"Charlie snatched up one of the legs of pork.""Charlie snatched up one of the legs of pork."
"He steered his balloon round the Eiffel Tower.""He steered his balloon round the Eiffel Tower."
A
t an electrical exhibition held at Paris in 1881, most of the sightseers were very interested in a little model balloon which had been made by two famous balloonists, Messrs. Gaston and Albert Tissandier. It was quite unlike any balloon ever seen before. The silk bag for containing the gas was long and pointed at either end, and floated horizontally in the air, so that at a little distance it was not unlike a fish without a tail, though a sheet of canvas, shaped like a fish's tail, was placed beneath the balloon at the rear end to be used as a rudder. Suspended by a number of slender ropes, which met under the centre of the gas-bag, were the car for the sailors and a small electric engine for driving a powerful screw, the wings of which striking against the air would propel the 'ship' at the rate of some nine feet a second. The baby balloon may be said to have set the example for all modern air-ships, though others something like it had been built before. Two years later Messrs. Tissandier made a large copy of their model, and ascended on October 8th, 1883. As the screw succeeded in driving the balloon forward at a greater speed than that at which the wind was blowing, they were able to steer a course, just as the steamboats on the St. Lawrence River are able to shoot the rapids in safety by putting on full steam and over-racing the current. Messrs. Tissandier repeated their experiment in November, 1883, and actually drove their balloon against the wind for a short distance. As night overtook them while on this triumphant journey they did not attempt to return by balloon to Paris, but descended in the country two hours after leaving the capital.
Such was the first successful effort to steer a balloon, and it was not long before many aeronauts were following in their steps. In 1884 the air-ship 'France,' with Captains Krebs and Renard on board, was watched by a large crowd as it sailed from Meudon, near Paris, and after a wonderful flight came back against the wind to the place from which it started. Five more similar voyages were made, and in each the 'France' showed great obedience to the rudder and sail. But all these experiments were very expensive, and involved great danger. It was found, moreover, that the machinery necessary for driving the screw could not be made light enough to be really suitable. Thus there was not much heard about steerable balloons until some years later, when M. Santos Dumont began his cruises—and many strange adventures he has had.
Instead of the electric engine used by the Tissandiers, he employed the small petrol engine out of a motor tricycle. With this he started on his aerial voyages. But before we follow him we must look at his ship for a moment. From each end of the long balloon he allows a cord to hang, supporting a small weight. These are to enable him to alter his course upward or downward. If he wishes to travel upwards, he pulls into the car, by means of a thin cord, the weight which is hanging in front. This, of course, allows the head of the balloon to rise, at the same time changing the angle of the screw in the rear so that it drives the balloon upward. When he pulls the rear weight into the car, the reverse takes place. The car, the engine, and the screw are all suspended from the silk envelope by piano wires, so that it looks, from the ground, as though M. Santos Dumont were moving about in a spider's web.
On one of the first cruises the balloon behaved very well while floating at a great height, but when he descended into denser atmosphere, the gas contracted in the long thin bag, and he saw with horror that it was doubling up 'like a pocket-knife.' This made some of the cords so much tighter than others that at any moment they might cut through the silk and send him to the earth like a stone. Yet it was no use throwing out ballast, though to rise into thinner atmosphere might have put the balloon right again. 'Imustdescend sooner or later,' thought the aeronaut, 'so why not now?'
Beneath him lay a grassy stretch of country on which a number of boys were flying their kites. As he rapidly drew nearer, M. Santos Dumont, leaning from his basket, called to them to seize the guide-rope, which had already reached the ground, andrun with it as fast as they could against the wind. The boys were sharp-witted, and obeyed at once. The speed of the descent was checked by the rush of wind, and the voyager landed in safety.
