Part 20 (1/2)

”Yes,” he said. ”Do it velly well. Chinese pilate velly cunning fellow. You go gettee two junk, put men on board.”

”You go and get the men ready,” said Mr Reardon shortly. ”That will do.”

Directly after I had Ching supplied from the purser's stores with plenty of fine oak.u.m and a couple of bottles of ink. This latter he made boiling hot and poured over the oak.u.m, hanging it to dry by the cook's fire; and while he was doing this I arranged with the cook to have a bucket of tallow and whiting mixed ready for use when required, so that then all necessary would be to warm it up.

I was just going aft again when ”Herrick” was shouted, and I turned, to see Barkins and Smith coming after me. But Mr Reardon heard the hail, and came striding after us.

”You leave Mr Herrick to the business he is on, young gentlemen, and attend to your own,” he cried. ”Go on, Mr Herrick. This is no time for gossiping.”

I hurried off, and began my next task, that of selecting twenty men without beards; and there was no difficulty, for I soon picked sixteen and four big lads, upon whose heads the s.h.i.+p's barber was set to work to cut the hair pretty short, the men submitting with an excellent grace, Jack being ready enough to engage in anything fresh, and such as would relieve the monotony of s.h.i.+pboard life.

They were ready enough to ask questions, but I had nothing to tell; and the preparations went merrily on, but not without my having learned that we were steaming right away out of sight of land.

But long before we had reached this pitch, I found that orders had been given, and the men were busy up aloft, lowering down the main-topgallant mast, and then laying the maintop mast all askew, as if it were snapped off at the top. After which the yards were altered from their perfect symmetry to hang anyhow, as if the s.h.i.+p were commanded by a careless captain. The engine was set to work to squirt water thickened with cutch, and the beautiful white sails were stained in patches, and then roughly furled.

Towards evening, when the sea appeared to be without a sail in sight, we lay-to; platforms were got over the side, and men hung over with their paint-pots and brushes, working with all their might to paint out the streak, while others smeared over the gilding and name at the stern, but with a thin water-colour which would easily wash off.

Then came the turn of the great funnel, which was painted of a dirty black. The bright bra.s.s rails were dulled, ropes hung loosely, and in every way possible the trim gunboat was disfigured and altered, so that at a short distance even it would have been impossible to recognise her as the smart vessel that had started from the neighbourhood of the burned s.h.i.+p so short a time before.

But even then Mr Reardon did not seem to be satisfied, for he set the men to work hauling water casks from the hold, and make a pile of them amids.h.i.+ps. Lastly, a couple of the boats were turned bottom upward on improvised chocks placed over the deck-house and galley.

I have not mentioned the guns, though. These were completely hidden, the lesser pieces being drawn back, and spare sails thrown over the two big guns forward.

”There,” said Mr Reardon quietly to me; ”what do you say to that, Mr Herrick? Think this will deceive them?”

”There's one more thing I should do, sir,” I said, as I looked aloft.

”One more? Nonsense; there is nothing more to be done.”

”Yes, sir,” I said, smiling; ”I'd have some s.h.i.+rts and trousers hung up in the rigging to dry, just as if the men had been having a wash.”

”To be sure,” he cried. ”What else?”

”It wouldn't be bad if we could catch a few big fish, and let them be hanging over the stern rail as if to keep them fresh.”

”I'll set Mr Barkins and Mr Smith to try and catch some,” he said eagerly. ”The idea's splendid, my lad; and if it turns out to be successful, I'll--there, I don't know what I won't do for you.”

Soon after, I had the pleasure of seeing a lot of the men's garments hung on a couple of lines in the rigging, and Barkins and Smith hard at work fis.h.i.+ng, in which they were so wonderfully successful that I longed to go and join them; but I was too busy over my task of disguising the twenty sailors, and consequently my two messmates had all the sport to themselves, dragging in, every few minutes, an abundance of good-sized fishes, which were at last strung upon a piece of stout line and hung over the stern rail.

That night the crew were all in an intense state of excitement, and roars of laughter saluted my party of sham Chinamen, some of whom were paraded in the newly-made frocks, two being in the full dress of whitened head and pigtail, and looked so exactly like the real thing at a short distance that no doubt was felt as to the success of this part of the proceedings.

Officers and men had been a little puzzled at first, but in a very short time they were all talking about the cleverness of the ”captain's dodge,” as they called it; and the low spirits of the morning gave place to eager talk about the adventures which all felt sure must come now.

The s.h.i.+p's head had been turned and laid for the islands we had so lately left; but our progress was purposely made exceedingly slow, the screw just revolving, and the water parting with a gentle ripple to right and left.

Meanwhile the tailor and his mates were hard at work by the light of the swinging lanterns, and, upon my being sent by Mr Reardon to make inquiries, the tailor answered that he should be up to time with the twenty Chinee gownds, and went on st.i.tching again as if for his very life.

I was on the watch that night, and stood listening for long enough to the yarns of one of the men, who had not been in Chinese waters before, but ”knowed a chap as had;” and he had some blood-curdling tales to tell of the cruelties perpetrated by the desperate gangs who haunted the coast in fast-sailing junks.

”But they're an awfully cowardly lot, arn't they, Billy?” said another.