tried to trip
us up.

I was growing faint with the heat down in that narrow, breathless
street, my clothes stuck to me, and Barkins' heavy telescope banged
heavily against my side, making me feel ready to unfasten the strap and
let it fall. But I kept on for another fifty yards or so with our
enemies yelling in the rear, and the waterside seeming to grow no
nearer.

"Keep together, lads," cried Barkins excitedly. "It can't be far now.
We'll seize the first boat we come to, and the tide will soon take us
out of their reach."

But these words came in a broken, spasmodic way, for, poor fellow, he
was as out of breath as any of us.

"Hoolay! Velly lit' way now," cried Ching; and then he finished with a
howl of rage, for half-a-dozen armed men suddenly appeared from a
gateway below us, and we saw at a glance that they were about to take
sides with the rest.

"Lun--lun," yelled Ching, and, flourishing his sword, he led us right at
the newcomers, who, startled and astounded by our apparent boldness,
gave way, and we panted on, utterly exhausted, for another fifty yards,
till Ching suddenly stopped in an angle of the street formed by a
projecting house.

"No lun. No, no!" he panted. "Fight--kill."

Following his example, we faced round, and our bold front checked the
miserable gang of wretches, who stopped short a dozen yards from us,
their numbers swelled by the new party, and waited yelling and howling
behind the swordsmen, who stood drawing up their sleeves, and
brandishing their heavy weapons, working themselves up for the final
rush, in which I knew we should be hacked to pieces.

"Good-bye, old chap," whispered Barkins in a piteous tone, his voice
coming in sobs of exhaustion. "Give point when they come on: don't
strike. Try and kill one of the cowardly beggars before they finish
us."

"Yes," I gasped.

"Chuck that spyglass down," cried Smith; "it's in your way."

Gladly enough I swung the great telescope round, slipped the strap over
my head, and as I did so I saw a sudden movement in the crowd.

In an instant the experience we had had upon the river flashed across my
brain. I recalled how the crew of the great tea-boat had dropped away
from her high stern when Barkins had used the glass, and for the first
time I grasped why this had been.

My next actions were in a mad fit of desperate mischief more than
anything else. For, recalling that I had a few flaming fusees in my
jacket pocket, I sna