ise that I was being pelted with pieces
of chain, and fired at as a mark for bullets.

But in those brief moments I saw what I wanted: Mr Brook and Ching safe
and swimming towards me, and the boat not many yards behind them, with
two of our men at the oars, and the others opening fire upon the people
who crowded the side of the junk, and yelled at us and uttered the most
savage throats.

"This way, Herrick, my lad," panted Mr Brooke, as he reached me. "Ah!
did that hit you?"

"No, sir, only splashed up the water; I'm all right!" I cried; "the
bullet didn't touch."

"Swim boat! swim boat!" cried Ching excitedly.

But our danger was not from the water but the sharp fire which the
Chinese kept up now, fortunately without killing any of us. Then the
boat glided between us and the junk, ready hands were outstretched from
the side, and I was hauled in by Tom Jecks, who then reached over and
grasped Ching by the pigtail.

"No, no touchee tow-chang!" roared the poor fellow.

"All right; then both hands and in with you."

"Lay hold of the sheet, Jecks!" cried Mr Brooke, who sprang over the
thwart to the tiller, rammed it down, and the sail began to fill, but
only slowly, for the towering junk acted as a lee, and all the time the
men yelled, pelted, and fired at us.

"Look out, my lads; give it to them now. Make fast the sheet, Jecks,
and get your rifle. Ten pounds to the man who brings down the captain!"
roared Mr Brooke. "Here, Herrick, my gun!" he cried; and, handing it
to him, I seized mine, thrust in two wet cartridges with my wet fingers,
and, doubting whether they would go off, I took aim at a man on the
poop, who was holding a pot to which another was applying a light.

The next minute the pot was in a blaze, and the man raised it above his
head to hurl it right upon us, but it dropped straight down into the sea
close to the junk, and the man staggered away with his hands to his
face, into which he must have received a good deal of the charge of
duck-shot with which my piece was charged.

Excited by my success, I fired the second barrel at a man who was
leaning over the bulwarks, taking aim at us with his great clumsy
matchlock, and his shot did not hit any one, for the man dropped his
piece overboard and shrank away.

As I charged again, I could hear and see that our lads were firing away
as rapidly as they could up at the crowded bulwarks, while Tom Jecks was
making his piece bear upon the deck of t