e dogs they would come to heel. He knew it,
for he knew men. He had put the fear of God into them, he and the girl;
the thing was over. Give the "Chinks" time to lick their wounds and
swallow their gruel and they would be right as pie. He had seen a whole
ship's company licked by a little man of great will, and in hundreds of
experiences and fights he had found that a beaten man, be he strong as
ten, is to be led like a child. He was right. Next morning--they slept
on deck that night keeping watch alternately--the "Chinks," hungry and
starving for a suck at their opium pipes appeared, the whole eleven of
them, and coming down the beach like a troop of children stood in a
line; then they began to wail.

Wail and wag their heads and wave their hands. Kerguelen, coming on top
of the licking, had broken them to pieces. Then the whole lot kow-towed
like one man, knees and forehead on the shingle.

Raft got into the boat and rowed off for the beach bringing them aboard
four at a time and as each lot reached the deck they kow-towed to the
girl and then trotted forward to the fo'c'sle, disappearing like rats,
their teeth chattering from exposure during the night, stripped to the
waist as they were, and never could one have imagined these little
cringing harmless looking men the jackals of the day before.

When the whole lot were in the fo'c'sle Raft gave them time to settle,
then he went down amongst them revolver in pocket. They had lit a lamp,
some had lit opium pipes and some were lighting them, and they lay about
like creatures broken with cold and weariness. He nodded to them and
left them to the opium that would drive the chill from their bones, then
coming on deck stood beside the girl.

"They'll be able to work the ship to-morrow," said he, "told you they'd
be all right; reckon they won't mind changing that big chap I knocked
out for us."

"They don't seem to be able to speak a word of English," said she.

"Oh, I reckon I'll do the steering till we get clear of this place,"
said he, "they'll handle the sails without knowing English and once
we're clear we have only to make north till we strike a Christian
ship."

"They seem so harmless," she said, "and when I think of that fight--and
of what I did--"

"You fought fine--damned fine," said Raft, "damned fine." He put his arm
round her, not as a man puts his arm round a woman, but as a shipmate
puts his arm round a shipmate.

CHAPTER XXXIII

MAINSAIL HAU