Stolen Idols

The two ships, pursuer and pursued, quaintly shaped, with heavy, flapping sails, layapparently becalmed in a sort of natural basin formed by the junction of two silentlyflowing, turgid rivers-rivers whose water was thick and oily, yellow in colour, unpleasantto look at. The country through which they passed was swamp-riven and desolate, thoughin the far distance were rice fields and the curiously fashioned roofs of a Chinese village.The sun beat down upon the glasslike water. The air was windless. Further movementseemed impossible until from the smaller boat, through unexpectedly opened hatches, halfa dozen oars were suddenly thrust into the water. The huge Chinaman who stood at thehelm, yellow-skinned and naked to the waist, picked up an enormous pole and let itgradually down into the river bed. The oars, languidly though they were wielded, cut thewater, and the dhow began slowly to move. Wu Abst, the Mighty Terror of the Great River, as he loved to hear himself described, grinned mockingly as he looked backwards towardshis pursuer. He shouted words through the glistening heat intended to convey his contemptof those who fancied that he was to be caught napping. Then he bent over his giant pole andglanced with satisfaction at the distant bank, which already showed signs of their progress.At the bend of the river, not three miles distant, was a stretch of water into which no suchcraft as that which had chased him could follow. He relit his pipe, therefore, and smokedlike a man at peace, whilst below the sweat rolled from the naked bodies of the men whowere emulating their Roman predecessors of two thousand years ago. Wu Abst, pleasedwith their efforts, shipped his pole for a moment, and, leaning over the side, shoutedencouragement and exhortation to the toilers. Then suddenly the words died away uponhis lips. His whole frame stiffened. The remains of the grin faded from his face, the wholeexpression of which was now almost ludicrously changed. For across that little stretch ofriver came the horrible sound of which he had heard, the pop-pop-pop denoting the use ofsome devil-made mechanical contrivance, which triumphed over windless airs andopposing currents