he same disorder
following.

"Five hundred yards I make it," said our hero quietly. "Give them a
full sight, Johnnie, and aim for the centre of the body. Ah! A good
one. I think you hit the side of the boat first, and then the man.
They don't waste time aboard those craft, and human life does not seem
to be over-valuable."

By now the launch and the fleet had sensibly decreased the intervening
distance, the latter making directly across the river Pra, while the
former raced down the centre of the river. It had become more than ever
a question of time, and the thought made Dick redouble his efforts. And
thanks to his shooting, the progress of the two war boats was greatly
delayed, his bullet singling out the leading paddler every time the
place was filled, till there was a panic in that part of the vessel.
Then suddenly an unexpected thing happened. The two aboard the launch
had taken little notice of the firing which still went on from the bank
and from a number of the canoes, and which was of greater danger to the
enemy than to them, for the range of the enemy's firearms was
inconsiderable. Now, however, a shot attracted their attention. There
was a louder report than usual, and a bullet of large size sped from the
fleet, and striking the funnel, bored clean through it, the puncture
being plainly discernible by the flames and smoke which instantly
emerged. Dick started forward, till he was stretched across the
after-well, the tip of the tiller in his hand, and almost at once there
was a second shot, followed by a heavy thud behind him, and finally by a
splash out in the river. He turned to find the tiller loose in his
hand, splintered by the missile, the fracture of the shaft having taken
place an inch or two in front of the slot cut for it in the rudder. The
steering gear was cut adrift, and as he looked at the shaft in his hand
the launch went off her course. She shot to the right, away from the
enemy, causing a scream of rage to rise from a thousand throats. Then,
as suddenly, she swerved to the other side, till those aboard her were
almost rolled into the water. She seemed to see the enemy before her,
for she took the bit in her teeth, and, with her propeller thrashing the
water behind her, went directly towards them, a bow wave splashing up on
either hand. And then the tone of the Ashantis changed. Whatever they
were, they were men of courage, and not to be frightened by a monster of
this sort s