With the Allies to Pekin: A Tale of the Relief of the Legations, Page 3

  CHAPTER I

  SCHOOL

  “Well, Rex, how do you think you will like school?”

  “I don?t know very much about it yet, Uncle. You told me that I was toexpect to be bothered and bullied a bit just at first, but it was notso bad as I supposed. I was asked a lot of questions, and when I saidI had been taken to China when I was a year old and lived there eversince, they gave me the nickname of the Heathen Chinee at once. Ofcourse I did not mind that at all. You told me that probably they wouldgive me a nickname of some sort, and that was just as good as another.Anyhow, after the first two days they let me alone. I came off betterthan some of the other new boys, who got out of temper to begin with;so I expect it is all over as far as I am concerned now.”

  “I expect so, Rex. The boy who takes things good–temperedly is soonleft alone.”

  The speakers were Mr. Bateman and his nephew Reginald, who was alwaysknown as Rex. They had landed at Southampton a month before. Mr.Bateman, who was a member of a firm of merchants at Tientsin, hadreturned to England to take up the management of the London house,the senior partner having died. Rex was the son of James, the youngerbrother of the two remaining partners. As soon as it had been arrangedthat the elder brother should return to England, it was agreed thathe should take Rex with him. It had for some time been a settledthing that the boy should come home for three or four years in orderto associate with English boys and learn their ways, and at the endof that time should return to China and begin to learn the business.Robert, now the chief partner, was unmarried, and as it was thereforeprobable that Rex would some day become in turn the head of the firm,both his father and uncle were anxious that he should be prepared asfar as possible for that position.

  Rex would have been sent over sooner had they not been afraid that hemight altogether forget Chinese, which he now spoke as well as English.From his early childhood he had been principally under the charge ofa Chinaman named Ah Lo, who had been chosen from among the Chineseservants for that post. Ah Lo had at that time been a strong youngfellow of eighteen years of age, intelligent and good–tempered. He wasthe son of the native storekeeper, and the child had taken to him. Thechoice had been a good one. The lad had watched over his charge withthe care of a woman. He regarded it as a great honour to have beenchosen for the post, and was never so happy as when he took the childout, perched on his shoulder, or rowed him about in a sampan. As hegrew up Rex had to spend half of his time at his books, and his motherkept him a good deal with her, as it was as necessary that he shouldspeak English perfectly, and receive the usual education, as that heshould speak Chinese perfectly. And then, when it was decided that hisuncle should return to England, it was at once agreed that Rex shouldaccompany him.

  “I should be glad,” his father said, “if he could go to a great publicschool, and then to one of the universities; but there are twoobjections to that course. In the first place, when he was finishedhe would be less inclined to settle down to office work here; and inthe second place, he would entirely forget Chinese. He might pickit up again, but he would never come to speak it like a native—anaccomplishment which would unquestionably be a very great advantageto him in many ways. You and I, Robert, can get on fairly well, butwe help our Chinese largely with pidgin English, and often feel thedisadvantage of not being able to talk fluently to the people in theirown language. Of course I quite agree with you that it is necessary forRex to mix with English boys of his own age, and become in all respectslike them, but I am sorry to think that in four years he will have losta great deal of his Chinese.”

  “I have been thinking of that too, James, and my idea is that it wouldbe a good thing to take Ah Lo to England with us. He is very muchattached to the boy, and the boy to him.”

  “Yes,” the other said doubtfully, “that is so; but it would not bepossible to have Ah Lo with him when he is at school.”

