Stan Lynn Part 45

"They would think we were beaten, and come after us for certain," said another bitterly.

"Yes," said the first speaker sharply, "and follow us till we were surrounded and overwhelmed out yonder in the marsh, or paddy-fields."

"But why should they take all that trouble for nothing?"

"For nothing? They wouldn't call it for nothing when they would get all our rifles and ammunition, in addition to having the profound satisfaction of spearing and hacking to pieces a party, of what they call foreign devils. What do you say, Mr Lynn?"

"Only this," said Stan quietly, "that if we are to be killed it would be better to fall fighting to the last in our own defence."

"Then you will fight?" cried Lawrence eagerly.

"Of course," was the reply. "I am obeying Mr Blunt's instructions to defend the place to the last."

"But isn't this the last, sir?" said the clerk who had proposed the retreat.

"Oh no. We are as safe or safer than ever, and though there are going to be a great many more to make the attack, it does not follow that any of them will get in."

"Hear, hear!" shouted Lawrence.

"And besides," continued Stan, "when it does come to their beginning to break in, we have all our big, strong coolies to join us and help with their knives and bars. I feel sure that they will fight bravely."

"So do I, Mr Lynn," said Lawrence warmly.

"But they are brother natives," said the objector.

"That's the very reason why they will fight all the fiercer for us.

They hate pirates like poison, and will enjoy sending them out of the world far more than we shall. It is only fair, though, Mr Lynn, that you should give any one who likes to make the attempt to escape free leave to go."

"Yes," said Stan; "it is not fair to force any one to fight who wishes to escape."

To Stan's surprise, there was a dead silence; and after waiting a few moments listening to the storm of voices without, Stan continued:

"Then we're all going to stand by one another?"

"Yes, to a man, sir," said the objector. "I dare say I'm wrong in my ideas, and I give way."

There was a cheer at this. Every man went back to his shelter and examined his rifle, afterwards taking out and examining his revolver before thrusting it back in its holster, while Stan went from man to man to inspect his supply of cartridges, and ended by having a fresh box up and himself seeing to the refilling of every bandolier.

While this was in progress those who kept a strict watch found that no further attack was being made. The matchlock firing had ceased, and the men beneath the outer defence lay crouched close as if waiting for further orders.

But the preparations on board the junks were being made with a determination that augured a serious encounter at the next attack. Men were collecting, armed with spears and the great heavy curved Chinese swords which widened out in the blade from about an inch and a half at the handle to more than double that width near the point; while something fresh suddenly took Stan's attention, and he pointed it out to those with him in the great store.

"Yes, sir," said his chief backer in the late debate; "that's the ugliest thing we've seen yet."

"Why, it looks like the preparation for a procession. Every hatch on the different junks has seven or eight great Chinese lanterns; but they're not yet lit, so far as I can tell in this bright sunshine."

"They mean it for a procession," said Lawrence, "and they think it is for our funeral."

"What!" cried Stan. "But look; what's that smoke?"

"They're lighting stink-pots to throw, sir. Those and the lanterns are to burn us out."

"Think so?"

"I feel sure," was the reply.

"But why didn't they use the stink-pots before?"

"Because they thought they could drive us out without. They didn't want to set fire to the place for fear of damaging the loot they mean to take. They can find a market fast enough for tea and silk; but they're getting savage now, and mean to make an end of us, even if they have to burn the place down."

"Well," said Stan coolly, "we must not let them. I'll go down now and fetch up the warehous.e.m.e.n and coolies to do nothing else but pick up and hurl back the fire-pots, for of course they will try and fling them in at these open windows."

"You couldn't do a better thing, sir."

"No," said Stan thoughtfully. Then raising his voice, he cried: "If any one here can suggest anything more to be done, pray speak out."

"Nothing more could be done, sir," said a clerk. "Your arrangements are excellent."

"Mr Blunt's are, you mean," said Stan, smiling. "Very well, then; I want to stay up here and watch. You, Mr Lawrence, go down and bring up the coolies, and tell them what they are wanted to do; but you had better leave half below to be ready to help with the water-buckets."

