s European--were loud in
complaint. And with justice, for several cruel massacres of crews had
taken place before the ships had been scuttled and burned; besides,
quite a dozen had sailed from port never to be heard of more; while the
only consolation Captain Thwaites had for his trips here and there, and
pursuit of enemies who disappeared like Flying Dutchmen, was that the
presence of our gunboat upon the coast no doubt acted as a preventative,
for we were told that there used to be three times as many acts of
piracy before we came.

And now, as we glided along full sail before a pleasant breeze, with the
topgallant sails ruddy in the evening light, there seemed at last some
prospect of real business, for it had leaked out that unless Captain
Thwaites' information was very delusive, the Chinamen had quite a
rendezvous on one of the most out-of-the-way islands off Formosa, from
whence they issued, looking like ordinary trading-boats, and that it was
due to this nest alone that so much mischief had been done.

A good meal down below, without dog or rat, as Barkins put it, had, in
addition to a comfortable wash and change, made us forget a good deal of
our weariness; and, as we were still off duty, we three loitered about
the deck, picking up all the information we could regarding the way in
which the news had been brought, in exchange for accounts of our own
adventures, to insure credence in which Barkins carried about the
nearly-divided telescope which had stood us in such good stead.

It was rapidly growing dark, when, close under the bulwarks, and in very
near neighbourhood to one of our big bow guns, we came upon what looked
in the gloom like a heap of clothes.

"What's that?" I said.

"Chine-he, sir," said one of the sailors. "We give him a good tuck-out
below, and he come up then for a snooze. Hi, John! The gents want to
speak to you."

There was a quick movement, and a partly bald head appeared from beneath
two loose sleeves, which had been folded over it like the wings of a
flying fox, and Ching's familiar squeaky voice said--

"You wantee me. Go shore?"

"No, no; not to-night," cried Smith. "We shall set you ashore when we
come back."

"You go velly far--allee way Gleat Blitain?"

"No, not this time, Ching," cried Barkins, as we all laughed.

"No go allee way London? Ching wantee go London, see Queen Victolia and
Plince o' Wales."

"Some other time, Ching," I said. "But I say, how about t