Under the Chinese Dragon: A Tale of Mongolia

BURGLARS AT THE STORE

'It's as clear as daylight,' thought David. 'They'll run below right away. Perhaps they'll shoot as they go. In any case, they'll be out and away before the police can guess what they're doing. I've got to put a stop to that.'

He stole forward again in the direction of the door, wondering what course he ought to pursue; then, as if doubtful, he turned towards the entry to the stairway leading to the basement.

'Why not?' he asked himself. 'I'll go down there and—'

His hair almost stood on end; his heart seemed to stop abruptly and his muscles felt paralysed all in one brief second; for a figure was coming towards him, a dusky figure, sidling silently across the floor; and in a flash he recognised the man. It was Spolikoff, the Russian, sent by Henricksen to keep watch and ward.

London's Alien Criminals

If ever David Harbor had felt inclined to play the coward it was at the precise moment, on this adventurous night when he came so abruptly, and so unexpectedly, face to face with one of the men who were engaged in robbing his employers' store. Behind him, in the office, he had left Henricksen and the ruffian known as the 'Admiral' busily engaged with their oxy-acetylene flame, eating a hole into the safe which they hoped and imagined was well filled with gold. Upstairs was the man Ovanovitch, clearing the cases of all their portable valuables, while here, on the main floor, was Spolikoff, a Russian—a man given naturally to deeds of violence—placed there to watch for the very police whom it was our hero's object to summon. The very man from whom he wished to keep farthest away was stealing towards him in the semi-darkness.

David drew in a deep breath. His hand clutched the revolver he had managed to secure. With an effort he controlled his muscles.

'Run! Shout for help!' some one seemed to scream in his ear. 'Steady,' he told himself, summoning all his pluck. 'Steady, my boy; play the game. No use bolting; he'll be just as surprised as I am.'

But, as it turned out, there was no question of surprise. While David was prepared for anything—to shoot at the man, to knock him to the ground with his fist, to rush over towards the door and bang upon it—Spolikoff sidled up to him, and spoke in a whisper that almost cloaked his foreign accent.

'That you, Admiral?' he asked. 'They've passed again, those policemen; but I didn't signal. There's no need; no one can see the glare now. You've pulled the curtain round so well.'

David nodded. He was wondering whether he could trust himself to answer the fellow, for it was obvious that his own identity was not even suspected. Then, emboldened by that fact, he answered the man in a hoarse whisper.

'I came along out here to make sure. It's fine, ain't it? Them police couldn't suspect that we'd got a hot flame going against the safe. Look here, my boy, Henricksen wants you to go along up to Ovanovitch and give him a hand. When you've cleared the jewels, get away up to the next floor. He says some new furs came in yesterday, and you could carry away in your arms enough to keep you for a year. Get along quick.'

The Russian looked at him for a moment as if he suspected, though, as a matter of fact, he was merely puzzling to translate the meaning of the words, for as yet he was not an excellent English scholar.

'Get along up and help Ovanovitch, yes,' he repeated. 'Then—I did not follow—you said?'

'S-s-sh! The police!'

There came a sudden rattle at the letter-box, whereat both he and the Russian sank promptly to the ground, while David imagined that a faint light over by the office lessened. Then there was silence again. A heavy footfall was heard on the pavement, and after it, silence once more. Slowly he and the Russian rose to their feet.

'What was it?' asked the man. 'You said I was to help Ovanovitch.'

'Listen,' whispered David, speaking very plainly, 'help Ovanovitch with the jewels.'

'Yes, yes; I have that'

'Then take him to the floor up above.'

'Floor up above. Yes, yes; I have that too.'

'Where you will find some valuable furs brought in only yesterday.'

'Only yesterday, furs; valuable furs. Yes; go on.'

'You can carry enough away on your arm to make you rich for a year. Got it?'

Spolikoff nodded vigorously, and gave expression to some guttural words of approval.

'Now?' he asked. 'You watch here?'

'Yes,' said David, 'Go at once; no need to hurry back.'

His hand was shaking ever so little as he took the Russian by the sleeve and urged him towards the stairs; for the feeble light above the place had suddenly shown him another figure. The man was descending the stairs, and was almost at the bottom. David could see that a bundle was suspended over his back. It was Ovanovitch without doubt, descending now that his task was completed.

'Tell him; go up at once,' David managed to whisper, though his tongue almost stuck to the roof of his mouth. 'I am going back to Henricksen.'

He slid off at once, slipped behind a huge showcase, and then stared back through the glass at the two Russians. And as he did so the tight feeling about his chest and neck slowly lessened. He drew in the first comfortable breath he had taken for some minutes. A sigh almost escaped him; for Spolikoff had been absolutely deceived. It was clear that he was not in the smallest degree suspicious. He had taken our hero for the Admiral, and was obeying instructions in a manner almost child-like. He went at once to Ovanovitch, and for a few seconds they whispered on the stairs. Then they turned their backs to the ground floor and went up two steps at a time, as if eager to get to their destination.

'Got 'em,' David could have shouted, though he restrained himself, hugging his arms instead. 'Got 'em, I do believe. Now for the rest of the business.' His brain had been working hard in the last few minutes, and already he had mapped out a course of procedure. After all, that was exactly like the young fellow; his friends knew him to be exceedingly practical. Edward Harbor, his father, had endeavoured to train his boy to conduct matters of any moment with sense and discretion.

'Decide first of all what you're going to do,' he had often said. 'Don't start without a plan, all haphazard, and find when you are half way through that matters aren't promising. Stand away a bit, as it were, and have a clear view; then make your plans, and set to at the business.' Practical? Of course it was. Common sense management? Who can doubt it? A little advanced for one of David's age? Certainly, if you wish so to describe it. But that is worth remedying. Others can be trained as our hero had been, and the training has its undoubted advantages; for a practical young fellow is of infinitely greater value in these strenuous days than a lad always wool-gathering, who lacks energy and initiative, who begins a task only to fail, who succeeds only where a course of procedure has been already laid down, and when previous practice has made perfect. It is the uncertainties we want to train our lads to face, as well as the hum-drum certainties of this life.

'Got 'em,' David ejaculated again, in a deep whisper. 'Now to close the holes and divide the conspirators. First downstairs—that is the main burrow I have to see to.'

He had lost all his trepidation now. True, he was more than a little excited; but his hand no longer shook. He had seen already the possibilities of making a gigantic success of what had at first appeared to be an enormously difficult task. Straightway he stole across to the stairway leading to the basement, and tripped down three steps at a time. Then he ran across to the cupboard through which the four men had gained access to the store. Out came his electric torch, and a beam was flashed into the interior.

'As I thought: these fellows must have hired a house or a room in one of the buildings lying up against this place, and have knocked a hole clean through the wall. Then they cut through the back of the cupboard. No; no they didn't; they bored holes through the wood in a big circle, and so managed to remove a piece without making a sound. If they had employed a saw I should have heard them. Now, I shut the cupboard, and lock the door.'

