CHAPTER XIII
RECONCILIATION
It was midnight when the hydroplane came in sight of Chia-ling Fu. Theriver was thronged with junks and other vessels moored for the night,and as many of these no doubt had their crews sleeping on board,Burroughs thought it desirable again to tow the hydroplane. It wasnecessary that no alarm should be given which might have the effect ofcausing uneasiness at Meichow. He wished that Su Fing had selected asmaller and less busy place than Meichow for his head-quarters; thelarger the population, the greater the risk that the hydroplane would berecognized; for it was quite on the cards that some of the river boatmenhad seen it skimming or flying on the lower reaches of the Yang-tse.But it was probably known that the vessel had once been stolen from itsrightful owner at Sui-Fu, in which case any suspicious person mightperhaps be persuaded that the theft had been repeated, with moresuccess.
They got safely past Chia-ling Fu, and then Burroughs moored thehydroplane for a time, so that he might not arrive at Meichow beforemorning. As he waited, he pondered deeply on the knotty problem thatwould face him next day. The silence of a cold winter night does notconduce to over-confidence, and Burroughs was at no time one who sawthings in too rosy a light. His story was plausible enough, if he hadnot made an egregious mistake in supposing that Reinhardt was more orless in league with the rebels. But the bubble would be pricked ifReinhardt were to follow him speedily up the river. Much depended alsoon whether Su Fing was still absent, for the rebel chief was no fool,and the slightest slip might land him in a quagmire from which therewould be no escape. As he sat leaning his arms on the gunwale, andwatching the dark water swirling by, Burroughs was conscious of manyqualms; but in the background of his mind there was always the image ofhis old-time friend eating his heart out in captivity, and for the sakeof his friend he was ready to dare all, to risk all, disregarding theconsequences to himself.
He had made up his mind what to do on reaching Meichow; beyond thatmoment all must be left to the course of circumstances. When, in theearly dawn, he came in sight of the town, he ordered Chin Tai to hailthe landing-stage as soon as he was near enough, and command a rope tobe thrown. His only safety lay in boldness. The rope having beenthrown, Chin Tai was to say that his master had come on a visit to SuFing, and demand a guide.
Just before arriving at the landing-stage, they passed a river gunboatlying off the town. The sight of this craft somewhat surprised him,until he learnt later that it had been employed by the ChineseGovernment in policing the upper reaches of the Yang-tse-kiang, andfallen a prey to the rebels.
There was no sign of the morning bustle that was usually to be seen at ariverside town. The seizure of the place by Su Fing had put a stop totrade for the time being. The man on the landing-stage respondedsomewhat sleepily to Chin Tai's order; but the boy, being jealous of LoSan's enterprise in previously visiting the town, was determined to showthat he also was a man of mettle, and hurled such a torrent of abuse atthe sluggard as caused him to hurry. The hydroplane was moored;Burroughs stepped on to the landing-stage, assuming a mien as likeReinhardt's as he could muster; and Chin Tai, with the self-importancenatural to the servant of an august personage, demanded that hishonourable master should be instantly led to the chief. The man saidsomething in reply.
"He say hon'ble Su Fing no belongey Meichow this time," Chin Taireported.
"Ask him who is in charge."
"He say hon'ble Fen Ti," said Chin Tai, after questioning the man; "allsame Fen Ti gone wailo; he takee tousand fightee men help Su Fing ChengTu side."
"Tell him not to waste time; who is in charge now?"
It was at length explained that the man at present in command was oneChung Pi.
"He no muchee big fella," said Chin Tai scornfully; "one time hemafoo[#]; he belongey good fightee man; this time he tinkee numpa onetopside fella."
[#] Horse-boy.
"Does he live in the yamen?"
The reply was that Chung Pi was not a big enough man to occupy theyamen, but was living in a small house hard by.
"Then I'll go and see Chung Pi," said Burroughs.
A guide was called up, and Burroughs was led through an extraordinarysuccession of narrow lanes and by-ways to a small house a few yards fromthe gate of the yamen. Chin Tai accompanied his master, Lo San remainingon the boat, with strict orders to sound the siren if he saw any vesselof importance approaching.
