a few feet ofthe mouth of the shaft.
It was a torrent now, for not only was it coming through the dam, butit was rushing down in cascades from the new channel. Without a word theminer placed himself facing Dick, and the moment the bucket was againdown, the three grasped the handles. But qui
ckly as they worked, theedge of the water was within a few inches of the shaft when the nextman reached the surface; but again the bucket descended before the ropetightened. However, the water had begun to run over the lip--at first,in a mere trickle, and then, almost instantaneously, in a cascade, whichgrew larger and larger.
The bucket was halfway up when a sound like thunder was heard, theground seemed to tremble under their feet, and then at the turn of thevalley above, a great wave of yellow water, crested with foam, was seentearing along at the speed of a race horse.
"The dam has burst!" Saunders shouted. "Run for your lives, or we areall lost!"
The three men dropped the handles and ran at full speed towards theshore, while loud shouts to Dick to follow came from the crowd of menstanding on the slope. But the boy grasped the handles, and with lipstightly closed, still toiled on. Slowly the bucket ascended, for RedGeorge was a heavy man; then suddenly the weight slackened, and thehandle went round faster. The shaft was filling, the water had reachedthe bucket, and had risen to Red George's neck, so that his weight wasno longer on the rope. So fast did the water pour in, that it was nothalf a minute before the bucket reached the surface, and Red Georgesprang out. There was but time for one exclamation, and then the greatwave struck them. Red George was whirled like a straw in the current;but he was a strong swimmer, and at a point where the valley widenedout, half a mile lower, he struggled to shore.
Two days later the news reached Pine Tree Gulch that a boy's body hadbeen washed ashore twenty miles down, and ten men, headed by Red George,went and brought it solemnly back to Pine Tree Gulch. There among thestumps of pine trees a grave was dug, and there, in the presence of thewhole camp, White Faced Dick was laid to rest.
Pine Tree Gulch is a solitude now, the trees are growing again, andnone would dream that it was once a busy scene of industry; but if thetraveler searches among the pine trees he will find a stone with thewords:
"Here lies White Faced Dick, who died to save Red George. 'What can aman do more than give his life for a friend?'"
The text was the suggestion of an ex-clergyman working as a miner inPine Tree Gulch.
Red George worked no more at the diggings, but, after seeing the stonelaid in its place, went east, and with what little money came to himwhen the common fund of the company was divided after the flood on theYuba, bought a small farm, and settled down there; but to the end ofhis life he was never weary of telling those who would listen to it thestory of Pine Tree Gulch.
A BRUSH WITH THE CHINESE
It was early in December that H. M. S. Perseus was cruising offthe mouth of the Canton River. War had been declared with China inconsequence of her continued evasions of the treaty she had made withus, and it was expected that a strong naval force would soon gather tobring her to reason. In the meantime the ships on the station had abusy time of it, chasing the enemy's junks when they ventured to showthemselves beyond the reach of the guns of their forts, and occasionallyhaving a brush with the piratical boats which took advantage of thegeneral confusion to plunder friend as well as foe.
The Perseus had that afternoon chased two government junks up a creek.The sun had already set when they took refuge there, and the captain didnot care to send his boats after them in the dark, as many of the creeksran up for miles into the flat country; and as they not unfrequentlyhad many arms or branches, the boats might, in the dark, miss the junkaltogether. Orders were issued that four boats should be ready forstarting at daybreak the next morning. The Perseus anchored off themouth of the creek, and two boats were ordered to row backwards andforwards off its mouth all night to insure that the enemy did not slipout in the darkness.
Jack Fothergill, the senior midshipman, was commanding the gig, and twoof the other midshipmen were going in the pinnace and launch, commandedrespectively by the first lieutenant and the master. The three othermidshipmen of the Perseus were loud in their lamentations that they werenot to take share in the fun.
"You can't all go, you know," Fothergill said, "and it's no use making arow about it; the captain has been very good to let three of us go."
"It's all very well for you, Jack," Percy Adcock, the youngest of thelads, replied, "because you are one of those chosen; and it is not sohard for Simmons and Linthorpe, because they went the other day in theboat that chased those junks under shelter of the guns of their battery,but I haven't had a chance for ever so long."
"What fun was there in chasing the junks?" Simmons said. "We never gotnear the brutes till they were close to their battery, and then just asthe first shot came singing from their guns, and we thought that we weregoing to have some excitement, the first lieutenant sung out 'Easy all,'and there was nothing for it but to turn round and to row for the ship,and a nice hot row it was--two hours and a half in a broiling sun. Ofcourse I am not blaming Oliphant, for the captain's orders were strictthat we were not to try to cut the junks out if they got under the gunsof any of their batteries. Still it was horribly annoying, and I dothink the captain might have remembered what beastly luck we had lasttime, and given us a chance tomorrow."
"It is clear we could not all go," Fothergill said, "and naturallyenough the captain chose the three seniors. Besides, if you did have badluck last time, you had your chance, and I don't suppose we shall haveanything more exciting now; these fellows always set fire to their junksand row for the shore directly they see us, after firing a shot or twowildly in our direction."