It was not a flimsy affair, this cupboard, but a strongly built piece of furniture, firmly attached to the wall, and having doors which slid along in grooves. David gently moved the doors into place, found a key in the lock, and shot the bolt to. Then he tried to open the cupboard. It was closed and defied his efforts.

'Number one loop hole gone,' he said. 'Now for the warning and number two.'

He had planned out the whole course of movement, and came hopping up the stairs again, three at a time. A quick glance told him that the oxy-acetylene flame was still in use. A dull glow on the ceiling told its tale without shadow of error, while as he listened a gentle buzz came to his ear. From the upper floor there was not so much as a sound. At once he crossed to the door, and pulled the flap of the letter-box open. Click! Down went the glare over by the manager's office. Lying prone on the floor, and staring in that direction, David saw a man's head protruding from the opening. Then the fellow stepped out and stood listening. A whisper came to his ear, and at once the Admiral—for he it was without doubt—slid back into the manager's office to help in the task of forcing the safe. The reflection on the ceiling told its tale again promptly.

'Out with the life preserver, and then upstairs,' said David. 'No time to wait; those fellows will have found their furs by now.'

Very craftily he pushed the end of the life preserver through the flap, and left it wedged in position. Then he ran across the floor to the stairs and raced up them. Passing the first floor, he was soon at the entrance to the second. And as he reached it his eyes fell on the two figures of the Russians. They were staggering along the centre passage between the glass show cases, their arms piled with furs. They were thirty paces away, perhaps, whispering as they came.

Dare he do it? Dare he pull the door of this portion of the store to in their faces?

David closed his teeth with a firm click; his chin assumed that very bulldog squareness for which he was notorious. He stepped coolly into the opening, gripped the iron fire door, with which the entrance to every one of the departments of the store was furnished, and brought it to with a bang. The hand-operated latch went to its socket with a scrunch. The door was fast. Number two loop hole was closed. The burglars were inevitably separated.

'And now for the last move.'

Conscious that the noise he had made might well have reached Henricksen, and yet hopeful that it had not done so, David descended the stairs faster than ever before in his life. He reached the ground floor just as a sound came from the letter-box. He fancied he heard voices outside. He was sure that the oxy-acetylene flame was working, and at that second watched as its reflection seemed to be wiped away from the ceiling above the manager's office. Then he did a smart thing. He opened the outside doors of the lift with a bang, leaped in, and ran the elevator up till it was half way through the gap leading to the first floor. He brought it to a rest there with a sudden jerk, and throwing himself flat on its floor, levelled his weapon at the door of the manager's office. And by then there was a commotion in that direction. Two figures come helter-skelter from the opening, their hands held before them, their smoked glasses already torn from their faces. At the same instant there came the sound of a key in a lock, and then the main entrance of the store was burst open.

'Stop there, Henricksen and the Admiral!' David shouted. 'Stop where you are or I fire. Constable, hold the door, I have closed the other places.'

Ping! Bang! From some point up above our hero, there came a revolver shot, and he heard the missile thud against the roof of the elevator and tinkle on to the floor near him. Ping! A second came, and then he felt the elevator moving. It was ascending. Some one had put it into operation from above. At once he guessed what had happened. The two Russians, shut into the fur department, had heard the lift working. They had torn the doors open, and reaching through had gripped the rope by means of which it was operated. David at one sprang to his feet and gripped the handle which operated the rope. Instantly he brought the machine to a stop, and turning the handle again, brought the elevator back to its former position, a shot coming from above as he did so. Then he cast his eyes into the store, and at once took in the position, which had altered in the space of a few seconds. There were two constables at the door, Hemming and another, the latter of whom was at that moment lustily blowing his whistle. At the entrance to the stairs leading to the basement stood the Admiral, a revolver in his hands, while the other rascal was nowhere visible; but a minute later he came racing up the stairs, and burst into the department.

'Give me the shooter,' he cried, breathlessly. 'They've shut the cupboard below and boxed us in. Give it me. I'm not afraid to use it.'

He seized the weapon from his comrade's hand, and in an instant there was a flash. The constable blowing his whistle staggered into the doorway. David at once leaned forward, levelled his own weapon, and pulled on the trigger. And in the space of a second he had ejected three bullets in the direction of Henricksen; for his was an automatic pistol, the class of weapon that wants careful controlling, and which will fire seven shots in less number of seconds, automatically moving a fresh cartridge into position after each shot. Certainly the bullets astounded David, and Henricksen also. He swung round, and then our hero knew what it was to be under fire. Something hissed past his cheek. The hair on his head stirred restlessly. A red-hot brand appeared to have been of a sudden thrust right through his body. But he was game to the last. He leaned over a little, fixed his revolver sights as well as he was able, and pressed his trigger again.

An instant later Henricksen went staggering up against one of the glass show cases. He upset the whole affair, and came crashing to the floor with glass smashing and splintering all about him; then his comrade darted forward, and stooped to pick up the weapon which he had dropped.

'Stand away from that place,' David commanded hoarsely. 'I'll drop you, Admiral, as sure as you move a step. Now, hands up above your head.'

'Admiral, Admiral, what's that?' came from the doorway. 'Where are you, David Harbor?'

'In the lift, half way up,' our hero called out, wondering vaguely at the weakness of his own voice. 'Half way up, Hemming. The man who fired at you, and whom I have just sent down is Henricksen, one of the employees here. The fellow with his arms up is known as the Admiral.'

'Phew.' There came a shrill whistle from Hemming. 'The Admiral did you say? Wanted in a dozen capitals. Swindler, forger, burglar, everything.'

'And two Russians upstairs, whom I have trapped in the fur department. Now, Hemming, got those handcuffs?'

Feeling curiously shaky David touched the handle of the lift again, and brought it down to the floor level, unmindful of the shots which still came from above. And all the while he held his weapon directed at the man standing so close to Henricksen.

'Now, Hemming,' he called out. 'Shut the door, or he might try to bolt. Slip the handcuffs on him; but first of all, switch on the lights just inside the door.'

It was all done in a few moments. Constable Hemming was a sharp officer, and was not above taking advice or instructions from any one. He flooded the store with light with one movement of his finger. Then there came the metallic ring of steel. Something bright flashed under the electric lamps, while the officer strode across the floor, banging the door behind him. Click. One of the bracelets went over the wrist of the disconsolate Admiral.

'Come you along here,' commanded Hemming, dragging the man across to a radiator, bolted to the floor. 'Put that other hand there. Now, move if you can. You'll have to take the house with you.'

He passed the end of his chain through an interval in the radiator, and clicked the bracelet over the man's other wrist, leaving the Admiral firmly chained to the place.

'What now?' he demanded. 'Guess you've made a haul here. The Admiral! Gosh! The most wanted of 'em all! This is a doing!'

'Get to the door and open it. First, though, pick up that shooter,' said David. 'Don't forget that we have those Russian fellows upstairs.'

'Russians! Who? Where?' demanded Hemming, his face expressing unbounded surprise.

'Spolikoff and Ovanovitch, two men of about thirty years of age, dark complexioned, wearing black moustaches,' answered David, staggering out of the lift. 'They've done nothing but fire down on me. The top of the lift is like a sieve.'

