The Secret of Saynshand

By Lesley Arrowsmith

China in the late nineteenth century - but this is not the nineteenth century of the history books.
This is a story of intrepid secret agents, Mongolian Book Bandits, and Mad Science.
A British expedition to Outer Mongolia has gone missing while investigating the reasons behind a Russian plan to build a railway to China. Li Bic and her travelling companion Amelia Harper are sent from Shanghai to find out what has happened to the missing men. On the way, they encounter the fabled Book Bandits of Saynshand, and discover that the city on the edge of the Gobi desert holds dangerous secrets.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lesley Arrowsmith
• Release date: Jan 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310675324

Lesley Arrowsmith

I work in a bookshop in Hay-on-Wye, the Town of secondhand Books, but I was trained as an archaeologist, and worked mainly in medieval archaeology. More recently, I've become interested in the world of Steampunk.

Book preview

A British expedition to Outer Mongolia has gone missing while investigating the reasons behind a Russian plan to build a railway all the way to China. Li Bic and her travelling companion Amelia Harper are sent from Shanghai to find out what has happened to the missing men. On the way, they encounter the fabled Book Bandits of Saynshand, and discover that the city on the edge of the Gobi desert holds other, more dangerous, secrets.

The Secret of Saynshand

by

Lesley Arrowsmith

42,100 words

with additional material

by

Mark Britton

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2015 Lesley Arrowsmith

Smashwords edition, Licence Notes

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Sources

I got the original idea for this story from the blog Beyond Victoriana, which talks about Steampunk around the world - there are more settings for stories, and potential for characters, than London, the British Empire, and the Wierd Wild West. She was talking about Mongolian book bandits, which were a real thing - Chinese novels translated into Mongolian were big business, and the pack trains taking them to Mongolia were often raided by bandits, who would then sell the books themselves. I just made a few minor adjustments to the story....

For the Chinese Grand Canal, the National Geographic for June 2001 was very helpful, in an article on Marco Polo. The National Geographics for March 1962, and November 1932 were also very useful.

For Shanghai, there's a fascinating book about the Shanghai Police called Empire Made Me, by Robert Bickers, following the career of Maurice Tinkler, who wrote a series of letters home talking about his life there. The Shanghai Club, by the way, was built in 1910, a few years after the time that this story is set - but this is an alternative history, so in my Shanghai, they built it a few years early.

I also dipped into Land of Swift-Running Horses: a summer of adventures in Mongolia, by Mabel Waln Smith, The Yangtse Valley and Beyond by Isabella Bird and Travels in Tartary, Thibet and China 1844 - 1846 by Evariste-Regis Huc and Joseph Gabet. A more modern look at life in Mongolia is Hearing Birds Fly, by Louisa Waugh, who spent a year in a remote village as a teacher.

The Art of Travel, by Francis Galton (1872) is a wonderful practical guide to putting an expedition together.

Li Bic is named after the little girl who used to walk my dog (now all grown up and gone to college) and Amelia Harper is named after my great-grandmother.

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The Secret of Saynshand

Chapter One: Shanghai and the Grand Canal

The Bund stretched out before them, a long promenade alongside the Huangpo River. The rickshaw man trotted briskly along the wide avenue, nimbly making his way through a throng of people - there were porters carrying heavy loads on long bamboo poles, street traders, men pushing wheelbarrows, other rickshaws, and plenty of pedestrians wandering in and out of the traffic with no regard, it seemed, to their own safety.

Over in the Public Gardens, an Indian woman in a blue sari was walking along a path between low flower beds with a trio of small European girls in frilly dresses, while a policeman wearing a turban patrolled a little way behind her. There were European adults too, riding on rickshaws and going in and out of the big banks that rose up, in monumental European style, on the other side of the road. Just here, it hardly seemed that one was in China at all.

The river was as thickly thronged with ships as the Bund was with people. A steamer was moving slowly upriver to the Quai de France, where Li Bic and Amelia Harper had disembarked just the day before, and around it were Chinese junks and sampans, gunboats from several different European nations and merchantmen powered by both sail and steam. The noise was confusing for a newcomer - engines and whistles from the river, the bustle of people on the Bund talking in half a dozen different languages. Bic was glad that Lt Waring, at least, knew where they were supposed to be going.

Lt Waring was taking Li Bic and her companion, Amelia Harper, to the Shanghai Club. Bic was wearing the pale yellow bustle dress that had been the latest fashion in San Francisco, with what she considered to be a rather fetching hat. Certainly, Lt. Waring, very correct in his naval whites, seemed to be more than casually interested in her. She fluttered her fan, and smiled at him, which made him go quite pink.

Amelia, squashed up on the other end of the rickshaw's seat, was dressed in a loose and fairly shapeless blue cotton dress, topped with a solar topee. Away from the sea breezes of their recent steamer trip, she had not managed to acclimatise herself yet to the humid heat of Shanghai. The pinkness of her cheeks owed more to the heat than to any sense of embarrassment.

Lt. Waring brought them to the door of the Club, and enquired after the whereabouts of Major Evans. As they stepped into the entrance hall, the noise and bustle fell away behind them, and they entered the tobacco scented gloom of dark, wood panelled walls which could have been an English gentleman's club anywhere in the world.

