'Now,' he thought, 'we shall see how matters are going. Ah! another of the fellows.'
The many faces of which he had caught a glimpse a little while before filling the dark square of the hatchway were blotted out by the figure of a Chinaman sliding down the ladder, while the light was reflected brightly from almost a yard of steel that was gripped between the newcomer's teeth. In a second or two he would be at the bottom of the ladder, and then, even if David wished to help Hung, he would be unable to. It was just one of those acute moments when instant decision is necessary, and immediate action, consequent on that decision, of vital importance. We have said that David Harbor was assailed but a minute earlier by one of those strange panics which come to the best of men, to the very bravest. Who knows? perhaps his meeting with the burglars in the store so close to Bond Street had in a measure unnerved him; or even, though his healthy colour and obvious robustness gave the lie direct to the suggestion, he was not yet entirely recovered from his injury sustained in that memorable conflict with Henricksen and his accomplices. Whatever the cause, David had without a shadow of doubt been on the verge of losing his head and his coolness entirely within a few seconds of Hung's arrival to help him. Perhaps the shame he felt immediately afterwards helped him now to behave in the coolest possible manner, and with a promptness that was commendable. Seeing the Chinaman just at the foot of the ladder, he tossed the match to the floor, and stepping forward seized the man round the waist. Then he lifted him from his feet as if he weighed a mere nothing, and using all his strength threw him across the alley-way. The crash had hardly died away when he had another match burning.
'Now we will run to the cabin, Excellency,' he heard Hung say, and turning towards him he saw the gallant fellow standing within a foot of him, a long knife in one hand, and the staff which he had carried at the foot of the ladder. Also the light showed the hatchway above, with its gallery of staring faces, and a huddled figure at Hung's feet. As for the man David had tackled, he lay in a heap against the bulkhead, stunned and helpless after such a rough experience.