United States or Tanzania ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Wilbur told him as much of his story as was necessary, but from the captain's talk he gathered that the news of his return had long since been wired from Coronado, and that it would be impossible to avoid a nine days' notoriety. It was he who offered the only plausible solution of the mystery of the lifting and shaking of the schooner and the wrecking of the junk.
No sooner had the report rung out, than there was a bustle and stir on the vessel's decks, which appeared suddenly to swarm with men, and became illuminated by lanterns. I told Chung to hail. He did so, and a voice replied in Chinese. We drew close abreast, and my companions held a parley with those on board. Our situation explained we were permitted to ascend. The junk was full of men.
Near the shore lay a stout China junk, and a great many small vessels, namely brigantines, sloops and Malayan proas in abundance. As soon as I anchored I sent my boat aboard the Fleet frigate with orders to make them strike their pennant, which was done soon after the boat went aboard.
You see, I didn't want it a long show just enough to make the two-bits admission seem a little short of robbery. Our real graft, of course, was to be where the young society débutantes and heiresses in charge of the booths would wheedle money out of the dazed throng for chances on the junk that would be donated.
Ching not captain. Ching catchee." "How?" I said. "Take big ship back to liver. Put big gun, put jolly sailor 'board two big junk, and go sail 'bout. Pilate come thinkee catchee plenty silk, plenty tea. Come aboard junk. Jolly sailor chop head off, and no more pilate." "That sounds well, Ching," I said; "but I don't think we could do that." "No catchee pilate?" he said. "Ching velly tire.
But his four companions threw themselves between, and a clumsy struggle took place for possession of the tiller. In the end Yellow Handkerchief was over-come, and sullenly returned to the steering, while they soundly berated him for his rashness. Not long after, the sail was run down and the junk slowly urged forward by means of the sweeps. I felt it ground gently on the soft mud.
"I always say and believe me, I base it on a pretty fairly extensive mercantile experience the best is the cheapest in the long run. Of course if a fellow wants to be a Jew about it, he can get cheap junk, but in the long RUN, the cheapest thing is the best you can get!
Some other visitor had left behind Stevenson's Ebb Tide, and trying to think out an excuse that would quiet the qualms I began to feel for this idle preference of mine for old junk, I began picking out the passages I liked. The ruins of an empire would leave me frigid, when a bit of an old rail that an old shellback had leaned on in the middle watch would bring me up all standing."
They don't stop digging until they dig up real facts! They'll find out we stowed away and ..." Loring calmly added cream and sugar to his coffee. "They can't prove a thing. Jardine and Bangs are dead, and the ship's nothing but a pile of junk." "They'll find out, I tell you, and now we've got murder on our hands!" A door behind Mason suddenly opened and Stefens appeared. "Shut up, you fool!"
The mill was gone; the blade was still hanging in its sockets, a useless, distempered thing; the boiler was bent and blackened, the belting burned; the carriages and muley saws and edgers and trimmers were only so much junk. He turned at last to Ba'tiste, to ask tritely what he knew could not be answered: "But how did it happen, Ba'tiste? Didn't any one see?" The Canadian shrugged his shoulders.
Word Of The Day