The Island Where Time Stands Still (7 page)

Evidently the owner of the garden did not understand this in its entirety, as he gave a questioning look at the girl. She quickly supplied an interpretation of the words that puzzled him, upon which he nodded gravely and said to Gregory:

‘You wear the ceremonial dress of a Western Barbarian, but you speak the words of a civilised man. Do you know the Chinese tongue?'

‘Your Excellency's fluency in English puts my ignorance to shame. My knowledge of
mandarin
is limited to a few phrases.'

‘My own English is poor but perhaps adequate, and my daughter understands it better than myself. We shall continue to use it.' With a wave of his hand the old gentleman added, ‘Please seat yourself.' Then he gave an order to the servants in Chinese.

When they had trotted from the room, the Mandarin said that his name was Sze Hsüan, and introduced his
daughter as the lady A-lu-te. With downcast eyes she then thanked Gregory for having saved her from being carried off, and asked him to enlighten them further about himself.

Seeing no reason to conceal the truth, he gave an abbreviated version of the wreck and of his treatment since he had been washed up on the island. The old man knew Dr. Ping, and all about the cage. Regarding Gregory thoughtfully, he said:

‘In confining you Ho-Ping acted rightly. He obeyed an order of long standing. I marvel only that you escaped without injury from the fence—or was it that you used force upon the guard?'

Gregory had no intention of giving away his escape route in case he wished to use it again, so he lied smoothly. ‘In my own country I have had the good fortune to win many athletic events. I got out of my room by making a hole in the ceiling. From the roof, unseen by the guard, I took a running leap, cleared the fence at the back of the building, and landed on the cliff-face.'

‘You took a great risk. Few men could accomplish such a feat. But few men could have made to bite dust that big coolie. To converse with a cultured man who is also brave is elevating to both heart and mind.'

As Gregory acknowledged the compliment a servant brought in tea. It was served cermoniously in tiny cups by A-lu-te, first to Gregory then to her father.

After commenting politely on the exceptionally fine aroma of the brew, Gregory held up the fragile cup and inquired, ‘Are these originals, or may I congratulate you on having succeeded in producing such treasures in your factory?'

The Mandarin's eyelids dropped a fraction lower. ‘So you have found out about our industries. That is to be regretted.'

‘Honoured Sir,' Gregory smiled. ‘Had I not taken occasion to admit it, you would certainly have suspected that I might have done so. In any case you must know that on my midnight walk I could not help being amazed at
finding a great civilisation flourishing on what is believed to be an almost uninhabited Pacific Island. What is one secret more or less when it forms only part of a far greater secret. The manner in which you deal with me will not be influenced by my knowledge of your commercial activities.'

Again the girl had to make clear for her father the more involved portions of this longer speech: then he said. ‘Your discourse shows wisdom. But your future does not lie in my hands.'

‘Then may I be permitted to know in whose hands it does lie?' Gregory asked.

‘In that of the Council of State. To it authority in such matters has been delegated by the Son of Heaven.'

Gregory knew that in the old days when the Chinese were ruled by an Emperor they never used his title or spoke of him by name as long as he was alive: instead they referred to him by flowery pseudonyms of which ‘Son of Heaven' was their favourite. But for over forty years now China had been a Republic. Could it be that the authority of which Sze Hsüan spoke had been delegated all that time ago, and that this Chinese colony, protected from molestation by the fact that its existence was secret, continued to observe the Imperial decrees of a long since vanished regime; or did he refer to someone on the island whom they had made its ruler? In the hope of solving the point Gregory put an apparently irrelevant question.

‘Dr. Ping told me. Excellency that this island is charted as Leper Settlement Number Six; but it is obvious that your beautiful buildings could not have been erected by lepers, and I have seen no signs of that terrible scourge in any of its inhabitants. Have you succeeded in stamping it out?'

‘We were not called on to do so.' came the quiet reply. ‘This was one of several leper settlements started by the Portuguese Fathers long years ago. Already it had ceased to be one when we came. To have renamed it would have been to arouse the curiosity of the inquisitive. In our circumstances it was preferable to let sleeping dogs sleep.'

