With the Allies to Pekin: A Tale of the Relief of the Legations

The Chinese could not, he knew, have recognized him as a white man, but his extraordinary conduct in hiding in the junk, and the unusual method he adopted of leaving it, would have shown them that at any rate he was not one of themselves, and would perhaps have suggested to them that he was going down with a message from Pekin.

He was presently aware, by the loud shouting, that at least some of the soldiers had joined in the pursuit. The strip of jungle was of no great width, and as he could not therefore hope to escape by keeping to it, he made his way back towards the river. When he made the bank again he saw, to his satisfaction, that the boat in which his pursuers had crossed was lying only some fifty yards away, with but one Chinaman sitting in it. This man, he decided, must be silenced at any cost, for he would give the alarm the moment he was in the water. He therefore approached him as quietly as possible, keeping among the bushes until he was opposite to the boat.

The Chinaman was evidently listening, for he was standing up in the boat, his attention probably attracted by the slight rustle Rex had made in coming along. Rex gathered himself together and sprang suddenly into the boat, grasping the Chinaman by the throat and rolling with him upon the floorboards. He could have shot him easily enough, but he knew that the sound would draw all his pursuers to the spot, and so defeat his purpose. The Chinaman was a powerful man, but Rex had taken such a grip of his throat that he was unable to shake it off. The desperate conflict continued for a minute or two. Then the Chinamanʼs struggles grew more feeble, his colour became almost black, his little eyes began to stare; indeed he seemed at the point of death. Rex was reluctant to kill the man, so he bound his arms tightly to his sides with a rope which he found in the boat, and stuffed his mouth was a piece of cloth which he cut from the manʼs own coat. Then, leaving him lying senseless in the bottom, he seized one of the oars.

As the channel was shallow, he was able to punt across, and as he did so he noted with satisfaction that the junk was so far away that those on board would take him for a native. On reaching the other side he jumped ashore, pushed the boat out into the stream with all his strength, and then, turning, made off as fast as he could go. After covering some two miles he reached the edge of the jungle. Here he halted, for he felt that he could not continue his journey by day without danger of discovery. He threw himself down on the ground. The events of the last few hours had completely exhausted him, and he now discovered that he had lost his bag of provisions; probably he had left them where the tiger had attacked him. This was a great misfortune, for he had still, he calculated, at least thirty miles to pass before he reached Tientsin, and he might be kept some time outside that place before he could enter it. He waited until late in the afternoon, and then he felt that he must have some food. He therefore started again on his journey, and at last, after hesitating several times, determined to risk everything. He recharged his revolvers, and, waiting till night had quite fallen, made his way into the nearest village.

He congratulated himself more than ever that he was able to speak Chinese, and he knew that the dialect differed so much in various parts of the country that although the peasants might see that he was not a native of their district, they would not guess that he was other than a Chinaman. He therefore entered a house where a light was burning, and said: “I am sorely in need of feed. Will you sell me some?”

The occupants of the cottage were an old man and an old woman. At his words they both looked up in some surprise.

“Where do you come from?” the woman asked.

“I come from the north,” he said, “and am the bearer of a message to our general at Tientsin. I have travelled a long way and am hungry.”

“Are you a Boxer?” the old man asked.

“No,” he replied. “My letter is from the Empress.”

“Well, well,” the old man said, “it makes no difference to us. Did you see any Boxers on this side of the river as you came along?”

“No,” said Rex, “they were on the other side.”

The old man heaved a sigh of relief.

“They are terrible people,” he said, “and though they fight against the white devils they plunder and kill us poor villagers, who have nothing to do with the affair.”

“They act badly,” Rex said; “and it is because I know that they kill before questioning that I am travelling on this side of the river.”

“You do well,” the peasant said. “It is true that they have no mercy. We have now in the village several who have barely escaped with their lives from them by swimming across the river. They have told us terrible tales of their doings. But you are hungry; my wife will cook you some rice.”

“Do you mind shutting the door?” Rex asked. “There might be someone in the village who, wishing to curry favour with the Boxers, might go and bring some of them over if he saw a stranger here.”