Misadventures of this sort have only increased the keenness with which M. Santos Dumont pursues his studies. The principal triumph he has yet secured was won some three years ago, when he steered his balloon round the Eiffel Tower and back to the starting-point. It only meant a distance of some fourteen miles in all, but it carried him to fame and honour in half an hour, and the Government of his native country (Brazil) had a gold medal struck to commemorate the event. Never before had the power of navigating the skies been proved so thoroughly. But it was not accomplished without several unsuccessful attempts. On one occasion the engine stopped when the winning-post was only a few yards away. Another time, the balloon lost gas through a faulty valve, and some of the suspension wires slackened so much that they caught in the whirling screw, which was beating itself into shreds. The traveller instantly stopped the engine, and found himself the next moment drifting dangerously near to the Eiffel Tower. It was safer under the circumstances to let the ship sink, and a few minutes later, like a vessel being driven on the rocks, the aeronaut's car crashed against the roof of a large hotel, the framework of the air-ship lodging itself at last over a deep courtyard, with its occupant in mid-air. From this perilous position he was rescued by a partyof firemen. In each of these misadventures M. Santos Dumont reads some lesson for the improvement of his ships, so that the daymaycome when he will be able to show us an aerial vessel in which even timid people might travel without anxiety.
Said the Pencil to the Slate,'We've been strangers, sir, of late,And 'tis many weeks, I fancy, since we met;There was surely something wrongTo have parted us so long;ButifI've heard the reason, I forget.'Then the Slate looked blank, and said,With a voice of pain and dread,'Ah, yes! for days we've both been in disgrace,For Master Johnny ScottShunned the lesson he had got,And used us both to draw a funny face.''Now, of course, I needn't sayThat such deeds will never pay—A fact which Johnny realises now—For the picture that he drew,With a sunny smile or two,Was rubbed out with a frown upon his brow.'And the teacher said that dayWe should both be put awayTill Johnny understood his duty plain,Andthathe now has done,For I hear his laugh of fun:The cloud has passed, and—here we are again!'
Said the Pencil to the Slate,'We've been strangers, sir, of late,And 'tis many weeks, I fancy, since we met;There was surely something wrongTo have parted us so long;ButifI've heard the reason, I forget.'
Then the Slate looked blank, and said,With a voice of pain and dread,'Ah, yes! for days we've both been in disgrace,For Master Johnny ScottShunned the lesson he had got,And used us both to draw a funny face.'
'Now, of course, I needn't sayThat such deeds will never pay—A fact which Johnny realises now—For the picture that he drew,With a sunny smile or two,Was rubbed out with a frown upon his brow.
'And the teacher said that dayWe should both be put awayTill Johnny understood his duty plain,Andthathe now has done,For I hear his laugh of fun:The cloud has passed, and—here we are again!'
C. J. B.
[Answer on page 395.]
15.—
W a l t e RO AL i n n e TV IE r m e l OR CH a w a i IA NM e d u s AP TT a h i t IO ON o r m a N
Right post—Wolverhampton.Left post—Ratiocination.Round 1. Walter.Round 2. Linnet.Round 3. Ermelo.Round 4. Hawaii.Round 5. Medusa.Round 6. Tahiti.Round 7. Norman.
A general had been very unfortunate in a battle, and his defeat so preyed on his mind that he lost his reason. He had to be kept confined in a room in his own house, and an attendant was always near to wait upon him, and to prevent him from doing harm. One day, an officer who had been paying him a friendly visit happened to leave his sword and scabbard in the general's room. As soon as the officer had gone, the general seized the sword. Then he rushed at the man who attended him, saying, 'Now I can cut off your head.' The attendant answered, 'Oh, sir, anybody can cut off one head; it would be a stroke more worthy of you to cut off two. Wait a moment till I go for another.' To this the general consented, and the man quickly made his escape from the room. Needless to say, he returned with help and overcame the madman; he owed his life to his ready presence of mind in this strange peril.
The goodwill shown by one animal to another in time of need is an example to us all. Very lowly creatures are able to understand, and are ready to help each other like brothers, with no other motive than their comrade's need, and no other reward than the power to relieve it.
There is a kind of beetle which makes a ball or pellet of manure, in the middle of which it places its egg. This it rolls towards a hole previously dug, and drops it in. One of these beetles was seen painfully toiling to roll its little ball out of a cart-rut, into which it had tumbled; he was trying with all his tiny might, but all in vain. After pushing it up the side a great many times, the ball rolling back again, he went off to a manure-heap close by, and came back with two other beetles, his neighbours. All three set to work shoulder to shoulder, and between them shoved the ball out of the rut. Having done as they would be done by, the assistants then returned to their own business.