That gave Gregory the lead he was seeking, and he said, ‘Inquisitiveness in the affairs of others is rightly stigmatised as a mark of ill-breeding; yet I would not be human were I not tempted to inquire the origin of the rich community now established here.'

The Mandarin did not understand English nearly as well as he spoke it, and again his daughter had to help him out. When she had done so, choosing his phrases carefully he said with a faint smile:

‘That is understandable. As your eyes have discovered so much, why should I not enlighten you regarding our brief history? We are the survivors of the old China—of all that was best in China during the long centuries before the Western Barbarians came to pervert our people. First the Missionaries, then the Concessionaires with the soldiers at their backs. They taught the young to reject the precepts for the conduct of life. To think only of self. To forget their ancestors. They undermined authority. That was in the time of your Queen Victoria. In the new century the poison they had put in the pot caused it to over-boil. In 1908, with the death of the Great Empress Mother, Yehonala, the last protecting rock of our traditions was swept away. The Emperor was still a small child. After a time of dissension comes open rebellion. A Republic is proclaimed. In 1912 the Emperor abdicates, but remains in Pekin as guest of his own country. China's more recent history you will know. Upstart War Lords tear the land between them. They ravish it. The Bolshevik agents add to its disruption, the Japanese seize great portions of it. The World War brings further calamities. The defeat of Japan gives the Russians their opportunity. Chiang-Kai-shek is driven out to Formosa. Anarchy is the food of Communism. With its triumph there follows the final abolition of the virtuous life.'

The old man paused for a moment, then went on. ‘After the death of the Great Empress Mother, my honoured father and a circle of his friends foresee much of these happenings. They weep from knowing that the old China
is doomed. There are seven of them. All are of high descent and having great wealth. They wish to preserve the ancient teachings. They wish their children should be brought up in a state of right-mindedness. For this they see that they must leave China. Wise men do not act rashly. Years pass. They send their fortunes to London, New York, Buenos Aires, Amsterdam. In their houses they gather learned men and great artists. By 1913 the boy Emperor has abdicated. He came of a junior line. His education is in the hands of a Western Barbarian. For these reasons the heads of the Seven Families reject his suzerainty. The posthumous son of the Emperor Tung-chih is thirty-eight and in all ways suitable. He is chosen to rule over us. In the years many remote places have been inspected. The choice falls on this island.'

Again the Mandarin paused, and this time supped up another tiny bowl of tea before continuing. ‘Those who demand everything end with nothing. This island is too near the equator to grow mulberry trees for silk-worms. We must import our China clay. The hills hold no stone worthy to be carved. A greater matter weighed the choice. It had to be a territory owned by a small power. Thus only could we barter money for special rights. By secret treaty we bought from the Portuguese a lease of a thousand years less one. The treaty makes us subjects of Portugal but our own masters in the island. They surrendered the right of tax, to involve in war, to inspect, to govern. In 1913 the son of Tung-chih and the Seven Families leave China very quietly. With them they take their scholars and artists. Also from their estates in the interior many servants who have not been corrupted by Christianity or the Socialism of the revolutionary Dr. Sun-yat-sen. Here, while the Barbarians of the West seek to destroy one another in their first Great War, we build a small old China in a new land. We can grow rice, many vegetables and many fruits. We have the secrets of China's ancient industries. These give us a larger revenue than we need. We observe the ancient rites. We conduct ourselves in accordance with the teachings of the Great
Sage. We have no ambitions. Only to live graciously, and to perpetuate a way of life that long experience has shown leads to the well-being of the spirit. In that we are successful, while the outer world is disrupted by irresponsible men seeking power through innovations. Here we live like a placid stream—ever unruffled yet ever renewed. We have learned the wisdom of making Time stand still.'

Gregory had listened to the old man with intense interest. Knowing the patience, the wisdom, and the devotion to tradition of the high-caste Chinese, he found nothing the least improbable in this account of the carefully planned salvaging of their ancient civilisation. Smiling, he said:

‘Please allow me to offer my congratulations, Excellency. In this age of instability and disillusion it is a remarkable achievement to have created a Utopian State. I could almost believe that I have arrived in Shangri-La.'

