'As soon as we have hauled and shot,' he said in a whisper, 'we must slip off aft and dive overboard.'
'We shall have to swim nearly two miles.'
'Oh, no; nothing like that distance,' Ping Wang declared, and pointed to a smack on the starboard side which Charlie had not noticed.
'It's a mission ship,' Ping Wang explained, 'and she will lay to until daybreak. By the time that we have hauled and shot we shall be abreast of her, and won't have more than half a mile to swim. The skipper is fast asleep, and, as the mate is not going to disturb him, we shall have a quiet haul.'
A few minutes later, Charlie and Ping Wang were tugging at the cold, dripping net, delighted at the thought that it was the last time they would have to perform such work.
'It's a splendid haul,' the bo's'un called out to the mate, as the net of fish was swung over the pound.
As he spoke, the fish fell with a splash in the pound, and, the catch being extra large, many of the bigger fish jumped out of the enclosure and wriggled and slid about the deck. Charlie and another man picked them up and tossed them back into the pound.
As soon as the net had been let right out again, Charlie walked aft and found that Ping Wang was already there. The other men had gone for'ard to clean and pack the fish.
'Are you ready?' Charlie asked.
'Quite,' Ping Wang answered, and at once they began to undress.