"Ay, ay, sir."

"Keep your rifles and cutla.s.ses quite handy in case they are wanted. No confusion, mind, but at the word be ready."

Mr Brooke's words seemed to send a thrill through the men, who pulled on now with a more vigorous stroke, while, with our guns charged, and the b.u.t.ts resting on our knees, we gave place to the c.o.xswain, who took the tiller.

"We'll go forward, Herrick," said my companion; and he stepped over the thwarts into the c.o.xswain's place, and I sat by him, watching alternately for birds, junks, and creeks, up which the latter might lie.

"Begin shootee soon," said Ching rather anxiously.

"Why?"

"Velly muchee sail boat behind think why we come."

"There goes something, Herrick," said Mr Brooke just then, and I looked up and saw a bird flying over the river at a tremendous rate.

I raised my piece quickly, fired, and as soon as I was a little clear of the smoke, fired again.

"You hit him, sir!" said our stroke-oar. "I see him wag his tail."

"It was a miss," I said quietly.

"Velly good," whispered Ching. "Allee men in other boat look see;"

while I replaced the cartridges in my gun, and looked sh.o.r.eward, to see that the land was level for miles, and that little flocks of duck or other birds were flying here and there. Soon after a wisp of about a dozen came right over head, and as they approached the men rested upon their oars till Mr Brooke had fired, without result.

He looked at me and smiled, while the men pulled again, and we went merrily along, getting a shot now and then, but the result for the game-bag was very meagre indeed, at which I was not surprised on my own account, but I fully expected Mr Brooke to have done some good.

And still we went on along the great river, with the country, save for the distant mountains, looking wonderfully English, and making it hard to believe that we were in China. In places where we were close to the sh.o.r.e I could see forms of growth different to our own, but at a little distance the trees, shrubs, and reeds looked much the same as those we should have encountered at home, and I confess to feeling a little disappointed. Then all at once, as if he too were suffering from the same sensation, Mr Brooke spoke.

"They will laugh at us when we get back, Herrick," he said, "as far as our birds are concerned, but I am beginning to think that we shall find the pirate junks are somewhere up here."

"You think so, sir? Look, a flock coming this way!"

"Of pirate junks?" he said drily.

"No, sir, ducks."

"Give it them, then, my lad--both barrels."

I took aim and fired both barrels quickly one after the other, but as I drew trigger I felt that I had done wrong, for I had aimed right in front of the swiftly-flying flock.

"Umbrellas up!" shouted one of the men. "Rains geese!" and there was a cheer and a roar of laughter, as one by one five geese fell with a splash in the river, two to lie perfectly still while they were retrieved--the others, poor birds, to make desperate efforts to swim broken-winged away, but to be shot one by one by Mr Brooke, and after a sharp row dragged into the boat.

"Velly nicee," said Ching, smiling.

"Yes, I must take lessons in shooting from you, Mr Herrick," said the young lieutenant, smiling. "It's my turn next."

I felt hot and uncomfortable, for my success seemed to be the result of pure accident, and I said so, but Mr Brooke laughed and shook his head.

"Never mind the birds, Herrick," he said; "I feel sure our other game is close by somewhere."

"Yes, up cleek somewhere," said Ching.

"Why do you say that?"

"No pointee--no look. I tell you," said the Chinaman, taking up and pretending to examine the mottled brown wing of the goose he opened out.

"Boat come behind, pilate fliend come see which way we go."

"Yes, I'm sure you are right," said Mr Brooke, taking up another of the birds; "and if I'm not very much mistaken, that other boat you see ahead has his eye upon us."

"Ching not velly sure, p'laps; only see one man look over side thlee times."

"There's a bit of a river runs off here, sir, to the right," said one of the men, nodding to his left, where there was an opening in a patch of forest which came down to the river, with fine timber trees overhanging the muddy banks, and their branches every here and there showing dead gra.s.s and reeds caked with mud, as if at times this part of the country was deeply flooded.

"Yes," said Ching very quietly; "p'laps plenty mud up there. Go see."

"And while we are up a side branch of the river, they may come down the main stream and escape."

Ching shook his head.

"Fliend say pilate junk hide up liver in cleek."

"Yes, but--"

"Wait lit' bit," said Ching, with a cunning look. "Go up lit' way, shoot birds, and no lit' boat come after, no pilate fliend. If come after, plenty muchee pilate fliend, and junk not vellee far."

"He's right, Herrick," said Mr Brooke, nodding. "Turn up the side branch, my lads. Keep up the comedy of the shooting, and have a shot at something."

"But there's nothing to shoot at, sir," I said, feeling rather doubtful of the accuracy of Ching's ideas.

But as we turned up the narrow branch of the river--a creek not much wider than an English ca.n.a.l, I caught sight of a black-looking bird, which rose from the water and flew away paddling the surface with its feet.

I fired and dropped the bird, but it flapped along, and the men cheered and pulled in chase for two or three hundred yards before it was retrieved.

"It's a sort of moor-hen," I said, as I looked up from my captive.

"One of the pirate's hens, perhaps, Herrick," said Mr Brooke, smiling.

"Well, Ching, had we better go on?"

"Yes, go 'long," said the Chinaman rather huskily. "Velly good place."

We rowed on for another three or four hundred yards, the branch winding a great deal, so that we seemed to be in a succession of lakes, while the trees on either side completely shut us in.

"Stream runs very fast," I said.

"Yes, velly fast," said Ching.

"There, I think we had better turn back now," said Mr Brooke, but Ching smiled in a curious way.