"It is hard to tell, Sahib Phra," said the old hunter sadly. "Lahn tells me that the King's guards fought for him till he and the ladies and the Sahibs were safe in the palace; then at a word from one of the bonzes they threw down their spears and krises in the courtyard, and joined the King's enemies outside the walls."
"The traitors—the traitors!" groaned Phra; "and we trusted them so. But tell me, Sree: those lights, the cries, and the beating of gongs to-night, what did it all mean?"
"Fighting, Sahib. The King's friends are very few, but some of his servants are with him still, and they beat the enemy off. Spears cannot reach so far as guns. Lahn says fighting like that has gone on all day."
"Hah!" ejaculated Phra. "But tell me: you, did you do nothing?"
"Yes, Sahib Phra; that made me so long. I went up in the dark to where there are many hundreds of the enemy all about the palace."
"But did you try to find a way by which we may get in tonight?"
"No, Sahib; the enemy are many, and they watch every place."
"But the terrace?" said Phra eagerly. "We could take the boat up there."
"Two of the King's barges are there, with many men guarding the landing-place, so that the King and his friends should not escape by the river."
"But at the back there, by the elephant houses?"
"A hundred men are there."
"By the garden?"
"It is full of spearmen."
"Oh, is there no place?" whispered Phra—"nowhere that we could crawl up unseen?"
"The Sahib Prince knows the place better than his servant, and that it is strong. His servant would have tried to climb over the wall, but there were many men everywhere, and he could not get near."
"If we could only let my father know that we are near!" said Phra excitedly.
"If we could, Sahib," said Sree slowly, "he would command you to escape, and wait till the danger is at an end."
"Yes—yes—he would wish me to go, but I cannot. Mr.
Kenyon—Doctor—what shall we do?"
"We must get help," said Mr. Kenyon promptly. "Phra, my dear lad, we can do nothing alone."
"But who would help us at a time like this? The priests and the whole city have risen against my father; who will help us now?"
"We must go down to the mouth of the river as soon as it is day, and see if there are any English or French vessels there. They would help us."
"Lahn says the river is full of the second king's fighting boats, Sahib, and you could not go down. The boat would be stopped, and you would all be slain."
There was silence in the boat till Sree spoke again.
"The Sahibs must hide."
"Hide?" cried Phra; "where could we hide now? We should be seen, and to please the bonzes the people would give us up."
"You must hide in the boat, Sahib Phra," said the old hunter quietly.
"What, go up the river again, and get into the jungle?"
"No, Sahib; we must be here—close to the palace."
"But with all the enemy's boats about, how can we?" said Mr. Kenyon.
"By being bold, Sahib," said Sree. "His servant will make the boat look dirty and common with mats where the cabin is, and throw that into the river. The Sahibs must hide beneath the mats; the men can hide their good padungs and sit in the boat and fish and chew."
"Yes, yes," said Phra; "no one would notice them. That is good. We must not go away."
"But help?" said Mr. Kenyon; "we must get help."
"His servant will swim to some boat, Sahib—he will find one, no doubt—and go down the river to try for help."
"No," said Mr. Kenyon, "we want you here. I will write on a leaf of my pocket-book, and you must send one of your men."
"Yes, Lahn would take it to an English ship if there is one," said Sree, whose voice suggested that he was pleased that he was wanted in the boat. "Lahn is here, Sahib. May he come on board?"
"Of course."
Sree uttered a peculiar sound, and a dark figure rose from the ground where it had lain flat, and glided down the bank into the boat.
"Now across to the other shore where we can hide," said Mr. Kenyon.
"No, Sahib," said Sree in a low, earnest whisper; "his servant has been thinking. We will go down to the landing-place at the bottom of the bungalow garden."
"Why there?" said Phra excitedly.
"Because the Sahib Prince's servant thinks if the cabin is taken down and thrown into the river to float away, the boat can be pushed between the big posts of the landing-place, and will lie under the bamboo floor."
"Yes, when the tide's down," said Harry; "but when the tide rises, what then?"
"The boat will be pushed close up against the bottom of the floor, and the water will rise a little round it, Sahib."
"But we should be shut up like in a trap, Sree, and regularly caught," said Harry.
"No, Sahib; the bamboos are split, and only tied down with rotan cane. It would be easy to undo two or three, so that we could pass out, or to leave a little of the boat outside one end, so that there would be room to get out on to the floor."
"Well, you are a clever old fellow, Sree," said Harry eagerly. "And now the bungalow is burnt no one will come there."
"No, Sahib; they will keep away. Does Sahib Kenyon feel that we should go there?"
"Yes, my man, yes. It will be less of a risk, for boats that pass will not think of meddling with the one lying there."
That was enough. Sree said one word, and Adong rose from where he had crouched, plunged his oar into the water, and forced the boat downward against the tide, while Sree and the boatmen set to work and cut loose the mats which hung from the cabin roof. These were carefully rolled up by one of the men, while the bamboo rafters were cut away. Then four men stood on the sides of the boat, each by one of the stout uprights, and at the word of command raised the light matting and palm-thatch roof, and heaved it away, to fall edgewise with a splash into the dark river.
Ten minutes later the last of the four uprights was thrust overboard, and almost directly after the garden landing-place was reached, and Sree's calculations were put to the test.
They proved to be quite correct, for there was just room for the boat to glide in between the bamboo posts; and as to height, the occupants were able to keep upon their seats with a few inches above their heads between them and the joists which supported the bamboo floor.
"Ah!" said Phra between his teeth; "we shall be in hiding here."
"Yes," whispered Harry; "but I don't think we shall be safe."
