Stan Lynn Part 32

"What! with our defences? Well, let's take a good look round and see what more there is to be done."

It was getting late in the afternoon, and the westering sun was pouring down its rays with a violence peculiar to a Chinese summer, though the winters are so intensely cold that the people go about with clothes piled upon clothes, so that a wealthy man often resembles an animated feather-bed, and in fact has his garments so quilted with feathers and down that if picked to pieces, though he might not furnish enough for a bed, he could respectably fill a bolster and pair of pillows. There was very little breeze, and Blunt and his companion were longing for that which would come in the evening.

"Only there'll be a great drawback to it," said Stan--"the darkness will come too."

"Yes, the darkness will come too," said Blunt thoughtfully, for his eyes were wandering over the tea-chest defence-wall inside which they were walking; "but," he added in words which proved that his thoughts were not upon the darkness, "I don't like that ending off. It's weak."

"What! where it turns round the end of the warehouse?" replied Stan.

"Yes; the enemy might make for that corner and come round."

"And attack us in the flank, as soldiers would say," exclaimed Blunt.

"It won't do.--Here, three or four of you, get some more tea-chests out and build this end up higher. There ought to be quite a dwarf tower here."

"No more chests, sir," said the clerk addressed. "We've used them all as far as they'd go."

"Then use bales. Call up a dozen coolies, and build up a rounded corner as quickly as you can."

"Yes, sir," was the eager response, and the man addressed trotted off, followed by his comrades.

"Odd that we shouldn't have noticed that before. The corner at the other end is strong, and I meant in my hurried mental plans for this to be like it. Stopped, of course, by the material running out. Our weak spot, Lynn; and they say a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Our chain of defences--eh?"

"I hope we shall not find any more weak points," replied Stan.

"Then we had better not look round any farther, my lad, for in this hasty knocking up of our defences we shall find plenty."

"Let's know the worst," said the lad warmly. "Yes; we'll have no falser confidence," replied Blunt; and they continued their inspection of the ground-floor with its two doors and the ample material ready for barricading them if the defenders were driven in. Then they ascended to the first floor, after standing aside for a few minutes to allow the bearers of the bales to pa.s.s along with their loads ready for making the little extemporised bastion at the end.

But they found no weak places upstairs. Every window had its protecting breastwork where a man could use his rifle in comparative safety and well cover the spots likely to be attacked.

"Capital," said Blunt; "far better than I expected. If the enemy do come, all I can say is that they will be mad to attack us, for they must leave scores of their party shot down before they could carry our outer wall. Now then, we'll go down and see how the corner is getting on; then hail Wing, and if he has nothing to report, we'll call the men together for a good hearty meal, and over it I'll tell off the different stations they are to occupy."

"What are you going to do about giving orders when the firing begins?"

said Stan. "There'll be the noise of the guns and shouting."

"This," said Blunt, taking a large silver whistle from his pocket. "I shall explain that when this whistle is blown all are to run towards the place from which the sound comes, so as to command plenty of strength in hardly-pressed places. Two shrill whistles mean, make for the upper windows."

"Retreat?"

"Yes."

"And what about barricading the two doors?"

"I shall station the two carpenters and four men at those doors, ready to close them up when necessary. Tut, tut, tut!"

"What's the matter?" said Stan, startled by his companion's e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns.

"In the hurry and excitement I haven't found time to say a few words to the Chinamen about fighting for us. Never mind; I'll have a few words with them over the supper, dinner, or whatever it is."

They pa.s.sed down and went outside on to the wharf, where, before inspecting the addition to their defences, they both looked up, and Blunt hailed Wing, who was still seated astride the gable, shading his eyes from the ardent sun and slowly sweeping the horizon.

"Well, Wing," cried Blunt; "see anything of the enemy?"

"No. Not come yet. Velly long time."

"And a good job, too," said Blunt to his companion, who, after another good look at the patient figure in the blue frock, crouching all of a heap and looking like a very amateurish beginner astride of a huge razor-backed horse, said:

"Don't let us forget to send the poor fellow up some tea and bread-cake.

He must be half-famished."

"So must everybody be," said Blunt. "I know I am. Here, how are you getting on, my lads?" he continued, turning to the working party.

"I think we've got on as far as we can, sir," replied the clerk. "I was hoping that you'd come soon and tell us what more to do. We've packed in nearly fifty bales, as you see."

