"Still thinking of that little minx Milly," growled Dr. Fox to himself.
Cummins then showed the prisoner a rough plan of the island, copied from Ping Sang's original chart, and, after A Tsi had explained it, the Chinaman roughly indicated the position of the forts, go-downs (warehouses), the white mens' houses, the anchorage of the men-of-war and the captured merchant ships.
"I think that we have obtained all we want to know from this man," Helston concluded. "Except about the amount of food on the island, he does not seem to know much. Does anyone want to ask him any further questions?"
Cummins wanted to know what stock of coal there was on the island.
As far as the man knew, there were enormous stacks of it on shore, and several ships laden with coal.
"Does any ship ever leave the harbour by the small channel at the back of the island?"
"Only small steam-boats and junks," the prisoner said.
"I've nothing more to ask him," said Cummins, so the man was marched away and given a cigar to smoke as a reward.
"We shall not starve them out, sir," was Cummins's only comment.
Helston shrugged his shoulders.