  “Quite impossible, James; the boy?s life, even if it could be managed,would be made a burden to him. No, I should propose that Ah Lo shouldremain with me. He is a useful fellow in many respects, and when Rexis engaged with his lessons, he, like most of his countrymen, can turnhis hand to anything. My idea is that we arrange with the master ofthe school to let Rex off two afternoons and evenings in the week. Hecould then meet Ah Lo at the railway–station, or at some other place alittle distance from the school, and could go out for walks with him,and if there is a river, go on the water, or make an excursion by rail.In that way, as they would be together for five or six hours twice aweek, Rex could keep up his Chinese. Of course I should choose someschool within a reasonable distance of London. I shall probably take ahouse eight or ten miles out of town, near Surbiton, or somewhere inthat direction. We have agreed that Rex cannot go to one of the greatpublic schools, as, although perhaps better read in English literatureand history than most boys of his age, he is backward in Latin andmathematics. Still, I could find some good school, say within ten orfifteen miles of my house. Moreover, the plan I suggest could not becarried out at a public school. It would not be permissible, at such aninstitution, for boys to break through the ordinary routine, but I haveno doubt that I could make the arrangement I propose at what you maycall a good school, other than Harrow, or Eton, or Winchester.”

  “It would certainly be a capital plan, Robert.”

  “Of course I should see that his off–days were not the half–holidays,because we want him to learn to play cricket and football, and hewould be out of it altogether if he were to lose the half–holidays. Isee no reason why the plan should not be carried out. In that way hewould keep up the language, and at the same time would take part in thegames played in the school. In winter I should arrange for the use ofa comfortable room in the town, where they could sit and talk. I shalllet Ah Lo wear his native clothes, if he likes, at my place; but whenhe goes to meet Rex I shall put him into European costume and make himtwist his pigtail up and hide it under his hat. If any of Rex?s schoolchums were to see the boy about with a Chinaman, he would never hearthe end of it.”

  On his arrival in England Mr. Bateman had taken a furnished house nearSurbiton, and had made the arrangements he wished for Rex at a largeschool near the river, some fifteen miles away. Rex had now returnedat the end of his first fortnight. He was soon at home in his newlife, and ere long became very popular among the boys of his own age.His good temper was unfailing, for although at first he was somewhatawkward in the games, he very speedily picked them up. As usual withnew boys, he had one or two fights, and came out of them fairly well.Several of the boys learned boxing from a sergeant in the Guards, whocame down from Windsor twice a week to teach them. Hex asked that hemight be allowed to take lessons, and his uncle readily agreed.

  “Certainly you may do so, Rex, and I am glad to find that you havethe opportunity of learning how to use your hands. It is a valuableaccomplishment for anyone, for it develops self–reliance and quicknessof eye, strengthens the muscles, and improves the figure and carriage,and besides, it enables a man to hold his own in any circumstances;lastly, it is of special benefit to anyone living abroad and liable toaggression or insult. An Englishman who can box well is a match for anytwo foreigners knowing nothing of the art, and need not fear the attackof any one man unless he is carrying firearms. I intended to proposethat you should take lessons in the holidays, but as you can do so atschool, by all means begin at once. Keep regularly at it, and the lastyear before you go back to China you shall have lessons from one of thebest masters I can find.”

  Rex found himself very backward, so he set to work hard to repair hisdeficiencies, and had the satisfaction, at the end of the first term,of getting a remove into a higher form, where the boys were for themost part about his own age. At first many questions had been askedas to the reason why he was allowed to get off school two afternoonsin the week; and when he said that as he would return to China whenhe left school, it was necessary that he should keep up a knowledgeof the language, there was a good deal of amusement. Once or twice inhis walks with Ah Lo he came
across some of the boys, who were fond ofhunting for plants or insects, and he was a good deal chaffed at AhLo?s appearance.

  “I thought he would have been dressed in Chinese clothes,” said oneof his friends, “with little turn–up–toe shoes, and a skull–cap witha peacock?s feather in it, but he is really quite an ordinary–lookingchap. He is a big fellow, and of course of a yellowish–browncomplexion, with queerly–shaped eyes, which make him look as if hesquinted; but he seems very good–natured.”

  “He has got a pigtail, but he wears it under his coat,” said another.

