Under the Chinese Dragon Part 26

'Come along, lad,' he called again softly, seeing that d.i.c.k did not move from his position on the basket, where he sat somewhat disconsolately.

'Time we were moving.'

It made him laugh to see the prisoner rise slowly to his feet and rub his eyes as if he could not believe what they were telling him. Then he had occasion to speak sharply. For it appeared that d.i.c.k had fallen asleep while seated, and imagining that he had heard David's voice in a dream, and not when possessed of all his senses, he took it for granted that the figure at the door was actually that of the Tartar. He dashed forward swiftly, evidently with the intention of attacking.

'Stop!' cried David sharply. 'Don't be a fool. Shake yourself, and then you'll see who I really am. Quick! We've no time to waste. We've heaps of work before us.'

'Well, I never! You take my breath away. What next will you appear as?'

gasped d.i.c.k, recovering his senses, and stepping forward to wring David's hand. 'What next? A Tartar under-officer now, and I suppose you had to steal to get the clothing. To-morrow you'll be stalking about as the deputy-governor.'

'No, I shall not; but you will.'

'I! Disguised as the deputy-governor! Look here, David, are you silly, or have I gone clean staring mad? I as Tsu-Hi, indeed! The rascal's safely tucked in bed at this moment.'

'He is; agreed,' admitted David curtly, a grin on his lips.

'As safe as houses in his gilded palace,' said d.i.c.k bitterly.

'Wrong! He's not in his gilded palace. He's tucked safely in bed along with that pompous Tartar under-officer. He's tied up as if he were a dangerous hyena.'

d.i.c.k scratched his head energetically, and rubbed his eyes again. He was seriously anxious about his old friend, who had so suddenly come to visit him. The stubborn look on his face, his evident determination, and the curtness of his answer roused an awful suspicion in his mind.

Was David mad, driven out of his mind by this sudden trouble? Then he shook his head.

'It's I who am a fool,' he whispered. 'Here he is in Tartar uniform.

That shows he's been moving. But this business of Tsu-Hi beats me altogether; it knocks the stuffing entirely out of yours truly.'

'It'll knock the stuffing out of someone else I know of.'

David blurted out the words gruffly, while a frown crossed his forehead.

'Sit down for a moment,' he said shortly. 'I'll tell you what's been pa.s.sing. Don't ask a heap of questions. We're still in a beastly hole, and unless everything is in readiness we shall be too late to slip out of the city. Sit down; for goodness sake don't interrupt.'

He sate himself down beside his friend, and told him as swiftly as possible of Chang's visit, of his own escape, and of what had followed.

'And now you're going to be Tsu-Hi,' he said abruptly. 'No use in my changing these clothes. You can do the work as well as I can. Let's get along into the other room, and then you can strip off your things and dress in Tsu-Hi's gorgeous raiment.'

'And then?' asked d.i.c.k, beginning to grin and bubble over, for the adventure amused him vastly. 'And then, my n.o.ble sir, what do I do? Go to the palace and command the foreign devils to be brought before me.

Sign their death warrants, and see them executed. Oh, Lor'! I see it all. Here's a splendid ending. We put this Tartar beggar into your clothes, and Tsu-Hi into mine, and let Chang behead 'em as if they were actually foreign devils.'

He would have roared with laughing, had not David stopped him angrily.

'Utter rot you do talk, d.i.c.k,' he said severely, though he was bound to smile at the reckless jollity of his comrade. 'You become the deputy-governor, and in due course you will go to the palace, and I with you. For the moment, you've got to dress. Come along--no more jawing.'

They crept along the pa.s.sage to the cell in which Tsu-Hi and the Tartar lay together, where d.i.c.k quickly arrayed himself in the finery of the fallen governor.

'How do I look, old chap?' he asked, posing beneath the lantern, and before the eyes of the man he was representing. 'A bit of a sport, I think. What? Ain't I handsome?'

'You're an idiot!' declared David crossly, though he was bound to laugh.

'Tsu-Hi looks as if beheading wouldn't be enough for you. But let's get to business. Tie your own clothing into a bundle. Now, let me have it.'

Gripping the rope which dangled from the window-frame, and holding the bundle between his teeth, David swarmed up till he was able to get a grip of the edge above. He straddled it at once, and then whistled softly. At once Jong's figure shot from the shadow. The Chinaman crept into the centre of the road.

