med
to 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. They
will 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 in
a very short time after a couple of men were placed where they could
watch the junks and give notice of any movement. The others quickly
collected a quantity of drift-wood, and made a good fire, Ching tucking
up his sleeves and superintending, while Mr Brooke and I went out on
the other side of the little wood, and satisfied ourselves that there
was no sign of human habitation on this side of the river, the city
lying far away on the other.

When we came back, Ching was up to the elbows in shore mud, and we found
by him a couple of our geese and a couple of ducks turned into
dirt-puddings. In other words, he had cut off their heads, necks, and
feet, and then cased them thickly with the soft, unctuous clay from the
foot of the bank; and directly we came he raked away some of the burning
embers, placed the clay lumps on the earth, and raked back all the
glowing ashes before piling more wood over the hissing masses.

"Velly soon cook nicee," he said, smiling; and then he went to the
waterside to get rid of the clay with which he was besmirched.

Mr Brooke walked to the sentinels, and for want of something else to do
I stood pitching pieces of drift-wood on to the fire, for the most part
shattered fragments of bamboo, many of extraordinary thickness, and all
of which blazed readily and sent out a great heat.

"Makes a bit of a change, Mr Herrick, sir," said Jecks, as the men off
duty lay about smoking their pipes, and watching the fire with eyes full
of expectation.

"Yes; rather different to being on shipboard, Jecks," I said.

"Ay, 'tis, sir. More room to stretch your legs, and no fear o' hitting
your 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 the
others musically.

"Steady there," I said. "Silence."

"Beg pardon, sir," said one of the men; an