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

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 131, 4 June 1901, Page 6

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

CHAPTER XL

CONCLUSION. The confusion bad, if anything. gTOwn more intense by this time. Still, the shouting was till on one side, not a sound breaking from 1 he lips of the three who battled for their lives with the desperation of despair.

They had nothing lo shout for, and thought best to save their breath for jthe finishing struggle.

It appeared to be at hand. Dr. Jack had one ambition. This was to possess himself of a sword which one of the onrushing Black Flags swung- valorously about his head—a sword that was certainly not of Chinese manufacture, and had evidently seen a German or Russian .forge. He laid his plans accordingly. It may have been a little matter, but in his eyes just then it assumed a certain magnitude. Accordingly he singled this fellowout for a display of his warmest affection, nor did be mean to shoot too soon, and thus baffle his own

hopes. Well did he time his effort, nor was he the least out of the way. Even in such matters Dr. Jack was seen to be as particular as the man at the mint who weighs gold dust. As he fired, the tall soldier pitched forward just as Jack calculated, and the coveted sword was cast at his yery feet. Eagerly he snatched it up. To him it meant another frail bulwark between Avis and death, Lord Hackett saw the performance of this act. and in his heart applauded, being not unwilling to profit by the example set if fortune allowed him the opportunity. Perhaps the blade might have done yeoman service in the hand of the big Briton, for he was really in better physical condition to wield it than Evans, who had suffered keenly from wounds, and imprisonment, but the doctor's nerve would carry him a good way, and any who came in contact with the edge of the weapon he now firmly grasped would have cause to regret the fact. This little incident might not have much of a bearing upon the result, save that it might possibly delay the inevitable end for a brief space of time.

Even seconds were worth something, ■with Kai Wang hastening to the scene of carnage as fast as his legs would carry him, Kai Wang, who had succeeded in his astonishingly bold feat of interviewing the powerful Dowager Empress in-her royal apartments, and presenting such strong * arguments for her imperial consideration that when he left again he bore with him her signet ring, together with a document officially signed and sealed by her own hand, whereby Dr. Jack Evans and his little company of friends were to be granted the utmost consideration, upon condition that they quitted Pekin within twenty-four hours. And woe to the wretched retainer of Her Majesty who would dare to raise a finger against them after his ears had heard this august proclamation and his servile eyes been gladdened by a sight.of her own magic signet ring, which she had been pleased to temporarily trust in the keeping of her faithful and devoted subject Kai Wang, mandarin of the first degree, wearer of the yellow jacket, and henceforth proud owner of the peacock feather, that signified his being held in high esteem at court.

No one could ever know what magic he used to overcome the scruples of the Empress, who had hitherto looked upon Kai Wang, just as sho did Li Hung Chang, as one to be feared and yet worthy of honour. Secrets of State are not to be lightly declared abroad, and Kai Wang never revealed what transpired during that period he spent in eager consultation With the august ruler. Perhaps she gladly welcomed the chance to win him to her side as an ally. Perhaps she had begun to see the folly of endeavouring to fight against the fates that decreed China's open door policy to the civilised world. -However that may be, Kai Wang won all he asked, and was even now on the way to carry the glorious news to his friends, when the sounds of strife filled him with a dread lest he should after all arrive ,too late with his precious news.

Of course he did not. That is a foregone conclusion in the mind of the observing reader. But it was a very close shave, and had Kai Wang been in any way delayed even for a minute he might have found a different welcome.

His coming \yas dramatic enough to please even a Frenchman. While the melee was at its height a shrill voice sounded above the cries of the combatants. What it said Dr. Jack did not quite know, but there must have been a royal mandate' in the demand, for those in the immediate vicinity of the newcomer ceased their noise and shrank away from the man who wore the yellow jacket of authority and who brandished a document which bore the revered seal of the Dowager Empress. Almost like magic Kai Wang crushed the riot, and then facing the sullen crowd that reminded Lord Raekett of tigers cheated of their prey, he read the orders of the Empress.

That document and the ring were insignias of life and death to those present. The man who dared to defy their power in the least had better make his yeace with the gods, for as sure as the sun arose in the east his head would be minus a body ere the same glowingorb set.

