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- Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
- Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
- Sprache: Englisch
In "On to Pekin; or, Old Glory in China," Edward Stratemeyer crafts a thrilling adventure that immerses readers in the geopolitical landscape of late 19th-century China, during the tumultuous Boxer Rebellion. The narrative is punctuated with vivid descriptions and a fast-paced plot, characteristic of Stratemeyer's engaging writing style. This work not only serves as a gripping tale of bravery and discovery but also offers insights into American imperialism and the cultural perceptions of the East prevalent at the time, presenting a complex interplay of admiration and ethnocentrism. Edward Stratemeyer, a prolific writer and creator of numerous juvenile series, was deeply influenced by the era's fervor for adventure and exploration. His experience as a traveler and an observer of global affairs shaped his narrative, infusing it with authenticity and detailed background knowledge. Stratemeyer's diverse contributions to literature, including the creation of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, highlight his commitment to engaging young audiences with entertaining yet educational content. Readers seeking a captivating adventure that also provocatively addresses historical themes will find "On to Pekin" an essential addition to their literary collection. Stratemeyer's ability to blend excitement with cultural reflection invites a critical examination of Western attitudes towards the East, making this work both enjoyable and thought-provoking. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance. - Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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On to Pekin; or, Old Glory in China
Table of Contents
Introduction
Courage and patriotism collide with the realities of global conflict as young Americans march toward a besieged capital in turn-of-the-century China. Edward Stratemeyer’s On to Pekin; or, Old Glory in China places its youthful protagonists amid the Boxer Uprising, framing the China Relief Expedition as a proving ground for duty and national identity. Written for a juvenile audience, the book pairs swift episodes with an earnest, exhortative tone typical of Stratemeyer’s adventure fiction. Avoiding battlefield minutiae, it introduces the perils of service far from home and the complications of coalition warfare through characters designed to embody resolve, initiative, and loyalty.
Situated firmly in the adventure genre, the narrative unfolds in northern China during the Boxer Uprising of 1900, when foreign legations in Peking (commonly styled as Pekin at the time) faced siege and international forces mobilized a relief march. Published around the turn of the twentieth century—roughly 1900–1901—and associated with Stratemeyer’s Old Glory series, the book reflects the immediacy with which contemporary events entered popular juvenile fiction. Its setting spans coastal embarkation points and inland routes toward the capital, offering snapshots of camp life, movement under strain, and the uneasy proximity of cultures encountering one another under the pressures of war.
As in much of Stratemeyer’s work, the premise is straightforward and propulsive: a small group of American youths enters service, travels with an allied column, and faces a succession of trials en route to a threatened city. The prose favors clear description, quick transitions, and chapter endings that invite steady reading. Readers move through embarkation, marches, brief skirmishes, and wary lulls, presented with a confidence that balances excitement against basic orientation. The mood is resolutely upbeat, emphasizing pluck and perseverance, yet the book also admits danger, fatigue, and uncertainty that complicate its otherwise rousing march narrative.
Under the banner of Old Glory, the story foregrounds themes of allegiance, comradeship, sacrifice, and the testing of character under fire. It asks how young people learn responsibility when events move faster than their understanding, and how loyalty to comrades and country shapes choices in unfamiliar lands. The international setting introduces cooperation and friction among forces with different languages and priorities, inviting readers to consider the demands of coordination and the perils of miscommunication. At the same time, the book sustains a didactic thread, encouraging industriousness, obedience, and steadiness of purpose as virtues that carry characters through adversity.
Written close to the events it depicts, the novel also serves as a cultural artifact of American attitudes toward China and empire at the dawn of the twentieth century. Its terminology, assumptions, and portrayals are products of their moment, and contemporary readers may notice stereotypes, simplifications, or paternalistic framing that today warrant critical distance. Recognizing this context does not diminish the work’s historical interest; rather, it clarifies how popular youth literature mediated distant conflicts for readers at home. Approaching the book with awareness enriches its value as a window onto both the Boxer Uprising and the era’s reading habits.
