Part 17

An hour or two before they sighted the Russians, the bandits had advanced through a narrow pass, enclosed between steep and rugged bluffs. Upon this pass Ah Lum decided to fall back; it offered every advantage for an ambuscade. Withdrawing thither during the hours of darkness, he allowed his men a brief spell of sleep; then, while the dawn was yet but a glimmer, he set them to fell trees in the copses that crowned the hills, and to pile them across the pathway at the far end. It was still early when he placed half his men in cover upon the heights overlooking the track; the rest, consisting of the divisions of Wang Shih and Jack, were sent to threaten the Russian rear. A mist hung over the hills; it was bitterly cold, and the ponies often slipped on the frosty ground. Luckily Wang Shih had with him a peasant of the neighbourhood who acted as guide. But for him the Chunchuses could hardly have found their way.

It was but an hour after daybreak when they found themselves on the right rear of the Russians about two miles from the latter's camp. Wang Shih's orders were to wait until the Cossacks had advanced to the end of the pass and been checked by the ambuscade there. Then, before the enemy could recover from the confusion into which they would be thrown, he was to follow up rapidly in the hope that a movement seeming to threaten their line of retreat might complete their disorder. He therefore waited until, from a secure hiding-place, he saw them quit their camp and march out. Then he moved his men with Jack's down the hill somewhat closer to the enemy's line of march, and awaited the sound of firing in the distance that would announce the beginning of the fight at the ambuscade.

Meanwhile Jack narrowly scanned the surrounding country. The mist had cleared away, and a bright cold October sun was painting the distant hills with various charming tints. Suddenly Jack's attention was attracted by a dark, narrow, tape-like something moving down a slope far to the north-west. Before many seconds were past he was convinced that it was a body of horsemen. The question was, what horsemen? In the distance their character could not be distinguished; the one thing certain was that they were not Japanese, for their clothes were very dark; the Japanese were wearing khaki. They were scarcely likely to be Chunchuses; from their regular even progress Jack concluded that they could not be native carriers; surely they must be a second body of Cossacks who had advanced by forced marches to co-operate with those now approaching the ambush.

Jack had moved some little distance in advance of his troop. What he had seen sent him in haste to rejoin Wang Shih.

"We must get our men under cover," he said. "There are Cossacks, I believe, descending the opposite hills. They may not have seen us yet."

The Chunchuses moved within cover of the nearest trees, and Wang Shih sent forward his keenest scout on foot to ascertain whether the new-comers were enemies or friends. He returned in a few minutes declaring that even at this distance he had distinguished the characteristic head-dress of the Cossacks. Wang Shih was disposed to remain in cover until the time came for him to carry out Ah Lum's orders. In his present position he ran little risk of being seen by the oncoming party, and being entirely without imagination it did not occur to him that the situation was now perhaps radically altered. But to Jack the discovery seemed to be serious. The line of advance taken by the second body of Cossacks would bring them within an hour across Ah Lum's rear. The position had been strangely reversed. While Ah Lum believed that Wang Shih was cutting off the retreat of the first body, his own rear was in process of being threatened by a force twice as numerous as the one he could dispose of. He was probably in ignorance of the danger, for the advancing Cossacks were shut from his view by the contours of the hills, and there was little likelihood now of a warning being conveyed to him by a Chinese villager. It was impossible for a messenger to reach him from Wang Shih, for the first Russian force lay between.

Jack pointed out to Wang Shih the peril in which his chief lay. The Chunchuse admitted it, but asked what he could do. With his assistance Ah Lum might beat the first body of the enemy before the second could arrive, and then could turn his attention to it in its turn.

"But suppose the fight takes a long time? And suppose we do not succeed in beating the first Russian force? If they hold us until the second arrives, Mr. Ah's men will be attacked from the rear, and they will certainly be crushed between the two."

"It is as you say. But the chief has given me orders; he will be angry if I disobey. It is better to carry out orders."

It was evident that Wang Shih was disinclined to assume any responsibility. Jack was by no means satisfied that things must be allowed to take their course. It appeared to him of the utmost importance that the second Russian force should be held in check until the first had been disposed of. He went through the clump of bare trees until he reached the summit of the crest, and looked anxiously towards the advancing band.

About a mile away the hill path it was following disappeared in a cleft in the hills, reappearing a quarter of a mile farther on. It seemed to Jack that at this spot, resembling somewhat the position Ah Lum had taken up, it was possible to hold the Russians in check. So far as he could see, there was no better place along their route for such an attempt, and he instantly made up his mind that the attempt must be made. It was doubtful whether the Chunchuses could reach the cleft in time to occupy it before the Cossacks arrived, but there was a bare chance, and he resolved to take it.

