CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.
JACK ASHORE.
All was quiet on the junks, not a man being visible as we sailed out ofthe river and along the south shore of the estuary; and now, after along examination, Mr Brooke declared that there couldn't be a doubt asto their being the ones we had seen up the branch river when we were inthe trap.
"The rig is too heavy for ordinary traders, Herrick," he said; and hepointed out several peculiarities which I should not have noticed.
Ching had been watching us attentively, and Mr Brooke, who evidentlywanted to make up now for his harsh treatment of the interpreter, turnedto him quietly--
"Well, what do you say about it, Ching?"
The interpreter smiled.
"Ching quite su'e," he replied. "Seen velly many pilate come into liverby fancee shop. Ching know d'leckly. Velly big mast, velly big sail,go so velly fast catchee allee ship. You go waitee all dalk, burn allup."
"What! set fire to them?"
"Yes; velly easy. All asleep, no keepee watch like Queen ship. Nolight. Cleep velly close up top side, big wind blow; make lit' fireboth junk and come away. Allee 'light velly soon, and make big burn."
"What! and roast the wretches on board to death?"
"Some," said Ching, with a pleasant smile. "Makee squeak, and cly `Oh!oh!' and burn all 'way like fi'wo'k. Look velly nice when it dalk."
"How horrid!" I cried.
"Not all bu'n up," said Ching; "lot jump ove'board and be dlown."
"Ching, you're a cruel wretch," I cried, as Mr Brooke looked at the manin utter disgust.
"No; Ching velly glad see pilate bu'n up and dlown. Dleadful bad man,bu'n ship junk, chop off head. Kill hundleds poo' good nicee people.Pilate velly hollid man. Don't want pilate at all."
"No, we don't want them at all," said Mr Brooke, who seemed to bestudying the Chinaman's utter indifference to the destruction of humanlife; "there's no room for them in the world, but that's not our way ofdoing business. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes, Ching understand, know. Ching can't talk velly quick Inglis, buthear evelyting."
"That's right. Well, my good fellow, that wouldn't be English. We killmen in fair fight, or take them prisoners. We couldn't go and burn thewretches up like that."
Ching shook his head.
"All velly funnee," he said. "Shoot big gun and make big hole in junk;knockee all man into bit; makee big junk sink and allee men dlown."
"Yes," said Mr Brooke, wrinkling up his forehead.
"Why not make lit' fire and bu'n junk, killee allee same?"
"He has me there, Herrick," said Mr Brooke.
"Takee plisoner to mandalin. Mandalin man put on heavy chain, kick flowin boat, put in plison, no give to eat, and then choppee off allee head.Makee hurt gleat deal mo'. Velly solly for plisoner. Bette' make bigfi' and bu'n allee now."
Mr Brooke smiled and looked at me, and I laughed.
"We'd better change the subject, Herrick," he said. "I'm afraid thereis not much difference in the cruelty of the act."
"No, sir," I said, giving one of my ears a rub. "But it is puzzling."
"Yes, my lad; and I suppose we should have no hesitation in shelling andburning a pirates' nest."
"But we couldn't steal up and set fire to their junks in the dark, sir?"
"No, my lad, that wouldn't be ordinary warfare. Well, we had better runinto one of these little creeks, and land," he continued, as he turnedto inspect the low, swampy shore. "Plenty of hiding-places there, wherewe can lie and watch the junks, and wait for the _Teaser_ to show."
"Velly good place," said Ching, pointing to where there was a patch oflow, scrubby woodland, on either side of which stretched out what seemedto be rice fields, extending to the hills which backed the plain."Plenty wood makee fire--loast goose."
I saw a knowing look run round from man to man.
"But the pirates would see our fire," I said.
"Yes, see fi'; tink allee fish man catch cookee fish."
