Ping Wang

“ A few minutes later Ping Wang again turned on to his back. He did not utter a word, but Charlie knew by his heavy breathing that he was nearly exhausted. When he had lain there for some minutes he said, with a gasp, 'I will have one more try,' and started off again. But when he had swum a few yards he said, feebly, 'I can't reach her. Don't you bother about me. Look after yourself.'
'I won't go aboard her without you,' Charlie declared, and kept a closer watch on his companion. Soon he saw that Ping Wang, if left to himself, would be drowned. ”

“ Neither Ping Wang nor the skipper of the Canton had thought of this objection—a very natural one from a Chinese point of view.
'But these men will not die,' the skipper declared, hurriedly. 'It is only bad eyes that they are suffering from. They have come from Hongkong with Ping Wang, and, if they are not worried, they will soon be well again.'
For a moment the Chinese boatman was silent. ”

“ When he had been there about ten minutes Ping Wang joined him.
'This is the first time you have been to sea on a trawler,' the Chinaman declared as he sat down beside him.
'How do you know?' Charlie asked, astounded to find that Ping Wang could speak excellent English.
'I could see that you were surprised at the way in which the men eat and talked. If you had known that they behaved in that manner, you would not have come to sea.'
'That is very likely,' Charlie admitted.
'Why have you come?' Ping Wang inquired.
'One must do something for a living.'
'You could have got a better job ashore. ”

“ A passer-by spoke to him, and he answered cheerfully, making some remark which caused the man to laugh heartily as he continued his journey.
'Come on,' Ping Wang whispered, when the man had passed out of sight, and stepped into the street, followed by Charlie and Fred.
No one penetrated their disguise as they hurried along the streets. One man informed Ping Wang that the three foreigners had been killed. They had taken refuge in a house and the mob had thereupon set light to it. ”

“ Wilkins and you two to keep off any one who approaches me, I shall be pretty safe.'
'Charlie's plan is the better of the two,' Ping Wang joined in; 'but he mustn't attempt to carry it out without help. If he has one or two men with him the Boxers will be less likely to attack him, and certainly the job will be done more quickly. I'll be one of the men to accompany him, and I should like Number One to be the other.'
Ping Wang asked Number One in Chinese if he would care to take part in fetching the ammunition. ”

“ The streets were now crowded with people, and Ping Wang whispered to his friends not to speak on any account until they were safe at another inn. He led them through numerous narrow streets, and was within a hundred yards of the inn where he hoped to get a room when a man came running along the street, shouting wildly, slashing about with a whip, and driving the people back against the houses on either side. Ping Wang pushed the Pages back quickly and stood in front of them.
A few moments later Charlie and Fred understood the cause of the excitement. ”

“ The wooden seats under the awning were hard and uncomfortable, and Charlie, Fred, and Ping Wang were soon tired of sitting there, especially as they dared not talk, for fear of being overheard. Once Ping Wang caught the boatman peeping under the awning. He seized him quickly, and demanded his reason for prying on the sick travellers.
'Noble brother,' the boatman answered, trembling with fear, 'I wanted to see if they were dying.'
'They are getting better,' Ping Wang declared. 'It is a good thing for you that they are not dying, for their father is as rich as a mandarin ”

“ Ten minutes later Ping Wang and the Pages arrived at the open gate, near which were some half-dozen dirty rascals playing some Chinese game. They were soldiers, but so interested were they in their game that they did not even glance at the people passing in and out. Ping Wang told Fred and Charlie, later, that these imitations of soldiers usually passed their time in that fashion. ”

“ On seeing four Boxers approaching, they hurried forward to meet them.
'Are the Boxers coming quickly to kill the foreigners?' they asked, excitedly.
'They are,' Ping Wang answered. 'Listen and you will hear them shouting.'
The noise of the advancing mob reached them as a faint, buzzing sound, but loud enough to convince the soldiers that the Boxers were really coming. They were anxious to ask Ping Wang and his companions more questions, but Ping Wang cut short their questions.
'We bear a message,' he declared, 'and we must deliver it at once. We have run quickly, for we did not carry rifles. ”

