Edward Stratemeyer

“ CAPTAIN PONSBERRY HAS HIS SAY
"Hurrah! Here come the boys who are bound for China!"
"Good luck to you, boys! Wish I was going with you!"
"Don't let the Chinks get the best of you! Stick up for Uncle Sam and Old Glory every time!"
Such were some of the cries as the command to which Gilbert was attached swung across the bridge which spanned the river Pasig, and marched through the streets of old Manila to the barracks assigned to them previous to their departure for China. ”

“ He had seen Nuggy at the stern of the transport, smoking, and had no doubt that he would still find the young man there.
But, half-way on his rapid walk toward the stem, Gilbert came to a sudden halt. What if Polk should deny everything, and what if the rascal had destroyed the written pages? He could not prove the young man guilty, and such an action would only let Polk know that he had discovered the deception. Would it not be better to let the fellow imagine that his plan to outwit his opponent had proved successful? ”

“ Gilbert now found himself confronted by two Chinese soldiers, each of whom took aim at him as soon as he showed himself. Before the men could fire, one was knocked over by a bullet from the rear. The second, however, pulled trigger directly on Gilbert's breast; and the bullet scraped the young lieutenant's ribs so deeply that the blood flowed through his shirt.
"You are shot!" cried Captain Banner. "Better go to the rear."
"Not yet!" was Gilbert's answer. "Come on, boys! The gun will soon be ours!" ”

“ An outside stairway led to that section of the structure, a stairway which but a moment before had been surrounded by smoke. But now came a puff of wind, and the smoke was sent flying in the opposite direction.
"Give me a key—I am going to look for that man!" cried Gilbert. "It's a shame to let anybody die like a rat in a trap."
"That's so, lieutenant. But the danger—"
"I'll risk it. Give me the key."
"I'll go with you," returned the guard. "I see the wind is shifting."
"Then come!" And away went Gilbert for the stairs. Some few who saw the action cheered, but others shook their heads. ”

“ Before this idol the priest was waving his hands, and chanting in the same monotonous tone he had before employed. In his right fingers he clutched a dagger, with which he was making circles before the idol's face.
"Looks as if he was going to carve the idol up," whispered Netwood.
"Hush!" replied Gilbert. "Look at him! Isn't it enough to make one's blood run cold?"
"Hadn't we better make him a prisoner?" put in the third soldier of the party. "He may become very dangerous when he's worked up. His eyes—"
The soldier stopped short. The Buddhist priest had turned to look at the Americans. ”

“ On rising, the Buddhist priest motioned to his helper to take up the axe; and he himself came forward to feel if the edge of the implement was sharp enough for the work at hand. Satisfied on this point, the holy man caught Gilbert around the body, and raised him to his feet.
The young lieutenant now felt that he must either do or die, and he resolved to put up the best fight possible. "I'd rather die fighting than be beheaded," he muttered; and, exerting all his strength, he hit the old Buddhist in the stomach with his elbow, and knocked the priest flat. ”

“ From his commanding position on the top of the wall, Gilbert could now see a sight the like of which he had never before witnessed, and which, he felt, he should never see again. As far as eye could reach, the streets below, crooked, narrow, and filthy, were filled with Chinese soldiers and citizens, women and children, rushing hither and thither, shouting, crying, and pushing each other out of the way. Many men and women carried their household effects on their backs ”

“ It is past now."
"You are a better fellow than I am,—a good deal better," persisted Nuggy. "I don't believe I would have tried to save you under the same circumstances."
"Then it is a good thing that I am myself and you are yourself," said Gilbert, not knowing how else to reply.
"You are a true Christian, Pennington,—a real, practical Christian."
"Thank you. I have tried to be so—even though I am a soldier."
"Ninety-nine men out of a hundred would have let me burn up," continued Nuggy, with a deep shudder. "I know just how tight I was at that window. ”

“ He is a bother, and in the way."
"It is not always so easy to force a man out of a thing,—especially if he knows what a good thing it is."
"I will do the trick," said Nuggy Polk, with a wink. "Trust me to work any deal that is to my advantage."
At this moment came an order from Captain Banner for company drill, and Gilbert had to leave the pair. No sooner had he gone than Jerry Nickerson said in a low tone, "Nuggy, I wouldn't be so free about talking over private affairs with an outsider."
"Oh, he's only a common soldier, Jerry. What harm can it do?" ”

“ If you are caught around that house again without the lady's permission, I will have you placed under arrest, and stowed away in the Tien-Tsin prison. That prison is about the worst hole I have yet seen; and, if you know when you are well off, you'll do your best to keep out of it."
"You think you are big because you are a lieutenant," blustered Nuggy.
"I am big enough to handle you, Polk. Now you go about your business, and"—Gilbert put a peculiar emphasis to the words—"don't try to steal any more letters. They are easily duplicated, and such work may land you in prison." ”

“ Oh, my head and my back! I feel as if I should never be able to walk again!"
"O papa, do not say that!" burst out Jennie. "Does your back hurt you very much?"
"It feels numb, as if it was paralyzed." Amos Bartlett gave a groan he could not suppress. "The weight of the—the tree was more than I—I—could stand!" He gave a gasp, and then fainted away.
More alarmed than ever, Mrs. Bartlett begged Gilbert to go for the doctor she had mentioned; and, receiving directions as to where the medical man lived, the young lieutenant hurried off, through a lane to the rear of the warehouse. ”

