Blue Jackets | Page 3

Bother this glass, though! I wish I hadn't brought it."
"Why?" said Smith; "we shall have some good views from up yonder, when we get to the hills at the back of the town."
"Ain't got there yet. It's so heavy and clumsy, and the sun's going to be a scorcher."
"I'll carry it, Tanner," I said.
"You shall, my boy," he cried, as he closed it up, and rapidly slipped the strap off his shoulder again. "Catch hold. Mind, if you lose it, I value it at a hundred pounds."
"Say five while you're about it, Tanner," cried Smith. "Why, it isn't worth twopence--I mean I wouldn't give you a dollar for it. But I say, my lads, look here, what are we going to do first?" continued Smith, who was in a high state of excitement, though I was as bad. "Start off at once for a walk through the city?"
"Shouldn't we be mobbed?" I said, as I slung the heavy glass over my shoulder.
"They'd better mob us!" cried Smith. "If they give me any of their nonsense, I'll take tails instead of scalps. My! what fools they do look, with their thick-soled shoes, long blue gowns, and shaven heads!"
"That fellow in the boat is grinning at us, and thinks we look fools, I said."
"Let him!" said Barkins. "We know better."
"But what are we going to do?" I said. "I hate being in a crowd."
"Oh, they won't crowd us," said Barkins contemptuously. "Here, hi! you sir; mind where you're going. There, I thought you'd do it!"
This was to a young Chinaman, in a boat something like a Venetian gondola, which he was propelling by one oar as he stood up in the bows watching us, and was rowing one moment, the next performing a somersault in the air before plunging into the water between the port oars of our boat with a tremendous splash.
I did not say anything, thinking that it was a case of running up against a man, and then crying, "Where are you shoving to?" but leaned over the side, and caught at the first thing I saw, which happened to be the long black plaited pigtail, and, hauling upon it, the yellow, frightened face appeared, two wet hands clutched my arm, and, amidst a tremendous outburst of shouting in a highly-pitched tone, boats crowded round us, and the man was restored to his sampan, which was very little damaged by the blow inflicted by our stem.
"Give way, my lads," cried Barkins, and we rowed on towards the landing-place, followed by a furious yelling; men shaking their fists, and making signs suggestive of how they would like to serve us if they had us there.
"I'm sorry you knocked him over," I said.
"Who knocked him over, stupid?" cried Barkins. "Why, he ran right across our bows. Oh, never mind him! I daresay he wanted washing. I don't care. Of course, I shouldn't have liked it if he had been drowned."
Ten minutes later we were close in to the wharf, and Smith exclaimed--
"I say, why don't we get that interpreter chap to take us all round the place?"
"Don't know where he lives," said Barkins, "or it wouldn't be a bad plan."
"I know," I cried.
"How do you know?"
"He showed me when he was on board, through the little glass he wanted to sell you."
"Why, you couldn't see through that cheap thing, could you?"
"Yes, quite plain. It's just there, close to the warehouses, with a signboard out."
"So it is," cried Smith, shading his eyes; and he read aloud from a red board with gilt letters thereon--
Ching Englis' spoken Interpret Fancee shop
Just then the boat glided up against the wood piles; we sprang out on to the wharf, ordered the men back, and stood for two minutes watching them well on their return for fear of any evasions, and then found ourselves in the midst of a dense crowd of the lower-class Chinese, in their blue cotton blouses and trousers, thick white-soled shoes, and every man with his long black pigtail hanging down between his shoulders.
These men seemed to look upon us as a kind of exhibition, as they pressed upon us in a semicircle; and I was beginning to think that we should end by being thrust off into the water, when there was a burst of angry shouting, a pair of arms began to swing about, and the owner of the "fancee shop," whose acquaintance we had made on board, forced his way to our side, turned his back upon us, and uttered, a few words which had the effect of making the crowd shrink back a little.
Then turning to us, he began, in his highly-pitched inquiring tone--"You wantee Ching? You wantee eat, dlink, smoke? Ching talkee muchee Englis'. Come 'long! hip, hip, hoolay!"
CHAPTER TWO.
A PIECE OF CHINA.
Ching flourished his arms to right