He tripped as he stepped, and went staggering up against one of the show cases, to which his fingers clung. Meanwhile Hemming stood back exclaiming.

'Spolikoff! Ovanovitch! Russians. Men of about thirty. Dark. Dark moustaches—Mister Harbor, you've hit up against a fine crowd. The wonder is that they haven't made mincemeat of you. Spolikoff and Ovanovitch! Notorious anarchists; burglars who have been cracking cribs up and down this country.'

He wiped his forehead with a brilliantly red handkerchief which he withdrew from the inside of his helmet, and puffed cheeks and lips out. It was a staggerer to Constable Hemming, this capture which he and David were making. Then he walked across to the door as if he were in a dream, and opened it just as three constables arrived on the scene.

'We heard the whistle and came along,' explained one. 'Crispen lay on the mat. He's hit in the head; a bad scalp wound I should say. We've applied a first dressing. He's sitting with his back against the wall, feeling chippy. What's all this?'

'What's all this!' Constable Hemming could hardly contain himself. 'What's all this!' he gasped again. 'Why, just a fine capture! You know there's been a young fellow watching. Bless me, he's cornered the Admiral. I've got the bracelets on that gentleman and have chained him fast to the radiator. There's one of the fellows down, while upstairs, barred in, are two Russians, the two Russians we have been after this many a day—Spolikoff and Ovanovitch.'

There was no doubt that the news impressed his comrades, who came crowding into the store after Hemming.

'They'll shoot at sight,' said one of the constables, as they discussed the matter. 'How are we to nab them?'

'Let's ask Harbor. Harbor,' shouted Hemming, coming across the store, while a further reinforcement of half a dozen police officers poured in at the door. 'Where is he?'

They discovered David grovelling on his knees, looking particularly white about the gills.

'Felt a little upset,' he explained lamely. 'What's happened? Have you taken the Russians?'

There was little doubt but that he had actually lost consciousness while the officers were discussing matters, and now was puzzled to know what they had been doing. Hemming helped him to his feet and looked sharply at his lodger. He wondered what had caused David to fall to the floor, and never guessed the reason.

'Too much excitement, perhaps,' he thought 'Anyway, we'll give him a draft. Here, Sergeant, some sal volatile for this youngster.'

They mixed the stuff before his face, and David drained the glass at a gulp.

'Now,' he gasped. 'Those Russians?'

'They're upstairs right enough,' said the sergeant. 'I heard 'em a moment ago. How are they placed? Give us an idea as to how we can get at them? Suppose they're armed?'

The young fellow, looking so exceedingly pale still, took the officer by the sleeve and led him into the lift. Then he switched on the light and invited him to inspect the roof.

'Goodness! There are a dozen holes, bullet holes. And—blood on the floor. Whose? Yours?'

He swung round on David instantly, and like Hemming treated him to a very critical stare.

'A mere nothing,' said our hero, somewhat feebly, smiling all the same.

'Set men to watch all round the place.'

'Done already,' came the prompt answer. 'I placed the men as soon as we heard there was an alarm.'

'Put two at the entrance to the basement staircase, and send two more down to the large cupboard with its back to the wall—here's the key. Let them go through the hole these burglars entered by, at the back of the cupboard, and learn what happened there, whose premises they are, and all that.'

'He's like an officer,' cried the sergeant. 'Hole in the wall! You don't mean to say these fellows broke through from outside premises, and cloaked the entrance by means of a cupboard? That looks like an inside accomplice.'

'He's there,' said David promptly, jerking his finger at the form lying amid the debris of broken glass and the contents of the overturned case. 'Henricksen we knew him as; from the jewellery department. Sergeant, there's a steel flap on the outside of the fire doors I closed on those Russians. Second floor, don't forget. A man might see them through it. Then we might rush them through the door or get at them by the lift.'

It took but a few minutes to prepare their plans. The sergeant relieved David of his revolver, and himself went to the door upstairs, reporting that the Russians were to be seen at the far end of the store. Then Hemming joined him, while a constable was sent off to the nearest station to procure more arms. By the time he was back again there were fifty constables on the scene, the outside of the house as well as the inside being guarded. As for our hero, that he was wounded by Henricksen's shot he knew, and no doubt the shock and loss of blood had caused him to lose consciousness. But he had got over that now. The draught he had received had revived him wonderfully, and that and the desire to see the matter to its very end kept him bright and smiling. He took a revolver from one of the officers, and at a signal from the sergeant above, set the lift in motion. With him there was an inspector and four officers, all armed with revolvers.

'The sergeant and Hemming have orders to fire if the men do not halt at their order,' said the former. 'You can take us clear up, please. We're going to rush them.'

He had hardly spoken, the elevator had not reached the level of the first floor when there was a loud call from above. Dull reports were heard, and then two sharp explosions. David jerked the handle over and sent the lift shooting up. With another jerk he brought it to a stand still at the second floor, and threw the doors open. Instantly all the occupants burst out. But, fortunately for them, there was no need for fire-arms. The sergeant had managed the situation with wonderful skill. He had seen the two Russians running towards him, and waiting till they were near enough, had ordered them to stop. Shots at once answered him, the bullets crashing against the door. And then he had sent two in return. Only two, but with the desired effect. Spolikoff dropped his weapon and nursed his right arm. Ovanovitch plunged forward heavily and fell on his face. In two minutes they were securely in the hands of the police.

When Hemming and the inspector, together with the manager of the store, hastily summoned to the scene by the police, went in search of David, they found him huddled in a corner of the room, as white as a sheet, bleeding slowly from the mouth.

'Chest wound,' said the inspector, gripping the situation with an experienced eye. 'We have a surgeon below; I'll send for him.'

When our hero came to his senses he was lying in a beautifully comfortable bed, with bright rays from a warm fire playing on him. A nurse stood near at hand, and beside her, discussing some matter very seriously, was some man whose features seemed to be familiar. David puzzled wonderfully. He began to fret about the matter; then, fatigued by even such a little thing, he went off into a blissful slumber.

'The best of everything, please, nurse,' said the manager of the store, before he departed. 'Order anything you want. I will be responsible for all expenses. And please do send constant information to the porter at the lodge. I am arranging with him to 'phone to me constantly.'

'Wouldn't lose that lad for a whole heap,' he told Hemming, when the latter was ensconced in his office with the manager of the store. 'He did magnificently; splendid pluck and resource he showed; seemed to have worked his plans out like a general. I feel horrible about the matter; as if by offering such a bright young fellow such a job I was accountable for his wound. Certainly, I'll send you a wire every three hours, saying how he is progressing.'

Yes, David had made a stir in the London world. Mr. Ebenezer's none too handsome face went scarlet when he read the accounts, and saw the photograph of our hero in the papers. He blew his huge nose violently, then he sat down and stared moodily into the fire. David Harbor had already become an excessively big thorn in this gentleman's side.

The Professor makes a Suggestion

'So you've been fighting again, have you?' quizzed Mr. Jones, when he came to visit David in the accident ward of the general hospital, to which he had been conveyed straight from the store. 'And this time there has been real bloodshed. Do you know that you have lain here precisely four weeks, two days short of a complete month?'

