Indiscreet Letters From Peking Part 22

Gently discoursing to the disturbed eunuchs, we went through room after room, which even on the hot autumn day seemed cool and peaceful.

The _objects de vertu_ which littered the small tables, and the scrolls which hung from the walls, did little to relieve the sombre effect of those high ceilings and carved wood frescoes. Yet there was a little air of distinction and refinement which showed that an immeasurable gulf separated the favoured dwellers of this Palace from even the greatest outside. Even here Royalty does more than oblige; it compels....

With the eunuchs protesting more and more vigorously, and seeking to stay our advance by a curious mixture of suggestion and imploring and resistance which is a quality of the East, we slowly pa.s.sed through apartment after apartment. Some now were furnished with luxurious long divans which eloquently invited graceful repose. What scenes had not this silent furniture witnessed, and how little could the makers have supposed, as they cunningly carved and stained and coloured, that barbarians from Europe would be one day insolently gazing on their handiwork!...

I had lagged somewhat behind, when some curses and imprecations dragged my wandering attention to the doors beyond. Two eunuchs had fallen on their knees and were now kowtowing and begging with renewed vigour, while a third was standing more resolutely than his fellows with outstretched arms, imperatively forbidding any further advance.

The most interesting point had been reached; this must be the greatest thing of all.

But these eunuchs were beginning to fatigue us with their airs of duly authorised custodians who could do as they pleased, and going up, we now told them that unless they went quickly away we would kill them then and there. We all drew our revolvers, stood over them, and waited a minute of two. Then, as if they had acted their parts right up to the end, the men on their knees got up suddenly, shook themselves, bowed to us politely without a trace of feeling, and left....

"_Enfin,"_ said K----.

At last we were in this dear Empress's bedroom, the abode which shelters for such a considerable number of hours of every twenty-four the most powerful woman in Asia. We looked eagerly. At one side of the room was a large bed, beautifully adorned with embroidered hangings; ranged round there was a profusion of handsome carved-wood furniture, with European chairs upholstered in a style out of keeping with the rest; on a high stand there were jewelled clocks noisily ticking; and hidden modestly in one corner was nothing less than a magnificent silver _pot de chambre_. She was here evidently very much at her ease, the dear old lady. That little detail delighted me. The rest was rather _ba.n.a.l_.

_Sans ceremonie_, I seated myself on the Imperial bed--it seemed to be the most peaceful act of vandalism I could commit in repayment for certain discomforts occasioned by this old lady's whims during eight weeks of rifle-fire. And as my recollections went back to those terrible days, I came down heavily as I could on this august couch. I must confess that as a bed it was excellent; the old lady must have slept well through it all, while she caused us our ceaseless vigil....

This solitude in the most secluded of spots in the whole Palace made us more and more inquisitive, and soon K---- and myself were hard at work, rummaging every likely hiding-place.

Our escort watched our antics and said nothing. It made an odd enough little scene that, and I liked to think of its incongruity--we two sets of men, who had not known of each other's existence an hour ago, now absolutely alone in this retreat, from whence the siege had been largely directed.

K---- continued rummaging, making an extraordinary amount of noise, and exclaiming to himself now and again as he came across trifles which interested him. Then I discovered a _compote_, or preserve made of rose-leaves, which was so sweet and fragrant that we began promptly eating. There were also Russian cigarettes, _au bonheur des dames_, yet quite fit to smoke, and then just as we were becoming reasonably content, K---- gave a tremendous oath and brought out something in his hand. Then I knew that he was lost--that there would be speedy complications; it was a Louis XV. painted watch--his greatest weakness. Peking is full of these watches, some genuine enough and many spurious. They were made the vogue centuries ago by the clever Jesuit priests, when the first disciples of Loyola to come to China were playing for kingly stakes in the capital of Cathay, and were not ashamed to use any means which the ingenuity might discover to delight the Manchu rulers of that day. Many of the most beautiful watches in France, with amorous paintings of the most voluptuous kind decorating the inside case, were brought to Peking and distributed among the high and mighty. That set up a fashion for such pretty things; more and more were brought, until Peking became a storehouse, stocked with this specialty. Everyone even to-day has an example or two of this art, if they can afford it.

I thought of these things as I saw K---- trifle with that watch and scrutinise it more and more closely. He looked at it for a last time longingly, and then, without a word, suddenly placed it in his pocket.