  “I should think that he would be an awkward customer in a tussle. I hadno idea the Chinese were such big fellows, Bateman.”

  “They differ in height in some of the Provinces, but a great many ofthem are tall, and very strong. You should see them loading a shipor carrying things through the streets. They can carry a good dealheavier weight than most English sailors. They are generally verygood–tempered, but they get into a tremendous state of excitementsometimes, and holla and shout at each other so, that you would thinkthey would tear each other to pieces; but it is not often that theyreally come to blows.”

  At the beginning of the next term Ah Lo distinguished himself. He hadbeen for a long walk up the river–bank with Rex, when they saw threeof the boys of the school rowing. A barge was coming down, towed by ahorse. There was plenty of room inside for the boat to pass, and therope was trailing in the water, but just as they were about to row overit the man who was riding the horse suddenly quickened his pace. Therope immediately tightened, and catching the bow of the boat turned itover, throwing the boys into the water. The driver and a bargee, whowas walking on the bank near them, burst into shouts of loud laughter.The boys could all swim, and as the overturned boat was but twelveyards from the bank, they soon clambered up. They at once made for thedriver and furiously accused him of upsetting them on purpose. Thefellows laughed boisterously, and the boys, losing their tempers, madea rush towards them. At this moment Ah Lo and Rex arrived on the scene.They had witnessed the whole affair, and had run up. The Chinaman,without hesitation, brought his stick down on the head of the driver ofthe horse, levelling him to the ground, but breaking the weapon in hishand. The bargee made a sudden rush. Ah Lo had no idea of fighting, butwith a wild shout he threw himself upon the man, striking, shouting,scratching, and kicking.

  The bargee was taken wholly by surprise at such a novel assault, andstepped farther and farther back till Ah Lo, seeing his opportunity,clasped him by the waist and hurled him into the river.

  “You bery bad man,” he exclaimed, “to strikee lillee boy! You upsetteepiecee boat; you comee out Ah Lo breakie you head.”

  The bargee stood with the water up to his waist. He did not like thelook of this strange adversary, who had, moreover, allies in the shapeof four boys, all of whom were evidently prepared to take their part inthe fray.

  “Tompkins,” Rex said, “you might as well swim in and get those two oarsthat have drifted down. You cannot be wetter than you are, and if thesefellows want any more the oars would come in wonderfully handy.”

  “Now then,” shouted the bargee with a string of the strongest possiblelanguage, “how long are you going to keep me standing here, and mymate a–lying there with his brains half knocked out?”

  “He is all right,” Rex said; “he will come round soon without yourhelp, I dare say. He will have a lump on his head to–morrow, but hewill be no worse. I don?t think he will try to tighten the rope andupset another boat. As soon as we get the oars you can come ashore, ifyou like, and see to him.”

  In a minute or two Tompkins landed with the two oars. Rex gave one ofthem to Ah Lo, and took the other himself. The Chinaman swung it roundhis head like a windmill, and then nodded with a satisfied air.

  “Now the sooner you three get the boat ashore and turn her over thebetter,” Rex said. “There is no fear of this fellow interfering with usagain. Now you can come ashore, bargee, and look after your horse. Inanother minute the rope will pull him into the river if you don?t mind.”

  The man came out with a growl, and then went to the horse and, takinghim by the head, led him up along the bank until the stream drifted thebarge alongside. By this time his companion had sat up and was lookinground in a bewildered way.

  “You just sit where you are,” Rex said, “unless you want another crackon the head worse than the first. Your mate is getting the bargealongside. It does not always pay, you see, to play tricks on boys.”

  They waited until the others had got the water emptied out of the boatand put into the river again. The oars were then handed in to them andthey started down the river, Rex and Ah Lo walking quietly down thepath. The bargee scowled at them as they passed him, but the specimenhe had had of the Chinaman?s strength deterred him from making anyoutward demonstration.

