CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
"AM I GOING MAD?"
Stan made no reply, but stared straight up at him, to feel the graspupon his shoulder tighten, while Blunt said again: "Now then, my lad,time's up!"
But this time there was an addition--"Do you hear?"
"Yes--of course," whispered back the lad; "but I don't know what youmean. What time's up?"
"Why, your time. Hang it all! You take it pretty coolly, when at anymoment some hundreds of savage cut-throats may be down upon us. Icouldn't have slept like that."
"Like what?" said Stan sharply.
"In the way you have done."
"I? I've not been asleep."
"Oh, haven't you? Why, you're asleep now."
"If I'd been asleep, how--Oh, what nonsense! If I was asleep, how couldI have come out here to keep you company?"
"What!" cried Blunt, with a soft, chuckling laugh. "Well, you are a rumfellow! Do you know where you are?"
"Yes; standing out here on the wharf, with the river flowing softly downat our feet."
"Stoop down and put your hand in it, then."
Stan stretched out his right hand at once, and felt the rough boards,while at the same moment Wing drew one of those deep breaths which areso like snores.
The next moment Stan was sitting up feeling for his rifle.
"Here, I say, I haven't been asleep?"
"Of course not. You said you hadn't, and I can't doubt the word of agentleman."
"Oh, how stupid!" said Stan in a hoarse whisper, as he felt his rifle,and sprang up at once. "What time is it?"
"Just struck two by the American clock in the big warehouse."
"Then I have been asleep."
"I think it's very likely," said Blunt dryly.
"Then I must have been dreaming that I came out to you on the wharfbecause I couldn't sleep."
"And instead of your coming to me, my lad, I came to you. There! comealong outside in the cool air; that will wake you up thoroughly; and Iwant to give you a few instructions and then lie down for an hour or twoto get a little rest before the enemy come in the morning."
"Then you think they will come?"
"Most likely," said Blunt dryly. "Come along."
Stan was wide enough awake now, and proved it as soon as they were outon the wharf, where a pleasantly fresh breeze came off the water.
"Did you visit all the six posts?" he said.
"Yes, every one."
"Regularly?"
"Of course."
"Find any one asleep?"
"No; everybody was keenly on the watch."
"How did you know when the hours were up?"
"Guessed it," said Blunt quickly. "Are you wide awake enough now, mylad? You know where all the men are stationed?"
"Oh yes."
"Repeat the places."
Stan ran rapidly through the posts--east, west, north, south, back andfront--and Blunt grunted his satisfaction.
"Good!" he said. "The fresh men have relieved those who watched withme, and there is a new password. Don't forget it. As soon as youapproach you'll be challenged with `Who goes there?'"
"Yes; I understand," said Stan eagerly.
"No, you don't. What word will you give to prove that you are afriend?"
"Don't know."
"Of course not. Remember it, then. `Cartridge.' Understand?"
"Yes, perfectly."
"Then I'm off. I'm dead-beat, my lad. Every hour, mind, as near as youcan guess. Take hold of my whistle, and keep a sharp lookout up theriver from where I did."
"What! from up on that pile of stones at the edge of the wharf?"
"Eh?" said Blunt sharply. "How did you know I watched from that heap ofstones at the edge of the wharf?"
"I saw you there."
"What! When did you come?"
Stan was silent, feeling quite confused,
"Did you come and look at me before you went to sleep?"
"No," said Stan slowly--"no; I'm sure now that I did not."
"But you said you saw me there, and I never told you nor any one elsethat I was going to make that my post of observation."
"You didn't tell me," said Stan; "and it seems very strange. I thoughtI came out to you and you caught me by the shoulder."
"You did not, and I did not catch you by the shoulder till I came andshook you to wake you up."
"Then I must have dreamed it," said Stan, "for I certainly seemed to seeyou there in the darkness."
"Yes, you must have dreamed it; but it seems very strange."
"Horribly," said Stan.
"Don't you get dreaming any more of that sort of stuff, then," saidBlunt shortly. "Here, catch hold of this whistle; but mind, you are notto use it unless the enemy come in sight. Then blow as if you wanted tobring the place down. Pleasant watch to you. I'm off. If I don't goand lie down I shall fall down and sleep on these stones."
"Good rest to you," said Stan quietly. "One moment: where are you goingto lie down?"
"On the planks that formed your bed. They're nice and soft now, Isuppose."
"No; horribly hard. Put some bags under you."
"Not I," said Blunt gruffly. "I could sleep now on a row of spikes.Good-night--morning, or whatever it is."
The manager walked quickly to the nearest opening in the wall of chestsand passed through it, leaving Stan to his watch, which he commenced bygiving a good searching look up river and down, and then placing hishand behind his ear to listen, before, feeling satisfied that all wasright, he stepped to the bottom of the piled-up block of stones, mountedit carefully, rested the butt of his rifle at his feet, felt whether hisrevolver was within easy reach of his hand, and then began to thinkabout his dream and the strangeness of his imagining that he had walkedout to get to the wharf and had then seen his brother-officer, as Bluntseemed to have become now, standing exactly where he had taken his ownplace.
