“Look,” cried Jack pointing, “the trawler’s belching a thicker smoke. And, yes—she’s beginning to steam away from us.”
“I suppose,” said Mr. Temple, “that Murphy is going to try to escape.” He called to Doctor Marley. “Doctor, you were with Murphy and helped him lower this boat. What did he say to you? Why did he help us at all? Did he tell you?”
The fat little man crouching at Frank’s side, still in an attitude of fright, looked up for the first time. As he saw the distance between the trawler and boat steadily widening an expression of relief lit up his face.
“Chinese frighten me dreadfully,” he said, shuddering a little. “I’m so glad I escaped. And that man, ‘Black George,’ too. I have attended him before, and so his men came and got me out of bed the other night when he was injured. But I never dreamed of being taken on his boat. Oh, I am so glad I escaped.”
“Yes, yes, Doctor,” said Mr. Temple. “But tell us what you know, please.”
“There isn’t much to tell,” he said. “I gathered from a hint dropped by the cook that the Chinese aboard wanted vengeance on you people because of the way you had laid out old Wong Ho, their leader. There is some queer clannishness, some tie, that I don’t understand. But it is quite certain they did thirst for your blood.
“So I went to Engineer MacFinney and warned
him the Chinese might try to break down his engines, in order to seize the ship before it reached its destination and thus get you in their power without interference from Folwell’s land forces. He went below, and presently called me and I joined him.
“He had the engines working. The dozen Chinese aboard were busy under his directions. He took me aside, out of their hearing, and ordered me to go to the Chinese cook—who, for some reason, probably because he was of another tong or clan, was not on good terms with the rest of the crew.
“‘Tell him,’ he ordered me, ‘to go into the forecastle and take away all the revolvers hidden there. He’ll know where to find them. These fellows always carry their knives, but if they have any revolvers around, we’ll appropriate those at least.’