Under the Dragon Flag | Page 5

bridge at the time, and at
once caused the engines to be reversed, in the hope of slipping back
behind the land from the cover of which we had just emerged. Too late;
we were perceived, and the cruiser's search-light blazed forth,
illuminating the dark waters, sky, and coastline with a vivid glare.
Simultaneously we were hailed loudly, although the distance was too
great to permit of the words being distinguished, keenly as I strained
my ears to catch them.
Seeing that we were detected, and knowing that the appearance of
flight would increase suspicion, I stopped the steamer, devoutly hoping

that our unwelcome neighbour might be a detached vessel of some
European squadron. That she could be Chinese there was little hope, as
we were aware that the Celestial fleet was in the Gulf of Pechili.
Almost before our engines were stopped, one of the cruiser's boats was
in the water and dancing towards us. Chubb and Webster ran up from
below, and as we awaited the boat, we uneasily speculated as to the
character of the craft that had despatched it, as she lay within a quarter
of a mile of us, the white muzzles of the guns in her tops and turret
seeming, as she rolled with the swell, to dip in the wave. Formidable
indeed she looked, and there was an evident stir of offensive
preparation on board her; yet in spite of our danger, I could not resist a
feeling of surprised and wondering admiration of the wild
picturesqueness of the scene--the majestic warship, the glittering,
rolling expanse of the sea, and the black lines of the shores, under that
intense and vivid radiance, which might fitly have emanated from one
of those phantom-craft with which maritime superstition peoples the
deep. Everything it touched took a ghostly and unreal look.
There was rather a heavy sea on, and the boat took some while to reach
us. At length, however, she was alongside, and then came clambering
up a little lieutenant, who displayed to our dismayed vision all the
physical peculiarities of the Japanese. He addressed us in English, a
language better understood than any other amongst the Mikado's
subjects.
"You are American?" he asked, pointing to the star-spangled banner on
the pole-mast. "What is the name of your vessel?"
We informed him, and received in return that of the warship, but in our
consternation we paid little heed to it, and none of us could afterwards
remember it. The lieutenant proceeded to question us as to our business,
speaking very creditable English. We had previously agreed that in
such a dilemma we should describe our cargo as consisting of salt, rice,
and cloth stuffs, and we had taken the precaution to ship a quantity of
those commodities, in bales and casks which were three parts full of
cartridges to economize space, besides having fictitious invoices, etc.
These valuable testimonials Chubb, who was outwardly as cool as ice,

readily produced when the officer demanded to see our papers. He
scrutinized everything carefully, and, still dissatisfied, said he would
inspect our cargo. Of course we could not object, and blank indeed
were our looks as the enemy walked over to the side to call up two or
three of his boat's crew to assist him in the inquisition.
"Never mind," said Chubb, "it's not all up with us yet, and it won't be
even if he finds out what we have aboard."
"What shall we do then?" asked Webster and I.
"Sling them overboard and run for it," said Chubb; and I knew by his
determined air that he meant what he said.
"What! from under those guns?" said Webster.
There was no time for more. The Japanese lieutenant, with his men,
rejoined us, and motioned us to lead the way below. We complied, and
introduced them to our "cargo," the barrels lying everywhere three or
four deep above the contraband of war. How consuming was our
anxiety as they poked about! Things went well enough for a while; they
never penetrated into the casks which they caused to be opened deep
enough to find the cartridges, or hoisted out enough of them to come at
what was beneath. Our spirits were beginning to rise, when an unlucky
accident sent them down to zero. The hoops of one of the barrels
handled were insecure, and coming off, the staves fell apart, and along
with a defensive covering of slabs of salt, a neat assortment of revolver
cartridges came tumbling out. The Japanese lieutenant smiled till his
little oblique optics were scarcely perceptible.
"Very good," said he, picking up one of the packages; "very nice--nice
to eat."
We were thunderstruck, and had not a word to say. All was up now, of
course; the Japs prosecuted the search with renewed