“I will do so,” the old man said, suiting the action to the word; “for although I think that there is none in the village who would do so treacherous an act, yet it is as well to take precautions.”

The old woman set some rice to boil over a small fire, while the old man chatted with Rex. In twenty minutes the rice was ready, and, sitting down, he made a hearty meal, congratulating himself that during his journey with the girls he had learned to eat with chopsticks.

He had just finished when the door opened and a man wearing the badge of the Boxers entered the room.

“Bring out what food you have!” the fellow said roughly; “all of it. There are many of us in the village; it is of no use making resistance. We want to eat ourselves and to carry all there is here back to our comrades. Who is this? a son of yours?”

“No,” the old man said, “he is a stranger, and bears a message from the Empress for your general at Tientsin.”

“Let me see it!” the man demanded. “It is strange that you should come round this way, instead of going straight.”

“My message is to the general,” Rex said, “and I give it to no one else.”

“But how are we to know that your story is true?” the Boxer said. “This is not the way that a messenger from the Empress would come, and if she sent one it would not be by a fellow like you. Empresses do not entrust their messages to peasants. I believe you are a spy from the white devils at Pekin.”

“I canʼt help what you believe,” Rex said quietly, “nor do I mean to quarrel with you. I will therefore say to you, leave me alone and I will leave you alone.”

“Message or no message,” the Boxer said, “I will soon satisfy myself.” And he drew his sword.

Rex listened a moment through the open door. He could hear a great din and commotion; muskets were being discharged, and flames were bursting out from among the cottages. Feeling, therefore, that the sound of a pistol would hardly attract attention, he raised his weapon as the Boxer rushed at him, and shot the man through the head.

The old peasant wrung his hands.

“They will kill us all!” he cried; “they will show us no mercy!”

“Quick! Help me to carry the body out at the back door, and to lay it down by the wall. The body will not be noticed there. Then I advise you and your wife to fly at once and hide in the jungle a few hundred yards away. There is no fear of their finding you, and in the morning you can come out again, if, as is most likely, they have gone.”

The old man seized the dead Boxer by the legs, while Rex took him by the head, and together they removed him from the house. Then the old couple hurried away, after Rex had thrust some money into the manʼs hand.

“That will go far to build up your cottage again,” he said; “but it is hardly likely that they will burn it when they find it empty.”

So saying he turned away and continued his journey. He had gone but a couple of miles when he came suddenly upon a group of peasants, who were anxiously watching a light in the sky.

“Who are you?” they shouted as they seized him.

“I am a stranger in these parts; I am on my way down from Pekin,” he said; “but I have come to warn you that the Boxers are near at hand.”

“That is a pretty tale,” one of them said derisively. “There is no doubt that you are a spy of the Boxers come on in advance to know whether our village is worth plundering. Besides, we know that the Boxers have not yet crossed the river.”

“I can assure you that they have. That light you see there comes from the village three miles away. They have plundered it and set it on fire.”

“A nice story!” the spokesman of the party said. “How then did you get away to give us word if you were not sent forward as a spy?”

“I was staying there overnight,” he said, “and while I was eating my supper the village was attacked, and I fled.”

“That will not do, my fine fellow. There is no doubt that you are a Boxer spy, and at least one of the cursed band shall die. Haul him along, fellows!”

The men dragged Rex to the village, which was but a hundred yards away. There he was tied to a post while the villagers debated what death he should die. It was not pleasant to Rex to hear the details of his execution discussed, each one more horrible than another. They finally decided to burn him alive, and were bringing the faggots out of their houses for the purpose, when a sound of shouting and the clashing of weapons was borne towards them on the quiet night air.

“Listen!” he shouted, “the Boxers are coming.”

