At last I felt as if I must argue out the question, and with my teeth set firm, and my eyes fixed upon the sandy ground of the enclosure, some such thoughts as these ran through my brain--"It is only just that these men should suffer for their horrible crimes, for they are more dangerous than venomous serpents, and I suppose that Captain Thwaites and Lieutenant Reardon are obliged to come as a kind of duty; but we three came under the idea that we were to see some kind of exhibition, and old Ching did it out of kindness, not knowing of what kind of stuff we were made. I shan't stop."

There I paused to fight with other ideas.

"Tanner and Blacksmith will laugh at me and think I am a coward. Well, let them," I said to myself at last. "It isn't cowardice not to wish to see such a horror as this. I didn't feel cowardly when they were shooting at us down in the creek, and it would be far more cowardly to sit here against my will without speaking. I will tell them I want to go."

I should think that every lad of the age I then was, will pretty well understand my feelings, and what a bitter thing it was to turn and confess what they would jeer at and call "funk." It was hard work indeed.

"I don't care," I muttered. "I know they'll protest and say they don't want to come, but be very glad to come away all the time. I will speak."

Just then that horrible Chinaman turned to me with his round fat face, all smiling and delighted.

"You velly glad you come?" he said. "You feel velly happy?"

My mind was made up at this, and I spoke out.

"No," I said in a husky whisper. "I didn't know we had come to see this. I shall go."

"What?" said Barkins, with a forced laugh. "Look here, Blacksmith, he's showing the white feather."

"Ho! ho!" laughed Smith. "Come, Gnat, I thought you had a little more spirit in you. Serve the beggars right."

"Yes, I know that," I said firmly enough now, as I looked at their faces, which, in spite of the masks they had a.s.sumed, looked ghastly; "and I daresay I haven't pluck enough to sit it out. But I don't care for your grins; I'm not ashamed to say that I shall go."

"Oh, well, if you feel that it would upset you," said Barkins, in a tone of voice full of protest, "I suppose that we had better see you off, and go somewhere else."

"Poof!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Smith in a low tone. "Look at him, Gnat; he's in just as much of a stew as you are. Well, it's too bad of you both, but if you must go, why, I suppose we must."

"You beggar!" snarled Barkins angrily. "Why, you're worse than I am.

Look at him, Gnat! There, I will own it. I felt sick as soon as I knew what was going to happen, but I won't be such a b.u.mptious, bragging sneak as he is. Look at his face. It's green and yellow. He wants to go worse than we do."

Smith did not seem to be listening, for his starting eyes were fixed upon the far right-hand gate, over which there was a kind of paG.o.da, and he rose from his seat.

"Come on at once," he whispered, "they're going to begin."

"Confessed!" whispered Barkins, pinching my knee. "Come on then quick, Gnat, old man; it's too horrid."

We all rose together, and were in the act of turning when a low hoa.r.s.e murmur rose from behind, and we saw that a crowd of angry faces were gazing at us, and that they were nearly all armed men.

But before we had recovered from our surprise, Ching had caught my arm and pressed me to my seat.

"No go now," he whispered, with a look of alarm in his face, and he leaned over me and dragged my companions down in turn. "No can go now.

Allee gate fasten. Makee blave velly angly and dlaw sword; fightee fightee. Ching velly solly. Must stop now."

There was a low hissing noise all about us, and threatening looks, while a fierce man in embroidered silk said something in his own tongue to Ching, who answered humbly, and then tamed to us and whispered--

"Small-b.u.t.ton mandalin say make big-b.u.t.ton peac.o.c.k-feather mandalin velly angly. You no sit still. Sh! sh!"

"We must sit it out, boys," I said, with a shudder; "but we need not look."

My words were quite correct to a certain extent, but as my companions, who now looked more ghastly than ever, sank back in their seats, I felt compelled to gaze across to where I could now see a red table exactly facing me. Then a movement to the right caught my attention, and through the far gateway, and lowering it a little as he pa.s.sed under the archway, rode an officer with a yellow silk banner, upon which were large black Chinese characters. Behind him came some more showily-dressed officials; and then, in a kind of sedan chair, one whom I at once saw to be the chief mandarin, for whom we had been waiting.