Sir Frederick Doyle, while watching some wasps eating plums on his trees, knocked one down without killing it. The wasp fell into a large spider's web below. To his surprise a fellow-wasp instantly flew down to the rescue. He poised himself close to the spider's web, whirling his wings till they looked like glittering rainbows, so fast that their shape could not be seen. This was to prevent them from being caught in the sticky web, and all the time he was striking deft and rapid blows at the threads that held his friend fast. At length he cut him out, but the poor rescued insect fell down to die upon the ground. The observer adds: 'I was so much struck with this proof of a heart as well as a brain in the case of wasps that I not only spared the "V.C." wasp who rescued his friend, but also the rest of the troop, and left the plums to their fate.'
The weasel, that terrible foe to rabbits and rats, is not famous for good temper, yet a pretty tale is told of one of them. A gentleman was riding home, when his horse trod on a weasel, which was unable to get out of the way in time. The poor little animal's spine seemed to be hurt, and it could not move its hind legs. Presently another weasel came out of the hedge by the roadside, and went up to the injured one. After carefully inspecting it, the second weasel picked up the first and carried it to the side of the road, out of the way of the traffic, where he gently laid it down.
"All three set to work shoulder to shoulder.""All three set to work shoulder to shoulder."
Wild elephants seem unable to bear the sight of suffering friends without an attempt to save them, and in particular the wild herds of these noble beasts love and protect their leaders. When pressed by hunters, they place him in the midst and crowd in front of him, eager to save his life at the expense of their own. Professor Romanes gives an instance of a fine 'tusker' which, when badly wounded, was promptly surrounded by his companions. They supported him between their shoulders, and actually succeeded in covering his retreat to the forest.
Birds are very generous towards each other in these ways, particularly such as live in communities together. If one rook of a colony gets into trouble, all the rest are worried about him directly. A great mob of rooks, living in trees near the river Irwell, were seen chasing each other playfully on the wing, dancing idly with joy and pleasure at the coming spring, when one of them accidentally knocked against another, and fell into the river below. In an instant a chorus of distress was raised; the birds hovered over their friend, as he struggled in the water, with cries of sorrow and alarm, and seemed to be giving him advice in some fashion of their own. At any rate, urged by their voices, he sprang into the air, and by one strong effort managed to reach a point of rock. The shouts of joy at his safety echoed far and wide.
"The robin came back with a worm.""The robin came back with a worm."
Much tenderness is shown by grown-up birds to helpless orphans in need of their aid. A redbreast was mentioned lately inScience Gossipas doing a deed of kindness towards a young starling one bitterly cold morning. The starling had left the nest, and was sitting frightened and shivering in a cellar, whither it had crept, too weak and hungry to fly. In vain kindly human hands offered it bread; it refused all food, till a little hungry robin came down on his daily visit to the house and spied the baby-bird, sitting on one leg, calling his absent mother. Off he went, and soon came darting back with a worm, which was gratefully accepted. When the beggar-bird had been fed, both flew away. Seagulls have been seen assisting a wounded comrade over the wave, and a crane, seeing one of its fellows shot, placed itself under the sufferer in such a way as to prevent his falling to the ground; then, weighted as he was, he bore him away beyond gun-shot.
In sickness, too, not only monkeys, dogs, cats, and the higher animals, but the lowest also, as well as birds, show good feeling. On a salt lake in Utahlived an old and completely blind pelican, which was very fat, 'and must,' says Darwin, 'have been well fed for a long while by his companions.' Crows feed their blind friends, and so do rats, and a case is on record of a barn-door cock who did the same thing. These and similar facts, which could be multiplied by thousands, prove how beautiful a spirit is that which our great Creator breathed into even the humblest of His creatures, and how worthy, for His sake, they are of our reverence and regard.
Edith Carrington.
"They stumbled along, supporting the stranger as best they could.""They stumbled along, supporting the stranger as best they could."