On arriving at the house, Chin Tai learnt from the door-keeper that hishonourable master was still in bed. Burroughs was in ordinarycircumstances courtesy itself; but he felt that he would lose a pointnow if he allowed himself to be kept waiting. Accordingly, with acurtness that went much against the grain, he bade Chin Tai tell the manthat his honourable master must be immediately roused. His mannerimpressed the servant; the servant evidently conveyed the impression tohis master; for in a few minutes there appeared at the door, kow-towingin the manner of an inferior humbly inviting an august visitor to enterhis unworthy dwelling, a stout jolly-looking Chinaman, whose appearancestrangely reminded Burroughs of a well-fed lord mayor's coachman. Thehorse-boy had grown in girth; his prowess as a fighting man might havewon for him his present position; but at bottom he was a horse-boystill, with all the cheerfulness and ready good-humour of his kind.
Burroughs felt so much attracted to the man that he had some compunctionabout deceiving him; but he hoped that he could serve his friend withoutdoing Chung Pi any harm. Accepting his invitation to enter hisinsignificant abode, Burroughs made a few complimentary remarks, whichhe ordered Chin Tai to translate scrupulously, and then plunged into hisstory, wishing that he could tell it himself in Chinese. But Chin Taievidently did not diminish his master's importance; Chung Pi looked moreand more impressed; and to do honour to his guest he ordered inbreakfast, and regaled him with melon seeds, pea-nuts, fat pork boiledwith rice, and weak tea.
Burroughs ventured to ask him whether he knew his brother.
"No," replied the man, "but I have seen him. He has a moustache likeyour honourable excellency's. Our fighting men envy that moustache.Not one of them has a moustache like your excellency's honourablebrother. Theirs are long and silky, like mine; but, as you perceive,they turn downwards. Yours and your honourable brother's are firm andstiff like your noble hearts; they turn up, surely a sign of greatnessand majesty."
This was very comforting to Burroughs. He had not before imagined thatso much virtue could reside in a moustache.
It was now time to make the suggestion that he should be arrested andimprisoned with the Englishman. At this his host looked troubled.
"I am a poor unworthy captain," he said, trying to draw in his waist."It is not for me to meddle with the arrangements made in the yamen ofmy august master Su Fing. Nobody but Su Fing himself, or his honourablelieutenant, Fen Ti, could do that."
Burroughs felt bound to put on an air of extreme indignation.
"Do you mean to tell me," he said, "that you will endanger the successof your master's mighty enterprise, lose the support of the greatestnation in the world, and compel me to return with the swift boat and thethousand dollars I carry? Of a truth, when your august chief returns hewill think that the honourable captain he left to fill his place oughtto have shown more discretion. Do you not see that if it is known I amsupporting your master it may lead to war between Germany and England?My country, of course, has no fear of failure in such a war. but itsuits our purpose at present to avoid it. It must be told in the portsup-river that your chief is arresting Germans as well as Englishmen."
Chung Pi, being no politician, was properly impressed by the possiblemomentous consequences of his refusal to have greatness thrust upon him.After some further talk, he came round to the view that it was his dutyto serve Germans and English alike, and he went off to the yamen to makethe necessary arrangements. On his return he explained that the room inwhich the Englishman was confined was at his honourable guest's service,and it would give hi
m great pleasure to shut the two foreign devils uptogether. At this Burroughs feared that he had perhaps pressed thepoint too far: to be strictly confined would not suit him at all, So hecarefully explained that the prison was a detail of no importance: allthat was necessary was that it should be given out that a German hadbeen arrested. The rumour would be carried down the river, and come tothe ears of the English; whereupon the German emperor and the Englishking would be so much occupied in disputing which should have his manout first, that Su Fing would have plenty of time to overrun the wholeprovince and make good his position with the aid of German gold.
Before he left Chung Pi's house for the yamen, he asked that the boatshould be carefully guarded during his absence, promising to give theChinaman a trip in the vessel before it was formally handed over to hischief. The transfer could not properly be made except to Su Finghimself, but he felt that his government would warmly approve of hishanding a hundred dollars to so trusty a lieutenant as Chung Pi. Hepassed the notes to the gratified captain with a flowery complimentwhich Chin Tai took pains to embellish; and Chung Pi, well satisfiedwith himself and his guest, sent for his chair and an escort, put a roperound Burroughs' neck for form's sake, and was carried to the yamen, hisprisoner following among the escort.
Burroughs did not much like the look of the rebel soldiers. They werethe ugliest set of ruffians he had ever set eyes on. Their uniformswere as dirty as they were gaudy: cummerbunds about their waists,enormous turbans of yellow and scarlet on their heads. Some had spears,some rifles or muskets; all had immense knives thrust through theirsashes.
