Round the Fire Stories

“We were not relieved,” said he.

“What! the place fell?”

“Yes, it fell.”

“

And you came through alive?”

“I am a doctor as well as an entomologist. They had many wounded; theyspared me.”

“And the rest?”

“Assez! assez!” cried the little French priest, raising his hand inprotest. He had been twenty years in China. The professor had saidnothing, but there was something, some lurking horror, in his dull, greyeyes which had turned the ladies pale.

“I am sorry,” said the missionary. “I can see that it is a painfulsubject. I should not have asked.”

“No,” the Professor answered, slowly. “It is wiser not to ask. It isbetter not to speak about such things at all. But surely those guns arevery much nearer?”

There could be no doubt of it. After a silence the thud-thud hadrecommenced with a lively ripple of rifle-fire playing all round thatdeep bass master-note. It must be just at the farther side of thenearest hill. They pushed back their chairs and ran out to the ramparts.The silent-footed native servants came in and cleared the scanty remainsfrom the table. But after they had left, the old Professor sat on there,his massive, grey-crowned head leaning upon his hands and the samepensive look of horror in his eyes. Some ghosts may be laid for years,but when they do rise it is not so easy to drive them back to theirslumbers. The guns had ceased outside, but he had not observed it, lostas he was in the one supreme and terrible memory of his life.

His thoughts were interrupted at last by the entrance of the Commandant.There was a complacent smile upon his broad German face.

“The Kaiser will be pleased,” said he, rubbing his hands. “Yes,certainly it should mean a decoration. ‘Defence of Ichau against theBoxers by Colonel Dresler, late Major of the 114th Hanoverian Infantry.Splendid resistance of small garrison against overwhelming odds.’ Itwill certainly appear in the Berlin papers.”

“Then you think we are saved?” said the old man, with neither emotionnor exultation in his voice.

The Colonel smiled.

“Why, Professor,” said he, “I have seen you more excited on the morningwhen you brought back _Lepidus Mercerensis_ in your collecting-box.”

“The fly was safe in my collecting-box first,” the entomologistanswered. “I have seen so many strange turns of Fate in my long lifethat I do not grieve nor do I rejoice until I know that I have cause.But tell me the news.”

“Well,” said the Colonel, lighting his long pipe, and stretching hisgaitered legs in the bamboo chair, “I’ll stake my military reputationthat all is well. They are advancing swiftly, the firing has died downto show that resistance is at an end, and within an hour we’ll see themover the brow. Ainslie is to fire his gun three times from the churchtower as a signal, and then we shall make a little sally on our ownaccount.”

“And you are waiting for this signal?”

“Yes, we are waiting for Ainslie’s shots. I thought I would spend thetime with you, for I had something to ask you.”

“What was it?”

“Well, you remember your talk about the other siege—the siege ofSung-tong. It interests me very much from a professional point of view.Now that the ladies and civilians are gone you will have no objection todiscussing it.”

“It is not a pleasant subject.”

“No, I dare say not. Mein Gott! it was indeed a tragedy. But you haveseen how I have conducted the defence here. Was it wise? Was it good?Was it worthy of the traditions of the German army?”

“I think you could have done no more.”

“Thank you. But this other place, was it as ably defended? To me acomparison of this sort is very interesting. Could it have been saved?”

“No; everything possible was done—save only one thing.”

“Ah! there was one omission. What was it?”

“No one—above all, no woman—should have been allowed to fall alive intothe hands of the Chinese.”

The Colonel held out his broad red hand and enfolded the long, white,nervous fingers of the Professor.