Modern readers may find the book relevant as a case study in how fiction shapes public imagination during international crises. It raises questions about patriotism, propaganda, the costs and enticements of adventure, and the responsibilities of representing other cultures in stories for the young. Educators, students, and general readers can use it to spark discussion about coalition warfare, media narratives, and the legacies of U.S. expansion. It also complements more formal histories by conveying the emotional tempo of a moment when distant names and places entered American households through popular fiction.
Taken together, On to Pekin; or, Old Glory in China offers a brisk, action-centered reading experience anchored in a precise historical backdrop, authored by a prolific architect of American juvenile series fiction. Those drawn to tales of marching columns, shifting alliances, and emerging adulthood under pressure will find it engaging, while those interested in cultural history will appreciate its snapshot of the period’s sensibilities. Read on its own or alongside primary sources about the Boxer Uprising, it rewards attention both as an adventure and as evidence of how a generation learned to imagine the world beyond U.S. shores.
Synopsis
Set at the height of the Boxer Uprising in 1900, On to Pekin; or, Old Glory in China follows the continuing adventures of young American servicemen from Stratemeyer’s Old Glory series. News of anti-foreign unrest reaches the protagonists as they complete duties in the western Pacific, and fresh orders dispatch them toward China with naval and marine detachments. The book opens by anchoring their sense of duty, outlining prior experiences, and situating readers within a multinational mission. With families and friends in mind, the characters prepare for an uncertain campaign, their personal aims aligned with a wider effort to protect citizens and uphold national obligations.
Initial chapters present the background of the Boxer movement, the rise of secret societies, and spreading attacks on missionaries and merchants. Diplomatic legations in the capital face mounting danger, and various powers assemble ships and troops on short notice. The American contingent organizes equipment, interpreters, and maps, while comparing procedures with allied officers. The narrative introduces shipmates, marines, and a few civilians whose paths may cross again, establishing relationships that shape later choices. Without debating policy, the book frames the mission as a protective expedition and underscores the uncertainties of command as orders shift with incoming reports from river ports and telegraph stations.
The voyage north provides a transition from preparation to action. Life aboard ship emphasizes routine drills, seamanship, and medical precautions, set against typhoon squalls and cramped quarters. Along the Chinese coast the protagonists observe harbors crowded with flags of many nations, each pursuing similar goals with differing methods. A reconnaissance toward river mouths tests nerves and equipment, hinting at contested waterways and guarded forts. The chapters balance movement with observation, noting the geography, climate, and logistics that will shape any inland push. Personal letters and mess-deck conversations underscore the stakes without settling outcomes, keeping attention on duty and the evolving coalition.
Landings near the Taku Forts introduce readers to the complexity of ad hoc coordination. Signals from multiple fleets compete with shouted commands, and narrow channels force careful timing. The Americans join composite landing parties, advance through mud flats, and establish makeshift depots while scouts survey the terrain toward Tientsin. Early engagements are depicted through orderly sequences of movement, countermovement, and fire discipline, emphasizing confusion over glory. Civilians appear at the margins, seeking routes to safety as rumors race ahead of the columns. The protagonists learn local place names, customs, and warnings, practical knowledge that soon proves as vital as weaponry.
Fighting around Tientsin forms a central section, contrasting siege conditions with bursts of rapid assault. The narrative highlights artillery placements, barricaded streets, and the improvisation needed to move supplies under fire. Messages pass between allied commands, with interpreters relaying directives that must be tested against ground truth. The Americans undertake scouting details, guard trains of ammunition and rations, and assist medical teams under trying conditions. A turning point arrives as coordinated pressure opens the way inland, though the text withholds precise outcomes to sustain momentum. Throughout, the book maintains focus on procedure, discipline, and cooperation among units drawn from several nations.
