Los Angeles herald., 1906-04-15


been of no particular use, anyway. There lay
all their oysters in the sun, and the hfeooa
the beach.
The junk sailed slowly across the lagoon
and, instead of coming to anchor, grounuee
her fiat bow on the beach:
Out of her then tumbled, with loud out
cries and much anxious pantomlme, aDou
two dozen Misunderstanding, yellow-faced men
who seemed neither Chinese nor Malay, bu
an unhappy mixture of both. Having mad'
her fast they came whooping and yellng VI
the beach like so many Mongolian hends.,
The leader an undoubted Chinaman, had
rusty bayonet at his side, while the others hat
ugly knives in their belts. As they CAM
clambering up the bank their shrill cries ant
violent gesticuations were evidently, nothlnI
but the usual accompaniments OF their tall
among themselves.
But as they took in the situation, and saw
some hundreds of half-opened pearl oyster
lying spread out within reach, there was,
rush and scramble, not unlike that made b!
the London stret urchins after penny throw
in the mud. ,
A few words of gibberish and little ex
haustive gesticulation on the part of the leade
uuelled the tumult in moment.
my name Bill speak Mclean, SAID TIM
individual, stepping majestically forward II
front of our three friends.
'The-the mischief you do! exclaimed !n
ever-impetuous Jack, who was In towering
rage, and utterly unmindful of Mr.: Carline'
warning gestures. ''Then, Bill, just hav.
the goodness to tell that pack of dirty-faced
ragged -shirted gentlemen, to. let those pear
oysters alone! They're ours sem,
81 speak Melican," he repeated, little IRE
levantiy Learn him in Mclean ship. Tha
oyster yours once-ours now"
"How do you make that out? growle'
Jack
And Bill in mute reply, winked one of hi
almond-shaped eyes, and touched the hand
e l. b,o h,t, Az which each Ot thl
Others winked solemnly, at the same TIM
touching the handles of their several knives
Fred said, afterward, that it was the mos
impressive, not to say significant, pantomim
he ever saw
disposition on the part of any. one Of then
TO harm or in any way interfere with tn
liberty of the three Americans, though it wa
strongly evident that possession being re
garded as nine points of the law, the un
washed crew looked upon oysters, or an! an!
other little portable property which the!
might find lying around loose, as their JUS
due. 49,,
By and by four of them pushed the lif
boat off, and, after padding round and peer
ing down into the water fol, an hour or two
was another "hullabaloo," as Jack termed it
They improvised scoops and drags from
material which they procured on board o
their vessel, and, without as much as "b!
your leave, gentlemen" used the lifeb0at, IL
conjunction with a "sampan," or small boa
of their own, for the purpose OF rayaging th
oyster bed
By night they had the whole beach GOV
cred with oysters, to Jacks loud and out
spoken wrath, as well as Fred's and Mr.. Car
lines more quiet indignation. ,
But to all their expostulations Bill was plac
idly Indifferent.
'FYours once; him ours now" was the onl.
answer that he made to whatever might b.
said, even when Jack, in his wrath, called hin
I am sorry to say-a gimlet-eyed old graveI
image.
There was no help for it, however ant
while, with an immense amount of whoop
ing and squabbling the dingy crew were di
viding up the open oysters and laying tn
newly taken ones in readiness for the mol
rows sun, the three, unfortunates strolle.
which had, as Jack remarked, brought ther
"She is Junk junk of wood" observe
Fred, with a laugh, as they examined he
| clumsy build and model.
"There's an eye painted on each side Q
the stem,' said Jack, as he looked up at tn
curiously shaped bow, without bowsprit @
aTheey all have that, from a junk of twelv
hundred tons down." said Mr.. Carline "1
no have eye, how can see? says CaaP'n job
Dutch galliots have the same"
The crew of the junk had built fires alon
the beach, about which they were suuatte
1 in groups, boiling their .messes of rice, NAL
ing tea, and smoking curious little pipes of re
clay.
They nodded in friendly manner to th
Americans as they passed, with a charmin
unconsciousness of anything like guile on the
own part.
Making their way to the cave, they built
fire, ate their frugal supper Of bread fr.u
of ways and means.
"Means first" said Jack. 'rLeRs take Al