The Mystery of the Forbidden City; OR, DR. JACK'S WIDOW.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 130, 3 June 1901, Page 6

The Mystery of the Forbidden City; OR, DR. JACK'S WIDOW.

CHAPTER XXXTX. : ON THE BORDERLAND OF ETERNITY. The tierce shouts that announced the coining of the palace guard rang like the knell of despair upon tinhearing of Dr. Jack. He had not experienced one-half this dismay :it the time of his own capture, for now his mind was distracted at the bare possibility of one he loved far better than life itself falling into the hands of cruel enemy. Of what avail was his rescue when, it only doubled the disaster? j To add to the agony of the occasion, he could see no means of avoiding the impending meeting, since escape through flight seemed utterly! out of the question. '' There was only one apparent out-; come. They must meet the issue : squarely, as became brave and desperate ineni and, fighting to the last,' defend their lives against the enemy.; When it comes to this resolution, hope has undoubtedly fled from the human brea-st and only grim despair remains. Something of the same feeling must have taken possession of the others, for none of them ccmld be| ignorant of the serious conditions that confronted them; yet with Kai Wang absent they knew not how a remedy might be found. Jack's first, and natural thought was of Avis; how she might be sheltered in some way from, the danger that menaced them. Unfortunately there was no means of throwing together even the most! flimsy of barricades, since nothing ofj which such a defence could be con-1 structed lay hand}' to their reach, j All she could do would be to stoop or kneel and trust to the God of Battles to spare her from the deadly weapons of the enemy. The guards were coming with blaming torches and flashing weapon,?. j As the red glare lighted up the motley crew, Dr. Jack saw that among them were many of those fierce fighters with whom he had once befor« measured swords—the merciless Black Flags. This was, however, but another link added to the chain of misery by which they were encompassed. i If death was to be their portion,! what mattered such minor details aa! j this? There, would be a dreadful j rush, a roar of battle, heaps of slain,! and then—they would sleep well. i Only Avis! How fervently that I man prayed she would know little of; pain; she for whom he had many! times in the past risked life and limb,l and to save, -whom he would even! now have willingly stood the tortures! of the Inquisition. Truly, there can come to a man no keener agony on earth than the knowledge that one he loves is in mortal danger. The three determined men, feeling that this promised to be their last! stand, made * ready to receive the foe. Weapons V Thank Heaven they were abundantly supplied, because of the wisdom displayed by those who had arranged the raid; and all of them knew well how to use them. Lord Rackett had dropped ou one knee. So his grenadier forefathers hod awaited the charge on many a bloodyfield, from Jiannockburn down to Waterloo and the Crimea. It may be affirmed without danger I of dispute that this scion of the house of Plympton faced the foe with just as steady nerves, as ever his ancestors had displayed on other fields of valour. Larry was between—Larry, whose statui'o could never be taken as an inj dcx to his courage, for within that I small frame dwelt a heart of oak that would have done credit to a giant. And the mob of soldiers came on, shouting as only Chinese fighters j know how, making every hideous j noise possible, doubtless with the double, purpose of frightening those whom they sought, and at the same time scaring away divers evil spirits that might be haunting these passages of the palace so seldom used. Dr. Jack hated to open the fight. He would have sacrificed much for an opportunity to arbitrate the matter, and to save Avis would willingly have given up all his hopes for the great railway concession. But such a proposition would have fallen upon deaf ears if advanced under the present conditions, even if it' could be heard above the frightful" clamour. These men of war were after blood, and nothing, less would satisfy them. Then the old fighting spirit crept over Dr. Jack. He could feel it coming —that strange f hot, feverish sensation that made his nerves tingle and his fingers clutch weapons eagerly, while his teeth closed fiercely as his eyes emitted a furious gleam. So Crockett and Travis stood at the never-to-be-forgotten Alamo, piling dead Mexican soldiers breast high around them; so brave Anglo-Saxon heroes have stood always, battling against overwhelming odds, faces to the foe, and dying- as they lived, going down -with colours flying. Much as he hated to fire, the necessities of the case demanded it, and Dr. Jack knew enough of those with whom he was in conflict to believe they would meet with little or no mercy should they fall into their hands. There was small choice when it came to making a selection—all Chinese looked alike to Evans at that particular moment. Still," he knew there were always

$i George Ratfttornt, Author of 1 LMlo Miss MillionH,' ' The Spider's Web,' 'Mias PtuUiTie, of New York,' 'The Captain of tie Kaiser,1 'Mies Caprieo,' etc., etc.

