Traitor and the Tunnel Read Online Free PDF Page A

that even the commissioner’s dry recitation faltered. “Stop toying with us, man, and tel us what has happened!”
    Blake swal owed audibly. “Very wel , Your Majesty.
    You’l understand, Ma’am, that the young men had drunk wine with dinner, and continued to indulge in various wines and spirits over the course of the long evening. The Prince of Wales informs us that by two o’clock in the morning, he and Mr Beaulieu-Buckworth were gravely impaired. They had become separated from their companions, including the Prince’s equerries, and Mr Beaulieu-Buckworth proposed a tour of what he cal ed ‘the dark side’.
    Against the Prince’s better judgement—”
    The Queen gave a sharp, sudden sob.
    “Judgement, my God! The boy lacks al common sense and good judgement!”
    Commissioner Blake paused, uncertain.
    “Pray continue, Comissioner,” said Prince Albert.
    “The Prince of Wales assented. Mr Beaulieu-Buckworth led him into east London, through a maze of streets the Prince assured us he should never have been able to navigate alone. They eventual y came to an establishment catering to the desire for the consumption of opium—” Commissioner Blake paused.
    “Even we, with our sheltered lives, have heard of opium dens,” said the Prince Consort with heavy irony.
    Blake cleared his throat. “Quite. At any rate, Mr Beaulieu-Buckworth persuaded the Prince to enter, in order to view what he described as ‘the scum’.
    The Prince informed us that he was reluctant to enter. However, he feared losing Mr Beaulieu-Buckworth, who promised to guide him afterwards out of the maze of slums. Thus he fol owed his friend into the opium-smoking establishment.
    “The Prince tel s us that a dark-skinned man – the proprietor of the establishment, we believe – asked them if they wished to smoke. They declined, whereupon the dark-skinned man proceeded to fil a hookah for them and urge them to sample his wares.
    Mr
    Beaulieu-Buckworth
    became
    agitated
    –
    remember, he was extremely intoxicated – and either struck or kicked at the smoking device.” The commissioner stopped, as though considering how to phrase his next sentence.
    The room became perfectly quiet once more, the Queen and her consort stil awaiting the terrible blow that was surely to come.
    Eventual y, Commissioner Blake cleared his throat. “At this point, the Prince’s recol ections become regrettably confused but he describes, in general terms, a contretemps. The proprietor was angered by this destruction of his property, and harsh words were exchanged. There were a number of patrons – Lascars, mainly, on shore leave –
    smoking opium at the time. Some were, of course, in a drug-induced stupor that left them unaware of the goings-on. But others were more alert, and one seems to have been enraged by Mr Beaulieu-Buckworth’s language; the Prince described it as strong. This man – the Prince describes him as an elderly sailor, and an Asiatic – rose up and staggered towards the young gentlemen. The Prince of Wales was a little closer to the Asiatic, and thus caught the first blow. The Prince says he attempted to grapple with the man, but soon found himself thrown aside with a force that was quite astonishing, given the Asiatic’s apparent age and build.
    “Mr Beaulieu-Buckworth said something – the Prince does not recal precisely what. The Asiatic then turned to Mr Beaulieu-Buckworth. It seemed a fist-fight, at first, but in a very short time – the Prince was unable to say how many minutes, as he was stil downed and attempting to make sense of the struggle – Mr Beaulieu-Buckworth lay sprawled on the floor, face down.”
    Mary could wel imagine what Beaulieu-Buckworth’s “strong” language had been like.
    England was rarely a comfortable place for Asiatics, or any foreigners for that matter. But since that past summer’s aggression and bloodshed between Britain and China, tempers and temperatures had run especial y high, particularly for