"A rifle bullet or two sent over their heads would make them give up." "But they arn't pirates, sir, and you mustn't fire at 'em.

Look at that now." The pursuing boat was about two hundred yards behind us, and one of the Chinamen now stood up in the bows, holding on by a stay, waving his straw hat and gesticulating furiously.
"All right, Mr Shing po Num, or whatever your name is," said the coxswain in a low voice, "can't stop this time, we're in a hurry." The man kept on gesticulating.
"Can't you hear what I say ?" continued Jecks in a whisper.

"We're in a hurry.

Say, sir, that's the chap as belongs to our boat--I mean his boat, and he's getting wilder and wilder now to see us carry it off.
Say, sir, arn't it a bit--what you may call it--to take it away ?" "A bit what ?" "Well, sir, what do you grand folks call it when some one does what we're a-doing on ?" "Unkind." "No, sir; it arn't an un-anything." "Cruel ?" "No, sir.

Cause you see a boat arn't a beast." "Oh, I don't know what you mean," I said impatiently.
"Yes, it is an un-something; I forgot, sir.