He didn't know "Old Lest"—not by a long chalk.
The Huan Min turned up during the morning, and that chap Ching (he was a good enough chap to have been a marine, if they had luxuries like that in the Chinese navy) and the skippers of the Goldfinch and Sparrow came across to the Vigilant, and had a regular pow-wow, talkee-talkee in the Captain's cabin.
Ching was to land at sunset with some fifty of his men, and Hoffman was to go with him and guide him across country, straight to the walled house on the hill. They were to get through at all costs. It was Ching's own suggestion; he and Hoffman thought they could do it, and I knew they would, if it was possible. Whilst he made a dash for the house, all the ships were to plug shell at two places in the island, some distance from the town itself, in order to distract their attention.
Hoffman wasn't exactly dead, but that was about all you could say. He must have had an enormous amount of vitality, or whatever you call it, to keep "going". He looked most ghastly ill.
It was determined that every man we could fit out with a rifle and other conveniences for hurrying his "dear brethren" into eternity was to land from the Vigilant and the four gunboats about an hour after Ching, and the whole day was spent in communicating with the Ringdove and the Omaha and completing these arrangements.
I've always longed to be a pirate myself, and the next best thing was to have the job of collaring one. My detachment were just as keen as I was, especially after last night's shindy, and we fell in again and prepared to land, and have another go at 'em, as cheerfully as ducks in a thunderstorm.
"Ever shoved it into a 'uman afore, sir?" Grainger asked me, whilst he was helping me on with my sword and leather gear. He'd been polishing it outside my cabin, on and off, all day long.
"Never; nothing bigger than a cockroach."
"Well, sir, it 'ull be some'ut to 'ang up in the 'all at 'ome when we draws our pension. Won't it, sir?"
"If we don't have to pawn it," I told him, and went off to look at Truscott. Poor chap! he was worrying about what would happen to his wife and kids if he "pegged out", so one couldn't do much to cheer him. He was very down on his luck.