Blue Jackets Part 68

"Then you don't think they are down here?"

He shook his head as he glanced at the various forms of trading-boat moored off the town, from the tiny sampan to the heavy, clumsy mat-sailed vessel, whose stern towered up, and whose great bamboo yards looked as if they must be perfectly unmanageable.

"What do you think we had better do, then--row about here and watch?"

"No good," he said; "makee men low fast light up liver, findee, pilate junk."

"But suppose we pa.s.s them?" I said.

"No pa.s.s pilate boat: Ching here."

"And so you think you will know them?"

The Chinaman screwed his face up into a curiously comic smile.

"Ching know pilate when he see him."

"And you think it better to go right up the river?" said Mr Brooke, turning suddenly to join in the conversation.

"Yes; pilate junk long way."

"How do you know?"

He gave a cunning smile at us both, his little eyes twinkling in a singularly sly manner.

"You see vegetable boat come along mo'ning?"

"Yes, I saw the boat come alongside."

"Blought Ching 'nothee lettee, allee same fliend. Say pilate boat long way uppee liver in big cleek, waitee come down along lunning water in the dalk."

"Then you pretty well know where they are?" said Mr Brooke.

"No; far uppee liver; in cleek."

"I suppose this is right?" said Mr Brooke to me.

"Yes, quite light. Ching likee see Queen Victolia s.h.i.+p killee catch pilate."

"Give way, my men," said Mr Brooke, and the boat shot forward, while, relieved for the moment from the task of scanning the different boats, I sat gazing at the beautiful panorama of quaint houses, narrow streets debouching on the river, and the house-boats all along the edge of the river, while smaller boats were swinging here and there wherever there was room.

It was a wonderfully interesting sight, for, in addition to the curious shapes of the buildings, there was plenty of brilliant colour, and every now and then patches of brightest blue and vivid scarlet were heightened by the glistening gilding which ornamented some particular building.

Then there were temples dotted about amongst the patches of forest, which fringed the high ground at the back of the city, and away beyond them the steep scarps of rugged and jagged mountains, which stood up looking of so lovely a pinky-blue, that I could for the moment hardly believe they were natural, and was ready to ask whether it was not some wonderful piece of painting.

The house-boats took my fancy greatly, for, in endless cases, they were of a variety of bright colours, pretty in shape, and decorated with showy flowers in pots and tubs; some had cages containing brightly-plumaged birds, and in most of them quaint bald-headed little children were playing about or fis.h.i.+ng.

Higher up we saw men busy with nets which were attached to the end of a great bamboo pole, balanced upon a strong upright post fixed in the river's bottom, and by means of this balanced pole the net was let down into the depths of the river, and hoisted from time to time, sometimes with a few glittering little fish within the meshes, sometimes having nothing but weed.

"Yes, catchee fish; catchee velly big fish some time."

About ten minutes after, Ching pulled my sleeve and pointed to the other side of the river, where I caught sight of a very familiar old friend sitting in his boat, just as I had seen him in an old picture-book at home.

There he sat with a big umbrella-like sunshade fixed up over him on a bamboo pole, in front of him a kind of platform spread across the front of his moored boat, and upon it sat perched eight or nine of my old friends the cormorants, one of which dived into the river from time to time, and soon after emerged and made its way back to the boat with a fish in its beak.

"See that, Mr Brooke?" I cried eagerly. "I suppose we can't stop to watch them?"

"Not when on Her Majesty's service, Herrick," he said, with a smile, and we glided rapidly on, till the houses, which had long been growing scattered, finally disappeared, and we were following the windings of the river in company with a few small junks and sampans, which seemed bound for one of the cities higher up the great waterway.

"Shoot bird now," said Ching, in answer to an inquiring look from Mr Brooke.

"Yes; but do you think the junks are up here?"

"Oh yes, velly quite su'e. Plenty eye in boat watchee see what Queen Victolia offlicer going to do uppee river."

"What does he mean?" said Mr Brooke, who was puzzled by this last rather enigmatical speech. "Of course we have watchful eyes in our boat, but I don't see anything yet worth watching."

"He means that very likely there are friends of the pirates in one of these boats, and that we had better begin shooting, so as to take off attention from our real purpose."

"Yes, allee same; p'laps pilate fliend in lit' boat go and tell Queen Victolia foleign devil sailor boy come catchee."

"Oh, I see," said Mr Brooke. Then, turning to me, "You do understand a little French, don't you?"

"Well, sir, I used to learn some at school," I replied, feeling very doubtful about my proficiency.

"I daresay you can understand my Stratford-atte-Bow French," said Mr Brooke, laughing.

"I'll try, sir," I said; and he said to me directly in excellent French--

"I feel doubtful about this man. You have seen more of him than I have.

Do you think he is honest, or leading us into a trap?"

"Honest, sir," I said, "I feel certain."

"Well, then, we will trust him fully; but if he betrays us, and I can get a last shot--well, then--"

"He'll be sorry for it, sir," I said, for Mr Brooke did not finish his remark.

"Exactly; get out your gun and put on your cartridge belt."

I followed his example, and Ching smiled.

"Velly good thing," he said. "Now pilate fliend, see jolly sailor boy, and say--Come killee duck-bird, goose-bird to make nicee dinner, not come catchee catchee pilate."

"You hear what this man says, my lads?" said the young lieutenant, addressing the men.

"Ay, ay, sir."

"Then you understand now that we have not only come up to shoot?"