346 MORE CRUISING AFTER PIRATES. 



aground in the middle of the bay. They all were broad- 

 side on to the entrance, and the crews, who were stand- 

 ing about the guns watching the opening to their 

 snug stowaway anchorage, appeared quite prepared to 

 resist attack from that quarter. Two were very fine 

 junks, with nine or ten guns each; the third was 

 smaller, mounting about seven. Between twenty and 

 thirty men were in each; I calculated roughly they 

 mustered somethiag like ten to one of us. Just below 

 where we were, a few houses clustered together under 

 some large bastard banyan-trees, and a small sanpan 

 lay hauled out of the water on the beach in front of 

 them. On this sanpan my hopes centred. It was most 

 amusing to watch these free-and-easy gentlemen, who 

 little thought how near we were; all their move- 

 ments convinced me they were at any rate bent on 

 saluting us with a broadside as we pulled round the 

 rocky point of the channel, scarcely a hundred and fifty 

 yards off. I laughed to myself as I thought how awfully 

 taken in they would presently be. Afterwards I found 

 all their guns loaded to the muzzle with grape, and 

 pointed straight for the entrance. The gun-boat now 

 showed, and for a few moments I waited to see if any 

 effect was produced on those in the junks. They all 

 stood still, but showed no signs of clearing out ; quite 



