Dr Nikola Returns | Page 3

the secretaryship of a
Eurasian hub of communistical tendencies located somewhere on the
confines of the native city, but always without success. For the one I
had not the necessary influence, for the other I lacked that peculiar gift
of obsequiousness which is so essential to prosperity in that particular
line of business.
In the meantime my expenditure was going remorselessly on, and I
very soon saw that unless something happened, and that quickly too, I
had every prospect of hiding myself deprived of my belongings,
sleeping on the Bund, and finally figuring in that Mixed Court in the
Magistrate's Yamen, which is so justly dreaded by every Englishman,
as the debtor of a Cochin China Jew. The position was not a cheerful
one, look at it in whatever light I would, but I had experienced it a good
many times before, and had always come out of it, if not with an
increased amount of self-respect, certainly without any very great
degree of personal embarrassment.
Arriving at the Well, I paid off my coolie and took up a position near
'the last jump,' which I noticed was a prepared fence and ditch of
considerable awkwardness. I was only just in time, for a moment later
the horses came at it with a rush; some cleared it, some refused it, while
others, adopting a middle course, jumped on the op of it, blundered
over, and finally sent their riders pinning over their heads into the mud
at the feet of heir fairest friends. It was not exactly an aesthetic picture,
but it was certainly a very amusing one.
When the last horse, had landed, imagining the sport to be over for the
day, I was in the act of moving away when there was a shout to stand
clear, and wheeling round again, I was just in time to see a last
horseman come dashing at the fence. Though he rode with considerable
determination, and was evidently bent on putting a good finish to his
day's amusement, it was plain that his horse was not of the same way of
thinking, for, when he was distant about half a dozen yards from the
fence, he broke his stride, stuck his feet into the mud, and endeavoured

to come to a standstill. The result was not at all what he expected; he
slid towards the fence, received his rider's quirt, viciously administered,
round his flank, made up his mind to jump too late, hit the top rail with
his forehead, turned a complete somersault, and landed with a crash at
my feet. His rider fell into the arms of the ditch, out of which I
presently dragged him. When I got him on the bank he did not look a
pretty sight, but, on the other hand, that did not prevent him from
recognizing me.
"Wilfred Bruce, by all that's glorious!" he cried, at the same time rising
to his feet and mopping his streaming face with a very muddy
pocket-handkerchief. "This is a fortunate encounter, for do you know, I
spent two hours this morning looking for you?"
"I am very sorry you should have had so much trouble," I answered;
"but are you sure you are not hurt?"
"Not in the least," he answered, and when he had scraped off as much
mud as possible, turned to his horse, which had struggled to his feet
and was gazing stupidly about him.
"Let me first send this clumsy brute home," he said, "then I'll find my
cart, and if you'll permit me I'll take you back to town with me."
We saw the horse led away, and, when we had discovered his dog-cart
among the crowd of vehicles waiting for their owners, mounted to our
seats and set off--after a few preliminary antics on the part of the
leader--on our return to the settlement.
Once comfortably on our way George Barkston, whom, I might
mention here, I had known for more than ten years, placed his whip in
the bucket and turned to me.
"Look here, Bruce," he said, flushing a little in anticipation of what he
was about to say, "I'm not going to mince matters with you, so let us
come straight to the point; we are old friends, and though we've not
seen as much of each other during this visit to Shanghai as we used to
do in the old days when you were deputy-commissioner of whatever it

was, and I was your graceless subordinate, I think I am pretty well
conversant with your present condition. I don't want you to consider me
impertinent, but I do want you to let me help you if I can."
"That's very good of you," I answered, not without a little tremor,
however, as he shaved a well-built American buggy by