[Illustration: _IT WAS ROUGHLY SEIZED FROM HIS HAND_] A UNITED STATES MIDSHIPMAN IN CHINA _by_ Lt. Com. Yates Stirling Jr. U.S.N. Author of “A U.S. Midshipman Afloat” [Illustration] Illustrated _by_ Ralph L. Boyer THE PENN PUBLISHING COMPANY PHILADELPHIA MCMIX COPYRIGHT 1909 BY THE PENN PUBLISHING COMPANY [Illustration] Introduction Those who have read “A United States Midshipman Afloat” will recall that Philip Perry and his friend, Sydney Monroe, recent graduates of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, had been but a short time in the regular naval service when the battle-ship “Connecticut,” to which they had been assigned, was ordered to a South American port. Here they found a revolution in progress, and it became the duty of the young men to prevent the delivery of certain machine guns and other war material which had been shipped from America to the insurgents. In this they were successful after some stirring adventure on land and sea. The present book shows the same young officers on a United States gunboat in the Yangtse River at a time when the lives of foreigners in China are in peril. A further account of their experiences in Eastern waters will be found in “A United States Midshipman in the Philippines.” In all of these books the endeavor has been to portray some of the bold enterprises which are all in the day’s work for a naval officer, and to show how our modern navy accomplishes big things in a quiet way. Contents I. AN INCIDENT OF THE RIVER 9 II. AN UNPLEASANT ENCOUNTER 21 III. THE PERIL AT THE MISSION GATE 32 IV. THE EMBASSY TO THE VICEROY 44 V. THE VICEROY’S TREACHERY 59 VI. DIPLOMACY FAILS 72 VII. DISSENSIONS 86 VIII. IGNACIO SHOWS HIS HAND 108 IX. HELD AS HOSTAGES 122 X. A CHINESE PRISON 139 XI. FRIENDS IN NEED 152 XII. A DARING PLAN 167 XIII. HOPES OF ESCAPE 181 XIV. THE ESCAPE 194 XV. AN ENEMY SILENCED 208 XVI. REËNFORCEMENTS 234 XVII. ABOARD THE “PHŒNIX” 245 XVIII. THE START FOR KU-LING 259 XIX. THE SECRET CHANNEL 274 XX. RUNNING THE BATTERIES 288 XXI. TO THE RESCUE OF THE MISSION 299 XXII. THE LAST CHARGE 314 XXIII. THE FORTS SURRENDER 332 XXIV. PHIL EXPLAINS 345 Illustrations PAGE IT WAS ROUGHLY SEIZED FROM HIS HAND _Frontispiece_ A PISTOL SHOT RANG OUT 71 “WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS” 150 HE MEASURED THE STRENGTH OF HIS ANTAGONIST 191