"I don't know," said his father; "an open hiding-place is often the most secure."
CHAPTER XXII
DARING PLANS
The tide rose but a trifle higher, so that there was no imprisonment such as had been suggested, and the boatmen, after a modest meal of rice, calmly settled themselves down to sleep.
But, like his employers, Sree was wakeful, and sat near, ready to answer questions or offer advice.
He said that he believed they might stay where they were, unquestioned, for days; and as for provisions, it would be easy for him or one of his men to go here or there about the place and buy food.
These minor questions were soon disposed of. The main topic—how to rescue the King and their friends—then took up all their thought and kept them watching and waking hour after hour, a certain equality now seeming to reign, and the boys' suggestions being listened to eagerly by their elders.
But everything proposed seemed to be full of difficulties. The first most natural and simplest was to get the besieged away in boats, for the rivers and canals were the highways, the roads through the jungle mere elephant tracks. But this was at once seen to be impossible in the face of the facts that the way to the river was watched, and the large boats in the hands of the enemy.
Then there was the plan of escaping by means of the elephants, the whole of which were, according to Lahn, still in their great houses, close to the part of the palace defended by the King and his friends.
But supposing it possible that the whole of the defenders could be mounted upon the huge, docile beasts, and could succeed in forcing their way through the crowd of assailants, where could they go? Only into the jungle to starve, for there was no place to which they could flee.
It was always the same: they were face to face with the fact that in such a self-dependent place the King, who was all-powerful one day, might be the next weaker and more helpless than the humblest of his subjects.
Plan after plan was discussed during the calm silence of that night, when all were in momentary expectation of hearing fresh alarms and attacks; but every idea seemed perfectly futile, and a dead silence fell.
Harry was the first to break the silence.
"Why don't you propose something, Phra?" he said. "We've been talking all this time, and you've hardly said a word."
"I've been listening," said the boy gravely, "and I have thought."
"Yes, what have you thought?"
"That if we could think of some plan of escape, my father would help you to get all your friends away."
"Yes, of course," said Harry, for Phra had stopped. "Well?"
"But he would not leave the place himself. I know my father. He would say, 'I am the king here by right, and I will never leave. I would sooner die.'"
"I fear so," said Mr. Kenyon.
"I can only think of my father," continued Phra; "you only of your friends, and so we think differently."
"Oh no," said Harry. "Your troubles are ours, just as our troubles are yours."
"That is so," replied the boy; "but I can only think of joining my father to help him defend the palace till he has driven his enemies away."
"Phra is right," said the doctor. "We cannot bring our people away—it seems impossible. We must devote ourselves to joining the King and defending the palace against all enemies."
"It is good advice," said Mr. Kenyon, "but how can we join them? It seems impossible, too."
"We have not tried," said the doctor coldly.
"Sree has tried to find a way in," replied Mr. Kenyon, "and he says it cannot be done. Do you not, Sree?"
"Yes, Sahib. If we go as we are, your servant and the men could perhaps make the second king and those with him believe that they were friends; but whether by night or by day, if the sahibs try to get there, they will all be speared. It is what the enemy would gladly do."
"We could fight," said Phra proudly. "We have guns."
"Yes, Sahib Phra, and some of the enemy would be killed, but what are we against so many?"
"Ah, what indeed?" sighed Mr. Kenyon. "A dozen or so against thousands upon thousands."
"Phra Sahib is right," continued Sree. "He is prince, and should take us to join his father the King."
"Yes, but how?" said the doctor.
"It can only be by cunning, Sahib," replied the man.
"Hist! One moment," said Harry excitedly; "what about the men? The spear-bearers forsook the King; how can we trust these boatmen?"
"Because they love and believe in the sahibs," said Sree. "I think we can trust them."
"But your two men, Sree?"
"My two—Adong and Lahn—Sahib Harry?" said the old hunter with a little laugh. "I have always been like a father to them, and they would follow me, even if it were to be killed."
"And you, Sree?" the said doctor bitterly; "why should you be faithful to us?"
"I don't know, Sahib," said the man simply; "only that Sahib Kenyon has been like a father to me ever since he brought me back here to my people from among the Indian sahibs, where I had lived for years. He has always been my good, kind master, who fed me when I was hungry, and gave me money to buy clothes. I don't know how it is, but I feel that I belong to him and the young Sahib Harry; and if they said to me, 'Sree, you must die that we may escape and live,' well, it would only be what I should do, and I should be happy. Yes, sahibs, I should die."
"I know you would, Sree," whispered Harry, leaning over to grasp the man's hands. "He would, wouldn't he, father?"
"Yes, my boy, I believe he would. He has saved my life more than once."
"Oh, I believe in Sree, too," said the doctor excitedly. "But those we love are perishing close by, and we are doing nothing."
"I know what we might do," said Harry eagerly.
"Yes, what?" said the doctor.
"Wait till to-morrow night."
"Wait till to-morrow night!" echoed the doctor bitterly. "Wait while they perish!"
"We don't know but what they can keep the enemy off till then," said
Harry, with spirit.
"True," said his father quickly; "but what if we wait till to-morrow night?"
"Then it would be dark, and we might go and join with the enemy when they make one of their attacks. Then, when they retire, we might fall down as if wounded, and wait close up to the gate."
"Yes," said Phra eagerly, "and as soon as the enemy were far enough off we could call to those in the palace that we were friends, and they would open and let us in."
"That sounds wild," said Mr. Kenyon, "but it is possible. What do you say, Sree?"
"No, Sahib; it would do for me and the men. We could get into the palace that way, but the Sahibs? No. The enemy would know them at once, however dark."