"Yes, you're right, Ching. It will help to disarm any doubts. Theywill never think the _Teaser's_ men are ashore lighting a fire;" and,altering our course a little, he ran the boat in shore and up a creek,where we landed, made fast the boat under some low scrubby trees, and ina very short time after a couple of men were placed where they couldwatch the junks and give notice of any movement. The others quicklycollected a quantity of drift-wood, and made a good fire, Ching tuckingup his sleeves and superintending, while Mr Brooke and I went out onthe other side of the little wood, and satisfied ourselves that therewas no sign of human habitation on this side of the river, the citylying far away on the other.
When we came back, Ching was up to the elbows in shore mud, and we foundby him a couple of our geese and a couple of ducks turned intodirt-puddings. In other words, he had cut off their heads, necks, andfeet, and then cased them thickly with the soft, unctuous clay from thefoot of the bank; and directly we came he raked away some of the burningembers, placed the clay lumps on the earth, and raked back all theglowing ashes before piling more wood over the hissing masses.
"Velly soon cook nicee," he said, smiling; and then he went to thewaterside to get rid of the clay with which he was besmirched.
Mr Brooke walked to the sentinels, and for want of something else to doI stood pitching pieces of drift-wood on to the fire, for the most partshattered fragments of bamboo, many of extraordinary thickness, and allof which blazed readily and sent out a great heat.
"Makes a bit of a change, Mr Herrick, sir," said Jecks, as the men offduty lay about smoking their pipes, and watching the fire with eyes fullof expectation.
"Yes; rather different to being on shipboard, Jecks," I said.
"Ay, 'tis, sir. More room to stretch your legs, and no fear o' hittingyour head agin a beam or your elber agin a bulkhead. Puts me in mind o'going a-gipsying a long time ago."
"`In the days when we went gipsying, a long time ago,'" chorussed theothers musically.
"Steady there," I said. "Silence."
"Beg pardon, sir," said one of the men; and Tom Jecks chuckled. "But itdo, sir," he said. "I once had a night on one o' the Suffolk heathswith the gipsies; I was a boy then, and we had hare for supper--twohares, and they was cooked just like that, made into clay balls withoutskinning on 'em first."
"But I thought they always skinned hares," I said, "because the fur wasuseful."
"So it is, sir; but there was gamekeepers in that neighbourhood, and ifthey'd found the gipsies with those skins, they'd have asked 'em wherethe hares come from, and that might have been unpleasant."
"Poached, eh?"
"I didn't ask no questions, sir. And when the hares was done, theyrolled the red-hot clay out, gave it a tap, and it cracked from end toend, an' come off like a shell with the skin on it, and leaving thehares all smoking hot. I never ate anything so good before in my life."
"Yah! These here geese 'll be a sight better, Tommy," said one of themen. "I want to see 'em done."
"And all I'm skeart about," said another, "is that the _Teaser_ 'll comeback 'fore we've picked the bones."
I walked slowly away to join Mr Brooke, for the men's words set methinking about the gunboat, and the way in which she had sailed and leftus among these people. But I felt that there must have been good causefor it, or Captain Thwaites would never have gone off so suddenly.
"Gone in chase of some of the scoundrels," I thought; and then I beganto think about Mr Reardon and Barkins and Smith. "Poor old Tanner," Isaid to myself, "he wouldn't have been so disagreeable if it had notbeen for old Smith. Tanner felt ashamed of it all the time. But what agame for them to be plotting to get me into difficulties, and then findthat I was picked out for this expedition! I wish they were both here."
For I felt no animosity about Smith, and as for Tanner I should havefelt delighted to have him there to join our picnic dinner.
I suppose I had a bad temper, but it never lasted long, and after aquarrel at school it
was all over in five minutes, and almost forgotten.
I was so deep in thought that I came suddenly upon Mr Brooke, seatednear where the men were keeping their look-out. He was carefullyscanning the horizon, but looked up at me as I stopped short afternearly kicking against him.
"Any sign of the _Teaser_ sir?" I said.