St George RatWorae, ..nSior of ' LiHle Jlia^ -BUtoM. "Tha Wel>,' ' Miss Pttiliae, of New York, • Tlie Csp'-air. of the Kulsar,' 'Kus CsprieV etc, etc

-\nd out friends, hardly able to realise what a blessed deliverance had overtaken them just in Ihe nick of t j m( .__jiow they '.squeezed the honest hand of Kai Wang—oh. that was a proud moment for the progressive wizard. He could not have felt better had he received an order for a thousand gross of the most costly family gods, payment on delivery. .U least there was no discounting the document and in the signet ring fashioned like a dragon of gold with diamond eyes. The janizaries of the palace knew it too well to doubt the evidence of their eyes. ' It is perhaps human to desire a connection with a winning house. These leaders had but a brief time before been hotly panting for the blood of the intruders, yet no sooner were these parties placed under the protection of the great female ruler of China than they were one and all as equally desirous of constituting tbe especial guard of honour that was to see them out of the royal palace and beyond the encir-liag walls of the mysterious Forbidden City. It was a real pleasure to Dr. Jack to grant them this privilege, and with one arm around his devoted and now happy wife, and the other holding the captured sword trophy, he traversed the passages, crossed the grand palaver chamber, amid the stares of astonishment on the part of mandarins and others still gathered there, and finally breathed the fresh outside air.

It was the grandest night in his whole life, and never had the _ pure atmosphere seemed so utterly delicious as when inhaled after his weeks of dungeon life. Larry clung tenaciously to the unwieldy lantern, which he swore should follow him through life, since it must be the good genii that brought about such a glorious ending of what had threatened to be a calamity.

It may be safely assumed that our friends were rejoiced to see the outside of those forbidding walls again. They issued forth through the ordinary channel, a gate that was heavily guarded, and went at once to the hotel. Here in the morning a consultation was held, where the advice of British and American officials was sought, and it was finally concluded to leave Peking at once, since the papers bearing upon the great railway concession, for which London bankers were, to pay Dr. Jack a million pounds sterling, were already at Hong Kong in safety.

The wonderful Kai Wang did not cease his vigilance, and, through him, our friends learned of a subtle plot, engineered, of course, by the baffled Russian. Petoskoy, as a last resource, whereby they were to be attacked and overwhelmed' by a great force of Tartars while on the way to the shipping point. Even Chinese railway trains will not stand in the way of Russian vengeance, it seems.

So tbe delectable and wise Kai Wang arranged a little excursion of his own, and in disguise the party was secretly conveyed to Tien-Tsin by road vehicles, instead of .train. Here a vessel was secured to undertake, the passage of the Grand canal, aud under. Kai Wang's guidance they scoured the hundreds of miles of fertile territory through the. provinces of Chi-li, Shantung and Kiang-su until at length their destination on tbe great Yang-tse-Kiang was reached, where they* boarded an English steamer for Hong Kong. It was a journey never to be forgotten, and the peace and glorious^ rest did much to build up Dr. Jack after the severe strain that bad begun to sap even his iron, constitution. Once at Hong Kong and the danger was all in the past. Evans had played for high stakes, and, as in other like circumstances, 'had won his game through a. rare combination of boldness and the especial favour of Providence. He solemnly promised his adoring spouse that it was the last time he meant to take any chances in tbe name of fortune; he had enough and to spare, and life should really be too precious to a man who was blessed with such a charming and devoted wife to be so lightly risked.

In tbe new possession of his native country, .the sunny Philippines, be planned to invest great sums in coffee plantations; and. following the calm pursuits of peace, hoped to finish his days in an atmosphere quite at variance with the hurly-burly scenes that had marked so mitch of bis career.

Kai Wang is still in Canton, and bis power among the mandarins seems to grow. Some say he will soon be a viceroy; but, politics in China no European understands, so that his future is beyond prophecy.

Lord Hackett has endeared himself to Jack and his wife, nor will La.rry ever forget how the big-hearted Englishman risked his life to make the amende honorable when Dr. Jack's widow appealed to his manhood.

The End