ing painted to represent a human face with great,
staring goggle eyes, and of most diabolically ferocious aspect. Grace
Hartley was standing near me; and when, having completed my inspection
of the junks, I was about to return the telescope to its beckets, she
asked me if she might be permitted to use it. Of course I at once
handed the instrument to her, and then walked away to attend to some
business of the ship, returning to the poop when the leading junk was
within half a mile of us, with her two masts in line.

"What singular-looking vessels, are they not, Mr Troubridge?" exclaimed
the girl, withdrawing the instrument from her eye for a moment to speak
to me. "Of course," she continued, "I have seen pictures of Chinese
junks; but one really needs to see the vessels themselves, sailing as
those are, to get the complete idea of their quaintness of appearance.
And what an extraordinary number of men they carry! Is it because of
the peculiarity of their rig and the large size of their sails that they
require so many men?"

"N-o," said I doubtfully, "I think not. I am not aware that a junk
needs an exceptionally strong crew. Do you consider that those vessels
are very heavily manned?"

"Well, are they not?" she asked. "Of course I have no idea how many men
a junk requires to manage it, but I have been looking at those two--and
especially the nearest one--through the glass, and it struck me that
they must each have at least a hundred men on board!"

"A hundred men!" I repeated incredulously. "Oh, surely not! You must
be mistaken. Twenty, or perhaps twenty-five at the utmost, would be
much nearer the mark."

"Oh, but I am certain there are far more than that on board each of
those vessels! It was one of the peculiarities that particularly
impressed me in connection with them," answered the girl.

"Are you quite sure? Kindly let me have the glass a moment," said I,
taking the instrument from her and levelling it at the nearest junk.
The junk, however, was by this time settling away broad on our lee beam,
as we drew ahead, and was showing her weather side to us. It was
therefore difficult for me to get a view of her decks, the more so as
her bulwarks seemed to be unusually high. One thing, however, I
noticed, namely, that she carried eight brass guns--apparently about
twelve-pounders--of a side; and as I got a glimpse through the wide
ports out of which these weapons grinned, it seemed to me that there