"Well, Jack, if you don't expect any fun," Simmons replied, "perhaps youwouldn't mind telling the first lieutenant you do not care for going,and that I am very anxious to take your place. Perhaps he will be goodenough to allow me to relieve you."
"A likely thing that!" Fothergill laughed. "No, Tom, I am sorry you arenot going, but you must make the best of it till another chance comes."
"Don't you think, Jack," Percy Adcock said to his senior in a coaxingtone later on, "you could manage to smuggle me into the boat with you?"
"Not I, Percy. Suppose you got hurt, what would the captain say then?And firing as wildly as the Chinese do, a shot is just as likely to hityour little carcass as to lodge in one of the sailors. No, you must justmake the best of it, Percy, and I promise you that next time there isa boat expedition, if you are not put in, I will say a good word to thefirst luff for you."
"That promise is better than nothing," the boy said; "but I would a dealrather go this time and take my chance next."
"But you see you can't, Percy, and there's no use talking any more aboutit. I really do not expect there will be any fighting. Two junks wouldhardly make any opposition to the boats of the ship, and I expect weshall be back by nine o'clock with the news that they were well on firebefore we came up."
Percy Adcock, however, was determined, if possible, to go. He was afavorite among the men, and when he spoke to the bow oar of the gigthe latter promised to do anything he could to aid him to carry out hiswishes.
"We are to start at daybreak, Tom, so that it will be quite dark whenthe boats are lowered. I will creep into the gig before that and hidemyself as well as I can under your thwart, and all you have got to dois to take no notice of me. When the boat is lowered I think they willhardly make me out from the deck, especially as you will be standing upin the bow holding on with the boat hook till the rest get on board."
"Well, sir, I will do my best; but if you are caught you must not letout that I knew anything about it."
"I won't do that," Percy said. "I don't think there is much chance of mybeing noticed until we get on board the junks, and then they won't knowwhich boat I came off in, and the first lieutenant will be too busy toblow me up. Of course I shall get it when I am on board again, but Idon't mind that so that I see the fun. Besides, I want to send home somethings to my sister, and she will like them all the better if I can tellher I captured them on board some junks we seized and burnt."
The next morning the crews mustered before daybreak. Percy had alreadytaken his place under the bow thwart of the gig. The davits were swu
ngoverboard, and two men took their places in her as she was lowered downby the falls. As soon as she touched the water the rest of the crewclambered down by the ladder and took their places; then Fothergill tookhis seat in the stern, and the boat pushed off and lay a few lengthsaway from the ship until the heavier boats put off. As soon as they wereunder way Percy crawled out from his hiding place and placed himselfin the bow, where he was sheltered by the body of the oarsmen fromFothergill's sight. Day was just breaking now, but it was still dark onthe water, and the boat rowed very slowly until it became lighter. Percycould just make out the shores of the creek on both sides; they werebut two or three feet above the level of the water, and were evidentlysubmerged at high tide. The creek was about a hundred yards wide, andthe lad could not see far ahead, for it was full of sharp windingsand turnings. Here and there branches joined it, but the boats wereevidently following the main channel. After another half hour's rowingthe first lieutenant suddenly gave the order "Easy all," and the men,looking over their shoulders, saw a village a quarter of a mile ahead,with the two junks they had chased the night before lying in front ofit. Almost at the same moment a sudden uproar was heard--drums werebeaten and gongs sounded.
"They are on the lookout for us," the first lieutenant said. "Mr. Mason,do you keep with me and attack the junk highest up the river; Mr. Bellewand Mr. Fothergill, do you take the one lower down. Row on, men." Theoars all touched the water together and the four boats leaped forward.In a minute a scattering fire of gingals and matchlocks was opened fromthe junks and the bullets pattered on the water round the boats. Percywas kneeling up in the bow now. As they passed a branch channel three orfour hundred yards from the village, he started and leaped to his feet.
"There are four or five junks in that passage, Fothergill; they arepoling out."
The first lieutenant heard the words.
"Row on, men; let us finish with these craft ahead before the others getout. This must be that piratical village we have heard about, Mr. Mason,as lying up one of these creeks; that accounts for those two junks notgoing higher up. I was surprised at seeing them here, for they mightguess that we should try to get them this morning. Evidently theycalculated on catching us in a trap."
Percy was delighted at finding that, in the excitement caused by hisnews, the first lieutenant had forgotten to take any notice of hisbeing there without orders, and he returned a defiant nod to the threatconveyed by Fothergill shaking his fist at him. As they neared the junksthe fire of those on board redoubled, and was aided by that of manyvillagers gathered on the bank of the creek. Suddenly from a bank ofrushes four cannons were fired. A ball struck the pinnace, smashing inher side. The other boats gathered hastily round and took her crew onboard, and then dashed at the junks, which were but a hundred yardsdistant. The valor of the Chinese evaporated as they saw the boatsapproaching, and scores of them leaped overboard and swam for shore.
