Read Ebook: A United States Midshipman in China by Stirling Yates Boyer Ralph L Ralph Ludwig Illustrator

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eems that an army of outlaws have taken Lien-Chow for their headquarters; it is a small town about seven miles from here on the To-Yan Lake, and they intend to move in a body upon the mission. These malcontents have been guaranteed aid from the viceroy, and if the mission is captured, they hope to gather enough re?nforcement to allow them to march against the forts, and the result would be their capture, for the soldiers there would not fire a shot against their own countrymen. The guns of the forts will then be turned upon us and our escape down the river will be cut off, for these vessels cannot face heavy ordnance."

"But why," exclaimed Phil, after the pilot had finished, "should they attack a guarded mission when there are so many others scattered over the country undefended?"

"It seems to show," returned Langdon, "that the viceroy is directing the movement. To attack and massacre the inmates of an unguarded mission could readily be attributed to an uncontrolled mob and would be a subject for conference and indemnity; but an attack on a defended mission, and by soldiers in uniform, will show the Chinese that the war is between the representatives of the foreign governments and their own, and being successful will stir the whole population of this part of China to rise and drive out all foreigners. I believe to-night will be one of blood for foreigners in China, if those away from the protection of our river gunboats have not already paid the penalty of their trusting natures."

"We must not delay an instant in taking this information to the captain," Phil declared excitedly, the contemplated movement of the expulsionists with its possible results flashing through his mind.

The foreign gunboat captains were gathered about the cabin table when Langdon and Phil were announced by the orderly, and all listened intently while the pilot gave hurriedly the story brought by the two Chinese refugees.

A buzz of eager conversation and questions ensued as Langdon finished. Each of the captains had his own plans to advance, but Commander Hughes, as the senior, was the first to be heard. He arose, his face grave, and at once the room was hushed; all recognized and respected his understanding and fertility of resource.

"We must acknowledge a failure in our diplomatic mission to the viceroy," he began, weighing each word carefully; "the cable being in the hands of the Chinese officials, we are for the present cut off from instructions from our respective governments. We have here every available vessel on the river, except those necessary for the protection of the missions farther up the country; the state of the river at present will not admit of the battle-ships coming to our aid, and the two monitors of my government are by last accounts as yet in the Philippines. We must act here and now; there is no time for calm and deliberate judgment; our decision must be made quickly, and our act must be as prompt, if we are to be in time to prevent a general massacre of foreigners."

The speaker stopped and glanced earnestly at the faces of his colleagues; each recognized full well the delicacy of the position. Would their respective governments sanction their acts, or would they find themselves disgraced and relieved of their commands, for not having followed a course of procedure decided upon by their sovereigns at a great distance from the scene of disturbance and in the light of events which had not as yet transpired?

"My government," Commander Hughes resumed, "is one of the most conservative of those represented here; it has ever been against striking the first blow. But there has now come a time when humanity calls for other and more drastic measures. You have just heard from the lips of one who knows these people far better than we that these fanatics aided by the viceroy intend attacking a mission guarded by American sailors."

Commander Hughes as he spoke spread out a chart upon the table before him, beckoning Langdon at the same time to his side.

"If we remain anchored here the guns of the forts, if hostile, will soon drive us from the city," he began again, his eyes on the chart. "Before we strike a blow we must first embark all foreigners from the concession and change our anchorage to one beyond the range of the forts. With this startling news from the Chinese prisoners, coupled with the attempt last night to blow up the gates of the mission, the intention of the Chinese is no longer a matter of conjecture. We have now to face a condition. This mission, guarded by sailors from my own ship, is in imminent peril and must be relieved at once. Every moment is precious. The means only should now be considered by us. I have two plans in mind: the first one is to move farther up the river to a point abreast the mission," placing his finger on the chart; "from the river it is but three miles to the mission, and we can easily land a force after dark and march across to its relief."

As the captain finished he glanced inquiringly at the pilot.

"That would be very difficult, sir," Langdon said quickly, reading the question in his captain's eyes. "True, from there the distance is short, but we shall have to cross a wide and deep irrigation ditch. This canal is nearly fifty feet in depth and its sides are perpendicular."

"Are there no bridges?" inquired a foreign officer anxiously.

"There are several bamboo bridges," Langdon answered, "but they are narrow and frail. Probably even now they have been destroyed."

"Then we must adopt my second plan," the American commander declared stoutly. "We have but two thousand men available for landing, which depletes our ships to an alarming extent, anchored as they are under the guns of the batteries; if we wait until the mission is attacked and then land to the rescue, we might find ourselves at a great disadvantage against the many thousands of well-armed enemies; besides, in our absence it might prove too great a temptation for the men of the forts to open fire on our ships, thus cutting us off from our own vessels. Lien-Chow, where the Chinese fanatics are massing, is from here seven miles by land and sixteen by water; the rebels will not leave the cover of their city before dark.

