She had been unloaded, and
her crew paid off, with the exception of one elderly man, who remained
on board as ship-keeper. Now, a considerable part of the cargo of the
English barque was the property of a certain wealthy mandarin, and this
person had been about the vessel a good deal while she was taking in her
lading.
"One day, when the mandarin was on board the barque, it happened that
three of the seamen were sitting in the galley smoking and chatting with
the cook--an elderly Chinaman named Wo-li--and the latter, pointing out
the mandarin to the sailors, expatiated on his enormous wealth, assuring
them that he was commonly believed to carry on his person articles of
sufficient value to buy up the entire lading of a ship.
"Now, unfortunately for the mandarin, it chanced that these three
sailors were about the greatest rascals on board; which is saying a good
deal when one considers the ordinary moral standard that prevails in the
forecastle of a sailing-ship. Nor was Wo-li himself an angel; in fact,
he was a consummate villain, and seems to have been the actual
originator of the plot which was presently devised to rob the mandarin.
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