In another minute the boats were alongside and the crews scrambling upthe sides of the junks. A few Chinamen only attempted to oppose them.These were speedily overcome, and the British had now time to lookround, and saw that six junks crowded with men had issued from the sidecreek and were making towards them.
"Let the boats tow astern," the lieutenant ordered. "We should have torun the gantlet of that battery on shore if we were to attack them, andmight lose another boat before we reached their side. We will fight themhere."
The junks approached, those on board firing their guns, yelling andshouting, while the drums and gongs were furiously beaten.
"They will find themselves mistaken, Percy, if they think they are goingto frighten us with all that row," Fothergill said. "You young rascal,how did you get on board the boat without being seen? The captain willbe sure to suspect I had a hand in concealing you."
The tars were now at work firing the gingals attached to the bulwarksand the matchlocks with which the deck was strewn, at the approachingjunks. As they took steady aim, leaning their pieces on the bulwarks,they did considerable execution among the Chinamen crowded on board thejunks, while the shot of the Chinese, for the most part, whistled faroverhead; but the guns of the shore battery, which had now slewed roundto bear upon them, opened with a better aim, and several shots camecrashing into the sides of the two captured junks.
"Get ready to board, lads!" Lieutenant Oliphant shouted. "Don't wait forthem to board you, but the moment they come alongside lash their riggingto ours and spring on board them."
The leading junk was now about twenty yards away, and presently gratedalongside. Half a dozen sailors at once sprang into her rigging withropes, and after lashing the junks together leaped down upon her deck,where Fothergill was leading the gig's crew and some of those rescuedfrom the pinnace, while Mr. Bellew, with another party, had boarded herat the stern. Several of the Chinese fought stoutly, but the greaterpart lost heart at seeing themselves attacked by the "white devils,"instead of, as they expected, overwhelming them by their superiornumbers. Many began at once to jump overboard, and after two or threeminutes' sharp fighting the rest either followed their example or werebeaten below.
Fothergill looked round. The other junk had been attacked by two of theenemy, one on each side, and the little body of sailors were gathered inher waist, and were defending themselves against an overwhelming numberof the enemy. The other three piratical junks had been carried somewhatup the creek by the tide that was sweeping inward, and could not for themoment take part in the fight.
"Mr. Oliphant is hard pressed, sir." He asked the master: "Shall we taketo the boats?"
"That will be the best plan," Mr. Bellew replied.
"Quick, lads, get the boats alongside and tumble in; there is not amoment to be lost."
The crew at once sprang to the boats and rowed to the other junk, whichwas but some thirty yards away.
The Chinese, absorbed in their contest with the crew of the pinnace, didnot perceive the newcomers until they gained the deck, and with ashout fell furiously upon them. In their surprise and consternation thepirates did not pause to note that they were still five to one superiorin number, but made a precipitate rush for their own vessels. TheEnglish at once took the offensive. The first lieutenant with his partyboarded one, while the newcomers leaped on to the deck of the other. Thepanic which had seized the Chinese was so complete that they attemptedno resistance whatever, but sprang overboard in great numbers and swamto the shore, which was but twenty yards away, and in three minutes theEnglish were in undisputed possession of both vessels.
"Back again, Mr. Fothergill, or you will lose the craft you captured,"Lieutenant Oliphant said; "they have already cut her free."
The Chinese, indeed, who had been beaten below by the boarding party,had soon perceived the sudden departure of their captors, and gainingthe deck again had cut the lashings which fastened them to the otherjunk, and were proceeding to hoist their sails. They were too late,however. Almost before the craft had way on her Fothergill and his crewwere alongside. The Chinese did not wait for the attack, but at oncesprang overboard and made for the shore. The other three junks, seeingthe capture of their comrades, had already hoisted their sails and weremaking up the creek. Fothergill dropped an anchor, left four of his menin charge, and rowed back to Mr. Oliphant.
"What shall we do next, sir?"
"We will give those fellows on shore a lesson, and silence theirbattery. Two men have been killed since you left. We must let the otherjunks go for the present. Four of my men were killed and eleven woundedbefore Mr. Bellew and you came to our assistance. The Chinese werefighting pluckily up to that time, and it would have gone very hard withus if you had not been at hand; the beggars will fight when they thinkthey have got it all their own way. But before we land we will set fireto the five junks we have taken. Do you return and see that the twoastern are well lighted, Mr. Fothergill; Mr. Mason will see to thesethree. When you have done your work take to your boat and lay off till Ijoin you; keep the junks between you and the shore, to protect you fromthe fire of the rasca
ls."
"I cannot come with you, I suppose, Fothergill?" Percy Adcock said, asthe midshipman was about to descend into his boat again.
"Yes, come along, Percy. It doesn't matter what you do now. The captainwill be so pleased when he hears that we have captured and burnt fivejunks, that you will get off with a very light wigging, I imagine."
