CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VWITH SEYMOURʼS COLUMNThat evening after dinner Rex told the envoy in full the story of his adventures. The chiefs of two or three other Legations were present, and all expressed great surprise that a mere lad should have carried out so desperate an undertaking.The next morning the doctor called to see Rex.“You are thinking of going down at once, are you not?”“Yes, sir.”“Well, I have come in to tell you that your cousins cannot possibly go with you. Their recent experiences have been a terrible strain on them, and as a result of the reaction, both are completely prostrated. The younger one is very feverish, and is, I expect, in for a sharp illness.”“I am very sorry to hear that, sir, though I cannot say that I am surprised. They have held on very well, but they were weak when they started, and throughout the journey they have had no chance of picking up strength. I was afraid that they would break down before they got here. At any rate I shall run down to Tientsin to see my father and mother, who are no doubt suffering great anxiety, and shall then, I hope, be able to arrange to come back for them. I suppose I can see them before I start?”“Certainly, but the shorter your visit the better. You may be quite sure that they will have every attention here.I donʼt think there is any reason for being uneasy about them. It is the natural reaction after the strain, and I hope that in another fortnight or so they will be able to travel. I will go across with you to their room now.”Rex at once went over.“I have come to say good–bye, Jenny,” he said, as he entered the shaded room in which his cousins were lying. “The doctor says that you wonʼt be fit to travel for another fortnight, and you know I must run down to see my father and mother, who will by this time be in a great state of alarm about you. I shall be back for you, and I hope if I come at the end of a fortnight I shall find you both in a fit state to go. If you are not, I shall wait till you are. Good–bye, dear!”“Good–bye, Rex! Of course you ought to go to Tientsin, and we shall look forward to your return. Thank you a thousand times for all that you have done for us, and thank Ah Lo too!”Mabel was lying with her eyes half–closed and her cheeks flushed with fever, and Rex, seeing that it was of no use trying to rouse her to say good–bye, kissed Jenny and went quietly out of the room.“I shall keep your clothes until I come back again, Sandwich,” Rex said when he was taking leave of his friend.“You are perfectly welcome to them if you donʼt bring them back,” the other laughed. “I have any number of suits, and if trouble comes on we shall not be particular about washing.”“I expect I shall be back before long, for if there is a row here I should like to be in it.”Rex and Ah Lo went to the railway–station in time for the train which started at ten oʼclock. Several merchants and others were going down also. The journey was a tediousone, for the train travelled slowly and stopped frequently. It was just breakfast–time next morning when they arrived. Rex walked in unannounced just as his father and mother were sitting down to breakfast. They leapt to their feet with cries of surprise and delight.“I cannot blow you up now, Rex,” his father said after the first joy of the meeting had passed, “but it was the maddest thing that I ever heard of. I am too glad, however, at your safe return to scold you. We were beginning to lose all hope of your return. We thought you might get to Chafui, and of course it was a great satisfaction that you had Ah Lo with you; but when you found that everyone had been massacred, what prevented you from returning at once?”“The fact, Father, that I found that they were not all massacred. My uncle and aunt had both fallen, but the girls were prisoners in the governorʼs yamen. It was a close affair, for they were to have been given to the Boxers to be massacred the very next day. We got them out, however, and took them safely to Pekin, and they are at present staying at the Legation.”“You have saved the dear girls!” his mother exclaimed; “that is indeed good news. But where are they?”“They are at Pekin, Mother. They bore up splendidly until they got there, and then they broke down, and the doctor said that they would need careful treatment and rest before they could be moved. So I ran down here to tell you of my safety, and am going back again in a few days to bring them home. I will give you full particulars when I have got into my own clothes and had some breakfast. We brought a good stock of provisions with us, but finished the last morsel yesterday afternoon. It has been a tremendously long journey, and, as you may imagine, I am pretty peckish. Before sitting down, however, I will run upstairs and change,for I must have a wash before eating. I shall be down again in ten minutes.”He soon returned, and his father and mother asked no questions until he had finished breakfast, except that his mother asked how he had left the girls.“I think they will both be better for a rest, Mother,” he said. “They both look fagged, which is not to be wondered at, considering all they have come through, but they are a good deal better than when I first saw them.”As soon as breakfast was over, and before he questioned Rex further, Mr. Bateman sent for Ah Lo.“Ah Lo,” he said, when the Chinaman came in, “you did wrong to aid my son to carry out this enterprise. However, as it succeeded so well I cannot blame you, and indeed must thank you heartily for having carried Rex safely through the matter.”The Chinaman smiled. “I think it is the other way. Mr. Rex carried me through the affair. He always told me what to do; I did just so and it came out all right.”“Well, I shall not forget the great service you have rendered us.” Ah Lo bowed and went off.“Now then, Rex, give us an account of your doings, for at present I cannot imagine how you managed to get the girls out from the governorʼs yamen.”It took Rex more than an hour to relate his adventures, for he was very frequently interrupted by exclamations and questions from his father and mother.“It was a wonderful rescue,” his father said, when he had brought that part of the story to a close. “It seems simple enough as you tell it, but I really can hardly imagine how the plan occurred to you. There the girls were shut up in the strong house of a governor, with sentries over them and a guard but a few yards away. It was a problem that mighthave puzzled the sharpest brain, and it was carried out without the slightest hitch. It does you extreme credit, Rex, and I feel proud of you. Well, go on with your story.”There was a fresh outburst of surprise when Rex related the fight with the twelve Boxers.“Well, my boy,” Mr. Bateman said when Rex brought his story to an end, “after that you can be trusted to go anywhere, and I donʼt think your mother or I will in future feel anything like the same anxiety concerning you as we have experienced this time.”“And now, Father, how do matters stand here at present?”“Things are quiet. A good many sailors have come up, and although a large number of the rebels are still round the town, we have no fear whatever that they will be able to take the place.”“I think the fighting will be pretty hard work, Father, if, as I think there is little doubt, the Boxers attack in earnest. But what are the regular Chinese troops going to do?”“I think the envoys still hope that they will stand aloof; but as far as I have learned, the general opinion is just the other way. The Empress and her ministers profess that the Boxers are a peaceable people who only desire well for the empire. They have issued a few shilly–shallying edicts, which can be read both ways, but it is generally believed that the Boxers have been put in the foreground because the Empress thinks they are more than sufficiently strong to destroy the Legations and kill every white and native Christian in the country. She doesnʼt want the responsibility. Before Europeans she can, if she chooses, disavow their actions, while at the same time professing her inability to control them, and declaring that as the will of the people is that no white men shall henceforth live or trade in Chinashe must bow to their wishes. Many think, therefore, that if the Boxers can do the work alone they will be allowed to do it; if not, the Imperial troops will join them.“It is quite certain that an enormous number of native Christians have been massacred in various parts of China, and I have heard that some have been murdered in Pekin itself. I hope that enough troops will be collected to go up before long. Troops have come in from all directions, but I am afraid it will be at least a couple of months before anything like an army can be moved forward. From the ships now here probably only two thousand men could be spared for the purpose.”“I doubt whether that would be enough, Father. There are hordes of Chinese between this and Pekin, and a large number of them are armed with the best rifles. They have breech–loaders of all sorts, and you know we must do them the justice to say that they fought bravely enough round here. I fancy they will fight even better to prevent us from getting to Pekin.”“It is by no means certain, Rex, that in the first place we shall not have to fight on for our own existence. Great numbers of Boxers and other ruffians throng the town, and if they know their own business they will not be fools enough to allow an army to gather here at all. As to the Taku Forts, I believe they will be taken just as easily as they were last time. Still, the larger vessels cannot come up the river, and the smaller ones will probably have to be escorted up by troops. They will doubtless be opposed fiercely, and not improbably we shall be attacked here at the same time, in which case we may have to fight hard.”“All right, Father! I should like it all the better. Knowing, as we do, how they have massacred hundreds of missionaries and their families and many thousands of nativeChristians, we shall feel a real satisfaction in fighting these fiends.”“And yet, Rex, a good deal of allowance must be made for them. You must remember that China has always been an exclusive country, and that the Chinese appear to have an ingrained hatred of foreigners. To begin with, we come here because they donʼt want to buy our opium, and we fight them and compel them to open Chinese ports to trade. Well, the Chinese are not fools, and as long as it was only a question of trade they might put up with us, seeing that they obtained as much advantage from trade as we do. This, however, was not enough. We invade them with a vast crowd of missionaries, who settle themselves in all parts of the country, build themselves houses and churches, and set to work to convert the Chinese. Naturally the Chinese donʼt like it. Certainly we should not like it ourselves if hundreds of Chinamen were to settle down in all our towns, open joss–houses, hold out all sorts of advantages to proselytes, and convert the lowest and most ignorant class of the population to Confucianism or Buddhism. But this is not all. Missionaries take the converts under their protection, set up a little imperium, demand the right to judge and punish their own people, and generally to set the local authorities pretty well at defiance; and the Catholic bishops have actually insisted upon having the title, rank, and power of Chinese viceroys.“All these things are odious to the mass of the people, and when, as at present, they find the whole of the European powers engaged in a general grab of fresh ports, they say this thing must stop. I need not say that I hold these massacres in abhorrence, but if they had simply brought down all the missionaries to the treaty ports and said to them, ʻIf you come outside these walls you will be at once put to death,ʼ I should say that they were acting just as mostEuropean powers would act in similar circumstances, and that from their own point of view they were acting wisely. It would be necessary, of course, for us to retain ambassadors at Pekin to protect our treaty rights and to settle any disputes that might arise, but beyond that I would, if I were the Emperor of China, forbid any foreigner from going beyond the treaty ports, which would be all so strongly fortified that they could defy any attack. Of course, foreigners might be allowed to enter the Chinese service if invited to do so, drill their troops, manage their dockyards, build their railways, and conduct their mines.“To my mind, the game of grab that has been going on of late has been shocking. The Russians who stepped in to prevent the Japanese from obtaining any benefit from their defeat of China were the first to begin by their enormous appropriation of territory. We seized a port opposite to them, and the Germans, Italians, and French all seized ports and territories. Can one wonder that China was moved to the core, that this sect of Boxers, which has existed for a very long time, suddenly became a violent political association, and that the Empress has gladly availed herself of their assistance? It would be strange indeed if it were not so. You must remember that the Chinese as a race are extremely intelligent. Owing to the denseness of the population and the poverty of the people the weakly die off in childhood, and the struggle for life is so severe that the wits of the people become sharpened. They are the cleverest bargainers in the world. Every transaction is a battle in which purchaser and seller try to get the better of one another. Physically they are fine men; and their lives being for the most part hard, they have little or no fear of death.“When you take all these things into consideration, you can see that there is a great deal to be said for the actionof the Chinese. They have perpetrated horrible cruelties upon the missionaries and native Christians, but they have lived under a cruel régime. Capital punishment under the most atrocious conditions is very frequent among them, and they have become habituated and hardened to it. You must remember that at home as late as the reign of Queen Elizabeth any persons found begging were executed, or, as a mild punishment for a first offence, had their hands or ears cut off.“Of course, if we are attacked, I shall aid in the defence; but although I have lost my sister–in–law and her husband, I shall feel no personal animosity towards the Chinese, for I consider that we have, from their point of view, given them ample grounds for endeavouring to get rid of us.”“Well, I donʼt think that I ever thought of it in that light, Father, but it certainly does seem rough on them that we should seize port after port on the smallest pretext, and send our people interfering with their customs and religions all over the country. Certainly at ordinary times they have always seemed to me an inoffensive set of people, placid and good–tempered, which makes it all the more extraordinary that they should go in for such hideous massacres. However, Father, whatever excuse they have, it is quite certain that we must not let them take Tientsin if we can keep them out of it.”“We shall certainly do our best,” Mr. Bateman laughed, “and I have no doubt that we shall succeed. Still, we may have some tough work before us.“We have received a despatch from Macdonald urgently asking that troops should be sent up at once,” Mr. Bateman said to Rex two days after his return.“Well, Father, if things really do look bad I should like to go back again. I told the girls that I would, and I certainlyshould like to be there on my own account if there is any fighting.”“Probably there will be fighting here also, Rex.”“Yes, Father, but there is no doubt that you will be able to beat them off here. Marines and blue–jackets will be sent up from the ships to take the place of those who are going forward now. Besides, no doubt an attack will be made on the Taku Forts, and you know they are not formidable. I donʼt think, however, that it is anything like so certain that they will be able to hold out in Pekin. The Legations cover a big extent of ground, and what with the Boxers, the lower classes of the city, and the Chinese army, there will be a tremendous pressure upon them. Now, as Ah Lo and I managed to get the girls away from Chafui, it seems to me possible that, if the worst comes to the worst, we may manage to rescue them again. At any rate I know it would be a big comfort to them if I were there.”“I donʼt know, Rex,” his father said gravely, “that I should be justified in letting you go. Still, you got so wonderfully out of the last business that I am disposed to let you have your own way in this. Besides, if there is fighting here, which I think probable, you will, of course, want to take part in it, and are as likely to be killed here as at Pekin, and as it will certainly be a comfort to the girls to have you there, I shall not say ʻNo.ʼ There will, however, be no occasion for you to go up with the troops. Possibly on their arrival there things will calm down, and in that case the troubles are more likely to begin here by the sea. I think there is scarcely a shadow of doubt that the Taku Forts will be bombarded, and that the ships will open a passage for the gun–boats up the river. You had better, therefore, wait for a week at any rate, by which time we shall hear whether matters have settled down in Pekin.”“Very well, Father, but I do not think there is a chance of that. There is no doubt that the Empress and her favourites are secretly urging on the Boxers, and although these will probably begin an attack, they will be joined in the end by the Imperial troops. I have no doubt, however, that I shall be able to get there in time. You see, Father, if I take part in the defence of the Pekin Legations it will be something to talk about all my life.”“I am afraid, Rex,” his father said with a smile, “that, although I do not say that you are not anxious to be at hand if your cousins are in danger, you would be just as eager to go if they were not at Pekin at all. I begin to think that I have made a mistake in your education, that I should have done better if I had kept you by me and sent you to the College of Student Interpreters at Pekin. It seems to me that you are more fitted for the profession of a knight–errant than a sober trader.”“Oh, I donʼt think so, Father! When things are quiet I shall be quite content to be quiet, to work hard all day, and to take a ride or sail in the evening.”“Well, we shall see when matters do settle down, Rex, as I have no doubt they will after a time. I shall be quite content if we resume trade at the treaty ports as before, and I hope that the result of this war will not be the further breaking up of China.”The next morning the glad news was heard that strong detachments from all the ships of war were coming up and were going to march on Pekin. Admiral Seymour was to be in command, and the force would amount to about two thousand.“This is splendid, isnʼt it, Father?” said Rex.