Hastening back to Wang Shih he explained that he proposed with his own division of men to make for the cleft, leaving the rest to carry out Ah Lum's instructions. Wang Shih raised no objection; he merely stipulated that Jack should accept the full responsibility for his action. In a few minutes, therefore, Jack rode off at the head of his band; almost immediately after starting he heard the dull sound of firing in Ah Lum's direction; the fight in the pass had begun. Clearly there was no time to lose, for the same sound would certainly quicken the approach of the second body of Russians.

Keeping down the hill in order to screen his movements as long as possible from the enemy, Jack led the way at as rapid a trot as the rugged ground allowed. Only a few minutes had passed when the little force rode out on to the open hillside, where they must be seen by the Russians. Jack fancied that the enemy was at this time nearer to the cleft than his own men; but the Chunchuses were riding downhill, the Russians up, which gave room for hope that he might reach the position first. He was helped also by the more open character of the ground on his side, and by the fact that for some time the Russians failed to recognize the object of the horsemen riding at full speed towards them. During these precious moments Jack's party gained several hundred yards. Keeping one eye on the rough ground and the other on the enemy, Jack noticed that the leading files broke from a walk into a trot and then into a headlong scramble. It was now neck or nothing. Throwing caution to the winds, he dug his spurs into his pony, and clattered at breakneck speed down the slope, the Chunchuses hard at his heels. Several ponies stumbled and came to their knees, flinging their riders; but the rest, intoxicated with the excitement of the race, rode unheeding after their leader. A dip in the ground now hid the two forces from one another; they would not again come in sight until the cleft was reached. Between the Chunchuses and the point they aimed at lay a comparatively clear space, dotted by a few single boulders without any of the smaller stones that for most of their ride had impeded their progress. Now Jack urged his panting steed to a mad gallop; the quarter-mile was covered in a few seconds; he dashed into the cleft, the foremost of his men but a length behind.

Eagerly he peered ahead through the narrow tortuous passage. None of the Cossacks was in sight. He galloped on, hoping to reach the other end before they arrived; it would be easy to hold the entrance against them. He had almost reached the farther opening when he came full tilt on the leading Russian horseman, a Transbaikal Cossack riding with loose rein, pistol in hand. He was some twenty yards in advance of the troop. In the heat of the race Jack had not anticipated the chance of a fight on horseback. Before he could draw his pistol the Russian had fired: the bullet whizzed harmlessly past Jack's head. With astonishing dexterity the Russian whipped his sword from the scabbard; by the time Jack had his pistol ready only a few yards separated the two. Then Jack fired; the Russian's uplifted sword dropped from his hand, and the ponies came together with a thud. Both riders fell to the ground, Jack being thrown lightly on the slope to the right, thus fortunately escaping the hoofs of the ponies following. He arose dazed, saw a confused mass of men in front of him, heard shouts and the crack of pistols. Pulling himself together, he ordered his men to dismount and line the sides of the gully. In an instant some scores of them were scrambling up the bluffs on both sides, leaving their ponies to be gradually passed to the rear by their comrades.

The men in front, finding themselves unsupported, began to give way, but slowly and stubbornly. As the Russians could only advance two abreast, and that with difficulty, two or three precious minutes were gained, during which the crests of the slopes on either side were manned by the Chunchuses. Now Jack gave the word to open fire. His men were breathless; their limbs were quivering; and their hasty ill-directed shots did little execution. But several horses and men fell in the Russian van; the pressure on the mounted Chunchuses who were stemming the Russian advance was reduced; and then, as the marksmen steadied and took deliberate aim, a hot and deadly fire was poured into the enemy's ranks. The Russians made an attempt to reply, taking advantage of cover where they could, some of them sheltering themselves behind the ponies that had fallen. But the bandits had all the advantage of position; the Cossacks, after a gallant stand, were forced to give way; and leaving more than thirty of their number on the ground they galloped back a half-mile to a shoulder of the hill, where they found protection from the rifle-fire of the Chunchuses.

*CHAPTER XVIII*

*A Fight in the Hills*

Playing the Game--A Sprint--Hit--Waiting--Across the Open--Hard Beset--Between two Fires--The Raising of the Siege--The Spoils--The Rear-Guard--The Outlook

The onfall had been so violent and the fight so brisk and rapid that Jack had had no time to form any plans or give any but the most obvious orders demanded by the exigency of the moment. He was exceedingly glad of the breathing space afforded by the withdrawal of the enemy. If he had checked them, it was only because he was able to forestall them in the cleft; the real struggle was to come.

