Chap. VIII. 
OUR BOAT SEIZED FOR DEBT. 
137 
and deliver the cargo, when the debt should be paid. 
"Ah/' said he, " I did that once before, and, instead of 
pajring me, you got a fresh cargo, and ran down to Hang- 
chow-foo. No, no, you must pay me here, and while I 
have your sail there is no great danger of your running 
away.'' Threats, promises, and coaxing were alike use- 
less, the old man was inexorable. The sail was unbent, 
one of the men got it on his shoulders, and our visitors 
walked away. 
This was a serious mishap to me, as I could see no 
means of getting on to Nan-che. At last Sing-Hoo pro- 
posed to walk to the town, and bring down a small boat 
for me and the luggage. This appeared to be the best 
plan under the circumstances, so I consented, and he 
took his departure. The people in the boat did not seem 
to give themselves much uneasiness about the business. 
With the exception of the captain and his wife, they all 
lay down in their berths, and were soon fast asleep. 
At daylight on the following morning I was awakened 
by a noise in the boat, and on opening my eyes I ob- 
served the captain standing on the bows and threatening 
to drown himself in the river. He was held back by his 
wife and one of his men, who were both entreating him 
to desist from his purpose and to come inside. He 
struggled with great violence until he shook them both 
off, when he commenced deliberately to throw off his 
clothes. The others looked on in silence, and as he was 
still intoxicated I fully expected to see him plunge into 
the stream. When left to himself, however, he seemed 
to change his mind, and, after looking moodily on the 
river for a few seconds, he walked quietly into the boat, 