Sze Hsüan did not understand the allusion, but his daughter did, and said a little sharply, ‘Apart from its buildings. Sir, you will find little in this island which resembles the imaginary country described in Mr. James Hilton's beautiful book. Here we have not learned the way to retain youth and beauty beyond its normal span, or to prolong our lives until we feel a desire to cast off our bodies for good. We are subject to all normal ills, vices and temptations. I do not question my honoured father's contention that here there is better opportunity to follow the path of virtue than in the outer world, but do not let that lead you to suppose that we have achieved a state near perfection. The population is normally law-abiding, but occasionally criminals emerge from it. This very night, but for your fortunate presence and gallant intervention, I should have fallen a victim to one who has certainly not benefited from the ancient teachings.'

It was the first time that the lady A-lu-te had addressed Gregory directly, and he bowed. ‘Madam, I am not surprised at what you tell me, for I was not serious in my suggestion that any group of human beings could have entirely eliminated all baser instincts. But I should be
interested to hear what lay behind that man's attack upon you?'

Her eyes widened. ‘There can be but one. His labour must have brought him to the vicinity of the house. Probably for days he has watched me in secret. In any case, having looked upon me, his lust must have got the better of his reason. I owe it to you that I was not raped and left strangled among the bamboo breaks.'

‘Then your peril was more desperate and immediate than I imagined. What punishment will be inflicted on him?'

‘People who commit minor breaches of the law here are warned, and if that proves insufficient fines are imposed on them. For murder and
lèse-majesté
the penalty is death. But experience has shown that it is futile to attempt either to reform habitual criminals or to cure criminal lunatics; so we do not go to the trouble and expense of providing for their confinement. This man falls into the last category. Such as he are injected daily for three months with a drug which destroys memory. Those who have had it are no longer plagued by their phobia; they do not remember their crimes and feel no urge to repeat them.'

‘What happens to them then?' Gregory inquired.

‘They are put to work in the fields, or on other simple tasks.'

‘That is certainly an economical way to protect society.'

‘It is also merciful. They retain the enjoyment of their normal senses, but live only from hour to hour. They do not even realise that any punishment has been inflicted on them. You see, the loss of memory entails the loss of individuality; so they feel no craving for their former position or possessions, or to be reunited with those whom they may have loved.'

Gregory sighed. ‘I lost those dearest to me in the wreck from which I am the sole survivor. I wish that I had died with them: so what you tell me makes me inclined to envy that poor brute who attacked you. I have a prejudice against committing suicide, but to escape the years of loneliness
ahead of me I would be quite willing to undergo this course of injections.'

A-lu-te's face showed shocked surprise; but her father, who had managed to follow the gist of the conversation, said quietly, ‘It is fortunate that your mind should be so disposed. The Council will decree it for you tomorrow. For them, I see no alternative.'

‘But this is horrible!' the girl exclaimed. ‘Honoured father, can you not—'

He cut her short with a gesture. ‘The gratitude of individuals must not prejudice safety of the State. Our secrets are uncovered. If known to the world we are ruined.'

‘Of course, that is true,' Gregory admitted slowly. ‘And I have no right to expect you to trust me. I see now that having left the cage means that you dare not now allow me ever to leave the island.'

‘That we must keep you here is obvious.' A-lu-te's voice was high and excited. ‘But to destroy your mind, that is quite another thing. The thought appals me. It is by the mind that all educated people live. You are clearly a person of considerable mental attainments. However great your grief it will pass. That you should be willing to submit to this shows that you are temporarily unbalanced. Somehow it must be prevented.'

Her father shook his head. ‘My child; this thing does not lie with you or me. He must remain. That is agreed. It is also agreed that time will heal his grief. What then if he succeeds to become stowaway? Only by taking his memory of all things past have we guarantee that he remains. The first duty of the Council is protection for our secrets. They will decree it. Of this I am certain.'