In the Yellow Sea Part 21

Having made up my mind, I curled myself up in the brushwood and lay undisturbed, rather hungry and excessively miserable, until kind sleep overtook me about midnight.

As soon as daylight enabled me to see, I examined my dress and pockets, and found that, with the exception of a sum of money in my belt, I had been regularly "cleaned out." Everything of any value, except the belt, had been stolen, and I marvelled how the thief had succeeded.

Perhaps the liquor which he had given me had stupefied me; the "rice spirit" is somewhat "heady." At anyrate there I stood, a coolie in appearance, untidy, unshaven, bedraggled, cold and hungry, and quite unable to help myself. I could only draw in my belt tightly to appease my hunger, and prevent the qualms I dreaded. Luckily I found a stream, washed and drank of it, and then made my cast south-east again.

The air was frosty and fresh, and I walked rapidly to warm my chilled frame, but had not proceeded more than two miles, as I judged, when three men who were coming across an adjacent path from another direction espied me. I had no chance of retreat, they saw me at once, and to my dismay I perceived others behind them. No doubt a village was near, or a large farm perhaps, though single farms are not frequent in China. The villages are walled, and every foot of ground belonging to these farmers is utilised and fertilised, so that the best results are obtained by continual attention; and the land is of course taxed, the taxes being paid to the public exchequer. "Anything," even the shaven hair of the villagers, is put into the ground; vegetable and animal refuse is of course in request. Tobacco is used to kill insects, and the zebu, or buffalo of the country, is the labouring animal, which takes the place of the horse or ox; and milk, b.u.t.ter, etc., are almost unknown. There are ducks, and fowls, and hogs, the last especially are plentiful, and in China the "black hog," instead of the "black dog" of the British nursery, may very likely "get upon the children's backs," and cause ill tempers. The dog and the cat here pa.s.s their time pleasantly, but the stranger must _cave canem_.

The villagers--farmers--came upon me, and stood a little away, staring in wonderment at me. Then they surrounded me, and made inquiries which I ignored,--not from pride,--and then they tried more questions, and searching ones. Fortunately they found nothing, but they conferred together, and indicated that I must return with them to the village.

Of course I had no alternative, and accompanied them, where, in a kind of shed, I was commanded to strip! In the most emphatic fashion I declined, folding my arms and exclaiming, "Englishman," and added--what they knew already--"Fan Quei" (foreign devil).

They then paused, but suddenly seized me, and while some held me down, the rest dragged off my clothes, until they came to the belt around my waist, that they did not take away, perhaps thinking it was something magical, it being ornamented and worked, but they felt it, and evidently discussed it. Finding nothing in it--luckily the distributed coin escaped them--the fellows gave me my clothes, and sent for another person. While I was dressing, the person arrived--a true Chinese of Canton breed, such as we may see in East London, England.

He, in turn, stared at me curiously, and asked a question. I made a lamely expressed reply in Chinese as I understood it; but the man, to my great delight, asked in "pidgin," "Wantee go sea? Melican-man?"

"Yes," was my reply, greatly relieved; "England. Elopean man--wantchee Shanghai. What fashion man here?"

"Alle samee, Melican-man. Sabee _cash_, chop-chop, eh?"

"Yes," I nodded; "plenty much _cash_."

"Alle light; no watchee long talkee. One piecee man wantee _cash_.

Chow-chow?"

I nodded again. I was hungry. "See dless?" I said.

"Ah! dless come more better! Makee laugh, not number one."

No, it certainly was not proper then, but I laughed, and the villagers were surprised at the conversation. The coolie understood my "pidgin,"

and I felt much happier. I had cash, and even silver, so I could reward him if he a.s.sisted me; but suppose he tried treachery?

This seemed probable, but I must risk something. He said something to the villagers, who replied vehemently. The coolie, who was a waiter from Port Arthur, as I understood, said to me--

"Number one topside-man say plis'ner! No can do: walkee!"

"Cannot you get me away then?" I asked in "pidgin" of the coolie.

"No lun away. Too much, man--no go long; no tink! Get dless, chop-chop!"

This was unfortunate; escape seemed hopeless. So far as I understood the coolie, he found that we could not escape from the villagers at once. He was quite willing to a.s.sist me, knowing that I would pay him, but the farmers were very suspicious. Had they found out the little pocket in my belt in which I carried the j.a.panese permit, and my small store of coin, they would have killed me. Cowardice is usually cruel.

My captors quickly gave me to understand that they meant business.

They produced a bamboo pole, which they pa.s.sed behind me, and under my arms, to which they tied it. They left my legs free, because they intended me to walk, as I understood, to Putsewo, where the "pidgin"

man said the Chinese troops were quartered. I hoped the j.a.panese might come up there meanwhile; but then, between Jack and j.a.p, I would be fixed between two stools, and either might cut the support.

As soon as I had been fully dressed, and the pole fixed, I was put in the care of two of the men, with the coolie acting as the go-between.

