eaters, and to an old inhabitant, who courteously bowed his welcome,
one of them shouted roughly, "Well, Johnnie, how are you?"

The aged celestial, not understanding a word though comprehending the
roughness, remained silent, whereon the European exclaimed insolently,
"Who are you staring at, you old fool?"

At this point the village dogs, excited by such an unexpected
invasion, commenced to bark, and were instantly stoned by the
intruders, so that the old Chinaman, to avoid being struck, hurried
into his house and closed the door, while the sportsmen and their
troop passed through the sleepy hamlet like a whirlwind, scaring
women, children, fowls and pigs and disgusting the inhabitants by
their uncouthness. Such behaviour, I fear, is only too common.

In my experience it is seldom that a courteous bearing does not meet
with immediate friendly response.

As the wind was dropping and there were signs of rain I left my
new-made friends and returned to the little bay beneath the cliffs,
where we had spent the previous night. Before dark the rain was
coming down steadily, but having rigged tarpaulins over the hood and
awning we so far kept dry and comfortable.

In the middle of the night I was awakened by a torrential downpour and
by the roar of a heavy gale as it swept over the cliffs high above our
heads. Despite the tarpaulins the wet found its way in and soaked us
to the skin, so that with daylight we were glad to make preparations
for returning to Kiukiang.

The awning we took in, but the lashings of the tarpaulins which
covered the hood were so tightened by moisture that it was impossible
to unknot them, and so the structure was left standing.

Starting off under the jib alone with the wind dead astern, it was not
until the shelter of the cliffs had been left and return was already
impossible that I realised what we were in for.

The gale was a perfect hurricane, before which we flew at a tremendous
pace. The further we left the land the higher the swell became, until
it suddenly dawned on me that our chances of covering the four or five
miles before reaching the creek were not very bright.

I have not been in many tight places, but this certainly was one.

The boatmen had realised our dangerous straits, and failing at the
pinch, as I have seen Chinamen do before and since, crouched down with
faces blanched to putty and almost too terror-stricken to bail out the
water which we shipped in ever-increasing qu