A Chinese Command | Page 5

mean to say,' he ended, rather lamely, with an apologetic cough.
"I felt myself going red round the ears, Dick, and might have been inclined to be angry had anyone else spoken thus. But there was something about my little pirate that assured me he did not in the least intend to be offensive, so I only laughed, rather ruefully. If my `out-of-work' condition was so apparent as to be noted by even a common seaman, it was no wonder, I told myself, that I so often came out of private offices with the words, `Nothing to suit you, I'm afraid, Mr Frobisher', ringing in my ears.
"`Well,' I said, `granted that I am an ex-naval officer looking for a job, what bearing has that upon your business with me? For I suppose you must have some idea that you and I can do business together, since you started the conversation.'
"`What bearing?' he repeated. `Well, I'll just tell you. As it happens, I'm looking at this moment for exactly such a man as you appear to be. My name's Drake--Captain John Drake, of the tramp steamer Quernmore, two thousand five hundred and sixty tons register, to be exact--and, from what you've just said, I think I could make a pretty good shot at your tally. Should I be very far wrong if I said that you were ex-lieutenant Murray Frobisher?'
"`On the contrary,' I answered, `you would have hit the bull's-eye dead in the centre.'
"`I was certain of it,' he smiled; `and again I say, more emphatically than ever, that you're the very man I'm looking for. If you'll take that chair and pull up to the fire, I'll take the other and we'll have a bit of a palaver.'
"Having seated ourselves comfortably, Drake at once proceeded:--
"`I may tell you, Mr Frobisher, that for the past twenty years I have been captain of this same steamer, trading between eastern ports all the while; and as this is the first time I have been back to old England during the whole of that period, I don't think I'm very far wrong in saying that I know as much about the East as any man living--perhaps a good deal more. And there's not very much going on out there that I don't know about. Sometimes, even, I get to know about things before they begin to happen, and am able to make my plans and put a little money in my pocket thereby.
"`This is one of the occasions upon which I have managed to get wind of something in advance, and in this case also I can see my way to making quite a nice little pile of money. First of all, however, I must ask you to pledge your word that, if after I have told you my plans you don't feel inclined to come in with me, you'll do nothing to upset those plans in any way whatever.'
"I gave him the required promise, perhaps just a little too readily, and Drake resumed his story.
"`It so happens that my last port of call was--well--a small seaport in Korea; and, while there, I heard some news that made me sit up and take notice, as the Yankees say. It seems that, for some time past, the Government of Korea has been playing some very hanky-panky games: taxing the people until the burden has become unbearable; punishing the smallest offences with death by torture; confiscating the goods and money of every man who dared to allow himself a few more luxuries than his neighbours; and, in short, playing the very mischief all round. Naturally, even the mildest-mannered worm will turn under too much of that kind of thing, and the average Korean is anything but mild-mannered; so that, a little while ago, a party of officials decided that they had had quite enough of it, and proceeded quietly and methodically to foment a rebellion against the Government.
"`When I left Korea, things were very nearly ripe for the outbreak; but it would have been suicidal folly for the rebels to have attempted anything of the kind without proper arms to back it up, for the Korean soldiery are naturally on the side from which they draw their pay--that is to say, the side of the Government--and they also happen to be particularly well armed just now. It was therefore necessary for the would-be rebels to procure weapons before any successful revolt could be undertaken, and one day I was interviewed by one of the officials on the subject of supplying the rebel army with modern rifles.
"`To make a rather long story short, the upshot of the interview was that I was commissioned to supply the rebels with one hundred thousand rifles, with the necessary ammunition, at a price which, if the venture is successful, will make it