'Step out, Jack! There's a mile yet before we get to the station.'
'Yes; and a mile in this snow counts for three!' answered Jack. 'But we have nearly an hour for it. We shall catch the train right enough; but it is a heavy snow-storm, and no mistake!' And then the two young fellows plodded resolutely on.
It was Christmas Eve, and they were on their way to catch the mail-train to town, and were lookingforward to a right merry time with their people at home. But somehow to-day everything seemed against them. First of all, they were detained beyond time at the bank, in which they both were clerks, and so missed the last train to town from their little branch station. There was just time, however, for them to catch a train on the main line, but to do this they had to take a short cut through Lord Ravensmere's woods, and the thick snow having covered the paths, they lost their way several times, and this, of course, delayed them again.
However, the walk was nearly over; the station lamps could be seen twinkling in the valley below, and the young fellows were hurrying on, when they heard a faint cry, 'Help! help!' coming seemingly from the wood alongside.
They stopped, and listened. Again came the cry, 'Help! By the big oak!'
Both made a dash for the oak. It was but a few paces off; and there, almost hidden in the deep snow, lay a young fellow of about their own age.
'I'm Lord Ravensmere's son. Take me up to the Castle, if you can,' he said, feebly. 'I'm done!' And, having said this, he fainted away, and lay like dead on the snowy path.
'The Castle! That's a mile off. He will freeze to death if we leave him here and go for help,' said Jack, the elder of the two lads.
'We must carry him. We can do it between us,' said Ralph; 'but—I say, old fellow, we shall miss our train, and have to return to those dreary lodgings of ours for Christmas!'
Jack nodded, and then, without another word, the two lads lifted the unconscious youth, and somehow, with interlaced hands to form a seat, they stumbled along that snowy mile to the Castle, supporting the stranger between them as best they could.
By the time they had reached the Lodge, both Jack and Ralph were thoroughly exhausted with their exertions; but here help was at hand.
The Earl himself was there, and with him quite a band of grooms and keepers, all about to start in different directions, to look for the young heir.
The old man's gratitude to the young clerks was simply unbounded. He insisted on their spending the night at the Castle, and here, dressed in some of the young heir's suits, they sat down to what Jack afterwards described as a Lord Mayor's banquet; and, later on, in the drawing-room, Lady Ravensmere herself, with tears in her eyes, thanked them warmly for saving her son, and told them they should never forget what they had done.
The Earl himself drove the lads to the station next morning, so they did not miss the Christmas dinner with their friends, after all.
A Story of Adventure on the North Sea and in China.
(Continued from page 367.)
In the room in which the fugitives now found themselves, there were several garments hanging.
'Let us change our clothes,' Charlie whispered; 'it will be a splendid disguise.'
Ping Wang's face beamed. He pulled off his coat and trousers and donned in their place a dirty jacket and a pair of ragged knickerbockers. Then, taking off his 'beehive,' he wound round his head the yellow scarf of the Boxers.
Charlie and Fred hastened to follow his example. Ping Wang tied their Boxer cloths around their heads, and then looked at them with interest.
'Splendid,' he declared, 'and now we must be off in case any of the people return. They have gone,' he added, after listening for a few minutes.
He opened the door. A passer-by spoke to him, and he answered cheerfully, making some remark which caused the man to laugh heartily as he continued his journey.
'Come on,' Ping Wang whispered, when the man had passed out of sight, and stepped into the street, followed by Charlie and Fred.
No one penetrated their disguise as they hurried along the streets. One man informed Ping Wang that the three foreigners had been killed. They had taken refuge in a house and the mob had thereupon set light to it. He pointed to the distant flames. Ping Wang was sorry for the men who had been mistaken for them, if they were really in the burnt house, but could not help feeling relieved at the thought that now the mob had wreaked its vengeance it would probably disperse for the night.
'When we turn the next corner we shall be facing the gates,' Ping Wang said after a short walk; and Charlie and Fred heard the news with thankfulness. They were as determined as ever to recover their friend's wealth before quitting China, but they realised that it would be folly to make another attempt to do so while the Boxers were stirring up the people. Their idea was to return to Hongkong and remain there until the anti-foreign feeling had grown less strong.
