Page:Weird Tales Volume 36 Number 11 (1943-05).djvu/38

 North to the opposite point of land on the South is about sixty-five miles in width. And from the Yangtze Cape to where the Bore begins to form is about eighty miles. Throughout this distance the estuary narrows down to about eight miles, producing a broad funnel shaped channel. The roar of the tidal wave can be heard for forty-five minutes before it comes into view. Instead of the banks of this channel being straight and regular, they are very crooked, the right or Southern bank being pushed in upon the land a great distance. This concavity of the channel bank deflects the tidal currents, throwing them against the river currents which together with the piling up of the water as it crowds into the apex of this funnel-shaped channel produces the phenomenon known as the Bore.

On this particular occasion thousands of Chinese, quiet and orderly, were crowding the great stone embankment, throngs which permitted the free movement of the Japanese troops who ran pell mell down the dikes to await the coming Bore. Many, over-zealous, sprang into the river and swam toward the onrushing flood. But none of them spoke, none of them said anything, nor did they utter a sound though their lips moved. It was the supreme hour of their existence. On, on they came like beetles, swarming over one another, forcing the front ranks into the water, but none cared. The cool water closed over them willingly.

Onward the monstruous wave plunged as an ancient poet has written, "muttering, hurrying, seething and surging; confused and troubled, vast, unbridled, immensely deep and wide, a chaos unlimited; it hopes to seize the southern hills, it reaches up to the azure sky, confident it will leap over the steep banks." The poet wrote long before Ch'ien Ch'iu built the first dike walls in A.D. 910. Since that time many superb engineers have added to this great work, so that now the thousands of Chinese spectators were enabled to stand at the summit of the dikes and watch the water carnival with considerable safety. They ate cumquats, mellon seeds and dried almonds. The children chanted verses and laughter was plentiful. But the elders were silent. The few venturesome river boats were tied fast to the shore, but the water lifted them so high that they strained at their chains and ropes. They rocked madly at the impact of the water which rose to a height of twenty-five feet, carrying all the Japanese soldiers along with it. Certainly, for the Chinese it was a time for eating cumquats. Within forty-five minutes, the flood subsided but the invading soldiers returned no more to Hangchow, preferring to go out to sea on the ebb tide, but none were drowned, all were content. Doctor Shen Fu's experiment had been eminently successful. Truly he had created Thousand Blessings Pills. But he was unable to visit the ramparts of the river, it would not have been in good taste, for he still had a guest in his establishment. In the lotus pond General Nishikori was swimming around joyously. The fish were amazed.