'And a precious long time it does begin to feel,' came the joking answer, for the patient so ill but a short while before was now well on the high road to recovery. 'I'm just longing to be out again. To-morrow I get up; in a week I am to be allowed out in the park. In two I shall be back at my lodgings.'

'Perhaps,' agreed Mr. Jones, drawling the word in a manner decidedly professional. 'If you are well enough. If not—well, no matter for the moment. But you are strong enough to sign your name; listen to what I read, and sign if you agree. Of course, I am not going to bother you with a number of details. You can rely upon me implicitly; I will manage things for you.'

He rapidly intimated certain matters to David in connection with the letter he had had from his father, and the will which Mr. Ebenezer Clayhill was so anxious to have settled. Then he obtained our hero's signature.

'The next thing you will hear about the matter will be from the papers,' said Mr. Jones, as he bade farewell. 'I hope we shall be successful.'

Imagine the interest of the public when it leaked out that the hero of the burglary near Bond Street was also the claimant through his solicitor to have the execution of a certain will delayed. The papers rapidly obtained the whole story; for Mr. Jones, though accustomed, as a rule, to professional taciturnness and silence, now opened his lips with a will, and told the whole story as he knew it.

'Not that the tale will affect the judgment of this matter,' he told his friends. 'British justice is too evenly balanced for such a thing; but it will gain more friends for the boy. It will put his case as it is, not as others might garble it, and will obtain the sympathy of all.'

And sympathy it did gain for our hero. Not only that; for information having been received he would be out of hospital very shortly, the case was put back for trial on a later date, no special reason being given.

'Unless, of course, the Judge and jury are anxious to see you,' laughed Mr. Jones, coming to see David again, and quizzing as was his wont. 'But I'm glad to hear you are doing so well. In a week you come home.'

'Home,' said David. 'Yes, to Constable Hemming's. He's been here to arrange.'

'Home with me,' interrupted Mr. Jones, placidly. 'You must understand that you are an invalid as yet. You require care and comfortable surroundings. Not that I assert that Constable Hemming would deny you those; but you will obtain them to greater degree where I live, in the country, outside London. Hemming knows of the suggestion and approves. By the way, he's Sergeant Hemming now—promoted for his share in the work of capturing those men. Now I'll see the House Surgeon and get his report.'

'Oh, David?' said the latter, cheerily, when accosted by the solicitor. 'Davie is going strong; we've had him examined under the Roentgen Rays. The bullet struck the fourth rib on the left side, and ought to have killed him outright. But he has luck; he was born to be lucky it seems. The bullet turned along the rib, left it half way back, and emerged. The trouble with him is that the rib was fractured, and one of the broken ends pierced the lung. Hence bleeding from the mouth and other nasty and troublesome symptoms; but he'll do now if he takes it easy for another month. When can he go out, Mr. Jones? Let us say in a week's time.'

Accordingly David was driven away from the hospital at the termination of that period, deeply grateful for all the care and kindness shown him, and leaving many a friend behind. A motor car conveyed him to Mr. Jones' house, and thereafter he came under the care of that gentleman's wife. Three weeks later he attended the inquest on Henricksen, and there for the first time gave a description of how he had seen the burglars come into the store, and of how he had been forced to hide himself. Then followed the trial of the Admiral and of Spolikoff and Ovanovitch, the latter two having by then recovered from their wounds. Needless to say both Judge and jury highly commended the behaviour of our hero.

'Of course, we don't expect that you will care to come back to us,' said the manager of the store, when the trial was finished, 'though if you wish to come, we shall be glad to have you. But you are so well off now that you can look for something better. To begin with, our directors have handed me a cheque for one hundred pounds, to be paid at once to you.'

David coughed at the intimation. It made him breathe so deeply that his already healed wound pained him. 'One hundred pounds,' he gasped. 'That's enough to take me to China.'

'Hardly, I think; but there is some more. Spolikoff and Ovanovitch were much wanted by the police for extradition to their own country. They are a dangerous class of criminal who have infested this country of late. In Russia they were Anarchists, and are known to have held up and robbed a train. Russia became too hot for them, and so they came to these hospitable shores to continue robbing. There was a reward offered for their apprehension. You, of course, obtain that. The sum is three hundred pounds.'

Little wonder that David gasped again. When he agreed to remain on watch at the store he was almost penniless. True, he had a few pounds by him, as well as a bicycle, while there was always the small allowance which was due to him; but the prospect of earning much was by no means brilliant. And here were four hundred pounds—four hundred shining sovereigns, to do with as he liked, to pay his passage to China if he wished it.

'Then off I go to China!' he cried, when he had recovered from his astonishment at such good fortune. 'I'll sail on the first opportunity.'

'Which means that you will go when I, as your appointed guardian, allow you to do so,' exclaimed Mr. Jones, severely, endeavouring to hide a smile; for David's eagerness and enthusiasm delighted this gentleman. Mr. Jones was the sort of man whom a stranger would imagine never even smiled, much less laughed outright. David had himself always considered him somewhat of a wet blanket; but he did not know him so well then. As a matter of fact the solicitor was the prince of good fellows, and kind-hearted to a degree. And it was true that he had constituted himself David's guardian.

'Till the court has put me in that position officially,' he said, 'and, of course, till you are fit again; for then I am well aware that you will kick over the traces, and put up with no interference. Now, David, hand over that money to me. I'll give you a formal receipt for it, and when you need money you can have it, and without a question. For the moment I'll take care of it. Golden sovereigns have a way of burning holes in the pockets of young people.'

When at length the case in which our hero was so interested came before the courts, he was perfectly restored to health; and his straightforward evidence, the narrative of how he had set out from home to make his own way in the world, and his adventures en route won for him the good-will of hosts of people. The whole case read like a romance, and proved wonderfully attractive, while Mr. Ebenezer, who was compelled to give evidence, as was also his wife, provided the villains to this all-absorbing drama. Then came the intimation that David had decided to go to China, there to make inquiries and search for his father's will.

'As a sensible man I suppose I ought to throw cold water on that scheme,' declared the judge, 'but, honestly, it has my sympathy. I like the pluck of the claimant.'

It appeared that others did also. For while Mr. and Mrs. Ebenezer Clayhill were thoroughly exposed, and held up to public execration, David became more of a hero, and the following day received a most important letter.

'Dear Sir'—it ran—'Having read the facts of your appeal to the courts, and being, moreover, an old friend of your father's, I have the pleasure to offer you a post on the staff I am collecting to take to China. We go to investigate old Mongolian Cities, the ruins of which have been long since located. I understand that your father was also interested in this work. We sail in rather less than a month, and should you accept this proposal, your passage will be paid, as also the return, while the question of salary can be arranged in the immediate future. Kindly write by return.'

David telegraphed. 'Coming. Delighted,' he sent, laconically, though he was not given as a rule to such abruptness, while the following morning found him at the address which headed the letter he had received. A short, stout, clean-shaven man rose from a seat as he was announced and advanced towards him with outstretched hand.

