Under the Chinese Dragon Part 17

'_Bon! Bon!_ The next time we will do it, yes,' he said. 'Now to sponge the gun clean, and then for a fresh charge.'

That second shot proved far more encouraging. The ball struck the surface just to one side of the vessel that was following them, and ricochetted some three or four times before it finally sank to the bottom. But the third shot plumped clear on to the deck of the enemy, causing considerable commotion.

'_Bien_, we have the charge at last, and with this long swivel the aim is easy,' cried the Frenchman. 'Let us try again.'

A roar of applause greeted the fifth shot, for though fired by amateurs it struck the mast of the pursuer, and as they watched, the Professor and his friends saw the rigging sway and come tottering over.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "A ROAR OF APPLAUSE GREETED THE FIFTH SHOT"]

'Thus ends all our trouble,' he cried. 'We can shorten sail, and go on slowly.'

Late that evening Hung announced a ship in the offing, and before darkness had fallen a gun-boat ranged up beside them. In fact, she fired a shot across the bows of this suspicious-looking vessel, and then sent a boat's crew aboard her. A dapper little Chinese officer swarmed up on her deck, and even he, with all his native impa.s.siveness, showed unusual surprise as his eyes fell upon the Professor and his party.

'English?' he asked pleasantly, bowing courteously, and then, when he had received an a.s.suring answer, 'Then there is something to explain. We are in search of a notorious pirate.'

He spoke English with hardly an accent, and his face lit up wonderfully as the Professor answered. Then, as he listened to the tale the latter told him, a flush rose to his sallow cheeks.

'You will please to come aboard at once,' he commanded. 'This news is very important. My commander will require the fullest information.'

It appeared, in fact, that news of the pirate's presence in those waters had come to the Chinese navy officials, who had despatched a gun-boat.

'Some one gave information in Shanghai,' explained the dapper little officer. 'No doubt he did so for a reward. But we learned that some Europeans had set off in a native boat, and that there was a plot to seize them. We made sure when we sighted you that you were the pirate.

Now, of course, we shall take them easily.'

Which actually happened, for four hours' steaming brought the gun-boat within easy range of the vessel that had so lately accommodated the Professor and his party. Then, such is the summary justice handed out by the celestial race, the ship was callously bombarded, and sent with all the villains aboard her to the bottom.

'For which one cannot really grieve, though it does seem a barbarous way of executing them,' said the Professor. 'And now to get ash.o.r.e and pursue our search for ruins.'

Two days later saw them landed, and within a little while the expedition had left for the interior.

CHAPTER X

Ebenezer Clayhill's Inspiration

Mr. Ebenezer Clayhill was not the man to be thwarted without displaying some show of opposition, and though the course which David Harbor had taken, and the result of his action in the Courts had considerably perturbed the owner of 'The Haven,' the latter did not remain despondent for long.

'The young rascal!' he exclaimed to his wife one day, as they sat in the flat which they had rented in London, for longer residence in their own house was hardly possible, the publication of their doings having roused the ire of the countryside. Indeed, both Ebenezer and his wife had been hooted in the village, while, on rising the morning after their return from the trial of the case they had been astounded to discover a huge notice board in the garden, prominently displayed, with 'To Let' in large figures, a very obvious hint that their presence in those parts was no longer required.

'The young rascal!' he exclaimed again, blowing his huge nose with unusual violence. 'I suppose he thinks to have things all his own way.'

'And so far he has won all along the line,' came the brusque if not very encouraging answer from Mrs. Clayhill. 'I knew what it would be if you quarrelled with the boy. A more stubborn, strong-headed youth I never met. It was your sending him from home which upset matters.'

Mr. Ebenezer glared at his wife over the top of his handkerchief, and when he at length exposed the whole of his countenance it was flushed a deep red to match the wonted colour of his proboscis.

'We won't discuss that,' he said icily. 'The boy hasn't won, though he appears to have done so. Recollect that he has yet to find that will, and China is a big country.'