Ping Wang was the first to reach the corner. To the astonishment of his friends he stopped short, with an exclamation of surprise. Charlie and Fred were at his side in a moment and saw at once the cause of his astonishment—the town gates were closed!
The surprise which they showed on seeing that the gates were closed did not cause any comment or notice among the people standing near, for they too had been surprised and annoyed by the same thing. Chin Choo had given the order for the gates to be shut, and the soldiers dared not open them until they received from him a command to that effect.
After a time the crowd began to disperse, some of the people wandering off to find lodgings for the night, and others sitting down by the roadside in the hope that, before long, the gates would be thrown open. Among the latter were the Pages and Ping Wang. They found a dark corner, and sat there almost entirely hidden from passers-by. Ping Wang sat in front of his friends, so that if any one did peer into their corner he would see him, and conclude that his companions were Chinamen. A long silence was at last broken by the shouts of an advancing mob.
'They've discovered their mistake,' Charlie declared, 'and are continuing the search for us.'
'Don't talk,' Ping Wang said, and once more they became silent, listening eagerly to distinguish what the mob was shouting. In a few minutes theirsuspicions were confirmed, for the cry which burst from hundreds of throats was one that there was no need Ping Wang to translate—Charlie and Fred understood only too well what it meant.
'Kill the foreigners!' Nearer each moment came the crowd, every man uttering the same cry. Soon it came in sight. At the head of the mob was Chin Choo in his palanquin, wearing the yellow head-cloth of the Boxers.
'They're Boxers,' Ping Wang whispered, 'and evidently they have no idea that we are alive.'
This was welcome news to Charlie and Fred, and remembering that they too were members of the Boxers' Society, they watched the crowd with great interest. Every Boxer wore his yellow head-cloth, and carried a weapon of some sort. A few only had rifles, the remainder being armed with swords, knives, bows and arrows, and sticks.
When the Boxers had arrived at the town gates, Chin Choo addressed his followers from his palanquin. He declared that the foreigners had come to the Middle Kingdom for the sole purpose of taking their country, and that, therefore, it was necessary to kill them all at once. If any were permitted to escape, they would return to their own land, and come back with many more. Then he declared that the Boxers would avenge all the cruelties which he said had been enacted by the foreigners, and finished up with the statement that the Boxers could not be wounded. Bullets would glide off their skin without making a scar, and swords, spears, and knives would make no impression.
Chin Choo saw that the people had doubts about the truth of his last assertion, and beckoned two of his officers to approach him. He talked with them for a few moments, and then declared, in a loud voice. 'Now you shall see that nothing can harm the men who wear yellow head-cloths.'
As he spoke six Boxers advanced, and stood with their backs to the town gates. Then twelve of the soldiers marched forward with their rifles at the trail, and halted about twenty yards in front of them. At the word of command they loaded their rifles and raised them to their shoulders. An instant later they fired a volley at the six Boxers, but, to the astonishment of the onlookers, not one of the men was injured.
'They used blank cartridges,' Fred declared.
'It was smart of Chin Choo,' Charlie declared, and Fred and Ping Wang agreed with him, for not one Chinaman in a thousand knows that there are such things as blank cartridges.
The crowd was delighted with this miracle, and the Boxers themselves became wild with joy. They waved their weapons about, and shouted to be led against the enemy at once. Their desire was granted, the gates were thrown open, and the Boxers marched out of the town.
'Come on,' Ping Wang said, when the Boxers began to move forward. 'We will march out with them.'
They slipped into the road, and joined the tail of the Boxers boldly, brandishing the knives that they had with them in imitation of the Chinamen's actions. Ping Wang shouted as loudly as any man, and shook his fist fiercely at an imaginary enemy.
'Keep your eye on me,' he whispered to Charlie when they had marched about a mile. 'We will bolt soon.'
Charlie saw that it would not be a difficult thing to escape from the rabble army, for men straggled away right and left, just as they felt inclined. The officers walked in front, and beyond looking round occasionally to see that the mob was following, kept no further watch on them.
