CHAPTER XXXII
FALL OF PORT ARTHUR--CONCLUSION
"Open, in the name of the Czar!"
Such was the command which startled both Ben and Grace Chase, and forthe moment each gazed at the other in horror, not knowing what to say ordo.
"I must get away from here!" whispered the young captain, but scarcelyhad he spoken when there came a crash, and the front door of theresidence swung in. Then half a dozen Russians poured into the house.
"There he is, as I suspected!" said one, an officer from the prison."We'll see that you do not escape again," he added to Ben, grimly.
In the midst of the excitement Nathan Chase arrived. But he could donothing for the young captain, and was glad that he was left to protecthis daughter.
"We ought also to take her," said the prison official. "She did wrong toharbor this prisoner." And then, without further ado, Ben was marchedback to the place from which he had escaped such a short while before.
After that the time passed dismally enough for the young American. Forhaving run away he was put on the most miserable fare the prisonafforded, the food being often so vile he could not touch it. Wheneverhe attempted to protest he was met with kicks and blows.
"They might as well kill me and be done with it," he thought. "Oh, how Iwish the Japs would take the city and give me back my liberty!"
In those days Port Arthur became a most uncomfortable place for allliving there. The Japanese army was pressing forward steadily, and armyand navy did everything possible to destroy the shipping in the harborand make the various forts untenable. Shots and shells were hurled intothe city at all hours of the day and night, until living there becameworse than a nightmare. Among the soldiers scurvy became prevalent,until the hospitals could not accommodate the sick and the dying.Nothing was done to clean up the streets, and the rubbish lay many feetdeep over the sidewalks. Practically all of the shops were closed, forthey had next to nothing to sell. The main article of food was rice, andto cook this many old buildings had to be razed in order to procurenecessary firewood. As winter approached the suffering of the poorbecame so intense that riots broke out and to maintain order not a fewwere shot down.
Such was the condition in the city. Outside, to the northward, thefighting went on week after week. So many soldiers were killed upon bothsides that to bury the dead became impossible, and thousands were leftwhere they had fallen, to become the prey of vultures, or to putrefy andfill the locality with a stench that was as nauseating as it was deadly!Such are the horrors of modern warfare. The demands for universal peacecannot come any too quickly.
In the advance on Port Arthur, Gilbert did his full share of thefighting. The Japanese were now struggling for the possession of whatwas known as 203-Meter Hill, a rocky elevation which was not fortifiedbut which was in the direct line of Russian fire. The top of 203-MeterHill commanded a fine view of Port Arthur and its harbor, and it wasthis view the Japanese needed, in order to make their shell fire mosteffective.
The battle for 203-Meter Hill is one which will be long remembered. TheJapanese fought with a desperation impossible to describe, and when thehill was captured, General Stoessel sent out nearly all his availablemen to retake it. But this could not be accomplished, and late inDecember the Japanese stormed the inner defenses of the Russian chain offorts, killing nearly all of the brave defenders who dared to opposethem. Then tons upon tons of shot and shell were sent into Port Arthurand over the harbor once again, until the locality became little shortof an inferno. Nearly all the shipping was destroyed, and so manybuildings were set on fire that to stem the conflagration became all butimpossible. The end came on New Year's Day, 1905--ten months after thefamous siege began. To hold out longer seemed impossible, and to avoidfurther carnage General Stoessel called a council of war and sent amessage to General Nogi offering to capitulate.
"Port Arthur has surrendered!" The news flew from one Japanese regimentto another, and soon the warships were sending the message from vesselto vessel. For once the Japanese showed their real feelings, and "_Banzai!Banzai!_" rent the air again and again. "Long life to the Mikado! PortArthur is ours once more!"
"It is a well-earned victory!" cried Larry, when he heard the news.
"Yes, lad, and I trust it brings this bloody war to a close," came fromLuke.
"They say General Stoessel blew up the warships remaining in theharbor."
"He couldn't have had many left," returned the old Yankee gunner. "Thearmy and the navy have about battered everything to bits." And in thissurmise Luke was correct.