“ I wonder that I didn't think of them when we were at Hongkong, for they will make your disguise much more complete. At present your eyes do not look at all like Chinamen's.'
Charles and Fred at once put on the goggles which Ping Wang gave them, and the skipper declared that now, if they did not speak aloud, no one would guess that they were not Chinamen.
'We ought to go at once,' said Ping Wang; and, after shaking hands with the skipper, the three travellers quitted the Canton, and made their way towards the boat. ”

“ While Fred, from force of habit, was cleaning the rifle after using it, the boat-owner approached the travellers, and said to Ping Wang: 'The foreigner shoots very straight in spite of his sore eyes.'
'He has saved your life,' Ping Wang replied, sharply. 'If he had not shot the pirates, they would have killed all of us.'
'That is true, honourable brother. ”

“ The saloon placed at their disposal was very similar to the after-saloons which Charlie and Ping had seen in the North Sea steam trawlers; that is to say, the bunks were round the table.
The trip to Tien-tsin occupied several days, and all on board, except the skipper and his mate, being Chinamen, Charlie and Fred were compelled to speak very little, and then only in an undertone, for fear that they should be overheard. However, they managed to enjoy themselves, as Ping Wang taught them several exciting Chinese games. ”

“ Charlie and Ping Wang stopped short, and, looking in the direction indicated by Fred, saw a dark figure struggling through the bushes after them.
'Let us wait and tackle him,' Charlie suggested, but Ping Wang objected firmly to that proposal.
'There may be other fellows following him,' he added, 'and a shout from any one of them would bring the mob rushing over here in a moment. The best thing that we can do is to hurry on as quickly as possible.'
'Come along, then,' Charlie said, and started running. They ran a little more than a mile. ”

“ On entering Su-ching, Ping Wang directed the bearers to carry them to the mission, but, on arriving there, a Japanese officer told them that Barton and his friends had started for Tien-tsin the afternoon before.
After remaining at Kwang-ngan for about an hour Ping Wang hired fresh palanquins, and they resumed their journey. It was a very uneventful one, for the Boxers had been cleared out of that part of the country; the only exciting moment being when some Russian or Japanese sentry barred their progress. ”

“ An order to kill all foreigners, was it not?'
'Yes. Shall we escape?'
'No. Hurry on to Chin Choo's.'
Ping Wang again led them through narrow, dirty streets until they caught sight of Chin Choo's house. When they were about fifty yards from it, they saw the gates thrown open and the mandarin's palanquin borne out. From the shouts of the man with the whip who ran ahead of it, they knew that Chin Choo was inside.
'That is good,' Ping Wang whispered. 'Now that Chin Choo is out, the servants will start gambling and smoking opium. ”

“ AFLOAT ON THE DOGGER BANK. A Story of Adventure on the North Sea and in China.
(Continued from page 227.)
CHAPTER V.
'I shall not be able to make plum duff,' said Charlie to Ping Wang, about half an hour after his loss of the cook's recipe-book.
'There will be a row if the men discover that you don't know how to make it,' Ping Wang declared, looking serious. 'But never mind that, I have something more important to tell you. Come aft; the skipper may be listening to what we are saying.'
They went right to the stem of the trawler and stood against the gunwale. ”

“ Chin Choo will never discover the secret, or guess that the idol contains anything. Therefore I wish to return to my native place in disguise, and obtain that idol by some means or other. If I succeed in obtaining it, I shall be a rich man.'
'I should like to go with you,' Charlie exclaimed.
'I wish you could,' Ping Wang answered, eagerly. 'I can read character well enough to know that you [Pg 215] are not what you pretend to be. You have come to sea for novelty or curiosity, but not for necessity. ”

“ Ping Wang smiled serenely. [Pg 287]
'I don't think that you will find Chinese food so bad as you imagine,' he said. 'Certainly it will be better than what we had to eat on the Sparrow-hawk.'
While they were looking at a heap of dead fish, the captain shouted to them to come over to the starboard side; and on doing so they beheld a shoal of small fish being chased by big ones. To escape their pursuers the small fish jumped out of the water, and were instantly seized by the gulls, a flock of which were hovering around. ”

