6
SYNOPSIS.
Frederick Hardy, a fashionable Boston
tioelety man, lost his wealth, was Jilted
by a girl and sent by a friend to take
charge of an American Trading Company
Store in Russia. On his Journey through
upan he met Stapletoti Neville, stip
ponadly an Englishman. They agreed to
go together to Russia. Because of sus
picious circumstances they were several
times molested by the Japanese. Hardy
wan arrested and found upon his person
•were papers showing maps of Jap forts.
Hardy was proven guiltless. On a train
he met Alsonie Sano. daughter of a Jap
merchant. In Neville's shoes Jap found
glctures of forts, proving him to be a
iußglan spy. Hardy departed for I'US
fla on a steamer, which was wrecked
shortly afterward. He was rescued by
a Russian steamer. On reaching Vladi
vostok he was well treated, lie started
for Siberia, meeting Princess Romanovna
on the train. Hardy boarded a vessel for
Amur Hardy showed Hie princess tils
expertness as a rifle shot. The steamer
was stranded. The princess and her
maid were attacked by Chinese. Hardy
aaved their lives. The princess thanked
Hardy for bis heroism.
CHAPTER XIV.
An Exchange of Compliments.
The method of loshat and lotka was
out of the question now, even for
Gen. Catkoff. The wild bandits of
Manchuria, who respect no govern
ment on earth, and whose only patri
otic sentiment consists in the fact
that they would rather kill a Russian
than any other "foreign devil," were
aroused and were thirsting for loot
and vengeance. It would be courting
death togo up that river unless es
corted by a troop of cavalry. More
over, it was the duty of every nmn
about the boat to remain by the prin
cess' side. Reinforcements were sure
to arrive in the shape of muzhiks or
Bouriats, who, impatient of remaining
on the stranded steamer below, had
pushed on afoot or by lotka. There
was always the chance, too, that a
squad of Cossack cavalrymen might
come along, following the military
road, a long stretch of which was vis
ible from the boat, between the skirts
of the forest and the edge of the
river.
In addition to. Hardy and the gen
eral and the captain, there were on
board five members of the crew.
Weapons could be provided for all of
these. The captain took a hurried in
ventory and found that, with economy,
there was enough food to last all
hands five days. As the first day wore
on, an occasional horseman could be
seen on the Manchurian side, in the
dim foreground of the forest. These
horsemen appeared singly at first,
then in twos, and finally in groups of
three or four. They were evidently
increasing in numbers and collecting
In the vicinity of the stranded steam
er. Toward evening Smulders and his
"Chulia" came along. The German
had persuaded the Viennese to em
bark with him in a lotka and they had
made nearly as great progress as the
steamer, with its frequent delays on
account of the sand-banks and the
necessity of taking on wood. They had
come on, perfectly unconscious of
danger, and probably owed their im
munity to the fact that they had stuck
close to the Siberian side, to which
the Chinese did not often cross.
"We vill stay here," declared
Smulders, when Hardy explained to
him the danger of continuing the jour
ney, "and I vill fight for my Chulia
*lll I die"
"How is your suit coming on?" asked
Hardy, smiling. "She must like you
pretty well, or she would not come up
the river with you."
"Ah, she vould have come up mit a
Russian, so I come along mit the only
lotka and she have to come mit me.
She vill not much and I have no
peevo, so I think I go mad. Ach, I loaf
her very heavy!"
Nothing happened that night, save
the arrival of four Bouriats, riding by
turns a very tired and incredibly bony
horse. After a shouted conversation
with the captain, two of them mounted
the animal and rode out to the boat.
They were armed with short rifles
and heavy cavalry swords. They
turned the horse loose, which swam to
shore, and was used by the other two
as a living ferry, one riding this time,
while his comrade held fast to the
animal's tail.
In the morning six Manchurians
rode down to the water's edge and be
gan firing at the boat. The dintance
was long and they shot wildly, not
putting Hardy and his friends in any
■great danger, though they made their
intentions perfectly plain. The Prin
cess Romanovna, attired in the gown
of light blue and the hat trimmed with
blue flowers, stood by the general's
side, eyeing the scene with calm in
terest, twirling her open parasol care
lessly on her shoulder.
As they stood looking, reinforce
ments to the Chinese arrived from
time to time. Other horsemen rode
out from the depths of the woods, till,
In the course of an hour, the strength
of the company had increased from
six to 20. Hardy became convinced
that the Chinese intended to attack,
when their number should become suf
ficiently great, and here, by a strange
freak of chance, he found himself ac
tively involved in the ancient and un
ending war between Russia and Asia
—mixed up in a fight to the death,
which was as much his fight as it was
the captain's or the general's, or that
of ny sailor or Bouriat on board.
