two o'clock
I had no very great faith in this conversion , I must confess -- it seemed altogether too sudden to be genuine ; but I was not going to say or do anything that might neutralise any good that might have been done . I listened with interest to all that the boy had to say , and replied encouragingly and sympathetically ; and so the time passed until Lizette appeared to summon us to luncheon , when the junk was still some two miles in the offing , and working in very slowly . There was no sign of any intention to hoist out boats , or attempt to communicate with us in any way , so I knew that I should have sufficient time to snatch a mouthful of food before the moment for action should arrive , and I descended to the dining-room with an easy mind . We had finished luncheon , and were all on deck watching the junk , when , about half-past two o'clock -- she having by that time arrived within about a mile of the lagoon entrance -- we saw her heave to ; and a minute or two later it became evident that she was preparing to launch a boat , or boats . She was now close enough in for us to see , with the aid of the telescope , pretty nearly everything that was happening aboard her , and I was far from reassured when I noticed that the man upon the poop -- probably the junk 's captain -- who was directing operations , wore a formidable-looking broad-bladed Chinese yatagan girded to his side , while , when he faced in our direction once or twice , pointing , I felt almost certain that I could detect one , if not a brace of pistols in his belt . Presently we saw a boat of very respectable dimensions rise above the junk 's bulwarks and slowly disappear over her lee rail ; and this was followed by a second , and a third of at least equal size . `` Three boats ! ''