Under the Chinese Dragon Part 16

Alphonse ground his teeth in a manner which would have made our hero squirm on any ordinary occasion. The Professor sucked hard at his cigar and muttered beneath his breath, while Hung threw himself upon the tantalising chain and tugged vainly at it. Then David recollected an incident he had watched at the beginning of the battle between themselves and the Chinese pirates.

'One moment, sir,' he said. 'An axe? Yes, I know where to find one.'

Without hint of his intentions, he cooly stepped on to the planks still uniting the two vessels, and leaped down upon the deck of the one which had proved such insecure shelter for them. Not a sound did his light shoes make, while his figure was swallowed up within a few seconds; for though it was already lighter, the dawn was not there yet, and gloom still hung over the water. Behind him he left a Professor not so unruffled as he had been. To speak the truth the leader of the party was dumfounded for the moment, and only awoke to the danger our hero was necessarily likely to encounter when the latter was already out of sight. He called to him loudly; he even leaped on to the planks himself. Then Alphonse stopped him with a grimace and a tug at the sleeve of his jacket.

'Pardon, monsieur,' he said, 'a leader stays with the bulk of his command. It is the young and brave who attempt such deeds. Monsieur David is no chicken; he will be back with us within the minute.'

'Or hacked to pieces by those villains; but you are right, I will stay.

Still I wish that I had guessed his intentions. d.i.c.k there, and all the others, get ready, in case he is seen and pursued.'

Alphonse clicked the lock of his rifle promptly, while d.i.c.k ranged up at the end of the planks, his magazine revolver gripped in his hand. Then the ever-smiling Jong lisped an apology, pushed the Professor aside, and solemnly clambered on to the planks and crossed them. There was a huge knife in his hand, and his smile was but the cloak to a most sinister expression.

'Velly likely he no wantee helpee,' he lisped, as he dropped to the deck of the other vessel. 'But velly likely also he velly glad. Jong stay here unless he happen to see de Excellency; den p'laps he go towards him.'

The words had hardly left his lips, and his padded soles scarcely gained the deck when a figure was seen coming swiftly towards him. It was David. No, it was a Chinaman, a burly, thick-shouldered individual; then close on his heels another figure followed.

'David,' whispered d.i.c.k, scarcely able to breathe. 'George! that other chap is coming aboard.'

Certainly that was the man's intention. He was returning to his own s.h.i.+p to fetch a mighty muzzle-loader which he had previously forgotten. He reached the rail, placed a hand upon it, and was about to spring on to the plank bridge when Jong was upon him. And if any one had ever doubted the grinning Chinaman's courage before, his doubts would have been for ever silenced if he could have witnessed what followed. For this was not one of those sudden conquests, when an unsuspecting man is struck down without time for self-protection. The stranger saw Jong as the latter moved towards him, and faced round with the swiftness of a panther. Then his head went back, and such a shout went up that none could have failed to hear it. A moment later the two were locked in one another's arms, rolling this way and that on the deck, tearing madly at one another. And over them David stepped, with an axe across his shoulders.

'Grandly done! Bravely done!' cried the Professor, showing not a little excitement. 'David, stand by to cut that chain. Hung.'

But Ho Hung was not there to acknowledge the summons. He had flown across the bridge of planks the instant David gave room for pa.s.sage, while Lo Fing chased close on his heels. How exactly they ended the contest between the two rolling figures none of their own party ever knew; but end it they did.

Meanwhile a lamp flared suddenly in the cabin which David and his friends had so recently vacated, while shouts resounded from various parts. Then the half shattered door of the cabin was burst open with a bang, and a crowd of men swarmed on to the deck. They were met by another group ascending from the hatch by which the Professor had brought his party, and then by a solitary man, who shouted and bellowed at them.

'They have fooled us; they have slipped across into the other vessel.

While we have been cutting holes through the roof of the cabin they have been transferring themselves and their possessions.'

The greeting which the news received was such that d.i.c.k winced, and felt almost unnerved for the moment. But the Professor rea.s.sured him; a glance at the leader showed that he was still drawing heavily at his weed, while his features and his general pose were almost jaunty.