'Catch!' called David, tossing the bundle; 'and pick up the one I threw before. 'Listen to this, Jong. Mr. d.i.c.k and I have captured Tsu-Hi.

We'll be coming out in a moment, when we shall go direct to the palace.

Once there, you'll have to bring out the ponies without delay, and get our goods packed on them. I shall want a cart also.'

He waved to the man, and slid into the room again, slipping down the rope as if he were a sailor.

'Where'd it come from?' asked d.i.c.k, nodding to the dangling cord. 'Who fixed it?'

'I did. Jong is outside; he threw it up to me.'

'Then you could have slipped down then and there, and got clear away?

Ain't that it?'

'I suppose so,' admitted David grudgingly.

'My uncle! Then why didn't you?'

d.i.c.k turned sharply upon him, his face serious, a flush on his cheeks.

'Why didn't you?' he demanded fiercely.

'Because--oh, look here,' said David lamely, 'we're wasting time. What's the good of jawing?'

'Why didn't you?' demanded d.i.c.k again, his manner resolute, ignoring his comrade's efforts to change the conversation; then, finding that David did not answer, he clapped a hand on his shoulder.

'All right,' he said, with a curtness which matched that of the lad who had released him. 'I know well enough. It's one up for you, anyway.

Could have escaped, but wouldn't, simply because there was a wretched beggar owning to the name of d.i.c.k still left in the building. Right, my boy, I'm not going to forget it. Now, what orders?'

'Glad you've returned to business,' exclaimed David. 'What orders?'

'Yes. You give 'em. This is your own little affair. What are they? Call up the garrison, march to Chang's quarters, and then set fire to the city? Eh? What are they?'

The merry fellow was bubbling over again at the thought of his own impertinence. He smacked his thigh loudly, as he considered what a reversal of fortune the night had shown to the various parties. It made him giggle hugely to see Tsu-Hi, trussed indeed, glaring from over the top of the greasy bandage with which David had had the temerity to secure the gag that silenced him. In fact, d.i.c.k was ready for any piece of mischief that David cared to invent, and, if he were backward, this young fellow was ready himself to supply the want, and urge a plan which for recklessness would easily have matched that of his comrade. But then he was a merry, light-hearted youngster. He wanted the depth and stability that David enjoyed. The latter put a stop to his chatter with a sudden movement.

'Don't imagine we're out of the wood yet,' he said. 'I've got my plans, but whether we can carry them out is another matter. First and foremost, we have to collar Chang. I've seen him already in a room on a higher level than this, located on the other side of the building. You're game, I suppose?'

d.i.c.k led the way to the door, his eyes flashing. 'Game for anything,' he cried. 'But I'll be silent and cautious. You can trust me.'

'Then come along; bring the lantern with you. If we meet any one don't utter a word. Pa.s.s them in silence. Recollect that you are deputy-governor, the chief official of the city, to whom all will give obedience. And one thing more. This Chang is expecting a call from you.

When we reach the room pa.s.s in boldly. I shall make a jump at him.'

Picking up the lantern d.i.c.k fell in beside David, and the two pa.s.sed into the pa.s.sage, having first, however, inspected their prisoners. The Tartar under-officer was breathing stertorously, and was still evidently unconscious. As for Tsu-Hi, he was as helpless as a baby. All he could do was to glare at the foreign devils; for his eyes were the only parts that the unfortunate governor could completely control. They pulled the door shut after them, and shot the bolts. Then they hastened past the cell in which d.i.c.k had been imprisoned, closing the door as they did so, and proceeded up the flight of stone steps which led from the far end of the pa.s.sage. Nor had they much difficulty in calculating where Chang was in residence. For David had a fair b.u.mp of locality, and his meanderings on the roof of the prison had given him invaluable information. He came to a halt opposite a narrow door, and motioned to d.i.c.k to move along farther. Then he slid to the floor, and applied his eye to the crevice which existed beneath the woodwork. A moment later he was on his feet, his face beaming.

'There's a light in there,' he whispered, 'and I'm sure I saw his legs.

Half a minute while I make another inspection.'

This second time he was sure that he could see the feet of some individual, though whether it were Chang or some one else there was no saying. It was a man. That was sufficient.