The fall of Port Arthur caused widespread consternation in Russia, whilethe people of Japan were correspondingly elated. Because of the gallantdefense of the place, the Japanese made generous terms with those whohad surrendered, much to the satisfaction of the world at large. Manyhad predicted a universal butchery, but nothing of the sort occurred,and the Russian sick and wounded were given every possible attention.
After the fall of the port Larry was permitted to go ashore some milesabove the town, and he managed to locate Gilbert, and then learned forthe first time that Ben was a prisoner in the captured place.
"A prisoner!" he ejaculated. "Oh, Gilbert, we must find him and have himreleased!"
"That is just what I have been thinking, but I don't know exactly how togo at it, Larry."
"There ought to be some way of doing these things. We might interviewone of the generals and----Who is that coming this way?"
"Why, it's Ben himself!" cried Gilbert.
"Ben!" screamed Larry, and ran forward to meet his brother. Soon theywere in each other's arms, and then Gilbert received an equally warmgreeting.
"We were released this morning," said Ben. "I can tell you I was mightyglad of it. I haven't had a meal fit to eat in weeks."
"Well, you shall have the best our larder affords," said Gilbert. "My,but you're a sight for sore eyes!" he continued.
"Don't say a word!" came from Larry. Two tears were glistening in hishonest eyes. "It's almost too good to be true!"
* * * * *
Here let me add a few words more and then bring to a close this tale ofthe naval and military adventures "At the Fall of Port Arthur."
After the surrender of the city the army in that vicinity, and also thefleet near the harbor, had but little to do outside of caring for thesick and wounded and disposing of the thousands of prisoners. TheRussian officers were allowed to go on parole and the prisoners weretransported to Japan. Many of the mines in the harbor were taken up, sothat ships might come and go in safety.
Larry was anxious to learn what had become of Shamhaven and Peterson,and through the Japanese guards stationed in Port Arthur located therascally sailors at a cheap boarding-house. Both were made prisoners,and Larry got back a portion of the money stolen from Captain Ponsberryand himself. It was learned that the big brig had been destroyed by theJapanese shell fire, so that Ivan Snokoff lost everything he placed inthe venture.
"Well, it served him right," said Gilbert, when he heard of this. "He isresponsible for the time Ben spent in prison."
What had become of Captain Barusky was at first a mystery. But at lastit was learned that he had sneaked aboard of a transport filled withwounded soldiers and bound for Chefoo. He pretended to be woundedhimself, and was given medical attention until the trick was discovered,when he was treated as a coward. As soon as Chefoo was reached hedisappeared, and that was the last seen or heard of him for some time.
"We are well rid of that fellow," said Ben. "I hope the Russians readhim out of their army. He isn't fit to hold a commission."
"What do you imagine will be the next move in this war?" questionedGilbert.
"It is hard to tell. I think they will try to take Mukden, for onething."
"Russia is going to send out more warships," put in Larry. "If they comethis way, it may mean more fighting for me."
"Well, I reckon you'll do your duty, if you are put to it," answeredGilbert, with a smile.
"And
so will you do yours," came from Larry.
"We'll all try to do our duty," broke in Ben. "We didn't join the armyand the navy to hang back. Just the same, I'd enjoy a bit of a rest justnow."
The others agreed that the rest would be beneficial all around. It wasgiven to them; and here, for the present at least, we will leave them,wishing them the best of good luck in the future.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.
Additional corrections: CH X: Changed "on" to "of" ...I reckon some of us... CH XII: Changed "he" to "be" ...but this could not be helped... CH XXII: Deleted "t" from "fittted" ...warship was being fitted... CH XXVII: Changed 'threatended' to 'threatened' ...he was threatened with a flogging... CH XXXII: Capitalized 'And' beginning of sentence: ...the Yankee tar's reply. And then, cutlasses in hand,... Added comma: ...just as the trigger fell,... Changed 'located' to 'locate' ...he managed to locate Gilbert...
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