"My recommendation is therefore to get under way at once from this anchorage, taking with us all foreigners who wish to leave the foreign concession, and then steam by the forts and into the To-Yan Lake. Immediately upon our arrival off Lien-Chow I propose to land and fearlessly attack the rebels in their headquarters. In routing them we shall either break the back of the uprising, or else make it incumbent upon the mandarins, the real offenders, to devise other plans for encouraging this movement against the lives of the Europeans.

"Are you with me, gentlemen?"

DISSENSIONS

Commander Hughes' plans were agreed upon, though not until after much opposition by the other members of the council, and word was at once despatched to the foreign merchants and consuls ashore to close their stores and houses and seek protection on board the gunboats of their respective nationalities.

Inside of three hours all preparations were completed and the international fleet weighed anchor and, in column, the "Phoenix" leading, steamed boldly down the river.

Langdon had gone to the gunboat's bridge to pilot the fleet through the narrow and dangerous channel leading into the shallow waters of the To-Yan Lake, leaving Phil and Sydney at their guns, aft on the quarter-deck of the vessel; for all the gunboats had cleared for action to be prepared in case the Chinese should precipitate hostilities. While the fleet was getting its anchors up from the bottom of the muddy river, they gazed with rising pulse at the unusual activity inside the Chinese batteries; they could see groups of blue-clad soldiers surrounding the big guns in their rocky emplacements. Would the forts open fire upon the allied fleet as it steamed past?

The midshipmen knew that if one shot was fired from that impregnable fortress at the miniature battle-ships the sound would travel around the world. It would mean war! The forts belonged to the Chinese government and were manned by her soldiers; no idle excuse would be accepted by the nations insulted.

"These ships wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance against those guns," Sydney exclaimed nervously as he joined Phil on his side of the deck. The sailors stood silently at their batteries, each gun loaded with high explosive shell and ready to hurl its charge at the enemy at close range if it should suddenly declare war.

"It's pretty short range," Phil declared, "and our gun pointers could send every shell through those rock gun ports. A fleet of our gunboats would drive the Chinese gunners from their guns."

"One Chinese shell, though, would sink us," Sydney returned, intent upon gaining his point. "However, let them go ahead. Those rascals will find the 'Phoenix' will give them a surprise-party."

"The monitors are what we need," Phil exclaimed, "but they are over a thousand miles away, broiling in the heat of Manila. With the monitors here the forts could be silenced and captured by the fleet."

The long column of moving gunboats was now stretched along the river from Ku-Ling to the southward. The leader had now safely passed the forts and its bow was directed down the river for the entrance of the To-Yan Lake, a good six miles distant.

It was with a feeling of relief that the midshipmen saw the last gunboat in column, following the "Phoenix's" lead, pass out of range of the fort's guns. It showed that China, as a nation, had not as yet openly challenged the world to battle; but if those in the forts had known of the avowed intentions of the fleet might they not have acted differently?

Under the skilful direction of Langdon, the Yangtse River pilot, the allied fleet steamed to the southward, leaving on its starboard hand the high bluff point of land below the city, upon which, fortunately, the Chinese had not as yet mounted protecting batteries, and then entered the shallow waters of the forbidden lake. From this point the channel led away from the course of the river and to the westward behind the city of Ku-Ling.

"Do you see Commander Hughes' plan?" Phil exclaimed excitedly. He took a piece of paper from his pocket, and drew a hasty map of their surroundings. "Here's the river, and here," he said, "is the lake, which we are entering. Lien-Chow, you see, is ahead of us," and he pointed to a dull color of blue that raised itself slowly from the muddy waters of the lake. "It's in the rear of the fort guns, you notice, and our ships will be safely anchored while we are relieving those in the mission, which lies over there."

"Yes," answered Sydney; "but if we succeed in repulsing the rebels at Lien-Chow and rescuing the mission," he went on doubtfully, "what shall we do next? We shall be cut off from Ku-Ling. The forts will never let us pass freely again."

Phil put his sketch in his pocket. He wanted to complete it later and send it home in his next letter. "Well," he declared, "we can't worry over that now. The rescue of those in the mission, you see, is our most important duty. The future must take care of itself."

It was shortly after two o'clock in the afternoon, when the long line of vessels dropped anchor off the town of Lien-Chow; and almost immediately the gunboats had lowered their small boats and were embarking their sailors. Phil found himself in the steam launch with Commander Hughes and Langdon; the former had been chosen to command the expedition, and the lad thanked his good fortune for his assignment as aid.

