A Chinese Command

by Harry Collingwood

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

308 pages

Published August 18, 2008

About the author

William Joseph Cosens Lancaster

1851-1922

Reviews

[John Cosc · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hero, Murray, was a Royal Navy Lieutenant dismissed the service in 1891 by a court martial after losing his Motor Torpedo Boat with all hands during an exercise. Desperate for work, he accepts a post as chief officer with Captain Drake on a steamer smuggling arms to rebels in Korea. Tasked with delivering the arms to a location inland he is betrayed by a government agent and ambushed. A prisoner, he witnesses the running fight between the government and the rebels trying to recover the arms. On the point of torture he is rescued by a senior Chinese naval officer who offers him a commission in the Chinese service as China is about to engage in war with Japan. Before he can take over his new command, a cruiser, she is run aground by an incompetent captain. While waiting for repairs, Murray is tasked with rooting out a next of river pirates. However, due to corruption, most of the charges in the gunboat's magazine are duds, and Murray is captured by the pirates. He escapes after several months with the aid of Captain Drake during the escape they discover a fantastic hidden treasure. In command of his cruiser, Murray plays a part in the naval battles with Japan. Shipwrecked, he falls into the hands of cannibals on Taiwan, but is rescued by the arrival of Japanese troops who take him prisoner. He escapes yet again, this time by seizing a Japanese destroyer. When he arrives back with the Chinese forces, he discovers that they were signing a treaty with the Japanese, and the destroyer was returned to Japan. He and Drake returned to the hidden treasure and brought it to England, where he found that his court-martial verdict had been overturned.