'Shout yourselves hoa.r.s.e, my beauties,' d.i.c.k heard him say. 'I fancy we've fooled you finely. Now, lad, you can strike your hardest.'

And strike David did, careless of the shots which two of the enemy aimed at him. He brought the edge of his axe down with a thud on the chain, and severed it easily. Then he leaped from the plank bridge and helped to throw the boards over.

'Moving asunder already, sir,' he said. 'Might just as well get under cover.'

'Quite so; it will want an active man to leap that breach. Get beneath the rail all of you,' commanded the Professor. 'Don't trouble to return their fire, for they cannot damage us easily, while we have already read them a handsome lesson. Ah, they are more than vexed, I fear.'

Through the rising gloom it was seen that the rail of the s.h.i.+p which had so lately borne David and his friends, and which had proved well nigh a death-trap, was lined with men. Some had clambered on to it, and held their places there with the aid of the rigging. All were shouting and gesticulating, all save the few possessed of fire-arms, and these rammed charges home with frantic haste, and poured their shot into the vessel slowly and steadily drifting away. If their defeat so far had enraged the piratical crews, their anger now was almost stifling. At the very beginning the feat of murdering the foreign devils, and of purloining all their possessions, was one not to be considered twice. Had the Professor been gifted with second sight, or had he had the help of some clever native detective, he would have learned that the rascally captain who had been so eager to charter his boat was already gloating over his gains when the s.h.i.+p set sail from Shanghai, while the leader of the pirates treated the whole affair as if already accomplished. There was to be a secret meeting, a sudden attack, and then cold-blooded murder.

And see the result! Men here and there stark and dead on the deck or in the alley-way, others grovelling in the scuppers useless to their comrades, stricken hard by the knives of Hung and his fellows, or by the bullets of the foreign devils. Worse than all, the men whose death had been aimed at were drifting quietly away, not showing so much as a head, bearing with them all their possessions--yes, all their possessions. The pirate leader had already a.s.sured himself of that fact, exclaiming bitterly at it. David and his friends caught a glimpse of the man, a bull-necked, almost bald-headed Chinaman, with long, swinging pigtail, and possessed of most powerful arms and legs. They saw him standing on the rail, clinging to the rigging, brandis.h.i.+ng a huge sword which, could it have come into close contact with them, would have done grave injury to more than one. The rascal seemed to be almost mad. The failure of a well-laid scheme, the loss of his own vessel on top of that, seemed to have combined to rob him of his wits. His eyes were staring. He frothed at the mouth, while the cruel lips curled back from a row of fangs as yellow as his own skin. And how he shrieked! Then he suddenly dropped back on to the deck, and they saw him beckoning to his comrades, rus.h.i.+ng at those nearest him and dragging them along with him by main force. He drove them with threats from his weapon to the halyards, and shouted at them as they hauled at the rigging.

'Going to set sail on her,' said the Professor, raising his head now that a greater distance separated the two vessels, and the shot had ceased to hail upon the one on which he and his party had taken refuge.

'Well, two can play at that game. I'm not much of a sailor myself, but Alphonse knows something about other things besides cooking and valeting. Eh, _mon ami_?'

'_Parfaitement_; the Professor has a memory. Alphonse can certainly sail a boat, though he has never attempted much with one of these native craft. But the thing shall be done. Will monsieur be good enough to order the hands to come to the rigging?'

It was remarkable how swiftly the gloom lifted, now that the dawn was actually at hand. A second or so before it had seemed certain that the two vessels drifting slowly apart would soon be out of sight of one another. But though the distance sensibly increased David could still see men lining the rail of the enemy. He could still hear frantic shouts, while now and again a muzzle-loader belched forth its contents, the flame of the discharge showing less redly than on former occasions.

