I thought it more advisable to refrain from threats until we were out of the tiger’s den; but the reticent example of Mr. Hemster was upon me, and I said nothing. Nevertheless the young woman was as good as her word.
CHAPTER XIV
The Hemsters had fallen into the English habit of afternoon tea, and, having finished the refreshing cup, I excused myself and went outside to learn how strict the cordon around us was kept. I found that the Prime Minister had done his work well. The gates were very thoroughly guarded, and short of force there seemed to be no method of penetrating into the city. I tried bribery, desiring to get a short note through to the British Consul-General, and, although my bribe was willingly accepted, I found later that the missive was never sent.
Rambling around the vast precincts of the Palace, trying to discover any loophole of escape, I came upon our escort and the ponies which had brought us from the port to the capital. These had been gathered up in the city and taken inside. I could not decide at the moment whether this move on the part of our gaolers strengthened or weakened our position. The escort was composed of a very poor set of creatures who would prove utterly valueless if the crisis developed into a contest. They were all huddled together under a shed, and were very evidently in a state of hopeless panic. They knew intuitively that things were going badly with us, and it needed no prophet to foretell that they would instantly betray us if they got the chance, or cut our throats if they were ordered to do so. I deeply regretted now that we had not stayed longer at Chemulpo until we had gathered together an escort composed entirely of Japanese. Two Japanese followers were among our crowd, and they now stood apart with the imperturbable nonchalance of their race. I was aware that I could depend upon them to the death; but the rest were the very scum of the East, cowardly, unstable as water, and as treacherous as quicksand. I spoke a few words of encouragement to the Japanese, patted the ponies, and then returned to Mr. Hemster. I told him I had endeavoured to send a note to the British representative in Seoul, and to my amazement found that he did not approve of this move.
“The fact is, Mr. Tremorne, we have acted like a parcel of fools, and if this thing ever gets out we shall be the laughing-stock of the world. I don’t want either the American or the British Consul to know anything of our position. God helps those who help themselves. I don’t want to boast at all, but I may tell you I’m a dead shot with a revolver, and I have one of the best here with me, together with plenty of cartridges. This expertness with a gun is a relic of my old cowboy days on the plains, and if these here Coreans attempt to interfere with me, somebody is going to get hurt. You have another revolver, and if you are any good with it I guess we’ll have no difficulty in forcing our way through this flock of sheep. Have you learned whether your two Japanese can shoot or not? If they can, I’ve got revolvers here for them, and it seems to me that four of us can put up a bluff that will carry us through this tight place. If it wasn’t that we have women with us, I wouldn’t mind the encounter in the least. As it is, we’ll have to do the best we can, and I propose that we start to-morrow as soon as the gates are opened.”
“All right, Mr. Hemster, I believe your diagnosis of the case is correct. I can trust the Japanese, and I think I may say you can trust me.”
A little later in the day, the Prime Minister, accompanied by an imposing following, came to me, and with much circumlocution made formal proposal of marriage to Miss Hemster on behalf of the Emperor of Corea. The misguided man appeared to think that this smoothed away all difficulty, and that the only question now to be settled was the amount of money the honoured lady’s father would pay down as dowry. Hun Woe fatuously ventured to hope that it would be large in proportion to the elevation in station which awaited the young lady. I replied that Mr. Hemster considered himself equal in rank, and greatly superior in wealth and power, to the Emperor of Corea; that he was now practically held prisoner in the Palace; therefore, if negotiations were to continue, he must be set free, and allowed to return to his own battleship, in which I should be happy to carry on the discussion in a manner which I hoped would prove satisfactory to all parties concerned.
The Prime Minister replied that what I proposed was impossible. The Emperor was completely infatuated with Miss Hemster, and only as a great concession,—due, Hun Woe said, to his own pleadings, which he hoped would be remembered when settlements were made,—did his Majesty consent to a marriage. The Prime Minister continued with many professions of friendship for myself, urging me therefore, as he pretended to have urged the Emperor, to put myself in a reasonable frame of mind. He had never known the Emperor so determined in any course of action before, and lack of compliance on the part of our company would do no good, and might lead to irretrievable disaster. The Emperor had resolved, if his offer were refused, to seize the young lady, and to behead her father, myself, and the whole party who accompanied her. He therefore trusted humbly that I would not thwart his efforts toward an amicable understanding.