"We can't help it, Herrick," he said; "if we stop afloat with the boat
in this condition we shall have a serious accident. But we shall lose
the junks."
"Oh!" I ejaculated, "and after all this trouble. We had been so
successful too. Couldn't we repair the boat?"
"If we could run into a good boat-builder's we might patch it up, but we
can do nothing here."
"Couldn't Ching show us a place?"
"I can't ask the scoundrel."
I winced, for I could not feel that Ching had deceived us, and for a few
moments I was silent. Then a thought struck me.
"May I ask him, sir?"
Mr Brooke was silent for a while, but he spoke at last.
"I hate risking his help again, but I am ready to do anything to try and
carry out my instructions. We ought to patrol the river here to wait
for the junks coming down, and then follow them, even if it is right
down to sea. Well, yes; ask him it he can take us to a boat-builder's,
where we can get some tarpaulin or lead nailed on."
I wasted no time. "Ching!" I cried; and he looked up sadly, but his
face brightened directly as he read mine.
"You wantee Ching?"
"Yes; where is there a boat-builder's where they will mend the boat
directly?"
"No," he said; "takee velly long time. Boat-builder same slow fellow.
No piecee work along. Take boatee out water, mend him to-mollow, next
week."
"Then what are we to do?" I cried. "We want to watch the junks."
"Why no takee other fellow big boatee? Plenty big boatee evelywhere.
Get in big sampan junk, pilate man no sabby jolly sailor boy come along.
Think other piecee fellow go catch fish."
"Here, Mr Brooke," I cried excitedly; "Ching says we had better take
one of these boats lying moored out here, and the pirates won't think of
it being us. Isn't it capital?"
Mr Brooke gazed sharply at us both for a few moments, and then directed
the boat's head as if going up the river again.
"Where is there a suitable boat?" he said hoarsely, and speaking
evidently under great excitement, as he saw a means of saving the chance
after all.
"Velly nice big boat over 'long there," said Ching, pointing to a native
craft about double the size of our cutter, lying moored about a hundred
yards from the shore, and evidently without any one in her.
"Yes, that will do," cried Mr Brooke. "Anything fits a man who has no
clothes. Pull, my lads--give way!"
The men dragged at the oars, and I saw that since Ching had left off
baling the water was gaining fast, and that if more power was not put on
it would not be long before the boat was waterlogged or sunk.
In a minute we were alongside the boat, one of a superior class,
possibly belonging to some man of consequence, and Mr Brooke had run
the cutter along her on the side farthest from the shore, so that our
proceedings were not noticed, as we made fast.
"Now then, tumble in, my lads," he cried; "take the oars and everything
movable. Throw them in, our game and all. Here, Herrick, take both
guns."
Everything was transferred in a very short time; and this done, Mr
Brooke stepped aboard the little junk-like craft, gave his orders, and a
line was attached to a grating, the other end to one of the ring-bolts.
Then the craft's anchor-line was unfastened, and our painter hitched on
to it instead. Next the grating was tossed overboard, with plenty of
line to float it as a buoy and show where the boat had sunk, as it was
pretty certain to do before long; and we, in our tiny junk, began to
glide away with the tide, furnished with a serviceable boat, boasting of
sails, even if they were not of a kind our men were accustomed to
manage.
"Why, it is grand, Herrick!" cried Mr Brooke excitedly. "We shall get
them after all."
"And all Ching's doing, sir," I said quietly.
"Ah, yes, perhaps; he is repentant now he has been found out. But we
shall see--"
"That he is quite innocent, sir," I said.
"I hope so, my lad. Now, let's make sail, and beat about here, to and
fro. We must keep a good watch for our two friends, and if they come
down we can follow till we see the _Teaser_ in the offing. We may, I
say, capture them yet."
A sail was hoisted, and in a few minutes we found that the craft went
along easily and well, answering to her helm admirably. Her high
bulwarks gave plenty of shelter, and would, I saw, well conceal our men,
so that we had only to put Ching prominently in sight to pass unnoticed,
or as a Chinese fishing or pleasure boat.
Just then I turned and found him close behind me, rubbing his hands.
"You ask Mr Blooke he likee Ching sit where pilate see him 'gain?" he
said.
"I am sure he would," I replied.
He looked sad again directly, and just touched the sleeve of my Norfolk
jacket with the long nail of his forefinger.
"Ching velly solly," he said.
"What about?"
