The men were in high glee, and, had they not been checked, would have
sent the boat spinning up the river, in their delight to escape from the
monotony of harbour-life, and the natural love there is in Englishmen
for a bit of sport.
"Steady, my lads," said Mr Brooke quietly. "Just give her headway, and
back water the moment I speak."
I did not hear what one of the men whispered to his messmate, but I saw
his face as he leaned forward, and it certainly suggested to me that he
said--
"They mean some of the tame ducks to make sure."
"No, we do not, my man," said Mr Brooke, and I stared at him in
astonishment, that he should have taken the same idea as I had.
The man coloured through his tan, and Mr Brooke; said in a low voice to
me--
"Our work's cut out, Herrick; how are we to pick out the right two junks
from all this crowd?"
"I don't know, sir," I said. "But I don't fancy they would be down here
where other people might talk about them. I should think they would be
up the river."
"Well, we must find them, my lad, so use our brains as much as you can,
and if you see a junk with a very evil-looking lot aboard, just give me
a hint as we pass."
"I'll ask Ching what he thinks, sir."
Mr Brooke nodded, and I turned to the interpreter, who was squatting in
the bottom of the boat right aft, his eyes half shut, and apparently
taking no heed of anything.
"How are we to know which are the junks we want, Ching?" I said.
"Oh, velly soon find," he said. "Ching look along. Not these. Pilate
boat big and tall. Empty. No got big calgo aboard. Stand high up now.
Velly full and low down when full of plize-money."
"Then you don't think they are down here?"
He shook his head as he glanced at the various forms of trading-boat
moored off the town, from the tiny sampan to the heavy, clumsy
mat-sailed vessel, whose stern towered up, and whose great bamboo yards
looked as if they must be perfectly unmanageable.
"What do you think we had better do, then--row about here and watch?"
"No good," he said; "makee men low fast light up liver, findee, pilate
junk."
"But suppose we pass them?" I said.
"No pass pilate boat: Ching here."
"And so you think you will know them?"
The Chinaman screwed his face up into a curiously comic smile.
"Ching know pilate when he see him."
"And you think it better to go right up the river?" said Mr Brooke,
turning suddenly to join in the conversation.
"Yes; pilate junk long way."
"How do you know?"
He gave a cunning smile at us both, his little eyes twinkling in a
singularly sly manner.
"You see vegetable boat come along mo'ning?"
"Yes, I saw the boat come alongside."
"Blought Ching 'nothee lettee, allee same fliend. Say pilate boat long
way uppee liver in big cleek, waitee come down along lunning water in
the dalk."
"Then you pretty well know where they are?" said Mr Brooke.
"No; far uppee liver; in cleek."
"I suppose this is right?" said Mr Brooke to me.
"Yes, quite light. Ching likee see Queen Victolia ship killee catch
pilate."
"Give way, my men," said Mr Brooke, and the boat shot forward, while,
relieved for the moment from the task of scanning the different boats, I
sat gazing at the beautiful panorama of quaint houses, narrow streets
debouching on the river, and the house-boats all along the edge of the
river, while smaller boats were swinging here and there wherever there
was room.
It was a wonderfully interesting sight, for, in addition to the curious
shapes of the buildings, there was plenty of brilliant colour, and every
now and then patches of brightest blue and vivid scarlet were heightened
by the glistening gilding which ornamented some particular building.
Then there were temples dotted about amongst the patches of forest,
which fringed the high ground at the back of the city, and away beyond
them the steep scarps of rugged and jagged mountains, which stood up
looking of so lovely a pinky-blue, that I could for the moment hardly
believe they were natural, and was ready to ask whether it was not some
wonderful piece of painting.
The house-boats took my fancy greatly, for, in endless cases, they were
of a variety of bright colours, pretty in shape, and decorated with
showy flowers in pots and tubs; some had cages containing
brightly-plumaged birds, and in most of them quaint bald-headed little
children were playing about or fishing.
Higher up we saw men busy with nets which were attached to the end of a
great bamboo pole, balanced upon a strong upright post fixed in the
river's bottom, and by means of this balanced pole the net was let down
into the depths of the river, and hoisted from time to time, sometimes
with a few glittering little fish within the meshes, sometimes having
nothing but weed.
"Yes, catchee fish; catchee velly big fish some time."
About ten minutes after, Ching pulled my sleeve and pointed to the other
side of the river, where I caught sight of a very familiar old friend
sitting in his boat, just as I had seen him in an old picture-book at
home.
There he sat with a big umbrella-like sunshade fixed up over him on a
bamboo pole, in front of him a kind of platform spread across the front
of his moored boat, and upon it sat perched eight or nine of my old
friends the cormorants, one of which dived into the river from time to
time, and soon after emerged and made its way back to the boat with a
fish in its beak.
"See that, Mr Brooke?" I cried eagerly. "I suppose we can't stop to
watch them?"
"Not when on Her Majesty's service, Herrick," he said, with a smile, and
we glided rapidly on, till the houses, which had long been growing
scattered, finally disappeared, and we were following the windings of
the river in company with a few small junks and sampans, which seemed
bound for one of the cities higher up the great waterway.
"Shoot bird now," said Ching, in answer to an inquiring look from Mr
Brooke.
"Yes; but do you think the junks are up here?"
"Oh yes, velly quite su'e. Plenty eye in boat watchee see what Queen
Victolia offlicer going to do uppee river."
"What does he mean?" said Mr Brooke, who was puzzled by this last
rather enigmatical speech. "Of course we have watchful eyes in our
boat, but I don't see anything yet worth watching."
"He means that very likely there are friends of the pirates in one of
these boats, and that we had better begin shooting, so as to take off
attention from our real purpose."
"Yes, allee same; p'laps pilate fliend in lit' boat go and tell Queen
Victolia foleign devil sailor boy come catchee."
"Oh, I see," said Mr Brooke. Then, turning to me, "You do understand a
little French, don't you?"
"Well, sir, I used to learn some at school," I replied, feeling very
doubtful about my proficiency.
"I daresay you can understand my Stratford-atte-Bow French," said Mr
Brooke, laughing.
"I'll try, sir," I said; and he said to me directly in excellent
French--
"I feel doubtful about this man. You have seen more of him than I have.
Do you think he is honest, or leading us into a trap?"
"Honest, sir," I said, "I feel certain."
"Well, then, we will trust him fully; but if he betrays us, and I can
get a last shot--well, then--"
"He'll be sorry for it, sir," I said, for Mr Brooke did not finish his
remark.
"Exactly; get out your gun and put on your cartridge belt."