He pointed right away east, and, as we followed his finger with our eyes, they lit upon a sight which would have even made me, inexperienced as I was, think it was time to seek the shelter of some port. And that something unusual was going to happen, I knew directly from Mr Brooke's way of standing up to shelter his eyes, and then, after gazing for some time in one direction, he turned in that of the great Chinese port we had so lately left. CHAPTER FORTY. ANOTHER ENEMY. For as I looked towards the horizon away to the east, a curious lurid glow spread upward half-way to the zenith, and for the moment I thought that in a short time we should see the full-moon come slowly up out of the sea. But a few moments' reflection told me that we were long past the full-moon time, and that it would be the last quarter late on in the night. The sea, too, began to wear a singular aspect, and great frothy clouds were gathering rapidly in the south. And even as I looked there was a peculiar moaning sigh, as if a great wind were passing over us at a great height, though the sea was only just pleasantly rippled, and a gentle breeze was sweeping us rapidly along and away from the great junk, which now seemed hazy and distant, while those we had watched so long were quite out of sight. "Feel cold?" said Mr Brooke quietly. "I ought to have told you to take off and wring out your clothes." "Cold, sir!" I said wonderingly. "I hadn't thought about it; I was so excited." "Yes; we had a narrow escape, my lad. It is a lesson in being careful with these cunning, treacherous wretches. You made sure it was a trader, Ching?" "Ching neve' quite su'e--only think so," was the reply, accompanied by a peculiar questioning look, and followed by a glance over his right shoulder at the sky. "No, I suppose not. I ought to have been more careful. They threw something down at the boat as soon as we had mounted: did they not, Jecks?" "Yes, sir; I see it coming. Great pieces of ballast iron, as it took two on 'em to heave up over the bulwarks. I just had time to give the boat a shove with the hitcher when down it come. Gone through the bottom like paper, if I hadn't. But beg pardon, sir, arn't we going to have a storm?" "Yes," said Mr Brooke quietly; "I am running for the river, if I can make it. If not, for that creek we were in last night. Take the tiller, Mr Herrick," he said, and he went forward. "Going blow wind velly high. Gleat wave and knock houses down," said Ching uneasily. "Yes, my lad; we're going to have what the Jay-pans calls a tycoon." "No, no, Tom Jecks," I said, smiling. "You may laugh, sir, but that's so. I've sailed in these here waters afore and been in one. Had to race afore it with bare poles and holding on to the belaying-pins. Tycoons they call 'em, don't they, Mr Ching?" "Gleat blow storm," said Ching, nodding. "Hullicane." "There you are, sir," said Jecks. "Hurricanes or tycoons." "Typhoons," I said.