He utilized the pause to make good his position in the pass. The narrow path was strewn with boulders. With these each bandit made his own little fort, so arranging them, when they were not too heavy to be moved, as to give the maximum of cover against the enemy's fire. Jack wondered what form the Russian attack would take. The pass was so narrow, its course so uneven, that direct fire from the farther end would not, he thought, be very effective. That he was right was soon proved. In about a quarter of an hour the Cossacks opened a spasmodic rifle-fire from the rough ground about three-quarters of a mile away. It made no impression on the Chunchuses, except that one man was shot dead by a ricochet.

Apparently convinced of the hopelessness of loosening the bandits' hold upon the pass, the Russians ceased firing. As the minutes passed in silence, Jack wondered what their next move was to be. Faint sounds of shots came from the distance; Ah Lum's band was evidently still engaged; surely the commander of the men opposed to Jack must know that he was losing precious time, and would make some real effort to join hands with the other force. Jack could not but suspect that some movement was being developed quietly and out of sight, a suspicion strengthened when firing again broke out, intermittent, absolutely ineffective, probably designed to withdraw his attention from anything beyond his immediate front. From his position in the pass he could see nothing of the surrounding country; but about a hundred yards nearer the Russians there was a point from which he thought a good view might be obtained. To reach it, however, he would have to run the gauntlet of the Russian fire; for at least thirty yards he would be fully exposed without possibility of taking cover. Should he risk it?

For a time he hesitated. The weighty reasons against endangering his life flocked one after another through his mind; uppermost of all, the thought of his father, and of his friends at home so anxiously waiting for news of him. But he felt that having brought his men into their present hot corner it was his duty, at whatever personal risk, to get them out of it; and only by ascertaining the Russian plan of attack, if they had one, could he hope with his mere handful of men to hold his own. He hesitated no longer. Not that he was disposed to forget prudence and play the dare-devil. He would not throw away any chance. Shouting to the men nearest to him he told them what he proposed to do, and arranged that when he reached the limits of cover three of the bandits should draw the Russian fire by the old Indian trick of displaying the corner of a garment above their lurking place, as if they were exposing themselves to take aim. The trick when tried for the first time was almost certain to provoke a fusillade from the enemy, and Jack could then seize the opportunity to make a dash across the open ground. The same device could be employed again when he signalled his desire to return; but it was less likely to prove successful then, for the Russians would be on the watch, and the more intelligent of them would have seen through the ruse. Still, it would be worth the trial even in the second case. Accordingly, having arranged for the signal which should announce his return, he started to worm his way to the limit of cover.

When he arrived there he halted, turned round, and, lifting his hand to show that he was ready, braced himself for the sprint across the open. The appearance of a hat and portion of a coat above the rocks behind was followed instantly by the rattle of musketry from the Russian position. Setting his teeth, Jack sprang from cover and raced at full speed up the hill to a little knot of boulders above him. Before he had gone half the distance there was a second crash of volleying rifles; but the Russians had clearly taken very flurried aim; Jack heard the hissing flight of the bullets, but reached the shelter of the rock without a scratch.

As soon as he had taken breath, he set himself to make a careful survey of the scene beneath him. There was a party of Cossacks, whose numbers it was impossible to estimate, more or less hidden in the rough ground immediately in front of the pass. Half a mile in their rear was another body, apparently in reserve, numbering, as he guessed, about 300. But the force he had seen an hour before, winding its way down the hillside, had consisted of more than 1000 men. Where, then, were the rest? Jack's eye travelled from the lower to the upper slopes of the hill. For a few moments he could distinguish nothing resembling a body of men; then--yes, about a mile and a half away was a dark object moving diagonally across the field of view, and this soon resolved itself into a column of horsemen. The remnant of the Cossack force, about a third of its strength, had presumably returned some distance along the path of their advance, then swept round to the right. In a few minutes they disappeared from view; Jack could hardly doubt that they intended to turn his position by following a bridle path that would probably bring them out upon his rear. He must go back and question the guide. He made the signal to his men; again they raised the garments; there was a scathing volley from the Russians, but some, not to be caught napping a second time, held their fire, and as Jack bounded forth he heard the flying bullets whistling unpleasantly around him. One tore the felt from his Chinese shoe; another stung him like a whip in the forearm; but, owing, doubtless, to the fact that he was racing downhill, and that in consequence both the range and the elevation were rapidly changing, he reached cover in safety except for these slight mishaps.

