away for an hour, till he was, as he said, like
Niobe, all tears, or a water-nymph.

"Then we must let her sink," answered Alick, calmly. "We have done our
best to keep her above water, though it would be hard to bear if, after
all, we should be unable to carry her into Sierra Leone."

"Never fear, Alick," exclaimed Paddy, warmly. "As long as any of us
have life in our bodies, we'll pump away, depend on that. If pumping
can do it, we'll keep the old craft afloat."

Not the least anxious of the many anxious hours they had passed on board
the _Venus_ were those they had now to endure. Jack Rogers, however,
kept close to them, so that they had no fear about their lives. It was
with no slight satisfaction, therefore, that at length they heard the
cry from the foretopmast head of the _Felicidade_, Jack's prize, of
"land ahead," and soon afterwards the high cape of Sierra Leone hove in
sight. They ran up the river above five miles, when they came to an
anchor off Freetown, the picturesque capital of the colony. It is
backed by a line of lofty heights of different shapes and sizes, which
are covered to their summits with trees, and add much to the beauty of
the scenery, the Sugarloaf rising in the distance behind them. The
river immediately in front of the town forms a bay, which affords good
anchorage to vessels of all classes. The town rises with a gentle
ascent from the banks of the river, and presents a very good appearance
for nearly a mile long, and the streets are broad and intersect each
other at right angles. The town is open to the river on the north, but
on the east, south, and west it is hemmed in by the wood-crowned hills,
which are about a mile or so from it, the intervening space being filled
up with undulating ground, forming altogether a scene of great beauty.
Here and there in the distance could be seen the palm-thatched roofs of
the cottages, which form several villages scattered about on the sides
of the hills, and all united by good roads.

"What a pleasant place this would be to live in if it wasn't for the
yellow fever, and the coast fever, and a few other little
disagreeables," observed Adair to Murray, as they stood on the deck of
the _Venus_ waiting for Jack Rogers, who was coming to take them on
shore. Meantime Needham and the rest of the crew were still hard at
work at the pumps, to keep the craft afloat. The schooner's sails being
stowed, Rogers was soon alongside. With no little sa