“I think that there is a very good chance. You see, the Chinese guns always stop fire between ten at night and four in the morning. It is true that sniping goes on all night, showing that there are skirmishers out all that time; but if we could pass through these we are safe, for there is no doubt that the artillerymen serving the guns lie down and go to sleep. I have a Chinese disguise, and, talking the language as I do, I feel sure that I can get through. I shall take my man Ah Lo with me. Two might be quite enough if it were not that the gunners probably lie down close to their pieces, and if they woke up before we had driven both spikes in and made a rush, we might fail in our object. For that reason I should like to have two more if you are willing to come.”
Both the young men expressed their willingness to go, one of them saying, however, that neither of them spoke Chinese well enough to pass.
“That does not matter,” Rex replied. “It would, of course, be better for us to go through in two parties and join when we have passed the skirmishing–line. Ah Lo can go with one of you and I can go with the other, so that if we are stopped and questioned we can do the talking.”
“Yes, that will make it all right,” the other said. “There is no difficulty about disguises; there are still some coolies here. Now, what ought we to take?”
“We must each take a heavy hammer and a spike, also a thick felt wad to put on the top of the nail when we strike it, so that we can practically spike the guns without making a noise. In addition we had better each take a brace of revolvers and a sword, so that we can make a pretty tough fight should we be attacked. Still, if we are discovered after we have finished our work, we must take to our heels rather than to our arms. In that case I think it would be wise, instead of making at once for the camp, to run to one of the houses. The night will be dark, and in the confusion the Chinese will not at first realize what has happened, and before they recover we shall probably be out of sight. If we get a good start there is little fear that we shall be overtaken, and even if we should come upon skirmishers they are sure to be very scattered. We can shoot them down before they realize who we are and what we have been up to, and then there will only be a short run and the risk of a chance bullet before we are safe behind the barricade.”
“Well, it all seems plain enough, and I really donʼt see why it could not be managed.”
“I have no doubt in the least that it could be managed,” Rex said confidently. “There are only two real difficulties; the one is, to make our way through their skirmishers without being detected, the other is to find the guns in the dark.”
“Yes, that will be a serious difficulty. One of those Chinese houses is just like another, and as the guns are a good thousand yards away, the chances are that we should not find them.”
“We can manage that,” Rex said, after a momentʼs thought. “To–day we will put a lantern on the barricade, and ask the middy in charge to let it remain there, telling him what we want it for. Then we will go back fifty or a hundred yards and place another lantern in a window in such a position that when we are going in a direct line for the guns the light of the first shall cover that of the second.”
“That is a splendid idea, Bateman; that will certainly get over the difficulty. You are a wonderful chap to plan things. Well, I feel sure now that we shall succeed if only we can make our way through those sniping beggars.”