'David Harbor?' he asked, with a welcoming smile.

'Yes, sir. Come on the receipt of a letter from Professor Padmore. Is—er—are you—?'

The little gentleman laughed outright now, beaming on our hero, while his fleshy chin shook visibly. 'Am I the Professor?' he shouted, putting a hand on David's shoulder. 'You don't think I look like one, now do you? Admit to that. As a Professor I should be as bald as a coot, wear enormous goggles, stutter a trifle, and be somewhat deaf. Eh! isn't that it?'

David couldn't help laughing; the little man's good temper was strangely infectious. Nor did he attempt to deny what had been said; it was true enough. Professors were often enough the class of individual painted by this gentleman. 'You're so different, sir,' he blurted out. 'You're——'

'I'm Professor Padmore, a terrible person, I do assure you,' chuckled the little man, 'and I happen also to have been a friend of your father's. A fine man, David, a gallant fellow, but rash, a trifle rash. Trusted the Chinese too far. That was the cause of the whole trouble. Well now, sit down. Smoke?'

He held out a cigarette case, but David shook his head.

'Never mind then,' smiled the Professor. 'No harm if you don't. You may later on. You're plenty young enough yet—too young, in fact. Boys who smoke are fools, fools, sir, with a capital F to it. But I wrote you, yes, I saw the name in the paper, and was attracted by the case. It was so unusual, the majority of such disputes are so commonplace. All are sordid; this one had peculiar features. It so happened, too, that I was wanting a young fellow, a gentleman, you understand, to come out to China with me. Well then, there you were, openly stating your desire to go to China. You were just the man for my situation, while I was just the opportunity you were looking for. Good; I wrote. You are coming; there'll be danger and hardships innumerable.'

He had lit a cigarette by now, and turned on the hearth rug at his final words to stare hard at David. He found the latter laughing.

'Eh? What?' he asked pleasantly.

'Nothing, sir,' declared David, 'only everything is so jolly and so pleasant I was just thinking then that you were just the reverse of the usual Professor. You ought to be very severe and unbending to young fellows.'

'Whereas I am not. Exactly so; to tell the truth I feel young myself, as young as you do, and try hard to forget that the years are going along, and that I am getting stouter as they go. But I can be severe. David, there will be many dangers to be faced, and many hardships. I want you to know that I want you to be fully prepared. And though I am pleasant enough as a general rule, there is one thing to learn—without discipline, without one recognised leader, and one only, no expedition can be a success. This expedition must succeed. I have led several others, but this is more important than all. Absolute obedience to my orders must be the rule, and you must be prepared to give it.'

For a few brief seconds the character of the little man seemed to have entirely changed, while certainly his facial appearance had done so. For of a sudden he became stern. Lines wove themselves across his forehead, while the half-closed eyes regarded David in a manner which impressed him. He realised then, if he had not done so before, that Professor Padmore could be a very different gentleman to the jolly individual who had welcomed him a few minutes earlier, could be stern and dictatorial, and could lead men whenever needed, and however pressing the danger.

'I am prepared to give the same obedience I should give in the army,' said David, soberly. 'As for the dangers and hardships, they come in in the day's work. I do not look for ease and enjoyment out in China. My business is serious. I shall not succeed with it until I have travelled far and had many an adventure.'

'Then you will do for me. Sit down there; now for your salary.'

It took but a few moments to decide that item, and then the Professor proceeded to outline his project.

'There are these Mongolian cities,' he said. 'Well, I have already done some excavating, and have brought some rare objects home with me; but there are thousands still lying buried for every one we have unearthed. We go to find them. Our ship carries us to Hong-Kong. There we disembark and remain for a while till we have obtained the necessary servants, some of whom I have employed before. Then we take steamer for Shanghai, and finally travel to Pekin. When we leave the city for the north, our real work will begin. You still wish to come? You are not frightened?'

David laughed again. He could not help himself; for the Professor was once more the jovial, pleasant comrade, treating the young fellow as if he himself were one also. 'I will come, and only too happy to be one of the party, sir,' he said. 'How many do you take?'

'We shall be four sailing from England. When we march from Pekin there should be twenty of us all told. Labourers for the task of digging can be obtained at the various spots we visit. Now for an outfit I shall purchase that for you; I have a list by which I always go. Long experience has taught me what is wanted.'

It was no use for David to exclaim at such generosity, and to mention the fact that he had plenty of money. The Professor silenced him at once.

'Put it away, sir,' he said. 'Put it into a safe investment. Don't worry about it till you come home. By then it will have grown wonderfully. But come along now; we'll drive to the house which always provides my equipment.'

When David returned to Mr. Jones' roof that evening he had been measured for a couple of thick tweed suits, of a brownish, khaki colour. Likewise for two pairs of strong boots and gaiters.

'The shirts and things of that description we can get ready made,' the Professor said. 'In the hot weather you will wear cotton only, and that sort of thing is best obtained in China. In the very cold weather, and often at other times, we shall wear native costume. Now you will want a magazine pistol, of the same pattern as carried by us all, thus necessitating only one class of ammunition for that sort of weapon, a rifle, and a gun. Those, with a compass, will complete your equipment. Come here in a week's time, and we will see the clothes tried on.'

Those were busy days for our hero. There seemed a thousand and one things to be done, so much so that the hours flew. But at last the most exciting day of all arrived. He bade farewell to Mr. and Mrs. Jones, and went over the river to see Sergeant Hemming and his wife. Then he joined the Professor, and together they drove to the docks. It was not till the following morning, when they were well away at sea, that David was introduced to the two who were, besides the Professor, to be his travelling companions, and who went to complete the staff of the expedition going to China to investigate Mongolian ruins.

'David,' shouted the Professor, unceremoniously, as he leaned against the ship's rail talking with a passenger, 'come along and meet one of the band. Dick, this is David. David, Dick. Shake hands.'

'You! Why, this beats me altogether!'

The passenger who had been conversing with the Professor swung round, smiling, as the words were spoken, and stretched out his hand; but the instant his eyes fell on our hero he started back in amazement. The next second he had leaped forward, and was shaking David's hand as if he would never cease.

'You! David Harbor of all people! You and I to be travelling companions, on the staff of the same expedition. This is too good!'

It was Dick Cartwell, the young fellow to whom David had taken such a fancy on his eventful ride up to London, the son of the lady who had so narrowly escaped an accident in a runaway brougham.

'Ripping!' ejaculated David on his part, delighted beyond anything. 'I never asked the name of the other fellow. Just fancy it's being you! What a time we shall have together!'

'Perhaps,' said the Professor, smiling at the keenness and the friendship displayed by the two, and delighted beyond measure to find that they knew one another, 'perhaps you will have the goodness to explain. When Dick Cartwell came to me and begged of me to take him on this trip, I hesitated.'

He looked severely at the handsome young fellow, though there was a smile on his lips.

'I say!' exclaimed Dick, protesting.

'I hesitated,' went on the Professor, silencing Dick with uplifted finger. 'I said to myself, I want a man, a steady man, used to expeditions. Besides, I had just read about a certain David Harbor, quite a youngster, and I conceived that one young fellow would be ample trouble and to spare. But I gave way, and here I find you known to one another. Did David tell you to come to me, sir?'