"That's just what I was thinking, Jack. Has it not been fun?"
"You wouldn't have thought it fun if you had got one of those matchlockballs in your body. There are a good many of our poor fellows just atthe present moment who do not see anything funny in the affair at all.Here we are; clamber up."
The crew soon set to work under Fothergill's orders. The sails were cutoff the masts and thrown down into the hold; bamboos, of which therewere an abundance down there, were heaped over them, a barrel of oil waspoured over the mass, and the fire then applied.
"That will do, lads. Now take to your boats and let's make a bonfire ofthe other junk."
In ten minutes both vessels were a sheet of flame, and the boat waslying a short distance from them waiting for further operations. Theinhabitants of the village, furious at the failure of the plan which hadbeen laid for the destruction of the "white devils," kept up a constantfusillade, which, however, did no harm, for the gig was completelysheltered by the burning junks close to her from their missiles.
"There go the others!" Percy exclaimed after a minute or two, as threecolumns of smoke arose simultaneously from the other junks, and thesailors were seen dropping into their boats alongside.
The killed and wounded were placed in the other gig with four sailorsin charge. They were directed to keep under shelter of the junks untilrejoined by the pinnace and Fothergill's gig, after these had done theirwork on shore.
When all was ready the first lieutenant raised his hand as a signal, andthe two boats dashed between the burning junks and rowed for the shore.Such of the natives as had their weapons charged fired a hasty volley,and then, as the sailors leapt from their boats, took to their heels.
"Mr. Fothergill, take your party into the village and set fire to thehouses; shoot down every man you see. This place is a nest of pirates. Iwill capture that battery and then join you."
Fothergill and his sailors at once entered the village. The men hadalready fled; the women were turned out of the houses, and thesewere immediately set on fire. The tars regarded the whole affair as aglorious joke, and raced from house to house, making a hasty search ineach for concealed valuables before setting it on fire. In a short timethe whole village was in a blaze.
"There is a house there, standing in that little grove a hundred yardsaway," Percy said.
"It looks like a temple," Fothergill replied. "However, we will have alook at it." And calling two sailors to accompany him, he started at arun towards it, Percy keeping by his side.
"It is a temple," Fothergill said when they approached it. "Still, wewill have a look at it, but we won't burn it; it will be as well torespect the religion, even of a set of piratical scoundrels like these."
At the head of his men he rushed in at the entrance. There was a blazeof fire as half a dozen muskets were discharged in their faces. One ofthe sailors dropped dead, and before the others had time to realize whathad happened they were beaten to the ground by a storm of blows fromswords and other weapons.
A heavy blow crashed down on Percy's head, and he fell insensible evenbefore he realized what had occurred.
When he recovered, his first sensation was that of a vague wonder as towhat had happened to him. He seemed to be in darkness and unable to movehand or foot. He was compressed in some way that he could not at firstunderstand, and was being bumped and jolted in an extraordinary manner.It was some little time before he could understand the situation. Hefirst remembered the fight with the junks, then he recalled thelanding and burning the village; then, as his brain cleared, came therecollection of his start with Fothergill for the temple among thetrees, his arrival there, and a loud report and flash of fire.
"I must have been knocked down and stunned," he said to himself, "andI suppose I am a prisoner now to these brutes, and one of them must becarrying me on his back."
Yes, he could understand it all now. His hands and his feet were tied,ropes were passed round his body in every direction, and he was fastenedback to back upon the shoulders of a Chinaman. Percy remembered thetales he had heard of the imprisonment and torture of those who fellinto the hands of the Chinese, and he bitterly regretted that he had notbeen killed instead of stunned in the surprise of the temple.
"It would have been just the same feeling," he said to himself, "andthere would have been an end of it. Now there is no saying what is goingto happen. I wonder whether Jack was killed, and the sailors."
Presently there was a jabber of voices; the motion ceased. Percy couldfeel that the cords were being unwound, and he was dropped on to hisfeet; then the cloth was removed from his head, and he could lookaround.
A dozen Chinese, armed with matchlocks and bristling with swords anddaggers, stood around, and among them, bound like himself and gagged bya piece of bamboo forced lengthways across his mouth and kept therewith a string going round the back of the head, stood Fothergill. He wasbleeding from several cuts in the head. Percy's heart gave a bound ofjoy at finding that he was not alone; then he tried to feel sorry thatJack had not escaped, but failed to do so, although he told himself thathis comrade's presence would not in any way alleviate the fate whichwas certain to befall him. Still the thought of companionship, even inwretchedness, and perhaps a vague hope that Jack, with his energy andspirit, might contrive some way for their escape, cheered him up.
As Percy, too, was gagged, no word could be exchanged by the midshipmen,but they nodded to each other. They were now put side by side and madeto walk in the center of their captors. On the way they passed throughseveral villages, whose inhabitants poured out to gaze at the captives,but the men in charge of them were evidently not disposed to delay,as they passed through without a stop. At last they halted before twocottages standing by themselves, thrust the prisoners into a small room,removed their gags, and left them entirely to themselves.
