arer.

"`I wonder whether she's one of those Dyack or Malay pirates,' I said.
`If so, we may as well let the boat turn over.'

"`No, no; let us trust God, and hope for the best,' said Jack. `Cheer
up, Miles! She's sent for our relief.'

"I was not so sure of that, for it was easy to see from her outlandish
rig that she was one of the craft of those seas. Presently, as she got
near us, she lowered her sails and came close up. Ropes were hove to
us, and hands were stretched out over the side to haul us on board, for
we had scarcely strength enough left to help ourselves. They tried to
secure the boat, but she drifted off and was swamped. We just saw that
the people were Chinamen, pig-eyed, with turned-up noses and yellow
skins. We both fainted away. They brought us some water, and in a
short time we got better. They then carried us into a small cabin aft
out of the hot sun. Presently they brought us some food--rice, and some
stuff minced with it. We were not particular, for we were desperately
hungry.

"We now found that the people who had picked us up were honest traders
bound northward with a cargo of sea-slugs, birds'-nests, and other
things from these seas. We tried to talk to them, but could not manage
it, as none of them understood English, and we couldn't speak their
lingo. But as soon as we got stronger we made ourselves useful, pulling
and hauling, and doing whatever came to hand. Where we were going to we
could not make out, but we hoped that it was to some place at which the
English ships touched, and that we might get home some day. As Jack
said, we had reason to be thankful that we had been picked up, for the
weather came on very bad, and our boat could not have lived through it.
The Chinamen kept a bright look-out, and seemed terribly afraid of the
pirates. We tried to make them understand that we had seen the fleet
sail to nor'ard a short time before, and we ourselves didn't like the
thoughts of falling in with them. We told them also that we would fight
to the death sooner than yield. They understood us, and seemed to think
that we were very fine fellows. We had been sailing on for three or
four days, and we began to hope that we were free of the pirates, when
just as we passed a headland we caught sight of a number of craft coming
out from under it. On seeing them the Chinamen looked very much
frightened, hoisted all sail, and brought their arms on deck. We
watched the strangers,