“It is capital news, my boy; but two thousand men are but a small body to go through a bitterly hostile countrydefended by an army which, including the Boxers, cannot be put at much less than forty thousand men. There is no doubt that the railway will have been greatly damaged by the Boxers, and if our men trust to that, they will have no means of transport when they come to the point where the line is destroyed, which will probably be about half–way between this and Pekin. At the same time it is undoubtedly right that the effort should be made. Our countrymen cannot be allowed to perish if it be possible to save them. We know that so far they are unhurt, for the telegraph wire is still open to Shanghai, and we get messages from there, contradictory ones, it is true, but still, in spite of the varying nature of the reports, there is little doubt that up to the present time the Legations are safe.“It is probable, indeed, that those four hundred men who went up to Pekin six weeks ago as guards to the Legation have so far saved the situation. The Chinese, as you know, did all in their power to prevent them from coming. Fortunately the ambassadors had by that time so fully recognized the danger of the situation that they brought them up in spite of the Chinese Ministers. It is but a small force to resist a well–armed army and a vast crowd of Boxers and the rabble of the town, but there must be a good number of white men there, missionaries of the city, and many who have made their way in from country stations. The European shopkeepers, too, and such merchants as have not left, will between them considerably raise the fighting force. Besides, you told me that at any rate some slight defences had been thrown up when you came away; no doubt these have since been increased. It is fortunate that all the Legations are fairly close to each other, and can probably be connected with each other without much difficulty.“The German, French, Japanese, and Pekin Hotels makepractically one block, the Spanish is but a short distance away, the British Legation is separated from the Palace of Prince Su only by the street, the Russian Legation lies close to the British, and the United States Legation and Russian Bank face it. I should fancy that the line of defence will include all these. The Dutch Legation is isolated on one side, and the Italian on the other. The Austrian and the Belgian Legations also lie apart, and close to the former are the post–office and customs. These, however, are all that are outside the probable line. I should hope that the Tartar wall, which overlooks the whole and is close to the United States and German Legations, will also be held. It is a big area for seven or eight hundred men to defend; but it was not a much larger force that held Lucknow, and what can be done in one place can be done in another.”“I do hope, Father, that you will allow me to go up with the troops. If, as you think, they are not able to reach Pekin, I could push on in disguise and get into the town as easily as I left it. I donʼt think there will be the least difficulty about that. I am very anxious about the girls, and might, if the worst came to the worst, escape with them in disguise, as I did before. Even if Admiral Seymourʼs force should fight its way into the town, I should think that they will be in a similar position to that in which General Havelock found himself when he fought his way into Cawnpore. He would certainly be able to defend the Legations against the whole Chinese force, but he might not be able to cut his way out, encumbered as he must be, with a mass of native Christians who certainly could not be left there to be murdered. Even putting the girls aside, I should like, above all things, to take part in the defence.”“I donʼt know that you would be able to go with the troops even if I gave you leave, Rex.”“Well, you see, I should become an interpreter. They will be sure to want some men with them who know the language, to question prisoners, and buy stores, and so on.”“Well, I will think it over. I must speak to your mother before I settle on such a question as that. Of course there will be a good deal of danger, but I have very little doubt that as soon as these troops go up, the Chinese will attack us here. Large numbers of them are in the neighbourhood, and if they find they cannot resist the advance of the force, they will close in behind it and march upon this town. Certainly we could not hope to hold the native quarter, but I feel sure that we could defend the settlement. Still, we might lose many men. There will, of course, be no fear of our having to stand a long siege, for the fleet are sure to batter down the Taku Forts, and the gun–boats will shortly be sent up the river. Besides, the troops from India and Port Arthur, and the Japanese, will soon arrive, and will no doubt come up to our succour. I can quite understand your desire to take part in the siege, to say nothing of your idea of getting the girls away. Going up with two thousand men also is a very different affair from starting off on your own account.”The next morning at breakfast Mr. Bateman said: “I have talked the matter over with your mother, and though she is very reluctant to part with you, she has given her consent, as I have pointed out to her that naturally at your age you want to take part in a defence which is likely to be historical, and that you would certainly be a comfort to your cousins and might be of vital service. You have already shown great presence of mind and resource, and I have no doubt would do so again in case of necessity.”“But you must promise me,” Mrs. Bateman said, “that you will take care of yourself, and not expose yourself needlessly.You must remember, my boy, that, fond as we are of your cousins, you are all in all to us. You are our only child, and for our sakes you must promise not to thrust yourself needlessly into danger.”“I will not run risks more than I can help, Mother. Of course, if I do get into Pekin, I must take part in the defence.”“Yes, Rex, of course, I understand that; I only beg of you not to expose yourself recklessly.”“I promise not to do so, Mother. Of course I shall take Ah Lo with me. I am awfully obliged to you for giving your consent; it would be a splendid thing to go through the siege. It is not like an ordinary siege in an ordinary war. They have attacked us and perpetrated the most horrible massacres all over the country; they have lied through thick and thin; they are treacherous and cruel brutes, who will certainly show no mercy if they capture the place, so that I shall feel that I am fighting in a good cause, and that these men deserve all they will get.”Tientsin presented a busy appearance. Troops arrived fast by train from the coast, and it became known that an expedition of some two thousand men was going to advance to Pekin under the command of Admiral Seymour.“Do you think, Father, that you could get leave for me to accompany the expedition. I could make myself useful as an interpreter.”“I was introduced to Admiral Seymour this morning, Rex, and the idea did occur to me then, but I thought it well to wait until I talked the matter over with you again. It would certainly be far less risky to go with the troops than to make your way up in disguise, for by all accounts the Boxers and the roughs who have joined them are clearing out the villages and putting numbers of people to death. Soyou see your disguise could not be any great protection. However, I shall see Admiral Seymour again this afternoon, for I am supplying a good many articles they require. If you go with me I shall introduce you to him, and we shall hear what he says about it.”Admiral Seymour was at the railway–station seeing to the detrainment of a strong body of marines and blue–jackets and to the unloading of their stores. Mr. Bateman waited until he was disengaged, and as he was leaving the station went up to him.“I have sent the things you wanted to the depot, and shall be willing to send any further supplies that you may require. Everything in my store is entirely at your disposal.“Will you allow me to present my son to you? He has only lately returned from a most hazardous journey which he accomplished in disguise. He went to save two girl cousins of his who were the sole survivors of a mission station at Chafui. He succeeded in rescuing them and taking them to Pekin, where he was obliged to leave them, as they were prostrated by what they had gone through. He is very anxious to return there; and as he speaks Chinese perfectly, he thought perhaps that you would be kind enough to allow him to accompany your expedition in the character of an interpreter. He might be useful in questioning prisoners or villagers. He could carry arms also, for he and a native servant annihilated a party of twelve Boxers who attacked them while they were bringing his cousins down.”“I have already got two or three interpreters, Mr. Bateman, but I have no doubt that I could do very well with another. I will attach him to the company of marines and blue–jackets from theCenturion.”“Thank you very much indeed, Admiral!”“Ah, here is Major Johnston, who commands the marines!” said the admiral; “I will put you under his charge at once.“Major Johnston, I shall be glad if you will take charge of this young gentleman. He speaks Chinese fluently, and no doubt you will find him very useful as an interpreter. He is most anxious to get up to Pekin, because two of the young ladies there are his cousins. He will probably have a yarn to tell you of how he rescued them from the Boxers at Chafui. You will, of course, attach him to your mess.”“Very well, sir, I shall be very glad to have someone with me who speaks Chinese; we are pretty sure to get hold of some wounded Boxers, and we may get valuable information from them.”Again thanking the admiral, Rex went off with the major, whose men were quartered in the customs–house. He was soon busy translating orders to the coolies who were assisting in bringing up cases of ammunition and other stores. In a couple of hours all was quiet.“My father will be very glad, sir,” he said to the major, “if you will take up your abode at his house. I have no doubt that all the officers will be quartered among the residents. I think that we can very well house four, and, if they donʼt mind squeezing, six or seven.”“Thank you, Mr. Bateman! I donʼt know whether we have been told off to quarters, but if not, I will very gladly accept your offer.”Rex hurried home, and his father returned with him and assured the officer that it would be a great pleasure to him to have as many officers as the house would hold, and that he could very well contrive to take in ten of them.“Thank you very much, Mr. Bateman! It will take some little time to see the men properly quartered. I notice thata quantity of straw has been provided for them. What time do you dine?”“We will fix our dinner hour to suit you. We generally dine at seven.”“That will suit us very well. I command two companies, and have six officers, whom I will bring with me. You will have to take us in the rough, for we have only the uniforms that we stand in.”“You shall dine in your shirt sleeves if you like, Major.”Rex returned with his father, and there was for a short time some bustle in the house getting bedrooms ready and making arrangements for dinner. At seven oʼclock the officers arrived and were introduced by Major Johnston to Mr. and Mrs. Bateman. They were a merry party, for the officers were all in high spirits at being selected to take part in the expedition. When they heard that Rex had only returned from Pekin the week before, they asked him innumerable questions as to the country and the strength of the force that would be likely to oppose them.“I think that you will have harder work than you expect,” he said. “A considerable portion of the railway is certainly pulled up, and, judging by the number of fires I saw as I came down at night, the enemy must be in very strong force. I have no doubt that they will fight hard, for the Boxers believe that they are invulnerable, and will fight with fanatical fury.”“We shall soon teach them that they are mistaken as to their invulnerability,” one of the officers laughed, “and I donʼt think that any number of armed peasants, for that is what they are, will stop us.”“I hope not, indeed,” Rex said. “I only say that I think it will be harder work than you expect.”“Now, Mr. Bateman,” the Major said, “I hope that youwill tell us the story of the rescue of your cousins, of which the admiral told me.”“I have had to tell it so many times since I came back,” Rex said, “that I really hope you will excuse me.”“Oh, no, that is mistaken modesty on your part!”“I will tell it for him,” his father said; “it is a good story, and does the boy great credit.”“Then I will go and see if everything is ready outside,” said Rex.It was half an hour before he returned, and by that time his father had finished the story. The officers all warmly congratulated him when he re–entered the room.“I wish I had done it,” one of the young lieutenants said. “I would have given anything to have carried out such a plan.”“I suppose you have not been in England at all,” the Major said; “for if you had been you would scarcely have been able to speak Chinese so well.”“Yes, he has been four years there,” Mr. Bateman said, “but I sent over with him a Chinese boy, who has always been his companion, and Rex had two days off school each week to go about with him and so keep up his knowledge of the language. I intend to go home myself in a few yearsʼ time, and as he will then be left in charge it is of the utmost importance that he should keep up his Chinese. Latin and Greek would be of no value whatever here, so I arranged that he should only take up English subjects and English games.”“A capital plan, Mr. Bateman. His knowledge of the language has already stood him in good stead.”“What is the latest news?”“We had a telegram to say that the American Mission buildings at Tung Chau, twelve miles from Pekin, have been abandoned by the missionaries, and have been looted andburned by the Chinese soldiers sent to protect them; and further, that seventy–five native Christians, who have been trained for years by the American missionaries, were massacred there. The British Legation summer residence in the hills near Pekin has also been burned. A telegram from Shanghai says that there has been a fight between General Nel Hsi Chong, with three thousand men, and the Boxers, and it is reported that the general has been superseded for his trouble.”“When do you leave?”“The rest of the force will be up to–morrow, and we shall start on the following morning. Altogether we shall have nine hundred and fifteen British, three hundred and fifteen Germans, three hundred Russians, one hundred and fifty–eight French, one hundred and four Americans, fifty–two Japanese, forty Italians, and twenty–five Austrians.”“Rather a mixed lot,” Mr. Bateman said. “It is as well that our contingent is so strong. Had it not been so, Admiral Seymour might have found some difficulty with the commanders of so many nationalities.”“Yes, it is certainly well that we constitute nearly half the force—more than half the force, if we count in the Americans and Japs, on both of whom we can rely. However, I donʼt think that there will be any trouble with the Russians, Germans, and French, who wonʼt be able to understand each other, and as it is so short a march they will have no opportunity of coming to any mutual understanding. We might even count in the two small parties of Austrians and Italians as going with us.”CHAPTER VIIN PEKINAll were hard at work on the following day making preparations for the advance. Rex acted as interpreter to the major, and got on quite familiar terms with his officers. The start was made early the next morning in four troop trains. The men cheered lustily as they started, and the residents of the town all gathered to give them a hearty send–off. Rex managed to get a place in the train for Ah Lo, and took with him in a small bundle the disguise he had worn at Chafui. He was perhaps the only person in the train who did not feel absolutely confident of a triumphant march to Pekin, but he had made up his mind that should they have to fall back he would himself pursue his journey with Ah Lo.For a time the train passed through cultivated ground, but the work of the enemy was very soon visible. Portions of the line were torn up in many places, and attempts had evidently been made to destroy the bridges. Several times the train had to stop in order to make repairs, but owing to the large number of hands available the work was performed so rapidly that there was only a short delay at these points. At Lo–Fa for the first time the Boxers were seen actively engaged. The plate–layersʼ cabins were in flames, and the telegraph poles had been cut down, and men were engaged in destroying them. The villages bordering the line were also in flames, and the inscription, “Kill all foreigners,” was posted up everywhere. The Chinese troops alighted and fired several volleysat parties of Boxers, but apparently without doing any execution, their ineffectual efforts exciting much merriment among the allied troops.A mile farther smoke was seen rising from several villages, and General Nieh refused absolutely to continue the journey, declaring that the whole country was evidently swarming with Boxers, and that it was highly dangerous to advance. He insisted on returning to Lo–Fa. Admiral Seymour strongly urged him to remain there with his men, but without success; he and his soldiers were firmly convinced that it was useless to try to fight the Boxers, who, they believed, were invulnerable to shot. After the Chinese had left, the troops were detrained. The work of repairing the line had for the last few miles been very heavy, and as it was already late they halted there for the night.So far their work had been altogether unimpeded by the enemy, who had apparently fallen back as soon as the laden trains were seen approaching in the distance. The troops had grumbled a good deal at the cowardice of the enemy, but consoled themselves with the idea that they had not yet gone half–way, and that no doubt the Boxers would make a stand later on.There were plenty of materials for making camp fires, and these were soon blazing, and as night closed in, songs in various languages rose from the bivouacs of the different nationalities. The officers gathered round their own fires and chatted on the prospect before them.“Your anticipations have not been fulfilled thus far, Bateman,” one of the lieutenants said to Rex.“No, but it is not yet time for them to be fulfilled. It was only during the first half of my journey down that I saw the Boxersʼ fires all over the country. They will become thicker and thicker as we near Pekin, and in the end I expect thatthe whole Chinese army will come out to meet us, swollen by the rabble of the town.”The expedition moved forward again in the morning. It was soon evident that in the country through which they were now advancing the Boxers had carried out their operations more thoroughly than in that through which they had already passed. In many places the railroad had been taken up for some hundreds of yards, and the sleepers carried off and burned, while the whole of the telegraph poles had been cut down and the wires carried away. The troops were very soon all detrained again and employed in the work of restoring the line, an operation which was only carried on with great difficulty.In the meantime Lieutenant Smith of theAurorawent forward with a party of three officers and forty–four men to try to reach Neting, thirteen miles ahead, to prevent more damage being done to the line and to hold the railway–station there. He was attacked soon after he started. At three villages in succession he drove the enemy out with ease; but at half–past ten a determined attack was made on him by about four hundred and fifty Boxers, who charged in line with great courage. His little force, however, repulsed them with heavy loss; but as ammunition was then beginning to run short, and the enemy was still increasing in strength, Lieutenant Smith retired. As great bands of Boxers could be seen in the distance, Major Johnston was sent forward with sixty men to examine the line ahead.