Before long Ping Wang halted to rearrange his head-cloth. Charlie and Fred turned, and stood looking at him as if they were waiting for him to finish and march on. Their action was very natural, and the few men who had been marching behind them passed on without a remark.
Ping Wang continued to fumble about with his head-cloth until the last of the Boxers were out of sight. Then he said, 'Now's our time,' and quitted the track. The bushes, which grew thickly along the roadside, afforded ample 'cover' if they needed it.
'We must hurry through this undergrowth without being seen, and get well ahead of the Boxers,' said Ping Wang; 'then we will rejoin the track and run forward at full speed.'
They proceeded cautiously, but travelled quick enough to gain on the Boxers.
'We are about level with the middle of the mob,' Ping Wang declared some minutes later. 'We must get a good half-mile ahead of them before we rejoin the track.'
As Ping Wang finished speaking, Fred, who had looked behind him, exclaimed, anxiously, 'There's some one following us.'
Charlie and Ping Wang stopped short, and, looking in the direction indicated by Fred, saw a dark figure struggling through the bushes after them.
'Let us wait and tackle him,' Charlie suggested, but Ping Wang objected firmly to that proposal.
'There may be other fellows following him,' he added, 'and a shout from any one of them would bring the mob rushing over here in a moment. The best thing that we can do is to hurry on as quickly as possible.'
'Come along, then,' Charlie said, and started running. They ran a little more than a mile. They soon left the Boxers behind, but the man whom they were trying to avoid still pursued them.
'He has gained on us,' Charlie declared, and Fred and Ping Wang could not deny it.
'We must run faster,' Ping Wang said, but, as he was panting for breath, Charlie and Fred felt sure that they would not get rid of their pursuer by running.
'He is alone,' Fred declared; 'let's stop and see what he wants. We may be certain that he hasn't any firearms with him, for if he had he would have had a shot at us long before this.'
Ping Wang, however, did not agree; he preferred to keep on running. But he sadly over-rated his running powers, and before they had gone another hundred yards he had to stop and gasp for breath. The pursuer was now approaching them rapidly, so Charlie and Fred grasped their knives and waited for him. He increased his speed, and, as he drew nearer, they saw that he was wearing the yellow head-cloth of the Boxers.
(Continued on page 378.)
"The pursuer was approaching them rapidly.""The pursuer was approaching them rapidly."
"Three men came running up.""Three men came running up."
A Story of Adventure on the North Sea and in China.
(Continued from page 375.)
When the man was within twenty yards of the fugitives, he caught sight of their knives, and, stopping suddenly, exclaimed in pidgin English:
'What for knives? my plenty good Clistian man. My no knives, no shootee gun, no nothin'.'
As he spoke, he held up his hands to show that he was unarmed, and, with perfect confidence in their honour, advanced in that fashion.
'Who are you?' Charlie asked, as the thin, wizened, but lively little Chinaman stood before them.
'Number One cook. Welly good cook for missionally man.'
'What for wantee catchee us?' Fred inquired.
'Englisheeman takee to missionally.'
'How you savvy we Englisheeman?'
'Englisheeman pigtail plenty good,' Number One cook explained, but added the unflattering information that 'Englisheeman no can hide welly much funny nose, welly much funny eyes, welly much funny mouth.'
Ping Wang, having recovered his breath, took up the conversation, Charlie and Fred meanwhile keeping a sharp look-out for Boxers. When they had walked quickly about a quarter of a mile, Ping Wang brought his conversation in Chinese to a close.
'This man says,' he informed the Pages, 'that he is employed at the mission station for which we are bound. He had been sent up-country by the missionaries on business, and was returning through Kwang-ngan when he saw the anti-foreign placard. He did the same thing as we did—hurried to the gates—but did not reach them until after they were closed. Being hungry, he went back to get some food, and on his way to the shop he met a sleepy Boxer, who had apparently just come from an opium den. Number One said to himself, "I will have that head-cloth," and he took it, giving the Boxer his own hat instead. Then, after a while, he made his way to the gates, arriving there just as the Boxers were marching out. He declares that he knew that both of you were Englishmen the moment he saw you. He kept his eyes on us, and decided to join us.'
