"What? My dear fellow, go and beg the captain to hang 'em at once out of their misery. It will be a kindness. Do you know what a Chinese prison is?"

"No."

"Then I do. It would be a mercy to kill them."

"The Chinese authorities may wish to make an example of them so as to repress piracy."

"Let 'em make an example of some one else. Eh? Bandage too tight, my lad?"

"No, sir," said Barkins rather faintly. "The wound hurts a good deal."

"Good sign; 'tis its nature to," said the doctor jocosely.

"But--er--you don't think, sir--"

"'That you may die after it,' as we used to say over cut fingers at school. Bah! it's a nice clean honest cut, made with a sharp knife.

Heal up like anything with your healthy young flesh."

"But don't these savage people sometimes poison their blades, sir?"

"Don't people who are wounded for the first time get all kinds of c.o.c.k-and-bull notions into their heads, sir? There, go to sleep and forget all about it. Healthy smarting is what you feel. Why, you'll be able to limp about the deck with a stick to-morrow."

"Do you mean it, sir?"

"Of course."

Barkins gave him a grateful look, and Mr Reardon shook hands, nodded, and left us to ourselves for a moment, then the doctor thrust in his head again.

"Here, lads," he said, "Smith's all right, I've made a capital job of his arm. Your turn next, Herrick. Good-bye."

This time we were left alone.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

A WILD-BEASTS' CAGE.

All doubts as to our next destination were set at rest the next morning, for it was generally known that we were making for Tsin-Tsin, at the mouth of the Great Fo river, where the prisoners were to be delivered over to the Chinese authorities.

I had been pretty busy all the morning with Barkins and Smith, going from one to the other, to sit with them and give them what news I could, both looking rather glum when I went away, for they were feverish and fretful from their wounds. But I promised to return soon with news of the men, who were all together in a cool, well-ventilated part of the 'tween-decks, seeming restful and patient, the doctor having been round, and, in his short, decisive way, given them a few words of encouragement.

I saw their faces light up as I went down between the two rows in which they were laid, and stopped for a chat with those I knew best, about the way in which they had received their wounds, the c.o.xswain of our boat being the most talkative.

"They all got it 'bout the same way, sir," he said. "It all comes of trying to do the beggars a good turn. Who'd ever have thought it, eh, sir? Trying to save a fellow from drownding, and knives yer!"

They were all very eager to know what was to become of the prisoners, and upon my telling the poor fellows what I knew, I heard them giving their opinions to one another in a lying-down debate.

"Seems a pity," said one of the men. "Takes all that there trouble, we does; captivates 'em; and then, 'stead o' having the right to hang 'em all decently at the yard-arm, we has to give 'em up to the teapots."

"How are you going to hang 'em decently?" said another voice.

"Reg'lar way, o' course, matey."

"Yah, who's going to do it? British sailors don't want turning into Jack Ketches."

"'Course not," said a third. "Shooting or cutting a fellow down in fair fight's one thing; taking prisoners and hanging on 'em arterwards, quite another pair o' shoes. I says as the skipper's right."

"Hear, hear!" rose in chorus, and it seemed to be pretty generally agreed that we should be very glad to get rid of the savage brutes.

I was on my way back to where Smith lay, when I encountered the doctor, who gave me a friendly nod.

"At your service, Mr Herrick," he said, "when you want me; and, by the way, my lad, your messmate Barkins has got that idea in his head still, about the poisoned blade. Try and laugh him out of it. Thoughts like that hinder progress, and it is all nonsense. His is a good, clean, healthy wound."

He pa.s.sed on, looking very business-like, and his dresser followed, while I went on to see Smith.

"Good, clean, healthy wound!" I said to myself; "I believe he takes delight in such things."

I turned back to look after him, but he was gone.

"Why, he has been to attend to the prisoners," I thought, and this set me thinking about them. To think about them was to begin wishing to have a look at them, and to begin wishing was with me to walk forward to where they were confined, with a couple of marines on duty with loaded rifles and fixed bayonets.

The men challenged as I marched up.

"It's all right," I said. "I only want to have a look at them."

"Can't pa.s.s, sir, without orders," said the man.

"But I'm an officer," I said testily. "I'm not going to help them escape."

The marine grinned.

"No, sir, 'tain't likely; but we has strict orders. You ask my mate, sir."

"Yes, sir; that's it, sir," said the other respectfully.

"What a bother!" I cried impatiently. "I only wanted to see how they looked."

"'Tain't my fault, sir; strict orders. And they ain't very pretty to look at, sir, and it'd be 'most as safe to go in and see a box o'

wild-beasts. Doctor's been in this last hour doin' on 'em up, with depitty, and two on us inside at the 'present' all the time. They'd think nothing o' flying at him, and all the time he was taking as much pains with them as if they were some of our chaps. They have give it to one another awful."

"Well, I am sorry," I said. "I should have liked to see them."

"So'm I sorry, sir; I'd have let you in a minute, but you don't want to get me in a row, sir."

"Oh no, of course not," I said.

"My mate here says, sir--"