had
intended. A spot of high ground near the river which he thought might
be easily defended induced him to land. Some bamboos and young trees
were cut down to form a stockade, fires were lighted, sails were spread
to form tents, and every preparation was made for passing the night.

"I only wish that Jack was here; he would enjoy this," observed Paddy to
Alick. "I say, by hook or by crook, we must get him out of the hands of
those ruffians. I've been turning the matter over in my mind, and I am
resolved, if Mr Hemming does not think fit to go back and try and
rescue Jack, that I will make the attempt myself. I could very soon
black myself all over, and a nigger's costume will not take long to
extemporise. I would soon frizzle up my hair, and with an old palm-leaf
hat on the top of it, and my shirt with the tails hanging down, and tied
round the waist by a piece of rope-yarn, I should look every inch of me
a blackamoor."

"Capital," observed Murray; "I'll accompany you if we find better
measures fail; but still I fear that we should run a great risk of being
discovered by the blacks."

"Not a bit of it," answered Adair; "the very daring of the thing would
throw them off their guard. They would never expect that two white
people could so speedily turn themselves into niggers. Of course we
must pretend to be dumb: though we can talk first-rate nigger gibberish
in the berth, it won't pass current, I fear, among the natives of these
parts."

"Not very likely. However, your idea of pretending to be dumb is good.
I think I had better pretend to be an idiot," answered Murray. "But the
question is, who will they take us for? where do you fancy they will
think we have come from? My idea is that we should rather try and find
where Jack is, without falling foul of any of the natives. I want to
set off directly it is dark, clamber up the hill where we saw him last,
and cut him out. It is to be done, I am certain, and Jack is well worth
all the risk we should have to run."

"That he is," exclaimed Adair warmly. "There's nothing I wouldn't do
for him, and I'm sure he would do anything for us."

The subject was fully discussed, and then the midshipmen went to
Hemming, and asked leave to put their plan into execution. Hemming
might on another occasion have been inclined to laugh at the proposal,
but he was too anxious to get Jack out of the slavers' power, for he
felt his hands tied somewhat with the fear of what