'Will you." he said to the princess,
"convey a slight suggestion to the
general for me? I make it in all
humility."
She looked at him inquiringly as he
explained. As a result, some of the
men were set to work dragging up
mattresses and bedding and piling
them against the rail to form a bar
ricade. This work was not more than
half completed when the brigands
made their first attack. Emboldened
by the accession of half a dozen re
cruits, they deployed in a long line,
and, swinging their rifles about their
heads, they came galloping on through
the shallow water of the river, the
chief well in advance. The general
gave a quick, sharp order and his lit
tle army fell on their knees behind
the half-finished barricade, on the top
of which they rested their rifles.
Evidently, being a good soldier, he
had ordered the men not to fire till
the enemy should get close. Smulders
The Chief's Rifle Dropped Into the Yellow Amur.
had no rifle, but he seized a stout
boat-hook, shod with a sharp iron
point, and sank on his knees, shout
ing:
"They shall never get my Chulia!"
On came the wild line, splashing
through the water, which was now up
to the horses' knees. When they had
traversed about one-third of the dis
tance, they stopped and deliberately
took aim. The general spoke sharply
to the princess, who sat down on the
deck behind the barricade. At this
moment the brigands fired and several
of the bullets passed over the boat
and splashed in the water on the
farther side. One struck the smoke
stack with a "pluff," and another, evi
dently flattened by its impact with the
water, hummed musically. The old
general stood erect, without flinching,
repeating some order to his men. His
voice sounded affectionate, almost
caressing.
Jlardy raised his rifle and measured
the distance.
"What does he say?" he asked of
the princess, kneeling by her.
"Not yet, my children, not yet."
"Now," said the American, "you can do
something for me, if you will; I think
I can hit the chief now. Ask the gen
eral, as a special favor to you, to let
me try!"
The Manchurians sat silent upon
their horses, shading their eyes with
their hands, to see, if possible, the
result of their volley. The princess
ran to the general and spoke hurried
ly to him, and the latter turned and
nodded at Hardy. The American ad
justed his pince-nez and raised his
rifle to his shoulder. It was a long
shot, but he had done better in the
Adirondacks at deer. His nerves were
good and his muscles as tense as
steel. Just as he was about to press
the trigger, the chief swung his rifle
about his head, pointed at the boat
and came plunging on again. It was
a more difficult matter now, as the
man was in motion. Yet .lie va3 a
splendid mark, looming big and dark
there against the bright water, witli a
dash of two of vivid color about him,
evidently ribbons or a sash.
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 1910
Hardy shot and the chief still came
on, followed by his men, shouting like
wild Indians, in their barbaric tongue.
The American shot again without
result.
Then he swore softly, a good, hon
est Saxon oath, removed his eye
glasses, wiped his eyes with his hand
kerchief, replaced his glasses, laid his
cheek on his weapon and shot a third
time. The chief's rifle dropped into
the yellow Amur, his arms fell to his
side, and he plunged over his horse's
flank, head-first into the water. The
animal whirled about and charged on
the lino behind him, dragging his
rider's body, which hung by one stir
rup. The other brigands turned and
followed their leader's body to the
bank and disappeared into the dark
Manchurian woods.
The princess approached Hardy and
extended her hand.
"I congratulate you, monsieur," she
said, "on your splendid marksman
ship."
'"I take your hand, madame," he re
plied, "but I cannot accept the con
gratulations. It was very bad shoot
ing. My only excuse Is that this is
the first time I have used this rifle."
Smulders dropped his boat-hook to
the deck, and running up to the Amer
ican, seized both his hands in his fat,
pink palms.
"You have saved my Chulia!" he
sobbed.
There was, indeed, no further at
tack on the part of the Chinese that
afternoon, and at night, before the
moon arose, the besieged received an
important recruit. A man heard
shouting from the Russian side was
allowed to approach and come on
board. Hardy could not see his face,
as lights were not allowed on deck,
but he thought he recognized the
voice, even though it was speaking
Russian. The newcomer went be
low immediately. Half an hour after
arrival, Hardy was summoned by the
princess to her'cabin.
"Mr. Hardy," she said In French,
"this is my cousin, Boris Romanoff. I
take pleasure in introducing two
brave men to each other. Mr. Hardy
has saved my life, and Boris has
braved the most fearful dangers to
reach my side. When he arrived at
Vladlvostock and inquired for me he
learned that I had started for Moscow,
so he did not wait a moment, but
fairly flew up the river. Had he
known what gallant defenders were
by my side he would not have felt
such anxiety."
Hardy took this last remark as sim
ply complimentary to himself and the
brave old general, and he acknowl
edged it by a polite bow; how.could
he know that Boris Romanoff was a
suitor for his fair cousin's hand, who
was a cousin far removed, after all,
and that the princess often tried the
big fellow's temper in the most Insid
ious and seemingly innocent ways.