The march toward Pekin unfolds through a series of staged advances, each tied to bridges, canals, or walled villages. Heat, dust, and limited transport shape the pace as columns maneuver to keep lines of communication secure. Ambushes by Boxers and regular imperial troops test sentry work and signaling, while engineers clear obstacles and repair crossings. The protagonists gain responsibilities that bring them into contact with allied scouts and guides. Emotional stakes rise through brief glimpses of refugees and fragments of news from the capital, yet the narrative avoids sensationalism, keeping attention on orderly progress, reconnaissance, and the careful husbanding of strength.
As the force nears the capital, operations hinge on intelligence about gates, walls, and approaches. Reconnaissance in force probes key suburbs while staff officers weigh timing against supplies and stamina. The story presents debates over routes, with different contingents advocating distinct plans, reflecting the diversity of doctrine within the coalition. Night movements complicate cohesion but offer surprise; flare signals and bugle calls attempt to impose structure on shifting streets and embankments. The protagonists confront decisions about initiative and caution, aware that the legations depend on swift action. Local intermediaries appear, adding perspectives on terrain and risk without resolving uncertainties.
The climactic chapters describe attempts to break through outer defenses and reach the besieged quarter. Street fighting, breached gates, and hurried barricades frame episodes of rescue, resupply, and message-carrying under pressure. Communications falter, compelling improvised solutions that rely on training rather than bravado. The Americans coordinate with neighboring columns as circumstances dictate, their efforts portrayed as one thread within a larger fabric. Personal challenges intersect with duties established earlier in the series, bringing certain strands to a head while preserving the suspense of immediate results. The narrative sustains focus on methodical action, emphasizing endurance, clear orders, and mutual support.
Closing sections survey the consequences of the campaign for soldiers and civilians, considering the strain of long marches, the rebuilding of disrupted neighborhoods, and the logistics of withdrawal and relief. Characters assess what they have learned about coalition warfare, the limits of foresight, and the responsibilities attached to carrying a flag abroad. Without offering extended commentary, the book points to perseverance, discipline, and cooperation as recurring themes. Hints of future deployments and personal paths maintain continuity with earlier volumes. By concluding on measured reflection rather than spectacle, the story underscores its central purpose: to depict service under Old Glory during a demanding crisis.
Historical Context
Set in northern China in 1900, the narrative unfolds amid the Boxer Uprising and the multinational military campaign that culminated in the relief of besieged foreign legations in Peking (Beijing). The principal geography spans the approaches from the Gulf of Bohai—especially the Taku (Dagu) forts and the treaty port of Tientsin (Tianjin)—to the capital’s Legation Quarter. The late Qing dynasty, under Empress Dowager Cixi, confronted mounting internal unrest, anti-foreign sentiment, and Great Power encroachment. Published at the turn of the century, the book speaks to an American readership shaped by recent imperial ventures, situating U.S. soldiers and marines within an international context of intervention, diplomacy, and conflict in China’s northeast corridor.
The Boxer Uprising (1899–1901) and the Allied Relief of Peking provide the central historical frame. The Yihetuan ("Righteous and Harmonious Fists") emerged in Shandong and Zhili (Hebei), fusing martial ritual, spirit possession, and anti-missionary, anti-foreign mobilization. Railway lines and telegraphs, symbols of foreign intrusion, were sabotaged. On June 20, 1900, German minister Baron Clemens von Ketteler was killed in Beijing; on June 21, the Qing court declared war on foreign powers, even as some officials maintained ambivalence. The Legation Quarter endured a siege roughly from June 20 to August 14, defended by mixed contingents and Chinese Christians. The first Allied thrust—the Seymour Expedition (about 2,000 under Admiral Edward H. Seymour)—departed Tientsin on June 10 but was forced back by disrupted rail and resistance, reaching safety only on June 26. The Taku forts were seized by Allied navies on June 17; U.S. ships were present, while American landing parties and marines soon joined inland operations. The decisive relief, often termed the Gaselee Expedition, advanced from Tientsin in August with a multinational force of roughly 18,000 including British (under Gen. Alfred Gaselee), Japanese, Russian, American (under Gen. Adna R. Chaffee), French, German, Italian, and Austro-Hungarian units. Fierce fighting marked the Battle of Tientsin on July 13–14, where U.S. 9th Infantry’s Col. Emerson H. Liscum was killed, reputedly giving the order "Keep up the fire." On August 14–15, 1900, Allied troops broke into Beijing, relieved U.S. Minister Edwin H. Conger and others, and compelled the imperial court to flee to Xi’an. The book tracks these movements—Taku to Tientsin to Peking—echoing dates, commanders, and the multinational character of the Eight-Nation Alliance while portraying the drama of siege, relief, and urban combat.