"True," said Mr. Kenyon.
"It is not possible," groaned the doctor. "We must try by force to break through."
"That would mean death to all, Sahib," said Sree in a low, sad voice; "and there would be no help for your friends."
"Stop," said Phra. "I think it might be done."
"Hist! Sahib Phra; a boat is coming."
All listened, but the Europeans once more felt that they had been deceived, till suddenly there was a faint splash, followed by the dull pattering of water against a prow, and this sound came nearer and nearer till a big, dark shadow propelled by quite a dozen oars was seen to glide up the river towards the palace landing-place.
They waited till the boat passed out of hearing, and Phra went on.
"Harry and I could darken our faces, hands and legs easily enough so as to pass for common people. We did once dress like that. You remember, Hal, when we went right down among the house-boats and no one knew."
"Yes, I remember," said Harry shortly.
"It would be easy for us," said Phra; "but—"
The boy stopped.
"Would Doctor Cameron and I disguise ourselves for such a purpose as this? Certainly we would."
"Yes, of course," said the doctor huskily. "What about the native clothes—the baju and padung?"
"They would be easier to get, Sahib—easier than spears."
"Spears?" said the doctor; "we have our guns."
"But they would betray us, Cameron," said Mr. Kenyon. "We should have spears for ourselves and men."
"There are plenty of guns in the palace," said Phra. "Sree, could we get spears by then?"
The old hunter was silent for a while, as if thinking deeply.
"How long is it before morning?" he said.
"It must be near day-break now," replied Mr. Kenyon.
"No, Sahib. Not for two hours yet. There are many spears in the big boats that have gone up to the palace landing-place; and if the men on board are asleep, we might get what we want."
"There are sheaves and sheaves in the guard-rooms, Sree, if we could get them."
"Yes, Sahib Phra," replied the man; "but that we could not do. If the sahibs will get on to the floor above us and stay there with the men, it is very dark to-night, and Adong and Lahn might go with me in the boat. We could row up very quietly, and perhaps get enough from one of the barges."
"Try," said Mr. Kenyon laconically. "You could not hurt if you were careful."
Phra whispered a word to Harry.
"Yes," he replied. "Father, Phra and I want to go with Sree."
"It would be better for him to go alone."
"The young sahibs have been trained by me to be silent when seeking wild creatures in the jungle, Sahib. They could help us by taking the spears, if we get any, and laying them in the bottom of the boat."
"Why not take two of the boatmen?"
"His servant would rather trust the young sahibs," said Sree.
"There is no time to discuss the matter," said Mr. Kenyon firmly. "Be careful, boys, and go."
Harry's heart gave a big throb, and he gripped Phra's knee.
"Ah," whispered the latter; "this is what I wanted. It is doing something to help."
"Yes," whispered back Harry. "It is horrible sitting here doing nothing but talk."
Even in those brief moments something had been done; the boat had been set in motion, and now glided with the stream from beneath the bamboo platform out at the upper end.
Then at a word the boatmen followed the two gentlemen and Mike out on to the platform, and squatted down at once; Adong and Lahn seized oars, passing the cocoa-nut fibre loops over the posts which served as rowlocks, and, with the boys' hearts beating high with excitement, the boat began to glide rapidly and silently up stream with the tide.
CHAPTER XXIII
THE SPEAR HARVEST
The distance was short, and to favour the daring enterprise, the darkness seemed to grow more intense as morning drew near. The banks of the river were invisible as they glided silently along, and the boys were whispering together when Sree suddenly stepped to where they sat amidships.
"We speak not when near the tiger's lair," he said softly. "When we go alongside the boat I pick, I shall hold on, Adong and Lahn will go on board; you two will silently take the spears and lay them along the thwarts."
"Yes," said Phra, and the old hunter passed on, bare-footed, forward to where Adong was wielding his oar.
The two comrades sat straining their eyes, for the barges, they felt certain, were not far ahead, and wondered whether the two boys, as they called them—though they were full-grown men—would succeed in the daring venture; and it was on Harry's tongue to whisper,—
"Oh, I wish we had made Sree send us instead."
It was only a momentary thought, before he felt that the two dark, nearly-naked Siamese, as strong, active and silent in their movements as leopards, from long training as hunters, were far better adapted for the task; and he had nearly come to this conclusion when a low muttering reached his ears, and looking to his left, he could just make out something dark which he knew to be one of the barges anchored almost in mid-stream.
The next minute he caught sight of the dim glow of a paper lanthorn, and that was on the prow of another barge close in to the palace landing-place; but the boat still glided on, for the keen, owl-like eyes of Adong had seen another of the barges a little ahead.
All was wonderfully still, but there was a dull, indescribable murmur in the air which told of sleeping men being near at hand, and a faint, human odour reached Harry's nostrils which endorsed the fact.
But he had no time for thinking: the movements of the three Siamese hunters were so rapid. The next minute they were close up to the last barge seen, and the boat quivered a little as Sree made a movement which meant that he had reached over and caught the side.
So to speak, the boys listened with all their might, and their ears, made more sensitive by excitement, seemed to magnify sound, and their eyes to have increased power; still the darkness was so intense that they could not see the actions of the men forward and astern.
But their sense of feeling had grown so acute that they were conscious of the fore part of the boat rising a little, and then of the hinder portion lifting, each time there being a light quivering and lapping of the water against the sides.
"They've got aboard her," thought Harry, whose mouth and throat grew dry. "The next thing will be spears indeed, but a shower sent at Adong and Lahn. Then they will leap overboard with a splash, Sree will push off, and the two boys will swim to us."
