Be quick, and send the interpreter up
here," he called.
A babel of Chinese words came from the unventilated room which was
lighted by an old kerosene lamp, and the crowd pushed to the gangway to
get up on deck. The boatswain thundered "Back", and to make his words
emphatic as well as intelligible, drew his revolver. The men went
back, and Lihoa brought his nephew, the small Peppo, to the foot of the
gangway. "Tell him that he is to let us come out on deck before we
suffocate in this vile hole," commanded Lihoa.
As soon as Peppo began to tell in English what he had been told to say,
the boatswain cried out: "Ha, ha! So you are the interpreter, you
little pigmy? Why, that's all right. How lucky! Come up. I am
looking for you, but your pig-tailed cousins will have to stay down
there. They won't suffocate for awhile; the air of the steerage is
thicker and more nourishing than that on deck."
After a little parleying Lihoa let his nephew go. Quickly he ran up
the ladder, and when Gray had closed the trap-door he threw himself at
his feet, and with outstretched hands begged to land, because he had
been brought on board against his will.
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