While his wound was being bound up, he questioned the man who had guided the bandits to the district. The Chinaman, on Jack explaining what he had seen, agreed that there was a path through the hills in the direction indicated. It led to a ledge of rock jutting out from a shoulder of the hill about half a mile in the rear of Jack's position. An enemy holding that narrow platform could command the southern outlet of the pass, and completely cut off the Chunchuse force. For a moment Jack thought of stealing a march on the Cossacks and occupying the ledge, but a little reflection showed how useless this would be. Not only would he weaken the body holding the pass, every man of whom would be required when the serious attack was delivered, but the ledge itself and the path in its neighbourhood were scarcely tenable against a force so largely outnumbering his own.

Another move that suggested itself was to abandon the pass and fight a rearguard action as he retraced his steps towards Ah Lum's position. But to do this would be, he felt, to abandon his whole object, which was to relieve Ah Lum as long as possible of pressure from the second Russian force. After taking anxious thought, he decided that he must stick to the pass if the chief was to have any chance of escaping the net now closing around him. So long as there was a fighting force in the pass the Russians would not venture to attack Ah Lum, for they could not spare enough men to bottle up Jack's division and at the same time strike an effective blow at the chief so strongly placed. Accordingly Jack withdrew his men from the section of the pass likely to be covered by the flanking force, and settled down to await developments. Sounds of firing still came across the hills in the rear, showing that Ah Lum, and possibly by this time Wang Shih also, were at grips with the first Russian column.

Fronting the southern end of the pass was a small clump of trees that would give the Russians ample cover if they could reach it. But in order to reach it they would have to cross a quarter of a mile of comparatively level ground, affording little cover, and exposed to the direct fire of the defenders. For a moment Jack was tempted to occupy the clump; but that would involve the splitting of his force, and any detachment he might send to hold the position would be completely cut off from support except by rifle-fire. Fortunately the clump was not approachable from the rear; the attempt would involve a laborious climb uphill, the climbers all the time exposed to fire from the mouth of the pass. This end being less defensible than the northern, Jack had already placed the greater number of his men in cover here in anticipation of the arrival of the Russian turning column.

Some twenty minutes passed, during which Jack impressed upon his men the necessity of husbanding their ammunition. They had but a small supply, with no reserve to draw upon; it was imperative that they should not reply to the Russian fire until they could see their enemy distinctly. The near approach of the Cossacks was heralded by a sudden hail of bullets falling upon the rocks on either side of the pass. This was the signal for a warm fusillade from the original point of attack. To neither was any reply made by the Chunchuses, among whom not a man was touched. After a few minutes there was a sudden lull in the firing; it had become evident to the Russians that unless they rushed the clump of trees they could make no impression on an enemy so well protected. Intuitively Jack knew what was impending; he called to his men to be on the alert; and scarcely had he spoken when forty or fifty big horsemen, in open order, dashed across the open space towards the trees. Then Jack gave the word. The Cossacks had covered but a few yards when a terrible fire was poured upon them from the pass. Here a man dropped from his saddle; there a horse rolled over; but with the fine courage that had distinguished the Russian soldier throughout the war, the others held on in their terrible race with death. As they galloped forward man after man fell; only a gallant remnant reached the clump, and with it comparative safety. Scarcely a third of the troop gained the shelter of the trees, but tactically the movement was worth the sacrifice. There was silence for a brief space; then the men in the clump opened fire. From their new position they were able to enfilade a considerable section of the pass. One by one Jack's men began to fall; then there was a second rush from the Cossack main body to reinforce the men in the copse; and the defenders of the pass, enfiladed as they were, were unable to stop it. Most of the Russians got across; and with the reinforcements they had received, the men in the clump poured a still more damaging fire into the Chunchuses, only half-concealed now by rocks and boulders, and hampered by the necessity of sparing their ammunition. The Russians, feeling that they had the upper hand, began to expose themselves both in the copse and on the rough ground whence their rushes had been made; and the bandits, with the fear of their cartridges running short, durst not take full advantage of their opportunities of picking off incautious individuals among the enemy; they had to content themselves with firing whenever a group of two or more presented a broad target, and directing occasional close volleys into the copse. Still, the distance separating the combatants was so short--barely three hundred yards--that even in the comparative shelter of the trees the Russians suffered heavily; every now and then their fire slackened, and it was necessary to reinforce them by further detachments from the main column.

While the battle was thus waged at the south of the pass, there had been constant firing at the other end. Hi Lo went backwards and forwards between the two divisions of Jack's band, with news of the enemy's movements and the progress of the fight--a duty involving considerable risk; but the boy could make use of rocks and inequalities of the ground that would not have sheltered a grown man, and he was indeed exceedingly proud of being selected to assist in this way.