“Yes,” he said. “In the opinion of a good many men the summons to those fortresses to surrender was a mistake. Up till that time the affair might have been considered as an insurrection; indeed, the Chinese troops several times fought the Boxers, but the attack on the Taku Forts was considered by the Chinese as a declaration of war on the part of the Powers. I donʼt say that there is not a great deal to be said both ways. There was always the danger that the Chinese would unite against us, especially as the Empress openly upheld the Boxers. In that case it is certain that the available force on board the ships would not have sufficed to fight their way up here, and consequently Tientsin must have fallen, and Pekin also. It was therefore a most difficult question to decide. Our attack on the Taku Forts certainly had the effect of uniting the Chinese against us, but had that attack not been made, or had it been delayed, we should probably have had all the Chinese against us, with an inadequate force to oppose them, and Tientsin and Pekin would have been lost, and the life of every European in them sacrificed.
“Come in, Mr. Thompson. We must get Rex to go over his narrative for our benefit. It need not be so full as that which he gave to the colonel, in the first place because we donʼt know the position of all the Legations, so that details would be lost on us; in the next place, because it is getting late, and Rex has already had a long day of it.”
It was not, however, till past midnight that Rex finished and they turned into bed. They were awakened an hour later by a series of loud explosions, which told that the sailors were engaged in blowing up the military college. In the morning Rex learned more of what had taken place. The Boxers had set fire to several places in the native city, and to the railway–station. They were beaten off, and a train was despatched to Tong–Ku, filled with women and children; the rest were ordered to take shelter in the Gordon Hall, the large municipal building in the British section.
The next night the Boxers renewed the attack on the railway–station, but were again repulsed. On the following day they were joined by the Chinese troops, and from that time all communication with the Taku was cut off. That day the Military College was taken.
An incessant fusillade was going on when Rex awoke somewhat late the next morning. He dressed hastily and hurried downstairs.
“What is up, Father? Are they attacking us again?”
“They have occupied the college that we blew up last night, and are now keeping up a heavy fire from that shelter. When it gets dark we are all going to barricade the ends of the streets, as it would be impossible for us to move out of our houses during the day. The municipality have already met this morning, and it has been decided that all goods in the store–houses, with the exception of the valuable ones, shall be given up for the purpose. Fortunately there is a great quantity of sacks of wool and rice, both of which will do admirably for the purpose. The greater part of the volunteers are occupied in the houses at the end of the street, where they answer the fire of the enemy; but the Chinese never show themselves. Did you notice the state of the river as you crossed it last night?”
“No, Father.”
“It was just as well that you didnʼt, my boy, for it is full of corpses. Some thousands of Chinese must have been massacred in the native city, all of them no doubt people who are supposed to be favourable to us—coolies employed here and their relations, shopkeepers who have supplied us with small necessaries, and perhaps some of the better class who have ventured opinions hostile to the Boxers. It is a horrible business, lad, and the troops are so furious at the sight that they may give little quarter when the tables are turned and we take the town. That is the worst of a war in this country; the Chinese never give quarter, and as a result little is given on our side. Our men may possibly be kept in hand, but I doubt whether the Russians, or the Germans, or the French will be restrained.”