Everyone stood for a moment as still as a statue. Then a wild cry arose of “The Boxers! the Boxers!” and in an instant all Rexʼs persecutors had fled, each to snatch some prized valuable in his house, and to fly before the Boxers arrived. As soon as they had left him, Rex struggled to free himself from his bonds. Fortunately the cords had not been tightly fastened, and after a prolonged and desperate effort he freed one hand; the rest was comparatively easy, and just as the Boxers were entering the village he tore himself free. He ran at the top of his speed till he felt that he was safe, and then he threw himself down exhausted.

“I have had a hard day of it indeed,” he said; “once mauled by a tiger, and three times nearly taken by the Boxers. If I get through this safely, I am not likely to leave Tientsin again until I come up with the relieving army. I have had more narrow escapes to–day than I have had in all my life, and I have no wish for a repetition of them. I am not sure if I do not prefer a tiger to these fanatical Boxers.”

After lying for fully half an hour, he got up and continued his way towards Tientsin. The rest of the journey was uneventful. At the appointed spot he met Ah Lo, who had managed to get down without adventure. After mutual congratulations, they made a hearty meal off some provisions which Ah Lo had been fortunate enough to get at the house of an old friend, Rex the while recounting his experiences. When they had finished, they cautiously approached the town.

Working down to the east, they saw that heavy firing was going on from a large building which had been the Chinese military college, and in other parts of the town. The military college showed signs of having been heavily cannonaded.

“It is evident,” said Rex, “that our fellows have taken that place, and that the Chinese are attacking it. We must wait till night, and then try and make our way in. I hope that the place is held by British troops, for if it is occupied by troops who donʼt understand English, we are likely to be shot as we approach it.”

Accordingly they lay down at the edge of a patch of high corn.

“At present,” said Rex, “our men are taking the offensive; the firing on the other side of the river is on the outside of the settlement. Admiral Seymourʼs force canʼt have retired beyond Tientsin; they must be holding the place, for certainly the local Europeans would not have been strong enough to make a sortie, or to have captured that Chinese college. It is either that or else troops must have come up from Taku.”

The truth was that fifteen hundred Russians had arrived after Admiral Seymourʼs force had started. It was fortunate indeed that they had not arrived in time to join it, for if they had, Tientsin could not have made a successful resistance.

All day the firing went on. Where they lay they could see that not only Boxers, but regular Chinese troops, were taking part in the attack. Several times the enemy made rushes almost up to the college, but each time they quailed before the heavy fire and turned back. At nightfall the fighting ceased, and Rex and his companion left their hiding–place and made their way round to the river below the military college, on which side no attack had been made. Groups of men were sitting about talking together, but by exercising great caution they succeeded in avoiding these, and at last approached the college. When they got nearer, Rex shouted: “I am an Englishman with messages from Pekin; donʼt fire!”

“All right, mate!” came back in a hearty voice. “But you must just stop where you are until I call an officer.”

A minute later, a voice shouted: “How many are there of you?”

“Only myself and one servant.”

“All right! come on. As an Englishman you must be a friend.”

A couple of minutes later Rex and Ah Lo entered the college. An officer with two men and a lantern met them.

“You may be an Englishman,” the officer said, “but you look very unlike one.”

“If I hadnʼt disguised myself I should not have got down here,” Rex said with a laugh. “My name is Bateman. I am the son of a merchant here. I went up with Admiral Seymourʼs expedition, but left them when they came to a stand–still, and made my way into Pekin, where I have some relations.”

“Are they holding out all right?” the officer asked eagerly. “No news has come down for the past ten days. Isnʼt Seymour there?”

“No. I am sorry to say he is not. Hasnʼt he got back here?”

“No. We have not heard of him since he started.”

“That is bad news indeed. He was getting very short of provisions when I left him. We heard firing as we came down to–day, some ten miles out. I know that there is a big Chinese arsenal out there. I only hope he has taken that and is defending himself.”

“And Pekin is safe still?”

“Yes. We have been fighting hard for the past three weeks, and the garrison can hold out for some time longer; but the Chinese are gradually gaining ground. The French Legation is nearly destroyed, so is the American, and the Russian is a good deal damaged. I hope, however, that fighting has stopped for the present. If it goes on again all will have to take to the British settlement. Now, how can I get across?”

