However, pleased at the discovery of such a place of refuge, they did not stop to examine it, but pa.s.sed onward; the princess first, and the other women followed by the men, who carried articles of food, fuel, or raiment with them. Having reached the uppermost step, they crept through a hole large enough only for one person, and found themselves in one large room, the roof of which was indeed the summit of the rock. In the walls were small loopholes, from which could be seen many miles of country; there was also a large s.p.a.ce in one side for a fire, which was immediately made use of by Chow, who had carried the fuel. Then the guide was sent to fetch other matters, after which they all sat down upon their mats, and partook of hot tea and rice cakes.
"Truly this is a wonderful place," said Nicholas, who, although he knew that places of refuge were common in all the frontier provinces, had no notion of their real strength and security.
"See," said the man, pointing to some huge stones near the entrance, and some heavy bars of iron hanging upon the walls, "should the dogs discover our retreat, they may be crushed as small as tea-dust."
"Truly they could but starve us out."
"Not so, n.o.ble youth," said the man pointing to a ma.s.sive slab of rock; and adding, "This is a door and leads to another part of the mountain."
"Truly our ancestors were wise."
"Necessity made them so, O youth; for two thousand years this border province has been invaded at intervals by the Tartar barbarians."
When night came on, the men of the party descended to the cavern beneath, the women kept to the turret, and were rocked to sleep by the roaring wind, which brought to them the flame, smoke, and sparks, from below. They, however, were secure, although the enraged rogues had made a bonfire of their village--and they slept.
CHAPTER x.x.xV.
TREACHERY OF THE GUIDE.--THE PRINCESS SEIZED BY ROBBERS.
After a sojourn of three days in this hiding-place their provisions grew short; moreover, it was probable that the enemy had left the village, if, indeed, they had not taken their departure upon the first day; therefore, it was arranged that one of the party should proceed upon a tour of observation, and as the guide not only volunteered, but from his profession seemed to be the most fitting person, he was sent. After an absence of some hours, he brought them the information that not only had the enemy left the neighborhood, but there was plenty of game at hand, the great proof of which was the carca.s.s of a yellow goat that he carried across his shoulders; and so joyful was Nicholas at the news, that he proposed their immediate departure.
"It would not be wise, O my young friend, for these thieves are artful, and may be only lurking near till they can pounce upon us like tigers,"
said the innkeeper.
This advice being reasonable, and, fearing more for the princess than himself, Nicholas readily agreed to remain for a few more days; but then, tired of confinement, and knowing that one small kid would be insufficient, he took his bow in his hands, saying, "Leave not this place, O Chow, till I return."
"This may not be, O my master, for while here, there are two men, and a strong room to protect the ladies; among the hills it will be as much as two can do to protect each other from strolling thieves," said Chow; which reasonable view, being supported by the princess and the innkeeper, Nicholas was compelled, although against his will, to comply with; and so the two youths started off in company.
Along mountain ridges, through valleys, and up steep crags, they toiled for some hours without meeting man or beast. At length, however, as they crossed a small hill covered with trees there was a rustling among the underwood, and they heard the grunt of some animal. "It is a boar, prepare thy bow," said Nicholas.
"No, no, master, no; he is running from us," said Chow, who was upon higher ground and could see better. "See," he added, as Nicholas came by his side, "he is sniffing something good; what can it be?" For a minute they watched the animal, who was quietly sniffing the ground near a small opening of the mountain. "See, he seeks the entrance, we must not lose him," said Nicholas; and in another minute the boar fell over with an arrow in his side when, drawing his sword, Nicholas ran up to it. The animal, however, was too quick, for instead of being unduly alarmed at the sudden attack, like a sensible beast, he had, with his teeth, plucked the arrow from his body; an operation he effected so quickly, that before Nicholas could stop, the boar met him half-way, tripped him over, and, placing his huge paws upon the boy"s face, would speedily have killed him, but for another arrow which Chow had sent through the brute"s thick neck.
"That was a good aim, my brave Chow," said Nicholas, as he arose, and pa.s.sed his sword through the beast.
"The obstinacy of thy servant in coming with thee was good, O n.o.ble Nicholas."
"Thou shalt be rewarded with a leg, at least," said Nicholas.
Thus satisfied with their foraging expedition, they carried the animal between them till they came within a short distance of the refuge, when they stopped to rest; but, starting suddenly Chow said, "Let us listen;"
and both put their ears to the ground. "Surely, it is plain, it is the trampling of a large party of horses," replied Nicholas, rising to his feet and running up a steep hill, "still there is nothing to be seen, no living being--yet," he added, "it was the trampling of horses."
"It can not be otherwise," said Chow.
"Let us haste, then, O Chow!" and leaving the carca.s.s of the boar upon the ground, they ran till they reached the cavern. The camel and mules were gone--their worst fears were confirmed; and Nicholas ascended the stairs, followed by Chow, entered the room, when involuntarily placing his hand upon his forehead, as if to a.s.sist his astonished vision, he gave a scream of horror.
