Wang the Ninth: The Story of a Chinese Boy

by B. L. Putnam Weale

But about midnight a big gun started booming and woke him up instantly. He was too frightened by the noise to do more than to lie listening. He wondered whether the shells when they fell were more terrible than the bullets.

It continued in this way until he lost all his earlier sensations. He even managed to summon up a certain contempt for the cannon which were old-fashioned and could do little more than frighten people, he was told. He almost enjoyed the strange life since there were many exciting moments and many people to talk to. He was constantly used to carry messages from point to point and whenever any of his compatriots asked for information he would boldly answer: "I will tell you exactly how things are. Many thousands are engaged in firing their rifles at us, but my master says it cannot get any worse and presently a foreign army will certainly arrive."

The sound of rifle-fire ceased to attract any attention even among the women and children, save when it rose to a great roar at night. Once there was great alarm about a fire. As the wind was blowing and it was very dry and hot, some thought the whole area might be consumed. But the fire burnt out and that also was forgotten.

Wang the Ninth was no longer allowed any longer to go to the barricades—in spite of his privileged position, because it was too dangerous. Once being anxious to see the outer aspect of things he crept up the towering city wall where there were many foreign soldiers; but one gave him a cuff over the ear and told him to get down. But he managed to get back in a few minutes by the simple method of volunteering to carry up a sack of provisions for some other soldiers.

The soldier who had cuffed him was greatly amused to see him back in such a capacity. This time, instead of hitting at him, he slapped him on the shoulder as if he were a friend and gave him a black cigarette to smoke. When his cigarette was finished, as repayment he commenced singing in a shrill falsetto a singing girl's song which made him the hero of the hour as he pretended to be a small-footed woman who was bashful and who tottered in shame at the mere presence of so many men.

These amenities were suddenly arrested by a succession of sharp sounds in the air which he knew too well. All the soldiers ran for their rifles and lay down behind the barricade. Presently they began firing; and the boy, crawling right up to them on his stomach, asked permission in the sign language to look through a loophole. This was duly given him; and rapidly he thrust a sharp eye up to a crack, with a loose brick in his hand to mask his face as he saw the soldiers do.

For a long time he could see very little and he wondered at whom so many shots had been fired. Then, slowly, he became aware that just as they had barricades so had the others. Only the enemy had made his very low, and had taken such advantage of the shrubbery that only at rare intervals was it possible to see some vague movement or the flash of a firearm.

After an hour or so this ceased to be exciting and he abandoned his loophole. The soldiers were all lying on their backs again and talking to one another, save for a look-out who knelt unmoving, peering fixedly for signs of further activity. The bullets hissing over-head sped over so far away. Sometimes they raised little powder-puffs as they struck brickwork or soil hundreds of yards beyond their mark, but more often they disappeared into the unknown. Nevertheless the soldiers would not let him go down from the city wall. He gathered from their signs that if he did so he might be seen and draw the enemy's fire. He would have to wait until dark, they said, pointing to the sun.

That night, however, he never moved either. For after he had assisted the men lighting little fires on which they boiled their kettles, one soldier took him aside, and drew out a big black bottle from his pack and poured out a cup-full of strong spirits. He had one drink himself and then offered the next to the boy, who to show his familiarity with foreign things swigged it down quickly although it nearly choked him. After that he became so sleepy that he lay down.

When he woke he found that a lot of foreigners who were not soldiers had come up on the wall. They were scanning the southern horizon with telescopes and field-glasses. When they could see no signals in the night they drifted away and gradually it became silent and peaceful and he was left to himself.