At first we were in a horrible funk lest they should see the broken-down bushes and trampled grass, or even the sunken dinghy; but they were much too self-absorbed to notice anything, and gradually we left off fearing that they would discover us. It seemed pretty evident that none of the Chinese lived anywhere near us, for not one passed during the whole day. Then we talked of England, and somehow or other I mentioned Fareham. "That is where your cousin lives, is it not?" he asked. "Milly? Why, do you know old Milly?" I said. "Well, just slightly." (I had a faint suspicion that he looked a little red in the face.) "I met her at a dance in Southsea. Don’t go often to that kind of thing—make an awful mess of dancing, Glover, so generally stay away—but I had to go to this one, and met your cousin. Had one or two dances with her." "Isn’t she a perfect ripper?" "She was extremely forbearing with me," he smiled, "and when I trod on her toes did not seem to mind a little bit." "I should not be here if it had not been for her," I told the Commander. "I rather think she got her father the Admiral to put in a good word for me too," he replied. "Do you really?" I said, and remembered that Mr. Pattison had told me the same. "She asked me to keep an eye on you and give you a leg up whenever I could. That is why I got you off the sick-list yesterday." "What did Dr. Fox say when you asked him, sir?" "Curse the boy! take him away and drown him for all I care." "What a brute he is!" I said, rather forgetting myself, and wanting to bite my tongue off directly I had said it. "He’s the most kind-hearted man on board the _Laird_, Glover, and don’t you forget it," the Commander answered severely. I felt snubbed, and knew that I deserved it. * * * * * The steam hooter sounded again, but the coolies were not taken back to the ships; they seemed to be all collected round one of the sheds, and were making a great clamour. Something unusual seemed to be going on, but we could not make out what. Half an hour later the Commander passed me the glasses and pointed to the side of the high hill. Looking through them I saw a long file of coolies slowly tramping along a zigzag path, looking like a great snake, and winding up the hill towards the gun. They were in groups of eight, and each group of eight had some very heavy weight between them, going very slowly and frequently stopping. "They are taking up shell," the Commander said. I watched that long procession toiling up the hill for a long time, and watching it made me sleepy, and I dropped off to sleep. It was nearly dark when I woke, and I heard Jones and the Commander talking softly. Jones was saying: "The tide don’t ebb till nigh three bells, sir, and it won’t be running strong till eight or nine o’clock."