  “You did that splendidly, Ah Lo,” Rex said. “I had no idea that youwere so tremendously strong. The way you chucked him into the riverastounded me as much as it did him.”

  “He was a bad man,” the Chinaman said quietly. “What he want to upsetboat for?”

  “He will be cautious how he tries again,” Rex laughed, “unless he seesthat the towing–path is quite clear of anyone who might interfere.”

  Hitherto Rex had been a good deal chaffed by the boys about thisChinaman, but from this time forward Ah Lo was always spoken of withrespect; and indeed a subscription was got up to present him with ahandsome silver–mounted stick in place of the one he had broken. Therewas general satisfaction at the defeat of the bargee, for it was notthe first time that boats had been purposely upset, and there was astanding feud between the boys and these bullies of the river.

  It cannot be said that Rex was in any way distinguished in his progresswith his studies. He was on the modern side of the school, for hisuncle did not wish him to waste his time in learning Latin and Greek,which could be of no possible use to him in a career in China. In hisEnglish subjects he made fair progress, and maintained a good, thoughby no means a high, position in his form. In all sports, however,he took a prominent place among the boys of his own age. Accustomedto take swimming exercise daily, he was, when fifteen, the fastestswimmer in the school. He won several prizes in the athletic sports,and had a good chance of getting into the second eleven at cricket. Itwas considered certain, too, that he would have a place in the secondfootball team. Before he left, at sixteen, he had gained both theseobjects of his ambition, and it was generally considered that he mighteven win a place in the first football team in the following season.

  “You would be light for it,” the captain said, “but you are so fast andactive that you would be more useful than many of the fellows who are agood deal heavier than you are.”

  “I am sorry I am not going to return after this term, but my time isup. I have been nearly four years away from my people now, and I shallbe glad to be at work.”

  “I suppose it is not a bad life out there?”

  “Not at all. Of course it is hot, but one is indoors most of the day,and they do all they can to make the houses cool. The office shuts upearly. After that one takes a bath and puts on flannels, and goes fora ride or a row on the river. Of course I could not do much that waythen, but I have been so much on the water here that it will be muchjollier now.”

  “I suppose you don?t have much to do with the Chinese?”

  “They work as porters and that sort of thing, but otherwise we do notsee much of them. The native town is quite separate from the Britishportion, and it is not often that Europeans enter it. I expect thatthey do so even more seldom now, for my father?s last letter tells methat there is a general feeling of disquiet, and that letters frommissionaries up the country say the same thing. But our officials atPekin do not seem to be at all uneasy. My father says that you might aswell try to drive a wooden peg into a stone as to get the officials atPekin to believe anything that they don?t want to believe. That is onereason why I want to be off as soon as I can, for if things look moreserious my father m
ight write and say that I had better stay here fora time to see how matters turn out, and naturally if there is a row Ishould not like to miss it.”

  “It would be very hard,” the other said approvingly, “if there was arow and you were kept out of it. Of course it would be soon over, theChinese would never stand against European troops.”

  “I don?t suppose they would, Milton; but they are plucky enough intheir way, and they are not a bit afraid of death. My uncle says thathe hears they have got no end of rifles and guns—good ones, you know;not the old gimcrack ones they used to have.”

  “Look how the Japs thrashed them, Bateman.”

  “Yes, but it was from no want of pluck on the part of the Chinese.The Japs were well disciplined, while the Chinese had no disciplineat all. Besides, what was worse, they had no officers worth anything.All appointments there are given by exams, and as everyone who isnot an ass knows, a fellow who is awfully good at books may be nogood whatever as a soldier. Look at our sixth form. Why, among thecaptains and monitors, how many of them would make an officer? Peeblesis short–sighted, Johnstone is lame, and there is not one of them whois any good at football or cricket; while many fellows who are not sohigh would make infinitely better officers. Well, it is like that witheverything in China. The great thing there is for a man to acquire whatis called a classical style—something the same, you know, as Cicerowrites in and Demosthenes talked. The Romans and Greeks were bothpretty longheaded, but they never thought of appointing either of thesemen as generals in the field. Why, look at our head; he is choke–fullof learning. Well, if he had lived in China he would have been madeeither an admiral or a general. Just fancy him with his spectacles, askull–cap with a peacock?s feather, and flowing robes, peering vaguelyabout him on the look–out for an enemy. How can you expect fellows tofight who are officered by men of that sort?”