Dick protested again, amid much laughter, and then turned abruptly on the Professor. 'It's just all chance, sir,' he said. 'But the happiest chance imaginable. David and I became acquainted only a little while ago. He made my mother's acquaintance on the high road to London. There was almost a nasty accident. He stepped in in the nick of time.'

'As he did in the case of the burglars. Tell me all about it,' asked the professor, in the peculiar jerky way he had. 'And so you saved those ladies, David,' he said, a little later, becoming serious. 'I'm glad; you have shown now on more than one occasion that you have a cool head on your shoulders, and that is just what is wanted out in China. I hope Dick will cultivate similar coolness, and joking apart, I'm delighted to have you both with me. Now to introduce you to the other member of our party. He has been with me once before, and is perfectly invaluable. Here he comes. Alphonse, mon cher.'

The jovial Professor had set his eyes on the quaintest figure of a man imaginable, and called to him as he promenaded the deck. And at his summons the passenger approached David and Dick and their employer in the most humorous manner. A little man, smaller in fact than the Professor, Alphonse was remarkably broad. His shoulders were extraordinary in their width, while one was struck by the fact that his head—a tiny, bullet-like head, covered with the shortest, bristly crop of hair, which stood upright everywhere—was sunk deep between the shoulders. For the rest, an extremely ample waistcoat expanse, short, thick legs, which nevertheless moved very swiftly, and a most engaging face made up the personality of Alphonse. From the long, pointed toes of his French boots, to the crown of his stubble-covered head, the passenger was an oddity, while voice and jesture added to his eccentricity.

'Monsieur, I have the honour to hear you call,' said the little man, advancing at the Professor's summons, with little prancing steps which might have been employed by a professor of dancing, while he bowed deeply, flourishing a cap with a mighty peak, again, like his boots and his whole person, entirely and convincingly French in origin. 'You called Alphonse.'

'To make him known to these two gentlemen. Alphonse, these are the two who accompany us. I trust that they may be as well pleased with you when our travels are over as I have been. Alphonse Pichart, David, Dick.'

The three shook hands eagerly, with vast enthusiasm in the case of the Frenchman. Indeed, David found himself unconsciously wondering at the little man, and marvelling whence came all his energy. And how the face of Alphonse attracted him. Beneath the stubbly, shock head of hair was a wide forehead, a pair of honest, sparkling, blue eyes, a good nose, and strong mouth and chin.

Not a hair was visible on this shining, healthy-looking countenance till one arrived at the chin, from which depended a peaky little beard, cut very narrow and curling forward at the tip.

'I shall have the honour and the pleasure to serve all three, then. Eh?' said Alphonse, backing and bowing once more, and replacing his hideous hat with a flourish. 'Monsieur can rely on me. I shall see to every one's comfort. And now, if Monsieur will permit, I go to the cabins to unpack.'

The Professor dismissed him with a nod and a smile.

'The best of fellows,' he exclaimed. 'Came last expedition as cook and valet.'

'Cook and valet!' exclaimed David, surprised that such individuals should be necessary, when the members of the expedition were obviously going to a part where they would have to rough it. 'I thought we should do our own cooking, or have a Chinaman for the job. As for a valet, why, clothes won't trouble us much I should think.'

'Perhaps not,' came the answer. 'But then, Alphonse is more cook than valet. I shall tell you something. An army, it is said, lives on its stomach. An exploring party does so, but in a different sense. The work is sometimes arduous, and all our attention will be required. Very well, one might have a good native cook. On the other hand one might very well have a villainous one. See the result—uncooked food, dyspepsia; you and I and Dick unfit for really good work. Lost time. Lost opportunities. Besides, Alphonse does more than cook or valet. He is shrewd, and has an abundance of courage. But you will see. He is the life and soul of the expedition. He keeps us and himself all going.'

Before the ship had been at sea a whole week, Dick and David found this to be very true; for Alphonse was always smiling, always humorous. And if there happened to be nothing in his actual words to make one laugh, his comical antics, his bows and flourishes always drew a smile, if not a roar of laughter, at which the little man beamed, for he was never angered.

No need to describe the voyage as far as Hong-Kong. It passed as other voyages do, with numerous deck games amongst the passengers, an occasional dance or concert, and one terrific gale, which swept the decks clear of all but the crew and confined the passengers to the saloon. Dick and David revelled in the movement of the ship. Not once did they shy from the saloon when the hours for meals arrived, nor feel squeamish.

'Just the lads for me,' the Professor told himself, rubbing his hands together, his face shining with enjoyment and good health. 'Nothing mamby pamby about them. They will prove excellent companions.'

At Hong-Kong the party transhipped to a coaster, and having reached Shanghai chartered a native boat.

'Our journeying may be said to begin here,' said the Professor, as he watched Alphonse arranging their belongings in the huge, roomy cabin aft. 'We run up the coast to a certain spot abutting on a portion of the Gulf of Pechili. Then we land and inspect certain ruins of which I have heard. From thence we can return to Shanghai, and take the train to Pekin, or we can journey overland. My lads, to-morrow we shall don our rougher clothing.'

That cruise up the Gulf of Pechili proved to be a most enjoyable experience, and David and his friend Dick made the most of every hour of it. They fell in with the four native hands whom the Professor had engaged at Hong-Kong, Chinese whom he had had in his service before, and helped the crew of the huge, wide-built boat haul at the ropes, and hoist extra canvas on her. Then, at the Professor's wish, they studied the language for three hours every day, sitting amongst the men, or more often with the four engaged with the expedition. And even a week, they found, saw some improvement in their knowledge.

'You have only to stick to it and you will become excellent linguists,' declared the Professor, 'and will find the power to converse most valuable. As for your instructors, a Chinaman when he takes an interest in anything is not to be beaten, and those servants of mine seem to have made up their minds that you shall both learn to speak in a record short time.'

Head and baffling winds delayed the progress of the boat immensely, so that ten days after leaving Shanghai, she was only half way toward her destination. Then there came a fair wind, lasting two whole days, which bore her a long way in the right direction. But towards evening it fell away altogether, leaving the huge native vessel wallowing in an oily yellow swell, and slowly drifting landward.

'Nothing to do but wait and hope for a change for the better,' said Alphonse. 'Monsieur the Professor can sleep; the other gentlemen can work at the language. Already they know more than I, who have been months and months in the country.'

But there were other things to attract the attention of our hero and his friend beside the Chinese language. Indeed, that very night there was an interruption. Awakening in the small hours David listened for a moment to the flop of the swell as it heaved against the side of the vessel. Then he heard a chain rattle, while, an instant later, a gentle hail came across the water. Throwing off the mosquito curtain, under which all now slept, he slid out of the deck cabin, and went to the rail. There was a figure already there dimly seen against the places where the swell broke at its summit and washed in white froth across the surface. 'Hist!' David heard, and a moment later realised that it was Alphonse.

