“I've assumed so. There has been so much talk. And then, of course, the outbreak in Szechuen.”
“That was premature. It was the plan to strike in the spring. This fighting in Szechuen has caused much confusion. Sun Yat Sen is in America. He is going to England, and can hardly reach China within two months. He will bring money enough for all our needs. He is the organizer, the directing genius of the new republic. But the Szechuen outbreak has set all the young hotheads afire.”
“I am told that the throne has sent Tuan Fang out there to put down the disturbance. But we have had no news lately.”
“That is because the wires are cut. Tuan Fang will never come back. We will pay five thousand taels, cash, to the bearer of his head, and ask no questions. We must exterminate the Manchus. It has finally come down to that. It is the only way out. But we must pull together. Did you know that the Wu Chang republicans plan to strike at once?”
“No.”
“I have been sent there to tell them to wait. That is our gravest danger now. If we pull together we shall win. If our emotions run away with our judgment—”
“The throne will defeat your forces piecemeal and destroy your morale.”
“Exactly. My one fear is that I may not reach Wu Chang in time. But”—with a careless gesture—“that is as it may be. I will tell you now why I spoke to you. We need you. Our organization is incomplete as yet, naturally. One matter of the greatest importance is that our spirit be understood from the first by foreign countries. There is an enormous task—diplomatic publicity, you might call it—which you, Mr. Doane, are peculiarly fitted to undertake You know both China and the West. You are a philosopher of mature judgment. You would work in association with Doctor Wu Ting Fang at our Shanghai offices. There will be money. Will you consider this?”
“It is a wholly new thought,” Doane replied slowly. “I should have to give it very serious consideration.”
“But you are in sympathy with our aims?”