The scramble for concessions in the 1890s and the U.S. Open Door Policy directly structure the conflict’s diplomatic background. Following the Juye Incident (1897), Germany seized Jiaozhou Bay (Qingdao) in 1898; Britain leased Weihaiwei and expanded Hong Kong’s New Territories; Russia secured Port Arthur and the Liaodong lease; France took Guangzhouwan. To counter partition, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay issued the Open Door Notes (September 6, 1899; a second circular July 3, 1900), advocating equal commercial access and China’s territorial integrity. The book’s banner of “Old Glory” in China mirrors America’s emergent role: limited colonial ambitions on land yet assertive in safeguarding markets, citizens, and legations under the Open Door’s rhetoric.
Missionary expansion and anti-missionary violence form a crucial social backdrop. By the 1890s, Catholic and Protestant missions had established schools, hospitals, and churches in North China, often possessing extraterritorial protections that fueled local resentment. Notable incidents included attacks in Shandong and the 1897 murders at Juye, which catalyzed German intervention. During 1900, thousands of Chinese Christian converts were targeted by Boxers and allied militias; missionaries and their families faced siege in treaty ports and inland stations. The book reflects this climate by highlighting rescues, escorts, and the defense of civilians, dramatizing how religious networks, perceived impunity, and cultural friction fed the uprising’s intensity and international response.
American military participation, though numerically modest, was symbolically significant. U.S. Marines and sailors landed from ships such as USS Newark, with Capt. Bowman H. McCalla leading early operations toward Tientsin in June 1900. The U.S. Army’s China Relief Expedition included the 9th and 14th Infantry under Gen. Adna R. Chaffee; at Tientsin on July 13, Col. Emerson H. Liscum’s death lent the 9th its rallying cry. U.S. Minister Edwin H. Conger’s besieged legation became a focal point for American action. The book amplifies these episodes—skirmishes along rail lines, assaults on fortified positions, and legation defense—aligning fictional protagonists with verifiable units, dates, and the emergent U.S. global military profile.
Late Qing politics shaped the crisis’s trajectory. Empress Dowager Cixi, balancing court conservatives and reformist officials, issued edicts on June 21, 1900 declaring war even as powerful provincial leaders hedged. Prince Duan and pro-Boxer Manchu bannermen pressed for confrontation; others, including Li Hongzhang and Yuan Shikai, maneuvered to preserve regional stability (Yuan notably suppressed Boxer activity in Shandong). After Beijing’s relief, the court fled west to Xi’an, where negotiations unfolded. The book echoes this political volatility by juxtaposing imperial proclamations, divided command, and Allied perceptions of a court speaking with two voices, underscoring the dynastic crisis that accompanied battlefield reversals.
The Boxer Protocol (September 7, 1901) codified the settlement. China accepted an indemnity of 450 million taels of fine silver, payable with interest over decades; foreign garrisons were stationed along the route to Beijing; the Legation Quarter gained enhanced protections; the Dagu forts were dismantled; importation of arms was restricted; and punitive measures were enacted against implicated officials. The United States later remitted part of its indemnity (authorized in 1908), funding scholarships that led to the establishment of Tsinghua College (1911). The book’s arc toward “Pekin” presages these outcomes, revealing how battlefield victories translated into legal, financial, and territorial impositions that restructured North China’s political space.