“Well, you canʼt get to the bridge now. Your only plan is to take a native boat – several of them are lying on the shore – and row across. We are going to blow up this place to–night, and level it to the ground; the men are all at work mining it. We only took it because it commands more or less all the streets running from the water. When we have levelled it we shall probably return again to the other side. Of course before going we shall also burn down all the Chinese houses on this side of the river.”

CHAPTER XI

THE FIGHT AT TIENTSIN

Rex crossed the river with Ah Lo, and made his way to Mr. Batemanʼs, He was received with delight, and both father and mother showered questions upon him as to the state of things in Pekin.

“There has been a lot of miscellaneous fighting,” he said, “but the Chinese have not made many determined assaults, and in all cases have been readily beaten off. The attacks are slackening off now, I think the Chinese are getting pretty sick of it. When I left the garrison the girls were quite well. They are working as assistants to the lady who undertakes the cooking for the hospitals, and they therefore get, I think, rather better food than most people. At any rate they look very well, and I do think that the siege has been good for them, for they have not had time to mope over the death of their father and mother, as they would have done had I brought them down here. When it is all over, that horrible business will seem to them an age back. Indeed it seems so to me already. I can hardly believe that it is not much more than three weeks since I got them out.

“Now, Father, how have you been getting on here?”

“Well, the fighting only began two days ago, but it has been pretty hot since then. Everyone who can carry a gun has been taking part in the defence. We have barricaded the ends of all the streets, but I donʼt think we could have held out long if it hadnʼt been for the Russians, who came up after Seymour left. By the way, what is the news of him? We expected to hear ten days ago of his arrival at Pekin.”

“He never got up there, Father. I told you that I thought he wouldnʼt. When they started they only took with them provisions for six days, and as the railway was everywhere pulled up, they had difficulty in taking even that with them. I donʼt know how far they got, but it was certainly nowhere near Pekin. I believe they are now besieged at the arsenal, eight miles out. We heard heavy firing in that direction when we came along last night. Of course we had no idea then as to what it was, but I have no doubt whatever now. I must go at once and tell whoever is in command.”

“The Russian Colonel is at the head of affairs in virtue both of seniority of rank, and of being in command of the strongest force here. I donʼt think he knows English, but he speaks French. I will ask Thompson, who I know speaks that language fluently, to accompany me to his house with you and act as interpreter. We expect some more troops up to–morrow, and I have no doubt that, as soon as he has given our assailants here a good thrashing, he will send out a relief party to Seymour.”

Mr. Thompson readily agreed to accompany them, and they proceeded together to the house of Colonel Wogack, the senior officer in Tientsin. When they sent in word that a messenger had arrived from Pekin they were at once admitted. The colonel had just finished dinner. He had with him Colonel Anisimoff and Lieutenant–Colonel Shirinsky. Rex had changed his clothes before starting, and Mr. Thompson introduced him to the general as a gentleman who had just made his way down from Pekin.

“What is the news, sir?” the colonel asked in French.

Rex related the state of affairs in the Legations.

“This is much better than we had hoped,” the colonel said warmly. “We have been in the greatest anxiety about the position, and several rumours have reached us that the Legations had fallen. Are you the bearer of the message for me from the Ministers?”

“No, sir, I came down in disguise, and had I been seized and searched, any paper of that kind would have ensured my death. Sir Claude Macdonald, however, bade me give a full account of the position and of the fighting so far, and assure you that, although provisions were beginning to run short, they could maintain themselves for some time yet.”

“Have you heard anything, sir, about the relieving force?”

“I went up with them, but left them at Fantail and made my way into Pekin, bringing them the only news that they had received of the column. But, sir, on my way down I heard heavy firing in the direction of the Hsi–Ku arsenal. The only explanation of this that occurs to me is that the arsenal has been captured by Admiral Seymour, and that he is besieged there.”

“Why do you not think that he may be besieging it?” the colonel said sharply.