As for Chow, for a minute his astonishment deprived him of speech; then, falling upon his face, he exclaimed, "My beloved mother!"
Well might they be horrified, for the princess and her attendant were absent; the innkeeper, his wife and daughter, and the guide, were bound with cords and gagged, so that they could neither move nor speak.
While Nicholas released the innkeeper, Chow performed a like office for the women, when they all fell upon the guide, thumping him with their fists, kicking him with their feet, and exclaiming, "Thou rat, thou snake, thou shalt be strangled." As for the miserable fellow, with his limbs bound and his mouth gagged, he could do nothing but roll his eyes at them. Then being released by Nicholas, he would have got upon his legs but for Chow, who threw him upon his back, and, stamping his foot upon his breast, cried, "Lie there, thou dog, for thou art the villain."
"It is not so, Chow, or he would not himself be so bound and gagged,"
said Nicholas.
"Nevertheless, he is the traitor; he it was who brought the soldiers upon us, who discovered our retreat," said the innkeeper, giving the prostrate rogue another kick.
"Open thy lips, thou rascal; say what has become of the two ladies, or I will slay thee," said Nicholas.
"Speak, thou rogue," said Chow, almost breathless with anxiety.
"Truly it was the misfortune and not the crime of thy servant; for had he not been chosen as thy guide, this thing could not have happened,"
replied the trembling fellow.
"Open thy lips to a purpose, thou rogue; give me a clue to the track of these robbers, and thy life shall be spared," said Nicholas, more anxious to rescue the princess than to punish the guide, who, gaining courage from the promise, said, "Truly, then, the princess is on her way to the camp of the Emperor."
This was too much for Nicholas, who fell upon the man, and would have killed him, but for Chow, who, in his turn, becoming more calm, said, "Let the rogue earn his life by enabling us to follow these thieving rats."
Perceiving the wisdom of this, Nicholas removed his hand from the throat of the rogue, who said, "Truly this is a heavy misfortune; for till thy servant left this place, he intended no mischief, when in the mountains he met with a party of soldiers, who have been pursuing us all the way from Kin-Chow for the purpose of earning the reward offered for the princess."
"How is this possible, thou rogue?" said Nicholas.
"On the day of the festival, these soldiers landed on their way to gather troops for the service of the Emperor Li, whom they were ordered to join on the borders of the province; on the same day that thy outrage upon the person of my uncle, the innkeeper of Kin-Chow, was discovered, and the venerable man in his indignation told the soldiers that the princess, for whom so large a reward was offered, was on the road to Lao-yang, accompanied by a woman, two youths, and his nephew, who might be known by the name of Leang, and who would, doubtless, when he heard of the affront put upon his uncle, aid in capturing the whole party. The soldiers, anxious to obtain the reward, pressed forward with such haste, that, but for our crossing the platform, they would have overtaken us,"
said the guide; adding, "And would that they had, for then thy servant would have been innocent."
"If innocent, then, thou rogue, what hath since caused thee to become a traitor," said Nicholas.
"When the soldiers informed the nephew of the affront offered to his venerable uncle, how under heaven and the social laws could he refuse to aid in the punishment of such offenders?"
"How came it, O thou great rogue, that the soldiers should repay thy great services with so much ingrat.i.tude?"
"Truly thy mean servant is not a G.o.d, that he can foresee the ingrat.i.tude of mankind."
"These are dog"s words, O n.o.ble youth," said the innkeeper; adding, "This fellow had promised the thieves to keep thee under some pretence till they came up, when they intended to have sold thee as a slave; and finding that they had missed a portion of their expected prize, partly in their rage, and partly that the rogue should not claim a portion of the reward, they first beat and then left him as you found him, not doubting that upon your return you would kill so false a rascal."
"Shall we not kill the traitor, who has stolen my beloved mother and the princess?" said Chow, very fiercely.
"Truly we will do better--make him useful," said Nicholas; adding, "Is the rogue certain that these soldiers have proceeded to Lao-yang?"
"It must be so, for it is to that city the Emperor Li is marching to besiege the rebel Woo-san-Kwei," said the guide.
"Thou rascal, to call so great a thief an emperor, and so great a general a rebel," said Chow, menacing him with his fist; adding, as he again bound his arms to his side, "Thou shalt at least be in safe keeping till either the princess be discovered, or thy day arrives to be strangled."
The excitement past, then came despair. The soldiers had stolen the mules and camel; it was, therefore, useless to attempt to overtake them, even if their numbers had been sufficiently large. What was to be done?
and they both sat with their heads upon their hands. Nothing! At length Nicholas said, "Bring the rogue with us, we will seek the General Woo-san-Kwei."