He was surprised, however, agreeably in one respect, disagreeably inanother, at the appearance of the yamen. It stood within a largeenclosure, surrounded by a wall ten feet high and five thick. The gateopened upon a courtyard, beyond which stood a palatial mansion,consisting of several lofty halls rising one behind another, their wallsof brick, their tiled roofs supported on massive wooden pillars. Thegrounds were laid out in groves and terraced gardens, and Burroughscaught a glimpse between the trees of the large ornamental water orfish-pond of which Lo San had spoken. It was surrounded by a stonequay, and crossed by a zigzag bridge of quaintly carved stone.Excellently picturesque as a residence, the yamen was, however, notpleasant to contemplate as a prison, for every gate was guarded bysentries as ruffianly as the captain's escort, and when the gates wereclosed, it would be an almost impossible feat to climb the stout walls.
Chung Pi descended from his chair at the entrance of the yamen, andspeaking in a hectoring tone that consorted ill with his jolly friendlycountenance, ordered his escort to conduct the prisoner to the innerroom in which the Englishman was confined. He himself brought up therear. Burroughs protested violently against the indignity a Germansuffered in being shut up with an Englishman; and Chung Pi, obviouslyrelishing the joke, declared with a chuckle that brown pigs and blackoften occupied the same sty. The door of the room was opened, Burroughswas thrust in, and the door having been shut and locked, Chung Pi walkedaway rolling his bulky form with enjoyment.
Errington, sitting on a small stool, looking disconsolately out througha barred window upon the pleasant garden, was suddenly startled from areverie by the sound of a voice which, muffled as it came through thedoor, seemed to him to be that of the Mole. He turned about eagerly,then felt a keen pang of disappointment when he saw enter the tallstraight figure of a moustachioed German. But the German was smiling athim; and puzzled as he was at the fiercely aggressive moustache, hecould not mistake the steady honest eyes of his old chum. He sprang up,and rushed forward with outstretched hand--then drew back suddenly,muttering with a cloudy face---
"I was forgetting."
"It's the apology, is it?" cried Burroughs. "Well then, Iapologize--you old fathead!"
They shook hands--and when English boys shake hands the action has ameaning beyond the conventional. The past was buried: they were chumsagain.
"You've come to get me out; it's jolly good of you," said Errington."But why are you got up like this? Where did you get your moustache?You look a regular German."
"Like Reinhardt, eh?"
"Don't mention the fellow. What a fool I've been! But I mustn't sayanything against him: I owe him five hundred dollars; and to tell youthe truth, I was in so much of a funk that I was actually glad thebrigands collared me: it staved off the evil day."
"We'll settle with Reinhardt by and by. This moustache is his: it costme a hundred dollars--cheap at the price."
He told the story of his comprador's enterprise, and Errington was muchtickled at the opium-house keeper's having to disgorge as a fine the sumhe had received for shaving off the moustache. Burroughs checked hislaughter; the guards at the door must not suspect that the Englishmanand the supposed German were fraternizing. He then related how Lo Sanhad trudged the weary miles to find his master, and explained why he hadcome disguised as a German, and the means by which he had gainedadmittance to Errington's room. Errington was troubled.
"I didn't suspect that," he said. "You're running a fearful risk. Ifthat fellow Su Fing catches you here, we shall both be in the same cart:he owes you the same grudge as me."
"Let's hope he won't come back in a hurry. He sent for more of hisruffians, which looks as if he's got his hands full. We'll get awaytogether, old man. Chung Pi is such a genial ass that we shall be ableto get over him. You haven't tried to bolt?"
"No. Not much chance with the window barred and four blackguards at thedoor--not to speak of a ten-foot wall, and absolute ignorance of the lieof the land. You had better leave it to the consul, hadn't you?"
"Not I. Everything has worked out well so far, and with a little luckwe'll dish Su Fing."
"Look here, old Mole, there's a thing I must say. Since I've been hereI've had plenty of time to think things over, and I see now what athundering ass and ungrateful beast I've----"
"Shut up!"
"No, I've got to get it out. I chucked away my money on those cards,got into debt all round, went to the Chinky moneylenders like a fool,and cut up rough when you and Ting tried to put the brake on----"
"Oh, chuck it! Wasn't I juggins enough to wonder if you'd done me overthat deal with Feng Wai? We'll cry quits, old man."
"Ting asked me to promise not to gamble again, and I let out at him.But if you'll take the promise I'll be glad. If we get out of this I'llnever play for money again."