auffle will come--there ought not to be very
much difficulty in doing that, I should think. And, having found it, it
will be well for the pair of you to proceed along the road on the look-
out for some suitable spot at which to ambush the party, after which the
rest should be easy. There is, however, another matter that needs
consideration. How are we to ascertain the precise moment at which to
expect the arrival of the slave-dealers? Because it will be hardly
desirable to take a party out, day after day, and keep them in the bush
all day waiting for the cauffle to come along. We are all doing
excellently well here; but two or three days spent in the bush would
very possibly mean half the party being down with fever."

Here Cupid, bursting with pride and importance at finding himself, as it
were, a member of a council over which the captain was presiding, struck
in--

"You jus' leabe dat to me, sar. Suppose you gib me leabe to go, I take
ration for, say, free day, and go off by myself into de bush to meet dem
cauffle. Dhen when I hab met dem I soon find out when dem expec' to
arribe here, and I come back and tell you."

The skipper regarded the black doubtfully.

"But," he objected, "if you fall in with them, my man, the traders are
as likely as not to shoot you; or, if not that, at least to seize you
and chain you on to the cauffle. Then how could you let us know when to
expect the beggars?"

"No fear ob dat, sar," answered Cupid with a grin. "I shall take care
dat dem do not know I, Cupid, am anywhere near dem. Dem shall neber
suspec' my presence, sar; but I shall be dere, all de same, and shall
take partikler care to hear eberyt'ing dat dem say, so dat we may know
exactly when to expec' dem. And when I hab learned dat piece of
information, I shall hurry back so as to let you know as early as
possible. I don' t'ink dat dere is much fault to find wid dat plan,
sar."

"No," answered the skipper, smiling at the black's eagerness and
excitement, "provided, of course, that you are quite confident of your
ability to carry it through."

"You trust me, sar; I'll carry it through all right, sar," answered
Cupid, in huge delight at being specially entrusted by the skipper with
this mission. "You hab but to gib me leabe to go, and I will undertake
to carry out de enterprise to your entire satisfaction."

"Very well," said the skipper, now struggling manfully to suppress his
inclination to laugh outright at