296 CRUISING AFTER PIRATES. 



my attention. The former was armed with 18-pounder 

 carronades, one of which had evidently been loaded to 

 the muzzle, the discharge having capsized it backwards. 

 By allowing us to approach so near before opening fire 

 they had missed their mark; if we had only been a hun- 

 dred yards instead of fifty, I don't think many would 

 have escaped. As it was, our luck had been extraordi- 

 nary : not a man was touched either by jingaU or gun. 



On one occasion a fine clipper tea-ship, when on her 

 way down the China Sea, got becalmed near the south- 

 east part of Hainan. In a very short time fifteen junks 

 appeared on the scene, and with the assistance of 

 large sculls were soon within range, and opened fire. 

 Fortunately for the vessel a light breeze sprang up, and 

 with her lofty spars and quantity of light canvas she soon 

 drew ahead out of range, and escaped closer quarters. 



On the information reaching Hong-Kong I was 

 ordered out to see if anything could be done to- 

 wards capturing some of these junks. It was a lovely 

 evening when we left, moonless but starlit, and as 

 we steamed quietly through the shipping, and reached 

 the open water to the west of the island, one could 

 not help feeling how peaceful and quiet everything 

 was. Keeping on during the night, we passed through 

 the labyrinth of islands that extends nearly thirty 