'Does he think that the rising will spread?' Charlie asked.
'He is sure it will, and he means to urge Barton and his friends to leave the country as quickly as possible.'
Being now about half a mile ahead of the Boxers, the two Englishmen and the two Chinamen made their way back to the track, and, after walking quickly for another hour, arrived at the gates of Su-ching, which they had hoped not to re-enter until they brought with them Ping Wang's treasure. The gates were open, but the soldiers who guarded the entrance to the town had thrown off their usual air of apathy, and were questioning eagerly every man who came from the direction of Kwang-ngan. On seeing four Boxers approaching, they hurried forward to meet them.
'Are the Boxers coming quickly to kill the foreigners?' they asked, excitedly.
'They are,' Ping Wang answered. 'Listen and you will hear them shouting.'
The noise of the advancing mob reached them as a faint, buzzing sound, but loud enough to convince the soldiers that the Boxers were really coming. They were anxious to ask Ping Wang and his companions more questions, but Ping Wang cut short their questions.
'We bear a message,' he declared, 'and we must deliver it at once. We have run quickly, for we did not carry rifles. But now that we have finished running, give us rifles, in case we meet any foreigners.'
To the soldiers this request appeared to be a perfectly reasonable one, and, knowing that the mandarin and other town officials sympathised with the Boxers, they took from the armoury, which was close by, four Snider rifles, and handed them out to Ping Wang, with ammunition.
Feeling safe once more, Ping Wang and his friends hurried off in the direction of the mandarin's house; but, as soon as they got out of sight of the soldiers, Number One exclaimed, 'This way welly much more quick,' and turned up a narrow side-street. The Pages and Ping Wang followed him, and in about three minutes they arrived at the wall of the mission station, which they saw was already placarded with anti-foreign manifestoes. They rang the bell, but some minutes passed, and the gate was not opened. They rang again, loudly, and a minute later they heard Barton inquire, in Chinese, who they were.
'Missionalies,' Number One answered, quite convinced that Charlie and Fred were missionaries.
'Where from?' Barton asked, for one of his native servants had already turned traitor, and he was now very cautious.
'It's all right, Mr. Barton!' Charlie sang out. 'We are the Pages, Ping Wang, and your Number One cook.'
'That's splendid!' Barton declared, and, although they could not see him, they knew by his voice that their arrival was welcome. 'Wait a moment,' he continued; 'the gate is barricaded, but I will lower a ladder to you. Here you are!' he called down a minute later, and on looking up they saw him lowering from the top of the wall a long bamboo ladder. When it touched the ground they planted it firmly.
'You go first, Number One,' Charlie said, in a tone that showed he meant to be obeyed.
'Welly good,' Number One replied, and went up the ladder as nimbly as if it were his usual way of entering the mission station.
Fred followed Number One, and Charlie asked to be the last, but Ping Wang objected.
'Hurry up!' Barton sang out, and Ping Wang, seeing that Charlie was determined to be the last man up, climbed the ladder. Just as he reached the top, and as Charlie planted his foot on the lowest rung, three men, with knives in their hands, came running up, and Charlie was unaware of his danger; but Fred saw the scoundrels, and slipping a cartridge into the breach of his rifle he took aim, fired, andshot the foremost man. The other two, who had not expected any danger, turned about and fled in terror.
'Fred,' Charlie said, when he had climbed over the wall, 'you saved my life.' Then he turned to Barton. 'I see that you are prepared for the Boxers,' he said. 'We were afraid that we shouldn't get here in time to warn you of their approach.'
'Are they on their way, then?'
'They will be here in ten minutes at the latest.'
Barton sighed. 'I had been hoping,' he said, 'that the Empress-Dowager would have had the Boxers suppressed before they would be able to reach here. I am afraid, however, that she is secretly encouraging them. It is a great sorrow to my colleagues and myself to find ourselves arming against the people among whom we have lived on friendly terms for some years. However, we must protect our women and children. Since you left us, eight men, five women, and four children have joined us. Some of them have suffered terribly in their flight from the Boxers. Their own mission stations have been destroyed, and many of their fellow-missionaries were murdered. Consequently we may have to fight.'