That was cool. But at once the Russian officer started forward protesting; we were breaking our words; we had begun looting; he would be forced to arrest us. As he spoke, the man became so red and excited, that K----, who pretended at first merely to smile indulgently, became more and more alarmed, and finally replaced the watch without a word. But still he continued this curious search, and coming across other things, I noticed vaguely that he seemed to be placing them all together in little collections, so that he could easily get at them again....

Then we wandered away to other great buildings, and we came on a beautiful set of princely rooms, full of ticking clocks and rich tapestries, and with such things as solid gold _bonbonnieres_, studded with coa.r.s.e, uncut stones, lying on the secretaires and small tables.

These, I believe, were the Emperor's apartments in normal times. There were lots of beautiful things here--vases, enamels, jade, cloisonne, and much wondrous porcelain; and although everyone had been saying that Peking was not as rich as in 1860, when those strings of beautiful black pearls had been brought home for the Empress Eugenie, still it was clear that these Palaces contained a wealth undreamed of outside. Indeed, there were magnificent things....

Round the corners, as we walked, we saw the eunuchs looking and lurking, and finally disappearing whenever they thought that they were seen. There were more of them now, too, and, seeing us quite alone, they were beginning to pluck up courage and wished once more to interfere. I thought for an instant as I looked at their evil faces of tearing down some rich embroidery and fashioning from it a sack just as I had seen those Indian troopers do so few days before; then of setting to work and piling everything I fancied into it and making as if I intended to go off.

Yet such a comedy would not be worth the candle; the officer and the sergeant would have to go through the formality of arresting me, and the eunuchs would not even be noticed....

Engrossed with such thoughts, and no longer amused by my surroundings, I must have forgotten myself for a moment in a brown study; for when I came to, I was surprised to find that we four had drifted some distance apart, and that K---- was now whispering rapidly to the Russian officer alone, and that the sergeant was standing far away, with his back turned to them, slily fingering the things on the tables. Then the sergeant allowed his hand to linger longer than was necessary, and, throwing a sharp look round out of the corners of his eyes, he suddenly thrust some object into his pocket. He, too, had succ.u.mbed! I paid not the slightest attention to these curious developments, but pretended to be gazing idly at nothing. Still, I kept my eyes on the alert. K---- was manifestly plotting for those watches; it was not my business--what did it matter to me if he took everything there was?

The officer, whatever the arguments, was obviously not yet very convinced, nor very happy. He shook his head vigorously again and again, and protested in that thick Russian undertone, which always seems to me to explain what Russians really are. Yet those thick tones were becoming gradually monotonous and less emphatic, and presently slower and slower, until they stopped altogether. Then K---- came towards me, and said carelessly that he supposed I wanted to wander around a little more on my own account to see what else there was. It was an invitation to disappear. Very well! I moved off suddenly and sent the eunuchs scurrying back. There was a wish to split up the party for a few minutes so that no one would know what the others were doing. I knew I should immensely annoy the eunuchs by going towards the women's quarters. Well, I would not cavil....

I walked rapidly enough then down that back avenue I had observed before, and looked neither behind me nor to the right or left. I would go straight through to the end, _Dieu voulant_! It would be interesting to have the unique experience of exploring the poor Emperor's most private domains. But then I remembered that the women had screamed and run away when they had caught sight of us in the beginning. Now they would be securely locked in, and it was absurd and dangerous to think of storming a gate by one's self. Farther and farther I walked away until I became doubtful....

I suddenly became aware that I was in front of a small door; that the door was ajar; and that an amused talking and moving was going on very near with many ripples of laughter rising clearly in the still air. It seemed that the fates were helping me for some inscrutable purpose. I must discover that purpose. Without a quiver I boldly walked in.

I came on them without any sense of emotion, although nothing could have been so novel--a number of groups of young Manchu women, some clothed in beautiful robes, some in an undress which was hardly maidenly. They were sitting and standing scattered round a large courtyard, and hidden somewhere above them in the yellow tiled roofs were more of those cooing doves with that strong accent of Ma.r.s.eilles: "_Roucoulement, roucoulement, roucoulement_," they said very gently this time, yet without ever ceasing. Their soft voices made beautiful music.... For some reason none of the harem were surprised. Two or three of the younger women ran back a step or two, and clasped the hands of the others with broken e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns. Then they all sought my eyes, and somehow we began smiling at one another. All women are the same; these knew somehow that I would not hurt them. Yet in spite of this fact I stood there embarra.s.sed, knowing not what to say or do. I had supposed myself inured by now to all the most impossible situations--yet it seemed so absurd that I should be here, alone, absolutely alone, among dozens of young women who were the Emperor's most inviolate property--virgins selected from among the highest and most comely in the land; forbidden fruit, which had not even been tasted because of the Emperor's lack of masculinity.... I thought rapidly of the various cla.s.ses into which these women are divided according to immemorial custom: of the concubines of the first rank, of the second, of the third, and even of the fourth, who are merely favoured hand-maidens of the Biblical type. Then I wondered whether it was true that when the former Emperor Hsien Feng had suddenly died, and the Empress Dowager had selected the child Kuang-shu to succeed him, she had caused the child to be mutilated, so that the question of the next heir should remain in her own hands.... The women would know.