“You may as well come on with me, Bateman; we shall very likely fall in with some villagers and perhaps capture a Boxer, and so get information as to the position of the enemy in front of us and the state of the line.”“I shall be very glad to come, sir.”Ah Lo, without receiving any specific orders, fell in as amatter of course in the rear of the marines. They went steadily on, keeping two miles ahead of the leading train, and when eight miles above Lo–Fa they saw a body of Boxers, which they reckoned about three thousand strong, streaming out from a village on the left. This force did not make directly for the little party, but bore towards their rear with the evident intention of cutting them off. They had with them a good many mounted men who, dashing forward, crossed the railway behind them, while the men on foot made for a partially–burned bridge and a village commanding the line.“Fall back at the double!” Major Johnston called. “Not too fast; it is certain that we shall have to fight them, and it wonʼt do to put ourselves out of breath. Keep up a quick fire as you go; halt when you fire, and take steady aim. They wonʼt like the long range of our bullets. I donʼt suppose we shall do them much harm, but our fellows will hear the firing at the wagons and we shall soon have a party up to our assistance.”Rex and Ah Lo unslung their rifles and joined the marines in their steady fire. The return of the enemy was not effective; only a few were armed with guns, and these were not of long range. For a mile a running fight was kept up, twenty or thirty of the enemy being killed. They nevertheless persisted in their endeavour to cut off the party. When, however, he saw a body of marines and blue–jackets coming up at the double, the major at once halted his men.“Now, my lads, you can give them independent fire as quick as you like; there is no fear of their closing with us now.”The Boxers who had crossed the line began to move back and join their companions, and the approaching blue–jackets at once opened fire upon them with rifles and Maxims. Thereinforcements soon joined Major Johnstonʼs party, and under his lead attacked the village and drove the Boxers from it. Following hotly upon their heels, they forced them also to retire from another village with the loss of some forty killed and wounded.Rexʼs services were at once called into requisition. He slung his rifle behind him, and set to work to interrogate seven wounded Boxers who had fallen into our hands. From them he learned that farther back the line had been almost entirely pulled up, that the forces there were very numerous, and their strength had just been increased by the addition of ten thousand regular troops, who had been nominally disbanded in order that they could join the Boxers, while the Government might be able still to affirm that the Boxers were acting in defiance of their orders and that no Imperial troops had joined them. They said, too, that a considerable proportion of the troops in Pekin had been brought to the southern gate to oppose the relieving army if they broke through the forces opposed to them. Rex learned that two days previously there had been fighting in Pekin and that it was expected that the Legations would all be taken in the course of a few days.The army advanced no farther that night, but the next day pushed on to Lang Fang, which was half–way to Pekin. They found all the station buildings destroyed and three hundred yards of the track torn up. Boxers were seen busy in the work of destruction, but when a shell was dropped among them they fled. A patrol that went out reported that a mile and a quarter of the track had been destroyed.ill118REX INTERROGATES A WOUNDED BOXER.The news that he had learned from the wounded Boxers on the previous day had excited in Rex a burning desire to push forward. The position in Pekin seemed to be precarious, and he became so impatient to get to the principal scene of action that he determined to leave the army and make his way up in disguise. It was evident that if the line was, as it seemed, almost totally destroyed beyond this point, the progress of the relief column must be extremely slow. As the troops must hold to the railway, for they had no other means of carriage, it seemed to Rex highly improbable that they would be able to fight their way into Pekin. Having made up his mind, he went to Major Johnston.“I am most anxious to go forward,” he said. “We know that the Legations are attacked, not seriously perhaps at present, but they may be so any day. It appears to me very doubtful whether this expedition will be able to fight their way into the town, and if they do so it must be a considerable time before they get there. I do not know that if the place were taken I should be able to get my cousins off, but at least I could try. At any rate, I have brought my native disguise with me, and have no doubt that I can make my way into Pekin. How I shall get into the Legation I donʼt know, but I think that by mixing with the Boxers I shall be able to make my way in at night. Is there any occasion, sir, for me to inform Admiral Seymour of my intentions?”“None at all, Bateman. I shall probably have an opportunity of speaking to him in the morning, and shall mention to him that you have started to make your way in alone. It is a risky business, I know, and I wish you well through it. I begin to think that you were quite right when you said that the opposition would be greater than we expected. We only reckoned upon the Boxers, and did not think that they would tear up the railway. It is now evident that our difficulties will increase with every foot that we advance. I trust, however, that if we do have to fall back, the Legations will be able to hold out. Our people may be driven from some of the outlying places, but I should think that if thewhole of the defenders are concentrated at our Legation they ought to be able to defend it as long as food and water hold out. You did not hear, I suppose, when you were there, how they were provided in that respect.”“No, I did not hear anything about it. You see, when I was there the ambassadors still clung to the belief that the Empress was favourably disposed towards foreigners. As far as I could hear, no one else thought so; but I am afraid that they did not believe it necessary at that time to lay in provisions for a siege, and if the native Christians take refuge with them they will want a very large supply.“Very well, sir; then as soon as it is dark I shall make off. I shall make straight for the river and follow its course. It is certain that the greater portion of the enemy will be gathered close to the line of railway, and I donʼt anticipate any difficulty in making my way up. Pekin is only some forty or forty–five miles from here, and I shall enter it to–morrow. I shall, of course, make a circuit of the city and go in at the northern gate, and in that way I shall probably have no difficulty whatever until I get near the Legation.”That afternoon Rex said “Good–bye” to the other officers of his acquaintance, and as soon as it was dusk, coloured his skin, touched up his eyebrows and eyelashes, painted a line from the corners of his eyes so as to give them an upward inclination, fastened on his pigtail again, and set out with Ah Lo. As he had anticipated, they experienced no difficulty in making their way up. Occasionally they saw parties of Boxers on the banks of the river, and had to make detours to avoid them, but by morning they saw the towers of Pekin ahead. Turning aside into a field of standing grain they lay down and slept for some hours, and when they awoke they made a detour round the city and entered by the northerngate. As no troops were stationed here, they went on unquestioned into the city.As they advanced they came upon many ruined houses, and at one point a large tract had been cleared by fire. Many dead lay in the streets, for the most part horribly slashed and mutilated. Bands of roughs were still searching ruined houses for loot. In some parts business was still going on; the better class of shops were all closed, but those that supplied the poor were open, and the inhabitants were going about their usual avocations as if nothing had happened.As they neared the Legations they could hear occasional firing. In this part the shops were all closed, and there was no traffic whatever in the streets. At some points large numbers of Boxers were gathered. Avoiding these, they turned into a narrow lane which led towards the British Legation. They went nearly to the end of this, and here Rex entered a doorway, took off his Chinese clothes, under which he had his own, wrapped up his pigtail, and put over it a Scotch cap he had carried with him. Then he and Ah Lo started out at a run for the Legation. Here and there men were grouped on the walls, and these, on seeing a European coming along, shouted words of welcome to him. Half a dozen shots were fired from neighbouring houses, but they arrived at the entrance untouched. A dozen soldiers were stationed here.“You have managed that well, sir,” the sergeant in command said as they entered. “Have you come far?”“I have come on from the relieving force. They are at Lang Fang.”“Will they be here soon, sir?”“I very much doubt whether they will get through at all. The line is all torn up, and they will be opposed by animmense force. I fear that you will have to wait till a much bigger force is gathered.”“That is bad news, sir, but I expect we shall hold out all right. They donʼt seem very anxious to come to close quarters.”Rex went straight to the ambassadorʼs quarters and sent in his name, and he was at once admitted.“So you are back again, Mr. Bateman?”“Yes, sir; I came up with the relieving force two thousand strong under Admiral Seymour. They had reached Lang Fang, but I have great doubts whether they will get much farther, as the railway has been completely destroyed, and they are without means of carriage. There is no doubt that they will be met by an ever–increasing resistance as they move forward, and twenty thousand regular troops have moved round to the south gate to oppose them if they get as far as that. The communications are already cut behind them, and so large a force is concentrated near Tientsin that that town will probably be attacked.“The Taku Forts will be attacked very shortly. Troops are on their way from India, Port Arthur, and Japan, and I have no doubt that before long an army will be gathered sufficiently strong to fight its way up. But I fear that it must be some weeks before they are in a position to do so.”“Do you bring any despatches for me?”“No, sir; I was afraid that if I mentioned to the admiral that I was coming on, he would object, so I came off of my own account. I had learned that the Legations were being attacked, and I was most anxious to be here to cheer my cousins up, and to endeavour to do what I could for them if things went badly.”“Very well, Mr. Bateman, I am glad of the news that you have brought me, though it is not satisfactory, but I ownthat I have had my own doubts whether the force that is coming up was strong enough to make its way here. It is better, however, to know the worst. We shall be glad of the assistance of your rifle and that of your man, for we are very short–handed, and even the aid of two rifles is not to be despised. You had better take up your quarters, as before, at the college.”Rex withdrew, and at once went to the doctorʼs house.“I am glad to be able to tell you,” said the doctor, “that the young ladies have now pretty well recovered, and if the railway were working I should say that they could very safely be taken down to Tientsin. As it is, however, they will have to wait until reinforcements come up.”“Then I can see them, sir?”“Certainly; the elder girl is quite recovered, and the younger one is convalescent, but is still weak. It will do her good rather than harm to see you, for they have necessarily been somewhat lonely, as everyone here is busy. The ladies have all been occupied in making sacks to hold earth for the fortifications, and the girls have therefore been left more to themselves than they otherwise would have been.”Rex at once went across to the house. The girls leapt up with a cry of delight as he entered.“Oh, Rex,” cried Jenny, “we are glad to see you! When did you return?”“About half an hour ago. I had to come up in the disguise I wore before. You know, I suppose, that we are quite cut off from Tientsin now?”“So we have heard, and they say that there is going to be fighting here?”“Yes, but there is no doubt that we shall beat them off. You need not be uneasy.”“Oh, we are sure of that! I feel quite different from whatwe did before. For the past three or four days I have been helping to make sacks, and even Mabel has done a little. And how are Uncle and Aunt?”“They are all right. I believe my father will have his share of fighting, for a great force of Chinese has gathered outside the town, and they expect to be attacked. It is hoped, however, that the ships will destroy the Taku Forts, in which case the light craft will make their way up to Tientsin. Then, of course, every man that can be spared from the ships will join the relief column.”“But I thought that they were on their way up now, and that we were expecting them here to–day?”“I am sorry to say, dear, that I think there is very little chance of their coming at all at present. I came up with Ah Lo.”The girls looked at each other in dismay.“Then how long do you think it will be before they really come up?”“I am afraid it will be many weeks. Large reinforcements of British troops are coming from India, Russians have been despatched from Port Arthur, and any number of Japanese, and French, and Germans are being sent forward; but it must be some time before they are all here, and we must make up our minds that we are going to hold our own.”Then he changed the subject.“And so you are getting stronger, Mabel? You are looking ever so much better.”“Oh yes! I am feeling ever so much better, and the doctor says I shall soon be strong and well again.“We are getting quite full here now, for numbers of the native Christians are coming in for shelter. Everyone is told off to do something. Jenny is to help serve out food tothe women and children, and I expect that I shall soon be able to assist also.”“Yes, I expect we shall all be made useful,” said Rex.“Ah Lo has come up too, I suppose?”“Yes, he came with me as a matter of course, and we shall both aid in the defence.”“I wish I were a boy,” Jenny said. “I should like to help kill some of the Boxers. I dare say a good many of those who were at Chafui have come here and will be among those who are going to attack us.”“You will be just as useful in your own way, Jenny, as if you were a boy and could carry a gun.”“You must give us each a pistol, Rex, so that if they should take the place we can shoot ourselves. We have both made up our minds that we will do that rather than fall into their hands again. You donʼt think it would be wicked to kill ourselves, do you?”“Certainly not, Jenny; but in the first place I donʼt think that there is much chance of their capturing the Legations, and in the next place I hope that if they did so, Ah Lo and I should be able to get you out again in disguise. But at any rate I donʼt think you need have any fear. There are four hundred soldiers here, and the employees of all the Legations would certainly make a hundred more. Besides these there are the merchants and other people, and I expect they will form a corps out of the Christians who have come in. Most of these Legations are strong buildings, and it will be hard if we cannot beat off any attack. It is lucky that all the Legations lie within a short distance of each other, and can all be defended together. When I leave you I will go round and see what has been done to fortify them.”He stayed chatting with them for another half–hour, and then went down to the college.“I have turned up again like a bad penny, Sandwich,” he said, as he met his friend, “and am quartered here.”“We shall all be heartily glad to have you with us, and I regard you and your man as a valuable reinforcement. Have you heard that this morning the Boxers have begun to massacre the native Christians? I believe that great numbers have been killed.”“They ought all to have come in here,” Rex said.“No doubt we should have done the best we could for them,” Sandwich said, “but we should have had a lot of difficulty in feeding ten thousand of them. Though I am awfully sorry for the poor beggars, their presence here would scarcely be an advantage, for they would hamper us terribly in our defence. You will have to put up with bad cooking unless some of these Christians that are coming in turn out to be decent cooks, for the servants and coolies are all leaving. You should see Sergeant Herring talking to them as they go out!”Rex laughed. He had already made the acquaintance of the sergeant, who had been twenty years at the Legation, and who was in general control of its arrangements. He was a big man, with a powerful voice and an authoritative manner, and ruled the coolies with a rod of iron. He was a well–known figure in the city, and was regarded by the populace as being only less important than the ambassador himself.“I can quite fancy him,” Rex said, “and how the coolies would sneak off under the thunder of his voice. Well, I should say that we are just as well rid of the coolies. I donʼt suppose they could have been relied upon. They are not like the native Christians, who, knowing that their lives are forfeited if the Boxers get in, will certainly be faithful even if they are not very useful. By the way, I have notbrought your clothes back. I came up in a suit of my own under my disguise, but I was afraid of carrying a bundle. They will come up, then, washed and ironed, when all this is over.”Sandwich laughed. “All right, Bateman! I shaʼnʼt be able to get much washing done now, and shall hail the arrival of a clean suit when—that is a very vague word—whenthey come up.”There was a good deal of excuse to be made for the coolies and servants. They were almost all drawn from the population of Pekin, and their families, according to the Chinese law, would assuredly suffer were they to remain at the Legation. This would account for the difference between their conduct and that of the native servants in the Indian Mutiny, for these, in the great majority of cases, remained true to their masters.

