After they had been settled in their quarters a few days, they were repeatedly annoyed by the attacks of some zealous people who would assemble at night, and, under cover of the ruins near, fire rockets into the ya-mun. One evening, as the captain was inspecting his men, a shower of arrow-headed rockets flew into the court-yard, one of them passing through the body of a marine who was on duty at the door, so that he died shortly after of the wound. Woodward at once directed his men to assault the quarter from which the rockets proceeded, when they were met by a steady fire, killing two men and wounding several others. It will be seen from this, that although the allied forces held Canton, it was only in places; and at times the unruly Tartar soldiers would intoxicate themselves with rice spirit, and attack these little garrisons, when the invaders would retaliate upon the peaceable inhabitants who lived near their quarters.
Knowing it would not do to leave the ya-mun unprotected while he pursued the attacking party. Woodward sounded a retreat, and the next morning at daylight sent for assistance, which was at once forwarded by the commander-in-chief, whereupon they overhauled every nook and corner within a radius of a mile from the ya-mun, and Mr. Thompson was placed in charge of a party, who were directed to make a thorough search of a joss-house from which some of the rockets had been fired.
After a careful hunt, Jerry was about to recall his men, when he heard a sob proceeding from the gigantic image of the god Fo, which was placed at the end of the apartment he had just entered. As he noticed the robe thrown over the shoulders of the figure was composed of new silk of a very rich texture, he advanced to the god, and seizing the drapery, tore it from its fastenings, when lo! trembling beneath the bottom folds he discovered a girl, a pretty delicate Chinese, about nineteen years of age, quite speechless from fear. The acting boatswain glanced at her for a moment with quivering lip and flushed face, the girl resembling A-tae so strongly as to startle him.
"Open your eyes, pretty bird," he whispered in Chinese, but the poor fluttering little thing resolutely kept them shut.
"I'm your friend, and won't hurt you; look at me."
This had no effect upon the closely-contracted lids, so Jerry lifted the pretty face up to his own, and with a full heart, for he thought of his loving A-tae, tenderly and respectfully kissed her, upon which she opened her eyes—such bright ones, too, they were—and after looking at him for a moment half-timidly, she turned her head, then gave a scream, and fainted; four grinning sailors were standing in the doorway, and their appearance had caused her to faint from apprehension.
Mr. Thompson walked round to the back of the joss, opened a door (all of them are hollow, and have receptacles in the back), and gently depositing her inside, closed it, then turning round, ordered the sailors to quit the joss-house.
Now, the men were new hands who had lately joined the Stinger, and therefore did not know the temperament of the acting-warrant officer; besides, they were partly intoxicated, having discovered some rice spirit in one of the apartments, of which liquor they had partaken very freely. They advanced towards Jerry, evidently bent upon dragging the girl out of her hiding-place in spite of his orders.
Thompson placed his back against the door of the joss, and drawing his revolver, ordered the brutes out of the place.
"We wants that gal, and we means to have her. We chivied her here; she's our game," sulkily observed the ringleader.