"Oh!"
It was a mental ejaculation, and the boy's thoughts formed this question,—
"Will they think to swim with the tide, for we shall float up stream?"
A faint click as of wood against wood interrupted his musings, and then he started, for Phra pinched his leg, the compression of the flesh being painful from the excitement of the giver.
Harry responded with another pinch, which to his credit was of a much milder form, and then all was still, while the boys waited on the qui vive for what seemed fully five minutes.
All was perfectly still, and Harry strained his eyes so as to make out Sree holding the boat alongside in a position which enabled him to keep it steady, while at the same time he was ready to thrust it right away into comparative, though not perfect, safety, for a well thrown bamboo-hafted spear flies far and with deadly power.
"There are none, or they can't find them," thought Harry, but the next moment the bamboo shaft of a spear touched his shoulder, the man who handed it being careful to pass the butt end of the weapon first, and quick as lightning the boy received it and laid it down behind him, reaching up his hands again to feel for another, and becoming conscious at the same moment that Phra was stooping to lay down one he had received.
It was not easy to feel the weapons in the dark, but they felt for and received two each, and then there was a pause, while they listened to the murmur, murmur from one of the other great boats, which sounded as if some one was relating a long story in a low tone.
Then two more spears were passed down, and two more, it being hard work to lay them alongside the thwarts without making them rattle; and again there was a pause for what seemed to the boys fully ten minutes, before they heard a low, rattling sound, as if several of the bamboo shafts had been laid together against the rail of the barge, and the murmur ceased.
Harry held up his hands for another spear, but he reached about in vain. There was no response till the murmur recommenced, when there was another rattle, louder than the first, and again the murmur ceased.
But now the butts of two spears touched Harry in the chest, and he seized and laid them down, finding two more waiting.
These he grasped and laid down. Then two more, which he also seized, thus taking possession of six in less than a minute; a dull rattling in front telling that Phra was as busily employed, though how many he had obtained it was impossible to tell.
The murmur of voices began again, but the two men did not make any sign of returning, and the boys waited with beating hearts, but waited in vain.
They raised their hands and felt about overhead, but nothing more was handed to them, and the desire was strong upon Harry to creep to where Sree was holding the boat close against the barge's side, and ask him what he thought; but the feeling that the old hunter was in command, and that the two boys might be only obeying their master's orders, stayed him, and he waited.
"Here they are," he thought at last, for there was a movement high up on the side of the barge.
He raised his hand again, and as he did so he felt a sharp jerk in the sleeve of his jacket and starting back he knew instinctively that the blade of a spear had been sharply thrust down instead of the butt, and had passed through his jacket, grazing his arm, while the jerk he gave held the blade entangled lightly between his arm and side.
"What does he mean by that?" thought the boy as he was dragged forward and nearly off his feet, for he had seized the shaft with both hands.
He knew the next moment, for there was a loud shout, the sound of a blow; the spear came free, and something heavy and soft drove him backwards, while a sudden jerking of the boat brought Phra to his knees.
The shouting increased, and was responded to from barge after barge, the alarm having spread; but the boat was rapidly gliding across the river, and, turning at the opposite side, began to descend again at a pretty good rate, while a couple of lanthorns could be seen moving about on the barge they had left, and others were being lit as fast as was possible—slowly enough—on the others.
It was still too dark to make out what was taking place in their own boat, but it seemed to Harry in the excitement and confusion that only one of the men had dropped in and was rowing forward, while Sree was working the after oar, but with danger so near, he dared not even whisper to Phra, who was close by. Another thing was that he was trying to draw the spear from his left sleeve, in which it was strangely tangled, as if the man who thrust had given it a twist; and, worse still, he had become conscious that his arm and sleeve were wet, a peculiar smarting sensation telling him that he was bleeding freely.
"At last!" he said to himself, as he tore out the spear; and then he started, for Sree was leaning over him.
"Adong—Lahn?" whispered Harry.
"Both here, Sahib. Are you hurt?"
"I don't know. Yes—a little."
"Put your hand on the place," said Sree.
Harry obeyed, and the next moment a broad band was tightening over it.
"Now slip your hand away," whispered Sree.
Harry obeyed, and the band was drawn tighter and something wrapped round again and again before it was tied.
"Don't talk," whispered Sree; "they will follow us, and I must row."
He went aft, and put out another oar, helping to send the boat more rapidly along; and it was necessary, for before they had gone much farther, the boys could make out that many more lanthorns had been lit, and a couple of barges were beginning to move, one going up stream, the other coming down after them.
But the boat was going very fast now, and not many minutes had elapsed before they were abreast of the garden, and Sree was guiding the craft towards the landing-place.
"Are you hurt much?" whispered Phra.
"A nasty cut, that's all," was the reply. "Some one stabbed at me with a spear, and I thought it was only one being handed down. Never mind; we've got what we went for. Here, what's the matter?"
For Phra had drawn his breath as if in pain.
"Nothing much, only that man Adong fell down on me and hurt my back against the seat. Doesn't matter; soon be better. But you—does it bleed much?"
"Oh no; it's only like having a big finger cut instead of a little one. I say, do you think they'll find us out here?"
"No; they won't think we should hide so close. If they do, we must use the guns."
"Well, what success?" whispered Mr. Kenyon.
"Got the spears, father," said Harry, with forced gaiety, "but they heard us at last, and one of the barges is coming after us."
"Hist!" whispered Sree. "All get in now."
Long before the pursuing barge came abreast the party were all lying snugly beneath the landing-stage, and preparations for defence were made, the English and Sree with their guns ready to repel and attack, and the boatmen provided with the keenly-pointed spears.