By staging American characters within an Eight-Nation intervention, the book exposes a period marked by imperial rivalry, missionary protection claims, and coercive diplomacy. While written in a patriotic register, its episodes of siege warfare, indemnities, and occupation illuminate social fractures—rural dispossession, anti-foreign mobilization, and the violence of great-power policing. The depiction of multinational armies in urban streets implicitly critiques the precariousness of international order built on gunboat leverage. Read against contemporaneous U.S. expansion in the Philippines and the Open Door doctrine, the narrative reveals classed and racialized hierarchies that justified intervention, even as it records the profound costs borne by Chinese civilians and the weakening Qing state.
On to Pekin; or, Old Glory in China
PREFACE
“On to Pekin” relates the adventures of a young lieutenant of the regulars, who is sent from Manila to Taku, China, to participate in the campaign of the allied forces of the United States, England, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia, and Japan against the Chinese order of the Boxers and those government troops of the Province of Shantung who aided in the great rebellion against all foreigners.
In the story are related, first, the bombardment of the Taku forts and the capturing of Taku and Tongku; next the history of the ill-fated expedition under Vice-Admiral Seymour, R.N., to relieve Pekin, and the bombardment and capture of Tien-Tsin; and, lastly, that bold dash of the Internationals for Pekin and the relief of the consuls, missionaries, and other foreigners who had been besieged for fifty-six days.
It may be that some of my readers will think Gilbert Pennington an unusually clever officer, and one quite young to be occupying the position of lieutenant of the regulars. But it must be remembered that Gilbert had served in Cuba with the Rough Riders, and in the Philippines under General MacArthur and General Lawton, and that he took to army service as naturally as a duck takes to water. He was one of those soldiers of whom Grant declared, “They are born, those fellows, not made.”
The campaign in China has been as short as it was brilliant; and, with Earl Li Hung Chang and others empowered to treat for peace upon almost any terms, it is to be hoped that a permanent settlement will be made, which will insure both foreigners and China against all further trouble. War, at its best, is a terrible thing; and the less our country has of it, the better it will be for our people.
Once more thanking my young friends for the interest they have shown in my previous stories, I place this volume in their hands, trusting they will find its perusal both pleasurable and full of profit.
EDWARD STRATEMEYER.
Newark, N.J., Oct. 4, 1900.
ON TO PEKIN
CHAPTER IINTRODUCING THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT
“I say, Lieutenant Pennington, have you heard the news?”
“That depends upon what the news is, major. Do you mean that we are ordered back to Manila?”
“I mean a good deal more than that, lieutenant. We are ordered to China.”
“China!” And Lieutenant Gilbert Pennington, formerly of the volunteers and now of the regulars stationed on the island of Luzon, leaped up from the camp stool upon which he had been sitting, and gazed at his old friend, Major Morris, as if he had not heard aright. “Who told you such a fairy tale as that?”
“It’s the truth, Pennington. I got it direct from the colonel. We are to proceed to Manila without delay, and there take the Logan or some other transport direct for China.”
“And what are we going to do in China? Has Uncle Sam declared war on the heathen?”
“Hardly that, I imagine. But you know the missionaries and other foreigners are having a lot of trouble with the Boxers[1], as they are called; and I reckon our government wants some soldiers on hand in case matters get worse.”
“Yes, I’ve heard about the Boxers, although I don’t exactly know what they are.”
“They call themselves a band of Patriots, but in reality they are a secret society having for its object the extermination of all foreigners in the Celestial Kingdom. They are the worst cut-throats in China, so I have been told.”
“Well, this is certainly news,” mused Gilbert Pennington. “I had an idea that my fighting days were about over for the present. I never dreamed I should be sent away from the Philippines excepting it would be back to the States.”