"Well, Percy, my boy, so they caught you too? I am awfully sorry. Itwas my fault for going with only two men into that temple, but as thevillage had been deserted and scarcely a man was found there, it neverentered my mind that there might be a party in the temple."
"Of course not, Jack; it was a surprise altogether. I don't knowanything about it, for I was knocked down, I suppose, just as we wentin, and the first thing I knew about it was that I was being carried onthe back of one of those fellows. I thought it was awful at first, but Idon't seem to mind so much now you are with me."
"It is a comfort to have someone to speak to," Jack said, "yet I wishyou were not here, Percy; I can't do you any good, and I shall nevercease blaming myself for having brought you into this scrape. I don'tknow much more about the affair than you do. The guns were fired soclose to us that my face was scorched with one of them, and almost atthe same instant I got a lick across my cheek with a sword. I had justtime to hit at one of them, and then almost at the same moment I got twoor three other blows, and down I went; they threw themselves on thetop of me and tied and gagged me in no time. Then I was tied to a longbamboo, and two fellows put the ends on their shoulders and went offwith me through the fields. Of course I was face downwards, and did notknow you were with us till they stopped and loosed me from the bambooand set me on my feet."
"But what are they going to do with us, do you think, Jack?"
"I should say they are going to take us to Canton and claim a reward forour capture, and there I suppose they will cut off our heads or saw usin two, or put us to some other unpleasant kind of death. I expect theyare discussing it now; do you hear what a jabber they are kicking up?"
Voices were indeed heard raised in angry altercation in the next room.After a time the din subsided and the conversation appeared to take amore amiable turn.
&nb
sp; "I suppose they have settled it as far as they are concerned," Jacksaid; "anyhow, you may be quite sure they mean to make something out ofus. If they hadn't they would have finished us at once, for they musthave been furious at the destruction of their junks and village. As tothe idea that mercy has anything to do with it, we may as well put itout of our minds. The Chinaman, at the best of times, has no feeling ofpity in his nature, and after their defeat it is certain they would havekilled us at once had they not hoped to do better by us. If they hadbeen Indians I should have said they had carried us off to enjoy thesatisfaction of torturing us, but I don't suppose it is that with them."
"Do you think there is any chance of our getting away?" Percy asked,after a pause.
"I should say not the least in the world, Percy. My hands are fastenedso tight now that the ropes seem cutting into my wrists, and after theyhad set me on my feet and cut the cords of my legs I could scarcelystand at first, my feet were so numbed by the pressure. However, we mustkeep up our pluck. Possibly they may keep us at Canton for a bit, andif they do the squadron may arrive and fight its way past the forts andtake the city before they have quite made up their minds as to what kindof death will be most appropriate to the occasion. I wonder what theyare doing now? They seem to be chopping sticks."
"I wish they would give us some water," Percy said. "I am frightfullythirsty."
"And so am I, Percy; there is one comfort, they won't let us die ofthirst, they could get no satisfaction out of our deaths now."
Two hours later some of the Chinese re-entered the room and led thecaptives outside, and the lads then saw what was the meaning of thenoise they had heard. A cage had been manufactured of strong bamboos. Itwas about four and a half feet long, four feet wide, and less than threefeet high; above it was fastened two long bamboos. Two or three of thebars of the cage had been left open.
"My goodness! they never intend to put us in there," Percy exclaimed.
"That they do," Jack said. "They are going to carry us the rest of theway."
The cords which bound the prisoners' hands were now cut, and they weremotioned to crawl into the cage. This they did; the bars were then putin their places and securely lashed. Four men went to the ends of thepoles and lifted the cage upon their shoulders; two others took theirplaces beside it, and one man, apparently the leader of the party,walked on ahead; the rest remained behind.
"I never quite realized what a fowl felt in a coop before," Jack said,"but if its sensations are at all like mine they must be decidedlyunpleasant. It isn't high enough to sit upright in, it is nothing likelong enough to lie down, and as to getting out one might as well thinkof flying. Do you know, Percy, I don't think they mean taking us toCanton at all. I did not think of it before, but from the direction ofthe sun I feel sure that we cannot have been going that way. What theyare up to I can't imagine."
In an hour they came to a large village. Here the cage was set down andthe villagers closed round. They were, however, kept a short distancefrom the cage by the men in charge of it. Then a wooden platter wasplaced on the ground, and persons throwing a few copper coins into thiswere allowed to come near the cage.
"They are making a show of us!" Fothergill exclaimed. "That's what theyare up to, you see if it isn't; they are going to travel up country toshow the 'white devils' whom their valor has captured."
This was, indeed, the purpose of the pirates. At that time Europeansseldom ventured beyond the limits assigned to them in the two or threetowns where they were permitted to trade, and few, indeed, of thecountry people had ever obtained a sight of the white barbarians ofwhose doings they had so frequently heard. Consequently a small crowdsoon gathered round the cage, eyeing the captives with the same interestthey would have felt as to unknown and dangerous beasts; they laughedand joked, passed remarks upon them, and even poked them with sticks.Fothergill, furious at this treatment, caught one of the sticks, andwrenching it from the hands of the Chinaman tried to strike at himthrough the bars, a proceeding which excited shouts of laughter from thebystanders.