There were breathless moments as the lanthorn-hung barge came steadily along, and every one expected that the crew would turn aside; but there was no check to the rowing, and the fugitives were able to breathe more freely as the lanthorns grew more faint, when the first words said were by Phra,—words which sent a thrill of horror through Mr. Kenyon, for Phra said in a hurried, excited manner:
"Here, Doctor, you must see to Harry: he is wounded."
"Only—a scratch," said the lad in a strange voice, and then he fell over sidewise.
The shock had been greater than he himself believed, for he had fainted away.
CHAPTER XXIV
THE HELP SEEKER
Doctor Cameron satisfied himself that the wound was not bleeding, and a little sprinkling with cold water soon brought the sufferer to, but nothing more could be done till daylight lit up their refuge.
Meanwhile they waited anxiously, and ready to sell their lives dearly should they be attacked by the returning barge, Sree having given his opinion that their pursuers would not go very far.
He was quite right, for before half an hour had passed the sound of oars came over the water with what seemed to be a regular throb, which grew more distinct as the minutes passed away.
And now, to hide the clean, superior aspect of the boat, three or four of the mats, which had been taken down, were roughly torn and damaged, after which they were hung clumsily from the bamboos overhead, the lower part trailing in the water, so that, in addition to the damaged look they gave the boat, they formed a shelter behind which the party waited, weapon in hand.
Faint signs of the coming day were visible, and the notes of birds could be heard; but it was still dark enough to help their concealment, for the stars were shining faintly when the barge came in sight and swept by without its occupants noticing the boat in its tiny harbour.
But no one stirred till the barge had passed quite out of sight, and then as the daylight rapidly broadened, Doctor Cameron helped his patient to the stern of the boat, and, with Mr. Kenyon and Phra looking on, drew off the boy's jacket and proceeded to examine the wound.
"Only a slight, clean cut, Hal, my boy," he said, as he tore up a handkerchief for a bandage, and bound the wound. "It bled freely, but the edges are well together, and it will rapidly heal. How was it?"
Harry explained, watching the doctor the while, as he drew out his pocket-book, took needle and silk from within, and neatly sewed up the end of the bandage.
"Lucky for you it did not strike you in the chest. There; to-morrow or next day I will put on a little strapping. You need not even carry your arm in a sling."
Mr. Kenyon sighed with relief, and then proceeded with the others to examine the weapons Adong and Lahn had handed down from the barge before they were heard and had to make their escape.
And now it was seen that the pair had done more than merely obtain the spears, for as they rose from the bottom of the boat and stood stooping in the light which streamed clearer and clearer through every opening, they proudly showed that their lingouties, or waistbands, were stuck full, back and front, of the krises or native daggers in their wooden sheaths.
"Capital!" cried Mr. Kenyon, and the two men's eyes flashed with pride at the words of praise bestowed upon them. Even the doctor looked less sombre, and took eager interest in the process of arming their followers, the krises being handed round, and each man apportioned one of the spears, which were now laid neatly along the thwarts of the boat on either side, ready for use.
Fortunately there was a sufficiency of food left in the boat to last for a couple of days or more, for it had been well provisioned at starting, so that there was no need to attempt any search for more, and Harry drew Sree's attention to the fact that the fishing bamboos and lines were still untouched where they had been placed across the bamboo rafters. But it was a day of agony for those who had so much at stake.
Mr. Kenyon refused to look at the ruins of his home, but Harry could not resist the temptation to creep out on to the bamboo floor and then crawl a short distance up the garden, keeping well in shelter among the bushes till he could see all that was left of the charming, well-tended home.
"And all the beautiful specimens gone!" he sighed.
"Yes, sir, and all my clothes and treasures in my pantry," said a familiar voice.
"You here, Mike!" said Harry, starting.
"Yes, sir; the master said I might crawl after you to have a look. Oh dear, dear! burnt to ashes! Why didn't they build the place of stone instead of wood?"
"I don't know, Mike. I was too little to have any voice in the matter."
"Yes, sir, you was, and precious little too; but oh dear, oh dear! I'm a ruined man. Think it would be safe to go to the tool shed and get a shovel? I see it ain't burnt."
"No; we must not risk being seen. But what do you want to do?"
"Try and find something among the ashes where my pantry was, sir."
"No, you must not go now. What is it you want to search for?"
"Honour bright, sir? You won't go along with Mr. Phra and dig for it yourself?"
"Dig for it! Is it likely? What is it?"
"That little old Chinee teapot o' mine as stood on the shelf."
"What, that old bit of rubbish, Mike! Why, both the spout and handle were knocked off."
"That's so, sir," said Mike, with a queer look; "but the lid was all right."
"Pooh! I could buy you a better one for—"
"No, you couldn't, Master Harry, because you see there's no chance for spending such money here, so I saved a bit."
"Saved a bit?" said Harry.
"Yes, sir; there was just a hundred and one silver Chinese dollars in that teapot. Now do you understand?"
"Yes, Mike, I understand," said the boy sadly. "But never mind; they'll be safe enough till we've got the mastery over these wretches."
"Don't think they'll all ha' melted away, do you, sir?"
"They may have melted, Mike, but not away. Perhaps they'll have all run down into the shape of the bottom of the teapot; but if they have, the silver will be worth the money."
"Oh, come, sir; there's some comfort in that. I say, Master Harry, are we going to have to fight?"
"I think we are sure to, Mike."