“I hope the prospect doesn’t displease you,” went on Major Morris, earnestly. “For myself I am thoroughly delighted. I am getting tired of hanging around Tarlac. We haven’t had a brush with the Filipino guerillas for three weeks, and that last engagement didn’t amount to anything.”
“Major, you are a fighting man through and through!” laughed the young lieutenant. “I believe you would rather fight than eat.”
“Hardly that, Pennington; but I must confess to a weakness for an occasional engagement.” The major of the first battalion twisted his mustache meditatively. “Between you and me, privately speaking, I think we have a long, hard campaign before us.”
“I can’t understand it. If the Chinese government isn’t in with the Boxers, why doesn’t it suppress the society, and protect our citizens and the citizens of other nations?”
“That’s the conundrum, lieutenant. I was talking to the colonel about it; and he says his opinion is that the Chinese government, instead of suppressing the Boxers, is secretly aiding them. The Chinese don’t want any foreigners in China, and this outbreak was bound to come sooner or later.”
“If they don’t want any foreigners, why did they allow them in the country in the first place?”
“I presume they didn’t imagine the foreigners would pour in so rapidly, or that they would advocate so many changes in business, religion, and other things. You see, the Chinaman sticks to ancient things, and wants to do just as his father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather did.”
“Has there been any fighting there yet?”
“I can’t say as to that. But the other nations are hurrying troops to the scene; and, when we get there, we are to form part of an Allied Army, composed of English, German, French, Japanese, and other nations.”
“Then it will be China against the world.”
“That’s about the size of it. If we fight side by side with the other nations, it will be rather a new experience for our troops.”
“Right you are, major.” The young lieutenant gazed doubtfully at his dirty and ragged khaki uniform and the shoes which had been patched until there was hardly any of the original leather left. “But we ought to have new outfits before we go.”
“No doubt General MacArthur will see that we get them. He will want Uncle Sam’s boys to look as well as the soldiers of any other nation.”
“Are any of the volunteers going?”
“Not for the present. But there is no telling how many of the troops will have to go before the trouble in China is over,” concluded Major Morris, as he walked on, to spread the news among his other brother officers.
Gilbert Pennington was a young man of Southern blood who had drifted into the army more because of his intense patriotism than for any desire to become a fighter of men. He was from Richmond, Virginia; and, upon the death of his parents and several near relatives, he had wandered around from one place to another, made a trip to the West Indies, and then gone to New York to settle down in business as a book-keeper.
While in New York, the War with Spain broke out; and along with his intimate friend, Ben Russell, Gilbert joined the volunteer service, and served in Cuba as one of Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, as related in one of my previous books, entitled “A Young Volunteer in Cuba.”
Shortly after his return from Cuba the troubles in the Philippines broke out; and once again Gilbert enlisted, this time in the infantry, and, accompanied by Ben Russell and his brother Larry, journeyed to Luzon, there to serve under Generals Otis and MacArthur and the much-lamented General Lawton. Many of his adventures of those stirring times will be found set forth in “Under Otis in the Philippines” and later volumes of my “Old Glory Series.”
But the rebellion in the Philippines was now practically over, and all the soldiers had to do was to guard against the wandering bands of insurgents who carried on a sort of guerilla warfare whenever the opportunity offered. The season had been a very rainy one, and roads and fields were so covered with water and liquid mud that passage from one district to another was well-nigh impossible. The tiny mountain streams were swollen to rushing torrents, and in many places to bridge them over seemed impossible.
Gilbert had been mustered into the regular service several months before; and, for bravery performed in the capture of the Filipino leader, General Adoz, he had been promoted to the rank of first lieutenant of Company A, of the first battalion. Major Morris had come into the regulars at the same time, and now commanded the battalion, although really holding the rank of captain. To my young readers let me explain that this meant that, while he commanded as a major, he received as yet only the pay of a captain.