“Because, sir, they only had three daysʼ provisions when I left them, and must have been in a state of starvation when they arrived at the arsenal. Admiral Seymour would therefore attack it for the sake of the stores it contained, and as he would no doubt lose heavily, he would not be in a position to cut his way down here.”

“Very well reasoned, sir. As soon as we can spare a force from here, we will go out to relieve him. Now, will you kindly give me a full detailed account of the fighting at Pekin and the state of the resources there?”

“May I ask if you speak Chinese, Colonel?”

“Certainly. I have resided for some years in Pekin.”

“Then in that case, sir,” Rex said, “I shall tell you in that language, as the story is a long one, and it will be tedious to translate it sentence by sentence.”

“It would certainly be more convenient,” the colonel said.

Rex then told the story at length. He was saved much time in explaining the nature of the defences from the colonelʼs knowledge of the ground. The Russian officer made several comments here and there.

“Why did they not hold the customs–house?” he asked. “It was a strong building and but a short distance from the Fu.”

“Yes, sir, but I believe that it was considered that the force was barely sufficient to hold the Legation. Indeed, the occupation of the Fu was to some extent an afterthought, and it was necessitated by the great number of the Christian Chinese who came in for shelter, and for whom it was absolutely impossible to provide in the Legations. It was for the same reason that the Austrian, Italian, and Dutch Legations and the Pekin Club were abandoned. A portion of the French Legation has been destroyed, also part of the Fu.”

Then he related the incidents of each dayʼs fighting.

“Was our bank held as well as our Legation?” the Russian asked.

“Yes. The line of defence went round the back and side of your Legation and the Russian Bank to the Tartar wall. On the other side it did not reach the Tartar wall.”

The narration occupied more than an hour. At the end, Colonel Wogack thanked Rex very warmly for his information.

“It is all most valuable, and especially that part relating to Admiral Seymourʼs expedition. I hope we shall get some more messengers through to Pekin, for it is clear that up to the time you left, the Chinese were gradually gaining ground. They have abundance of artillery, and if they were to bring it into play they could breach the walls and defences in half a dozen places in the course of twelve hours. What you tell me of your visit to Prince Ching affords a certain amount of hope, but there is never any depending on Chinamen. To–morrow the other party may get the upper hand again and fighting go on more earnestly than ever. Matters here have become much more serious in the course of the past day or so. Until the Taku forts were taken the Chinese regular troops held aloof from the Boxers, but now the Chinese regular troops have joined the Boxers, and we are likely to have hot work of it.”

On their way home Rex told his father what the colonel had said.

“Yes,” he said. “In the opinion of a good many men the summons to those fortresses to surrender was a mistake. Up till that time the affair might have been considered as an insurrection; indeed, the Chinese troops several times fought the Boxers, but the attack on the Taku Forts was considered by the Chinese as a declaration of war on the part of the Powers. I donʼt say that there is not a great deal to be said both ways. There was always the danger that the Chinese would unite against us, especially as the Empress openly upheld the Boxers. In that case it is certain that the available force on board the ships would not have sufficed to fight their way up here, and consequently Tientsin must have fallen, and Pekin also. It was therefore a most difficult question to decide. Our attack on the Taku Forts certainly had the effect of uniting the Chinese against us, but had that attack not been made, or had it been delayed, we should probably have had all the Chinese against us, with an inadequate force to oppose them, and Tientsin and Pekin would have been lost, and the life of every European in them sacrificed.

“Come in, Mr. Thompson. We must get Rex to go over his narrative for our benefit. It need not be so full as that which he gave to the colonel, in the first place because we donʼt know the position of all the Legations, so that details would be lost on us; in the next place, because it is getting late, and Rex has already had a long day of it.”

It was not, however, till past midnight that Rex finished and they turned into bed. They were awakened an hour later by a series of loud explosions, which told that the sailors were engaged in blowing up the military college. In the morning Rex learned more of what had taken place. The Boxers had set fire to several places in the native city, and to the railway–station. They were beaten off, and a train was despatched to Tong–Ku, filled with women and children; the rest were ordered to take shelter in the Gordon Hall, the large municipal building in the British section.