'How do you know?' Charlie asked, astounded to find that Ping Wang could speak excellent English.
'I could see that you were surprised at the way in which the men eat and talked. If you had known that they behaved in that manner, you would not have come to sea.'
'That is very likely,' Charlie admitted.
'Why have you come?' Ping Wang inquired.
'One must do something for a living.'
'You could have got a better job ashore. I am certain of that. You have come to sea for fun.'
'If I had, I fancy that I should be disappointed.'
'The skipper has been bullying you, I suppose. He bullies every one.'
'Yes, he has been bullying me, but I will let him know very soon that I won't stand much of it.'
'I advise you not to quarrel with him. I should not have come aboard this trip had I known that he was coming. He told us last voyage that that was his last trip.'