And yet even Imperial concubines must have opportunities which no one suspects, for I was suddenly relieved of the necessity of breaking the ice by their breaking it for me. Without embarra.s.sment they suddenly began plying me with questions, and not waiting for replies, they asked what was going on outside; what was going to happen; who was I; why had I come; why was I not a soldier?... The questions came so fast and thick that before I had realised it I had forgotten my surroundings, forgotten the time, forgotten most things, I am afraid, and was deep in the middle of an astonishing conversation, which never flagged and which was continually broken with laughter. Then I was brought to ominously. I heard a door shut with a thump; I saw the women pinch and look at one another and cease talking. What did that door mean?

On purpose I did not turn round; that would have been fatal. I did as I always do now: I gained time to lessen the shock. Some day, when I have much leisure, I shall, doubtless, prepare tables specially adapted to every situation and to every temperament, which will show exactly the number of seconds, minutes, and hours which are necessary on an average to accustom one's self to anything. It is possible to do so; it will be astonishing when it is done. For the time being, I thought of this rather glumly--indeed, without a trace of enthusiasm--and I wished a little that I had not been so foolish in putting my head inside the lion's mouth. I remembered the story a former Secretary of the British Legation used to tell us of two Englishmen, who, in the unregenerate days in Cairo--or was it Constantinople?--climbed into the harem, and were cruelly mutilated for their audacity before they could be rescued. I became so glum as this flashed through my mind, that my great system of preparation was in imminent danger of breaking down. So I turned suddenly round on my heel, and looked squarely ... it was as I had thought.

The door I had entered had been quietly locked, and now, inside, were standing, with moving lips and menacing air, those evil-looking eunuchs. This time there were four of them. Two were the two who had knelt and prayed that we should not enter the Empress Dowager's private apartments; one was the man who had stood up and been almost threatening; the last one was so tall that his aspect of strength almost gave the lie to the a.s.sumption that he had been mutilated for Palace use. These last two would be difficult; the others I could leave out of my calculations.

Faithful to my theory, and trusting to this strange ally, I merely opened my revolver-pocket; then it was with a sense that I was irretrievably lost that I saw that two of the opponents were armed in the same way. My theories and preparations were all falling to the ground. I would probably follow them in person in a very few minutes.

n.o.body would be the wiser....

I stood there waiting while these men muttered at me, as if they now hated me bitterly, and yet did not know how to commence, and with the women behind me chattering affrighted. In vain I tried to work out how many eunuchs there really were in this vast Palace; whether a great number had gone away with the Court, or whether these four men would summon four more, or perhaps fourteen, and possibly even forty or four hundred. They always say the Palace contains three thousand....

It was all no good, however, for it was my turn to play, and without I played we might remain standing there in this manner until it became dark. Then I could be beaten to the ground and thrown down a well without any one being the wiser. No search could be made for me, and if one was made, nothing would be found. Men were continually missing in Peking, and no one knew how they met their fate....

I advanced now with my hands empty and my mind fairly made up.

Everything depended on a new theory, which I was about to test, a mere Chinese theory concerning eunuchs--that their mutilation makes them b.e.s.t.i.a.l, but also downtrodden and quite spiritless and peculiarly weak. That is why the old Empress could thrash them to death whenever they displeased her, without their daring to raise their hands or make one single struggle. Now, as I walked forward, I could see my old Chinese teacher, who had taught me these strange theories concerning eunuchs, sitting in front of me and slowly waving his fan, and showing by an a.n.a.lysis of things I did not clearly understand, how Nature had laws and decrees which cannot be violated without bringing heavy and immediate punishment in their train. As I walked forward I could not help seeing that old figure of a Chinese teacher in front of me, and prayed that he was correct. If he was not ... then I stopped thinking and acted.