"I think, Jack," Percy said, "it will be best to try and keep ourtempers and not to seem to mind what they do to us, then if they findthey can't get any fun out of us they will soon leave us alone."
"Of course, that's the best plan," Fothergill agreed, "but it's not soeasy to follow. That fellow very nearly poked out my eye with his stick,and no one's going to stand that if he can help it."
It was some hours before the curiosity of the village was satisfied.When all had paid who were likely to do so, the guards broke up theircircle, and leaving two of their number at the cage to see that noactual harm was caused to their prisoners, the rest went off to arefreshment house. The place of the elders was now taken by the boysand children of the village, who crowded round the cage, prodded theprisoners with sticks, and, putting their hands through the bars, pulledtheir ears and hair. This amusement, however, was brought to an abruptconclusion by Fothergill suddenly seizing the wrist of a big boy andpulling his arm through the cage until his face was against the bars;then he proceeded to punch him until the guard, coming to his rescue,poked Fothergill with his stick until he released his hold.
The punishment of their comrade excited neither anger nor resentmentamong the other boys, who yelled with delight at his discomfiture,but it made them more careful in approaching the cage, and though theycontinued to poke the prisoners with sticks they did not venture againto thrust a hand through the bars. At sunset the guards again cameround, lifted the cage and carried it into a shed. A platter of dirtyrice and a jug of water were put into the cage; two of the men lightedtheir long pipes and sat down on guard beside it, and, the doors beingclosed, the captives were left in peace.
"If this sort of thing is to go on, as I suppose it is," Fothergillsaid, "the sooner they cut off our heads the better."
"It is very bad, Jack. I am sore all over with those probes from theirsharp sticks."
"I don't care for the pain, Percy, so much as the humiliation of thething. To be stared at and poked at as if we were wild beasts by thesecurs, when with half a dozen of our men we could send a hundred of themscampering, I feel as if I could choke with rage."
"You had better try and eat some of this rice, Jack. It is beastly, butI dare say we shall get no more until tomorrow night, and we must keepup our strength if we can. At any rate, the water is not bad, that's acomfort."
"No thanks to them," Jack growled. "If there had been any bad water inthe neighborhood they would have given it to us."
For two weeks the sufferings of the prisoners continued. Their captorsavoided towns where the authorities would probably at once have takenthe prisoners out of their hands. No one would have recognized thetwo captives as the midshipmen of the Perseus; their clothes were inrags--torn to pieces by the thrusts of the sharp pointed bamboos, towhich they had daily been subjected--the bad food, the cramped position,and the misery which they suffered had worn both lads to skeletons;their hair was matted with filth, their faces begrimed with dirt. Percywas so weak that he felt he could not stand. Fothergill, being threeyears older, was less exhausted, but he knew that he, too, could notsupport his sufferings for many days longer. Their bodies were coveredwith sores, and try as they would they were able to catch only a fewminutes' sleep at a time so much did the bamboo bars hurt their wastedlimbs.
They seldom exchanged a word during the daytime, suffering in silencethe persecutions to which they were exposed, but at night they talkedover their homes and friends in England, and their comrades on boardship, seldom saying a word as to their present position. They were nowin a hilly country, but had not the least idea of the direction in whichit lay from Canton or its distance from the coast.
One evening Jack said to his companion, "I think it's nearly all overnow, Percy. The last two days we have made longer journeys, and have notstopped at any of the smaller villages we passed through. I fancy ourguards must see that we can't last much longer, and are taking us downto some town to hand us over to the authorities a
nd get their reward forus."
"I hope it is so, Jack; the sooner the better. Not that it makes muchdifference now to me, for I do not think I can stand many more days ofit."
"I am afraid I am tougher than you, Percy, and shall take longer tokill, so I hope with all my heart that I may be right, and that they maybe going to give us up to the authorities."
The next evening they stopped at a large place, and were subjected tothe usual persecution; this, however, was now less prolonged than duringthe early days of their captivity, for they had now no longer strengthor spirits to resent their treatment, and as no fun was to be obtainedfrom passive victims, even the village boys soon ceased to find anyamusement in tormenting them.
When most of their visitors had left them, an elderly Chinamanapproached the side of the cage. He spoke to their guard and looked atthem attentively for some minutes, then he said in pigeon English, "Youofficer men?"
"Yes!" Jack exclaimed, starting at the sound of the English words, thefirst they had heard spoken since their captivity. "Yes, we are officersof the Perseus."
"Me speeke English velly well," the Chinaman said; "me pilot man manyyears on Canton River. How you get here?"
