"But the bargain was one."
"I did not know, Master. I do not risk offending the Russians for a rouble. Give two, or I will not let you land."
He looked at Jack with victorious malice in his beady black eyes. For a moment Jack hesitated; he did not wish to have an altercation with the man; at the same time he objected to be "done". He stood up in the sampan and drew a bundle of notes from his pocket. Selecting one, he folded it; then, flinging it to the coolie, he sprang suddenly overboard, giving the sampan a kick which sent it backwards. The man also had risen; the sudden movement made him lose his balance, and he fell over the yuloh into the water. Jack quietly walked away. As he did so he heard loud laughter on his left hand. Turning, he saw that the incident had been witnessed by two Russian officers who had been walking towards the mouth of the harbour. Knowing the ways of the Chinese coolie, they were much amused at the readiness with which Jack had disposed of the boatman. One of them shouted "Well done!" in Russian. Jack smiled, and replied with a couple of words in the same tongue; then hurried on, thanking his stars that the matter had ended so well.
CHAPTER VI
In Full Cry
In Chinatown—A Deal in Horseflesh—North and by East—A Korean Host—Across the Line—Buriats—Father Mayenube—Gabriele—A Shot—Hard Pressed—In Hiding—Suggestio Falsi
Jack's business in Vladivostok was now completed. He had secured the last of his father's property; bills representing several thousands of pounds were in the safe hands of Captain Fraser, soon to be confided to the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Bank. So far his task had been unexpectedly easy; his difficulties, he felt, were now to begin. During the long journey from Harbin he had spent hours endeavouring to think out a plan to adopt if his secret visit to Vladivostok proved successful. By hook or crook he must get back to Moukden and learn the result of the compradore's enquiries; the question was, how? The return journey would be attended by many difficulties; even if he should reach Moukden in safety it would only be to find himself encompassed by danger. Yet he saw no other chance of tracing his father, and whatever the risks and perils, he felt that his duty called him to face them.
The first thing, then, was to make his way back to Moukden. To return by the railway was out of the question. He dared not go openly, and he knew no one in Vladivostok whom he could trust to negotiate for a clandestine passage. His only course was to slip away, gain the Manchurian frontier, and cross the Shan-yan-alin range of mountains—a long and difficult journey at the best, and in the present circumstances hazardous in the extreme. If he evaded the Russians in and around Vladivostok he would still be exposed to capture by Chinese bandits, to say nothing of the tenfold risks as he neared his journey's end.
His difficulties were intensified by the desperately short notice at which he must now quit Vladivostok. Sowinski, furious at being outwitted in the matter of the bills, would be goaded to madness by his detention on board the Waverley, and as Captain Fraser would probably consider it prudent to put him ashore at no great distance, it might not be long before he telephoned to head-quarters and thus raised the hue and cry in Vladivostok itself. To the natives Jack might easily pass for a Russian; carefully made up, he might, with his smattering of Chinese, be taken by the Russians for a native. But there was no time for such preparations; and a Russian policeman on the hunt for an Englishman, with the Pole's description of him, must be an exceptionally incompetent member of his class if he failed to recognize the fugitive. Speed was thus the first essential.
Hurrying up from the shore he made up his mind what to do. Fortunately he was in the Chinese quarter of the town; it was the part of prudence to avoid the Russian settlement on the hill. He remembered a Chinese horse-dealer with whom Mr. Brown had done business when he lived in the town years before. The Chinese had altered less than the official city, and he thought he could find his way to the merchant's house. Taking his bearings, he walked rapidly through several streets, and found to his delight that his recollection had not failed him. The horse-dealer was at home; he did not recognize Jack, who was a boy of eleven when his transactions with Mr. Brown had taken place; but he well remembered the English merchant. And when he learnt that Jack wished to purchase a pony he rubbed his hands together and led him at once to the stables to view the stock. They were a weedy lot, like most of the native animals. Jack was careful to show no haste or eagerness; he looked them over critically, rejected one after another in spite of all the flowery things the Chinaman found to say in their favour, and finally refused to buy. As he expected, the merchant then managed to find a better beast—a beautiful little Transbaikal pony, sturdy, well-made, and evidently full of mettle. Jack could not have wished for a better animal; but, experienced in the ways of Chinese business men, he gave no sign of his approval. The merchant quoted a price; Jack hemmed, hesitated—he knew better than to close at once; and then offered half. Eager as he was to get away, he patiently chaffered for nearly an hour; then, when the Chinaman was beginning to think he had lost his customer, Jack suddenly closed with the last offer, and the pony became his at two-thirds of the price first asked. The purchase of a saddle did not take so long; and when he rode off, both dealer and customer were equally pleased.