  “But our army is officered by men who have passed exams.”

  “Yes, but at any rate the exams for the army are not very difficult,and there is time for them to play as well as work. Still, I know myuncle thinks that it is about the worst way that could have been chosenfor the selection of officers, and that in the next war we get intothere will be no end of blunders.”

  “It is likely enough that there will be; but there is one thing youmust remember, and that is that, fortunately, the fellows who ?muz? atschool are not the sort of fellows who go in for army examinations.They go into the church, or to the bar, or as masters in schools,or things of that sort. Look at us here. Lots of the fellows in thecricket and football teams are intended for the army, and I suppose itis the same in other schools, as it is from them that the officers aredrawn. I don?t say that there mayn?t be a few of what you may call thegrinders; still, certainly the bulk of them are not the sort of men whowould ever set the Thames on fire if it came to only brain work.”

  “Have you ever thought of going into the army, Bateman?”

  “No, because I have a line ready cut out for me. I think a fellow is afool who wants to take up a fresh line for himself instead of takingthat where he is certain, if he is steady and so on, to do well; and inthe next place, when one is an only son, as I am, I think that, evenputting aside the question of doing well, it is his duty to help as faras he can to take the burden of the work off his father?s shoulders ashe gets on in life.”

  “There is no doubt that you are right, Bateman. That is the way to lookat it, though it isn?t everyone who has the sense to do it. As I havegot two elder brothers I am free to choose my own line, and shall,if I can pass, go into the army; if not, I shall emigrate. I have gotgrit and muscle enough to do as well as most fellows in that way, andit seems to me that with good health and spirits it would not be abad sort of life at all. If I manage to pass we may possibly meet outin China some day. There are rows in that part of the world every fewyears, and although from all descriptions of the country campaigningthere must be unpleasant work, at least it would be a change and aninteresting experience.”

  “Well, Milton, if you are out there we shall be very likely to meet,for any force going towards Pekin would be sure to pass throughTientsin, and if that were the case I should try to go with it asinterpreter. However, I hope there won?t be any rows, for though inthe treaty towns we should no doubt be all right and the troops wouldbe certain to lick the Chinese, the missionaries all over the countrywould be certain to have an awful time of it. We should be very anxiousabout that, because my mother?s sister married a missionary and issettled a long way up the country.”

  “Is your Chinaman going back with you?”

  “Yes; I should be awfully sorry to leave him behind. He has been withme as long as I can remember. My uncle only brought him over here inorder that I might keep up my Chinese. I am sure that he would gothrough fire and water for me. It is a good thing to have a man likethat, for, putting aside the fact that I like him tremendously, I wouldtrust myself anywhere with him, for he is very strong, and, as heshowed when he attacked those two fellows who upset the boat soon afterI came here, there is no doubt that he is plucky. I expect he will bevery glad to be home again. He has got accustomed to European clothesnow, but I have no doubt that he would prefer his own; and then,of course, his family are there, and in China family ties are verystrong. Families always stick together, even to distant relations. Myuncle says that the population should be counted by families and not byindividuals. Of course I did not think of such matters before I cameaway, but he says that it is like the old Scotch clans: the State dealswith the families and not with the different members of it. If a mancommits a crime and gets away, the family are held responsible for it,and one of them has to suffer penalties and pays either a large moneyfine or is executed.”

  “That would be very rough on a family that happens to have one scampamong the sons.”

