They thought it was jolly amusing to watch me, and though I was as hungry as a hunter, I had to pretend that I wasn’t, and that I didn’t mind. There were all sorts of curious things there, and I had so wanted to eat them all.
Afterwards, Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Ching began yarning about old times when they were midshipmen together in the _Inflexible_ years and years ago, so they didn’t want me, and I slipped away and went round the ship, and when I saw any man who had been in the walled house that awful night, I shook him by the hand, because I was so glad to see him again.
I think they liked me doing it, and they all grinned and saluted very smartly.
Mr. Ching gave me one of the gold-lace dragons from the sleeve of one of his uniform coats. I wanted that more than anything, and still have it, and I gave him my stamp album. It only had a few stamps stuck in here and there, but there was a dark-red English penny stamp which, I believe, was rather valuable, and I had nothing else worth giving away. He seemed very pleased with it, and made me stick my name in it, so that he could remember me. I did hope that he would.
Mr. Hobbs and Sally had not given him anything at all. Wasn’t that nasty of them, after all he had done? But he still kept that tam-o’-shanter she had worn; I saw it in his cabin.
Then the _Huan Min_ went off, to carry on hunting for pirates by herself, and we went up to Yokohama, and when we arrived, the Commander, Mr. Whitmore, myself, and seven of our men were sent to hospital.
I rather liked going, because it was so uncomfortable on board, with only one useful arm; but then we heard that there might be a war, and it was perfectly horrid to see the _Vigilant_ steaming away without us.
Still, I Was jolly happy, because, after she had gone, the Commander told me all that the Captain had said about Mr. Rashleigh and his Report of Proceedings. That didn’t square up everything, not by a long chalk. We wanted that gun, and we were going to have it, too, and before I’d been sent to hospital, Mr. Langham and everyone else in the gunroom had sworn to get it back, and had begun inventing plans for doing so.
Then three weeks went by, my arm had been put in plaster again, and back the _Vigilant_ came. There wasn’t to be any war, and she took us all down to Hong-Kong, and we found the old _Tyne_ there, which made me think of the first time I had seen her, and of how miserable and happy, in turns, I had been on board her.