The messenger went down, and returned with the st.u.r.dy body of Chinese labourers, who were placed at intervals from end to end of the great open s.p.a.ce, well back in shelter; and as soon as this disposition of the defensive force had been carried out, and the young chief had satisfied himself that the men thoroughly grasped the duties they had to perform, Stan gave orders for all who handled rifles to be in readiness to take good aim and mark out for punishment every prominent leader amongst the enemy, so as to try and bring him down, and thus throw confusion amongst the men who were being led to the next attack.

Then began a weary wait, evidently caused by the leaders of the expedition holding their men in hand until the first junk had beaten up against the wind till she was some distance beyond the _hong_, when the watchers saw the sails suddenly begin to glide down and the great junk slacken and stop in its upward course; while directly after, with the sweeps on either side thrust out, she began, after hanging upon the current for a few moments, to drop down again, the huge oars being plied vigorously, so as to run her ash.o.r.e just below the edge of the wharf.

"Now," cried Stan suddenly, "four of you, fire at the steersmen."

Three shots rang out simultaneously, with the result that the two steersmen went down. But two more sprang to their places, seized the great rudder oar, and the rowers toiling hard, the progress of the junk was apparently not checked, and she came steadily on.

Two more shots rang out, mere cracks in the vast s.p.a.ce, but the junk still kept on, till her bows touched the ground and her stern swung round parallel with the wharf, while her crew uttered a fierce yell and crowded to the side; but they were some fifteen feet away from the wharf-edge.

"Hah!" said Stan to himself. "They mean business now;" for once more there was silence for a few moments before the old tactics were carried out, a signal was given, and full warning afforded to the defenders that the enemy was coming on. For on each junk men rushed forward and aft to begin belabouring the great hanging gongs with all their might, and this formed the accompaniment to a terrific chorus of yells.

"I should have liked to go down and see poor Mr Blunt once more," said Stan to himself; "but I dare not go now."

Then he started, for his words suddenly a.s.sumed a strange significance.

It seemed to him as if his seeing Blunt once more meant that it would be for the last time, and something like a shudder ran through him.

He made an effort, however, and it was gone, leaving him firm and ready to an extent that startled him, for he could not believe that in the face of such terrible danger it would last.

There was no more thinking then. The enemy, keeping up the horrible din which was evidently intended to terrify the defenders of the _hong_ into submission, came pouring now from the various junks, some over the sides to leap down from bulwark to wharf, some through the regular gangway, and those from the freshly returned junk making no scruple about dropping from the rail at the nearest point down into the river, to wade or swim ash.o.r.e. The manoeuvre resulted in several unfortunates being crowded down, to rise after an interval, and in several instances to be swept away by the sharp current now running between the side of the junk and the wharf, where, as fast as the a.s.sailants gathered, they rushed yelling to the tea-chest barrier and began to climb.

All was wild excitement on the part of the a.s.sailants, who, as they pushed one another up, to be pulled up in turn by those at the top, kept up a continuous chorus of savage abuse and threats of the way that they would treat their victims as soon as they got them down; but the furious outburst seemed to have not the slightest effect upon the defenders, who, crouching well below their barricades, remained perfectly calm and firm. They knew their cut-out task, and contented themselves with the delivery of a well-directed shot now and again. There would be a well-concealed loophole, with nothing visible to the attacking pirates, giving them perfect confidence that the defenders were hiding away from them, and then all at once there followed a sharp, pale spurt of flame, a little puff of smoke, and some leading man of the attacking party would go down from the top of the wall, where he had been urging his followers on, while as he fell it was as often as not to lie perfectly motionless, unnoticed by his people; though upon some occasions, after staggering and falling, he would struggle to his hands and knees and crawl out of the hurrying crowd, to try and creep back to one or other of the junks.

But as fast as one man went down several came on in his place, and in a very short s.p.a.ce of time the whole of the narrow alley between wall and store was full of hurrying fighting-men, carrying on the former tactics of battering with their weapons at door and window, some of the storming party holding their ground and keeping on thrusting their spears in savagely wherever there was a loophole to which they could gain access.

"Keep cool," shouted Stan, though for his own part he seemed on fire.

"They'll get tired of hammering at the place in time."