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Then, growing serious directly, he looked from one to the other. "You likee dlink?" "No, no, not yet," cried Barkins. "No likee dlink?" said the Chinaman wonderingly; and then in a voice full of reproof, "Sailor boy likee dlink." "Oh yes, by and by," cried Smith. "Ah, you wantee buy fan, shawl, ivoly? Fancee shop." "No, no, we don't want to buy anything now," cried Barkins. "We'll pay you "
He's the chap as come aboard yesterday." "Yes," I panted as I sat up, breathing painfully, "it's Ching. He's our friend." "Yes, flend, evelibody fiend," cried Ching. "Wantee go shore. Fancee shop." "Go ashore?" said the officer. "Yes, walkee shore." "But if I set you ashore amongst that howling mob, they'll cut you to pieces." "Ching 'flaid so. Allee bad man. Wantee kill young offlicer."
No good, velly hungry; wantee go back fancee shop." I thought a good deal about what the Chinaman had said, for it was weary, dispiriting work this overhauling every vessel we saw that seemed likely to be our enemy.
Ching, in spite of some rough weather, had never been obliged to leave the deck, and had proved to be so valuable an acquisition, that he was informed that he would have a certain rate of pay as interpreter while he stayed on board; and as soon as he was made aware of this, he strutted up to me and told me the news. "Captain makee interpleter and have lot dollar. Muchee better keepee fancee shop."
"Never mind," said Barkins; "we want to see them, and the temples and mandarins' houses." "Pliest shut up temple. Want muchee money. Mandalin call soldier man muchee, put all in plison. No good." "They'd better," cried Smith; "why, the captain would blow all the place down with his big guns." "No blow Ching fancee shop down. Englis' spoken. Good fliend." "Look here, Ching.
"Don't know, Mr Hellick; look velly bad?" "Horrible absurd; every one will laugh at you." "Yes, velly bad. Ching put it in pocket." "Oh, you're there, are you?" I cried, as Tom Jecks came cautiously on deck. "I should have thought that a man of your years would have known better than to help torment this poor Chinaman." "Not velly poor," he whispered. "Ching got fancee shop.
It was dangerous work, too, for the narrow sea was foul with reefs; but our information had been that it was in the neighbourhood of the many islands off Formosa that the piratical junks had their nest, and the risk had to be run for the sake of the possible capture to be made. "Ching says he wants to get back to the fancee shop," sad Smith one morning. "So do I, for I'm sick of this dreary work.
In fact, I did not breathe freely until the great ridge and several masses of rock were between us; and only then, a good half-mile away in the direction from which we had come, did we venture to speak above our breath. "Velly big pity," said Ching, whose face was all in wrinkles. "Velly muchee wish back at fancee shop." "Let's find a place before we talk about that," I said.
"Seen velly many pilate come into liver by fancee shop. Ching know d'leckly. Velly big mast, velly big sail, go so velly fast catchee allee ship. You go waitee all dalk, burn all up." "What! set fire to them?" "Yes; velly easy. All asleep, no keepee watch like Queen ship. No light. Cleep velly close up top side, big wind blow; make lit' fire both junk and come away.
But when she was boarded, with Ching duly established as interpreter, and all notion of returning to the "fancee shop" put aside for the present, the junk turned out to be a peaceful trader trying to make her escape from the pursuit of pirates, as we were considered to be. Ching soon learned the cause of the captain's alarm.
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