The Special Correspondent · Chapter
The Attack in the Gobi explained
The train is ambushed by bandits who have removed a section of rail, causing the engine to crash into a sandhill.
What happens
The train is ambushed by bandits who have removed a section of rail, causing the engine to crash into a sandhill. Passengers, led by Faruskiar, Major Noltitz, and others, mount a desperate defense. After a fierce battle, Faruskiar kills the bandit chief Ki-Tsang, and the attackers flee.
Themes in this chapter
Danger and Heroism
The chapter depicts a violent ambush and the passengers' courageous defense, culminating in Faruskiar's heroic killing of Ki-Tsang.
Travel and Adventure
The attack is a dramatic adventure on the Transasiatic journey, highlighting the perils of travel through Central Asia.
Characters to notice
- Claudius Bombarnac
Narrator and participant in the defense, wounded slightly in the shoulder.
- Faruskiar
Displays extraordinary bravery, kills the bandit chief Ki-Tsang.
- Major Noltitz
Fights alongside Bombarnac, expresses suspicion of Faruskiar earlier.
- Monsieur Caterna
Fights with sailor-like fury, his hat is shot through.
- Baron Weissschnitzerdörfer
Furious about the delay to his round-the-world trip, fights recklessly.
- Ki-Tsang
Bandit chief killed by Faruskiar.
Key passages
“What! The railroad not finished—and they sold me a through ticket from Tiflis to Peking? And I came by this Transasiatic to save nine days in my trip round the world!”
The baron angrily complains that the railway is incomplete despite his through ticket, and that he chose this route to save time on his global journey.
Baron Weissschnitzerdörfer expresses his frustration at the ambush.
“These beggars want to board us! Forward, forward, for the honor of the flag! To port, there, fire! To starboard, there, fire! All together, fire!”
Caterna shouts naval commands as he fires his revolvers, treating the fight like a sea battle.
Caterna's sailor background emerges during the combat.
“Ki-Tsang is dead! So perish all who bear weapons against the Son of Heaven!”
Faruskiar declares the bandit chief dead and warns that all who oppose the Chinese emperor will meet the same fate.
Faruskiar's final words after killing Ki-Tsang.