CHAPTER VWITH SEYMOURʼS COLUMNThat evening after dinner Rex told the envoy in full the story of his adventures. The chiefs of two or three other Legations were present, and all expressed great surprise that a mere lad should have carried out so desperate an undertaking.The next morning the doctor called to see Rex.“You are thinking of going down at once, are you not?”“Yes, sir.”“Well, I have come in to tell you that your cousins cannot possibly go with you. Their recent experiences have been a terrible strain on them, and as a result of the reaction, both are completely prostrated. The younger one is very feverish, and is, I expect, in for a sharp illness.”“I am very sorry to hear that, sir, though I cannot say that I am surprised. They have held on very well, but they were weak when they started, and throughout the journey they have had no chance of picking up strength. I was afraid that they would break down before they got here. At any rate I shall run down to Tientsin to see my father and mother, who are no doubt suffering great anxiety, and shall then, I hope, be able to arrange to come back for them. I suppose I can see them before I start?”“Certainly, but the shorter your visit the better. You may be quite sure that they will have every attention here.I donʼt think there is any reason for being uneasy about them. It is the natural reaction after the strain, and I hope that in another fortnight or so they will be able to travel. I will go across with you to their room now.”Rex at once went over.“I have come to say good–bye, Jenny,” he said, as he entered the shaded room in which his cousins were lying. “The doctor says that you wonʼt be fit to travel for another fortnight, and you know I must run down to see my father and mother, who will by this time be in a great state of alarm about you. I shall be back for you, and I hope if I come at the end of a fortnight I shall find you both in a fit state to go. If you are not, I shall wait till you are. Good–bye, dear!”“Good–bye, Rex! Of course you ought to go to Tientsin, and we shall look forward to your return. Thank you a thousand times for all that you have done for us, and thank Ah Lo too!”Mabel was lying with her eyes half–closed and her cheeks flushed with fever, and Rex, seeing that it was of no use trying to rouse her to say good–bye, kissed Jenny and went quietly out of the room.“I shall keep your clothes until I come back again, Sandwich,” Rex said when he was taking leave of his friend.“You are perfectly welcome to them if you donʼt bring them back,” the other laughed. “I have any number of suits, and if trouble comes on we shall not be particular about washing.”“I expect I shall be back before long, for if there is a row here I should like to be in it.”Rex and Ah Lo went to the railway–station in time for the train which started at ten oʼclock. Several merchants and others were going down also. The journey was a tediousone, for the train travelled slowly and stopped frequently. It was just breakfast–time next morning when they arrived. Rex walked in unannounced just as his father and mother were sitting down to breakfast. They leapt to their feet with cries of surprise and delight.“I cannot blow you up now, Rex,” his father said after the first joy of the meeting had passed, “but it was the maddest thing that I ever heard of. I am too glad, however, at your safe return to scold you. We were beginning to lose all hope of your return. We thought you might get to Chafui, and of course it was a great satisfaction that you had Ah Lo with you; but when you found that everyone had been massacred, what prevented you from returning at once?”“The fact, Father, that I found that they were not all massacred. My uncle and aunt had both fallen, but the girls were prisoners in the governorʼs yamen. It was a close affair, for they were to have been given to the Boxers to be massacred the very next day. We got them out, however, and took them safely to Pekin, and they are at present staying at the Legation.”“You have saved the dear girls!” his mother exclaimed; “that is indeed good news. But where are they?”“They are at Pekin, Mother. They bore up splendidly until they got there, and then they broke down, and the doctor said that they would need careful treatment and rest before they could be moved. So I ran down here to tell you of my safety, and am going back again in a few days to bring them home. I will give you full particulars when I have got into my own clothes and had some breakfast. We brought a good stock of provisions with us, but finished the last morsel yesterday afternoon. It has been a tremendously long journey, and, as you may imagine, I am pretty peckish. Before sitting down, however, I will run upstairs and change,for I must have a wash before eating. I shall be down again in ten minutes.”He soon returned, and his father and mother asked no questions until he had finished breakfast, except that his mother asked how he had left the girls.“I think they will both be better for a rest, Mother,” he said. “They both look fagged, which is not to be wondered at, considering all they have come through, but they are a good deal better than when I first saw them.”As soon as breakfast was over, and before he questioned Rex further, Mr. Bateman sent for Ah Lo.“Ah Lo,” he said, when the Chinaman came in, “you did wrong to aid my son to carry out this enterprise. However, as it succeeded so well I cannot blame you, and indeed must thank you heartily for having carried Rex safely through the matter.”The Chinaman smiled. “I think it is the other way. Mr. Rex carried me through the affair. He always told me what to do; I did just so and it came out all right.”“Well, I shall not forget the great service you have rendered us.” Ah Lo bowed and went off.“Now then, Rex, give us an account of your doings, for at present I cannot imagine how you managed to get the girls out from the governorʼs yamen.”It took Rex more than an hour to relate his adventures, for he was very frequently interrupted by exclamations and questions from his father and mother.“It was a wonderful rescue,” his father said, when he had brought that part of the story to a close. “It seems simple enough as you tell it, but I really can hardly imagine how the plan occurred to you. There the girls were shut up in the strong house of a governor, with sentries over them and a guard but a few yards away. It was a problem that mighthave puzzled the sharpest brain, and it was carried out without the slightest hitch. It does you extreme credit, Rex, and I feel proud of you. Well, go on with your story.”There was a fresh outburst of surprise when Rex related the fight with the twelve Boxers.“Well, my boy,” Mr. Bateman said when Rex brought his story to an end, “after that you can be trusted to go anywhere, and I donʼt think your mother or I will in future feel anything like the same anxiety concerning you as we have experienced this time.”“And now, Father, how do matters stand here at present?”“Things are quiet. A good many sailors have come up, and although a large number of the rebels are still round the town, we have no fear whatever that they will be able to take the place.”“I think the fighting will be pretty hard work, Father, if, as I think there is little doubt, the Boxers attack in earnest. But what are the regular Chinese troops going to do?”“I think the envoys still hope that they will stand aloof; but as far as I have learned, the general opinion is just the other way. The Empress and her ministers profess that the Boxers are a peaceable people who only desire well for the empire. They have issued a few shilly–shallying edicts, which can be read both ways, but it is generally believed that the Boxers have been put in the foreground because the Empress thinks they are more than sufficiently strong to destroy the Legations and kill every white and native Christian in the country. She doesnʼt want the responsibility. Before Europeans she can, if she chooses, disavow their actions, while at the same time professing her inability to control them, and declaring that as the will of the people is that no white men shall henceforth live or trade in Chinashe must bow to their wishes. Many think, therefore, that if the Boxers can do the work alone they will be allowed to do it; if not, the Imperial troops will join them.“It is quite certain that an enormous number of native Christians have been massacred in various parts of China, and I have heard that some have been murdered in Pekin itself. I hope that enough troops will be collected to go up before long. Troops have come in from all directions, but I am afraid it will be at least a couple of months before anything like an army can be moved forward. From the ships now here probably only two thousand men could be spared for the purpose.”“I doubt whether that would be enough, Father. There are hordes of Chinese between this and Pekin, and a large number of them are armed with the best rifles. They have breech–loaders of all sorts, and you know we must do them the justice to say that they fought bravely enough round here. I fancy they will fight even better to prevent us from getting to Pekin.”“It is by no means certain, Rex, that in the first place we shall not have to fight on for our own existence. Great numbers of Boxers and other ruffians throng the town, and if they know their own business they will not be fools enough to allow an army to gather here at all. As to the Taku Forts, I believe they will be taken just as easily as they were last time. Still, the larger vessels cannot come up the river, and the smaller ones will probably have to be escorted up by troops. They will doubtless be opposed fiercely, and not improbably we shall be attacked here at the same time, in which case we may have to fight hard.”“All right, Father! I should like it all the better. Knowing, as we do, how they have massacred hundreds of missionaries and their families and many thousands of nativeChristians, we shall feel a real satisfaction in fighting these fiends.”“And yet, Rex, a good deal of allowance must be made for them. You must remember that China has always been an exclusive country, and that the Chinese appear to have an ingrained hatred of foreigners. To begin with, we come here because they donʼt want to buy our opium, and we fight them and compel them to open Chinese ports to trade. Well, the Chinese are not fools, and as long as it was only a question of trade they might put up with us, seeing that they obtained as much advantage from trade as we do. This, however, was not enough. We invade them with a vast crowd of missionaries, who settle themselves in all parts of the country, build themselves houses and churches, and set to work to convert the Chinese. Naturally the Chinese donʼt like it. Certainly we should not like it ourselves if hundreds of Chinamen were to settle down in all our towns, open joss–houses, hold out all sorts of advantages to proselytes, and convert the lowest and most ignorant class of the population to Confucianism or Buddhism. But this is not all. Missionaries take the converts under their protection, set up a little imperium, demand the right to judge and punish their own people, and generally to set the local authorities pretty well at defiance; and the Catholic bishops have actually insisted upon having the title, rank, and power of Chinese viceroys.“All these things are odious to the mass of the people, and when, as at present, they find the whole of the European powers engaged in a general grab of fresh ports, they say this thing must stop. I need not say that I hold these massacres in abhorrence, but if they had simply brought down all the missionaries to the treaty ports and said to them, ʻIf you come outside these walls you will be at once put to death,ʼ I should say that they were acting just as mostEuropean powers would act in similar circumstances, and that from their own point of view they were acting wisely. It would be necessary, of course, for us to retain ambassadors at Pekin to protect our treaty rights and to settle any disputes that might arise, but beyond that I would, if I were the Emperor of China, forbid any foreigner from going beyond the treaty ports, which would be all so strongly fortified that they could defy any attack. Of course, foreigners might be allowed to enter the Chinese service if invited to do so, drill their troops, manage their dockyards, build their railways, and conduct their mines.“To my mind, the game of grab that has been going on of late has been shocking. The Russians who stepped in to prevent the Japanese from obtaining any benefit from their defeat of China were the first to begin by their enormous appropriation of territory. We seized a port opposite to them, and the Germans, Italians, and French all seized ports and territories. Can one wonder that China was moved to the core, that this sect of Boxers, which has existed for a very long time, suddenly became a violent political association, and that the Empress has gladly availed herself of their assistance? It would be strange indeed if it were not so. You must remember that the Chinese as a race are extremely intelligent. Owing to the denseness of the population and the poverty of the people the weakly die off in childhood, and the struggle for life is so severe that the wits of the people become sharpened. They are the cleverest bargainers in the world. Every transaction is a battle in which purchaser and seller try to get the better of one another. Physically they are fine men; and their lives being for the most part hard, they have little or no fear of death.“When you take all these things into consideration, you can see that there is a great deal to be said for the actionof the Chinese. They have perpetrated horrible cruelties upon the missionaries and native Christians, but they have lived under a cruel régime. Capital punishment under the most atrocious conditions is very frequent among them, and they have become habituated and hardened to it. You must remember that at home as late as the reign of Queen Elizabeth any persons found begging were executed, or, as a mild punishment for a first offence, had their hands or ears cut off.“Of course, if we are attacked, I shall aid in the defence; but although I have lost my sister–in–law and her husband, I shall feel no personal animosity towards the Chinese, for I consider that we have, from their point of view, given them ample grounds for endeavouring to get rid of us.”“Well, I donʼt think that I ever thought of it in that light, Father, but it certainly does seem rough on them that we should seize port after port on the smallest pretext, and send our people interfering with their customs and religions all over the country. Certainly at ordinary times they have always seemed to me an inoffensive set of people, placid and good–tempered, which makes it all the more extraordinary that they should go in for such hideous massacres. However, Father, whatever excuse they have, it is quite certain that we must not let them take Tientsin if we can keep them out of it.”“We shall certainly do our best,” Mr. Bateman laughed, “and I have no doubt that we shall succeed. Still, we may have some tough work before us.“We have received a despatch from Macdonald urgently asking that troops should be sent up at once,” Mr. Bateman said to Rex two days after his return.“Well, Father, if things really do look bad I should like to go back again. I told the girls that I would, and I certainlyshould like to be there on my own account if there is any fighting.”“Probably there will be fighting here also, Rex.”“Yes, Father, but there is no doubt that you will be able to beat them off here. Marines and blue–jackets will be sent up from the ships to take the place of those who are going forward now. Besides, no doubt an attack will be made on the Taku Forts, and you know they are not formidable. I donʼt think, however, that it is anything like so certain that they will be able to hold out in Pekin. The Legations cover a big extent of ground, and what with the Boxers, the lower classes of the city, and the Chinese army, there will be a tremendous pressure upon them. Now, as Ah Lo and I managed to get the girls away from Chafui, it seems to me possible that, if the worst comes to the worst, we may manage to rescue them again. At any rate I know it would be a big comfort to them if I were there.”“I donʼt know, Rex,” his father said gravely, “that I should be justified in letting you go. Still, you got so wonderfully out of the last business that I am disposed to let you have your own way in this. Besides, if there is fighting here, which I think probable, you will, of course, want to take part in it, and are as likely to be killed here as at Pekin, and as it will certainly be a comfort to the girls to have you there, I shall not say ʻNo.ʼ There will, however, be no occasion for you to go up with the troops. Possibly on their arrival there things will calm down, and in that case the troubles are more likely to begin here by the sea. I think there is scarcely a shadow of doubt that the Taku Forts will be bombarded, and that the ships will open a passage for the gun–boats up the river. You had better, therefore, wait for a week at any rate, by which time we shall hear whether matters have settled down in Pekin.”“Very well, Father, but I do not think there is a chance of that. There is no doubt that the Empress and her favourites are secretly urging on the Boxers, and although these will probably begin an attack, they will be joined in the end by the Imperial troops. I have no doubt, however, that I shall be able to get there in time. You see, Father, if I take part in the defence of the Pekin Legations it will be something to talk about all my life.”“I am afraid, Rex,” his father said with a smile, “that, although I do not say that you are not anxious to be at hand if your cousins are in danger, you would be just as eager to go if they were not at Pekin at all. I begin to think that I have made a mistake in your education, that I should have done better if I had kept you by me and sent you to the College of Student Interpreters at Pekin. It seems to me that you are more fitted for the profession of a knight–errant than a sober trader.”“Oh, I donʼt think so, Father! When things are quiet I shall be quite content to be quiet, to work hard all day, and to take a ride or sail in the evening.”“Well, we shall see when matters do settle down, Rex, as I have no doubt they will after a time. I shall be quite content if we resume trade at the treaty ports as before, and I hope that the result of this war will not be the further breaking up of China.”The next morning the glad news was heard that strong detachments from all the ships of war were coming up and were going to march on Pekin. Admiral Seymour was to be in command, and the force would amount to about two thousand.“This is splendid, isnʼt it, Father?” said Rex.“It is capital news, my boy; but two thousand men are but a small body to go through a bitterly hostile countrydefended by an army which, including the Boxers, cannot be put at much less than forty thousand men. There is no doubt that the railway will have been greatly damaged by the Boxers, and if our men trust to that, they will have no means of transport when they come to the point where the line is destroyed, which will probably be about half–way between this and Pekin. At the same time it is undoubtedly right that the effort should be made. Our countrymen cannot be allowed to perish if it be possible to save them. We know that so far they are unhurt, for the telegraph wire is still open to Shanghai, and we get messages from there, contradictory ones, it is true, but still, in spite of the varying nature of the reports, there is little doubt that up to the present time the Legations are safe.“It is probable, indeed, that those four hundred men who went up to Pekin six weeks ago as guards to the Legation have so far saved the situation. The Chinese, as you know, did all in their power to prevent them from coming. Fortunately the ambassadors had by that time so fully recognized the danger of the situation that they brought them up in spite of the Chinese Ministers. It is but a small force to resist a well–armed army and a vast crowd of Boxers and the rabble of the town, but there must be a good number of white men there, missionaries of the city, and many who have made their way in from country stations. The European shopkeepers, too, and such merchants as have not left, will between them considerably raise the fighting force. Besides, you told me that at any rate some slight defences had been thrown up when you came away; no doubt these have since been increased. It is fortunate that all the Legations are fairly close to each other, and can probably be connected with each other without much difficulty.“The German, French, Japanese, and Pekin Hotels makepractically one block, the Spanish is but a short distance away, the British Legation is separated from the Palace of Prince Su only by the street, the Russian Legation lies close to the British, and the United States Legation and Russian Bank face it. I should fancy that the line of defence will include all these. The Dutch Legation is isolated on one side, and the Italian on the other. The Austrian and the Belgian Legations also lie apart, and close to the former are the post–office and customs. These, however, are all that are outside the probable line. I should hope that the Tartar wall, which overlooks the whole and is close to the United States and German Legations, will also be held. It is a big area for seven or eight hundred men to defend; but it was not a much larger force that held Lucknow, and what can be done in one place can be done in another.”“I do hope, Father, that you will allow me to go up with the troops. If, as you think, they are not able to reach Pekin, I could push on in disguise and get into the town as easily as I left it. I donʼt think there will be the least difficulty about that. I am very anxious about the girls, and might, if the worst came to the worst, escape with them in disguise, as I did before. Even if Admiral Seymourʼs force should fight its way into the town, I should think that they will be in a similar position to that in which General Havelock found himself when he fought his way into Cawnpore. He would certainly be able to defend the Legations against the whole Chinese force, but he might not be able to cut his way out, encumbered as he must be, with a mass of native Christians who certainly could not be left there to be murdered. Even putting the girls aside, I should like, above all things, to take part in the defence.”“I donʼt know that you would be able to go with the troops even if I gave you leave, Rex.”“Well, you see, I should become an interpreter. They will be sure to want some men with them who know the language, to question prisoners, and buy stores, and so on.”“Well, I will think it over. I must speak to your mother before I settle on such a question as that. Of course there will be a good deal of danger, but I have very little doubt that as soon as these troops go up, the Chinese will attack us here. Large numbers of them are in the neighbourhood, and if they find they cannot resist the advance of the force, they will close in behind it and march upon this town. Certainly we could not hope to hold the native quarter, but I feel sure that we could defend the settlement. Still, we might lose many men. There will, of course, be no fear of our having to stand a long siege, for the fleet are sure to batter down the Taku Forts, and the gun–boats will shortly be sent up the river. Besides, the troops from India and Port Arthur, and the Japanese, will soon arrive, and will no doubt come up to our succour. I can quite understand your desire to take part in the siege, to say nothing of your idea of getting the girls away. Going up with two thousand men also is a very different affair from starting off on your own account.”The next morning at breakfast Mr. Bateman said: “I have talked the matter over with your mother, and though she is very reluctant to part with you, she has given her consent, as I have pointed out to her that naturally at your age you want to take part in a defence which is likely to be historical, and that you would certainly be a comfort to your cousins and might be of vital service. You have already shown great presence of mind and resource, and I have no doubt would do so again in case of necessity.”“But you must promise me,” Mrs. Bateman said, “that you will take care of yourself, and not expose yourself needlessly.You must remember, my boy, that, fond as we are of your cousins, you are all in all to us. You are our only child, and for our sakes you must promise not to thrust yourself needlessly into danger.”“I will not run risks more than I can help, Mother. Of course, if I do get into Pekin, I must take part in the defence.”“Yes, Rex, of course, I understand that; I only beg of you not to expose yourself recklessly.”“I promise not to do so, Mother. Of course I shall take Ah Lo with me. I am awfully obliged to you for giving your consent; it would be a splendid thing to go through the siege. It is not like an ordinary siege in an ordinary war. They have attacked us and perpetrated the most horrible massacres all over the country; they have lied through thick and thin; they are treacherous and cruel brutes, who will certainly show no mercy if they capture the place, so that I shall feel that I am fighting in a good cause, and that these men deserve all they will get.”Tientsin presented a busy appearance. Troops arrived fast by train from the coast, and it became known that an expedition of some two thousand men was going to advance to Pekin under the command of Admiral Seymour.“Do you think, Father, that you could get leave for me to accompany the expedition. I could make myself useful as an interpreter.”“I was introduced to Admiral Seymour this morning, Rex, and the idea did occur to me then, but I thought it well to wait until I talked the matter over with you again. It would certainly be far less risky to go with the troops than to make your way up in disguise, for by all accounts the Boxers and the roughs who have joined them are clearing out the villages and putting numbers of people to death. Soyou see your disguise could not be any great protection. However, I shall see Admiral Seymour again this afternoon, for I am supplying a good many articles they require. If you go with me I shall introduce you to him, and we shall hear what he says about it.”Admiral Seymour was at the railway–station seeing to the detrainment of a strong body of marines and blue–jackets and to the unloading of their stores. Mr. Bateman waited until he was disengaged, and as he was leaving the station went up to him.“I have sent the things you wanted to the depot, and shall be willing to send any further supplies that you may require. Everything in my store is entirely at your disposal.“Will you allow me to present my son to you? He has only lately returned from a most hazardous journey which he accomplished in disguise. He went to save two girl cousins of his who were the sole survivors of a mission station at Chafui. He succeeded in rescuing them and taking them to Pekin, where he was obliged to leave them, as they were prostrated by what they had gone through. He is very anxious to return there; and as he speaks Chinese perfectly, he thought perhaps that you would be kind enough to allow him to accompany your expedition in the character of an interpreter. He might be useful in questioning prisoners or villagers. He could carry arms also, for he and a native servant annihilated a party of twelve Boxers who attacked them while they were bringing his cousins down.”“I have already got two or three interpreters, Mr. Bateman, but I have no doubt that I could do very well with another. I will attach him to the company of marines and blue–jackets from theCenturion.”“Thank you very much indeed, Admiral!”“Ah, here is Major Johnston, who commands the marines!” said the admiral; “I will put you under his charge at once.“Major Johnston, I shall be glad if you will take charge of this young gentleman. He speaks Chinese fluently, and no doubt you will find him very useful as an interpreter. He is most anxious to get up to Pekin, because two of the young ladies there are his cousins. He will probably have a yarn to tell you of how he rescued them from the Boxers at Chafui. You will, of course, attach him to your mess.”“Very well, sir, I shall be very glad to have someone with me who speaks Chinese; we are pretty sure to get hold of some wounded Boxers, and we may get valuable information from them.”Again thanking the admiral, Rex went off with the major, whose men were quartered in the customs–house. He was soon busy translating orders to the coolies who were assisting in bringing up cases of ammunition and other stores. In a couple of hours all was quiet.“My father will be very glad, sir,” he said to the major, “if you will take up your abode at his house. I have no doubt that all the officers will be quartered among the residents. I think that we can very well house four, and, if they donʼt mind squeezing, six or seven.”“Thank you, Mr. Bateman! I donʼt know whether we have been told off to quarters, but if not, I will very gladly accept your offer.”Rex hurried home, and his father returned with him and assured the officer that it would be a great pleasure to him to have as many officers as the house would hold, and that he could very well contrive to take in ten of them.“Thank you very much, Mr. Bateman! It will take some little time to see the men properly quartered. I notice thata quantity of straw has been provided for them. What time do you dine?”“We will fix our dinner hour to suit you. We generally dine at seven.”“That will suit us very well. I command two companies, and have six officers, whom I will bring with me. You will have to take us in the rough, for we have only the uniforms that we stand in.”“You shall dine in your shirt sleeves if you like, Major.”Rex returned with his father, and there was for a short time some bustle in the house getting bedrooms ready and making arrangements for dinner. At seven oʼclock the officers arrived and were introduced by Major Johnston to Mr. and Mrs. Bateman. They were a merry party, for the officers were all in high spirits at being selected to take part in the expedition. When they heard that Rex had only returned from Pekin the week before, they asked him innumerable questions as to the country and the strength of the force that would be likely to oppose them.“I think that you will have harder work than you expect,” he said. “A considerable portion of the railway is certainly pulled up, and, judging by the number of fires I saw as I came down at night, the enemy must be in very strong force. I have no doubt that they will fight hard, for the Boxers believe that they are invulnerable, and will fight with fanatical fury.”“We shall soon teach them that they are mistaken as to their invulnerability,” one of the officers laughed, “and I donʼt think that any number of armed peasants, for that is what they are, will stop us.”“I hope not, indeed,” Rex said. “I only say that I think it will be harder work than you expect.”“Now, Mr. Bateman,” the Major said, “I hope that youwill tell us the story of the rescue of your cousins, of which the admiral told me.”“I have had to tell it so many times since I came back,” Rex said, “that I really hope you will excuse me.”“Oh, no, that is mistaken modesty on your part!”“I will tell it for him,” his father said; “it is a good story, and does the boy great credit.”“Then I will go and see if everything is ready outside,” said Rex.It was half an hour before he returned, and by that time his father had finished the story. The officers all warmly congratulated him when he re–entered the room.“I wish I had done it,” one of the young lieutenants said. “I would have given anything to have carried out such a plan.”“I suppose you have not been in England at all,” the Major said; “for if you had been you would scarcely have been able to speak Chinese so well.”“Yes, he has been four years there,” Mr. Bateman said, “but I sent over with him a Chinese boy, who has always been his companion, and Rex had two days off school each week to go about with him and so keep up his knowledge of the language. I intend to go home myself in a few yearsʼ time, and as he will then be left in charge it is of the utmost importance that he should keep up his Chinese. Latin and Greek would be of no value whatever here, so I arranged that he should only take up English subjects and English games.”“A capital plan, Mr. Bateman. His knowledge of the language has already stood him in good stead.”“What is the latest news?”“We had a telegram to say that the American Mission buildings at Tung Chau, twelve miles from Pekin, have been abandoned by the missionaries, and have been looted andburned by the Chinese soldiers sent to protect them; and further, that seventy–five native Christians, who have been trained for years by the American missionaries, were massacred there. The British Legation summer residence in the hills near Pekin has also been burned. A telegram from Shanghai says that there has been a fight between General Nel Hsi Chong, with three thousand men, and the Boxers, and it is reported that the general has been superseded for his trouble.”“When do you leave?”“The rest of the force will be up to–morrow, and we shall start on the following morning. Altogether we shall have nine hundred and fifteen British, three hundred and fifteen Germans, three hundred Russians, one hundred and fifty–eight French, one hundred and four Americans, fifty–two Japanese, forty Italians, and twenty–five Austrians.”“Rather a mixed lot,” Mr. Bateman said. “It is as well that our contingent is so strong. Had it not been so, Admiral Seymour might have found some difficulty with the commanders of so many nationalities.”“Yes, it is certainly well that we constitute nearly half the force—more than half the force, if we count in the Americans and Japs, on both of whom we can rely. However, I donʼt think that there will be any trouble with the Russians, Germans, and French, who wonʼt be able to understand each other, and as it is so short a march they will have no opportunity of coming to any mutual understanding. We might even count in the two small parties of Austrians and Italians as going with us.”