“ No foreign power will dare to make war on China because of the other powers."
"I am of the opinion that the war is already on around Taku and Tien-Tsin," answered Gilbert. "The forts at the mouth of the Pei-Ho have been taken, and that will probably madden the Chinese beyond endurance."
"Humph! A good deal of that is all talk," said Nuggy Polk. "When I reach Tien-Tsin, I expect to have no trouble whatever in landing and in transacting business." ”

“ If the Chinks could fight as the foreign troops fight, we should be wiped out in no time."
"The barbarities are something dreadful," put in Mrs. Margoss. "The Chinese are very brutal, literally hacking women and children to death; and this has so angered some of the Japanese and Russians that they can't be held in check, and consequently they are taking no prisoners, but putting all the enemy to the sword or bayonet. In some cases women and children are treated like the men, for the Japanese and Russians say they are not to be trusted." ”

“ I am ready any time the major sets," answered Gilbert, with a grim smile. "I came to China to fight; and I believe fighting is a good bit like swimming,—the sooner you get into trim for it and plunge in, the better off you are. It won't do for a swimmer to stand on the bank and shiver, as he looks at the cold water; and it won't do for a soldier to get the 'yellow shakes,' as our Western boys term it, listening to the guns from a distance."
At this homely view of things. Captain Banner laughed. "I don't believe you will get the shakes," he said. "You have been through the mill too often." ”

“ It is one thing to face an enemy in the open: it is quite another to face the same enemy in the dark. Gilbert had heard of bad Western men sometimes fighting a duel to the death with knives in a pitch-dark room, and he felt now that he wanted nothing to do with anything so terrible. ”

“ Try his best, the young officer could not fight off the rodents; and he was just beginning to think that he might be eaten up alive, when the cell door opened, and the Buddhist priest appeared, along with his follower. The pair saw at once the cause of the disturbance, and quickly chased the rats out of sight, slaying none of them; for to the Buddhists animal life is sacred.
The rats having been disposed of, a short talk followed between the priest and his man; and then the latter caught Gilbert up in his arms, and threw the lieutenant over his shoulder as if he were a bag of flour. ”

“ He was afraid Nickerson would be killed. "Let him alone, I say, you clown!"
"Ton't call me a klown!" roared Carl. "Of you do, I'll gif you a lickin', too!" And he squared off at Nuggy in a manner which caused that unworthy one to fall back in dismay.
By this time the attention of a number of soldiers who were near was attracted, and they gathered arouiid. "A fight, boys!" cried one. "The Dutchman is going to polish off one of the newspaper men!"
"Go for him, Carl, and show him how we licked the Tagals!"
"Make them fight one at a time, Dutchy! Two to one isn't fair." ”

“ Presently there came a loud shouting out of the darkness, followed by more shots.
"Don't let them get into the boat! For the love of heaven, push her from shore!"
"Some Americans or English in a boat, and in trouble!" cried Captain Banner, and gazed at the major inquiringly.
"Company A will march directly to the river shore," said Major Morris, promptly. "If those people in the boat need assistance, give them all you can." ”

“ As Larry Russell came up, more hand-shaking followed; and then the Russells plied Gilbert with questions, all of which he answered as well as he could.
"I wish you were going with us," said the young lieutenant. "We might have some fine times together."
"That's true," put in Larry Russell. "But I guess we've got to stay here until we are mustered out."
"Perhaps we'll be sent to China later on," said Ben Russell. Then he turned, as he felt a pluck at his sleeve. "Hullo, Stummer! And you, too, Casey! ”

“ But the craft was still close to shore; and, as soon as their leader was shot down, the other two occupants leaped into the water and mud, and struck out for the jungle which now concealed the rest of the guerillas, who had lost no time in disappearing after the first volley from the Americans.
Left to its own devices, the first boat came down the river rapidly, sometimes swinging to one side and then to the other, and once turning around completely in the strong current. It held two uninjured rebels, who for the time being seemed to be bewildered by the turn of affairs. ”

“ It was the adjutant's assistant, who was making the round of the transport, previous to his departure for the Nagasaki post-office. He already had one bag full of letters, and was now picking up a second.
"All right. I'll have a letter for you in a few minutes," responded Gilbert. "I just want to make sure that I put everything in this that I wanted."
"Writing to your best girl, eh?" laughed the other officer. "Well, send her lots of kisses."
"I haven't got that far yet, Peters," responded the young lieutenant, with a laugh equally hearty. "This is a strictly business letter." ”

“ When leaving the transport, Gilbert had lost sight of Nuggy Polk and Jerry Nickerson; and he felt that it might be many a day before he would again encounter the pair.
"Perhaps we shall never meet again," he thought. "I've got a hard campaign before me; and who knows but that I may lay down my life in the struggle? Somebody is bound to die, and this trip it may be my turn."
From the soldiers who were coming and going Gilbert learned that fighting in and around Tien-Tsin was of daily occurrence. "The Chinks are not beaten yet," said one old marine. ”

“ But the Chinese did not intend to give up their field-piece thus easily; and soon a fierce hand-to-hand encounter was on, both sides first emptying their weapons and then using their gun-stocks for clubs. Finding they could not save the gun, the Chinese loaded it to the very muzzle with a triple charge of powder and two shells, intending to blow it up.
"They are going to blow up the gun!" was the cry. And, seeing the movement, the majority of the Americans hurled themselves flat, to avoid the force of the explosion. ”

“ One afternoon, when all was quiet, Gilbert obtained leave of absence for a few hours, and lost no time in hurrying to that section of the foreign quarter where the Bartletts resided. The walk was one not easily to be forgotten; for the dead Chinese still lay everywhere, the corpses being continually turned over by the savage "chow" dogs, who would growl fiercely at the approach of man. ”