"The men are very slow when I am not there." "Here they are, sir!" I cried; for the marine sentry down by the river challenged, and then there was a loud cheering, and soon after Mr Brooke appeared, followed by a long train of fully-armed Jacks.
"Why, I thought when we started that we had come to fight," cried Mr Brooke as he reached us.

"We met the two loaded boats.

Is there much more ?" "Come and look," said Mr Reardon; and we went first into one and then the other store, while our party of Jacks communicated our luck to the newcomers, the result being that, as we came out of the second long hut, the men cheered again lustily.
Then no time was lost; and the way in which the crew attacked those two stores of loot was a sight to see.

It was tremendously hot, but they laughed and cheered each other as those returning met the laden ones going down to the boats.

They would have liked to make a race of it to see which crew could load up their boat first, but Mr Reardon stopped that; and the strength of all was put to work to load one boat and get it off, so that there were two streams of men going and coming; and the first boat was deeply laden in an incredibly short space of time, the men leaving themselves no room to row, but placing the chests amidships to form a platform, and two smaller ones in the bow and stern.
They would have laden the boat more deeply still but for Mr Brooke, who superintended at the side of the creek, while Mr Reardon was at the stores.
Then the first of the boats Mr Brooke had brought was sent off, and by the time the next was loaded one of those we had previously sent off returned.
"Velly plime lot of plize-money," Ching said to me every time we met; and he toiled away with the rest, his face shining, and while our men grew red he grew more and more yellow.