The Flying Boat

vitation to dinner that evening with an Englishman with whom he had lately become rather frie

whose name was Stevens. "Have a cigar? You

eans; then the Viceroy will take it in hand; he'll pay for the capture of Su Fing; his head will fly, and then we'll have peace for a year or two. All comes of education, Stevens; you don't agree with me, I kn

l they're so far away.

ng Burroughs of Sui-Fu? You kn

es

Burroughs or his intimacy with

unts has disappeared. I don't know the particulars, but

suppose," said Mr. Stevens: "no

for his interference in that affair with Ting Chuh

nt a

sure some of his people are, and it looks

ington?" said Mr. Stev

a bit of a headache, an

o-morrow, and we'll hav

d. The flying boat had been stolen, then! He could hardly explain to himself why he had said nothing of his discovery; unconsciously, no do

t. "Yet why should I bother myself? The Mole's no p

, though the leaves had withered. In the night recollections of former da

it, and send it back to

g, called Lo San, and told him to put some

ch Mr. Burroughs' f

t, anxiously. "No belongey leason.[#

s unrea

a phrase often employed by the common peopl

cut off y

f loyalty. He made no further protest, but went

weapons to his "boy." It occurred to him that he would have done more prudently in enlisting help among the other Englishmen; but he took a sort of grim pleasure in setting out una

ndifference, had left everything to his master, they were some hours in discovering the channel through the swamp. Then, however, they proceeded rapidly, though with great caution. On arriving at the broad pool, they moved slowly round it

raft and withdrew a few yards into the reed-bed, where he could see, without being seen. Two or three of the better shanties, which on the day before had been boarded up, were now open.

in tow, he could not propel his craft so rapidly as these men who lived on the river. Nor could he bring the boat away by its own power, for the engine could not be started without noise; and supposing he got away in time to escape the rifles of the pirates, he would almost certainly

d by a thin clump of rushes. Errington made up his mind that he must get on board, approaching through these rushes, and discover whether the engine was in working order, and whet

order he gently propelled the sampan until it lay within the shelter of the reeds near the stern of the flying boat. Telling him to remain perfectly still, Errington let himself gently down over the side, carrying a rope; then, keeping the flying boat as much as po

gly he took out his knife and cut a slit in the covering on the side away from the huts. Then, c

of these he opened, and poured the petrol in a slow noiseless trickle into the tank. It was impossible without noise

old woman had not taken alarm, he crept back again towards the stern, lowered himself into the water as silently as he had raised himself before, and began to haul very gently. The shore was soft, so that the movement of the keel over it made no sound; on the other hand, the soil clung to the keel, and to move the vessel required more f

ampans had come. Seeing nothing there, she muttered a malediction, and was turning to her stove again, when she happened to notice that the mat-covered craft a few yards away was floating free, and that the mooring-rope lay on the shore. Without any suspicion other than that the vessel had somehow

effort to regain her feet. The water was no more than three feet deep, but the bottom was muddy, and the woman, scared by what was probably the first immersion of her life, could not stand up, b

shrieks than before, and, finding her feet at last, scrambled ashore, and with a limping trot like that of an aged

reign

py, or too much confused at the sudden awakening, to see clearly what was going on, for he gave Errington time to dash back to the stern of the boat. Hauling it through the reed-bed--and i

pable in the service of his master. Errington waded beside the flying boat, doing what he could to fend it off the reed banks. He was already out of sight of the huts, bu

f the channel, and the encumbering reeds, prevented him from seeing how near the pursuers had come. His momentary turn caused the boat to jam agains

ake h

tantly Errington sprang into the flying boat and, telling the boy still to paddle hard, flung of

" he y

bottom of the sampan, which was now being towed by the hydroplane. Errington did not see him; his eyes were glued on the channel in front. He dared not as yet put the engine at full speed; the reed-beds on either side projected here and there too far into the water-way; if the propeller became entangled the

TICAL

The hydroplane shot forward at a pace that seemed to snatch the following sampan out of the very hands of the pursuers. From this time the chase was hopeless. The pirates paddled on a

m lest the boy had been hurt, Errington slowed down, stopped, a

he cried, seei

funk," replied Lo San,

id Errington. "Lug the sampan up after you.

idgin," mumbled the bo

ow pidgin,"[#] said E

e better

open river, and rushed up-stream against a s

into a narrow unfrequented creek, lowered the sa

t this, or I'll sack y

o the office of the loca

flying boat, I hear,"

e agent. "It was

w what to do with it. You'll find it in

gton! That's extraordinary.

d it down in tow of the first steam

ll come up and fetch it himself. I'

't mention me," said Errington

ing over the matter, he felt a little puzzled at Errington's manner, and made a shrewd guess that he had

up the river. He had at once suspected that the theft was the work of river pirates, but so far as he knew they were quite unfamiliar with the working of a petrol motor, and they could hardly have towed the vessel so far against a strong current in the time which had elapse

t in any case likely that the boat would have been put on board any of the regular steamers--unless some one had purloined it

evening of the theft. A telegram to his agent brought the news that the launch had passed Chia-ling Fu on the following morning. Putting these t

nce his removal to Chia-ling Fu had inflicted a deep wound. To him, looking back upon it, the cause of the quarrel appeared too trumpery to justify a permanent breach; but knowing his old friend's temper, he had he

be an opening, and he wrote to

EAR P

urning to know more about it, and would run up if I weren't too busy just now. When

ver, "TH

the note with

forgotten, does

, and threw it petulantly i