"We were attacking some piratical junks, and landed to destroy thevillage where the people were firing on us. We entered a place full ofpirates, and were knocked down and taken prisoners and carried away upthe country; that is six weeks ago, and you see what we are now."
"Pirate men velly bad," the Chinaman said; "plunder many junk on riverand kill crew. Me muchee hate them."
"Can you do anything for us?" Jack asked. "You will be well rewarded ifyou could manage to get us free."
The man shook his head.
"Me no see what can do, me stranger here; come to stay with wifey;people no do what me ask them. English ships attack Canton, much fightand take town, people all hate English. Bad country dis. People in onevillage fight against another. Velly bad men here."
"How far is Canton away?" Jack asked. "Could you not send down to tellthe English we are here?"
"Fourteen days' journey off," the man said; "no see how can doanything."
"Well," Jack said, "when you get back again to Canton let our peopleknow what has been the end of us; we shall not last much longer."
"All light," the man said; "will see what me can do. Muchee thinktonight!"
And after saying a few words to the guards, who had been regarding thisconversation with an air of surprise, the Chinaman retired.
The guards had for some time abandoned the precaution of sitting up atnight by the cage, convinced that their captives had no longer strengthto attempt to break through its fastenings or to drag themselves manyyards away if they could do so. They therefore left it standing in theopen, and, wrapping themselves in their thickly wadded coats, for thenights were cold, lay down by the side of the cage.
The coolness of the nights had, indeed, assisted to keep the twoprisoners alive. During the day the sun was excessively hot, and thecrowd of visitors round the cage impeded the circulation of the air andadded to their sufferings. It was true that the cold at night frequentlyprevented them from sleeping, but it acted as a tonic and braced themup.
"What did he mean about the villages attacking each other?" Percy asked.
"I have heard," Jack replied, "that in some parts of China things arevery much the same as they used to be in the highlands of Scotland.There is no law or order. The different villages are like clans, andwage war on each other. Sometimes the government sends a number oftroops, who put the thing down for a time, chop off a good many heads,and then march away, and the whole work begins again as soon as theirbacks are turned."
That night the uneasy slumber of the lads was disturbed by a suddenfiring; shouts and yells were heard, and the firing redoubled. "Thevillage is attacked," Jack said. "I noticed that, like some other placeswe have come into lately, there is a strong earthen wall round it, withgates. Well, there is one comfort--it does not make much difference tous which side wins."
The guards at the first alarm leaped to their feet, caught up theirmatchlocks, and ran to aid in the defense of the wall. Two minutes latera man ran up to the cage.
"All lightee," he said; "just what me hopee."
With his knife he cut the tough withes that held the bamboos in theirplaces, and pulled out three of the bars.
"Come along," he said; "no time to lose."
Jack scrambled out, but in trying to stand upright gave a sharpexclamation of pain. Percy crawled out more slowly; he tried to standup, but could not. The Chinaman caught him up and threw him on hisshoulder.
"Come along quickee," he said to Jack; "if takee village, kill evelyone." He set off at a run. Jack followed as fast as he could, groaningat every step from the pain the movement caused to his bruised body.
They went to the side of the village opposite to that at which theattack was going on. They met no one on the way, the inhabitants havingall rushed to the other side to repel the attack. They stopped at asmall gate in the wall, the Chinaman drew back the bolts and opened it,and they passed out into the country. For an hour they kept on. By theend of that time Jack could scarcely drag his limbs along. The Chinamanhalted at length in a clump of trees surrounded by a thick undergrowth.
"Allee safee here," he said, "no searchee so far; here food," and heproduced from a wallet a cold chicken and some boiled rice, and unslungfrom his shoulder a gourd filled with cold tea.
"Me go back now, see what happen. Tomollow nightee come again--bringeemore food." And without another word went off at a rapid pace.
Jack moistened his lips with the tea, and then turned to his companion.Percy had not spoken a word since he had been released from the cage,and had been insensible during the greater part of his journey. Jackpoured some cold tea between his lips.
"Cheer up, Percy, old boy, we are free now, and with luck and that goodfellow's help we will work our way down to Canton yet."
"I shall never get down there; you may," Percy said feebly.
"Oh, nonsense, you will pick up strength like a steam engine now. Here,let me prop you against this tree. That's better. Now drink a dropof this tea; it's like nectar after that filthy water we have beendrinking. Now you will feel better. Now you must try and eat a littleof this chicken and rice. Oh, nonsense, you have got to do it. I am notgoing to let you give way when our trouble is just over. Think of yourpeople at home, Percy, and make an effort for their sakes. Good Heavens!now I think of it, it must be Christmas morning. We were caught on the2d and we have been just twenty-two days on show. I am sure that itmust be past twelve o'clock, and it is Christmas Day. It is a good omen,Percy. This food isn't like roast beef and plum pudding, but it's not tobe despised. I can tell you. Come, fire away, that's a good fellow."
Percy made an effort and ate a few mouthfuls of rice and chicken, thenhe took another draught of tea, and lay down, and was almost immediatelyasleep.