Then the dawn arrived. The expanse of oily, yellow sea, hitherto invisible, widened on every hand, while a pinky redness towards the east told of an approaching sunrise. The Professor sucked with satisfaction at his weed and glanced aloft. Alphonse was swarming into the rigging, no doubt to inform himself of its arrangement. Then he came scuttling down, his frightful check s.h.i.+rt fluttering in the fresh morning breeze.

'It is easy, monsieur,' he said, with a bow, dropping on the deck at the Professor's feet. 'All is plain and straightforward. I shall set the sails with the help of our friends, and then I shall go below and see what can be done in the way of coffee and something to eat. _Parbleu!_ but the inside needs attention after such a night There are things a man loves more even than fighting.'

He called loudly to the Chinese, and then, with David and d.i.c.k and the Professor to help him, soon got sail on the s.h.i.+p. A vast expanse of coa.r.s.e canvas was soon stretched from the rigging, and catching the breeze caused the vessel to careen nicely. She gathered way, and was soon tearing away with white foam was.h.i.+ng about her stern post.

Meanwhile the pirates had crowded every st.i.tch of canvas they could find on to their own s.h.i.+p, and came heading up a little in rear and on a parallel course with the one the Professor had so cleverly taken from them. As for the latter, his jovial, fleshy face shone with good humour and _bonhomie_ as he stood at the tiller. Now and again he took his cheroot from his lips and regarded it affectionately, then he put it back between his fine, white teeth with such relish that one could see that he was decidedly enjoying it. In fact, Professor Padmore was proving himself a leader in more than one respect. For after all, beyond the power to command, such an one has need to show other virtues. Of what use even the most astute leader, if he be not confident even in the midst of acute danger? For confidence is as catching as is a display of fear. Men will run from a fight with little reason if there be one suddenly to set the base example and arouse needless alarm. And on the other hand even those possessed of no extravagant share of courage will stand firm if they have a leader who laughs at danger, who scoffs at the enemy, who openly exposes himself to bullet and shot. But here there were no cravens. David and d.i.c.k had proved their fort.i.tude, while the four Chinamen were to be trusted entirely. But the odds were vastly against them, so great indeed that even bold men might have been intimidated. However, the Professor smoked as if he had forgotten the existence of the enemy, though now and again he cast his eye over his shoulder.

'Holding them nicely, I think, David. They're not likely to come alongside before breakfast's ready, and that'll be a comfort, for I confess to being ravenous. Just fancy a professor being anything so vulgar. But there you are, I admit to the vulgarity; this morning breeze spurs a man's appet.i.te.'

He felt in his waistcoat pocket, and drew out a metal case, somewhat bigger than a watch. With a movement of the finger he sprang the lid open, and exposed the face of a compa.s.s.

'H-hm! North-north-east,' he said. 'That's our course. Not for a moment will I allow those ruffians to set me off it.'

Perhaps a quarter of an hour elapsed from the time when sail had been set before Alphonse put in an appearance. He came clambering to the deck, his enormous hat set far back on his head, and showing the stubbly growth beneath it. In one hand he bore a smoking coffee pot, and with it beckoned to the Professor.

'I have the honour to announce breakfast!' he exclaimed, in his most pompous manner, and with his most portly bow. 'There is a cabin below decks, not big, monsieur, not very clean either; but serviceable, and possessed of a table. There I have laid the things.'

The whole thing seemed so impossible, that as they squatted before a table not more than a foot high, and ate rashers of bacon which were steaming hot, David could hardly believe that but an hour ago they had been fighting desperately. The change in their circ.u.mstances was so extraordinary. It was so entirely unexpected, and withal, so fortunate.

And here they were, satisfying the inner man, for Alphonse was an excellent caterer. The boxes which the Professor had brought with him contained a multiplicity of things, including cameras and other instruments necessary for exploration. And amongst them was one fitted with all the implements to make a field kitchen. There was a charcoal stove, as well as one designed for the use of kerosene under air pressure, an instrument with which a good-sized kettle of water could be made to boil within a few minutes. Then there were pots and pans innumerable, while other boxes contained stores of groceries and tinned goods sufficient to keep every member of the expedition satisfied for a considerable period.