The reflection appeased Mrs. Clayhill for the moment. 'Yes, China is a big country,' she agreed, thoughtfully. Then she again recurred to David's stubbornness, as she was pleased to characterise his pluck and staunchness. Indeed, the reader will have been able to draw his own conclusions. If standing up for oneself, and fighting one's own battles when a most evident wrong was attempted was stubbornness, then David was undoubtedly of that persuasion, decidedly stubborn to say the least.

'China is a big country, as Edward Harbor was never tired of telling me.

But he'll do it. If that will exists, as I believe it does--for my late husband was most careful and particular--then David will discover it.

Drat the boy!'

'Precisely! We will allow that he will hunt high and low,' said Mr.

Ebenezer, a.s.suming a soothing tone of voice. 'We will even a.s.sume that he will find the will, though of that I am extremely doubtful. But will he bring it back in safety? That is the question.'

At his words his wife looked up sharply. She was accustomed to Ebenezer now, and had found him to be a schemer. Not that that fact annoyed her.

On the contrary, as has been already mentioned, this lady was not of the nicest disposition. Had the whole truth been known, she had schemed to marry Edward Harbor, knowing him to be a rich man, while she was almost penniless. She was, indeed, not altogether guiltless of scheming herself, and found in Ebenezer a man somewhat after her own heart. She looked up sharply, questioningly, and waited for him to continue.

'Well?' she demanded, after a while, finding he remained silent, save for the fact that he drew his handkerchief from his pocket again and applied it to his nose, trumpeting loudly, an old and disagreeable habit that was often annoying. 'Put that handkerchief away, Ebenezer, and tell me what you mean. What are you driving at? The boy may find the will, you say, but you doubt his bringing it back safely. Why shouldn't he be able to do so? If he actually finds this will, surely that is the most difficult part of the task. I don't understand you.'

'My dear,' came the answer, as Ebenezer pulled at his handkerchief again, and then, suddenly remembering that it annoyed his wife, tucked it away. Instead he rose and placed himself in his favourite position on the hearth-rug, expanded his chest, and put on an air of great importance. 'My dear,' he said, 'let us a.s.sume that he gets this doc.u.ment. He discovers it in China, in the part where his father carried out research work in connection with some old Mongolian city. I say, let us a.s.sume that he is so fortunate. Well, China is a country of disturbances. Foreign devils are not over loved, and--er--well, you see--er--sometimes there are robberies committed. Edward Harbor was murdered, probably for his small possessions, his guns and other things necessary to him on such an expedition. David might----'

'Be murdered! You don't mean that!' exclaimed Mrs. Clayhill, holding up her hands in horror, and sitting up sharply in her chair. For that was going too far. A scheme was a scheme, she told herself. She had gone so far already in her efforts to oust her stepson from all benefit in his father's possessions, that she would not hesitate to scheme further; but she drew the line sharply at personal violence. That was against her wishes altogether.

'Ebenezer,' she cried severely, 'I forbid you even to talk of such a thing. If we cannot enjoy this money without doing actual violence to David, then I will at once go to the solicitor, Mr. Jones, and show him that letter Edward wrote me. If I produced it, there is not a shadow of doubt but that a judge would advise a jury against the will we have put forward. The wording is so strong that there can be no doubt not only of my late husband's intentions, but also of the fact that he actually executed a will in David's favour. It would end the matter for good and all; we should be almost paupers.'

Mrs. Clayhill was quite agitated, to say the least, and was almost angry with her husband. In any case she was consistent; for while she was not averse to a scheme which would do no one personal or bodily harm, she would rather resign all interest in the possessions of her late husband than have David injured. And as might be expected, Ebenezer was not left altogether unruffled. The excitement was too much for his powers of self-control. He dragged his handkerchief from his pocket and trumpeted again, a shrilly, discordant note which seemed to match with Mrs.

Clayhill's temper. Then he regained his coolness, and held his hands up in a soothing manner.