[certain elements in a mob that serve as leaders, and could such be individualised and shot down, the chances of a break in the assault w.nild be • made considerably brighter, Hence his practised eye at once roved along the vanguard, searching for a shining , mark. 1 There was a grim satisfaction in .the thought that at least the giil'rd ,of the palace would offer splendid ■ chances for advancement on the morrow, if their lead sped true to the i mark. I Having discovered one fellow who I gave evidence by his dress and manner of being in authority among the ad- • viincing host, the doctor gave him, the I benefit of the suspicion. j Probably the said patriot never re- ; alised the extent, of the honour con'i ferred upon him by this distinctive : preference, but that was no concern iof '.)r. Jack's, whose conscience rested ; easy under the conviction of having ; done his duty. "Plympton was a modest man. He had been waiting for Jack to take the initiative, and no sooner had the doctor's weapon spoken than he hastened to get. in. ~Sav wa.s Larry willing to be left: in I the lurch. His weapon could sound just as loudly as those wielded by his larger companions, and if well handled would nerve out medicine just a« bitter to those who took the dose. It wa.s only a question of aiming , straight. The sudden rattle of lirearins put quite a new phase upon matters. It ! was a sound for which these Chinese i fighters had the greatest respect, and, J besides, the execution accomplished Jin their midst served to further arouse J both their fears and their anger. Unfortunately their forward rush was not in the least hindered by the leaded rain that had begun to rattle among them,.much as nuts fall upon (the dead leaves when a fierce gust.of I autumnal wind shakes the chestnut trees. Thus, the gaps were being rapidly closed, and our friends had no means of preventing it. There are occasions in some lives , when time can only be measured in heart bents, when eternity looms up jso close at hand that even mortal i eyes may almost look beyond the 1 black river Styx to the immortal I shores that await their comiii" ,i Such a moment was upon this little j company now. as, breathlessly, they I stood their ground and awaited the ■| inevitable shock of battle. ; The- deadly bullets continued to go I forward, and none could fail to find i its mark in the mass of onrushing ! human beings; but they did not stay I the advance one iota, and T)r. Jack J knew the worst was upon them. ; Armed with some decent sort of weapon in the shape of swords, he and Lord Rackett could still have I ■ put up a good fight against the ChiI nese rabble. Without, such accessories, however, they would be able to make a lame resistance at best, and very shortly one of the steel blades wielded by their enemies must do its work. Desperate men never give up until the last breath is gone from their bodies. This does not apply to civilized nations only. When Kitchener scattered the legions of the Khalifa, around Khartoum and Omdurman, some of the badly wounded dervishes, feigning death, would sacrifice their last atom of strength in a vicious endeavour to stab some Egyptian or British soldier who chanced to draw near, knowing at the same time that they "would be hacked to pieces immediately after. This cannot be called true brarvery, but is simply an exhibition of vindictive desperation, a desire to die in a blaze of glory, a spirit of slaughter such as animates the jungle tiger. Aimri more lofty than this animated those who shielded Avis with their bodies. They had not sought this conflict and would have avoided it if possible by every honourable means in their power. When forced reluctantly into the ■fight, nothing- was left to them but to take up the gauge of battle and accept the dreadful consequences. * The rush of the ussailants carried them over' tb.6 intervening- space so rapidly that , they swung up against .our friends. abo,ut .the. time the firearms of the latter, were two-thirds empty. The } scene that ensued almost baffles description. Certain it is that never could it fade from the memories of those -who parr ticipated in the desperate hand to hand struggle, should favouring fortune allow them to lire through it. Avis, brave girl, crouching there, •white-faced but heroic to the last, believed she lived years in those brief seconds of time. She had passed from the depths of profound woe to sudden joy at finding her. Jack in the land of the living; and now came still another kaleidoscopic change, whereby it seemed fated she should be a witness of his bloody death. At least, thank Heaven, she would not be far behind him when he crossed the dark river. There was consolation to her loving heart in the knowledge that together they would pass into the unknown world, loyal companions in death, even as they had been in life. His arm had been a tower of strength to her here, perhaps it might also help her over difficulties in the "Beyond. (To be- continued.)