CHAPTER XVIII
A BROKEN MATCH SAFE
"Why don't she go up?" asked Jack, as the boys crouched in the grove."I don't mind seeing a little fourth of July!"
"She's coming," Frank answered. "Do you see the light in the cellar?That's the fuse burning."
"It must be a long one," Jimmie said. "Gee, but I was scared stiff whenI saw it burnin' right under where you all were!"
"How did the sneak who set the fuse on fire ever get down there?"wondered Jack.
"Must have been there all the time," Jimmie volunteered.
"But he didn't have the powder, or the dynamite, or whatever thing hefigured on blowing us up with, in his pockets, did he?" asked Jack.
"I guess the old Chink down the road, the fellow who kept me talking atthe gate, had something to do with storing the explosive there," Nedremarked. "I presume the plot was laid to blow us up the minute theeffort to destroy us at the ruined temple failed."
"Merry little time we're having," Frank laughed. "Here, kid, where areyou going?" he added, as Jimmie moved away.
"I'm goin' to see why that don't go bang!" answered the boy.
Ned tried to stop him, but the little fellow dodged away and disappearedaround an angle of the house.
The boys waited in suspense for a moment, expecting every instant towitness the explosion, then Frank and Jack darted around the corner, inquest of Jimmie.
"Come back!" Ned called, but they paid no heed.
Both Ned and the Captain sprang after the lads, the latter expressing invery vigorous language his opinion of boys who would take such risks outof curiosity.
"I'd rather wait an hour for an explosion than go up to see why itdidn't come off in time," he said. "That Jimmie needs a good beating.He'll get it, too, if he doesn't behave!"
Ned laughed, serious as the situation was, at the thought of what wouldbe apt to happen if the Captain should lay hands on the little fellow inanger. He would have the other boys on his hands in a second!
When Ned rounded the corner he saw Jimmie's heels half blocking a cellarwindow. Thick smoke was oozing out around him, and Frank and Jack weretrying to pull him back.
"You let go!" they heard the little fellow shout. "I guess I know whatI'm doin'. You let go!"
"Wait!" Ned said, then he stooped over and called out to Jimmie:
"Is the fuse out?"
"Sure!" was the reply. "'Sure the fuse is out, but before it went outit set fire to something on the cellar bottom, an' the blaze is workin'its way up to the powder, or whatever it is. Ouch!" he added, as Jackgave a pull at his foot. "You let go!"
"Let him go," Ned advised. "Perhaps he can get in there in time toprevent the explosion."
"The little gink!" Jack exclaimed, "I wanted to see the thing bust up.Now he's spoiled it!"
In a moment the boy was in the cellar, and Ned was not far away when thecreeping flame was extinguished. While Frank and Jack looked in at thewindow, shielding their eyes and faces from the smudge as well as it waspossible to do, Ned called out to them:
"Tell Captain Martin to keep his men on guard around the house. Thescamps who did this may be up to some other trick. They're determinedthat we shall never get to Peking!"
Frank crawled through the window and stood by Ned's side, searchlight inhand. Just about underneath the center of the house, was a half barrelof gunpowder.
"That would have done the business," Frank observed, and Jimmie made awry face. "If this little nuisance hadn't seen the fuse burning, wemight have been killed."
"Aw, go on!" Jimmie said. "The fuse went out, didn't it? Gave us agood scare, anyway. I'm six inches shorter than I was before I saw theblaze creepin' along like a bloomin' snake!"
"How did it affect your appetite?" asked Frank.
"If you mention anythin' to eat," Jimmie answered, "I'll have a fit. Idon't know how people live in China, but I've been starved ever since Istruck the country."
Flashlight in hand, Ned now devoted his whole attention to the floor ofthe cellar. There were marks of shoes here and there, and half-burnedmatches.
"It looks as if whoever did this job did it in a hurry," Ned said. "Ifthe fuse had been set right it would have done its work. Do you see whyit went out?"
"Well, there's a break in it, and the break is over a damp spot on thefloor. The powder stuffed line burned to the break and there the flamewent out. It burned slowly, anyway, which probably accounts for ourbeing alive at this time."
Ned took a rule from his pocket and measured the shoe tracks on thefloor. There were numerous tracks, but one was very distinct. This hadbeen made by the man who rolled the half-barrel of powder to the placewhere it had been found.
The barrel had come upon a slight obstruction, and the man had evidentlylifted and pulled at it until his shoe, by reason of the extra weightput upon it, had sunk deep into the light soil.
"That wasn't any Chink shoe," Jimmie said.
"No, it was a shoe made in America," Ned said. "It is comparatively anew shoe, too. I am wondering now why the American, or Englishman, orFrenchman, whatever he is, didn't hire some of the Chinks to do thiswork of laying the explosion."
"They're afraid," Jack volunteered.
There was a litter of half-burned matches near the barrel and Ned bentover and gathered them up. As he did so something bright lying on theground, caught his eye. It was a gold rivet, or wire, not more than aninch long and about as thick as a knitting needle.
"What is it?" asked Frank.
"I should say," replied Ned, "that the fellow lost the cover to hismatch box here. This looks like the rivet which served for a hinge.The cover itself may be here."
But a close search did not reveal the cover, nor anything else ofmoment, in fact, and the boys soon left the cellar. Frank laughed asNed placed the gold wire in his pocketbook.