'Now to discuss the position,' said the Professor, when he had swallowed a third cup of coffee and had begun to smoke again. 'Hung has just sent a report to inform me that we still hold our place ahead of those men who so dearly long to draw level with us. We sail, as I have said already, on a course which suits us exactly. That being so, we shall continue till we reach some port, where we will run in and demand protection, or until we meet with some other vessel. There are gun-boats in these waters at times, and we might have the fortune to hit upon one belonging to Great Britain, or to France or Germany. I fancy those rascals would quickly beat a retreat if that were to happen.'

'Meanwhile, perhaps, sir,' began David, 'we might as well see if, supposing the worst were to happen, there are means aboard to make those fellows keep their distance.'

'Cannon?' asked the Professor.

David nodded. 'That was my idea, sir,' he said. 'This vessel belongs to pirates; the chances are that they have some sort of weapons.'

'And we might make good use of them. Good! we'll make a search.

Alphonse, we leave you here for the moment.'

They clambered to the deck hurriedly, to find the s.h.i.+p careening well to a freshening breeze, and bowling along merrily through a sea that was sunlit in all directions. Some distance astern, and now on a dead line with them was the other craft, white foam at her fore foot. Even her white decks could be seen as she canted over, while with the naked eye one could distinguish figures moving about on it. Suddenly d.i.c.k gave a shout of satisfaction, and pointed to a canvas cover at the back of the steersman.

'A long tom, or I'm much mistaken!' he cried. 'Covered up to keep the weather from it, and used only to bring some stubborn captain to his senses. Couldn't we manage----'

'I rather think so,' agreed the Professor, smiling gleefully. 'I rather fancy we might make use of that weapon, d.i.c.k. Strip the covering, and let us obtain a glimpse of it.'

It took but little effort to lift the cover which had attracted d.i.c.k's attention, and then, as they had suspected, there was a long, swivel gun cast in bra.s.s, and no doubt capable of throwing a shot some considerable distance.

'Then we'll put it in action,' decided the Professor. 'Not that I want to damage any more of those rascals; but there might be some accident to our rigging. Or, in a fresher breeze, which I fancy is coming, this vessel might prove slower than the other. We'll make the most of fairly smooth water and of our new possession; perhaps it will scare them.'

Once more the handy and invaluable Alphonse was in request. The natty little Frenchman seemed to have had a hand in almost everything. He could cook, as all knew, particularly his employer, while he was the tidiest of valets. Moreover, Alphonse could fight, and with a spirit that matched the Professor's. Now he showed his capacity as a gunner. He led the search for shot and powder, and then ranged himself behind the gun.

'Once I was a soldier, monsieur,' he said, 'and though I did not belong to the artillery, still I had to do with a gun; for I was in garrison where a mid-day gun was fired, and to me that duty fell. _Oui, vraiment_, we shall be able to manage. We must guess the charge of powder. Not too much at first, monsieur David; else there will perhaps be only pieces of us left for the pirates. We will watch where the ball strikes the water, and add more if necessary. You shall see; Alphonse will send those men a pill which will make them ill at ease and cause them to go elsewhere in search of a doctor. Ah, there is the powder; we have rammed it home. Now a piece of the sacking as a wad. Now the ball.

Push with me on the rod and we will soon send it home.'

The practical little fellow slewed the muzzle of the gun round, and used the screw as he squinted along the sights. Already he had sprinkled powder on the touch hole, and presently announced that all was in readiness.

'I have laid it to be fired as we rise to the top of the swell,' he said. 'Now for a match with which to fire it.'

David had thoughtfully prepared a match, consisting of a candle end tied to a stick, and shaded by a paper hood which kept the wind from it. It was a makes.h.i.+ft affair, and the flame blew out twice in succession. Then the gun splashed out a stream of flame, followed by a dense volume of smoke, which, however, blew away instantly. Their ears were still tingling after the loud report when a jet of water was seen to rise a hundred yards in front of the pursuer. Instantly Alphonse tossed his hat into the air and shouted.