"Very jolly for you," said Barkins, as we cast anchor off Tsin-Tsin a
couple of mornings later. "You'll be going ashore and enjoying
yourself, while I'm condemned to hobble on deck with a stick."
"I say, don't grumble," I cried. "Look how beautiful the place seems in
the sunshine."
"Oh yes, it looks right enough; but wait till you go along the narrow
streets, and get some of the smells."
"Hear that, Smithy?" I said to our comrade, who was lying in his berth.
"Grumbles because he can't go ashore, and then begins making out how
bad it is. How about the fox and the grapes?"
"If you call me fox, my lad, I'll give you sour grapes when I get
better. Where's your glass?"
I took down my telescope, adjusted it for him, and pushed his seat
nearer to the open window, so that he could examine the bright-looking
city, with the blue plum-bloom tinted mountains behind covered with
dense forest, and at the shipping of all nations lying at the mouth of
the river.
"S'pose that tower's made of crockery, isn't it?" said Barkins, whose
eye was at the end of the telescope.
I looked at the beautiful object, with its pagoda-like terraces and
hanging bells, and then at the various temples nestling high up on the
sides of the hills beyond.
"I say," said Smith, "can't you tell Mr Reardon--no, get the doctor to
tell him--that I ought to be taken ashore for a bit to do me good?"
"I'll ask him to let you go," I said; but Smith shook his head, and then
screwed up his white face with a horrible look of disgust.
"Oh, what a shame!" he cried. "He gets all the luck;" for a message
came for me to be ready directly to go ashore with the captain in the
longboat.
It meant best uniform, for the weather was fine, and I knew that he
would be going to pay a visit to some grand mandarin.
I was quite right; for, when I reached the deck a few minutes later,
there was Mr Brooke with the boat's crew, all picked men, and a strong
guard of marines in full plumage for his escort.
The captain came out of his cabin soon after, with cocked hat and gold
lace glistening, and away we went for the shore soon after; the last
things I saw on the _Teaser_ being the two disconsolate faces of my
messmates at the cabin window, and Ching perched up on the hammock-rail
watching our departure.
I anticipated plenty of excitement that day, but was doomed to
disappointment. I thought I should go with the escort to the mandarin's
palace, but Mr Brooke was considered to be more attractive, I suppose,
and I had the mortification of seeing the captain and his escort of
marines and Jacks land, while I had to stay with the boat-keepers to
broil in the sunshine and make the best of it, watching the busy traffic
on the great river.
Distance lends enchantment to the view of a Chinese city undoubtedly,
and before long we were quite satiated with the narrow limits of our
close-in view, as well as with the near presence of the crowd of
rough-looking fellows who hung about and stared, as I thought, rather
contemptuously at the junior officer in Her Majesty's service, who was
feeling the thwarts of the boat and the hilt of his dirk most
uncomfortably hot.
"Like me to go ashore, sir, to that Chinesy sweetstuff shop, to get you
one o' their sweet cool drinks, sir?" said one of the men, after we had
sat there roasting for some time.
"No, thank you, Tom Jecks," I said, in as sarcastic a tone as I could
assume. "Mr Barkins says you are such a forgetful fellow, and you
mightn't come back before the captain."
There was a low chuckling laugh at this, and then came a loud rap.
"What's that?" I said sharply.
"This here, sir," said another of the men. "Some 'un's been kind enough
to send it. Shall I give it him back?"
"No, no!" I cried, looking uneasily shoreward; and at that moment a
stone, as large as the one previously sent, struck me a sharp blow on
the leg.
"They're a-making cockshies of us, sir," said Tom Jecks; "better let two
of us go ashore and chivvy 'em off."
"Sit still, man, and--"
_Whop_!
"Oh, scissors!" cried a sailor; "who's to sit still, sir, when he gets a
squad on the back like that? Why, I shall have a bruise as big as a
hen's egg."
"Oars! push off!" I said shortly, as half-a-dozen stones came rattling
into the boat; and as we began to move away from the wharf quite a burst
of triumphant yells accompanied a shower of stones and refuse.
"That's their way o' showing how werry much obliged they are to us for
sinking the pirates," growled Tom Jecks. "Oh, don't I wish we had
orders to bombard this blessed town! Go it! That didn't hit you, did
it, sir?"
"No, it only brushed my cap," I said, as the stones began to come more
thickly, and the shouting told of the keen delight the mob enjoyed in
making the English retreat. "Pull away, my lads, and throw the grapnel
over as soon as we are out of reach."
"But we don't want to pull away, sir. They thinks we're fear'd on 'em.
There's about a hundred on 'em--dirty yaller-faced beggars, and there's
four o' us, without counting you. Just you give the word, sir, and
we'll row back in spite o' their stones, and make the whole gang on 'em
run. Eh, mates?"
"Ay, ay!" said the others, lying on their oars.
"Pull!" I cried sharply, and they began rowing again; for though I
should have liked to give the word, I knew that it would not only have
been madness, but disobedience of orders. My duty was to take care of
the boat, and this I was doing by having it rowed out beyond
stone-throwing reach, with the Union Jack waving astern; and as soon as
the stones fell short, and only splashed the water yards away, I had the
grapnel dropped overboard, and we swung to it, waiting for the captain's
return.
The men sat chewing their tobacco, lolling in the sun, and I lay back
watching the crowd at the edge of the water, wondering how long the
captain and his escort would be, and whether the prisoners would be
given up.
"Hope none o' them pigtailed varmint won't shy mud at the skipper," said
one of the men, yawning.
"I hope they will," said Tom Jecks.
"Why, mate?"
"'Cause he'll order the jollies to fix bayonets and feel some o' their
backs with the p'ints."
The conversation interested me, and I forgot my dignity as an officer,
and joined in.
"Bayonets make bad wounds, Jecks," I said.
"Yes, sir, they do; nasty three-side wounds, as is bad to get healed up
again. They aren't half such a nice honest weapon as a cutlash. But I
should like to see them beggars get a prod or two."
"It might mean trouble, Jecks, and a big rising of the people against
the English merchants and residents."
"Well, sir, that would be unpleasant for the time, but look at the good
it would do! The British consul would send off to the _Teaser_, the
skipper would land a lot on us--Jacks and jollies; we should give these
warmint a good sharp dressing-down; and they'd know as we wouldn't stand
any of their nonsense, and leave off chucking stones and mud at us.
Now, what had we done that we couldn't be 'lowed to lie alongside o' the
wharf yonder? We didn't say nothing to them. Fact is, sir, they hates
the British, and thinks they're a sooperior kind o' people altogether.
Do you hear, mates?--sooperior kind o' people; and there ain't one as
could use a knife and fork like a Chrishtian."
"And goes birds'-nestin' when they wants soup," said another.
"Well, I don't fall foul o' that, matey," said Jecks; "'cause where
there's nests there's eggs, and a good noo-laid egg ain't bad meat.
It's the nastiness o' their natur' that comes in there, and makes 'em
eat the nest as well. What I do holler at, is their cooking dog."
"And cat," said another.
"And rat," cried the third.
"Yes, all on 'em," said Jecks; "and I don't want to use strong language
afore one's orficer, who's a young gent as is allers thoughtful about
his men, and who's beginning to think now, that with the sun so precious
hot he'll be obliged to order us ashore soon for a drop o' suthin' to
drink."