his feet, among the rice, a papered tin box.

"How's that?" he shouted.

A cry broke from all hands: the next moment, forgetting their own

disappointment, in that contagious sentiment of success, they gave three

cheers that scared the sea-birds; and the next, they had crowded round

the captain, and were jostling together and groping with emulous hands

in the new-opened mat. Box after box rewarded them, six in all; wrapped,

as I have said, in a paper envelope, and the paper printed on, in

Chinese characters.

Nares turned to me and shook my hand. "I began to think we should never

see this day," said he. "I congratulate you, Mr. Dodd, on having pulled

it through."

The captain's tones affected me profoundly; and when Johnson and the

men pressed round me in turn with congratulations, the tears came in my

eyes.

"These are five-tael boxes, more than two pounds," said Nares, weighing

one in his hand. "Say two hundred and fifty dollars to the mat. Lay into

it, boys! We'll make Mr. Dodd a millionnaire before dark."

It was strange to see with what a fury we fell to. The men had now

nothing to expect; the mere idea of great sums inspired them with

disinterested ardour. Mats were slashed and disembowelled, the rice

flowed to our knees in the ship's waist, the sweat ran in our eyes and

blinded us, our arms ached to agony; and yet our fire abated not. Dinner

came; we were too weary to eat, too hoarse for conversation; and yet

dinner was scarce done, before we were afoot again and delving in the

rice. Before nightfall not a mat was unexplored, and we were face to

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