ed away off the poop
again with more alacrity than I had seen him exhibit since I had joined
the _Mercury_. Meanwhile the watch below, awakened by the racket, had
come on deck, and were having the situation explained to them with much
gesticulation and lurid language by their comrades, the watch on deck,
all of whom had knocked off the work upon which they happened to have
been engaged, and were now talking excitedly, casting occasional glances
from us on the poop to the junk away down on the lee bow. Presently the
junk which had fired into us, having drawn up fair into our wake,
distant about half a mile, tacked and stood after us.

After an absence of some ten minutes, the boatswain reappeared with the
news that he had found and opened the case of muskets, which were of the
new-fashioned percussion pattern, and also a generous supply of
ammunition for the same, together with some fifty round shot and
cartridges for the six-pounders.

"Good!" I exclaimed. "Take some hands below, Polson, and bring up that
case of muskets, together with some ammunition; also a few rounds for
the six-pounders. If appearances go for anything, we shall need them
all before long!"

A few minutes later the muskets, each of which had been carefully
wrapped in well-oiled cloths, were brought on deck, taken out of their
wrappings, well wiped, the nipples carefully tested with a pin, and
loaded, the powder being measured out from a powder horn, a wad rammed
down on top of it, with a bullet on top of that, and then another wad on
top of all to keep the bullet in its place. Then the brass six-pounders
were loaded and primed, and two pieces of slow match were cut off, ready
for lighting.

I must confess that I looked forward to the prospect of a fight with a
considerable amount of trepidation, for, in the first place, the odds
were exceedingly heavy against us--thirty of a crew, of whom only
twenty-four could be armed, against, probably, two hundred. Moreover,
our lads knew nothing about fighting, and, as I could see, had not much
stomach for it, while the crews of the junks were undoubtedly fighters
by trade. Still it was clear that we were in a fix, out of which there
was no escape without a fight; and that fact, which was patent to all
hands, might perhaps influence them to do their best. But probably
there were some among them who had never handled a musket in their
lives; it would obviously be useless to put weapons into the hands