Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-10
CHAPTER Xxx.
ssWhat a Face 7.

ssWhat a FACET
During the afternoon of the seventh day
from Tung-chow, John Hardy, huggfns the
coast arrived In the locality of Kiac-chau
harbor. The solitary helmsman had made
a good voyage, being familiar with the
ocean winds and their moods, and having
an old comradeship with the brine and
spray. However, he had several times got
wet, and every few minutes now was
shaken by a moist cough. alternated by
vomiting due to a constant sickness of the
stomach.
He was being waited along by a gentle
breeze. when he spied portion of a ships
bow above the thin, inaudible fringe OF
foam which lined the coast afar AND at
once, noting his course, he put cut farther
to sea and lay to, ten miles from land
He guessed from the fragmehtary look
of the wreck that the Chinese had been
busy with the English sailors or whom ne
had been told At IL O'Clock, he ran IN Tor
the harbor Unfortunately, al he knew
about 1t was its locality Nl-chlng tang,
indeed, had told him that the Englisnnless
were upon an island; but wheh ne ehseiSu
the basin he saw no island, for in the dark
ness and distance the contours or the ls4aiiu'
which. on the east, is near TO the main
land seemed part of it, =, 100
The moon was young, just rising II "aS
a night of stars; things near were Visipie'
things remote lay in mystery Oh sileuo ,T.
Hardy ran his bow upon slaFe a.,
bottom near the east en.aah'e Ground
tending to mount the rising erouh ~
and search for the island. For what nc
knew. he might be already on IT.
In this way he came to the east iort' no"
mostly In ruins. he passed t q. TanH oro
broken arch. and saw guns lying at RAMON
in the court He examined the batteinehttsu
square and entered what renamed Oh aiIe
heavily armed works. But eheie was nv
where a human being. - ..,,a
HE search was conducted with extreme
caution With the same care he descenaeo
to his boat. and made for the OPPOSITE .a,t
where he saw a stonework outline dsdiiist
the skv Here the ascent was sleeper, ne
scrambled up a pebbly footpath, scrapeu
through some scrub. and entered the forth
acation There was less marked deslat-
ton on this side. He examined pollWef ,AS,
wehre and glacis, aussenwerk and donJoh'
and saw no one Then he entered an inner
court, where was a low building with smaii
barred windows: barracks and mess room
And in three of the WINDOWS near INC
ground he saw light.
On his hands and knees he crept TOWARD
one of the openings. AS ne ore" nedi iis
could hear a sound of laughter, and some
one protesting in harsh gibber1sh. he kheN
now that he was among Chinese. But he
continued to advance, eager TO acquire some
sort of knowledge of the facts OF ms silu VA
ton. He reached the window, lifted his
| head and peeped in.
The room which he saw was long and
surrounded by beds at regular Intervals. On
| most of these lay Cinnamon asleep; three
| only were intently playing some sort OF
dice-game at a table on winch was IAN
| tern.
AS Hardy looked-before he could run
before he could cover his mouth-he was
seized by a sudden cough which soundeo
through the still night and the quiet room
The three Cinnamon sprang up at once,
looked in amazement in the direction OF the
sound, then Matching three rifles, and max
ing a great noise. they rushed toward the
door.
Hardy, too was off running; but before
he could cross the breadth of the yard the
three were out of the door. At the moment,
he was in the shadow of the buttress of a
barbacan. and he knew that If he left 1t TO
cross the strip of moonlight which lay along
the exit from the yard he must be seen
He stood still, therefore, crouching in the
deepest shade
The three in a state of great excitement,
ran toward the spot which he had left. and
finding nothing, scattered about the yard IN
Hurried search within the deep embrasures
of arches. and the black shade of turret and
buttress. Their eager examination was dis
organized the second again scrutinizing
spot which the first had just searched, and
the third, perhaps following suit.
1t was all over in the space of certainly
not more than minute. One of the China
men rushed to the corner in which Hardy
crouched, his hands cropping; in a few sec
onds he was followed by the second; In few
seconds more by the third. And they dropped
like a line of little wooden soldiers, upon
which one blows obiiquely. one after the
other, Stif1y. at full length. ne knlfe or
Ni-ching-tang was sooner out of the
first than 1t was in the second, and in
stantly In the third Before the startled
sleepers within had rubbed their eyes.
sprung to their feet, and sDatched their
weapons. he had diminished the population
Of China by three. 1t was the first fruits
of his vengeance
Now, meantime, was his chance to run,
and he ran. Thirty Chinese soldiers. how
ever, were after him, and one saw him as
he slipped through the exit from the inner
to the outer courtyard. This man raised
the hue and cry, and 1t became a question
of running. first toward the outer exit and
secondly through the scrub, and down the
steep hillside, guns popping all the while,
and the Cinnamon screaming in an ecstasy
of excitement
Behind the rising ground. on the general
level of the mainland. there was camped
Infringement of the old regular army of
these. hearing the firing, quickly set off at
the double up the gentle incline at the back
of the fort.
Hardy was saved from the shots OF the
thirty on the top of the plateau by doubling
anc bending among the scrub. but by the
time he had plunged and scrambled to the
bottom of the steep path, bullets were
whistling round him. The night however
was dim. and the rif1emen, as they ran
shot at random.
There lay his boat her PROV Just touch
ing and swaying in the gravel. If he could
push her off and gain the shelter of the
house deck he would be safe. Two of the
Cinnamon, however, who had not slack
eRed their speed in order~to shoot were