CHAPTER XXIVPHIL EXPLAINS
O’Neil, with his characteristic energy, wasted no time upon the cell, which he had made up his mind long since would be found empty, but with three or four sailors at his back had pressed forward to the end of the narrow corridor.
He heard Phil’s cry of disappointment as he found himself on the edge of a smaller courtyard, and was just in time to discover a fleeing band of Chinamen disappearing through a narrow alley at the far end.
Calling loudly for the others to follow, the boatswain’s mate ran hurriedly forward across the stone-paved court.
Reaching the entrance to the alley, the sharp discharges of rifles from the other end caused him to stop abruptly, but before he could gain a place of safety, a stinging pain in his shoulder made him cry out sharply.
Then his anger overcame his training indiscretion and with his men beside him, while the heavy footfalls of the midshipmen advancing on a run across the courtyard told him of the approach of reënforcements, he boldly raced between the bordering walls of brick and mortar now swept by the enemy’s bullets.
As he again emerged into the sunlight, he was barely in time to see the persistent enemy scattering like a covey of partridges through numerous passages at the far end of a third courtyard, while from that direction a hot fire was directed upon him and his handful of men.
What should he do? He could advance no further in the face of that rifle fire. Glancing anxiously behind him, he saw the midshipmen and their men were nowhere in view, and yet they had been only a half hundred paces behind when he had charged down the alley. The sailors were returning the furious fire of the Chinese, but O’Neil saw that the enemy was hidden and the spatter of their bullets against the wall behind the Americans showed him only too plainly that even the poor shots of the Chinese might accidentallymake a hit. Reluctantly he ordered a retreat back through the arched passageway.
As O’Neil and his men again reached the second courtyard, across which he had chased the fleeing Chinamen, he saw the midshipmen and their party surrounding several objects upon the ground, which had been covered over with a large piece of canvas.
“They are safe,” Sydney’s voice hailed as he caught sight of the returning sailors. “You ran right over them.”
The prisoners were quickly freed from their manacles, and, supported by their comrades, the party hastened to rejoin Lieutenant Wilson.
The four sailors had had a narrow escape. Ta-Ling, determined upon revenge, had been upon the point of beheading them when O’Neil and his men had caused him to desist. Then covering them hurriedly with a large piece of canvas, he hoped to conceal their presence until the Americans had given up their search, when he would return and finish his diabolical work. But the curiosity of an American had defeated his plan; for raising the corner of the canvas the sailorhad seen the blue-clad legs of a bound and gagged shipmate.
Arriving in the main courtyard, Phil’s eye caught the bright color of a Chinese mandarin’s clothes, their wearer standing at Lieutenant Wilson’s side.
“Hang-Ki!” he exclaimed joyfully as he recognized the Tartar general’s erect form.
The two midshipmen hastened to the Manchu’s side and shook hands with him warmly.
Hang-Ki had been patiently waiting for Langdon’s return to interpret his words to the American lieutenant. Another mandarin stood by Hang-Ki’s side, his rugged frame indicating clearly that he also was of Tartar blood, from which race the military leaders of China are taken.
The midshipmen waited impatiently to hear what Hang-Ki had to tell, while Lieutenant Wilson congratulated all hands upon the success of the rescue, and shook hands as all had done with the rescued men.
“His Excellency says the viceroy killed himself early this morning; the captain of the yamen guards brought him the news, butit did not arrive in time to hoist the white flag before the monitor had fired her shell. He says many men were hurt during the night engagement and asks how many Americans were killed.”
“Tell him we’ve lost only one man in all the fighting,” Lieutenant Wilson replied.
Hang-Ki, after Langdon had given him Lieutenant Wilson’s words, shook his head as though mystified.
The two generals expressed a wish to visit the American commander, and make China’s peace for the hostile acts of the dead viceroy.
The sailors were assembled and marched directly to the landing.
As the river and the anchored ships came into view, Phil grasped Sydney’s arm excitedly, pointing to a white yacht lying gracefully at anchor between the monitors and the “Phœnix”; the latter having left the allies at the upper anchorage and steamed down the river while they were inside the Chinese city.
“The ‘Alacrity’!” he exclaimed, “and the admiral’s on board; there’s his flag at the main,” pointing to a large blue flag, with two white stars in the field. Then the joy diedin his face. The letter of the viceroy and the telegram, as yet undelivered, came to his mind.
“Where’s the ‘Albaque’?” Sydney asked suddenly, searching the river for Ignacio’s ship.
“There she goes,” Langdon cried, pointing down stream, where a trail of smoke from a fast disappearing steamer hung low over the muddy water of the river.
Upon reaching the “Phœnix,” there was Commander Hughes on deck, anxiously waiting to hear the results of the expedition. His face was wreathed in smiles as he heard of their unlooked-for success. Then, motioning Langdon to follow, he led the two Chinese officers to his cabin.
Phil had not dared, with his guilt written plainly on his face, to look his captain in the eye while that officer showered praises upon the two midshipmen, and he was much relieved to be able to escape to his own room, there to map out a course of action.
“Our best plan, Syd,” Phil declared, “is to take all these papers to the captain and make a clean breast of it.”
