On one of these occasions the two came to blows, which in China does not mean fist-play in the approved British style, but includes the use of finger-nails and boots, and very painful handling of the pigtail. The yells of combatants and spectators in the kitchen reached the ears of the masters in the dining-room.
"We shall really have to sack those fellows," said Burroughs. "It is getting intolerable."
"Let us go and knock their heads together first," said Errington. "I should be sorry to lose Lo San."
"He"s not a patch on Chin Tai at looking after one"s clothes," said Burroughs, loyal to his man.
"But Lo San"s heaps better in serving at table."
"He can"t polish boots."
"Chin Tai can"t clean a gun."
"Well, hadn"t we better have it out ourselves first?" said Burroughs, laughing. "Great Scott! there"ll be murder soon. Come on, Pidge."
They hastened to the kitchen. The two boys had each other by the pigtail with one hand, and with the other were drawing streaks on each other"s face. Burroughs dragged them apart.
"Hai! You piecee ruffians! What fo" you makee this infernal bobbely?"
he said.
"He call me foolo!"
"He say my plenty muchee fathead!"
"He say my no can do card-pidgin!"
"He say my tellum plenty lies, talkee foolo pidgin all time."
"Hold your tongues, both of you!" cried Burroughs. "Chin Tai, if you can"t keep the peace, I"ll cut off your pigtail and send you home to your grandmother."
"Ma.s.sa say muss belongey good up outside olo ribber, can do plenty fightee wailo Sui-Fu," Chin Tai protested with an aggrieved air.
"But I said you were to fight quietly, not yell the house down. Now I forbid you to fight at all, do you understand?"
"You too, Lo San," said Errington. "No more of it, or off you go."
"My fightee he inside," said Lo San.
"My callee he plenty bad namee--inside," said Chin Tai.
"Well, what you do inside is nothing to me," said Burroughs, repressing a smile. "Perhaps if you take care to behave outside, you"ll be friends inside by and by."
There was no more fighting; the peace of the house was no more disturbed; but while China boys are China boys, Lo San and Chin Tai will never cease to look jealously upon each other as long as they serve two masters whom they equally respect.
Some three weeks after the escape from Su Fing"s yamen, a pleasant little party sat at table in the dining-room of Mr. Burroughs" house at Shanghai. Mr. Burroughs and his family were there; the only guests were Pierce Errington and Mr. Ting. They were all very merry. Four of the party heard the full story of the flying boat"s adventures for the first time, and as Errington had a pretty art of humorous narrative, there was much laughter at the tale of Reinhardt"s moustache and the vicissitudes in the career of Chung Pi.
When Mrs. Burroughs and her daughter--whom Errington looked on very kindly--had left the men to themselves, Mr. Ting put on his spectacles.
"Look out!" Errington whispered to Burroughs. "There"s something in the wind when Tingy puts on the goggles."
Mr. Ting glanced benevolently round the table, his eyes resting with peculiar intensity on Errington--the old Pidge whom everybody loved, with not a care upon his clear, fresh countenance. Lighting a cigarette, the Chinaman said quietly--
"I have something to say. It is a stlange stoly; it concerns Pidge, but he will not mind, I know, if I speak befo" his flends."
Errington looked a little uneasy.
"Look out!" whispered Burroughs slyly.
"Ten years ago," Mr. Ting went on, "when Pidge was a little boy of nine, my flend and master, Mr. Ellington, called me into his loom one day and said to me, "We have done well over that deal in cotton, Ting. I"ve made a velly fine thing out of it. But you know what I am. I am a lich man to-day, but I can"t cure myself of this mania for speculation, and as likely as not I"ll be a poor man to-mollow. I want you to help me.
Here"s ten thousand pounds, put it away; never lemind me of it; if I ask you fol it, don"t give it me. I hand it to you in tl.u.s.t fo" me and my son. If I"m blought to beggaly, pay me the intelest; if I die, hold it fo" my boy. Watch over him, bling him out here for a year or two; if then you see that he inhelits my fatal weakness, pay over the intelest, but never let him touch the plinc.i.p.al.""
He paused. The three men"s eyes were fixed on him; a flush had mantled Errington"s cheek.
""But if my boy, when he leaves school,"" Mr. Ting continued, ""turns out well, the sort of fellow that can be tl.u.s.ted to make good use of the money, give it him; it will give him a good start." That is what my flend said to me.
"I have done what he wished. You wondered, Pierce, why I sent you such velly tilesome letters; you thought Ting a nuisance----"
"Sir!" Errington expostulated, but the Chinaman smiled and raised his hand for silence.
"I was doing what I thought my flend would like. But that is over; the school-days are past. I have kept the tl.u.s.t; the money is well invested, it is nearly twenty thousand now; the time has come fo" me to give account of it."
"Perhaps you had rather be left alone with Mr. Ting, my lad," said Mr.
Burroughs kindly.
"No, sir; please stay. You were my father"s friend too, and the Mole-----"
Mr. Ting noted the look that was exchanged between the two--a look in which spoke affection and perfect confidence.
"No one else knows of this," he said. "I only made plovision for the devolution of the tl.u.s.t if I should die; I ventured to tlansfer it to you, Mr. Bullows."
"I appreciate your confidence, Mr. Ting," said Mr. Burroughs warmly.
"But I have made up my mind that it is the ploper time to tlansfer the money to Pidge himself. He has been here more than a year; he has a good head fo" business, evely one says so; and I think his father would applove my action. A little while--may I say it?"--Errington answered with a glance--"a little while I was aflaid that I might still have to hold the money, and pay only the intelest; but I think--I am light, am I not?----"
"I promised Ted," murmured Errington.
Mr. Ting"s spectacles seemed to gleam with satisfaction and benevolence.
He took from his pocket a large envelope which he handed to Errington.
"There is your father"s tl.u.s.t-deed," he said. "It is flom this day cancelled. There is also sclip, value nearly twenty thousand pounds.
The best of blessings is a good son."
He took off his spectacles and carefully replaced them in their case.
The silence was broken by Mr. Burroughs.
"I congratulate you with all my heart," he said, reaching out his hand to Errington.
"Jolly glad, old chap!" said the Mole.