Undercover - In China - Book 7

Part 65 - Bandits

I called to Licia but there was no reply. Instead, Wang Bang reappeared cautiously from his hiding place and came over to me as I stood up painfully. My ankle was swelling rapidly, and I couldn't walk so I hung onto his shoulder and hopped back to our cart. Wang bang extricated our miraculously unharmed horse from the clutter of debris, and we set off after Cho Cho despite my pleas that we should look for Licia. He didn't understand my words or gestures. Wang Bang raced after Cho Cho as fast as the rutted road and our tired horse would permit. 

 We had travelled several Li through a forest of huge old trees with low, sweeping branches when we saw a man standing beside the road. He was completely bald but wore a long beard and half of a long mustache. As we approached, he held out his hand in a familiar gesture. He was thumbing a ride! I could not believe it.

'Kozak!' I yelled. 'Stop! Stop!' Wang Bang recognized Kozak and pulled the horse to a stop and there was a brief conversation in Mandarin. Kozak climbed on to our cart showing no trace of surprise. ''Ow did you recognize me?'

'Half your moustache is missing,' I told him.   'And your green socks are a dead give-away. How did you get here?'

'I was escaping from ze assassan!   Zhey tried to murder me and zhey also took my 'at!' 

 Kozak pealed the other half of his false moustache off as he spoke to Wang Bang in Mandarin. ' Ze bandits, zhey still follow and zhey 'ave bows and arrows. I told 'im to go faster. But 'e says zhis pathetic excuse for a 'orse is going as fast as it can. And if 'e goes any faster the wheels will fall off.'

An arrow whizzed between Wang Bang and my ear and suddenly we were going a lot faster. Three horsemen were chasing after us waving compound bows. One of them was wearing a bowler hat. Low tree branches were banging against the canopy as Kozak and I made a wall of rice sacks at the back of the cart and tried to make ourselves as small as possible behind them. When I risked a peep, one of the riders was close behind us. Kozak stood up and yelled indignantly at the bandit in Mandarin and translated. ''E 'as my 'at.' The bowman was waving a the hat in a mocking gesture. 

 Another tree branch hit the side of our cart and that gave me an idea. I grabbed the next branch and pulled it with us. When I let the branch go, it whipped back, slammed into the bowman's face and knocked him off his horse. 

 Kozak yelled at Wang Bang who hauled back on the reins so hard the horse almost sat down. Two arrows thudded into the back of the cart. Kozak pointed at the two remaining bandits. 'I told Wang Bang to do somezhing!' 

 Wang Bang pulled his crossbow from under the seat, put both feet on the cross piece and hauled back the bow string with both arms. He held the crossbow up proudly and said something in Mandarin. Kozak screamed at him in Mandarin. 'I said zhis is no time for discussion.' 

 Wang Bang loaded a bolt and fired. He missed but the two bandits took shelter behind a tree. Kozak ran back, picked up his bowler hat and rejoined us. Wang Bang tied the reins of the bowman's horse to the back of our cart. Kozak explained. 'He says it's a good horse. Worth a lot of cash.'

 The bowman moaned. 'What about him?' I asked.

'He's worthless,' Kozak said.

'What are you doing?' I asked Kozak as soon as the cart was under way. 

 'Checking my 'at is not bent,' he grumbled. 'It 'as my transponder.'

'No,' I said. 'I mean, why are you here?'

'Murga sent me to find you.'

'Where is Murga?'

''E 'ad to go back,' Kozak said angrily. 

'Murga tried to 'ire zhose bandits wiz forged Chinese notes of exchange but zhese bandits cannot read Chinese characters. Zhey are illiterate. I kept telling 'im, zhey will take only silver or gold or ze nice little coins with square 'oles in the middle. Zis is Han China, 208 AD. Zhey don't 'ave credit cards. 

 But, no, no, no, 'e would not listen.' 'What does he want to hire bandits for?' I asked. 

 ❘❘ ❘❘❘ ❘❘❘❘❘❙ ❙❙ ❙❙ ❙❘❘❘❘ ❘❘❘❘ ❘❘