CHAPTER XVII
PING-PONG
DAWN brought proof that the shore was not uninhabited, after all. There materialized gradually—apparently from the reeds—eight men, four old women, three grass-cutters, some beggars, countless half-naked children, and a scattering of lean dogs. Where they came from was a question; what they intended to do was another.
"Let 'em goggle," said Mark. "They won't even have the satisfaction of seeing the strange and unusual diet of the foreigner. Look lively with your rice-pot, O Honorable Brother."
But the crowd manifested such interest in the boys' method of eating rice with their fingers (they preferred these to the greasy chop-sticks of the departed crew) that at last Alan jumped up and made for the mooring-rope.
201