Blunt inspected the work in silence, with its double wall loopholed, and with extra shelters for the men who would be firing therefrom, and finally stood thinking.

"Well," he said to the men who were watching him anxiously, "I can suggest nothing more. You have done your work admirably. So now knock off and come into the big store-room for refreshments."

The men cheered and followed into the great place, which, minus its piles of tea-chests carried out to build the wall, looked vast; but the trestle and boards spread ready, and pretty well covered with a substantial tea by Blunt's Chinese servants, made the place look welcome in the extreme; and upon the men being bidden to fall to, Europeans and Asiatics set to work eagerly, talking, laughing, eating, and drinking, and more resembling a strange picnic party than a number of men expecting to be engaged at any hour in a desperate fight for their lives against a savage foe.

There were only two of those present who looked moody and were silent.

These were Blunt and Stan, the former was.h.i.+ng down his food with draughts of tea as with frowning brow he cogitated over his plans; the latter, now that the excitement of preparation was over, feeling a strange sense of sinking which the bread and tea did not remove. He wanted to preserve his firmness and show Blunt that he was no coward, but there was what seemed to be a dark mental cloud ahead, and in spite of every attempt to pierce it, there it hung ominously like a portent of what was to come, and as if fate was kindly hiding from him the horrors in store.

Stan set his teeth hard and made a tremendous effort at last.

"I must eat," he said to himself, "or I shall be as weak as a child, and I must drink to quench this horrible feeling of delirious thirst. Oh, I wish I wasn't such a weak coward! I'm sure no other fellows of my age can be like me."

Forcing himself then, he began to eat and drink hurriedly, all the while recalling old school fights into which he had entered with fear and trembling, but without recalling how he had come out.

Then all that he had read of Chinese horrors, and the indifference of these people to life, came floating before his eyes--anecdotes that he had read of their atrocities and savage treatment of their enemies-- there they all were, till, instead of seeing any longer that black, cloud-like curtain, the lad now seemed to be seeing red, and he started violently when his companion brought him to himself by suddenly rising and blowing his silver whistle. Then in the silence that immediately ensued Blunt explained his plans to his listeners, and had his words well interpreted to such of the Chinese workers as were not perfect in their knowledge of English.

Blunt spoke briefly, but every word of his instructions was to the point, and the listeners rose from their rough benches at last well drilled in their duties as to the places they were to occupy, the Europeans finding a leader to reply and declare how to a man they would fight to the death; while, when the manager had done, the head of the Chinamen rose and declared that his comrades thoroughly hated all pirates and murderers, and that to a man they too would fight for the good, just master who always behaved to his men as if he were their father.

Blunt smiled and nodded, and then said a few words to the leader about his comrades having rifles. But these were declined, the Chinaman declaring that he and his fellows could do more good with their long knives and hatchets when the enemy came to close quarters; and this he said, as Stan noticed, with a fierce glow in his eyes which proclaimed that, in spite of the speaker being as a rule a mild-spoken, peaceful carpenter, there was Chinese Asiatic savage instinct beneath the skin-- showing, too, that he and his fellows were going to prove themselves dangerous foes to the bloodthirsty enemy when they approached.

"Then now we all understand each other," said Blunt sternly. "I have only this more to say--that as soon as it is dark three parts of you will lie down to sleep. I shall place sentries to give the alarm if the enemy come on in the night. Then every man will run to his post, and Heaven help us all to do our best!"

A tremendous cheer greeted the close of Blunt's speech, and after giving all present a sharp gratified look, with a nod of the head, Blunt turned to his young companion.

"Come along," he said. "You and I will go and order poor Wing down, and keep a lookout from the little bastion while he comes and has his tea."

"Yes, quick!" said Stan; "my conscience has been smiting me all the time you were talking, but of course I could say nothing then."

"Of course not I had quite forgotten him. I had so much else to think about. Now then, take your rifle. Here's mine. We must make these our companions now."

Stan obeyed the order he had received, following his companion's example as Blunt took his rifle from the corner where he had placed it; and together they stepped out into the shelter behind the wall, then climbed over on to the wharf, looked at the broad, clear river, bright in the evening glow, but with nothing visible to mar its peaceful beauty, and then as they reached the end of the wall--

"We shall have no enemy to-night," said Blunt.