"Poor wretches!" said the captain gravely. "I don't like shedding blood, but we must do it now, to the last drop." The enemy were now less than a mile away, and coming on rapidly, the smaller vessels helping their progress with long, heavy sweeps; and as I stood behind the captain's chair, and looked round the deck from the wheel, where one of our sham Chinamen stood, with another seated under the bulwarks apparently asleep, but ready to spring up and join his messmate at a word; round by the bulwarks where four or five stood stupidly looking over the side; and then up aloft to the men making believe to work very hard at the damaged spar--all looked peaceful enough to tempt the wretches, without counting the most prominent figure of all, Ching, as he sat high up, smoking placidly, and looking as calm and contemplative as a figure of Buddha. "The men ought to be called up now, and the guns set to work," I said to myself, as every pulse throbbed with excitement, and in imagination I saw, from the captain's neglect or dilatoriness, our deck running with blood. But I had to master these thoughts. "They know better than I do when to begin," I said to myself, and, after a sharp glance at the coming vessels, I began to pity my two messmates who were cooped up below, and I thought of how excited they must be. Then I thought of Mr Brooke, and hoped he would not be hurt; and shuddered a little as I remembered the doctor, who would be all ready below, waiting to attend upon the first wounded man. "See that, sir?" said Mr Reardon quickly. "What?" said Captain Thwaites in the most unmoved way. "That smoke on board two of them." "On board all," said the captain. "I noticed it a minute ago. They are getting the stinkpots ready for us, I suppose." "Yes, that's it, sir. Do you think it necessary to have the hose ready in case of fire?" "No; if any come on board, the firemen can be called up from the stokehole with their shovels. I think we'll go now upon the bridge. You can come too, Mr Herrick. I may want you to take an order or two." And as he walked quietly towards the bridge, where the speaking-tubes and signals joined with the engine-room were, he was as calm and deliberate as if there was not the slightest danger menacing the _Teaser_; while for my part I could not help feeling that the position there upon the bridge was a highly-exposed one, and that I should have been much safer in the shelter of the bulwarks, or down below. All this time we were gently forging ahead, and the junk was quietly manoeuvring so that we should pass her so close that she could just avoid our prow, and then close and grapple with us, for they were busy on her starboard quarter, and through my glass I could make out great hooks. "Won't they think we are taking it too coolly, and grow suspicious, sir?" whispered Mr Reardon excitedly.