WITH SEYMOURʼS COLUMN

That evening after dinner Rex told the envoy in full the story of his adventures. The chiefs of two or three other Legations were present, and all expressed great surprise that a mere lad should have carried out so desperate an undertaking.

The next morning the doctor called to see Rex.

“You are thinking of going down at once, are you not?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, I have come in to tell you that your cousins cannot possibly go with you. Their recent experiences have been a terrible strain on them, and as a result of the reaction, both are completely prostrated. The younger one is very feverish, and is, I expect, in for a sharp illness.”

“I am very sorry to hear that, sir, though I cannot say that I am surprised. They have held on very well, but they were weak when they started, and throughout the journey they have had no chance of picking up strength. I was afraid that they would break down before they got here. At any rate I shall run down to Tientsin to see my father and mother, who are no doubt suffering great anxiety, and shall then, I hope, be able to arrange to come back for them. I suppose I can see them before I start?”

“Certainly, but the shorter your visit the better. You may be quite sure that they will have every attention here.I donʼt think there is any reason for being uneasy about them. It is the natural reaction after the strain, and I hope that in another fortnight or so they will be able to travel. I will go across with you to their room now.”

Rex at once went over.

“I have come to say good–bye, Jenny,” he said, as he entered the shaded room in which his cousins were lying. “The doctor says that you wonʼt be fit to travel for another fortnight, and you know I must run down to see my father and mother, who will by this time be in a great state of alarm about you. I shall be back for you, and I hope if I come at the end of a fortnight I shall find you both in a fit state to go. If you are not, I shall wait till you are. Good–bye, dear!”

“Good–bye, Rex! Of course you ought to go to Tientsin, and we shall look forward to your return. Thank you a thousand times for all that you have done for us, and thank Ah Lo too!”

Mabel was lying with her eyes half–closed and her cheeks flushed with fever, and Rex, seeing that it was of no use trying to rouse her to say good–bye, kissed Jenny and went quietly out of the room.

“I shall keep your clothes until I come back again, Sandwich,” Rex said when he was taking leave of his friend.

“You are perfectly welcome to them if you donʼt bring them back,” the other laughed. “I have any number of suits, and if trouble comes on we shall not be particular about washing.”

“I expect I shall be back before long, for if there is a row here I should like to be in it.”

Rex and Ah Lo went to the railway–station in time for the train which started at ten oʼclock. Several merchants and others were going down also. The journey was a tediousone, for the train travelled slowly and stopped frequently. It was just breakfast–time next morning when they arrived. Rex walked in unannounced just as his father and mother were sitting down to breakfast. They leapt to their feet with cries of surprise and delight.

“I cannot blow you up now, Rex,” his father said after the first joy of the meeting had passed, “but it was the maddest thing that I ever heard of. I am too glad, however, at your safe return to scold you. We were beginning to lose all hope of your return. We thought you might get to Chafui, and of course it was a great satisfaction that you had Ah Lo with you; but when you found that everyone had been massacred, what prevented you from returning at once?”

“The fact, Father, that I found that they were not all massacred. My uncle and aunt had both fallen, but the girls were prisoners in the governorʼs yamen. It was a close affair, for they were to have been given to the Boxers to be massacred the very next day. We got them out, however, and took them safely to Pekin, and they are at present staying at the Legation.”

“You have saved the dear girls!” his mother exclaimed; “that is indeed good news. But where are they?”

“They are at Pekin, Mother. They bore up splendidly until they got there, and then they broke down, and the doctor said that they would need careful treatment and rest before they could be moved. So I ran down here to tell you of my safety, and am going back again in a few days to bring them home. I will give you full particulars when I have got into my own clothes and had some breakfast. We brought a good stock of provisions with us, but finished the last morsel yesterday afternoon. It has been a tremendously long journey, and, as you may imagine, I am pretty peckish. Before sitting down, however, I will run upstairs and change,for I must have a wash before eating. I shall be down again in ten minutes.”

He soon returned, and his father and mother asked no questions until he had finished breakfast, except that his mother asked how he had left the girls.

“I think they will both be better for a rest, Mother,” he said. “They both look fagged, which is not to be wondered at, considering all they have come through, but they are a good deal better than when I first saw them.”

As soon as breakfast was over, and before he questioned Rex further, Mr. Bateman sent for Ah Lo.

“Ah Lo,” he said, when the Chinaman came in, “you did wrong to aid my son to carry out this enterprise. However, as it succeeded so well I cannot blame you, and indeed must thank you heartily for having carried Rex safely through the matter.”

The Chinaman smiled. “I think it is the other way. Mr. Rex carried me through the affair. He always told me what to do; I did just so and it came out all right.”

“Well, I shall not forget the great service you have rendered us.” Ah Lo bowed and went off.

“Now then, Rex, give us an account of your doings, for at present I cannot imagine how you managed to get the girls out from the governorʼs yamen.”

It took Rex more than an hour to relate his adventures, for he was very frequently interrupted by exclamations and questions from his father and mother.

“It was a wonderful rescue,” his father said, when he had brought that part of the story to a close. “It seems simple enough as you tell it, but I really can hardly imagine how the plan occurred to you. There the girls were shut up in the strong house of a governor, with sentries over them and a guard but a few yards away. It was a problem that mighthave puzzled the sharpest brain, and it was carried out without the slightest hitch. It does you extreme credit, Rex, and I feel proud of you. Well, go on with your story.”

There was a fresh outburst of surprise when Rex related the fight with the twelve Boxers.

“Well, my boy,” Mr. Bateman said when Rex brought his story to an end, “after that you can be trusted to go anywhere, and I donʼt think your mother or I will in future feel anything like the same anxiety concerning you as we have experienced this time.”

“And now, Father, how do matters stand here at present?”

“Things are quiet. A good many sailors have come up, and although a large number of the rebels are still round the town, we have no fear whatever that they will be able to take the place.”

“I think the fighting will be pretty hard work, Father, if, as I think there is little doubt, the Boxers attack in earnest. But what are the regular Chinese troops going to do?”

“I think the envoys still hope that they will stand aloof; but as far as I have learned, the general opinion is just the other way. The Empress and her ministers profess that the Boxers are a peaceable people who only desire well for the empire. They have issued a few shilly–shallying edicts, which can be read both ways, but it is generally believed that the Boxers have been put in the foreground because the Empress thinks they are more than sufficiently strong to destroy the Legations and kill every white and native Christian in the country. She doesnʼt want the responsibility. Before Europeans she can, if she chooses, disavow their actions, while at the same time professing her inability to control them, and declaring that as the will of the people is that no white men shall henceforth live or trade in Chinashe must bow to their wishes. Many think, therefore, that if the Boxers can do the work alone they will be allowed to do it; if not, the Imperial troops will join them.

“It is quite certain that an enormous number of native Christians have been massacred in various parts of China, and I have heard that some have been murdered in Pekin itself. I hope that enough troops will be collected to go up before long. Troops have come in from all directions, but I am afraid it will be at least a couple of months before anything like an army can be moved forward. From the ships now here probably only two thousand men could be spared for the purpose.”

“I doubt whether that would be enough, Father. There are hordes of Chinese between this and Pekin, and a large number of them are armed with the best rifles. They have breech–loaders of all sorts, and you know we must do them the justice to say that they fought bravely enough round here. I fancy they will fight even better to prevent us from getting to Pekin.”

“It is by no means certain, Rex, that in the first place we shall not have to fight on for our own existence. Great numbers of Boxers and other ruffians throng the town, and if they know their own business they will not be fools enough to allow an army to gather here at all. As to the Taku Forts, I believe they will be taken just as easily as they were last time. Still, the larger vessels cannot come up the river, and the smaller ones will probably have to be escorted up by troops. They will doubtless be opposed fiercely, and not improbably we shall be attacked here at the same time, in which case we may have to fight hard.”

“All right, Father! I should like it all the better. Knowing, as we do, how they have massacred hundreds of missionaries and their families and many thousands of nativeChristians, we shall feel a real satisfaction in fighting these fiends.”

“And yet, Rex, a good deal of allowance must be made for them. You must remember that China has always been an exclusive country, and that the Chinese appear to have an ingrained hatred of foreigners. To begin with, we come here because they donʼt want to buy our opium, and we fight them and compel them to open Chinese ports to trade. Well, the Chinese are not fools, and as long as it was only a question of trade they might put up with us, seeing that they obtained as much advantage from trade as we do. This, however, was not enough. We invade them with a vast crowd of missionaries, who settle themselves in all parts of the country, build themselves houses and churches, and set to work to convert the Chinese. Naturally the Chinese donʼt like it. Certainly we should not like it ourselves if hundreds of Chinamen were to settle down in all our towns, open joss–houses, hold out all sorts of advantages to proselytes, and convert the lowest and most ignorant class of the population to Confucianism or Buddhism. But this is not all. Missionaries take the converts under their protection, set up a little imperium, demand the right to judge and punish their own people, and generally to set the local authorities pretty well at defiance; and the Catholic bishops have actually insisted upon having the title, rank, and power of Chinese viceroys.

“All these things are odious to the mass of the people, and when, as at present, they find the whole of the European powers engaged in a general grab of fresh ports, they say this thing must stop. I need not say that I hold these massacres in abhorrence, but if they had simply brought down all the missionaries to the treaty ports and said to them, ʻIf you come outside these walls you will be at once put to death,ʼ I should say that they were acting just as mostEuropean powers would act in similar circumstances, and that from their own point of view they were acting wisely. It would be necessary, of course, for us to retain ambassadors at Pekin to protect our treaty rights and to settle any disputes that might arise, but beyond that I would, if I were the Emperor of China, forbid any foreigner from going beyond the treaty ports, which would be all so strongly fortified that they could defy any attack. Of course, foreigners might be allowed to enter the Chinese service if invited to do so, drill their troops, manage their dockyards, build their railways, and conduct their mines.

“To my mind, the game of grab that has been going on of late has been shocking. The Russians who stepped in to prevent the Japanese from obtaining any benefit from their defeat of China were the first to begin by their enormous appropriation of territory. We seized a port opposite to them, and the Germans, Italians, and French all seized ports and territories. Can one wonder that China was moved to the core, that this sect of Boxers, which has existed for a very long time, suddenly became a violent political association, and that the Empress has gladly availed herself of their assistance? It would be strange indeed if it were not so. You must remember that the Chinese as a race are extremely intelligent. Owing to the denseness of the population and the poverty of the people the weakly die off in childhood, and the struggle for life is so severe that the wits of the people become sharpened. They are the cleverest bargainers in the world. Every transaction is a battle in which purchaser and seller try to get the better of one another. Physically they are fine men; and their lives being for the most part hard, they have little or no fear of death.

“When you take all these things into consideration, you can see that there is a great deal to be said for the actionof the Chinese. They have perpetrated horrible cruelties upon the missionaries and native Christians, but they have lived under a cruel régime. Capital punishment under the most atrocious conditions is very frequent among them, and they have become habituated and hardened to it. You must remember that at home as late as the reign of Queen Elizabeth any persons found begging were executed, or, as a mild punishment for a first offence, had their hands or ears cut off.

“Of course, if we are attacked, I shall aid in the defence; but although I have lost my sister–in–law and her husband, I shall feel no personal animosity towards the Chinese, for I consider that we have, from their point of view, given them ample grounds for endeavouring to get rid of us.”

“Well, I donʼt think that I ever thought of it in that light, Father, but it certainly does seem rough on them that we should seize port after port on the smallest pretext, and send our people interfering with their customs and religions all over the country. Certainly at ordinary times they have always seemed to me an inoffensive set of people, placid and good–tempered, which makes it all the more extraordinary that they should go in for such hideous massacres. However, Father, whatever excuse they have, it is quite certain that we must not let them take Tientsin if we can keep them out of it.”

“We shall certainly do our best,” Mr. Bateman laughed, “and I have no doubt that we shall succeed. Still, we may have some tough work before us.

“We have received a despatch from Macdonald urgently asking that troops should be sent up at once,” Mr. Bateman said to Rex two days after his return.

“Well, Father, if things really do look bad I should like to go back again. I told the girls that I would, and I certainlyshould like to be there on my own account if there is any fighting.”

“Probably there will be fighting here also, Rex.”

“Yes, Father, but there is no doubt that you will be able to beat them off here. Marines and blue–jackets will be sent up from the ships to take the place of those who are going forward now. Besides, no doubt an attack will be made on the Taku Forts, and you know they are not formidable. I donʼt think, however, that it is anything like so certain that they will be able to hold out in Pekin. The Legations cover a big extent of ground, and what with the Boxers, the lower classes of the city, and the Chinese army, there will be a tremendous pressure upon them. Now, as Ah Lo and I managed to get the girls away from Chafui, it seems to me possible that, if the worst comes to the worst, we may manage to rescue them again. At any rate I know it would be a big comfort to them if I were there.”