The last mentioned told me my destination; had he known that my captain suspected me of being a _spy_, I knew my fate would have been sealed.

I begged him to release me.

"No can do!" was the reply. "Too mutchee fear! Maskee!" (by and by).

I was obliged to be content with this, and when the men had given me a meal of rice and water we set out. The coolie held the end of the rope in his hand, and the farmers walked close behind me, one on each side, so that at the first attempt to escape they could intercept me.

The rope was so twisted and so taut around my hands that I implored the coolie to loosen it. After consultation, he complied, saying, "Maskee, maskee," and evidently willing to a.s.sist me, but hinting at cash.

Making an excuse to halt, I managed to hand him a little silver, as a guarantee, and to my delight found my bonds slackened. Still the other two men kept watch, and took turns at driving me like a pig to market.

The day was already waning, and I began to speculate upon release during the evening. There had been several delays since breakfast, and again my escort halted to advise themselves of the route, the cross-country direction, before night fell. As we were all standing, three of the party chattering like magpies, in the dusk, I felt the rope twitch and then slacken. My senses were at once awakened. The Port Arthur servant was keeping me alert, and I saw he was pointing to some huts below us. Another village! I must act!

I looked around me in all directions, and made up my mind to rush the hill beside me and hide amid the boulders. I had no thought beyond escape, and when some minutes later "my coolie" dropped the end of the rope suddenly, exclaiming, "Kinchow!" I knew my chance had come, and the direction. The yellow fellow gesticulated in the face of my captors. I was free!

With a leap aside like a deer I darted away up the slope, and slightly turning my head I perceived that the coolie had got mixed up with the farmers, and was hindering them. Never were a few pieces of silver better bestowed, I thought, as I bounded up the hill, pursued by my two captors, while "Kinchow" rang in my ears--where or what Kinchow was, unless "Chincow" was meant, I did not care. I was free; free in the gathering darkness truly, alone and unarmed, but even so, unharmed and with a chance for life.

I was in dread lest the dangling rope would trip me up, and as I ran I tried to get it up higher. Luckily it trailed behind me and did not touch me. So I sprang up, leaped some small streams, not thinking of any definite direction but doubling like a hunted hare, disappearing behind rocks and again striking a new course, but always away from the twinkling lanterns which I could now distinguish below me, and I fancied I heard dogs barking.

This was most alarming. Though I had not heard of bloodhounds in China, the ordinary dog when accompanied by his master was quite unpleasant enough, and in bulk formidable; when at last I rested upon the hill, and listened intently, I felt a.s.sured that the alarm had been given, and that my captors had sent to the village for a.s.sistance.

Then I girded up my loins indeed, and though terribly handicapped by the rope around my shoulders, I made a desperate effort, and kept through a wood and around the boulders near the summit of the hill.

Kneeling down, I placed myself between two rocks facing the ascent from the village, and could distinguish nothing at all below me. After a while I saw a few roving lights _descending_, and then knew that until the morning pursuit had ceased. Fervently I thanked G.o.d for my escape, and, feeling rested, began to attempt release from the rope.

I do not know whether any of my readers have ever attempted the "rope trick" when bound by one of a sceptical audience, but my release was far more unlikely. The rope had been knotted with a will, and though "where there's a will there's a way," I could find no way save by rubbing my arms against the sharpest edge of the next convenient stone, and a nice way it was! Suffice it that I succeeded in cutting the bonds, and in sc.r.a.ping my shoulders, in a manner suggestive of the lash, or birch rather; but the relief was worth all the pain and exertion, and when I lay down to rest, not on my back, I fell asleep with a thanksgiving upon my lips.

Morning was hardly putting a candle in the east, when, stiff and numb, I attempted to rise. At first waking I was apprehensive whether I would be able to get up, but by degrees I unlocked my muscles, and extended my limbs. Then as soon as there was light I quitted my stony shelter, and proceeded through the wood. But when I came to an opening in the bushes I for the first time perceived what a terrible risk I had run. The rocks under which I had sheltered had fallen from above, and only paused in their descent over another precipice which ended in a stream strewn with boulders; beyond the stream lay the village deep in the millet-fields, lately harvested, bristling with stubble, and higher up the cliffs whence the rocks had fallen.

The situation reminded me, distantly, of Beatenberg in Berne, when once I lay beneath the cliffs, gazing below at the rocky mill-stream which makes its way to the lake of Thun through a narrow, precipitous gully.

But what an escape I had had!

My first care was to put as great a distance as possible between the village and myself, and so I clambered up and across the hills, having seen no one and heard nothing to alarm me. I descended the rocky, not precipitous, slope on the other side, and struck into a side valley, but whither it would lead I did not care. It led me to water and refreshment, and then I hid the rope before resuming my journey to Kinchow.