"All imagination," he said to himself at last, for he could make nothingelse of it, and forcing himself to think of something fresh, he began topeer into the darkness in every direction, and long for his first hourto pass so that he could have something more active to employ his timeand go and visit the different posts.
"Let me see," he mused; "they will challenge me by saying, `Who goesthere?' and I shall answer, `Stranger, quickly tell'--Nonsense! `Afriend.' No, no; that's wrong. What did Mr Blunt tell me to say?Why, I've forgotten the word. I remember that he told me something, butit seems to have gone right out of my head. How stupid, to be sure! Icouldn't have been half-awake after all.
"What shall I do?" thought Stan again, after striving vainly to recallthe word. "I must go and ask him again, and that means waking him up.Why, he'll call me an idiot. I know; I'll go to the nearest sentry andask him."
The lad stopped short in his musings, for a cold chill ran through himat the thought of the risk he would have to run--the idea of the riskcoming to his brain with the thought:
"Why, if I can't give the answer just when he challenges me, he'll fireand send a bullet through my head."
The more the lad thought and strove to recall the password, the moreconfused his brain seemed to grow. Hundreds of words flowed through,but not one which suggested that which was correct. Time, too, wasgliding steadily on, and in imagination he felt that he must be gettingvery near the end of the hour when his duty would lead him to the firstpost--for what? He felt ready to groan as he told himself that it wasto be shot at.
"Whatever shall I do?" he said at last, when he stood on the stone pilefully believing that the time was past, and that if he did not visit theposts the sentries would grow uneasy and give some alarm, the result ofwhich would be that Blunt would wake up; and how could he meet him afterbeing guilty of such a contemptible lapse of duty?
"He'll look upon me as a complete idiot," thought the lad; "just, too,when I was trying so hard to behave in a manly way, and making him beginto believe in me. It's dreadful; it's horrible! Am I going mad?"
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In utter despair, Stan let his rifle-barrel sink into the crook of hisleft arm, and turning his hands into a binocular, gave a long, carefullook up the river, half-expecting to see some tall-sailed junk droppingquietly down the stream. In his excitement he turned trees into masts,and projections from the banks and a solitary long low hut into vessels;but after further inspection he was bound to believe that there was nosign of danger, and at last, with a sigh of weariness, he sank down intoa sitting position, with his legs hanging over the side of the pile andhis rifle across his knees, to make one more desperate effort to recallthe password from the black depths of his brain into which it seemed tohave sunk down.
But all his efforts were in vain; his head seemed to grow more and moredense, and he felt that he must rouse himself and run all risks. Hedetermined to walk towards the first sentry, and the moment he waschallenged in the darkness call out loudly who he was and say franklythat he had forgotten the password.
"The sentry will think I'm half-mad, and I believe I am. It's theexcitement, I suppose, and the risk and dread. I never felt anythinglike it before. It's dreadful. Yes, it is the excitement."
But he did not give the true cause, for he did not grasp the position--to wit, that it was due to brain weariness from the overstrain ofthought and want of proper rest. For if, when his inability was at itsworst, he had been able to lie down and sleep soundly for a few hours,he would have wakened up with his mind perfectly clear and the missingword ready to come quite readily.
"There! it is of no use," he said to himself at last; "the time musthave gone by ever so long ago. I must get up and go. It's very risky,but I am bound to risk everything so as to do my duty. Here goes; andif I am shot at, I am shot at. It's a hundred to one that the sentrycouldn't hit me in the darkness, hurry, and confusion, and before hecould reload and fire again I might rush up to him and explain. Oh,horrible, to have to tell the fellow what a weak-minded muff I am!"
Grown perfectly desperate now, as he felt the minutes seem to gallopaway, Stan took up his rifle, rose to his feet once more, and descendedto the level of the wharf, perplexed by another thought which had cometo torment him.
"He'll fire at me, of course," he said, "and I must run in before he canreload, as I said; but what about his revolver? Well, I can't help it,"he muttered; "I must risk it. And perhaps I can make him understandbefore he can draw the pistol out of the holster."
Drawing a deep breath, he nerved himself for the encounter, and began towalk steadily for the corner where the first sentry was stationed, andin the effort of action felt stronger and firmer.
"I may find him asleep," he thought, "and pounce upon him before hewakes up to challenge.
"Not likely. Our men here are not like poor Wing; but--Ah! that'spossible," he said to himself excitedly. "I forgot to do so; whyshouldn't he have done the same? He may not have loaded, and if he hasforgotten to slip in a _cartridge_--Oh! Think of that!" he criedhalf-aloud, for the missing word had come.
Just in the nick of time, too, for the lad's ejaculation had been heard,and in an instant the challenge came out of the darkness:
"Who goes there?"
"`Cartridge,'" said Stan promptly; and the next moment he was conversingwith the first sentry, feeling as if a tremendous load had been takenoff his mind.
