true word, sir," growled Tom May.

"I want to know where our chaps are, but I can't hear nothing but the
fire going it. Seems to me as if we've set all Africa afire, and it's
going on a mile a minute."

"Who knows where the slave barrack lies?" cried Murray. "It seems
horrible, but we must make sure that the fire has caught there."

"Seems to me, sir," said one of the men, "that we're a-standing in the
middle of it here."

"I know it ketched fire, sir," said May.

"How can you be sure, man?" said Murray angrily, for he was smarting
with pain, and forced to close the lids over his stinging eyes.

"Set it afire myself, sir, and the flames run up the bamboo postesses
which set 'em snapping and crackling and going on popping and banging
just as if the marine jollies was practising with blank cartridge on an
exercise day."

"But are you sure, Tom?"

"Sure as sure, sir. Mr Anderson never thought it would go like this
here. He'd got a kind of idee that we should be able to light all the
niggers' huts one at a time, 'stead of which as soon as we started a few
on 'em they set all the rest off, and the job was done."

"Done, my man!" said Murray. "Why, hark at the roar right away yonder."

"Oh, yes, sir," grumbled the man; "I'm a-harking fast enough. There she
goes, and as somebody said, I dunno now whether it was me or one of my
messmates, we seem to ha' set all Africa going, and it won't stop till
there's no more wood to burn."

"Well," said Murray decisively, "one thing's very plain: we can do no
more, and we must make for the river."

"But what about orders, sir?" said the man. "We was to do it thorough,
and see as the whole blessed place was a-blazing."

"Well, it is, my man," said Murray. "The first lieutenant didn't mean
me to get my men burned as well."

"Skeercely, sir," said one of the men. "I don't know how my messmates
are, but I feel as if I was a bacon pig after killing time, and the
singeing's done."

"Forward, then, and keep close, my lads. I think it looks lighter ahead
there. Keep together."

The midshipman started forward through the blinding smoke, panting and
gasping, while at every step the hot ashes emitted sparks and the heat
became more intense. But at the end of a score of painful paces a
strong hand gripped him by the arm and a hoarse voice growled--

"Beg pardon, sir, but this here won't do."

"Right, May," cried the midshipman. "I was just going to say so. Halt,
my