"Well, I s'pose I am a coward now, sir. I used to be a bit of a dab with my fists when I was your age; not as I was over fond of it; but I've never killed anybody, and I'd rather clean the guns any day than shoot men with 'em. But after hearing all I have, and after seeing what they'll do with spears—for it wasn't that chap's fault that he didn't send that spear through you instead of your arm—and what with the business last night, and the doctor's trouble, and now seeing our house and my pantry turned into just a heap of ashes, it's a bit too much. It makes me want to fight, sir; and if there is any going on, I will."
"That's right, Mike. You will stand by us then?"
"That I will, Master Harry," said the man, with the tears in his eyes. "I aren't been all I should ha' been as your father's servant, but I am a man, sir, and an Englishman, and Englishmen must stick together out in foreign parts like this."
"They must indeed, Mike."
"Then I'll be close at your back, Master Harry, wherever you go; and if I gets killed, well, I do, sir, and I leave you all the silver in that old pot."
"Phee—ew!"
"Quick! let's get back," whispered Harry, giving the man a grateful look, and hiding a disposition to laugh; "that was Sree whistled. Some one must be coming along the river."
The warning was repeated softly before they reached the landing-place.
"Quick, quick!" said Mr. Kenyon, in a loud whisper, and they had only just time to creep down into the shelter when half a dozen large boats were seen coming up the river, each filled with men, whose spear-points glittered in the sunshine; and once more all crouched in readiness to defend their little stronghold, should the boat attract the attention of the enemy as they passed by.
But the boats passed on, following in each other's wake, the occupants being too much taken up by the sounds which suddenly arose from the direction of the palace; for just as the first boat was nearly abreast of the landing-stage the sharp reports of guns told that a fresh attack was being made upon it, the first discharges producing a strange excitement amongst the enemy, who began rowing with all their might, so that they soon passed, but without giving much relief to those who watched, for the firing increased, and it was evident that a desperate attack was going on.
Then the firing ceased as suddenly as it had begun, leaving the listeners in a frightful state of doubt.
For the cessation might just as probably mean that the enemy had forced their way in as that they had been beaten off; and as the silence continued for quite an hour, Harry and Phra moved so as to be close to the doctor, and then gently take his hand.
The sound of firing, when every shot may mean the death of a fellow creature, is a strange reviver of hope—a peculiar comforter; but when at the end of that weary hour the firing began again, both Phra and the doctor started up with their faces flushed with eager excitement, and Harry felt ready to shout.
"They're not beaten," he said proudly. "The King's too strong, and he drives the wretches back every time. Why, father, when we get to them to-night, they will all be in such good spirits that it will be dangerous for the enemy to show themselves again."
"We must be thinking about our attack, Sree," said Mr. Kenyon, without making any reply to his son's outburst.
"I am going as soon as it grows dark, Sahib. There is not much to do. A little brown earth to moisten and rub over your hands, arms, and faces."
"Yes, yes, that is easy enough; anything will do as it is night; even gunpowder could be used. But the garments? it is of them that I was thinking."
"The sahibs will have to use those of the common people, and so many are away from their boats that it will not be long before I can get padungs enough. Those are all that you will need, and be the best things to hide you; for no one would think that you could be sahibs, dressed like that."
The rest of the day went sluggishly by, with total cessations of the firing filling the listeners with despair and hope returning whenever it was resumed.
At last, after many alarms from passing boats, the sun sank low, and the question of sending off a message to some English vessel in the port had to be decided for Mr. Kenyon had pencilled a few lines containing an urgent appeal for help from any captain into whose hands it might fall, begging that he would at once set sail for the nearest port where a British man-of-war might be found—Hong-Kong or Singapore—and lay before the authorities the critical position in which the tiny English colony was placed, and imploring that steps might be at once taken for their rescue.
To deliver this note, a trusty messenger was needed, and a boat.
And now there was a feeling of bitter regret that the sampan in which Adong had followed them up the river had been abandoned from the hour the man came on board as being a useless appendage at such a time of peril. But Sree declared that there would be no difficulty in finding one after dark, so part of the trouble was at an end.
The question then arose as to who should be the messenger, and Sree now proposed Adong.
He would soon find a boat, Sree said, but he thought that some one should accompany him, and that the some one should be Sahib Harry.
"I couldn't go," said Harry hastily. "I must stay to help here."
"But the young Sahib is wounded; and if he took the letter with Adong, he would be safe."
"I don't want to be safe like that," said Harry hastily. "I can't go, father; I must stay with you."
"But it is most important that the letter should be placed in some Englishman's hands," said Mr. Kenyon; "and Sree is right, my boy; you would be safe."
"Oh no, father," cried the boy excitedly; "there would be as much risk in sending me there as in letting me stay. I may be of some help here; and, besides, I couldn't go and leave you."
Mr. Kenyon gave way. The paper was rolled up small, a bamboo was cut, and into one of its hollows the paper was thrust, and then the place was plugged so that it was water-tight, in case the messenger had to swim. Lastly, armed with a kris in his waist-band, and with one of the spears, Adong, who fully appreciated the importance of his mission, proudly took his departure, going off through the garden; for, as Sree said, no one was likely to interfere with such a man as he at a time like that.
The little party breathed more freely when the man had gone, for it was like the first step towards a rescue; but in a few minutes there was a short, earnest conversation with Sree as to how his man would manage.
"He will journey down the river till he sees a boat that he can take, and then go on, lying up close to the shore when there is danger, and going on down again towards the sea."
This decided, the perilous enterprise of joining with some portion of the attacking force was discussed in what was really a little council of war; and it was determined that Sree should assume the character of leader, with Phra as his lieutenant, the rest being followers. How and where they were to join the enemy must, it was agreed, depend upon circumstances.
