ound the way in, and in a few moments we should be dragged
out.

Directly after there was the babble of several other voices, and a
discussion went on in Chinese, not a word of which could I understand.
Then, to my utter wonder, the voices which had come over the top as if
speaking close by me, suddenly ceased, and I could hear the _pad pad_ of
bare feet on the sands.

"Velly neally catchee catchee, and choppee off head," said Ching softly.
"Begin to be velly solly for poor Mis' Hellick. Pilate say, `Heah good
place, make hole s'eep in.' 'Nothee pilate say, `Big fool; allee wet
damp; wildee beast live in hole, and allee 'tink. Come back, makee
better place.'"

It was a narrow escape, and it was long enough before my heart calmed
down, left off throbbing, and I fell asleep.

Utter exhaustion had done its work, and my sleep was deep and dreamless.
Once my eyes had closed, they did not open again till long after
sunrise the next morning, when I lay there puzzled, and wondering where
I was and what was the meaning of the murmur of voices apparently from
somewhere overhead.

Ching's voice chased away the remaining mists.

"You had velly good s'eep?" he whispered. "Feel muchee better?"

I did not answer, only squeezed his hand, and turned to see how Tom
Jecks was, but he did not seem to have stirred, and we then ate
sparingly of our biscuits, and drank more sparingly of the water.

"Must be velly careful," Ching said again; "no get more till pilate gone
'way."

That day went by like a portion of some feverish dream. My head burned
and throbbed; my thirst grew terrible in the hot, close place, and Ching
owned to suffering terribly in the same way; but the faithful fellow
never touched a drop of the water, save when the evening came, and we
partook together of our rapidly-diminishing store of biscuits, the very
touch of which on my lips increased the agony of my thirst.

And all the while we were awake to the fact that the Chinamen had an
ample supply of food and water, for they kept dragging up to the camp
they had formed casks and chests which had been washed up from the wreck
of their junk; and when I climbed up and looked out, I could see them
apparently settled down and resigned to their fate, until some friendly
junk came along or they could surprise another, feasting away, or
playing some kind of game with stones.

"Waitee lit' bit," Ching whispered. "Allee s'eep, and Ching get eat
dlink."

But I fe