"No, Herrick. I've been trying very hard to make her out, but there isno smoke anywhere."
"Oh, she'll come, sir, if we wait. What about the junks?"
"I haven't seen a man stirring oh board either of them, and they are soquiet that I can't quite make them out."
"Couldn't we steal off after dark, sir, and board one of them? If wetook them quite by surprise we might do it."
"I am going to try, Herrick," he said quietly, "some time after dark.But that only means taking one, the other would escape in the alarm."
"Or attack us, sir."
"Very possibly; but we should have to chance that." He did not say anymore, but sat there scanning the far-spreading sea, dotted with thesails of fishing-boats and small junks. But he had given me plenty tothink about, for I was growing learned now in the risks of the warfarewe were carrying on, and I could not help wondering what effect it wouldhave upon the men's appetites if they were told of the perilousenterprise in which they would probably be called upon to engage thatnight.
My musings were interrupted by a rustling sound behind me, and, turningsharply, it was to encounter the smooth, smiling countenance of Ching,who came up looking from one to the other as if asking permission tojoin us.
"Well," said Mr Brooke quietly, "is dinner ready?"
Ching shook his head, and then said sharply--
"Been thinking 'bout junks, they stop there long time."
"Yes; what for? Are they waiting for men?"
"P'laps; but Ching think they know 'bout other big junk. Some fliendstell them in the big city. Say to them, big junk load with silk, tea,dollar. Go sail soon. You go wait for junk till she come out. Thenyou go 'longside, killee evelybody, and take silk, tea, dollar; give melit' big bit for tellee."
"Yes, that's very likely to be the reason they are waiting."
"Soon know; see big junk come down liver, and pilates go after long way,then go killee evelybody. Muchee better go set fire both junkto-night."
"We shall see," said Mr Brooke quietly.
He rose and walked down to the two sentinels.
"Keep a sharp look-out, my lads, for any junks which come down theriver, as well as for any movements on board those two at anchor. Ishall send and relieve you when two men have had their dinner."
"Thankye, sir," was the reply; and we walked back, followed by Ching.
"That last seems a very likely plan, Herrick," said Mr Brooke. "Thescoundrels play into each other's hands; and I daresay, if the truth wasknown, some of these merchants sell cargoes to traders, and then givenotice to the pirates, who plunder the vessels and then sell the stuffagain to the merchants at a cheap rate. But there, we must eat, my lad,and our breakfast was very late and very light. We will make a goodmeal, and then see what the darkness brings forth."
We found the men carefully attending to the fire, which was now onebright glow of embers; and very soon Ching announced that dinner wascooked, proceeding directly after to hook out the hard masses of clay,which he rolled over to get rid of the powdery ash, and, after lettingthem cool a little, he duly cracked them, and a gush ofdeliciously-scented steam saluted our nostrils.
But I have so much to tell that I will not dwell upon our banquet. Letit suffice that I say every one was more than satisfied; and when themeal was over, Ching set to work again coating the rest of our game withclay, and placed them in the embers to cook.
"Velly good, velly nicee to-day," he said; "but sun velly hot, nightvelly hot, big fly come to-mollow, goose not loast, begin to 'mell vellynasty."
As darkness fell, the fire was smothered out with sand, there beingplenty of heat to finish the cookery; and then, just when I leastexpected it, Mr Brooke gave the order for the men to go to the boat.
He counter-ordered the men directly, and turned to me.
"These are pretty contemptible things to worry about, Herrick," he said,"but unless we are well provisioned the men cannot fight. We must waitand take that food with us."
Ching was communicated with, and declared the birds done. Thisannouncement was followed by rolling them out, and, after they hadcooled a bit, goose and duck were borne down to the boat in their clayshells, and stowed aft, ready for use when wanted.
Ten minutes later we were gliding once more through the darkness outwardin the direction of the two junks, while my heart beat high inanticipation of my having to play a part in a very rash and dangerousproceeding--at least it seemed to be so to me.