five. Use the "fast boat," and, mind, make
the men bend to their oars, for I am in a hurry
to have the ti-mungs brought round. Tell the
officer I have another expedition in view.'

"Away went the bearer of the letter. I felt
my heart beat audibly with hope and excitement.
Only twenty-five men to be left on
board! Oh, if my brave wife should be able to
set me free! If I could liberate the men in the
forecastle!

"'Hi! Fan-kwei!' exclaimed the villanous
mandarin, addressing me. 'How muchee dollar
have got? What place keepee he?'

"I had only two or three hundred dollars on
board, and it occurred to me that by giving
them up and indulging the passion of avarice
gleaming from his cunning, squinting, oblique
eyes, I might throw the wretch off his guard.

"'Have got inside that smallo piecee box in
other cabin,' I replied.

"He quickly went into the after cabin, where
the old nurse was lying bound, and where, also,
our first-born was sleeping in its cradle calmly.

"In another moment the monster returned,
the money in one hand, our poor little infant in
the other.

"'More dollar,' said he—'more dollar. What
placee have got more dollar?' And he shook
the little innocent threateningly.

"'Man,' I cried, 'there is not another dollar
on board!'

"Alas! my bonds were firm and immovable.
Every second I expected to see Ma-le shoot or
stab him. But she had nerves of iron. She
knew that an alarm would sacrifice all, and she
restrained herself, though by so doing she
became a witness to the murder of our child.

The man then turned to my wife, saying:
"'Dollar! dollar! 'Spose you no talkee mi
what placee have makee hid, mi killee you
smallo piecee chillo.'

"Oh, the agony of that moment! My poor
Ma-le, how you must have suffered!"

My friend's wife sobbed loudly at this point
of his narration, and drew the cradle closer to
her side. I now appreciated her motive in
having it brought to her when he commenced
the tale.

"Well," continued Mellen, "my wife threw
herself before him, entreating him to spare the
child, and assuring him that there was not
another dollar on board.

"Before she could rise, our infant was killed
by the mandarin. Then, turning to go on deck,
he said:

"' 'Spose you no talkee mi what placee have
got more dollar, mi give you allo mi man—allo
man takee you allo same wife.'

"I shuddered at the hideous nature of this
threat, and bowed down my head, unable to
gaze upon the bleeding form of our murdered
child.

"A sudden noise, then a low moan, made
me look up. By the light of the dimly burning
cabin lamp I saw Ma-le drawing her dagger. She
had sprung upon our enemy like a tigress, just as
he had turned his back to ascend the companion-
ladder, and her sharp poignard, driven with
fatal precision through the neck, had struck him
lifeless to the floor. So true, so deadly was the
aim, that only one low moan escaped him.

"In another moment my hands were free;
then, Ma-le, you cut away the cords from my
feet, placed the revolver in my hand, and began
to load the double-barrelled fowling-piece that
you took from the case under my bed, whilst I
stealthily crept up the companion-way on
deck. It was just that silent, chilly, oppressive
hour of the morning—between black
midnight and grey dawn—when, on a dark night,
the darkness is most profound, and its peculiar
haziness makes all objects most invisible.
Neither moon nor star could be seen, and step
by step I safely crawled past the whole of our
captors then on board. I dared not breathe as
I stole along beneath the shadow of the
bulwarks. The suspense of that moment was
something fearful, and my heart throbbed
painfully.

"The Imperialists were assembled round a
couple of big lanterns, following the usual
and besetting vice of Chinese soldiers and
sailors—that of gambling. They were so
intent upon their small wooden cards, and their
flaring lanterns threw every other part of the
decks into such deep shade, that I managed to
reach the forecastle hatch undiscovered. I
removed the fastenings, and softly descended to
my men, nine Cantonese and three Manillamen.
All were armed. In a few seconds I
explained how matters stood, and called upon
them to follow me; then, one by one, we crept
up the ladder.

"'Fire!' I cried. The volley swept half the
gambling guard into eternity, and with the
bayonet we drove the rest overboard, just as
my father-in-law ran up from the hold to assist
us. With the exception of the twelve men who
assisted me to recapture the lorcha, my crew
had fallen during the hot engagement with the
enemy and the subsequent night attack.

"We were free—free at last! My story is
over. Before eight o'clock in the morning we
were riding safely at anchor in the spacious
harbour before the town of Victoria."

It was late when Mellen finished his tale.
Two bells (one A.M.) had struck. I bade my
friends good night, roused out my "Celestial"
mariners from the opium-pipes and good cheer
with which the crew of the lorcha had supplied
them, and returned to my own vessel.

HOLIDAY ROMANCE,

BY CHARLES DICKENS,

Will be concluded in the MONTHLY PART for April.