tterly broken up, no two members becoming the
property of the same purchaser; and then their dreadful misery, their
heart-broken anguish, was simply indescribable, and must be left to the
imagination of the reader.

At length it came to the turn of the _Aurora's_ crew, and Mr Bowen was
selected as the first man to be "put up." On being released from the
chain, instead of at once stepping up on the block, as he was signed to
do, he turned to George, whose arms were still bound behind him, and,
extending his hand, touched the latter lightly on the head by way of
farewell, exclaiming--

"Well, cap'n, the moment of parting's come at last, and a sorrowful
enough parting it is! Battle, storm, fire, or shipwreck I _was_
prepared for; but when we sailed out of London, I never dreamed that I
was on the highway to _slavery_. Well, God's will be done! Here we
are, and I s'pose we must make the best of it while it lasts, which
won't be a minute longer than either of us can help, if I know anything
of you or myself. If I get clear first, I vow never to steer to the
east'ard until you've joined company; and if _you_ should happen to be
off first, I hope--"

An impatient exclamation from the Spaniard in charge of the party, with
a savage lash of the whip, and a gesture of command to mount the block
at once, here cut short the rest of poor Bowen's farewell speech.

The mate fairly reeled under the force of the blow, but he steadied
himself in an instant, and turned upon his assailant with eyes literally
blazing with fury; the veins on his forehead stood out like cords, the
muscles of his arms and legs swelled, as he gathered himself together,
and his body quivered like that of a tiger crouching to the leap. In
another instant he would have had the presumptuous Spaniard in a
death-grip, but a cry from Leicester stopped him just in time.

"Steady, Bowen!" exclaimed George eagerly; "steady, dear old friend;
resistance is _worse_ than useless just now. It is their turn to-day;
but ours will come, it _shall_ come, some day; and then we will repay
them with interest for all our present sufferings."

"Right you are, cap'n," was Bowen's reply, as he stepped quietly up on
the block; "but," turning to the Spaniard, "if ever you and I meet on
blue water--well, you shall rue this day, that's all."

This incident, being of a somewhat exciting and novel character, seemed
to afford great gratification to the crowd of buyers gathered rou