ve been of a very poisonous character, or
they would have been much worse. Indeed they speedily forgot all their
sickness on hearing Wasser exclaim, "Dere, dere! dose hills above Cape
Coast Castle!"

The words indeed had a great effect on all on board. Murray, who had
been there before, the instant he came on deck pronounced Wasser to be
right, and in a short time the schooner was running in towards a
collection of conical and wooded heights, with the strong and
formidable-looking fortress of Cape Coast, built on a mass of rock, in
front of them, with the sea washing round a considerable part of it. It
looked a very large fortification; indeed it covers several acres of
ground, mounts upwards of a hundred guns, and is kept in the most
efficient condition. The old castle stands in about the centre of the
fortress, and is four storeys in height. The Governor and his suite, as
do most of the public officers, find ample accommodation within its
walls. It is garrisoned by black soldiers, chiefly from the West
Indies, but their officers are all Englishmen. As soon as the
schooner's anchor was let go, Murray and Adair hurried on shore to
report themselves to the Governor, and to obtain his assistance. The
moment he heard of the state of the schooner's crew he sent off
provisions, insisting on the midshipmen remaining to dine with him, that
they might relate their adventures.

"But you young gentlemen are probably hungry, and would rather not wait
for dinner," observed the Governor.

"Slightly so," answered Adair, "seeing that nothing has passed our lips
for the last two days. We were in a hurry to get food for our people,
so had no time to eat before calling on your Excellency."

The remark in a very few minutes procured the midshipmen an ample
luncheon, to which they did full justice, and would very likely have
done more than justice, had not the good-natured Governor stopped them,
and hinted that they would spoil their appetites for dinner.

"No fear of that, sir," answered Adair, laughing, "midshipmen make it a
rule always to be ready to eat two dinners if called upon to do so in
the way of duty. However, I dare say we can hold on now till
dinner-time."

Murray and Adair had no intention of spending the interval in idleness.
Though they would have gladly gone to sleep, or taken a bath, they again
hurried on board their craft, to ascertain that the provisions had
arrived, and that their men were made comfort