  “Yes, I suppose so; but it helps to keep them all straight. A fellowwho committed a crime, for which his father or any of his nearrelations had to suffer, would be considered not only as a disgrace tothe family but as a man altogether accursed and beyond the pall of pitywhatever fate might befall him. My uncle says crime is very rare inChina, and that this is very largely due to the family ties.”

  “But there are pirates on the coast and, as I hear, robbers on many ofthe rivers?”

  “Yes; uncle says these men are fellows who have left their nativevillages and have banded together, so that if they are caught it isnever known to what families they belong. They are beheaded, andthere is an end of them, and their family never know anything abouttheir case. The Chinese are a very peaceable lot, except that theysometimes get tremendously stirred up, as in the case of the Taipinginsurrection. The people hear stories that the foreigners are trying toupset their religion or to take some of the land. Hideous stories goabout that they have killed and eaten children or sacrificed them insome terrible way. Then they seem to go mad; they throw down their hoesand take up swords and muskets, if they have them, and blindly fallupon the whites.”

  “They call us the foreign devils, don?t they?”

  “No, that is a mistake; the real meaning of the words is ?oceandevils,? which answers to our word ?pirates.? Europeans were calledso because the Chinese coasts were ravaged, sacked, and burnt byadventurers who first sailed into the Chinese seas, and the name hasbeen applied to the whites ever since. It is the same way with the nameof their country. By a misunderstanding, when we first had diplomaticrelations with them the word ?Celestial? was applied to their empire,and people ever since have believed that that is what they call thecountry. The word ?Celestial? is applied only to the emperor, who isviewed almost as a god, but they would never dream of applying it tothe country. Because the document said ?the Celestial Emperor,? itwas supposed that the kingdom over which he reigned was called the?Celestial Kingdom.? On the contrary, they call it the ?TerrestrialKingdom,? believing, as they did before they had anything to do withforeigners, that it was, in fact, the only kingdom existing on earthworthy of the name.”

  “And can you write Chinese
as well as you can talk it, Bateman?”

  “I can write the ordinary Chinese, but not the language of the literaticlass; that is entirely different, and the ordinary Chinaman has nomore knowledge of it than I have. I believe that it contains twentythousand different characters, and it is very doubtful if even themost learned Chinaman understands them all. Even the popular languageis scarcely understood in all parts of China. The dialects differ asmuch as some of the English dialects, and the native of the NorthernProvinces has the greatest difficulty in conversing with a man from theSouth.”

  “There is the bell ringing, and I must run round to the boarding–houseto get my books.”

  Rex was extremely sorry when the last day of the term arrived and hehad to say good–bye to his friends. Ah Lo, on the other hand, when hemet him at the station, was in the highest spirits. He was delightedthat he was henceforth always to be with his young master, and, thoughthis was a minor consideration to him, he rejoiced at the thought thathe was soon to return to his native land.

  “This is a good country,” he said, speaking in his own language, “muchbetter than I had thought, and if all my family were not in China Ishould not mind living here all my life. They will be glad to see metoo. Except that I have not been with them for so long, I have been adutiful son, and have always sent half of my pay to my parents. Theyare well content with me. Fortunately I am the youngest of five sons.If I had been at home I should have had to stay at home to help myparents; but my brothers are all married and live in the village, sothey can look after them and help them in their labours. As I leftso young they do not miss me, and the money I have saved has helpedto keep them in comfort. They have indeed received much more thanthey would have done had I stayed at home and worked for them, formy wages have been as much as my four brothers could earn together.I have only sent from here the same as I did when I was at Tientsin,although I have been paid higher, but then I shall have much to spendbefore we start, in buying presents for them and all my relatives.Besides, I have saved half of my earnings, for I have had no occasionto spend money here, and with my former savings added to this I shallbe the richest man in the village. If I were to go back I could livecomfortably all my life, but I should never want to do that, master, aslong as you will keep me with you.”