Jack ate his food slowly and contentedly till he finished halfthe supply, then he, too, lay down, and after a short but heartythanksgiving for his escape from a slow and lingering death, he too,fell off to sleep. The sun was rising when he woke, being aroused by aslight movement on the part of Percy; he opened his eyes and sat up.
"Well, Percy, how do you feel this morning?" he asked cheerily.
"I feel too weak to move," Percy replied languidly.
"Oh, you will be all right when you have sat up and eaten breakfast,"Jack said. "Here you are; here is a wing for you, and this rice is aswhite as snow, and the tea is first rate. I thought last night after Ilay down that I heard a murmur of water, so after we have had breakfastI will look about and see if I can find it. We should feel like new menafter a wash. You look awful, and I am sure I am just as bad."
The thought of a wash inspirited Percy far more than that of eating,and he sat up and made a great effort to do justice to breakfast. Hesucceeded much better than he had done the night before, and Jack,although he pretended to grumble, was satisfied with his
companion'sprogress, and finished off the rest of the food. Then he set out tosearch for water. He had not very far to go; a tiny stream, two feetwide and several inches deep, ran through the wood from the higherground. After throwing himself down and taking a drink, he hurried backto Percy.
"It is all right, Percy, I have found it. We can wash to our hearts'content; think of that, lad."
Percy could hardly stand, but he made an effort, and Jack half carriedhim to the streamlet. There the lads spent two hours. First they bathedtheir heads and hands, and then, stripping, lay down in the stream andallowed it to flow over them, then they rubbed themselves with handfulsof leaves dipped in the water, and when they at last put on their ragsagain felt like new men. Percy was able to walk back to the spot theyhad quitted with the assistance only of Jack's arm. The latter, feelingthat his breakfast had by no means appeased his hunger, now started fora search through the wood, and presently returned to Percy laden withnuts and berries.
"The nuts are sure to be all right; I expect the berries are too. I havecertainly seen some like them in native markets, and I think it will bequite safe to risk it."
The rest of the day was spent in picking nuts and eating them. Then theysat down and waited for the arrival of their friend. He came two hoursafter nightfall with a wallet stored with provisions, and told them thathe had regained the village unobserved. The attack had been repulsed,but with severe loss to the defenders as well as the assailants; twoof their guards had been among the killed. The others had made a greatclamor over the escape of the prisoners, and had made a close searchthroughout the village and immediately round it, for they were convincedthat their captives had not had the strength to go any distance.He thought, however, that although they had professed the greatestindignation, and had offered many threats as to the vengeance thatgovernment would take upon the village, one of whose inhabitants, atleast, must have aided in the evasion of the prisoners, they would nottrouble themselves any further in the matter. They had already reaped arich harvest from the exhibition, and would divide among themselves theshare of their late comrades; nor was it at all improbable that if theywere to report the matter to the authorities they would themselvesget into serious trouble for not having handed over the prisonersimmediately after their capture.
For a fortnight the pilot nursed and fed the two midshipmen. He hadalready provided them with native clothes, so that if by chance anyvillagers should catch sight of them they would not recognize them asthe escaped white men. At the end of that time both the lads had almostrecovered from the effects of their sufferings. Jack, indeed, had pickedup from the first, but Percy for some days continued so weak and illthat Jack had feared that he was going to have an attack of fever ofsome kind. His companion's cheery and hopeful chat did as much good forPercy as the nourishing food with which their friend supplied them, andat the end of the fortnight he declared that he felt sufficiently strongto attempt to make his way down to the coast.
The pilot acted as their guide. When they inquired about his wife, hetold them carelessly that she would remain with her kinsfolk, and wouldtravel on to Canton and join him there when she found an opportunity.The journey was accomplished at night, by very short stages at first,but by increasing distances as Percy gained strength. During the daytimethe lads lay hid in woods or jungles, while their companion went intothe village and purchased food. They struck the river many miles aboveCanton, and the pilot, going down first to a village on its banks,bargained for a boat to take him and two women down to the city.
The lads went on board at night and took their places in the littlecabin formed of bamboos and covered with mats in the stern of the boat,and remained thus sheltered not only from the view of people in boatspassing up or down the stream, but from the eyes of their own boatmen.
After two days' journey down the river without incident, they arrivedoff Canton, where the British fleet was still lying while negotiationsfor peace were being carried on with the authorities at Pekin. Peepingout between the mats, the lads caught sight of the English warships,and, knowing that there was now no danger, they dashed out of the cabin,to the surprise of the native boatmen, and shouted and waved their armsto the distant ships.
In ten minutes they were alongside the Perseus, when they were hailed asif restored from the dead. The pilot was very handsomely rewarded by theEnglish authorities for his kindness to the prisoners, and was highlysatisfied with the result of his proceedings, which more than doubledthe little capital with which he had retired from business. JackFothergill and Percy Adcock declare that they have never since eatenchicken without thinking of their Christmas fare on the morning of theirescape from the hands of the Chinese pirates.
THE END.
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