I did it neatly, with some brutality, because I had been absolutely surprised, and had not yet recovered, and, also, because I was more than a little afraid. Six paces off I threw myself in two savage bounds against the tall man; caught him with my right hand by the outstretched right arm, hurled him round once by the force of my own impetus and the strength of my grasp; and then, as he swiftly swung with loosened legs, stopped him suddenly short with a mighty up-driven blow of my right knee, which sang so deep and cruelly into his soft flesh, that it grated harshly against his spinal column. n.o.body can resist that blow--according to the old man's theory, least of all a eunuch--n.o.body, n.o.body. It should be certain as death, once you have the right grip. With a gurgle my man had sunk to the ground a mere shapeless ma.s.s, perhaps really dead; and with by breath coming hot through my nostrils at this success I closed fiercely with the second, seized him by the throat, wrenched at him like a madman, and carried him staggering back. The other trick demands the six paces and the impetus; I would have liked to have tried it again, but I had not dared....

But it was finished with dramatic suddenness, for even as I ran the second eunuch, gasping for breath, backwards, the other two rushed to the door, opened it hurriedly, and then stepped aside with loud implorings and supplications. I accepted. I let go my grasp and quickly jumped out. I, too, had had enough. As I went through I caught a last glimpse of that curious scene framed by the red gate-posts and the roofs beyond--the senseless eunuch on the ground, the other standing near by, coughing and reaching at his throat, the women of the seraglio in their gaily flowered coats pressing curiously round.... But I had enough. I did not tarry. Rapidly I walked away, with a little prayer in my heart. I felt almost as I had felt once when I was nearly drowning.

I found K----, five minutes later, sitting on the first marble terrace, with his pockets bulging out and an expression of ox-like satisfaction on his face. That was an antidote which speedily sobered me. The officer was farther on, and had also looted by his looks. The sergeant of the guard--well, I knew about him already. K---- smiled when I appeared, and said that I had been very quick and that he did not expect me so soon. I did not take the trouble to answer; explanations are always apologies. If I had told him the truth, he would never have believed me, and certainly never have understood.

And if I had lied there would have been the same result. So I merely said I was ready, and that we had seen enough; and then, in silence, each man thinking of what he had done, we covered the way back very quickly and mounted our ponies. All the way home during that long ride I was amused by watching the heavy posts of soldiery belonging to the other columns, who were so jealously guarding their own entrances. How angry they would have been if they had only known!... That was an extraordinary day.

VII

THE FEW REMAINS

End of August, 1900.

Imperceptibly, I believe, things are settling down a little and a.s.suming broad outlines which can be more easily understood as the days go by. Most people who went through the siege have now gone away.

A few remaining missionaries and their converts have flowed far away and quartered themselves in some of the residences of the minor Manchu princes, and are now selling off what they have found by auction. They have the special permission of the Ministers and Generals to act in this way. Loot-auctions, indeed, are going on everywhere, and the few people who have managed to get through from other places in China with loads of silver dollars are making fortunes. There are enormous ma.s.ses of silver _sycee_ in nearly everybody's hands, and I am certain now that several of our _chefs de mission_ are in clover. My own chief, who pretends to be virtuous because he is something of a _faineant_, to put it mildly, eyed me very severely the other day and said that everyone reported that I had developed into a species of latter-day robber-chief, and had slain hundreds of people. He said all sorts of other things, too. I let him exhaust his oratory before I replied.

Then I inquired regarding the definition of the term treasure-trove, which has become the consecrated phrase for all our many hypocrites.

The generals and many of his colleagues had much treasure-trove, I said; I had some, too. Of course, I admitted that if there were investigations, and everyone had to render a strict account, I would do the same; but for the time being I wanted to know that there was going to be only one law for everyone. Those were good replies, for some of the biggest people in the Legations are so mean and so bent on covering up their tracks that they are using their wives to do their dirty work.

I believe my chief thought for a moment that I knew something about an affair in which he was involved, for he only said one word, "_Bien,"_ and looked at me in a strange way. I knew I had frightened him, and that he must have thought that if I chose to speak later on there would be trouble. I had no such intention, of course, only I hated being annoyed by a man of little courage. Had he been courageous I should never have answered at all, except perhaps to offer him a share of my private treasure-trove!

Yet with all this settling down it seems to me that people must be becoming suddenly more and more commercial, and that an inspection of their accounts makes them wish for a little more on the profit side.

