at
makes you ache all over, somehow. 'We must plan out something that would
be fair to all parties.'

"I had no end of work on hand, as you may imagine, so I set the hands
going, and then I thought I would turn in a bit. I hadn't been asleep in
my bunk ten minutes when in rushes the steward and begins to pull at my
leg.

"'For God's sake, Mr. Jukes, come out! Come on deck quick, sir. Oh, do
come out!'

"The fellow scared all the sense out of me. I didn't know what had
happened: another hurricane--or what. Could hear no wind.

"'The Captain's letting them out. Oh, he is letting them out! Jump on
deck, sir, and save us. The chief engineer has just run below for his
revolver.'

"That's what I understood the fool to say. However, Father Rout swears
he went in there only to get a clean pocket-handkerchief. Anyhow, I made
one jump into my trousers and flew on deck aft. There was certainly a
good deal of noise going on forward of the bridge. Four of the hands
with the boss'n were at work abaft. I passed up to them some of the
rifles all the ships on the China coast carry in the cabin, and led them
on the bridge. On the way I ran against Old Sol, looking startled and
sucking at an unlighted cigar.

"'Come along,' I shouted to him.

"We charged, the seven of us, up to the chart-room. All was over. There
stood the old man with his sea-boots still drawn up to the hips and
in shirt-sleeves--got warm thinking it out, I suppose. Bun Hin's dandy
clerk at his elbow, as dirty as a sweep, was still green in the face. I
could see directly I was in for something.

"'What the devil are these monkey tricks, Mr. Jukes?' asks the old man,
as angry as ever he could be. I tell you frankly it made me lose my
tongue. 'For God's sake, Mr. Jukes,' says he, 'do take away these rifles
from the men. Somebody's sure to get hurt before long if you don't.
Damme, if this ship isn't worse than Bedlam! Look sharp now. I want
you up here to help me and Bun Hin's Chinaman to count that money. You
wouldn't mind lending a hand, too, Mr. Rout, now you are here. The more
of us the better.'

"He had settled it all in his mind while I was having a snooze. Had we
been an English ship, or only going to land our cargo of coolies in an
English port, like Hong-Kong, for instance, there would have been no
end of inquiries and bother, claims for damages and so on. But these
Chinamen know their officials better than we do.

"The hatches had been taken off alre