'My dear, my dear,' he cried, somewhat querulously, still hot and perturbed at the thought of the consequences of such an act as his wife had threatened, 'whoever said a word about violence? Not I; of that I am sure. I merely remarked that China was a disturbed country, and that Europeans are hated people, open to robbery and violence. I was about to proceed when----'

'What then?' asked Mrs. Clayhill, abruptly, relieved to hear that no violence to David was premeditated, and eager at the same time to learn what her crafty husband could have thought of. 'What is the scheme, Ebenezer? You keep me in a whirl. The anxiety of this will is making me quite miserable. See what has happened already. The people in the village actually insulting, hooting us in the street; servants leaving us _en ma.s.se_, even the outside staff ceasing work and departing. Why, we shall have to let the house. We can never show our faces there again.

And then think of what the papers said. It makes me hot and cold all over in turn as I remember the names they called us.'

It was all very true. Mr. Ebenezer and his scheming wife had imagined that everything would go very smoothly for them; for they had but a lad to deal with. Up to the time of David's being told that he must now work, and must leave home for London, there had not been even a question as to the succession to Edward Harbor's money. It had been a recognised fact that all his wealth was to descend, and at once too, to Mrs.

Ebenezer Clayhill and her husband. Even the solicitor, Mr. Jones, with a natural liking for our hero, and, therefore, with every wish to see him done justice to, had been unable to demur. Unwillingly, it is true, but as a matter of ordinary business, he had carried through the proving of the will put forward by Mr. Ebenezer Clayhill and his wife, and had obtained judgment allowing him to presume Edward Harbor's death. Then, when everything should have gone smoothly, trouble had begun. David had for the first time shown an inclination to contest the will. He had mentioned the existence of a letter from his late father, evidently written at the same time as that sent to Mrs. Ebenezer, and intimating that he was to be the chief beneficiary under his father's will. That bomb-sh.e.l.l had caused consternation, even greater consternation than David's sudden determination to leave home. From that moment the two schemers had known little peace; their scheme was threatened. They began to wonder whether they would actually succeed to the money, and whether also by their action in suppressing that important communication from Edward Harbor they laid themselves open to punishment. David's sudden accession to popularity, the laudatory remarks made concerning him in the papers after the burglary at the store near Bond Street had served to increase their ire and vexation. Finally, they were forced to attend the courts to show reason why the will of the late Edward Harbor should not remain unexecuted, pending a search for a later one mentioned in the letter which David's advisers laid before the courts. Let the reader imagine their anger and mortification. Let him add to that the fact that Ebenezer and his wife were the talk of the country, universally condemned by all, and that their own home no longer afforded them an asylum; he will then readily agree that retribution was coming, that these two schemers were not finding their path of the smoothest. But they were not beaten. Ebenezer spread out his hands again, in an att.i.tude meant to be most soothing, and addressed his wife once more.

'We are wandering from my point,' he said, as placidly as he could, though he found it hard to keep his temper. 'I mentioned no violence to the young cub whom you have the misfortune to own as a stepson. I merely said that he might find it difficult to bring the doc.u.ment home with him, even if he were so fortunate as to discover it.'

'Ebenezer, you have something to tell me,' came the sharp answer. 'What is it? You have been hatching some plan.'

His wife smiled encouragingly at him, and awaited his reply with obvious eagerness. For she had found in this new husband a crafty fellow, and even now had faith in his powers to bring this matter to a successful issue. 'Come,' she said, 'what have you done?'

'I have had a most distinct piece of good fortune. All this prominence which the papers have given us, and which has been so disagreeable, has been useful nevertheless. It has roused a vast amount of interest in the case. People have read every word the papers have written.'

'As we know to our cost,' sniffed Mrs. Ebenezer.

'Precisely. People have read every word, even foreigners, and as a result I received a few days ago a letter from a man living in the east end of London--from a Chinaman.'

Mrs. Ebenezer p.r.i.c.ked up her ears; the plan was beginning in a promising manner. 'A Chinaman,' she e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed. 'Indeed!'

'A Chinaman engaged in the East End; a man recently come from his own country, where he had come in contact with Europeans. He had actually been with Edward Harbor on one occasion, and seems to have made himself invaluable, for he speaks English well, and can cook and do other things. He offered to help us.'

'For money, of course!' exclaimed Mrs. Ebenezer, satirically.