The men were eager to a degree, declaring themselves ready to die so that they might save the King; and as soon as it was quite dark the well-armed party quitted their cramping position in the boat to assemble in the forlorn and deserted garden, the boat being well secured, and left as a place of rendezvous in case of fortune being against them, and as a means of escape in dire peril. Then Sree went away for an hour, and returned, declaring the time had come.
In the few words which passed in whispers as they made for the gateway opening on the riverside track leading to the rest of the English bungalows, and beyond that to the palace, it was quite decided that they had nothing to fear in marching boldly onward through the darkness, for their appearance as so many well-armed men going to join in the attack would be quite natural, the second king's army consisting as it did merely of an armed rabble, with which some of the King's half-drilled guards were mixed after they had deserted him in his peril.
Of all this Sree in his efforts to spy out the state of affairs had thoroughly convinced himself; the great danger was that Phra or the gentlemen might excite suspicion; but the efforts to disguise them had been most successful, the simplicity of their garb and the coloured skins promising in the darkness and confusion to be enough.
Then a few words were addressed by the old hunter to the men, and the adventurers moved out of the gateway, and with beating hearts made for the lights whose reflections could be seen above and through the trees.
CHAPTER XXV
A DESPERATE VENTURE
It was an exciting tramp, but those most concerned in the success marched on with such a display of eagerness as sent a thrill of confidence through Harry, who, for the first part of their little journey, walked beside Phra, the boys talking in whispers about what would probably be done.
"It seems very horrid," whispered Harry. "Why, when we go up to the attack, we shall be longing to stick our spears into the wretches who are about us, and all the time we shall have to seem like friends."
"You will not be able to do anything but carry your spear over your shoulder," replied Phra.
"Shan't I? You'll see. My arm doesn't hurt much now; and if we get fighting, I believe that I shall not feel it at all. Oh, Phra, how I do long to begin! It's the thinking about it all and the waiting that is the worst."
"Talk in a lower tone," said Mr. Kenyon in a whisper; "and as soon as we hear the enemy be silent."
Phra kept by his comrade's side, and twice over, when voices were heard in front, Sree halted his party, a low, snake-like hiss being the agreed signal.
To the great satisfaction of all, the voices came from a couple of parties, apparently, as far as could be made out in the darkness, similar in numbers to their own, and moving in the direction of the palace.
Encouraged by this, Sree went on more boldly, and they soon found that the very daring of their enterprise would prove their safety, the attacking force being made up of groups all strange to one another, their only bond being that they were bent on the same errand—the destruction of the palace and overthrow of the King's power, with the massacre of the whites.
In fact, as during one halt Sree told Mr. Kenyon, it would be quite possible to join on to any party they liked, their presence showing to the strangers that they were on the same side, and consequently, for the time being, friends.
"We can go where we like now, sahibs," said Sree; "and all you have to do is to keep away from any of the lights."
Consequently the need for caution was at an end, and, after a short consultation with Phra, Sree determined to go right round to the back of the palace, where he proposed that they should scale the outer wall, cross the garden, and then make for the inner wall near the elephant house, where the great gates were with their sculptured figures.
Increasing their pace now, they passed through several groups numbering hundreds; the people, who were non-combatants, gathered in the hope of plunder, giving way at once at the bold advance of the little band of spearmen, and following at a distance for some hundreds of yards before halting, for there in front were the outer walls.
Before they reached these, as they loomed up in the darkness, the gloom was cut in many directions by flashes of light, and there was once more the loud, sputtering fire of the defenders, who were still safe and keeping their enemies at bay.
The firing seemed to inspire the little party with renewed eagerness, and at a word from Sree they broke into a trot, following an avenue of palms which led right up to the wall, where there was a little, strongly-made gate.
Before reaching it, Sree called a halt, and there was a short debate.
"The enemy must have broken open the gate," Phra whispered; "and they are in the gardens."
"Never mind," said Sree; "we must go on and try to get to the Great
Elephant gates."
The next minute they found that they were wrong, for the little doorway in the stone wall was fast, but directly after they found that a couple of roughly-made bamboo ladders had been tied and placed against the wall, up one of which Sree crept, Phra mounting the other, followed by Harry, while Mr. Kenyon and the doctor followed Sree.
Then the first check came. There was a sharp movement, the staves of spears rattled on the other side, and a voice challenged them with the question where they were going.
"To help take the palace, of course," said Sree sharply.
There was a laugh.
"Over with you, then," said the man who challenged; "but you will not all come back."
Sree made a show of hesitating.
"What, is it a hard fight?" he said.
"Yes; hundreds have been shot down as fast as they tried to climb the gates. What! Are you afraid?"
"Afraid? No," said Sree, seating himself on the top of the wall.
The man laughed again, and his laugh was echoed by what sounded like a score of companions.
"There, don't shirk it," said the man in command. "You must take your chance, and there'll be plenty of loot for those who are first in."
"Then why don't you go?" growled Sree.
"Because we're ordered to stop here by our leader. Come, over with you."
Sree hesitated for a moment or two.
"They can't see to shoot in the dark," he said; and calling on his party to follow, he hurried down the ladder on the other side, followed by the rest, and receiving an encouraging cheer from the enemy. Phra stepped to Sree's side and guided the party by the most direct path towards the gates they sought.
Naturally it was familiar enough to Harry, but it seemed strange and terrible as they approached the great bronze gates behind which a little party of their friends had evidently entrenched themselves and kept up a fire whenever a party of the enemy dashed up to thrust with their spears through the open work of the barrier.