He was carried across to the front, where he alighted and walked slowly across to the red table, followed by sword, spear, and matchlock men, who, as he took his place at the table, ranged themselves on either side facing us, and completing a spectacle that, seen there in the bright light, strongly suggested the opening of some grand pantomime.

I remember thinking this, and then shuddering at the horrible thought, and at the same time I began wondering at the intense interest I could not help taking in what was going on.

Two more grandees in chairs of state followed, and then there was a pause. I could see that our officers were politely saluted, and that care was taken that no one should be in front of them. And now came the more exciting part of the terrible exhibition.

Suddenly there was the loud booming of a gong, and the head of an escort of spearmen marched through the gateway, followed by a group of men in twos, each pair bearing a long bamboo pole, from which, hanging in each case like a scale, was a large basket, and heavily chained in each basket was a man, whom we knew at once to be one of the pirates we had captured, without Ching whispering to us--

"Velly bad men, killee evelybody. They killee now."

My eyes would not close. They were fascinated by the horrible procession; and I now saw, just in front of the bearers, a tall-looking bare-headed man carrying a large bright sword, curved in the fashion we see in old pictures of the Turkish scimitar, a blade which increases in width from the hilt nearly to the end, where it is suddenly cut off diagonally to form a sharp point.

Behind this man marched five more, the procession moving right to the front between us and the brilliant party whose centre was the princ.i.p.al mandarin.

I now saw, too, that every one of the miserable culprits was ticketed or labelled, a bamboo upon which a piece of paper was stuck being attached to his neck and head.

A low murmur ran round among the spectators, as, at a signal from the man with the great sword, who I saw now must be the executioner, the bearers stopped, and with a jerk threw the poles off their shoulders into their hands, b.u.mped the baskets heavily down upon the ground, and shot the malefactors out as unceremoniously as if they had been so much earth.

I heard Barkins draw a deep breath, and saw Smith leaning forward and gazing wildly at the scene, while I felt my heart go _throb throb_ heavily, and found myself wishing that I had not shared in the capture of the wretched men.

The chief mandarin then turned to the officer on horseback, who carried the imperial yellow flag, said a few words in a low tone, and he in turn pushed his horse a little forward to where the executioner was waiting, and evidently conveyed the mandarin's orders.

Then suddenly the pirates, as if moved by one consent, struggled to their feet and began shouting.

Ching placed his lips close to my ear--

"Say, please no choppee off head. Velly bad men, killee lot always; velly bad."

And now I felt that the time had come to close my eyes, but they remained fixed. I could not avert my gaze from a scene which was made more horrible by a struggle which took place between the first pirate of the long row in which they stood and the executioner.

The man shouted out some words angrily, and Ching interpreted them in my ear, his explanation being in company with a strange surging noise--

"Say he come back and killee him if he choppee off head. Oh, he velly bad man."

But quickly, as if quite accustomed to the task, two of the executioner's a.s.sistants rushed at the pirate; one of them forced him down into a kneeling position; they then seized his long tail, drew it over his head and hung back, thus holding the pirate's neck outstretched; lastly, I saw the executioner draw back, the sword flashed, I heard a dull thud--the head fell, and the body rolled over on one side.

Before I could drag my eyes from the horror there was the same terrible sound again, and another head fell upon the ground, while, with a rapidity that was astounding, the a.s.sistants pa.s.sed from one culprit to the other in the long row, the miserable wretches making not the slightest resistance, but kneeling patiently in the position in which they were thrust, while _whish, whish, whish_, the executioner lopped off their heads at one blow.

"Allee done," said Ching. "Execution man have velly much plactice."

He said this to me, but I made no reply, for the whole place seemed to be going round and round.

"You thinkee they all come back again and have junk? Go kill shoot evelybody, pilate ghost-man?"

"No," I said hoa.r.s.ely; "can we go now?"

"Velly soon. Gleat clowd all along gate. Lookee, Mis' Tanner go s'eep."