The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-05-12

ed for the south. II the junk was bound
for the northern Philippines she would
still hold to her west. To our surprise
she did so, but here again Wong-Lee
was not sharp enough 10 fool Yankee
sailor. He went off on his course so
slowly that we knew he must be drag.
ging bunch of spars astern, and the
crafts were not over seven miles apart
when darkness closed down.
Just then we had a racket aboard.
The prisoners in the hold got 20 quar-
reliug, and when l went down 10 quiet
them found that one had loosened his
bonds and nearly killed companion.
The assaulted man asked TO be taken TO
the captain, and when his request was
complied with he said:
81 am no pirate, but an honest man,
and / shipped TO do my duty as n sailor.
Three of the men below are pirates, and
one is brother OF Wong-Lee. They
knew that the money was to go in the
bark. That junk we saw astern this
morning is after the money. We were
TO get loose tonight and fight you and
make signals 10 the junk Two OF us
would not join, and Wong-Lee's brother
has given me beating"
The man was so earnest it was de-
cided TO release his companion and
make use Of the two, while the pirates
were doubly secured. We went away to
the south with all lights out and two
points off our course, and had the breeze
held we should likely have seen the last
Of the piratical junk. But 1t did not
hold. At about eleven o'clock il began
tning down, and at midnight we were
becaimed and enshrouced In fog. We
might calculate that the junk had
changed its course and headed after us
as soon as night fell, and that she was
now not over five miles away. Our
hrst move after losing steerage way was
to stow every sail and haul taut the
yards. That Wong-Lee's junk carried
sweeps was u sure thing, and it was just
as certain that he had taken our bear
ing and would come pulling down in
search for us. The fog and the calm
were to his great advantage. and we
were a pretty sober lot of men as arms
were served out and we were distrib-
uted the length of the ship. 1t was
understood that we would do our best
TO repell boarders, and that if over
powered we should retreat to the cab
in and hold out as long as possible. With
this necessity In view we watered
and provisioned the place, and some
| planks were got out of the hold TO
4, form barrcades. The released Chi
namen said they were anxious for q
| ight with the junk, but the two Malays
were detailed TO watch them aud give
orders to cut them down at the first
sign of treachery. This precaution
was well taken. Much as we had come
in contact with the heather, our cap
tain didn't know the extent Of their
cunning.
At about half-past one o'clock.
With the fog so thick that you had to
touch a man to sec him, and with the sea
perfectly calm, we heard the noise
Of sweeps, and the junk was pulled
past us at the distance OF a biscuit'stoss.
That she shaved us close we could tell
by feeling a movement Of the air, snd by
the ripples from her sweeps breaking
against our sides. She shot on for per-
haps half a mile. and then turned and
came back. Wong-Lee knew our posi-
ton within half u mile, and lie was
going 90 take chances OF plumpilg into
lis in the fog. The Junk passed us bit
further away this time, and just as she
got opposite both Cinnamon, who were
standing together at the rail, started to
hail. say started, for the Malays were
close at hand. and the first notes were
only uttered when the Cinnamon lay inl
a heap. The cry, such as II was, must
have reached the junk, as the sweeps
stopped work for moment, but hear
ing nothing further she continued her
search. 1t has always seemed 20 me the
queerest thing in the world that the
junk did not run us aboard. She
passed and repassed MS at least eight
times, and once she came so near that
we thought her sweeps would strike the
bark. After pulling back and forth for
couple Of hours she made of TO the
south, and by and by passed out OF hear
Ing An hour later there was little
breeze aloft. Our upper sails felt il,
but down on deck there was not enough
air 20 fare q candle. This breeze
snealsed us along for six or seven miles
before daylight came and we got real
wind, but 20 our disgust the junk was
In plain view in the north, and not over
Eve miles away. AS there were half
dozen other sails in sight we had no
fear Of her, and knowing that deception
would no longer avail us we put the
bark's head on true course for Sara
wax
All day long the Junk hung In our
wake, neither gaining nor losing, and,
20 our disgust, the wind began TO fine
down again as the sun went out ofsight.
While there was no appearance of a fog,
the night promised 70 be a dark one.
We made as ready as could be when the
darkness came, and as soon as we lost
sight OF the junk we hauled up TO the
| west bV five pOinfs We kent "A breeze