There, I was too hasty." Meanwhile the stores Ching had bought had been transferred to our boat, and he had told us a little about his adventures--how, when he had made his purchases, he had returned to the landing-place and found the crowd gathering, and heard the men declaiming against the foreign devils who had stolen the boat they were using.

The people were growing so much excited that he soon found it would be impossible for him to go off with his load to join us, and as soon as he heard the most prominent of the men shouting to us to come ashore, he felt that his first duty was to warn us not to.
"Catchee allee.

Takee off to plison.

In plison velly hard get out again," he said, and then went on to tell us how he felt it would be best to hire a boat to come off to us from higher up the river, but in spite of all his efforts he could not get one and his stores on board till he saw the other boats push off to the attack; and then, when his men willingly tried to overtake us, urged on by promises of good pay, they had been mistaken by us for enemies.
"But velly good boat, sail velly fast.

You tink it Ching coming ?" "No, of course not," I said.
"No, not tink it Ching.