“ If you cannot give me the money, I will keep the rifle which the foreigner is holding.'
This decision alarmed the boat-owner. 'Honourable brother,' he said, after a few moments' silence, 'I will search for the duck: perhaps it has rolled off the dish.'
He searched in what appeared to Ping Wang to be very unlikely places, and found the missing dainty in a basket on top of the pile of cargo.
'The rifle shall be given you,' said Ping Wang, and then turned to speak to Charlie and Fred. 'We had better breakfast on shore,' he said ”

“ On the following morning, at daybreak, the journey was resumed, but before the travellers had covered two miles, while the mist was still hanging over the river, Ping Wang noticed a boat rapidly overtaking them. It was a long, narrow craft, paddled by eight men. ”

“ His youngest brother, who is in Kwang-ngan, is very fond of him, and when I tell him of his brother's danger, he will, I am certain, hurry off to warn him—and, of course, my cousin will tell Barton.'
"They butted each other gently."
Then they began to discuss once more the object of their visit to China—the recovery of the idol. [Pg 349]
'I'm very anxious to get that treasure,' Charlie declared, 'but I feel just now as if I would willingly sell my share of it for a good meal. I'm both hungry and cold.'
'Then let us walk about,' Ping Wang suggested. 'It will keep us warm. ”

“ They turned into one of the narrow streets which they had traversed earlier in the evening, and, as they ran at full speed along it, here and there men came out of their houses to see what the noise meant. They heard the shouts of 'Foreigners!' but the average Chinaman has a great respect for his skin, and consequently not one of the men who saw the Pages and Ping Wang rush by attempted to stop them. ”

“ After my return to Nankin from the Chung-wang's army, I spent some very pleasant months in that city. The warm summer weather of central China produced a sort of lassitude both of mind and body, and for a time, while leading a happy and listless life, mixing with the kind and enthusiastic Ti-pings, or wandering through the beautiful gardens of the Chung-wang's palace with Marie, the outer world became forgotten. Aroused each day with the rising sun, my friend, Philip, and I would meet the Chung-wang's household at the morning prayers in the "Heavenly Hall." ”

“ Vainly strove the bravest Tartar officers to animate their men; the hardiest veterans, extricating themselves from the confusion, uselessly sacrificed their lives attempting to re-form and gain time for the broken lines to rally and open out in order; equally vain were the fierce efforts of the main body, as, rolling and staggering along, they wavered, hesitated, and sent forth storms of fire upon friend and foe alike, while the rallied horsemen feebly charged the Foo-wang's cavalry, and, driven back, hovered in rear and flank of its defeated infantry. ”

“ He spoke sharply and decisively; all this time he had been occupied with Wang, and Wang had been protesting and blaspheming and swearing by all his gods.
"Now," said Mr. Li, and his voice sounded terrible in its sternness and solemnity. "You know me, and I know that you have that key; I am not going to risk the lives of five innocent people; if you do not give up the key you die. As surely as there is a God above us, so surely do I send you to appear before Him." He drew a revolver from his pocket and held it close to the man's eyes. ”

“ I have just passed soldiers. If you do not give me freely I shall go and find them and declare that you have silver buried in the Temple."
There was brief hesitation which may have lasted two seconds, but no more. Then the door swung wide open.
"Come in," said the priest sullenly. Asia is like that. By audacity a child may work his will over old and young alike. That is one of the unappreciated morals of the Bible.
Wang the Ninth, again victorious, loafed in with an expression of suppressed amusement on his face which would have done credit to an actor. ”

“ When Heyst and the girl came out again, the Chinaman had gone in his peculiar manner, which suggested vanishing out of existence rather than out of sight, a process of evaporation rather than of movement. They descended the steps, looking at each other, and started off smartly across the cleared ground; but they were not ten yards away when, without perceptible stir or sound, Wang materialized inside the empty room. The Chinaman stood still with roaming eyes, examining the walls as if for signs, for inscriptions; exploring the floor as if for pitfalls, for dropped coins. ”