“I donʼt know, Rex,” his father said gravely, “that I should be justified in letting you go. Still, you got so wonderfully out of the last business that I am disposed to let you have your own way in this. Besides, if there is fighting here, which I think probable, you will, of course, want to take part in it, and are as likely to be killed here as at Pekin, and as it will certainly be a comfort to the girls to have you there, I shall not say ʻNo.ʼ There will, however, be no occasion for you to go up with the troops. Possibly on their arrival there things will calm down, and in that case the troubles are more likely to begin here by the sea. I think there is scarcely a shadow of doubt that the Taku Forts will be bombarded, and that the ships will open a passage for the gun–boats up the river. You had better, therefore, wait for a week at any rate, by which time we shall hear whether matters have settled down in Pekin.”

“Very well, Father, but I do not think there is a chance of that. There is no doubt that the Empress and her favourites are secretly urging on the Boxers, and although these will probably begin an attack, they will be joined in the end by the Imperial troops. I have no doubt, however, that I shall be able to get there in time. You see, Father, if I take part in the defence of the Pekin Legations it will be something to talk about all my life.”

“I am afraid, Rex,” his father said with a smile, “that, although I do not say that you are not anxious to be at hand if your cousins are in danger, you would be just as eager to go if they were not at Pekin at all. I begin to think that I have made a mistake in your education, that I should have done better if I had kept you by me and sent you to the College of Student Interpreters at Pekin. It seems to me that you are more fitted for the profession of a knight–errant than a sober trader.”

“Oh, I donʼt think so, Father! When things are quiet I shall be quite content to be quiet, to work hard all day, and to take a ride or sail in the evening.”

“Well, we shall see when matters do settle down, Rex, as I have no doubt they will after a time. I shall be quite content if we resume trade at the treaty ports as before, and I hope that the result of this war will not be the further breaking up of China.”

The next morning the glad news was heard that strong detachments from all the ships of war were coming up and were going to march on Pekin. Admiral Seymour was to be in command, and the force would amount to about two thousand.

“This is splendid, isnʼt it, Father?” said Rex.

“It is capital news, my boy; but two thousand men are but a small body to go through a bitterly hostile countrydefended by an army which, including the Boxers, cannot be put at much less than forty thousand men. There is no doubt that the railway will have been greatly damaged by the Boxers, and if our men trust to that, they will have no means of transport when they come to the point where the line is destroyed, which will probably be about half–way between this and Pekin. At the same time it is undoubtedly right that the effort should be made. Our countrymen cannot be allowed to perish if it be possible to save them. We know that so far they are unhurt, for the telegraph wire is still open to Shanghai, and we get messages from there, contradictory ones, it is true, but still, in spite of the varying nature of the reports, there is little doubt that up to the present time the Legations are safe.

“It is probable, indeed, that those four hundred men who went up to Pekin six weeks ago as guards to the Legation have so far saved the situation. The Chinese, as you know, did all in their power to prevent them from coming. Fortunately the ambassadors had by that time so fully recognized the danger of the situation that they brought them up in spite of the Chinese Ministers. It is but a small force to resist a well–armed army and a vast crowd of Boxers and the rabble of the town, but there must be a good number of white men there, missionaries of the city, and many who have made their way in from country stations. The European shopkeepers, too, and such merchants as have not left, will between them considerably raise the fighting force. Besides, you told me that at any rate some slight defences had been thrown up when you came away; no doubt these have since been increased. It is fortunate that all the Legations are fairly close to each other, and can probably be connected with each other without much difficulty.

“The German, French, Japanese, and Pekin Hotels makepractically one block, the Spanish is but a short distance away, the British Legation is separated from the Palace of Prince Su only by the street, the Russian Legation lies close to the British, and the United States Legation and Russian Bank face it. I should fancy that the line of defence will include all these. The Dutch Legation is isolated on one side, and the Italian on the other. The Austrian and the Belgian Legations also lie apart, and close to the former are the post–office and customs. These, however, are all that are outside the probable line. I should hope that the Tartar wall, which overlooks the whole and is close to the United States and German Legations, will also be held. It is a big area for seven or eight hundred men to defend; but it was not a much larger force that held Lucknow, and what can be done in one place can be done in another.”

“I do hope, Father, that you will allow me to go up with the troops. If, as you think, they are not able to reach Pekin, I could push on in disguise and get into the town as easily as I left it. I donʼt think there will be the least difficulty about that. I am very anxious about the girls, and might, if the worst came to the worst, escape with them in disguise, as I did before. Even if Admiral Seymourʼs force should fight its way into the town, I should think that they will be in a similar position to that in which General Havelock found himself when he fought his way into Cawnpore. He would certainly be able to defend the Legations against the whole Chinese force, but he might not be able to cut his way out, encumbered as he must be, with a mass of native Christians who certainly could not be left there to be murdered. Even putting the girls aside, I should like, above all things, to take part in the defence.”

“I donʼt know that you would be able to go with the troops even if I gave you leave, Rex.”

“Well, you see, I should become an interpreter. They will be sure to want some men with them who know the language, to question prisoners, and buy stores, and so on.”

“Well, I will think it over. I must speak to your mother before I settle on such a question as that. Of course there will be a good deal of danger, but I have very little doubt that as soon as these troops go up, the Chinese will attack us here. Large numbers of them are in the neighbourhood, and if they find they cannot resist the advance of the force, they will close in behind it and march upon this town. Certainly we could not hope to hold the native quarter, but I feel sure that we could defend the settlement. Still, we might lose many men. There will, of course, be no fear of our having to stand a long siege, for the fleet are sure to batter down the Taku Forts, and the gun–boats will shortly be sent up the river. Besides, the troops from India and Port Arthur, and the Japanese, will soon arrive, and will no doubt come up to our succour. I can quite understand your desire to take part in the siege, to say nothing of your idea of getting the girls away. Going up with two thousand men also is a very different affair from starting off on your own account.”

The next morning at breakfast Mr. Bateman said: “I have talked the matter over with your mother, and though she is very reluctant to part with you, she has given her consent, as I have pointed out to her that naturally at your age you want to take part in a defence which is likely to be historical, and that you would certainly be a comfort to your cousins and might be of vital service. You have already shown great presence of mind and resource, and I have no doubt would do so again in case of necessity.”

“But you must promise me,” Mrs. Bateman said, “that you will take care of yourself, and not expose yourself needlessly.You must remember, my boy, that, fond as we are of your cousins, you are all in all to us. You are our only child, and for our sakes you must promise not to thrust yourself needlessly into danger.”

“I will not run risks more than I can help, Mother. Of course, if I do get into Pekin, I must take part in the defence.”

“Yes, Rex, of course, I understand that; I only beg of you not to expose yourself recklessly.”

“I promise not to do so, Mother. Of course I shall take Ah Lo with me. I am awfully obliged to you for giving your consent; it would be a splendid thing to go through the siege. It is not like an ordinary siege in an ordinary war. They have attacked us and perpetrated the most horrible massacres all over the country; they have lied through thick and thin; they are treacherous and cruel brutes, who will certainly show no mercy if they capture the place, so that I shall feel that I am fighting in a good cause, and that these men deserve all they will get.”

Tientsin presented a busy appearance. Troops arrived fast by train from the coast, and it became known that an expedition of some two thousand men was going to advance to Pekin under the command of Admiral Seymour.

“Do you think, Father, that you could get leave for me to accompany the expedition. I could make myself useful as an interpreter.”

“I was introduced to Admiral Seymour this morning, Rex, and the idea did occur to me then, but I thought it well to wait until I talked the matter over with you again. It would certainly be far less risky to go with the troops than to make your way up in disguise, for by all accounts the Boxers and the roughs who have joined them are clearing out the villages and putting numbers of people to death. Soyou see your disguise could not be any great protection. However, I shall see Admiral Seymour again this afternoon, for I am supplying a good many articles they require. If you go with me I shall introduce you to him, and we shall hear what he says about it.”

Admiral Seymour was at the railway–station seeing to the detrainment of a strong body of marines and blue–jackets and to the unloading of their stores. Mr. Bateman waited until he was disengaged, and as he was leaving the station went up to him.

“I have sent the things you wanted to the depot, and shall be willing to send any further supplies that you may require. Everything in my store is entirely at your disposal.

“Will you allow me to present my son to you? He has only lately returned from a most hazardous journey which he accomplished in disguise. He went to save two girl cousins of his who were the sole survivors of a mission station at Chafui. He succeeded in rescuing them and taking them to Pekin, where he was obliged to leave them, as they were prostrated by what they had gone through. He is very anxious to return there; and as he speaks Chinese perfectly, he thought perhaps that you would be kind enough to allow him to accompany your expedition in the character of an interpreter. He might be useful in questioning prisoners or villagers. He could carry arms also, for he and a native servant annihilated a party of twelve Boxers who attacked them while they were bringing his cousins down.”

“I have already got two or three interpreters, Mr. Bateman, but I have no doubt that I could do very well with another. I will attach him to the company of marines and blue–jackets from theCenturion.”

“Thank you very much indeed, Admiral!”

“Ah, here is Major Johnston, who commands the marines!” said the admiral; “I will put you under his charge at once.

“Major Johnston, I shall be glad if you will take charge of this young gentleman. He speaks Chinese fluently, and no doubt you will find him very useful as an interpreter. He is most anxious to get up to Pekin, because two of the young ladies there are his cousins. He will probably have a yarn to tell you of how he rescued them from the Boxers at Chafui. You will, of course, attach him to your mess.”

“Very well, sir, I shall be very glad to have someone with me who speaks Chinese; we are pretty sure to get hold of some wounded Boxers, and we may get valuable information from them.”

Again thanking the admiral, Rex went off with the major, whose men were quartered in the customs–house. He was soon busy translating orders to the coolies who were assisting in bringing up cases of ammunition and other stores. In a couple of hours all was quiet.

“My father will be very glad, sir,” he said to the major, “if you will take up your abode at his house. I have no doubt that all the officers will be quartered among the residents. I think that we can very well house four, and, if they donʼt mind squeezing, six or seven.”

“Thank you, Mr. Bateman! I donʼt know whether we have been told off to quarters, but if not, I will very gladly accept your offer.”

Rex hurried home, and his father returned with him and assured the officer that it would be a great pleasure to him to have as many officers as the house would hold, and that he could very well contrive to take in ten of them.

“Thank you very much, Mr. Bateman! It will take some little time to see the men properly quartered. I notice thata quantity of straw has been provided for them. What time do you dine?”

“We will fix our dinner hour to suit you. We generally dine at seven.”

“That will suit us very well. I command two companies, and have six officers, whom I will bring with me. You will have to take us in the rough, for we have only the uniforms that we stand in.”

“You shall dine in your shirt sleeves if you like, Major.”

Rex returned with his father, and there was for a short time some bustle in the house getting bedrooms ready and making arrangements for dinner. At seven oʼclock the officers arrived and were introduced by Major Johnston to Mr. and Mrs. Bateman. They were a merry party, for the officers were all in high spirits at being selected to take part in the expedition. When they heard that Rex had only returned from Pekin the week before, they asked him innumerable questions as to the country and the strength of the force that would be likely to oppose them.

“I think that you will have harder work than you expect,” he said. “A considerable portion of the railway is certainly pulled up, and, judging by the number of fires I saw as I came down at night, the enemy must be in very strong force. I have no doubt that they will fight hard, for the Boxers believe that they are invulnerable, and will fight with fanatical fury.”

“We shall soon teach them that they are mistaken as to their invulnerability,” one of the officers laughed, “and I donʼt think that any number of armed peasants, for that is what they are, will stop us.”

“I hope not, indeed,” Rex said. “I only say that I think it will be harder work than you expect.”

“Now, Mr. Bateman,” the Major said, “I hope that youwill tell us the story of the rescue of your cousins, of which the admiral told me.”

“I have had to tell it so many times since I came back,” Rex said, “that I really hope you will excuse me.”

“Oh, no, that is mistaken modesty on your part!”

“I will tell it for him,” his father said; “it is a good story, and does the boy great credit.”

“Then I will go and see if everything is ready outside,” said Rex.

It was half an hour before he returned, and by that time his father had finished the story. The officers all warmly congratulated him when he re–entered the room.

“I wish I had done it,” one of the young lieutenants said. “I would have given anything to have carried out such a plan.”

“I suppose you have not been in England at all,” the Major said; “for if you had been you would scarcely have been able to speak Chinese so well.”

“Yes, he has been four years there,” Mr. Bateman said, “but I sent over with him a Chinese boy, who has always been his companion, and Rex had two days off school each week to go about with him and so keep up his knowledge of the language. I intend to go home myself in a few yearsʼ time, and as he will then be left in charge it is of the utmost importance that he should keep up his Chinese. Latin and Greek would be of no value whatever here, so I arranged that he should only take up English subjects and English games.”

“A capital plan, Mr. Bateman. His knowledge of the language has already stood him in good stead.”

“What is the latest news?”

“We had a telegram to say that the American Mission buildings at Tung Chau, twelve miles from Pekin, have been abandoned by the missionaries, and have been looted andburned by the Chinese soldiers sent to protect them; and further, that seventy–five native Christians, who have been trained for years by the American missionaries, were massacred there. The British Legation summer residence in the hills near Pekin has also been burned. A telegram from Shanghai says that there has been a fight between General Nel Hsi Chong, with three thousand men, and the Boxers, and it is reported that the general has been superseded for his trouble.”

“When do you leave?”

“The rest of the force will be up to–morrow, and we shall start on the following morning. Altogether we shall have nine hundred and fifteen British, three hundred and fifteen Germans, three hundred Russians, one hundred and fifty–eight French, one hundred and four Americans, fifty–two Japanese, forty Italians, and twenty–five Austrians.”

“Rather a mixed lot,” Mr. Bateman said. “It is as well that our contingent is so strong. Had it not been so, Admiral Seymour might have found some difficulty with the commanders of so many nationalities.”

“Yes, it is certainly well that we constitute nearly half the force—more than half the force, if we count in the Americans and Japs, on both of whom we can rely. However, I donʼt think that there will be any trouble with the Russians, Germans, and French, who wonʼt be able to understand each other, and as it is so short a march they will have no opportunity of coming to any mutual understanding. We might even count in the two small parties of Austrians and Italians as going with us.”