For hours I wandered on, meeting no one, and fearing to encounter anyone. Some unpleasant-looking birds kept me company for a while, and gave me "the fidgets." I began to think of vultures, and shuddered when they seated themselves at a little distance and blinked, as I thought, at each other, nodding at me at intervals. I maintain now, in defiance of bulls of Ireland, these were the most "beastly birds" I ever saw! They laughed at the stones I threw at them, for they simply rose half a yard when I made good practice, and settled again at once, till I gave up stoning them, and disinterred the rope thinking to la.s.so them, or one of them.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THEY LAUGHED AT THE STONES I THREW AT THEM]

But they were as 'cute as a weasel, they could not be caught asleep; and finally, tired and hungry, I wandered on, cursing the birds, the j.a.panese, the Chinese, and my ill-luck which had been the cause of my adventures. As evening approached the "beastly" birds disappeared. By that time I was half silly, and felt inclined to do something desperate. Still I tramped on till dusk, when a light in a small house--one of four such--beckoned me to cheer up.

I perceived that these were farms, and the usual crops were in evidence, such as rice, sugarcane (which the coolie is fond of chewing), pulse, potatoes, wheat, tobacco, and some vegetables. The rice crop had been gathered,--the late sowing I mean, for sometimes three crops are reaped, the last reaped in November, when vegetables are planted. Rice wants water, cane does not, and this is, therefore, profitable, as irrigation is dispensed with. Rice is the stable food, and even the landlord is paid in rice, which may amount to as much as three hundred and fifty pounds, or perhaps more, per acre.

Fortunately for me, on this occasion, a woman was washing some article outside the house, and though as a rule the Chinese female is ignored and secluded, the peasant, the labourer-woman, is in evidence. To this peculiar specimen I addressed myself in a language she had never heard, and could not understand. But she could interpret signs and pantomime, while she seemed inclined to a.s.sist me. When she disappeared I was left in doubt, but after a while she brought me food in a saucer, the origin of which I was too madly hungry to discriminate. Whether rat, dog, or snake I cared not. I am sure it was horrible at the time, but I managed to eat it, and was not ill, though inclined thereto. She supplemented this mess by a dose of rather bad salt fish and pickled cabbage, with some rice plainly boiled; and this I did enjoy. There was plenty of water; and when I bestowed upon my host the magnificent sum of one penny (English value), she believed me a wandering idol.

Her pleasure was marked, and she actually indicated a place where I might rest in quiet under a thick coverlet which she brought me to the shed she pointed out.

Then I was "in clover," and when I had ascertained that I was in no danger I asked for "Kinchow" and its direction. The female drew some lines with her finger on the ground, and pointed in a direction in which I had been advancing. Then shutting me in she left me to sleep, which I did gladly for some hours.

But next morning I felt quite unable to rise, and when yet struggling to get up, the farmer and his wife and son all appeared, and stood staring at me. I begged for mercy, thinking they meant me harm--perhaps the farmer had suspicions; but he evidently had heard of _cash_ from his wife. He was polite and kind, brought me food which I could _not_ eat,--the supper had already upset me,--but consented to leave me quiet to sleep, as I begged them by signs to do. Briefly, I remained there three days, and spent several pennies in _cash_ (about a hundred) in making myself perfectly "at home."

On the fourth day I engaged the lad to be my guide by a promise of _cash_, and started for Kinchow feeling in good company and in good spirits. For the farmer had been paid, and he and I had managed to make each other understand. He had got the idea into his head that I was a Russian seeking Port Arthur, and agreed to put me on my way.

Three whole days had been pa.s.sed in coming to this understanding by the aid of a friend of the host, a rough map, and of course _cash_. At length I saw my way to liberty.

Alas! I was checked at the outset. The weather changed, and while I had antic.i.p.ated snow perhaps, and frost later, the wind brought up big clouds, and a thunderstorm arose with pelting rain. The young farmer declined to advance until the weather moderated, so we waited, and then in the pauses of the tempest retraced our steps to the hospitable farm.

There two more days were spent in picking up Chinese and dropping _cash_. Meantime my spirits fell, and at times I felt seriously depressed. The chances of escape through the Chinese and j.a.panese lines seemed to me to become less and less, and the situation was the more intolerable because I could not freely express myself, and gain protection or a.s.sistance.

During my enforced further sojourn with the farmer's family I endeavoured to induce them to lead me direct to Port Arthur (or, as it is called by Chinese, Lu-shun-Kou; by j.a.panese, Ryojunk). But the guide demurred to this. He evidently was afraid of the invading army, and it became increasingly evident to me that I should have to look after myself if we came within shot of the j.a.ps. With such forebodings I set out again with my fearful guide, and struck the telegraph posts upon the Pulantien (Port Adams) Road.

If the reader will examine a map he will perceive that there are two main roads in the Sheng-King peninsula, both leading to Port Arthur, the western from Fuchow, and farther north still the other along the coast road by Putsewo and Talien Bay. Above the place which the British called Port Adams in 1859, the roads unite. These two tracks, stony and rugged, through and amid hills, wind their way to Kinchow, near which the peninsula becomes very narrow, and, in fact, is only about two miles wide--or less.