"Nevertheless the dogs shall be punished, my brother; but let us return," said the prince, going to the gate, where the sentry, recognizing the prince, fell at his feet. "Rise, dog, and as thou wouldst save thy miserable head, say who is the general of this section," said Yong-Li.

"The n.o.ble Leang, O Grandson of Heaven," replied the trembling soldier.

"Cans't thou be honest and silent as to my visit?"

"Both, as thy slave values his miserable life," replied the soldier.

"I will trust thee, man, and if I find you so, only till the rising of to-morrow's sun, thou shalt be promoted," said the prince; adding, "This rogue Leang must be degraded, and thou, O n.o.ble Nicholas, take his command." Thus they visited some half-dozen of the chief and most important points of the fortified walls with similar results. With the works themselves he was satisfied, as was also Nicholas, who, young as he was, had often examined the fortifications of the southern province; and, indeed, the whole line of coast between Siam and j.a.pan.

"Nought, my prince, but the treachery of the defenders, or the death-dealing cannon of the red-haired barbarians from the West, could effect an entrance into the city," said he.

"Has my brave brother then seen in use those terrible instruments of war that can crumble the strongest towers of stone to the dust, from beyond the reach of bow-shot?" said the prince.

"Such has been thy servant's fortune, O my prince; it could not be otherwise, for they are used on board the war-ships of my n.o.ble father."

"By the tombs of my ancestors, thou art a bold boy," replied the prince; adding, with vehemence,

"As I hope to continue the circle of succession, I would forfeit ten years of life to be in possession of a few, that we might sweep these rebels and Tartars from the face of the earth."

At that moment there arose a great clamor of voices, and, looking out of the chair, the prince saw a great crowd a.s.sembled upon one of the ca.n.a.l bridges, when, having ordered the attendant with the whip to beat a pa.s.sage through the people, they witnessed the following extraordinary sight:--

Upon a high platform, near the edge of the bridge, stood a large tub, the top of which was covered with some flimsy material, like silk or cotton, through which something, that in the distance bore a resemblance to a human head, bobbed up and down like a jack-in-the-box. Upon the platform, around the tub, stood six priests.

"How lowly must the dynasty of the great Tait-sou have fallen, that these miserable bonzes are permitted thus shamefully to extort money from the people," said the prince.

"If thy servant's eyeb.a.l.l.s play him not false, O my prince, yonder priests are preparing to sacrifice a human life to their wretched G.o.ds,"

said Nicholas.

Not waiting to hear more, the prince leaped from the chair, and, followed by Nicholas forced a way through the crowd till they reached the platform.

All, however, that could be seen of the victim was the forehead, nose, and eyes; the latter rolled so convulsively and glared so terribly, that, notwithstanding the crowd, Nicholas would have attempted a rescue, had not the prince caught hold of his arm, saying, "Stay, my brother, it is the duty of a prince to see justice done;" then addressing the chief bonze, he said, "What crime can this man have committed, O miserable priest, that he should be thus tortured without the presence of the officers of the tribunal of justice?"

"Great has been his crime, O n.o.ble youth, and self sought his punishment," replied the bonze, taken aback by the bold tone of the prince; adding, as he pointed to the head, which bobbed suddenly as he spoke, "He admits my words."

"Open thy lips to the purpose, priest, and as you value your wretched life, let us hear his crime," replied the indignant prince.

"The youth must be a stranger to the capital, indeed, if he has not heard the order of the Son of Heaven, which commands that the villain Christians, who have taken advantage of the great Emperor's kindness to raise and nourish a rebellion throughout the land, should be destroyed."

"Such an order has reached thy servant's ears," said the prince, bowing lowly at the name of his father.

"Know, then, that this wretch was long the slave and follower of one of these Christian dogs--see, he admits it, (and the head bobbed up again;) but, fortunately, the G.o.ds changing his heart in time, sent him to our paG.o.da repentantly declaring his villainy and demanding his punishment (here the head gave another bob of acquiescence) from the priests of Fo, who, consulting the G.o.ds, obtained permission for him to choose his own chastis.e.m.e.nt: his choice was to leap from this platform into the ca.n.a.l."

"But the ca.n.a.l is deep, and the man will drown, priest," said the prince, sternly.

"Surely the youth is strangely ignorant that such a feat is a happiness thousands would willingly seek. We have but given him the preference but for his zeal and virtue. (Here the head again gave an acquiescent bob.) Again, at the bottom of the ca.n.a.l he will be met by charitable spirits, who will not only welcome him with honor, but conduct him to the yellow stream." So saying, the bonzes commenced preparations for the final act of the tragedy.

The prince, however, unable any longer to restrain his rage, drew his sword, exclaiming, "Desist, thou murdering rogue; release thy victim immediately."