"Mr Blooke think Ching fliends with pilates. Velly shocking; Ching
hate pilates dleadfully; hollid men."
"Yes, I am sure you do," I said.
The Celestial's face lit up again directly, and he rubbed his hands.
"Ching velly--"
"Yes?" I said, for Mr Brooke called to me from the little cabin
contrived for shelter in the after part of the vessel.
"Look here," he said, as I joined him, "we can keep below here, and
command the river too, without being seen. Why, Herrick, my lad, this
is capital; they will never suspect this Chinese boat to be manned by a
crew of Her Majesty's Jacks."
"Then everything has turned out for the best," I cried eagerly.
"Humph! that remains to be proved, my lad. We've got to return and face
Mr Reardon and the captain, and the first question asked of an officer
who has been entrusted with one of Her Majesty's boats, and who returns
without it, is--What have you done with the boat or ship? We--yes, you
are in the mess, sir--have to go back and say that we have lost it."
"Why, the captain owned to Pat that a thing couldn't be lost when you
knew where it was."
"I don't understand you, my lad," said Mr Brooke.
"Don't you remember about the captain's tea-kettle, sir, that Pat
dropped overboard? It was not lost, because Pat knew where it was--at
the bottom of the sea."
"Oh yes, I remember; but I'm afraid Captain Thwaites will not take that
excuse."
"Why, she has gone down already, sir," I said, as I looked over the side
for the boat we had left.
"Yes; but I can see the grating floating. The coxswain took his jacket
out of the hole."
He pointed to the stout piece of woodwork which we had turned into a
buoy, but I could not make it out, and I thought it did not much matter,
for something else had begun to trouble me a great deal just then, and I
waited very anxiously for my officer to make some proposal.
But it did not come at once, for Mr Brooke was planning about the watch
setting, so as to guard against the junks coming down the river and
passing us on their way out to sea.
But at last all was to his satisfaction, one man keeping a look-out up
the river for the descending junks, the other downward to the mouth for
the return of the _Teaser_, whose coming was longed for most intensely.
Then, with just a scrap of sail raised, the rest acting as a screen
dividing the boat, we tacked about the river, keeping as near as was
convenient to the spot where the _Teaser_ had anchored, and at last Mr
Brooke said to me, just in the grey of the evening--
"I'm afraid the lads must be getting hungry."
"I know one who is, sir," I said, laughing.
He smiled.
"Well, I have been too busy and anxious to think about eating and
drinking," he said; "but I suppose I am very hungry too. Here, my lad,
pass that basket along, and serve out the provisions."
"You likee Ching serve out plovisions?"
Mr Brooke frowned, and the Chinaman shrank away. I noticed too that
when the food was served round, the men took each a good lump of salt
pork and a couple of biscuits, Ching contented himself with one biscuit,
which he took right forward, and there sat, munching slowly, till it was
dark and the shore was lit up with thousands of lanterns swinging in
shop, house, and on the river boats moored close along by the shore.
"Bad for us," said Mr Brooke, as we sat together astern steering, and
keeping a sharp look ahead for the expected enemy.
"Why?" I asked.
"Getting so dark, my lad. We shall be having the junks pass us."
"Oh no, sir. Ching is keen-sighted, and all the men are looking out
very eagerly."
"Ah, well, I hope they will not slip by. They must not, Herrick. There
is one advantage in this darkness, though: they will not find us out."
The darkness favouring the movement, and so as to save time, ready for
any sudden emergency, he ordered the men to buckle on their
cutlass-belts and pouches, while the rifles were hid handy.
"In case we want to board, Herrick."
"Then you mean to board if there is a chance?" I said.
"I mean to stop one of those junks from putting to sea, if I can," he
replied quietly. "The _Teaser_ having left us, alters our position
completely. She has gone off on a false scent, I'm afraid, and we must
not lose the substance while they are hunting the shadow."
Very little more was said, and as I sat in the darkness I had plenty to
think about and picture out, as in imagination I saw our queer-looking
boat hooked on to the side of a great high-pooped junk, and Mr Brooke
leading the men up the side to the attack upon the fierce desperadoes
who would be several times our number.
"I don't know what we should do," I remember thinking to myself, "if
these people hadn't a wholesome fear of our lads."