Harry had instant warning of the danger of their position in the bullets which came whistling by, but a word of warning from Sree made the new-comers strike off to the left, where they were out of the line of fire; while now the boy made out, more by the murmuring of voices than by the eye, that the rebels, in two strong bodies, had grouped themselves on either side of the opening for safety, and from one or the other of these a little party kept on dashing up to the front, shouting defiance and trying to alarm the defenders in the hope of driving them back, so that the gates might be climbed.
This was evidently the principle upon which the attack had been carried on—a desultory, useless plan so long as the defenders stood firm. In fact, there was no discipline, no cohesion in the attacking force, no mutual dependence; merely the hand-to-hand fighting of a barbarous people, and the result could be heard in the many sighs and groans which came from where the wounded had been carried or had dragged themselves out of the line of fire.
There was the humming crowd in the darkness just in front, and a few steps would have taken Mr. Kenyon's party right amongst them; but no one heeded the new-comers, and once more the leaders drew together to consult.
"We can do nothing here," whispered Phra. "If we were not shot down by our friends, we could not sham dead. Look there, we should be seen."
For now there was a flash of light, and a blazing mass of fire, somewhat after the fashion of a blue light, came flying over the gate, to fall twenty yards outside, and throw up the swarthy bodies of the enemy like so many dark silhouettes, while a rapid burst of shots told the reason for the light, several men having afforded good aim to the defenders, and half a dozen dropping amidst groans and howls of rage.
"Yes, it is impossible," whispered Mr. Kenyon in Siamese. "Is there no place where we could climb this wall?"
There was no reply for some moments, during which the blue light began to burn out, and a man darted forward to trample upon it, but to his cost, for two shots were fired, and in the expiring, pallid glare the man was seen to stagger a few paces and then fall.
A roar of rage followed this proof of the defenders' marksmanship, and another rush was made at the gate by the maddened enemy, not in obedience to any order, but every man acting upon his own impulse; and amidst the roar of voices, the clattering of spears against the bronze ornamentation, and the firing of the defenders, Sree uttered his low hiss, and led the way with Phra away to the left, the latter plunging directly after into a secluded walk close to the wall, where all was completely deserted, and Harry felt that if they only had one of the bamboo ladders they had so lately used, it would be perfectly easy to climb up and drop within the palace courts.
Their evasion was either not heeded, or merely looked upon as part of an attempt to turn the defenders by means of a fresh attack; so the little party crept silently along through the bushes which acted as a blind to this part of the wall, above which a portion of the palace rose.
A sudden thought struck Harry, and, with his spear sloped back over his shoulder, he pressed on quickly to the front.
"Phra," he whispered, as he reached his friend, "the big tree."
"Hist! Yes."
In another minute they were all halted in the intense darkness close up to the trunk of a huge tree whose boughs spread horizontally in every direction, some overhanging the walls, a place familiar to Harry; but as soon as he had realized Phra's intent he felt convinced that the defenders would have taken steps to do away with so vulnerable a part of their defence.
For here it was quite possible to climb up the dwarfed trunk, crawl along one of the enormous horizontal boughs, and drop down into the open space between the wall and the palace.
Phra had evidently the same idea; but upon searching round a little, the bushes beneath rustling as he and Sree passed here and there, it was evident that no saw had been at work, and in a whisper Sree announced that he was going first to show the way.
"The bough will bend down at the far end," whispered Phra, "and it will not be so far to drop. Here, I will go first; I can climb."
Amidst the almost breathless silence beneath the tree, Phra began to mount, and Harry whispered that he would come next, just as a fresh burst of firing, which sounded distant, arose.
"You cannot climb, Sahib," whispered Sree; "your arm."
"I will climb," whispered back Harry. "Hold my spear."
He passed the weapon to the old hunter, and followed Phra right up to the fork, level with the top of the wall; and by that time his comrade had nearly reached the wall, which was a couple of feet below the great bough, when there was a bright flash from a window, the crashing of a bullet through the branches of the tree, and almost simultaneously a loud report.
"Don't fire—don't fire! Friends!" cried Mr. Kenyon; but before the words had passed his lips there was another report.
"Who is it?" came now.
"Kenyon, Cameron, and men to help," cried the doctor.
"How are we to know that? Speak again."
"Up with you, and over!" cried Mr. Kenyon angrily. "We shall have the wretches round here directly. Quick, boys; get on, and drop!"
There was no further opposition; the English was unmistakable, and the two who had been at the window guarding the well-known weak spot, descended from the barricaded window to help the new-comers, welcoming each warmly as he descended.
It was close work though, for, hearing the firing, a party of the watchful enemy was attracted to the spot before all were over, the last man and Sree—who had stayed to see all in safety before he crossed the natural bridge—having to halt and engage in a sort of duel with spears in the darkness, when from their crippled position in the tree, matters would have gone ill with them but for the diversion made by the defenders, who fired a little volley from the window, which held the enemy in check till Sree was safe.
"What an escape!" whispered Harry, as he caught the old hunter's arm when he dropped into the narrow court.
"Yes, Sahib; they came very near to stopping me from joining you; but there, I'm used to such escapes. It is many times that I have been nearly killed. But now some of us must stop here to keep the enemies of the King away, for where we got over they will try to do the same."
It was felt that no better way of defending the spot could be adopted than that already in practice, and the two colonists, after warm congratulations had passed between them and their friends, returned to their position at the window, while Phra eagerly led his tiny reinforcement round to the little court by the Elephant Gates, where the small wing of the palace had been fortified as much as was possible, and was being held by the King.