"Eaten, Herrick," said Mr Brooke in a low voice.
"Not yet, sir," I said.
I don't know how it was that I said those words. They came to my lips
and I uttered them, making Mr Brooke turn round upon me sharply, in the
grey light of dawn.
"What do you mean by that, boy?" he said.
"Mean? I don't--I--that is,"--I stammered; "I wouldn't give up yet,
sir."
"What would you do? wait for them to come back?" he said bitterly.
"No," I cried, gaining courage; "go after them, sir."
"And attack and take them with this boat, Herrick?" he said, smiling at
me rather contemptuously.
"Of course we couldn't do that, sir," I said, "but we might follow and
keep them in sight. We should know where they went."
"Yes," he said, after a moment's thought; "but we may be away for days,
and we must have provisions. What is to be done?"
"You likee me buy blead and fish, and plenty good to eat?" said Ching in
rather a shrinking way.
"Yes," said Mr Brooke, turning upon the Celestial sharply. "Where
shall we land you?"
"There," said Ching, pointing to the shore about a mile up from where we
lay.
"But it's going back, and we shall lose sight of the junks, Ching," I
said.
"Plenty blead there. Ching know the way."
"But one moment, Mr Brooke," I said; "are we sure that those are the
right junks?"
"I feel sure," he said. "What do you say, my lads?"
"Ay, ay, sir, them's right," chorussed the men.
"Yes, Ching velly sure those pilate junk."
"I know one on 'em, sir," said Jecks, "by her great yard. I never see a
junk with such a big un afore. Talk about the cut of a jib--I says,
look at the cut of her mainsail."
"Well, we must have food and water, if we are going out of the mouth of
the river," said Mr Brooke, and he turned the boat's head shoreward.
"No makee haste," said Ching deprecatingly. "Too soon, evelybody fas'
asleep."
Mr Brooke gave an impatient stamp on the frail bamboo half-deck, but
said no more for a few moments.
"We must wait if we are too soon, for it would be madness to go without
food and water."
He was silent for a time, during which the men watched the distant
junks, and as they stood out more and more boldly in the morning light,
we compared notes, and made comments upon them, all growing more and
more satisfied that these were the two of which we were in search.
"Yes, they must be," said Mr Brooke at last, after listening for some
time to the men's conversation. "The very fact of their sailing in
company is suggestive. Seems odd, though, doesn't it, Herrick?" he half
whispered.
"What? their getting by us, sir, in the dark?"
"No; I mean, after making up my mind that this fellow Ching was a
traitor, and that I would have no more to do with him, to find myself
forced at every turn to rest upon him for help. Lesson for you, lad."
"In what way, sir?"
"Not to have too much faith in yourself. I am beginning to hope that I
have been deceived about him, but we shall soon have proof."
"I feel sure you are misjudging him, sir," I said eagerly.
"Yes, with a boy's readiness to trust."
"But I feel sure he is honest, sir."
"Well, we shall soon see."