"Oh yes, sir," I cried excitedly. "May we begin at once?" "Ye-es," said the lieutenant thoughtfully. "I think that's all you can do. Yes," he said decidedly; "take the job in hand, Mr Herrick, and help it along. I want to have twenty men looking like a Chinese crew by to-morrow." "Come along, Ching." "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 oakum and a couple of bottles of ink. This latter he made boiling hot and poured over the oakum, 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 ship'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 shipboard 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 ship 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.