Then I watched the shore, with its lights looking soft and mellow
against the black velvety darkness. Now and then the booming of gongs
floated off to us, and the squeaking of a curious kind of pipe; while
from the boats close in shore the twangling, twingling sound of the
native guitars was very plain--from one in particular, where there was
evidently some kind of entertainment, it being lit up with a number of
lanterns of grotesque shapes. In addition to the noise--I can't call it
music--of the stringed instruments, there came floating to us quite a
chorus of singing. Well, I suppose it was meant for singing; but our
lads evidently differed, for I heard one man say in a gruff whisper--
"See that there boat, messmate?"
"Ay," said another. "I hear it and see it too."
"Know what's going on?"
"Yes; it's a floating poulterer's shop."
"A what?"
"A floating poulterer's shop. Can't you hear 'em killing the cats?"
This interested me, and I listened intently.
"Killing the cats?" said another.
"Ay, poor beggars. Lor' a mussy! our cats at home don't know what
horrible things is done in foreign lands. They're killing cats for
market to-morrer, for roast and biled."
"Get out, and don't make higgerant observations, messmate. It's a
funeral, and that's the way these here heathens show how sorry they
are."
"Silence there, my lads," said the lieutenant. "Keep a sharp look-out."
"Ay, ay, sir."
Just at that moment, as the lit-up boat glided along about a couple of
hundred yards from us, where we sailed gently up-stream, there was a
faint rustling forward, and Tom Jecks' gruff voice whispered--
"What is it, messmate?"
"Ching see big junk."
There was a dead silence, and we all strained our eyes to gaze
up-stream.
"Can't see nought, messmate," was whispered.
"Yes; big junk come along."
_Plash_! and a creaking, rattling sound came forth out of the darkness.
"It is a big junk," said Mr Brooke, with his lips to my ear; "and she
has anchored."
Then from some distance up the river we saw a very dim lantern sway here
and there, some hoarse commands were given, followed by the creaking and
groaning of a bamboo yard being lowered, and then all was perfectly
still.
What strange work it seemed to be out there in the darkness of that
foreign river, surrounded by curious sights and sounds, and not knowing
but what the next minute we might be engaged in deadly strife with a
gang of desperadoes who were perfectly indifferent to human life, and
who, could they get the better of us, would feel delight in slaughtering
one and all. It was impossible to help feeling a peculiar creepy
sensation, and a cold shiver ran through one from time to time.
So painful was this silence, that I felt glad when we had sailed up
abreast of the great vessel which had dropped anchor in mid-stream, for
the inaction was terrible.
We sailed right by, went up some little distance, turned and came back
on the other side, so near this time that we could dimly make out the
heavy masts, the huge, clumsy poop and awkward bows of the vessel lying
head to stream.
Then we were by her, and as soon as we were some little distance below
Mr Brooke spoke--
"Well, my lads, what do you say: is she one of the junks?"
"No pilate junk," said Ching decisively, and I saw Mr Brooke make an
angry gesture--quite a start.
"What do you say, my lads?"
"Well, sir, we all seem to think as the Chinee does--as it arn't one of
them."
"Why?"
"Looks biggerer and clumsier, and deeper in the water."
"Yes; tlade boat from Hopoa," said Ching softly, as if speaking to
himself.
"I'm not satisfied," said Mr Brooke. "Go forward, Mr Herrick; your
eyes are sharp. We'll sail round her again. All of you have a good
look at her rigging."
"Ay, ay, sir," whispered the men; and I crept forward among them to
where Ching had stationed himself, and once more we began gliding up
before the wind, which was sufficiently brisk to enable us to easily
master the swift tide.
As I leaned over the side, Ching heaved a deep sigh.
"What's the matter?" I whispered.
"Ching so velly mislable," he whispered back. "Mr Blooke think him
velly bad man. Think Ching want to give evelybody to pilate man. Ching
velly velly solly."
"Hist! look out!"
I suppose our whispering had been heard, for just as we were being
steered pretty close to the anchored junk, a deep rough voice hailed us
something after this fashion, which is as near as I can get to the
original--
"Ho hang wong hork ang ang ha?"
"Ning toe ing nipy wong ony ing!" cried Ching.
"Oh ony ha, how how che oh gu," came from the junk again, and then we
were right on ahead.
"Well," whispered Mr Brooke, "what does he say? Is it one of the
pirate vessels?"
"No pilate. Big boat come down hong, sir. Capin fellow want to know if
we pilate come chop off head, and say he velly glad we all good man."
"Are you quite sure?" said Mr Brooke.