"Allee light," he said, smiling. "Get plenty blead, meat. You fillee big tub with water;" and he pointed to a large rough vessel, and another which was a great earthenware jar. "But where are we to get the water?" I said. "Out o' liver. Plenty water in liver." "We can't drink that peasoup," I said, as I looked over the side in disgust at the yellow solution of mud. "Velly good water. Allee salt gone now. Plenty clear by and by." "We must make the best of it, Herrick," said my companion; and then turning to Ching, he said rather sternly-- "Here are eight dollars: buy as much bread and cooked meat as you can, and get back as quickly as possible, when we set you ashore." Ching nodded and smiled. "Be velly quick," he said; "and you take boat lit' way out, and stop till come back." "Of course; trust us for that, my man." Ten minutes later we ran alongside some rough bamboo piles, to which about half-a-dozen Chinamen hurried, to stand staring at us. But Ching paid no attention to them. He only made a leap from the boat when we were a couple of yards from the platform, landed safely but with tail flying, and his blue cotton garment inflating balloon-like with the wind. Then he walked away among the houses, and one of our men pushed the boat off again, evidently to the intense wonder of the people, who stared hard to see a British sailor managing a native vessel; while two others, in a costume perfectly new to them, sat looking on. Then our men were packed out of sight, some in the little cabin, others hidden at the bottom of the boat, beneath a matting-sail. When we were about a hundred yards from the shore, a clumsy wooden grapnel, to which a heavy stone was bound with a twisted rope of bamboo, was dropped overboard, and then we lay in the swift tide, with the boat tugging at the line as if eager to be off on the chase the stern necessity concerning food kept us from carrying on at once. "How these people do seem to detest us, Herrick!" said Mr Brooke, after we had been waiting patiently for about a quarter of an hour, impatiently another, but not quite in idleness, for, after tasting the river water to find that it was very slightly brackish now, the tub and the jar were both filled and left to settle. "Yes, they're not very fond of us," I replied, as I noted how the numbers were increasing, and that now there was a good deal of talking going on, and this was accompanied by gesticulations, we evidently being the objects of their interest. "They can't have much to do." Mr Brooke made no reply, but moment by moment he grew more uneasy, as he alternately scanned the people ashore and the junks in the offing. "Oh," I said at last, "if we could only see the _Teaser_ coming up the river!" "I'd be content, Herrick," said Mr Brooke bitterly, "if we could only see the messenger coming back with our stores." "Yes," I said uneasily, for I had been fidgeting a good deal; "he is a long time."