The long line of boats, laden with armed bluejackets, rowed swiftly toward the not distant shore of the bay, while two of the gunboats, remaining under way when the fleet anchored, took up their stations where they could shell the enemy if the landing was opposed.

The midshipman stood beside Commander Hughes, whose keen eyes were directed toward the Chinese town, in which direction the launch was heading. Phil could not discern even a trace of nervousness in his captain's face, yet upon the success of this bold attempt to coerce the Chinese mandarins his future career in the navy rested. Langdon's eyes were searching the approaching shore-line for signs of the enemy. He hastily took the spyglass from Phil's hand and leveled it in the direction of a grove of trees to the right of the middle of the town.

"It's a piece of artillery," the pilot exclaimed, pointing with his glass toward the grove.

Commander Hughes leveled his field-glass and gazed for a few seconds in the direction indicated.

He had framed an answer, but it remained unspoken. A puff of brown smoke darted from a bright flash amidst the trees, and the screech of a shell came loudly to the ears of the advancing foreigners, while a column of water rose suddenly in the air scarce fifty yards short of the line of boats.

The two watchful gunboats, from the flanks, opened fire with their broadsides, and in a second the grove was blotted from sight by scores of explosions.

"That relieves us of the stigma of firing the first shot," Commander Hughes exclaimed gladly; "but I had hoped not to have to fire at all. My prayer was that the rebels would disperse at this show of force."

The boats had not covered another hundred yards when the town broke forth, in its entire length, with a hail of rifle shots; the distance was too great to see the flashes and hear distinctly the discharges, but the water in front and around the boats was cut to foam by the hissing missiles. As the boats drew nearer, the rattle of musketry came sharply to Phil's ears, while he heard again the wailing bullets speeding by him. The attacking sailors were silent, but the flank gunboats poured a storm of shell into the town.

Phil glanced admiringly at his captain; the latter was strikingly cool in face of the stubborn resistance with which he had not reckoned; he had believed that the rebels were but an unorganized mob and could easily be intimidated by the allied forces; but instead he now saw that the enemy was in force and well intrenched, while the screech of shell and explosion of shrapnel above the sailors' heads bore witness that these Chinese outlaws were well supplied with modern ordnance.

A few boats in the long line wavered and held back, but the majority kept steadily on, followed in but a few seconds by those less brave.

"When we ground," Commander Hughes commanded, "you go to the right, Perry, and you, Langdon, to the left: tell the officers to advance at double time straight upon the intrenchments. We dare not stop now; given the slightest encouragement, the Chinese could repulse us."

Phil felt the launch tremble, and then a grating sound told him the boat had reached as near the shore as its draft would allow. Without hesitation, he jumped waist-deep into the water and waded to the shore, a scant hundred yards away. He saw his two companions follow his lead, then he started away at top speed up the beach amidst a perfect storm of bullets, giving to the leader of each detachment as he passed the commands of his captain.

"Form a skirmish line and advance on the double," he shouted to boat after boat as their keels grated on the sandy shore; then reaching the last boat, he quickly turned and raced back to join his captain.

Running to seaward of the advancing sailors, he had covered but a short distance when he found himself among a company of demoralized foreigners; their swarthy faces were ashen from terror. The midshipman at once saw the danger in this panic; already had it begun to spread to left and right; the companies nearest the one in disorder had halted and the sailors were glancing back uncertainly and with increasing uneasiness. A general stampede was not far distant. The leader of this shameless company appeared to be wild-eyed with terror. He seemed powerless to stop the threatened rush for the boats. The lad stood transfixed with horror. If the infection spread a panic would be the natural consequence, bringing certain defeat to the allied arms and leaving the mission helpless to the mercy of the cruel enemy. Without a second's hesitation Phil raced up to the fleeing officer. Whirling him about to face the enemy, the lad cried out in sudden astonishment and misgiving, as he came face to face with the man who had so grossly insulted him in the bank at Ku-Ling.

Phil was conscious of a look of bitter hatred on the stranger's swarthy face, but there was no time to consider aught save the danger of a panic and the defeat to his captain's plans.

"Would you have us all massacred? Don't you see that these Chinese will run from you if you will only turn and charge as you were told?" the lad cried desperately, menacingly emphasizing his words with his loaded revolver. Then lowering his voice, he added in flinty tones for only the officer's ear: "Now run straight as you're heading; if you turn back I'll blow a hole through you!"

The foreign officer felt the muzzle of Phil's revolver prodding between his shoulder-blades, close to his heart, and read the determination in the American's voice.

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