This violence to their priests so aroused the anger of the pagan crowd, that they would probably have torn Yong-Li to pieces, but for Nicholas, who, beating them backward, cried, "Back, slaves! would you molest the son of your Emperor, the good prince Yong-Li?" and the terrified slaves instantly fell upon their faces. The bonze, though no less dismayed at the presence of the prince, was quicker witted, and said, "Surely the magnificent son of the Son of Heaven would not arrest the flight of a happy soul, impatient to be on its way to the yellow stream."

"Let the miserable wretch speak for himself," said the prince.

"He dares not so anger the G.o.ds, who would not only condemn him, but destroy the whole city in their wrath," replied the bonze, giving a sly signal to his brethren to surround the tub, in the event of a rescue being attempted.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Chow in the hands of the Bonzes.]

"Nevertheless, the wretch shall be saved," said the prince; adding, aloud, "Let the deluded rascal open his lips, or he shall be left to his fate."

At this, the head gave another and stronger jerk upward, but without rising further through the silk, and the eyes rolled and glared more terribly than ever. At which the bonze said, "Cannot the heavenly eyes of the great prince see that the poor creature is suffering from such violent language? See, he is almost distracted and will a.s.suredly expire with grief at so much profanity."

"This is some foul trick, my prince," said Nicholas, who leaped upon the platform so quickly, that, striking one of the priests, he fell against four others, and all were sent flying into the midst of the crowd, who, in their turn, began to pummel them severely for falling so heavily upon their heads and shoulders.

Once upon the platform, Nicholas lost no time in cutting asunder the silk covering of the tub, when, lo! the victim shot up with the rapidity of a rocket, dragging with him, by the hair of his head, a small bonze, in whose hand was the dagger which he had been from time to time plunging into the victim's calves in order to make him utter the responses.

But what was the surprise of the prince when the hands of the intended victim were unbound and the gag removed from his mouth, to see him fall at the feet of Nicholas, clasp his legs, and exclaim, "My n.o.ble, n.o.ble, master, this is indeed a joyful meeting. Nought but the G.o.d of the Christians could have saved Chow's life."

The wretched face, the bleeding legs of the poor boy, so filled the heart of Nicholas with indignation and sorrow, that while tears fell down his cheeks, all he could say was, "My poor, poor friend Chow, this is indeed a fortunate day."

"Then the sacrifice was not thine own seeking, my poor fellow?" said the prince.

"My own seeking, O mighty son of Ming? Look at thy slave's legs, which the rascals have punctured into lace-work. Surely, had Chow sought the yellow stream, he would have chosen to go in a perfect and decent manner." Then the boy would have fallen, but for Nicholas, who held him in his arms, when he said, "I demand justice on the rogues, O great prince, for I am the servant of the n.o.ble Nicholas, thy friend, and was with him a prisoner in the Palace Royal, till the night of the audience, when a eunuch came to me and said the Emperor had signified his gracious wish that poor Chow was to be chopped into ten thousand pieces, but that a great lord taking compa.s.sion on me would save my life, and give me great promotion, if I would watch and note down the words and actions of my n.o.ble master."

"Didst thou hear the name, surname, and t.i.tle of the villain lord, O Chow?" said the prince.

"Thy slave was not so fortunate, great prince."

"What answer didst thou make, O Chow?" said Nicholas.

"That they might not only cut thy servant into as many pieces as they chose, but never bury them in the tombs of his ancestors, before he would comply. Whereupon, they gave poor Chow over to these rascal bonzes, who intended to torture him with a dagger in that tub, till agony caused him to leap into the ca.n.a.l."

"Sad must have been thy sufferings, my poor Chow," said the prince; who then ordered his attendants to convey the boy to the palace, in order that the imperial doctors might attend him. Then sending for a body of yah-yu, he ordered them to take the bonze and his a.s.sistants to the great prison, to await a trial; after which they returned to the palace.

"Thanks be to Tien, my brother, we have saved thy friend from those vile bonzes," said the prince.

"Would O prince, that we could as easily save the servants of the true G.o.d of heaven from their villainies," replied Nicholas, thinking of the sufferings of the Christian fathers.

CHAPTER XXVI.

NICHOLAS RECEIVES AN IMPORTANT COMMAND.

On the day following the visit of the prince to the military stations, a change was made among the officers. Some were bambooed, some reprimanded, and others sent into confinement. The post of Leang, who held the command of five hundred men under the General Kin, being given to Nicholas, he took Chow with him as a kind of sub-officer, and as the wounds of the latter fortunately proved to be only in the flesh, he soon became well enough to caper with delight at the chance his new position might give him of meeting the slayer of his father.

For some time Nicholas had little else to do but keep his men at their posts, and exercise them in the use of the matchlock, which, although the Chinese then knew so little about it, that the rebound of the stock did as much mischief to the owner as the barrel did to his enemies, he had long practised on board his father's ships. Then, again, he would exercise them in sword, and bow and arrow practice, and the use of their shields.