The man had nothing whatever to report, and Stan went on towards thenext.
"Mustn't let that cartridge go off again," he said to himself, with alittle laugh. "How stupid it seems now! Cartridge--cartridge! Howcould I have forgotten it like that?"
There was nothing to report at either of the other posts, and Stanreturned to his old station, feeling calm and refreshed, to pass therest of the hours, which did not prove weary, though there was nothingmore exciting than the occasional cry of a bird, a rustling of wingsoverhead, and now and then a splash in the river which suggested thepossibility of part of a night spent in a boat with fishing-rod andline. He found himself wondering what Chinese river fish would be like,and whether they bore much resemblance to those of Old England--thoughtswhich brought up memories of days spent by pond and lake in schoolexcursions.
But whenever the lad's ideas wandered off like this, they were broughtup short again by the stern aspect of the present, and he felt ready toblame himself for letting his thoughts go astray when possibly aterrible fate might be awaiting them all, and he was bound to keep hisattention fixed upon the broad stream in front.
Fortunately it was a beautiful night, and before the watcher could thinkit possible the stars grew faint, a long, pale, soft line of light beganto appear in the east, and soon after as it broadened there was atwittering and whistling in the belt of reeds across the river where allwas rural, half-woody, half-cultivated land, with waving corn andsugar-grass. Then a loud flapping and splashing began in the river,whose farther side proved to be a perfect colony of ducks; while after atime the trees, which had during the night been visible only where seenagainst the lighter parts of the horizon, grew plainer and plainer, tillthey gradually showed in their natural green. For high up orange fleckswere appearing, and before long, as Stan watched, it seemed impossiblethat anything horrible could be on the way, so grand was thetransformation taking place from night to a glorious day.
"Poor old Wing must have taken fright at nothing at all," said Stan tohimself; and with the terrors of the night seeming to have passed awaylike a dream, he visited his posts and chatted with the men, joining inthe general anxiety whose subject was common to all--namely, how longwould it be to breakfast, and would a good, hearty one be spread?
In due time the party were relieved by a couple of men who were sent upwith glasses to the roof of the warehouse, after being duly cautionednot to meet with such a fate as that of poor Wing; and as soon as theywere stationed Blunt made his appearance, looking eager, refreshed, andready for anything that might come.
He greeted Stan warmly, and they went together to see how Wing was, theinjured man having been fast asleep when Blunt arose.
"Well," said the latter, as they found him now awake, "how are thebroken pieces?"
"Allee quite wellee," said the man, with a broad smile. "Wing going getup to bleakfas'."
"That's good news," said Stan. "Shall I help you?"
"Help? No; Wing get up all 'lone."
He tried to rise as he spoke, smiling the while, but his whole aspectchanged, his face wrinkling up like that of an old man, as he sank backgroaning with pain.
"Muchee achee all oveh," he said piteously. "T'ink all bleaky af' all."
"Oh no," said Blunt, smiling. "You're stiff and bruised, and naturallyyou'll feel pain as soon as you move; but do you know what you've done,sir?"
"Yes; fallee down. Almos' bleak all to piecee."
"No, no; I mean, giving us all such a scare. Where are your Chinesepirates?"
"Allee up livah. Long way."
"Yes; and a very long way, too. They won't come to attack us."
"You t'inkee?" said Wing softly. "Ah! you wait lil bit, you see. Wingsee velly hollible t'ing. Pilate fight, kill. Suah come soon."
"Why are you sure?" said Blunt quickly.
"Pilate in junk. Come flom up livah. Mus' come pas' Lynn Blothee_hong_. No othey way."
"Unless they go back," said Blunt. "Well, we shall soon see. Can youeat some breakfast?"
"Wing velly 'ungly, sah. Quite empty. No eat nothing allee dayyes'day."
"Hungry--eh? That's a capital sign. Well, you lie still for a day ortwo, and your stiffness and pain will soon go off."
"No wantee Wing come fightee?"
"No; we can kill all the pirates who are likely to come."
Wing smiled very feebly, and then winced, for in making a deprecatingmovement with his hands he brought bruised muscles of his back intoplay, giving himself an agonising pain.
"That's his conscience pricking him for deceiving us about the attack,Lynn," said Blunt dryly. "There! let's see if this coffee is hot.--You,Wing; we'll send you somethi
ng to eat. And you understand, you are tolie still. Oh, here comes some one to say breakfast's ready. I toldthem to set it in the long store."
For as he was addressing Wing one of the Chinese servants hurried in tosay that all was waiting.
"We must drop ceremony now, Lynn, and feed together, coolies and all.Be thankful to get anything at all under the circumstances. It isn't ascare. The enemy are on the way."
"What! you've seen them?"
"No; but I've seen that Wing's tale is true, for not a boat has comedown here with provisions this morning. Things are all wrong up-riveror we should have had boats with vegetables, fruit, fish, poultry,butter, milk, and bread, while now--"
Bang!