The naval men were standing together near the table; every eye was upon the aged mandarin, sitting calmly, and to outward appearances, no more concerned than if he were witnessing a play on the yamen stage; Langdon remained beside the prisoners, and not far from the soldiers stolidly waiting orders from their high chief.
The situation was impressive and one to unnerve the stoutest heart; a false move, an ill-judged word, and those hundreds of modern rifles might be turned against the defenseless officers. Phil knew that nearly two thousand sailors were under arms on board the war-ships, ready to be landed if the embassy had not returned to the jetty by eleven o’clock; it was now ten-thirty by the great clock in the council-chamber; but before the half hour had passed all would be decided and the landing force would not be necessary. The midshipman knew that Commander Hughes would not retract a single word uttered in the conference, and that he would presently give out his ultimatum to the viceroy, which would either be accepted or else more foreign blood would be laid at the door of this cruel official, Chang-Li-Hun.
“Be careful, Langdon,” Commander Hughes said in a low voice, in which no emotion was evident, although Phil could see the involuntary twitching of his lips; “don’t throw a match into the magazine. Tell him quietly that we have seen through his treachery and wish safe conduct through his city back to our vessels; and insist that these prisoners accompany us.”
Phil shook with excitement as the pilot steadied himself to give his captain’s words to the viceroy; he understood thoroughly that this was the only course open to the American commander if he wished to save the hundreds of foreigners in the province from the insults and scorn of the Chinese expulsionists, even though the result to him and his colleagues was death. The lad’s mind dwelt for the fraction of a second upon the terrible revenge that would be visited upon those responsible for the killing of the members of the embassy; he thought of Canton and Peking, and how the despised foreign soldiers had, with fire and sword, brought home to the defilers of the sacred rights of ambassadors the terrible consequences of their guilt; yet there was scant encouragement for him in such recollections.
Langdon had given his captain’s ultimatum in a calm voice from which all passion had been expunged, and now all waited with breath abated for the words of the wizened old man, in whose hands the fate of so many lives rested.
The viceroy at length stirred uneasily in his chair and turning to one of his ministers uttered a few low gutturals. The spell was broken; a harsh command rang out, and instantly the soldiers faced about, forcing with set bayonets the disappointed populace through the outer gates, which swung shut with a loud rattle behind them. Then the military, gathering up the two lifeless bodies, sacrifices to the humor of a viceroy, melted away in all directions, leaving the embassy once more alone with the yamen officials.
The viceroy raised his teacup to his lips, a signal that the visit was at an end, and then rising slowly, he bowed coldly, and attended by his ministers withdrew from the room. In a few minutes the chairs were brought and the embassy were only too glad to be gone from this nerve-racking and fruitless council.
Langdon, with his usual energy, saw the liberated prisoners seated in chairs in the midst of those of the foreigners and near his own, and then stepped to the captain’s side to report that all was ready to proceed.
“I don’t think we shall be molested,” he said hopefully; “it seems plain that the viceroy will do nothing to stop the uprising, but it appears he is afraid to openly defy you.” Then he raised his voice admiringly: “Do you know, captain, that you’re the very first foreigner to make Chang-Li-Hun lose face, and before a crowd of his own people whom he had deliberately collected to witness your own discomfiture. You gave us all a close call in doing it, sir; I could hardly believe my ears when I heard you tell me to shoot the executioner, but there wasn’t time to allow you to repeat it.”
The return to the jetty was well and safely guarded by hundreds of well-armed soldiers and the crowds were handled so easily that the foreigners could readily see that the episode of the morning was prepared for them by the yamen officials. Commander Hughes realized that the visit to the viceroy had given ample proof that whatever injury was done to foreigners by the natives of the province could be charged to the stand taken by the viceroy; and with this official backing the hostile movement would spread to insurmountable proportions.