In due course, a woman wearing a dark uniform jacket with a red military style stripe up the side of her skirts came out of the Billiard Room and joined them in the lobby.

Amelia extended one white gloved hand to greet her.

Miss Harper. Your reputation precedes you, the Major said. Can't take you into the bar, I'm afraid - members only and, here she looked slightly embarrassed and failed to meet Bic's eye, no Chinese, I'm afraid - foreigners only. Besides, I think we need to find somewhere a little more private to talk, don't you, Miss Harper?

What a pity, Amelia commented drily. I was so looking forward to seeing the long bar. I understand it's quite impressive.

You may go and wait in the long bar, Lt Waring, Major Evans said, dismissing him. I'll send a servant when we need you again.

Bic and Amelia followed Major Evans up the nearest darkly panelled staircase. At the top a corridor stretched towards the rear of the building, and a little way along it was a door into a cramped little office. Major Evans took the chair behind the desk, and Bic stood awkwardly beside Amelia behind the only other chair.

Amelia leaned on the back of the chair to face Major Evans. So what, exactly, is the problem? she asked.

Major Evans pulled a manila folder towards her and squared the corners on the blotter. I appreciate that you needed to leave San Fransisco in something of a hurry, she began, but you have to admit that your methods during your stay there were unorthodox.

Well, I'm sorry I didn't follow protocol while being pursued by members of a tong with murderous intent, Amelia said, not sounding sorry at all.

And it was unfortunate that you were forced to involve Miss Lee. Major Evans still hadn't looked directly at Bic, and she didn't now.

Miss Li proved to be most resourceful, and I couldn't have achieved what I did without her, Amelia said. It was therefore imperative that I should take her with me when I left, as she had put her life in danger in the service of the Empire, and the tong know who she is. I'm pretty sure her family are in no danger - I did inform Mr Conway of the situation....

You know the policy on involving freelancers, Major Evans said frostily.

And I wouldn't have done it if there were any other members of the Service in San Fransisco, Amelia said. I'm sure you'll agree that we are somewhat thinly spread across the globe!

Yes, well. Major Evans looked down at the folder again. The information you retrieved has been forwarded to where it will do most good - and now we have to decide what to do about Miss Lee.

I thought that was obvious, Amelia said. She'll be an asset to the Service.

She is also, unfortunately, an American citizen, Major Evans said.

Ah. Amelia took a moment to consider. But we can't just abandon her here in Shanghai, and she can't go home.

As you say, it is a difficult situation.

Is anybody going to ask me what I want to do? Bic asked. She was tired of them both talking about her as if she wasn't there, and the thought of just being abandoned in a strange city horrified her.

Major Evans was so surprised she looked Bic directly in the face. What do you want to do, Miss Lee? she asked.

Look, when I decided to help Amelia, I knew it would get me in hot water, Bic said. Like she says, I can't go home now. And I don't know what I'd do in Shanghai. I was - waiting for Papa to organise a marriage contract for me, I guess, but that's not going to happen now. So I'm a free agent, and surely it's not impossible for Americans to join your Service?

There is the small matter of the Oath of Allegiance to the Queen, Major Evans said.

Great. I love Queen Victoria. I'm happy to take your oath. After all, the United States and the British Empire are on the same side these days, aren't they?

Um, by and large, Major Evans said.

So fine. Sign me up, Major.

I'm happy to be her sponsor, Major, Amelia added.

Then you can be responsible for her during her probation period, Major Evans said. And I shall expect a report on her progress when you return from your next mission.

So you have something interesting for us to do here? Amelia asked.

Oh, yes, but first there are the formalities to be observed. There was a speaking tube in the corner of the room. Major Evans reached over and spoke down it. If you would be so kind as to send Mr Smith up from the long bar?

Then she opened a drawer of the desk and brought out a form. It seemed to Bic that it was very convenient that she should have it there to hand, almost as if she had been expecting Bic to join the Service all along.

Before we go any further, it might be a good idea for you to see this. Major Evans slid a piece of paper across the desk. Bic settled herself in the chair, with Amelia still leaning on the back over her shoulder, to study it. As you can see, starting pay is £200 a year, plus expenses, rising in increments depending on experience and skills.

Bic made a quick calculation to convert the amount to dollars. That's not bad, she said.

It's the same wages as an Army Cornet, Major Evans said.

Plus expenses, Amelia added, behind her. Now you know why I always keep receipts, and I have a little pocket book for the more - unusual - items.

Okay, then, Bic said. It sounded a lot better deal than looking for a situation in Shanghai. Papa had told some hair-raising stories about the depravity of Shanghai, when he thought she wasn't listening, and she really didn't want to end up in some night club or opium den.

The door of the office opened, and an unremarkable gentleman in a linen suit slipped into the room. He stood in the corner by the filing cabinet, sipping from the tumbler he had obviously just carried up from the bar. Major Evans nodded acknowledgement but made no effort to introduce him.

Actually, it's a relief to me that you've made this decision, Miss Lee, she went on, avoiding looking at Bic by taking the top off a fountain pen instead. If I could have your full name, and the name of your next of kin?

Major Evans wrote down a few more