CHAPTER VIIN PEKINAll were hard at work on the following day making preparations for the advance. Rex acted as interpreter to the major, and got on quite familiar terms with his officers. The start was made early the next morning in four troop trains. The men cheered lustily as they started, and the residents of the town all gathered to give them a hearty send–off. Rex managed to get a place in the train for Ah Lo, and took with him in a small bundle the disguise he had worn at Chafui. He was perhaps the only person in the train who did not feel absolutely confident of a triumphant march to Pekin, but he had made up his mind that should they have to fall back he would himself pursue his journey with Ah Lo.For a time the train passed through cultivated ground, but the work of the enemy was very soon visible. Portions of the line were torn up in many places, and attempts had evidently been made to destroy the bridges. Several times the train had to stop in order to make repairs, but owing to the large number of hands available the work was performed so rapidly that there was only a short delay at these points. At Lo–Fa for the first time the Boxers were seen actively engaged. The plate–layersʼ cabins were in flames, and the telegraph poles had been cut down, and men were engaged in destroying them. The villages bordering the line were also in flames, and the inscription, “Kill all foreigners,” was posted up everywhere. The Chinese troops alighted and fired several volleysat parties of Boxers, but apparently without doing any execution, their ineffectual efforts exciting much merriment among the allied troops.A mile farther smoke was seen rising from several villages, and General Nieh refused absolutely to continue the journey, declaring that the whole country was evidently swarming with Boxers, and that it was highly dangerous to advance. He insisted on returning to Lo–Fa. Admiral Seymour strongly urged him to remain there with his men, but without success; he and his soldiers were firmly convinced that it was useless to try to fight the Boxers, who, they believed, were invulnerable to shot. After the Chinese had left, the troops were detrained. The work of repairing the line had for the last few miles been very heavy, and as it was already late they halted there for the night.So far their work had been altogether unimpeded by the enemy, who had apparently fallen back as soon as the laden trains were seen approaching in the distance. The troops had grumbled a good deal at the cowardice of the enemy, but consoled themselves with the idea that they had not yet gone half–way, and that no doubt the Boxers would make a stand later on.There were plenty of materials for making camp fires, and these were soon blazing, and as night closed in, songs in various languages rose from the bivouacs of the different nationalities. The officers gathered round their own fires and chatted on the prospect before them.“Your anticipations have not been fulfilled thus far, Bateman,” one of the lieutenants said to Rex.“No, but it is not yet time for them to be fulfilled. It was only during the first half of my journey down that I saw the Boxersʼ fires all over the country. They will become thicker and thicker as we near Pekin, and in the end I expect thatthe whole Chinese army will come out to meet us, swollen by the rabble of the town.”The expedition moved forward again in the morning. It was soon evident that in the country through which they were now advancing the Boxers had carried out their operations more thoroughly than in that through which they had already passed. In many places the railroad had been taken up for some hundreds of yards, and the sleepers carried off and burned, while the whole of the telegraph poles had been cut down and the wires carried away. The troops were very soon all detrained again and employed in the work of restoring the line, an operation which was only carried on with great difficulty.In the meantime Lieutenant Smith of theAurorawent forward with a party of three officers and forty–four men to try to reach Neting, thirteen miles ahead, to prevent more damage being done to the line and to hold the railway–station there. He was attacked soon after he started. At three villages in succession he drove the enemy out with ease; but at half–past ten a determined attack was made on him by about four hundred and fifty Boxers, who charged in line with great courage. His little force, however, repulsed them with heavy loss; but as ammunition was then beginning to run short, and the enemy was still increasing in strength, Lieutenant Smith retired. As great bands of Boxers could be seen in the distance, Major Johnston was sent forward with sixty men to examine the line ahead.“You may as well come on with me, Bateman; we shall very likely fall in with some villagers and perhaps capture a Boxer, and so get information as to the position of the enemy in front of us and the state of the line.”“I shall be very glad to come, sir.”Ah Lo, without receiving any specific orders, fell in as amatter of course in the rear of the marines. They went steadily on, keeping two miles ahead of the leading train, and when eight miles above Lo–Fa they saw a body of Boxers, which they reckoned about three thousand strong, streaming out from a village on the left. This force did not make directly for the little party, but bore towards their rear with the evident intention of cutting them off. They had with them a good many mounted men who, dashing forward, crossed the railway behind them, while the men on foot made for a partially–burned bridge and a village commanding the line.“Fall back at the double!” Major Johnston called. “Not too fast; it is certain that we shall have to fight them, and it wonʼt do to put ourselves out of breath. Keep up a quick fire as you go; halt when you fire, and take steady aim. They wonʼt like the long range of our bullets. I donʼt suppose we shall do them much harm, but our fellows will hear the firing at the wagons and we shall soon have a party up to our assistance.”Rex and Ah Lo unslung their rifles and joined the marines in their steady fire. The return of the enemy was not effective; only a few were armed with guns, and these were not of long range. For a mile a running fight was kept up, twenty or thirty of the enemy being killed. They nevertheless persisted in their endeavour to cut off the party. When, however, he saw a body of marines and blue–jackets coming up at the double, the major at once halted his men.“Now, my lads, you can give them independent fire as quick as you like; there is no fear of their closing with us now.”The Boxers who had crossed the line began to move back and join their companions, and the approaching blue–jackets at once opened fire upon them with rifles and Maxims. Thereinforcements soon joined Major Johnstonʼs party, and under his lead attacked the village and drove the Boxers from it. Following hotly upon their heels, they forced them also to retire from another village with the loss of some forty killed and wounded.Rexʼs services were at once called into requisition. He slung his rifle behind him, and set to work to interrogate seven wounded Boxers who had fallen into our hands. From them he learned that farther back the line had been almost entirely pulled up, that the forces there were very numerous, and their strength had just been increased by the addition of ten thousand regular troops, who had been nominally disbanded in order that they could join the Boxers, while the Government might be able still to affirm that the Boxers were acting in defiance of their orders and that no Imperial troops had joined them. They said, too, that a considerable proportion of the troops in Pekin had been brought to the southern gate to oppose the relieving army if they broke through the forces opposed to them. Rex learned that two days previously there had been fighting in Pekin and that it was expected that the Legations would all be taken in the course of a few days.The army advanced no farther that night, but the next day pushed on to Lang Fang, which was half–way to Pekin. They found all the station buildings destroyed and three hundred yards of the track torn up. Boxers were seen busy in the work of destruction, but when a shell was dropped among them they fled. A patrol that went out reported that a mile and a quarter of the track had been destroyed.ill118REX INTERROGATES A WOUNDED BOXER.The news that he had learned from the wounded Boxers on the previous day had excited in Rex a burning desire to push forward. The position in Pekin seemed to be precarious, and he became so impatient to get to the principal scene of action that he determined to leave the army and make his way up in disguise. It was evident that if the line was, as it seemed, almost totally destroyed beyond this point, the progress of the relief column must be extremely slow. As the troops must hold to the railway, for they had no other means of carriage, it seemed to Rex highly improbable that they would be able to fight their way into Pekin. Having made up his mind, he went to Major Johnston.“I am most anxious to go forward,” he said. “We know that the Legations are attacked, not seriously perhaps at present, but they may be so any day. It appears to me very doubtful whether this expedition will be able to fight their way into the town, and if they do so it must be a considerable time before they get there. I do not know that if the place were taken I should be able to get my cousins off, but at least I could try. At any rate, I have brought my native disguise with me, and have no doubt that I can make my way into Pekin. How I shall get into the Legation I donʼt know, but I think that by mixing with the Boxers I shall be able to make my way in at night. Is there any occasion, sir, for me to inform Admiral Seymour of my intentions?”“None at all, Bateman. I shall probably have an opportunity of speaking to him in the morning, and shall mention to him that you have started to make your way in alone. It is a risky business, I know, and I wish you well through it. I begin to think that you were quite right when you said that the opposition would be greater than we expected. We only reckoned upon the Boxers, and did not think that they would tear up the railway. It is now evident that our difficulties will increase with every foot that we advance. I trust, however, that if we do have to fall back, the Legations will be able to hold out. Our people may be driven from some of the outlying places, but I should think that if thewhole of the defenders are concentrated at our Legation they ought to be able to defend it as long as food and water hold out. You did not hear, I suppose, when you were there, how they were provided in that respect.”“No, I did not hear anything about it. You see, when I was there the ambassadors still clung to the belief that the Empress was favourably disposed towards foreigners. As far as I could hear, no one else thought so; but I am afraid that they did not believe it necessary at that time to lay in provisions for a siege, and if the native Christians take refuge with them they will want a very large supply.“Very well, sir; then as soon as it is dark I shall make off. I shall make straight for the river and follow its course. It is certain that the greater portion of the enemy will be gathered close to the line of railway, and I donʼt anticipate any difficulty in making my way up. Pekin is only some forty or forty–five miles from here, and I shall enter it to–morrow. I shall, of course, make a circuit of the city and go in at the northern gate, and in that way I shall probably have no difficulty whatever until I get near the Legation.”That afternoon Rex said “Good–bye” to the other officers of his acquaintance, and as soon as it was dusk, coloured his skin, touched up his eyebrows and eyelashes, painted a line from the corners of his eyes so as to give them an upward inclination, fastened on his pigtail again, and set out with Ah Lo. As he had anticipated, they experienced no difficulty in making their way up. Occasionally they saw parties of Boxers on the banks of the river, and had to make detours to avoid them, but by morning they saw the towers of Pekin ahead. Turning aside into a field of standing grain they lay down and slept for some hours, and when they awoke they made a detour round the city and entered by the northerngate. As no troops were stationed here, they went on unquestioned into the city.As they advanced they came upon many ruined houses, and at one point a large tract had been cleared by fire. Many dead lay in the streets, for the most part horribly slashed and mutilated. Bands of roughs were still searching ruined houses for loot. In some parts business was still going on; the better class of shops were all closed, but those that supplied the poor were open, and the inhabitants were going about their usual avocations as if nothing had happened.As they neared the Legations they could hear occasional firing. In this part the shops were all closed, and there was no traffic whatever in the streets. At some points large numbers of Boxers were gathered. Avoiding these, they turned into a narrow lane which led towards the British Legation. They went nearly to the end of this, and here Rex entered a doorway, took off his Chinese clothes, under which he had his own, wrapped up his pigtail, and put over it a Scotch cap he had carried with him. Then he and Ah Lo started out at a run for the Legation. Here and there men were grouped on the walls, and these, on seeing a European coming along, shouted words of welcome to him. Half a dozen shots were fired from neighbouring houses, but they arrived at the entrance untouched. A dozen soldiers were stationed here.“You have managed that well, sir,” the sergeant in command said as they entered. “Have you come far?”“I have come on from the relieving force. They are at Lang Fang.”“Will they be here soon, sir?”“I very much doubt whether they will get through at all. The line is all torn up, and they will be opposed by animmense force. I fear that you will have to wait till a much bigger force is gathered.”“That is bad news, sir, but I expect we shall hold out all right. They donʼt seem very anxious to come to close quarters.”Rex went straight to the ambassadorʼs quarters and sent in his name, and he was at once admitted.“So you are back again, Mr. Bateman?”“Yes, sir; I came up with the relieving force two thousand strong under Admiral Seymour. They had reached Lang Fang, but I have great doubts whether they will get much farther, as the railway has been completely destroyed, and they are without means of carriage. There is no doubt that they will be met by an ever–increasing resistance as they move forward, and twenty thousand regular troops have moved round to the south gate to oppose them if they get as far as that. The communications are already cut behind them, and so large a force is concentrated near Tientsin that that town will probably be attacked.“The Taku Forts will be attacked very shortly. Troops are on their way from India, Port Arthur, and Japan, and I have no doubt that before long an army will be gathered sufficiently strong to fight its way up. But I fear that it must be some weeks before they are in a position to do so.”“Do you bring any despatches for me?”“No, sir; I was afraid that if I mentioned to the admiral that I was coming on, he would object, so I came off of my own account. I had learned that the Legations were being attacked, and I was most anxious to be here to cheer my cousins up, and to endeavour to do what I could for them if things went badly.”“Very well, Mr. Bateman, I am glad of the news that you have brought me, though it is not satisfactory, but I ownthat I have had my own doubts whether the force that is coming up was strong enough to make its way here. It is better, however, to know the worst. We shall be glad of the assistance of your rifle and that of your man, for we are very short–handed, and even the aid of two rifles is not to be despised. You had better take up your quarters, as before, at the college.”Rex withdrew, and at once went to the doctorʼs house.“I am glad to be able to tell you,” said the doctor, “that the young ladies have now pretty well recovered, and if the railway were working I should say that they could very safely be taken down to Tientsin. As it is, however, they will have to wait until reinforcements come up.”“Then I can see them, sir?”“Certainly; the elder girl is quite recovered, and the younger one is convalescent, but is still weak. It will do her good rather than harm to see you, for they have necessarily been somewhat lonely, as everyone here is busy. The ladies have all been occupied in making sacks to hold earth for the fortifications, and the girls have therefore been left more to themselves than they otherwise would have been.”Rex at once went across to the house. The girls leapt up with a cry of delight as he entered.“Oh, Rex,” cried Jenny, “we are glad to see you! When did you return?”“About half an hour ago. I had to come up in the disguise I wore before. You know, I suppose, that we are quite cut off from Tientsin now?”“So we have heard, and they say that there is going to be fighting here?”“Yes, but there is no doubt that we shall beat them off. You need not be uneasy.”“Oh, we are sure of that! I feel quite different from whatwe did before. For the past three or four days I have been helping to make sacks, and even Mabel has done a little. And how are Uncle and Aunt?”“They are all right. I believe my father will have his share of fighting, for a great force of Chinese has gathered outside the town, and they expect to be attacked. It is hoped, however, that the ships will destroy the Taku Forts, in which case the light craft will make their way up to Tientsin. Then, of course, every man that can be spared from the ships will join the relief column.”“But I thought that they were on their way up now, and that we were expecting them here to–day?”“I am sorry to say, dear, that I think there is very little chance of their coming at all at present. I came up with Ah Lo.”The girls looked at each other in dismay.“Then how long do you think it will be before they really come up?”“I am afraid it will be many weeks. Large reinforcements of British troops are coming from India, Russians have been despatched from Port Arthur, and any number of Japanese, and French, and Germans are being sent forward; but it must be some time before they are all here, and we must make up our minds that we are going to hold our own.”Then he changed the subject.“And so you are getting stronger, Mabel? You are looking ever so much better.”“Oh yes! I am feeling ever so much better, and the doctor says I shall soon be strong and well again.“We are getting quite full here now, for numbers of the native Christians are coming in for shelter. Everyone is told off to do something. Jenny is to help serve out food tothe women and children, and I expect that I shall soon be able to assist also.”“Yes, I expect we shall all be made useful,” said Rex.“Ah Lo has come up too, I suppose?”“Yes, he came with me as a matter of course, and we shall both aid in the defence.”“I wish I were a boy,” Jenny said. “I should like to help kill some of the Boxers. I dare say a good many of those who were at Chafui have come here and will be among those who are going to attack us.”“You will be just as useful in your own way, Jenny, as if you were a boy and could carry a gun.”“You must give us each a pistol, Rex, so that if they should take the place we can shoot ourselves. We have both made up our minds that we will do that rather than fall into their hands again. You donʼt think it would be wicked to kill ourselves, do you?”“Certainly not, Jenny; but in the first place I donʼt think that there is much chance of their capturing the Legations, and in the next place I hope that if they did so, Ah Lo and I should be able to get you out again in disguise. But at any rate I donʼt think you need have any fear. There are four hundred soldiers here, and the employees of all the Legations would certainly make a hundred more. Besides these there are the merchants and other people, and I expect they will form a corps out of the Christians who have come in. Most of these Legations are strong buildings, and it will be hard if we cannot beat off any attack. It is lucky that all the Legations lie within a short distance of each other, and can all be defended together. When I leave you I will go round and see what has been done to fortify them.”He stayed chatting with them for another half–hour, and then went down to the college.“I have turned up again like a bad penny, Sandwich,” he said, as he met his friend, “and am quartered here.”“We shall all be heartily glad to have you with us, and I regard you and your man as a valuable reinforcement. Have you heard that this morning the Boxers have begun to massacre the native Christians? I believe that great numbers have been killed.”“They ought all to have come in here,” Rex said.“No doubt we should have done the best we could for them,” Sandwich said, “but we should have had a lot of difficulty in feeding ten thousand of them. Though I am awfully sorry for the poor beggars, their presence here would scarcely be an advantage, for they would hamper us terribly in our defence. You will have to put up with bad cooking unless some of these Christians that are coming in turn out to be decent cooks, for the servants and coolies are all leaving. You should see Sergeant Herring talking to them as they go out!”Rex laughed. He had already made the acquaintance of the sergeant, who had been twenty years at the Legation, and who was in general control of its arrangements. He was a big man, with a powerful voice and an authoritative manner, and ruled the coolies with a rod of iron. He was a well–known figure in the city, and was regarded by the populace as being only less important than the ambassador himself.“I can quite fancy him,” Rex said, “and how the coolies would sneak off under the thunder of his voice. Well, I should say that we are just as well rid of the coolies. I donʼt suppose they could have been relied upon. They are not like the native Christians, who, knowing that their lives are forfeited if the Boxers get in, will certainly be faithful even if they are not very useful. By the way, I have notbrought your clothes back. I came up in a suit of my own under my disguise, but I was afraid of carrying a bundle. They will come up, then, washed and ironed, when all this is over.”Sandwich laughed. “All right, Bateman! I shaʼnʼt be able to get much washing done now, and shall hail the arrival of a clean suit when—that is a very vague word—whenthey come up.”There was a good deal of excuse to be made for the coolies and servants. They were almost all drawn from the population of Pekin, and their families, according to the Chinese law, would assuredly suffer were they to remain at the Legation. This would account for the difference between their conduct and that of the native servants in the Indian Mutiny, for these, in the great majority of cases, remained true to their masters.

IN PEKIN

All were hard at work on the following day making preparations for the advance. Rex acted as interpreter to the major, and got on quite familiar terms with his officers. The start was made early the next morning in four troop trains. The men cheered lustily as they started, and the residents of the town all gathered to give them a hearty send–off. Rex managed to get a place in the train for Ah Lo, and took with him in a small bundle the disguise he had worn at Chafui. He was perhaps the only person in the train who did not feel absolutely confident of a triumphant march to Pekin, but he had made up his mind that should they have to fall back he would himself pursue his journey with Ah Lo.

For a time the train passed through cultivated ground, but the work of the enemy was very soon visible. Portions of the line were torn up in many places, and attempts had evidently been made to destroy the bridges. Several times the train had to stop in order to make repairs, but owing to the large number of hands available the work was performed so rapidly that there was only a short delay at these points. At Lo–Fa for the first time the Boxers were seen actively engaged. The plate–layersʼ cabins were in flames, and the telegraph poles had been cut down, and men were engaged in destroying them. The villages bordering the line were also in flames, and the inscription, “Kill all foreigners,” was posted up everywhere. The Chinese troops alighted and fired several volleysat parties of Boxers, but apparently without doing any execution, their ineffectual efforts exciting much merriment among the allied troops.

