ss of the
coming struggle.

We had just comfortably finished our meal, and Captain Perry had
completed his final dispositions, when the look-out who had temporarily
taken Mr Purchase's place in the crow's-nest came down with the
intelligence that the sea-breeze was setting in, and might be expected
to reach the becalmed craft within the next ten minutes; whereupon the
first lieutenant and I returned to our post of observation to watch the
progress of the approaching slavers, and report upon it from time to
time.

Upon regaining our perch we saw that the brigantine, which was the
outermost craft of the three, had just caught the sea-breeze and, having
squared away before it, was coming along almost as fast as the breeze
itself; then the barque and the ship caught it within a minute of each
other, and presently all three of them were racing straight for the
mouth of the river. But they were still a long way off, and, owing to
the many twists and turns in the course of the river, would have nearly
twenty miles to travel before they could reach the anchorage. And when,
some time later, having safely negotiated the bar and entered the river,
they arrived at the point where they would have to shift their helms to
enter the N'Chongo Chine Lagoon--where we were patiently awaiting them--
we saw that only two of them, the barque and the brigantine, were coming
our way, while the ship continued on up the river, presumably bound to
the Camma Lagoon, where poor Captain Harrison had lost his life in the
attack upon the factory. This was a distinct relief to us; for although
all our wounded were doing remarkably well, the number of men actually
in fighting trim was so small that to tackle the three vessels
simultaneously would have been an exceedingly formidable job, whereas we
felt that the capture of two of them was well within our powers.
Moreover it would be comparatively easy to take the ship upon her return
down the river, which would doubtless happen immediately upon the
discovery of the destruction of the factory to which she was evidently
bound.

Despite the zigzag course that the two approaching craft would have to
steer, the sea-breeze afforded them a leading wind all the way to the
south-east end of the island, which we occupied; consequently after
leaving the river and entering the lagoon they came along at a very
rapid rate, the brigantine seeming to be rather the faster craft of the
two. Meanwhile the skipper, b