"This is an unexpected pleasure,
Mr. Hardy," said Romanoff in English,
extending his hand, "I hardly hoped to
meet you again in Russia. I feared
you would not be able to break away
from the fascinations of the geisha
girls, who so strongly appealed to
you." Hardy ignored the hand.
"I believe that you played a scoun
drelly trick on me in Japan," he said,
looking Romanoff coolly in the eye
and speaking with great calmness,
"but I am content, for the present, to
pass it by. I —ah—suppose you have
your own code as a gentleman. Ac
cording to mine, it is our duty now to
sink all private differences and unite
in the rescue of this lady from a most
perilous position."
"You are right," replied Romanoff,
becoming insolent; "an addition to the
crew is not to be despised at a time
like this, especially a fellow who can
shoot as you can. You ought to open
a gallery in Petersburg. You'd make
your fortune." He turned his back
rudely, but looked over his shoulder
to add: "But let us have no misunder
standing. Nothing you can do here
will prevent my finding out why the
Japanese were so friendly to you and
what you are really doing in Russia,"
CHAPTER XV.
Burning Arrows.
On deck all was silence, save for
the whispering, bubbling and plash
ing of the treacherous Amur, or the
occasional cry of some lone water
fowl, high overhead, following the
course of the river. Hardy, coming
above after his interview with Roman
off, found the general on watch. Two
of the men also were awake, and were
listening and peering into the dark
ness with' a vigilance that proved that
they understood that their own lives
as well as the lives of all on board,
depended on their alertness. The
American also listened and watched,
straining his eyes to see if, here and
there in the darkness, darker forms
could be seen of the foe stealthily ap
proaching.
Ilardy had not been standing on the
deck more than 20 minutes, when he
felt a hand laid lightly upon his arm.
It was so dark that ho could not dis
tinguish the outline of the form stand
He Threw the Gun to His Shoulder and Fired.
r
ing by his side, but he knew, with
out looking around, that this was the
princess.
. "We must not speak loud," she
whispered, "the general has com
manded absolute silence." lie could
feel her warm breath on his cheek and
her hair brushed his brow. "I came
to say that you must not mind my
cousin. I saw at a glance that he
doee not like yon, and I think I under
stand the reason."
"What possible reason could he
have for not liking me?" asked Hardy.
"I assure you I never did him any in
tentional harm."
"He is very brave, is my poor cous
in, and ho is furious that it was you
and not he who saved my life from
the brigands. Beai with him, I beg
of you. He will come to his senses
in a day or two and will himself thank
you."
"For your sake," whispered Hardy,
"I will endure anything from him, at
least until we have rescued you from
this danger."
A small hand crept down his arm,
found his hand, and pressed it.
"M°rci, mon ami!" whispered the
princess.
At that moment a splash was heard
by the side of the boat.
"Go below!" said Hardy in a voice
of command —the voice that a real
woman likes to hear sometimes from
a real man; and he stepped lightly to
the spot. He could see nothing, could
hear nothing more, but he found the
general standing at the place, which
was on the down-stream side, gazing
into the water. For a moment Hardy
had confidently expected to see a
throng of Chinese climbing up the
sides. If this splash had indicated
the arrival of the enemy, however,
there was nothing in the general's de
meanor to betray the fact. He did
not move, did not awake the sleeping
crew, but turned with a sigh and
crossed the deck. He was stopped by
the princess, who walked with him for
a few seconds.
"He has sent one of the crew, Sten
ka Pugacheff, down the river for
help," she said to Hardy. "Brave
Stenka! He hopes to get far enough
in the darkness to escape the eyes of
the band which is collected here, and
then he will take to the woods. Is he
not a hero, this simple Cossack? It
is 30 versts to the military station,
and there is death waiting for him at
every step."
A light flashed and went out 30 or
40 yards below, and immediately a
blazing object described an arc
through the air and fell on the deck
not far from their feet. One glance
was enough to show that the object
was an arrow which, freighted with
some highly inflammable material,
was sticking upright in the deck and
burning like a candle. It cast con
siderable light. Hardy leaped to
snatch it, but, ere he reached it, one
of the Cossack soldiers anticipated
him and throw the blazing missile into
the river. Just as he was in the act
of seizing it, several shots rang out
and the man was slightly wounded in
the arm, as was discovered later—for
the brave fellow made no outcry at
the time. The general sprang to the
princess' side, took her by the arm
and turned her toward the gangway,
speaking kinflly but firmly to her.
"Da, da!" she replied, and left the
deck.