A mile farther smoke was seen rising from several villages, and General Nieh refused absolutely to continue the journey, declaring that the whole country was evidently swarming with Boxers, and that it was highly dangerous to advance. He insisted on returning to Lo–Fa. Admiral Seymour strongly urged him to remain there with his men, but without success; he and his soldiers were firmly convinced that it was useless to try to fight the Boxers, who, they believed, were invulnerable to shot. After the Chinese had left, the troops were detrained. The work of repairing the line had for the last few miles been very heavy, and as it was already late they halted there for the night.

So far their work had been altogether unimpeded by the enemy, who had apparently fallen back as soon as the laden trains were seen approaching in the distance. The troops had grumbled a good deal at the cowardice of the enemy, but consoled themselves with the idea that they had not yet gone half–way, and that no doubt the Boxers would make a stand later on.

There were plenty of materials for making camp fires, and these were soon blazing, and as night closed in, songs in various languages rose from the bivouacs of the different nationalities. The officers gathered round their own fires and chatted on the prospect before them.

“Your anticipations have not been fulfilled thus far, Bateman,” one of the lieutenants said to Rex.

“No, but it is not yet time for them to be fulfilled. It was only during the first half of my journey down that I saw the Boxersʼ fires all over the country. They will become thicker and thicker as we near Pekin, and in the end I expect thatthe whole Chinese army will come out to meet us, swollen by the rabble of the town.”

The expedition moved forward again in the morning. It was soon evident that in the country through which they were now advancing the Boxers had carried out their operations more thoroughly than in that through which they had already passed. In many places the railroad had been taken up for some hundreds of yards, and the sleepers carried off and burned, while the whole of the telegraph poles had been cut down and the wires carried away. The troops were very soon all detrained again and employed in the work of restoring the line, an operation which was only carried on with great difficulty.

In the meantime Lieutenant Smith of theAurorawent forward with a party of three officers and forty–four men to try to reach Neting, thirteen miles ahead, to prevent more damage being done to the line and to hold the railway–station there. He was attacked soon after he started. At three villages in succession he drove the enemy out with ease; but at half–past ten a determined attack was made on him by about four hundred and fifty Boxers, who charged in line with great courage. His little force, however, repulsed them with heavy loss; but as ammunition was then beginning to run short, and the enemy was still increasing in strength, Lieutenant Smith retired. As great bands of Boxers could be seen in the distance, Major Johnston was sent forward with sixty men to examine the line ahead.

“You may as well come on with me, Bateman; we shall very likely fall in with some villagers and perhaps capture a Boxer, and so get information as to the position of the enemy in front of us and the state of the line.”

“I shall be very glad to come, sir.”

Ah Lo, without receiving any specific orders, fell in as amatter of course in the rear of the marines. They went steadily on, keeping two miles ahead of the leading train, and when eight miles above Lo–Fa they saw a body of Boxers, which they reckoned about three thousand strong, streaming out from a village on the left. This force did not make directly for the little party, but bore towards their rear with the evident intention of cutting them off. They had with them a good many mounted men who, dashing forward, crossed the railway behind them, while the men on foot made for a partially–burned bridge and a village commanding the line.

“Fall back at the double!” Major Johnston called. “Not too fast; it is certain that we shall have to fight them, and it wonʼt do to put ourselves out of breath. Keep up a quick fire as you go; halt when you fire, and take steady aim. They wonʼt like the long range of our bullets. I donʼt suppose we shall do them much harm, but our fellows will hear the firing at the wagons and we shall soon have a party up to our assistance.”

Rex and Ah Lo unslung their rifles and joined the marines in their steady fire. The return of the enemy was not effective; only a few were armed with guns, and these were not of long range. For a mile a running fight was kept up, twenty or thirty of the enemy being killed. They nevertheless persisted in their endeavour to cut off the party. When, however, he saw a body of marines and blue–jackets coming up at the double, the major at once halted his men.

“Now, my lads, you can give them independent fire as quick as you like; there is no fear of their closing with us now.”

The Boxers who had crossed the line began to move back and join their companions, and the approaching blue–jackets at once opened fire upon them with rifles and Maxims. Thereinforcements soon joined Major Johnstonʼs party, and under his lead attacked the village and drove the Boxers from it. Following hotly upon their heels, they forced them also to retire from another village with the loss of some forty killed and wounded.

Rexʼs services were at once called into requisition. He slung his rifle behind him, and set to work to interrogate seven wounded Boxers who had fallen into our hands. From them he learned that farther back the line had been almost entirely pulled up, that the forces there were very numerous, and their strength had just been increased by the addition of ten thousand regular troops, who had been nominally disbanded in order that they could join the Boxers, while the Government might be able still to affirm that the Boxers were acting in defiance of their orders and that no Imperial troops had joined them. They said, too, that a considerable proportion of the troops in Pekin had been brought to the southern gate to oppose the relieving army if they broke through the forces opposed to them. Rex learned that two days previously there had been fighting in Pekin and that it was expected that the Legations would all be taken in the course of a few days.

The army advanced no farther that night, but the next day pushed on to Lang Fang, which was half–way to Pekin. They found all the station buildings destroyed and three hundred yards of the track torn up. Boxers were seen busy in the work of destruction, but when a shell was dropped among them they fled. A patrol that went out reported that a mile and a quarter of the track had been destroyed.

ill118

REX INTERROGATES A WOUNDED BOXER.

REX INTERROGATES A WOUNDED BOXER.

REX INTERROGATES A WOUNDED BOXER.

The news that he had learned from the wounded Boxers on the previous day had excited in Rex a burning desire to push forward. The position in Pekin seemed to be precarious, and he became so impatient to get to the principal scene of action that he determined to leave the army and make his way up in disguise. It was evident that if the line was, as it seemed, almost totally destroyed beyond this point, the progress of the relief column must be extremely slow. As the troops must hold to the railway, for they had no other means of carriage, it seemed to Rex highly improbable that they would be able to fight their way into Pekin. Having made up his mind, he went to Major Johnston.

“I am most anxious to go forward,” he said. “We know that the Legations are attacked, not seriously perhaps at present, but they may be so any day. It appears to me very doubtful whether this expedition will be able to fight their way into the town, and if they do so it must be a considerable time before they get there. I do not know that if the place were taken I should be able to get my cousins off, but at least I could try. At any rate, I have brought my native disguise with me, and have no doubt that I can make my way into Pekin. How I shall get into the Legation I donʼt know, but I think that by mixing with the Boxers I shall be able to make my way in at night. Is there any occasion, sir, for me to inform Admiral Seymour of my intentions?”

“None at all, Bateman. I shall probably have an opportunity of speaking to him in the morning, and shall mention to him that you have started to make your way in alone. It is a risky business, I know, and I wish you well through it. I begin to think that you were quite right when you said that the opposition would be greater than we expected. We only reckoned upon the Boxers, and did not think that they would tear up the railway. It is now evident that our difficulties will increase with every foot that we advance. I trust, however, that if we do have to fall back, the Legations will be able to hold out. Our people may be driven from some of the outlying places, but I should think that if thewhole of the defenders are concentrated at our Legation they ought to be able to defend it as long as food and water hold out. You did not hear, I suppose, when you were there, how they were provided in that respect.”

“No, I did not hear anything about it. You see, when I was there the ambassadors still clung to the belief that the Empress was favourably disposed towards foreigners. As far as I could hear, no one else thought so; but I am afraid that they did not believe it necessary at that time to lay in provisions for a siege, and if the native Christians take refuge with them they will want a very large supply.

“Very well, sir; then as soon as it is dark I shall make off. I shall make straight for the river and follow its course. It is certain that the greater portion of the enemy will be gathered close to the line of railway, and I donʼt anticipate any difficulty in making my way up. Pekin is only some forty or forty–five miles from here, and I shall enter it to–morrow. I shall, of course, make a circuit of the city and go in at the northern gate, and in that way I shall probably have no difficulty whatever until I get near the Legation.”

That afternoon Rex said “Good–bye” to the other officers of his acquaintance, and as soon as it was dusk, coloured his skin, touched up his eyebrows and eyelashes, painted a line from the corners of his eyes so as to give them an upward inclination, fastened on his pigtail again, and set out with Ah Lo. As he had anticipated, they experienced no difficulty in making their way up. Occasionally they saw parties of Boxers on the banks of the river, and had to make detours to avoid them, but by morning they saw the towers of Pekin ahead. Turning aside into a field of standing grain they lay down and slept for some hours, and when they awoke they made a detour round the city and entered by the northerngate. As no troops were stationed here, they went on unquestioned into the city.

As they advanced they came upon many ruined houses, and at one point a large tract had been cleared by fire. Many dead lay in the streets, for the most part horribly slashed and mutilated. Bands of roughs were still searching ruined houses for loot. In some parts business was still going on; the better class of shops were all closed, but those that supplied the poor were open, and the inhabitants were going about their usual avocations as if nothing had happened.

As they neared the Legations they could hear occasional firing. In this part the shops were all closed, and there was no traffic whatever in the streets. At some points large numbers of Boxers were gathered. Avoiding these, they turned into a narrow lane which led towards the British Legation. They went nearly to the end of this, and here Rex entered a doorway, took off his Chinese clothes, under which he had his own, wrapped up his pigtail, and put over it a Scotch cap he had carried with him. Then he and Ah Lo started out at a run for the Legation. Here and there men were grouped on the walls, and these, on seeing a European coming along, shouted words of welcome to him. Half a dozen shots were fired from neighbouring houses, but they arrived at the entrance untouched. A dozen soldiers were stationed here.

“You have managed that well, sir,” the sergeant in command said as they entered. “Have you come far?”

“I have come on from the relieving force. They are at Lang Fang.”

“Will they be here soon, sir?”

“I very much doubt whether they will get through at all. The line is all torn up, and they will be opposed by animmense force. I fear that you will have to wait till a much bigger force is gathered.”

“That is bad news, sir, but I expect we shall hold out all right. They donʼt seem very anxious to come to close quarters.”

Rex went straight to the ambassadorʼs quarters and sent in his name, and he was at once admitted.

“So you are back again, Mr. Bateman?”

“Yes, sir; I came up with the relieving force two thousand strong under Admiral Seymour. They had reached Lang Fang, but I have great doubts whether they will get much farther, as the railway has been completely destroyed, and they are without means of carriage. There is no doubt that they will be met by an ever–increasing resistance as they move forward, and twenty thousand regular troops have moved round to the south gate to oppose them if they get as far as that. The communications are already cut behind them, and so large a force is concentrated near Tientsin that that town will probably be attacked.

“The Taku Forts will be attacked very shortly. Troops are on their way from India, Port Arthur, and Japan, and I have no doubt that before long an army will be gathered sufficiently strong to fight its way up. But I fear that it must be some weeks before they are in a position to do so.”

“Do you bring any despatches for me?”

“No, sir; I was afraid that if I mentioned to the admiral that I was coming on, he would object, so I came off of my own account. I had learned that the Legations were being attacked, and I was most anxious to be here to cheer my cousins up, and to endeavour to do what I could for them if things went badly.”

“Very well, Mr. Bateman, I am glad of the news that you have brought me, though it is not satisfactory, but I ownthat I have had my own doubts whether the force that is coming up was strong enough to make its way here. It is better, however, to know the worst. We shall be glad of the assistance of your rifle and that of your man, for we are very short–handed, and even the aid of two rifles is not to be despised. You had better take up your quarters, as before, at the college.”

Rex withdrew, and at once went to the doctorʼs house.

“I am glad to be able to tell you,” said the doctor, “that the young ladies have now pretty well recovered, and if the railway were working I should say that they could very safely be taken down to Tientsin. As it is, however, they will have to wait until reinforcements come up.”

“Then I can see them, sir?”

“Certainly; the elder girl is quite recovered, and the younger one is convalescent, but is still weak. It will do her good rather than harm to see you, for they have necessarily been somewhat lonely, as everyone here is busy. The ladies have all been occupied in making sacks to hold earth for the fortifications, and the girls have therefore been left more to themselves than they otherwise would have been.”

Rex at once went across to the house. The girls leapt up with a cry of delight as he entered.

“Oh, Rex,” cried Jenny, “we are glad to see you! When did you return?”

“About half an hour ago. I had to come up in the disguise I wore before. You know, I suppose, that we are quite cut off from Tientsin now?”

“So we have heard, and they say that there is going to be fighting here?”

“Yes, but there is no doubt that we shall beat them off. You need not be uneasy.”

“Oh, we are sure of that! I feel quite different from whatwe did before. For the past three or four days I have been helping to make sacks, and even Mabel has done a little. And how are Uncle and Aunt?”

“They are all right. I believe my father will have his share of fighting, for a great force of Chinese has gathered outside the town, and they expect to be attacked. It is hoped, however, that the ships will destroy the Taku Forts, in which case the light craft will make their way up to Tientsin. Then, of course, every man that can be spared from the ships will join the relief column.”

“But I thought that they were on their way up now, and that we were expecting them here to–day?”

“I am sorry to say, dear, that I think there is very little chance of their coming at all at present. I came up with Ah Lo.”

The girls looked at each other in dismay.

“Then how long do you think it will be before they really come up?”

“I am afraid it will be many weeks. Large reinforcements of British troops are coming from India, Russians have been despatched from Port Arthur, and any number of Japanese, and French, and Germans are being sent forward; but it must be some time before they are all here, and we must make up our minds that we are going to hold our own.”

Then he changed the subject.

“And so you are getting stronger, Mabel? You are looking ever so much better.”

“Oh yes! I am feeling ever so much better, and the doctor says I shall soon be strong and well again.

“We are getting quite full here now, for numbers of the native Christians are coming in for shelter. Everyone is told off to do something. Jenny is to help serve out food tothe women and children, and I expect that I shall soon be able to assist also.”

“Yes, I expect we shall all be made useful,” said Rex.

“Ah Lo has come up too, I suppose?”

“Yes, he came with me as a matter of course, and we shall both aid in the defence.”

“I wish I were a boy,” Jenny said. “I should like to help kill some of the Boxers. I dare say a good many of those who were at Chafui have come here and will be among those who are going to attack us.”

“You will be just as useful in your own way, Jenny, as if you were a boy and could carry a gun.”

“You must give us each a pistol, Rex, so that if they should take the place we can shoot ourselves. We have both made up our minds that we will do that rather than fall into their hands again. You donʼt think it would be wicked to kill ourselves, do you?”

“Certainly not, Jenny; but in the first place I donʼt think that there is much chance of their capturing the Legations, and in the next place I hope that if they did so, Ah Lo and I should be able to get you out again in disguise. But at any rate I donʼt think you need have any fear. There are four hundred soldiers here, and the employees of all the Legations would certainly make a hundred more. Besides these there are the merchants and other people, and I expect they will form a corps out of the Christians who have come in. Most of these Legations are strong buildings, and it will be hard if we cannot beat off any attack. It is lucky that all the Legations lie within a short distance of each other, and can all be defended together. When I leave you I will go round and see what has been done to fortify them.”

He stayed chatting with them for another half–hour, and then went down to the college.

“I have turned up again like a bad penny, Sandwich,” he said, as he met his friend, “and am quartered here.”

“We shall all be heartily glad to have you with us, and I regard you and your man as a valuable reinforcement. Have you heard that this morning the Boxers have begun to massacre the native Christians? I believe that great numbers have been killed.”

“They ought all to have come in here,” Rex said.

“No doubt we should have done the best we could for them,” Sandwich said, “but we should have had a lot of difficulty in feeding ten thousand of them. Though I am awfully sorry for the poor beggars, their presence here would scarcely be an advantage, for they would hamper us terribly in our defence. You will have to put up with bad cooking unless some of these Christians that are coming in turn out to be decent cooks, for the servants and coolies are all leaving. You should see Sergeant Herring talking to them as they go out!”

Rex laughed. He had already made the acquaintance of the sergeant, who had been twenty years at the Legation, and who was in general control of its arrangements. He was a big man, with a powerful voice and an authoritative manner, and ruled the coolies with a rod of iron. He was a well–known figure in the city, and was regarded by the populace as being only less important than the ambassador himself.

“I can quite fancy him,” Rex said, “and how the coolies would sneak off under the thunder of his voice. Well, I should say that we are just as well rid of the coolies. I donʼt suppose they could have been relied upon. They are not like the native Christians, who, knowing that their lives are forfeited if the Boxers get in, will certainly be faithful even if they are not very useful. By the way, I have notbrought your clothes back. I came up in a suit of my own under my disguise, but I was afraid of carrying a bundle. They will come up, then, washed and ironed, when all this is over.”

Sandwich laughed. “All right, Bateman! I shaʼnʼt be able to get much washing done now, and shall hail the arrival of a clean suit when—that is a very vague word—whenthey come up.”

There was a good deal of excuse to be made for the coolies and servants. They were almost all drawn from the population of Pekin, and their families, according to the Chinese law, would assuredly suffer were they to remain at the Legation. This would account for the difference between their conduct and that of the native servants in the Indian Mutiny, for these, in the great majority of cases, remained true to their masters.

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