The news that his regiment was going to China filled Gilbert with interest, and for several reasons. In the first place, he was rather tired of the Philippines, and had thought more than once that he had made a mistake by joining the regulars instead of embarking for home, as many of his fellow-soldiers had done. He had campaigned in intense heat until ready to faint with exhaustion, and the heavy rains of the wet season had found the camp literally drowned out more than once. He had been shot, and had lain in the hospital for weeks, so it was small wonder that he occasionally sighed for a bit of ordinary life again. Following the flag is not all glory.
But now something new was promised. He was to visit a strange country, and perhaps fight side by side with soldiers from other parts of the world. More than this, he might have a chance to find Mr. Amos Bartlett.
Years previous to the opening of this story, Mr. Amos Bartlett had been in business with Jefferson Pennington, Gilbert’s father. The two had owned several extensive tobacco warehouses in Richmond, and later on had branched out into the tea and coffee trade. The business had grown to such proportions that it was formed into a stock concern called the Richmond Importing Company. At the time the company had been formed, Mr. Pennington had died; and shortly after this Mr. Amos Bartlett had gone to Tien-Tsin, China, to live, taking with him his wife and his little daughter, Jennie.
When it came to a settlement of Jefferson Pennington’s affairs, no satisfactory accounting could be obtained from the Richmond Importing Company, and a lawsuit instituted by Gilbert’s mother fell through for the lack of evidence. Amos Bartlett had been written to, but was down with the fever in Tien-Tsin, and could give no evidence. The men at the head of the newly formed company were sharpers from New Orleans; and in the end Mrs. Pennington had received only two thousand dollars in cash for her stock, while she was fully satisfied in her own mind that the amount due her husband’s estate had been twenty to thirty thousand dollars. She had no other money than that received from the company, and this was not enough to support her for long; and she died two years later, poor and broken-hearted, leaving Gilbert, then a lad of twelve, to the care of an aged aunt, with whom he lived for four years, when he left home to strike out for himself.
Gilbert had often thought to hunt up Mr. Amos Bartlett, and see if something could not be done toward getting the balance of the money due his father’s estate. But China was a long way off; and from some friends he learned that Mr. Bartlett had left Tien-Tsin, and gone into the interior, and that his present whereabouts was unknown. Moreover, the war in Cuba and in the Philippines had driven everything else out of his head, and he had taken matters as they had come.
“But, if I get the chance, I’m going to hunt him up,” said the young lieutenant to himself. “And, if I find him, I’ll make him tell me all about the doings of the Richmond Importing Company or else know the reason why. I’m bound to have that money, if there is any of it coming to me.”
CHAPTER IICLOSE QUARTERS IN THE JUNGLE
“Boys, we leave to-day for Manila.”
It was Captain Banner of Gilbert’s company who spoke, addressing a dozen or more of his command, who were squatting around a camp-fire built near the shelter of an overhanging cliff. Close to the camp-fire were half a dozen rude shacks which the regulars had erected for comfort while stopping in the neighborhood, they preferring the rude huts to their own torn and dilapidated tents.
“Und how soon vos ve goin’ py China, captain?” asked Carl Stummer, a German volunteer who had enlisted in Company A soon after his old friend Gilbert had become lieutenant.
“Just as soon as orders come from headquarters[1q], Stummer. Are you anxious to get on new fighting ground?”
“Vell, captain, I ton’t vos barticularly anxious for new fightin’ ground; but I vos anxious for ground vot ain’t vet a foot deep all der dime,” answered Stummer, with a broad grin. “Last night I dream me I vos in Noah’s ark, und der ark got sunk, und I vent overboard. Ven I vake up, I vos on mine pack in vater most a foot teep.”
“I hope you swam for your life, Carl,” put in Gilbert, while a laugh went up.
“He can’t swim, bedad,” added Dan Casey, an Irish soldier, who had been a friend to Stummer for years. “Don’t ye remimber how Captain Ben Russell—he was only a common sodger thin—hauled him out av the waters av New York Bay, an’ was arristed fer doin’ it, bekase the colonel thought he was afther tryin’ to desert whin he jumped overboard.”
