n had landed, and were running towards a
clump of tall trees, where they disappeared amongst the growth.

"Cowards!" I said to myself, for I felt that they were deserters, and,
after watching for their reappearance, I was about to turn the glass
upon the junks again, when I noticed a peculiar agitation of the
branches of one tree, which stood up far above the others.

"Well, Mr Herrick, I am waiting for your reports," cried the first
lieutenant.

"Yes, sir," I shouted. "Half-a-dozen men landed from one of the junks,
and ran across to a patch of wood."

"Deserters? Any more leaving the ship?"

"No, sir."

"Ah, they saw the boats coming, I suppose?"

"No, sir, but they soon will. One of them is climbing a big tree, much
higher than the junk's masts."

"For a look-out, eh?"

"Yes, sir, I think so," I shouted; and then to myself, "Oh, bother!
It's hard work talking from up here. There he is, sir, right up at the
top. You could see him from the deck."

"No, I can see nothing from here. Well, what is he doing?"

"Making signals with his hands, sir, and now he's coming down again."

"Then you think he has seen the boats?"

"No, sir; they are following one another close in under the bank."

"Then they can't see them," cried Mr Reardon, "and Mr Brooke will take
them by surprise."

He did not shout this, but said it to the captain. Still the words rose
to where I sat watching, till the Chinamen ran out from among the bushes
at the foot of the trees, and I saw them making for the junks again.

I could not see them climb on board, but I felt that they must have
jumped into a boat and rowed off to their friends, and, fixing my glass
upon the deck of first one and then the other, I began to make out more
and more clearly the actions of the crews, and, judging from the
glittering, I saw some kind of arms were being distributed.

I announced this at first as a supposition, telling Mr Reardon what I
thought it was.

"Yes, very likely," he replied; and a few minutes after I saw something
else, and hailed.

"Yes," he said, "what now?" and I saw that, though he did not speak, the
captain was listening attentively.

"They're burning something, sir."

"Confound them! Not setting fire to the junks?"

"I don't know, sir; I think so," I replied, still watching intently;
and, as I gazed through my glass, I saw black smoke rising in little
coils from both junks, at first very thick and spreading, then growing