“They, of all the foreigners who come to China,” the Chinaman returned somewhat shamefacedly, “are working unselfishly, but they must suffer with the others; all foreigners must go for China’s good.
“I tell you these things,” he ended, turning to leave the midshipmen with their jailer, “because your death-warrants have already been signed by the viceroy. At the first hostile shot fired by the allies your heads will pay the forfeit and we shall attack the mission, guarded now by your sailors, and kill every foreigner within.”
As Ta-Ling left them, the jailer seized the lads roughly and dragged them toward their cell. As the door closed behind them Phil shuddered at the demoniacal laughs of derision from their fellow prisoners.
“Our cause has a bitter enemy in Ta-Ling,” Phil whispered, after the lads had been sitting on their hard wooden bench for several minutes and the noise from their prison mates had subsided; “but I believe he’ll fail. When Commander Hughes commences to throw his shells into the city, he’ll be one of the first, with all his vain show of patriotism, to cry enough and seek safety.”
Sydney did not reply; his thoughts were upon the coming night, when the two midshipmen were to make their dash for freedom.
After a few minutes he confided his fears to his friend.
“If Ta-Ling finds that we have talked with the Tartar general we’re as good as dead men,” he said in an awed whisper.
This terrible thought sent a shiver through Phil.
“Did you notice the look on the jailer’s face when Ta-Ling was talking to him?” he continued in an anxious voice; “it was one of cringing fear. If Ta-Ling even suspects that we had been out of our cell and questions that man he will tell all. The jailer probably is keen enough to know that Hang-Ki and Ta-Ling are enemies, and of the two he fears the latter most.”
“Well, the die is cast,” Phil answered, smiling with a great effort; “there’s no use crying over it. We are either going to escape to-night or we are going to have our heads chopped off out there in the courtyard. Nothing that we can do can alter our fate, so we might just as well look cheerful, even though we don’t feel that way,” and suiting his actions to his words he began to whistle the class march.