  “That will be as long as we both live, Ah Lo; but I think that when youget back you ought to take a wife.”

  “I shall think about it,” the Chinaman said, “but I shall think manytimes before I do it. When a man is married he is no longer master ofhis own house. The wife is always good and obedient until she has ason; after that she takes much upon herself. If one were to get theright woman it would be very good, but it is not in China as it ishere, where you see a great deal of a woman before you marry. In ChinaI should have to say to one of the old women who act as intermediaries,?I desire a wife,? Then she goes about and brings me a list of severalmarriageable girls. She praises them all up, and says that they arebeautiful and mild–tempered, and at last I choose one on her report;and it is not until after one is married that one can find out whetherthe report is true or not. Altogether the risk is great. I am happy andcontented now; it would be folly for me to risk so much with so smallan advantage. Suppose I had married before I came over here, my wifewould have had to stay with my parents, and she might not have beenhappy there. I could not have brought her over here, for if I had doneso everything would have been strange to her; the people would havepointed at her in the street, the boys would have called after her, andshe would have been miserable.”

  “I am sorry that you are going back, Rex,” his uncle said to him, whenall the preparations for the voyage had been completed, and he was toembark on the following day. “I should have liked to keep you here, butnaturally your mother and father want you back, and it is certainlybest for you that you should, at any rate for some years, be over thereto learn the business thoroughly, so that when your father retires youcan succeed him, and in time perhaps come back to take charge here, ifyou can find among the clerks one sufficiently capable to representus out there. But I shall miss you, lad, sorely. I have always lookedforward to your being home for the holidays, and I had great interestin your life and doings at school. Still, I knew, of course, that thatcould not last for ever. In a small way it will be a wrench losing AhLo; I shall find a difficulty in getting anyone to fill his place. Amore attentive or obliging fellow I have never come across. It willbe a satisfaction to me to know that he is with you, for should anytroubles arise, which I regard as quite possible, you will find himinvaluable.

  “I only intended, when I took this house, to stay here until youreturned, but I know so many people round here now that I shallprobably stay on. I found it intolerably dull the first year, but nowthat I know all my neighbours it is different, and if I were to leaveand take a house in town I should have all the work of making friendsagain.

  “I hope that things will settle down in China. Your father?s lettersof late have taken rather a gloomy view of things, and he is not byany means given that way. I am more impressed by what he says than bywhat I read in the papers. In his last letter he says, ?I feel as if Iwere living in a country subject to earthquakes, and that at any momentthe ground might open under our feet. It does not seem to me that ourofficials at Pekin have any idea as to the extent of the danger, butmost of us here believe that it is very real. Happily we are strongenough to hold out here till aid could reach us, and this will bethe case in all the treaty ports, but up–country the outlook wouldbe terrible. Emma is greatly troubled as to her sister up–country,although to some extent she shares the belief of Masterton that theChinese officials will protect them against the mob if troubles shouldbegin. Although I don?t tell Emma so, I do not share in that belief.

  “?This Boxer movement, as it is called, might be easily crushed now ifthe Chinese authorities chose, but there is good reason for believingthat they have the secret support of the empress, and the men by whomshe is surrounded. If so, the officials throughout the country willnaturally go with the tide; and as life is thought so little of inChina, few of them would bestir themselves in earnest to protect themissionaries, still less the native converts. Well, I hope that I maybe wrong, but I cannot feel at all comfortable in my mind as to thefuture.?

  “Knowing your father as I do, I cannot but think that the outlook isreally serious. I was almost surprised that the letter did not concludeby saying, ‘I think that you had better keep Rex for another year atschool.?”

  “I am very glad that it did not say so, uncle. For many reasons I amsorry to be going back, and I am very sorry to leave you. It has beenvery jolly at school, but if there is to be trouble I should like to bewith my father and mother, and to do what little I can to aid in thedefence of the English quarter if it should be attacked.”