The first arrow was but the precur
sor of a shower of 20 or more, the ma
jority of which either passed far over
the vessel or fell short, thus proving
that the accuracy of the first shot had
been largely the result of a lucky
guess.
One of the arrows stuck fast in the
rail and a sailor broke it off by strik
ing it with a long pole. The rifle vol
ley of which it was the precursor did
no damage, as most of the Russians
were either lying on their stomachs,
or were crouching behind the impr 1-
vised bulwarks. There were evident!^
: about 30 Chinese shooting arrows, ac
companied by from six to ten rifle
men. If they were trying to set fire to
I the boat, or merely to light it up so
I that they might pot at its occupants
from the safety of the darkness, it
soon became evident that their scheme
was not destined to prove highly suc
cessful. The men, for one thing,
made themselves plainly visible for
an instant or so while they were
scratching their matches and applying
the burning arrows to the string.
They kept shooting now, sporadical
ly. First here and there and then in
some other spot a red, fitful light
would gleam for an instant, dyeing
a patch in the river blood-red by ita
radiance, and revealing a wild, sav
age-looking Mongolian, armed with
great bow and quiver, who flicked into
view for a moment and as soon waa
swallowed up again by darkness.
Ilardy, not understanding the gen
eral's orders, reasoned that he would
be pardoned for acting under his own.
If he were going wrong, he reflected.
It would be easy to stop him. He
therefore held his rifle ready for ac
tion, as a man who is expecting a
covey of quail to rise, and stood
watching the water, alert, tense, keen
as a cat about to spring. His chance
came soon, when one of those lights
flashed nearly in the direction of his
gaze and not far away. He {hrew*
the gun to his shoulder and fired. He
could not see the sights, but he could
make out the object plainly, and he
knew he should not go far wrong. He
missed, for the Chinese, standing
about waist-deep in the water, fitted
the arrow to the string and discharged
it. The shot rang out loud and clear.
It seemed to Hardy that he had never
heard a rifle make such a loud report
before. The general exclaimed:
"Monsieur Hardy, ah!" and made no
further comment, so the American
continued his shooting—once, twice,
three times. Meanwhile the attacking
party seemed to be approaching a lit
tle nearer, and they succeeded in lodg
ing several of their burning missiles
in the woodwork of the boat; one ar
row in the rail, two in the side of the
wheelhouse, and one in the hull. These
were broken off almost as soon aa
they stuck and did no damage, for,
strange to say, the Chinese them
selves had ceased firing their rifles.
And now Hardy had the inex>
pressible Joy of killing one of the
attacking party, who fell backward
into the water with his blazing arrow
in his hand.
"I'm getting the knack of It,"he
muttered; "I shall be able to do It
more frequently now. Perhaps I,
alone, can stop them."
A moment later he heard sudden
shouting, the sound of running feet,
snarls of rage and the splash of heavy
bodies falling into the water. A party
of Chinese, that had crept down from
above in rowboats, was attempting to
board, and the Bouriats and crew
were repelling them savagely with bay
onets and swords.
CHAPTER XVI.
Battle by Moonlight.
The burning arrows had been a di
version, as the books on tactics say,
to draw the attention of the little band
of defenders and occupy it completely
on the down-stream side, while an
other attacking party crept up under
cover of darkness and boarded from
above. But for the fact that the wily
old general, fearing the trick, had
kept a guard stationed at that side,
the ruse might have succeeded per
fectly. The boat, as we have seen,
was swung diagonally across a sorl
of channel, her nose and stern being
imbedded in sand-banks. The Chinese,
coming down stream in three row
boats, struck her at either end and
near the middle, their evident inten
tion being to spread the Russians out
as much as possible.
At this moment a frayed and worn
old moon floated up out of the Si
berian forest. Hardy saw, by its light,
a wide expanse of water, dimly shin
ing between ghostly forests; he saw
several Mongolian heads, covered
with round black caps, looking over
the side of the boat; he saw Julius
Smulders whirl a heavy oak pole in
the air and bring it down on one of
these heads with terrific force; he
saw one of the Bouriats cleave an
other head so completely that one
half stood erect for a second, while
the other fell over the victim's shoul
der, as the Bouriat wrenched at hla
sword, which was imbedded in the
rail; he saw a gigantic Manchurian,
with a long two-handed sword, leap
aboard, to be thrust through by a bay
onet lunge just as his feet struck the
deck.
All this the American took in with
one glance of the eye just as the
moon rose above the woods.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Mirage Seen in Scotland.
One morning recently there was a
curious mirage seen at the entrance cf
the Firth of Forth, Scotland. It had
all the appearance of an island stud
ded with trees and spires, many of
which seemed upside down. As
viewed from Dunbar it had a lovelv
aspect, as it was encircled by i
rainbow of abnormal proportion
London Mall.