"You are making quite a collection," he said.
"Yes," Jack added, "he has a state department seal, bits of brokensealing wax, and now a piece of a broken match safe. He'll set a trapwith them directly!"
"The trap is already set!" Ned replied.
The long delay at the house made high speed necessary during theremainder of the run to Peking. The machines sparked and roared throughthat ancient land, bringing sleepy-eyed natives to doors and windows,and setting villages into whirls of excitement.
Captain Martin and one marine were with the boys, the rest having beenleft with the wounded men.
"My flying squadron is just beginning to fly," Ned said, as the machinesrolled noisily down a hill from which the towers of the distant cityshowed. "And the smaller it becomes as we approach the end of thejourney!"
"Suppose the Chinks attack the men left behind?" asked Jack.
"No danger of that," Ned replied. "They are not after the marines, butthe Boy Scouts who had the nerve to cross the Pacific for the purpose ofbringing a rascal to punishment."
This view of the case proved to be the correct one, as the marines wereremarkably well treated by the natives, who gathered about them withmany gestures and questions, all unintelligible to the warriors. Theboys who were slowly drawing a slowly closing circle around the guiltyones were the persons in demand!
It was the middle of the forenoon when Ned and his companions reachedthe suburbs of the wonderful city. They attracted a great deal ofattention as they wheeled through the straggling streets. They had notyet come to the wall, so the population was principally agricultural.Maize and millet are the principal products of the soil here, as thestaple crops, wheat and rice, do not flourish well.
They had no difficulty in passing the gate which gave into the southernor "Chinese City." It is the northern part of Peking that is known toforeigners as "The Forbidden City." Here the rulers live in wonderfulpalaces. This is the old "Tartar City," too.
The second division of Peking is the business section. Here the boysdrew up at a most uninviting native inn and asked a clerk who claimed tospeak English for an interpreter. A sn
aky-looking fellow was finallyproduced, and Ned proceeded to question him about the show places of thetown.
"Let him think we are American tourists," Ned said to his chums, "andwe'll stand a better chance of getting into the diplomatic section ofthe town. Anyway, while we are here, we may as well see the sights."
After a midday luncheon Ned and Jimmie started out to look over theplace. They were now in what is known as the general city, where thestreets are from 140 to 200 feet wide. The thoroughfares are mostlyunpaved, and the shops which line them are continuous, some green, someblue, some red, but all bustling with business.
The shops in this section of Peking are decorated with huge, staringsigns, resplendent with Chinese characters highly gilt. Before the boyshad traveled far they were forcibly reminded of the lower East Side ofNew York. The great thoroughfares roared with the rush of commerce.
Shopkeepers, peddlers, mountebanks, quack doctors, pedestrians rushingto and fro, all reminded the lads of the lower part of the big city onManhattan island. The theaters and public places of amusement aresituated in this part of Peking.
When Ned and Jimmie returned from the stroll they found Frank and Jackwaiting for them with anxiety depicted on their faces.
"What have you been doing?" Frank asked. "I thought you came here tointerview the American ambassador."
"All in good time," Ned replied, with a smile. "I want to pick up theAmerican shoe print before I present my letter to the ambassador."
"Fine show you stand of picking up a shoe print in a crowd like that oneout there!" Jack said. "It's worse than Coney Island on a midsummerSunday."
"Perhaps I didn't use the right words," smiled Ned. "I might have saidI was waiting for the American shoe man to pick me up."
"He's done that now, all right," Captain Martin said. "You had not beenout of the house five minutes before the spies were thick as flies inthe old Eighth ward. They are all about us now. Watch and see if weare ever alone."
Ned glanced about carelessly and nudged Frank with his elbow.
"That waiter?" he asked. "How long has he been loitering about theroom?"
"Ever since we arrived. The men who have been entertaining us on theway were evidently waiting for us."
The boys were not in a private room, but in a public apartment wherethere were tables and refreshments.
"But that chap belongs here," Ned replied.
"Well, if you watch him, you will see that he is attending strictly tothe wants of this party. If we call he'll wait on us. If any one elsecalls, another waiter glides over to him. Nice to be so exclusive,isn't it?"
"If you are right," Ned said, "it is time for us to move on."
"To the embassy?" asked Captain Martin. "You see," the Captain went on,"I'm rather anxious to land you boys under the protecting folds of theAmerican flag, for there my responsibility ends."
"No, not to the embassy," Ned replied. "As yet I have nothing ofimportance to confide to the ambassador. I can only tell him that weare here, that we had numerous nibbles on the road from Taku, but thatall the fish got away."
"Holy smoke!" exclaimed Jack. "I hope you don't think of staying out inthe open until you can convey a couple of diplomats to the embassy! Youcan't catch your man single handed. You're not in New York now, but ina heathen town, a town where the life of a foreign devil is not worth agrain of rice."
"Just the same," Ned replied, "I'm going to stick around this town untilI get what I want."
"In this dump?" asked Jack.
"No; there's an American hotel up the street--an American hotel operatedby Chinks! We'll go there and take rooms and wait for something to turnup."
So, in spite of the protests of Captain Martin, the change was made, andlate that night Ned awoke to find himself sitting up on the edge of hisbed, automatic in hand, listening to the steady boring of a tool of somesort around the lock of his door!