For one morning a young Englishman, who has been living in Peking rather mysteriously for a number of years, marched in on me at a very early hour, accompanied by several Chinese, whom I immediately knew from their appearance to be small officials. The Englishman said that he had a plan and a proposition, and these he unfolded so rapidly that he made me laugh. It appeared that the men he had brought with him were _ku-ping_, or Treasury Guards of the Board of Revenue under the old _regime_; and, according to their accounts, they knew exactly where the secret stores of treasure were hidden in the secret vaults of the government. They explained that these stores belonged not only to the government, but were also portions of what peculating officials took from day to day and hid away until they could remove their plunder in safety after an inspection had been made. They said, did these informants, that there were millions in both gold and silver.

They became very enthusiastic and excited as they talked.

I waited patiently to see how they proposed to solve this problem--did they wish a bold, open, frontal attack or an underground plot? Nothing is very astonishing now, and we have all the resourcefulness of _condottieri_, with a certain modern respectability added. But they were sensible people, and did not dream of the impossible. They supposed, they said, that I knew that the Russians had now full control of the Board of Revenue. Perhaps, if their commander could be approached in the proper way, the matter could be very rapidly attended to. The treasure could be seized in the name of the Russian Government and everyone could get a share. That is what they said.

At first I thought of refusing point-blank, for I was rather tired of these adventures; but the men were so persistent, and I had been so irritated by the pious insincerity of my own chief, that in the end I told them that I would see what could be done, although the matter did not interest me very much. I privately again thought of what our old _doyen_ says, "_Ce n'est pas pour rien qu'on connait les Russes_," and wondered how long negotiations would last.

Of course it was a wretchedly long business, and before long I regretted bitterly that I had not been more hard-hearted. I managed to communicate with L---- that same day through R----, and explained to him as well as I could the whole affair. I found the Russian Commander-in-Chief a sly old fox, for his first idea was to thank me for the information and have the whole Treasury searched; if necessary, to dig down to a depth of twenty feet or so with the help of a regiment or two of infantry. That was his idea. In the end we managed to convince him that this was foolish, and that there must be places which his soldiers could not reach even by prodding down with their bayonets and spades to great depths. Secret chambers cannot be easily discovered even in this way, we said. That made L---- very angry, for no reason apparently but that the affair seemed a huge bother and trouble. He said in reply that the j.a.panese had taken everything in any case, and that this was going to be a fool's quest if he went on with it. Also, he would not listen to any arrangements being made and put in writing regarding the proportions to be paid to everyone if a find was actually made. Indeed, this last idea irritated him so much that he angrily said that we were deliberately plotting to take away the property of the Russian Government--property which the Russian Government could not afford to lose, and did not intend to lose, either. He even added that this was a city of robbers, and that people would not keep to their own territory, but were always trying to trespa.s.s. This made us laugh so much that he suddenly changed his manner, and said that the whole question was a serious one and would have to be referred home by telegraph. Otherwise he could not authorise any payments. K----, who was present, replied sarcastically that perhaps he would like to refer the question direct to the Czar, and begged him to be cautious in such a very important affair!

The last thing which could be got out of the Russian Commander-in-Chief was that he would telegraph at once to Alexieff at Port Arthur and ask his permission to arrange matters. If Alexieff said yes, we would go to work at once; otherwise nothing could be attempted. I knew that probably not a single word would be mentioned to any one out of Peking, and that these were mere manoeuvres.

However....

I had almost forgotten the matter when, a few mornings after this interview, I was suddenly awakened at daylight and told that there were several Russian officers in my courtyard who wished to speak to me at once. Their business was urgent. I went out and greeted the men, and they said that L---- would be ready at two o'clock that day to go with his staff to the Board of Revenue and effect the seizure; and that a quarter share on all amounts seized would be given by the Russian Government for the information supplied. These officers added that they would have to go back at once; but in the end they remained with me the whole morning, drinking as hard as they could, and contenting themselves with despatching a Cossack to say that all was arranged.

We started to go to the Russian headquarters at an early hour, but in some mysterious way news must have been conveyed to other people of this latest development, for half a dozen men arrived and appeared immensely surprised to find these Russian officers there with me on their horses. They asked me, each in turn, whether everything had been arranged, and how much everyone was going to get, and where the treasure was to be stored. There was, indeed, no end to their questions, and they said that they estimated that the sum seized would amount to about ten or twelve million francs. Later on, each man took me aside, and explained what he had done to help the thing along, hoping that he would be remembered in the end, as this was a very big affair, and the more people in it the better. I confess I did not clearly understand all this; it was like floating a mining company.