'Ah, ha, that is Monsieur David? Good,' he heard the little Frenchman whisper. 'I can trust Monsieur David. He has been in danger before; he understands caution.'

'But—what is it? Why is there need for caution?' asked our hero, careful to keep his voice low, and wondering what the Frenchman could mean. 'I heard someone hail us; there must be another ship.'

At once Alphonse's arm swung out, he became as rigid as a board, while he pointed towards the bows of the vessel.

'See there, Monsieur. You are right; there is a boat. She has come alongside, and so silently that few of us have heard her. Does Monsieur know what she is here for?'

David could not even guess, but then he had never been in the Gulf of Pechili before. However, Alphonse knew the part, and had an idea of its dangers.

'Listen, Monsieur,' he whispered. 'I saw a boat three days ago, and thought I detected signals passing between us and her. She sailed right out of sight, but that night a lantern flashed right ahead of this vessel. To-night I detected the same, but knowing that there was a calm I felt sure that none could approach us without our hearing, for they would have to employ sweeps. Bien! I would not sleep. I crawled out on deck. I waited and watched. And presently a gentle breeze got up. Our men made no movement; they made no effort to put the vessel on her course, though they were moving about on the deck. Again I saw a lantern flash, and then, just a few minutes ago, I caught sight of a stranger approaching us. Monsieur, that is a Chinese pirate. She comes to take our weapons, and to loot those boxes the Professor carries with him.'

'Then the sooner he is warned the better,' said David, his voice hardly audible. 'This is serious.'

'Monsieur will perhaps go to the cabin and wake the two gentlemen,' suggested Alphonse, not a tremor in his words. 'I will remain and watch.'

'Listen to this,' whispered David, eagerly. 'I will warn the two in the cabin, and will then go to the four Chinese who form part of our staff. I will bring them back to our quarters as soon as possible. Meanwhile, if there is a movement in this direction, retire to the cabin yourself, and close the door firmly. It is the only means of entrance, except by way of a large port under the companion ladder leading to the roof of the cabin.'

'And that?' asked Alphonse, still as cool as ever, as if this were an everyday matter.

'Will do for me and the four men,' declared David. 'If the main door is shut we will slip in there. Warn the others about it.'

He was gone in a moment, and within the space of half a minute had awakened the Professor and Dick. In a few words he related what was happening.

'Stand by the door and admit Alphonse,' he said. 'I am going for the men we engaged at Hong-Kong; they are to be trusted.'

He took his magazine pistol from the rack in which all the weapons were housed, and slid out on to the deck again. Then, bending low, he ran towards the hatchway which led to the quarters occupied by the men attached to the expedition. He was just disappearing down it when his eyes fell upon some two dozen bent and dusky figures creeping along the deck. A moment later one of them gave a sharp order, and at once, with shouts and cries, the whole party dashed toward the stern of the vessel. The attack on the Professor's party was about to begin. David's retreat was entirely cut off by the enemy.

At Sea on a Chinese Junk

'Steady!' David commanded himself, feeling for the moment as if he were about to give way to panic. 'Go below and get the four men, then make a rush. You couldn't get back to the cabin alone.'

He stood on the narrow steps, with his head just above the level of the hatch and watched for a moment; for the sudden view he had obtained of the attackers, and their unexpected rush aft had taken him unawares. As he stared into the gloom he could see the figures which had passed him at a rush moving about from side to side of the vessel, just outside the huge deck cabin that occupied the whole of the stern. He heard blows struck against the woodwork, and a loud, resounding bang, as the door was locked and bolted. Then the shouts died away. A man stood out prominently from his comrades, and gave a sharp order. A second later there was a blinding flash, a deafening roar rolled along the decks and over the sea, while the flame lit up the surroundings.

'Fired a blunderbuss or some other ancient weapon,' David told himself. 'Blew a hole clean through the door. I do hope that none of my friends were behind it. Ah! that is the answer.'

For one brief second he had obtained a clear view of the attackers. Some twenty-four in number, they crouched on the deck as the weapon was fired, so that the ruffian who pulled the trigger became all the more prominent. He was a tall, lanky Chinaman, dressed in loose cotton clothing, and with arms bared to the shoulder. David even caught a view of his swaying pigtail. Then darkness descended again, and blotted out the figure. A moment later startled voices came to his ear from below; at once he dropped to the bottom of the ladder.

'Gently, Ho Hung,' he whispered, calling to one of the four men who had joined the staff of the expedition, and who had been with the Professor on a previous occasion. Ho Hung, indeed, was well known to our hero, for it was he who made such valiant efforts every day to teach him the language. 'Gently, Ho Hung,' he called again, speaking in Chinese as well as he could. 'I am here, at the bottom of the ladder.'

Something touched his leg. Strong fingers closed about the ankle, and sent a thrill throughout David's frame. He clenched his teeth, and stooping, gripped the wrist of the man below, prepared to throw himself upon him.

'Speak,' he commanded, hoarsely. 'Who are you?'

'Ho Hung, Excellency. I heard you call; there is trouble on the deck?'

'Listen,' said David, breathing deeply, a huge sigh of relief escaping him. 'We are attacked. My friends are in the cabin; we must reach them, you and I and the other three. Where are they?'

Not a sound had he heard below, save Ho Hung's voice; but at his question three more figures rose up before him as if they were ghosts, though in the dense darkness of the 'tween decks he could not perceive them. But the men spoke huskily, their tones strangely different from the high-pitched notes they were wont to employ.

'Lo Fing, Excellency, here, ready.'

'And Hu Ty, at your orders.'

'With John Jong, Excellency, prepared to obey.'

The latter individual impressed his presence upon our hero by stretching out a long, thin hand in the darkness, and laying it upon his shoulder. But that was often this Chinaman's salutation in the case of David or Dick, though he would never have dared in the case of the Professor or in that of Alphonse. Still he was a merry, privileged rascal, and enjoyed the name of John, probably because of its similarity to his own of Jong, and also, perhaps, because he was the only one of the four who could understand and speak English.

'Allee lightee, Excellency David,' he said, using his queer pidgin-English. 'Allee four here. What then? Trouble above? Dat rascal captain up to some nicee little game?'

But David ignored the questions. Ho Hung was the leader of this little quartet, and by far the most reliable. He swung round upon the Chinaman, who still gripped his ankle, as if to assure him of his presence all the while, and spoke hastily, his knowledge of the language, small though it was, proving of the greatest service.

'You will stand by us then?' he asked.

'We swear it,' came solemnly from Ho Hung, while the other three gave guttural approval. 'And you are armed?'

From the neighbourhood of John Jong there came the sound made when a match is struck, and almost at once a flame illuminated the surroundings, showing the four Chinamen, their eyes strangely big and prominent in the flare, and David at the foot of the ladder. Jong held the match forward, and each man in turn showed the weapon he possessed.

'See, Excellency, a staff,' said Ho Hung, displaying a massive staff, that would prove a formidable weapon.

'And knives here, and here, and here.' Jong pointed to the one he had in his own belt, while Lo Fing and Hu Ty held theirs forward, smiling grimly.

