The boy travellers in the Far East : adventures of two youths ... - Library

400 'i'HE Bur TEAVELLERS.
CHAPTEE XXX.
HONG-KONG AND CAXTON.-CUIXESE PIRATES.
''I'^HE story of tlie eoolie-trade and soiiie of the conversation tliat fol-
-L lowed cleared the mystery that surrounded the nan-ator and had
given him the name by which he was known. lie had been an active
participant in the peculiar commerce of the East, which includes the vio-
lation of laws whenever they prove inconvenient, such as the smuggling
of opium and the shipment of coolies to the countries where they are in
demand. His latest venture M'as one that required considerable secrecy,
as it involved the purchase of arms for the rebels in Japan. For this
reason he had been very cautions in his movements around Yokohama and
during his whole stay in Japan, and he had found it judicious to leave the
country on the vessel that came so near being wrecked in the typhoon
that overtook our fiiends. Pie was safely away from Japan now, and the
arms that he had purchased for the rebels were in the hands of tlie gov-
ernment. He had made money by tlie operation, and was on the lookout
for something new.
" That man belongs to a class which is not at all rare in the far East,"'
said Doctor Bronson to the boys when the subject of the conversation had
left them. " A great many adventurers find their way here, some of them
being men of ability which borders on genius, while the others are not far
removed from rascals. "Ward and Burgevine were of the better sort ; and
there are others whom I could name, but they are not so numerous as the
other and worse variety. They are very often men of good manners, and
not at all disagreeable as travelling companions, but it is not advisable to
be intimate with them. Travelling, like poverty, makes us some strange
acquaintances. We can learn a great deal from them if we proceed properly;
and if we know where the line of familiarity should be drawn, we
are not in any danger of suffering by it."
The morning after the above conversation the steamer arrived at
Ilong-kong, and dropped anchor in tlie harbor. She was immediately
suri'ouuded by a fleet of small Ijoats, which competed eagerly among