ar highly-pitched voice from
forward. "You wantee Ching go buy new boatee?"

He came hurrying aft, nearly tumbling once; while, left to his own power
alone, the coxswain redoubled his efforts to keep down the water, and
the tin baler went _scoop scroop, scoop scroop_, and _splash splash_, as
he sent the water flying.

But the dark, angry expression of Mr Brooke's countenance repelled the
Chinaman, and he stopped short and looked from one to the other in a
pleading, deprecating way, ending by saying piteously--

"You no wantee Ching?"

Mr Brooke shook his head, and our interpreter went back over the
thwarts, reseated himself, and began to bale again, with his head bent
down very low.

"Give way, my lads," said Mr Brooke, bearing hard on the tiller, and
the boat began to bear round as he steered for the landing-place a
quarter of a mile away.

I looked up at him inquiringly, and he nodded at me.

"We can't help it, Herrick," he said; "if we stop afloat with the boat
in this condition we shall have a serious accident. But we shall lose
the junks."

"Oh!" I ejaculated, "and after all this trouble. We had been so
successful too. Couldn't we repair the boat?"

"If we could run into a good boat-builder's we might patch it up, but we
can do nothing here."

"Couldn't Ching show us a place?"

"I can't ask the scoundrel."

I winced, for I could not feel that Ching had deceived us, and for a few
moments I was silent. Then a thought struck me.

"May I ask him, sir?"

Mr Brooke was silent for a while, but he spoke at last.

"I hate risking his help again, but I am ready to do anything to try and
carry out my instructions. We ought to patrol the river here to wait
for the junks coming down, and then follow them, even if it is right
down to sea. Well, yes; ask him it he can take us to a boat-builder's,
where we can get some tarpaulin or lead nailed on."

I wasted no time. "Ching!" I cried; and he looked up sadly, but his
face brightened directly as he read mine.

"You wantee Ching?"

"Yes; where is there a boat-builder's where they will mend the boat
directly?"

"No," he said; "takee velly long time. Boat-builder same slow fellow.
No piecee work along. Take boatee out water, mend him to-mollow, next
week."

"Then what are we to do?" I cried. "We want to watch the junks."

"Why no takee other fellow big boatee? Plenty big boatee evelywhere.
Get in big sampan junk, pilate man no sabby jolly sai