Upon reading this Captain Woodward sent for the first lieutenant, and asked him if he knew the building, and to what purpose it had been devoted. Also if any of the articles found in it remained. Upon which Lieutenant Russell, in his usual florid manner, politely informed his senior that, beyond its being used as a skittle alley, to the best of his belief it was unoccupied; and as to the images, &c., probably they were there still.
"Let these men take all they want, and carry it away."
Hearing this speech, one of the bonzes, who spoke very fair Pigeon-English, requested permission for their porters to be admitted into the ya-mun, which was granted, and Mr. Thompson directed to see they took all they wanted; whereupon he formed a procession, heading it himself, and marched towards the little joss-house, followed by the demure, mild-eyed bonzes, and about thirty carriers, who bore short bamboo ladders, he thinking all the time how foolish the Buddhists must be to imagine there was anything left that was worth carrying off.
Upon arriving at the door of the temple, the bonzes knelt, prostrated themselves, burnt three sticks of joss-stick, and repeated "o-mi-tu-fuh" for about a quarter of an hour, during which time the acting boatswain indulged in a pipe or joined in the chorus, as fancy led him; while the irreverent bearers squatted upon the ground, and expressed a wish that the bonzes would hurry, as they did not like being so close to the "foreign devils."
When the "o-mis" were over, the most elderly bonze assumed a business air; and directing the doors to be opened, ordered the bearers to bring in their ladders, which the three mild-eyed ones proceeded to lash together in a most artistic manner. Acrobats could not have done it better than did those meek individuals, who lashed, and chanted "o-mi-tu-fuh," until they had put together a set of ladders; which upon being elevated reached to the highest rafters of the joss-house. When all was ready, the old boy of the party stripped off his loose jacket, and springing up the ladder was soon lost in the "dim religious gloom" overhead. Mr. Thompson looked on with a critical eye, and observed to a royal marine, who had wandered into the place, that he began to think that the old "bronzes" knowed what they was up to.
After a short time, during which the bonze up aloft had several times hailed his friends below to "look-out and stand from under," down came bundles of rich fur dresses, worth ever so many hundred dollars, then bales of silks, and at last bars of silver. Jerry looked at the bonzes, and then at the permit, but finding that correct allowed them to proceed, when in a short time the old man up aloft announced, with a grunt, that the place was cleared, after which he scrambled down the ladder, and assisted his companions to pack their property.
Having unrolled the fur dresses, they placed several bars of silver in each, then binding them up tightly, rapidly loaded the bearers, who seemed to take the proceeding very coolly, as though it were an every-day occurrence with them. When the last bale was packed, the elderly bonze turned to Mr. Thompson, and asked him how much he would give him for the ladders?
"A kick," replied the chagrined acting boatswain; adding, "Come, clear out, old myty-few. You're a smart old dodger, you are!"
"Fo!" exclaimed the imperturbable old fellow. "He won't offer a sapeck. Well, I'll send for them to-morrow, chin-chin;" saying which the old boy saluted Mr. Thompson, and trotted off after his companions, without bestowing a single glance at the prostrate forms of several small gods, which the sailors had been using instead of pins when they played skittles.