'How many European men have you, and what weapons?' Fred asked.
'Thirteen, counting you and your brother, and we have eight rifles and five revolvers. That is not including your Sniders.'
'But what about provisions?' Charlie asked.
'I have got a good stock, and I think we can stand a month's siege. Of course it won't last quite so long now you are here.'
The other missionaries now joined them, in answer to Barton's summons. The majority were young men, but two were middle-aged, and one a grey-bearded old gentleman. Each had his rifle or revolver, and, although they did not wish to be forced to fight, they had the determined looks of men who knew that their cause was a good one, and were prepared to die in its defence. Their positions at the wall had been settled some hours before, but the arrival of the Pages, Ping Wang, and Number One made a fresh arrangement necessary.
'I will post you above the gate, with Ping Wang, and Number One, as you call him,' Barton said to Fred, adding, 'I will make Charlie my lieutenant.'
'That won't do,' Charlie declared. 'I know nothing about military matters, but Fred does. He's a Volunteer, and a jolly good shot into the bargain. Make him your lieutenant.'
'Very well. Then you go over the gate.'
Charlie took up his position on a platform built over the gateway, on the inner side of the wall. Ping Wang was on his right, and Number One on his left.
'I came to the conclusion,' Barton said, as he showed Fred the defences, 'that it would be risky to make loopholes in the wall, in case, after a time, we should be unable to place a man at each. Therefore we built those platforms.'
The platforms were built at intervals around the wall, each having room for six or seven men. The defenders would have to shoot over the top of the wall, but cover had been provided for them by sandbags fixed securely along the ridge.
'Our women workers made those sandbags,' Barton remarked. 'They used table-cloths, rugs, curtains, and even some of their own dresses. They have been a great help to us.'
'By-the-bye, do your colleagues know how to handle their rifles?' Fred inquired.
'Mr. Wilkins, that old gentleman with the grey beard, was a good shot forty years ago; but from the time he first left England, until yesterday, he hadn't touched a rifle. However, he was practising yesterday and to-day, and I have no doubt that he will do well. My other colleagues had never handled a rifle in their lives until this morning, when I gave them a little instruction. I was a member of the Oxford University Corps.'
'We ought to make a good defence then,' said Fred. 'But we must keep a sharp eye on the ammunition, and see that it isn't wasted.'
'That reminds me that my man got a fine Lee-Metford and a large box of ammunition. They were sold to him at a low price by a boatman who, I suspect, had stolen them at one of the treaty ports. As the rifle was strange to me I held it back until I had time to learn how to fill the magazine. Would you like to have it?'
'I should, very much.'
They hurried to the verandah of the house where the Lee-Metford and ammunition lay. Fred picked up the rifle and, after examining it closely, recognised it as the very one which he had used with good effect against the river pirates. He was about to tell Barton of his discovery when loud shouts from the town made known to them that the Boxers had arrived. Fred pulled off his skull-cap, filled it with cartridges, and followed Barton down the steps and up on to the platform, where Charlie, Ping Wang, and Number One were stationed.
(Continued on page 386.)
Who does not know the Street Toy-man? 'All made to work! Here you are, sir, a real motor-car for a penny! The wonderful jumping frog!'
Cheapside and Ludgate Hill, and many less busy parts of London, ring with such cries for a month before Christmas. All the year round the hawkers are standing patiently on the curbstone with their wonderful penn'orths; but it is at Christmas-time that they do most business. Some children are fortunate enough to be taken by their parents to see the streets at Christmas-time, and sometimes they are allowed to buy some of the pretty things for themselves. But there are many others not so fortunate, who can only look on wistfully, and others again who are not rich enough or, perhaps, too ill even to go and look at the sights. Poor men and women, who cannot really afford even a penny, find in the hawkers' wares the cheapest market, and many a bare, cold home is brightened at Christmas by one or two of the little toys that cost so little, but bring so much happiness.