'Then wait while I see what is happening. We have to join the others, and I have arranged to make use of the port under the ladder leading to the top of the cabin. We shall have to make a rush—you understand that? You follow what I mean?'

The match had burned down to Jong's finger tips by now, and he let the end drop on to the boards, stamping the ash out with his feet; but the light given even by such a small incandescent piece of wood in the darkness was sufficient to show up the figures for a few seconds. David watched the men and nodded. There was no doubt that they had understood his laboured rendering of their own language.

'Then wait,' he said curtly. 'I will see what is happening. One of the crew fired a gun at the cabin door. I heard a shot in return, and believe the man fell; since then there has not been a sound. Wait; I'll be back in a moment.'

He stole softly up the ladder, for he had only a pair of soft bedroom slippers on his feet, and they were as good for the purpose as even the cotton-soled shoe worn by the Chinese themselves. In a twinkling his head was on a level with the hatch, and then he cautiously raised it.

'Men creeping about as if they were in search of something,' he told himself, seeing moving figures. 'One lying on the deck just where that fellow stood to fire his shot. Killed, I expect, by our own party. What on earth are the rascals up to?'

He was puzzling his brains as to what could be passing, for there seemed no object in the movement of the men on deck, while the attack on the cabin appeared to have been forgotten. Then a sharp exclamation reached his ears, and one of the attackers stood upright, lifting something from the deck. David could not be sure, but believed it was an axe, and again wondered what would be done with it.

'Break in the door, I suppose,' he told himself. 'That'll want doing; there are pistols there, my friend, as you will soon learn to your cost. Ah! Another seems to have discovered a similar weapon.'

It was not at all remarkable that such a search should be needed for these two axes—and axes they undoubtedly were—for the methods of the commander of the native boat were anything but excellent. Untidiness was noticeable everywhere; odds and ends of things, bales and boxes and coils of rope and tackle of every description littering the deck. And amidst the various items were the axes.

'Talking the matter over amongst themselves,' thought David, seeing the dusky figures come together at one side of the deck. 'That shows they counted on winning their way into the cabin at the first rush. They made sure that they would pounce upon us unawares, and never imagined that we should be ready for them. Now they'll decide upon some plan for forcing their way in. This would be our chance for rushing along to join our comrades.'

The thought had hardly crossed his mind when those long, firm fingers closed again round his ankle, a sure signal that Ho Hung wished to communicate with him. Instantly David slid down into the depths of the vessel.

'Well?' he asked, somewhat curtly, for he was anxious not to lose sight of the enemy. 'They have been searching the decks for axes and have discovered two. I think they are about to rush at the door and attempt to beat it in. That will be the moment for us to run. You have all that, Hung? Can't make it a bit clearer.'

A guttural response reassured him. 'We have understood. His Excellency speaks plainly, though he makes many mistakes. Hung wished only to tell of something which has been forgotten. There is no need to go out on deck and enter by the port, for there is a path to the cabin by this way. Does his Excellency forget that meals are brought to his friends through a hatchway leading up through the floor of the cabin?'

The position of that hatch flashed across David's brain instantly, and he could have struck himself for having forgotten it so readily. Of course, it was the only way by which to rejoin the party in the cabin, and offered a perfectly safe road.

'We will make along it at once, Hung,' he said. 'Let Jong run and warn our friends immediately. I will watch at the top of the ladder, while you and the other two search about for something with which to block the foot of the ladder leading up to that hatch. Quick with it! They may have remembered it too.'

Feeling sure that his orders would be carried out promptly, he swarmed up to the level of the deck again, and once more cautiously protruded his head. At the same moment a heavy thud reached his ears; there came the sound of splintering wood, then the sharp, distinctive snap of a magazine pistol. As on a former occasion, though to a lesser degree this time, the flash of the weapon gave our hero an instant's view of his surroundings. Thirty feet away was the wall of the cabin, with the dark lines of the doorposts in the centre, while the deck on either hand was occupied by crouching figures. One Chinaman alone was prominent, and he stood before the door, frantically struggling to drag the blade of the axe he had been wielding out of the woodwork. He staggered backwards with the weapon, as the darkness fell like a screen about him. Then the sound of splintering wood was repeated, a pistol snapped, and after it another, illuminating the scene for the space of a few seconds. David saw the Chinaman reel across the deck, and heard the axe fall heavily upon the boards, then his eye fell upon other figures. Half a dozen men were creeping towards the hatchway from which he was watching, and the leader of the band was within a few inches.

'One of the foreign devils,' he heard a man call. 'Hold him! Seize him! He has stolen out of the cabin.'

'I have him. Follow. Push your knives into his carcass.'

The leader so close to our hero recovered from his astonishment far sooner than did David, and hardly had his companion shouted when the man threw himself forward as if he were diving, and landing full upon the lad, who was standing on the steep steps that lead to the 'tween decks, gripped him round the neck in an embrace that was stifling. The result must have been as much of a surprise to him as it was to our hero; for the latter's feet slipped, his soft, felt soles failing to grip the rungs of the ladder, and at once both were precipitated to the bottom.

'Yield, foreign devil,' the man hissed in his ear. 'Yield, or I will thrust my knife through you.'

He made frantic efforts to get at the weapon, and releasing one hand groped at his belt. But the fall had shaken the weapon from its place, and had sent it tinkling on to the boards, while the movement gave David an opportunity he took the utmost advantage of. Naturally strong and active, and by this time fully restored to health, he was a good match for the Chinaman. Indeed, he was more; for, exerting all his strength, he thrust the man beneath him and held him there, wondering what next he should do with him. However, he was not to be spared time for such a purpose, for by now a second man was beside them. David felt his hand on his shoulder as the Chinaman sought in the darkness to assure himself which was friend and which foreign devil. In a moment he would know, for the clothing would tell its own story promptly, and if David were to escape a thrust from the long knife the rascal bore he must act on the instant. It may have been an inspiration—perhaps the whole thing was done unconsciously—in any case our hero braced his muscles as he had never done on a former occasion, and stretching out a hand gripped the pigtail of the man beneath him. Then he lifted the head sharply and sent it back against the deck with a sickening thud that stunned his antagonist instantly. A moment later something struck hard against his own shoulder, and, though he did not realise the fact then, the explanation came afterwards. The second Chinaman had thrust at him in the darkness, and missing his aim, had sent his blade within a couple of inches of his back, and far across it till his wrist came against the shoulder.

'Which shows he means business in any case,' thought David, recoiling before the blow. 'How's that?'

Kneeling up, with a swift motion, and realising that he had no time to get to his feet, he lunged forward sharply with his right fist, met something solid and sent it flying. Indeed, he heard the man stagger across the alley-way, and crash against a bulkhead two yards from him. Then, long before the fellow could pounce upon him, David was on his feet.

'Hist!' he heard at his elbow, then there was the scrape of a match against the roughened paper on the box. A flame suddenly illuminated the 'tween decks, showing our hero, dishevelled and somewhat breathless, close to the foot of the ladder, Ho Hung beside him, and the Chinaman advancing again with upraised weapon. More than that, it showed faces filling the dark square of the hatchway, and a man already half-way down the ladder.