Sydney agreed wholly with his friend’s plan and all that remained was to muster up courage to go to the captain. Both midshipmen would much rather have faced a hundred Chinese rifles than confess to their captain that a telegram and directed to him from the navy department had been purposely hidden.
A rap on the door caused Phil’s pulses to beat quicker and his heart rise to his mouth.
“The captain would like to see Mr. Perry and Mr. Monroe,” the orderly announced, peering in through the curtain at the startled lads.
“Come on, Phil,” Sydney urged; “we’d better get it over with.”
In silence they walked into the cabin. Phil’s head swam as his old friend Admiral Taylor shook his hand and spoke solid words of praise for his valuable services.
Hang-Ki had risen to go upon the entrance of the midshipmen, and after bowing to the admiral and captain he stepped quickly to Phil’s side, pressing into his hand the jade ring.
“He says,” Langdon interpreted, “that he has evidence enough without it if he is lucky enough to capture Ta-Ling.”
“I am delighted, Hughes,” the admiral said as Commander Hughes returned with the midshipmen, after having escorted the Chinese soldiers to the gangway, “at the successful end gained by your clear-headed policy. Washington, hearing nothing from you and at the same time receiving news of your doings from a foreign government, was quite justified, in view of your known impetuosity, in being anxious. It was current in Shanghai that you had been relieved of your command, yet I received no word up to the time of sailing, two days ago.”
Phil saw his opportunity had come to bare his secret, and drawing the viceroy’s letter, the telegram and the correspondence of Ignacio all from his pocket, he laid them in silence on the table between the two officers.
The lads waited in a fever of dread while the officers glanced in surprise at the papers before them. Phil saw that the admiral held the cipher telegram, with the translation underneath the cipher words.
“What does this mean?” the admiral cried sternly, reading aloud the translation of the cablegram.
Phil boldly told where and when he had found the telegram, and his reasons for not delivering it until now.
The admiral regarded the lad severely.
“Knowing this was from the department in Washington, you concealed it,” he exclaimed. “Explain yourself, sir.”
Phil swallowed hard and then pointed a trembling finger to the other papers.
“After you have read those, sir,” he said huskily, “I shall be ready to stand guilty or not guilty in your eyes.”
Both officers eagerly read the letters from Ignacio to the viceroy’s secretary.
After the admiral had finished reading, he regarded Phil in silence, his expression fathomless to the anxious midshipman. Commander Hughes’ eyes gave him no encouragement; they were directed to his brightly polished shoes. It was a question between the senior midshipman and his commander-in-chief. Technically a great breach of naval discipline had been committed.
The minutes ticked away slowly by the cabin clock while the lad waited for the wording of his doom.
“Mr. Perry,” the admiral at length began in his usual calm voice, “this is the second time that you have placed me in a most embarrassing position, but I want to say right here,” and his eyes snapped, “if I had a son, and he had committed this breach of naval discipline in order to save the situation, I would be mighty proud of him.” As he finished he put out his hand to the surprised but happy midshipman, who grasped it joyfully.
Phil was so surprised that he could not find voice to utter a single word. He stared dumbly at the admiral, his tear-dimmed eyes eloquently speaking the words he could not utter.
Commander Hughes jumped up and grasped the midshipman by the hand, showing in his face the keen pleasure the admiral’s decision had given him.
“This correspondence I shall keep in my safe,” the admiral said, a twinkle in his eyes, “in case I have trouble in explaining our young friend’s crime. It may also serve us in the future with this foreign Judas Iscariot.
“And now, young man,” he added, his kind face beaming with good nature, “I think after a few months I shall have to deprive your captain of your services. I am going to put in commission a number of small gunboats for duty against the Philippine insurgents, and I have decided to give Mr. Perry command of one of them with Mr. Monroe as his executive officer, and I suppose,” he suggested with a smile, “that you will want O’Neil as the chief boatswain’s mate.”
Phil could hardly believe his ears. Instead of censure, here was the admiral offering him a ship of his own.
As one in a dream he thanked the admiral and accompanied by Sydney, withdrew from the cabin.
By order of Peking Hang-Ki was made viceroy and he at once took steps to safeguard all foreigners throughout the provinces.
The allied gunboats within the hour anchored off Ku-Ling, and before the day was over the foreign concession had taken up the thread of business where it had been so rudely interrupted. Commander Hughes detaileda force of mechanics from the American war-ships to repair the damaged launches of the faithful Emmons, and before a week had passed the launch trade was flourishing as of old.
The concession to build the railroad to Peking was made more secure to the American company, and before the “Phœnix” sailed for Shanghai the lads saw the material, which had long waited for permission to be landed, safely stored in go-downs and the work on the road started.
Ta-Ling made good his escape, and it was believed that he had gone to the mountains, there to remain in hiding until another opportunity might present itself to avenge himself on the despised foreigner.
O’Neil’s wound was found by the doctors to be not dangerous and, with his arm in a sling for several days, he was gazed at admiringly by his less fortunate shipmates.
Langdon received the personal thanks of the admiral, and Commander Hughes stoutly declares that he is as good a pilot ashore as he is on the river.