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heaving continuously as it does along this long unbroken African coast, and very soon she lay to, a couple of miles or more from the beach. "We'll have the lines out and do a little fishing," sang out Dick. "Any one who likes may sleep, save the man on guard. Johnnie, you'll need to bank the fires, for we shall want steam later." A canvas awning had been rigged over the deck of the launch, for the heat would otherwise have been almost unbearable. And beneath this the two young officers and their crew stretched themselves at their ease, while each dropped a line overboard, for they had been careful to bring these in case their provisions should run short. Some four hours later, just as the day began to draw in, they pulled up their lines and headed for Elmina. It was dark when they arrived off the fort, and they steamed into the river at once, passing beneath the bridge erected by the Dutch. Not a sound was heard aboard. The engines were working dead slow, while a screen of sacks surrounded the funnel, hiding any sparks which might have betrayed the presence of the launch. In the bows stood two of the bluejackets, with long poles in their hands, and presently, as the launch passed beyond the town into the river, they stretched these ahead as far as possible, letting the tips trail in the water. "Take her along dead slow," whispered Dick in Johnnie's ear. "There are plenty of sand and mud banks, and we don't want to get stranded. Ah! that must be one." Without the slightest warning, the launch came sweetly to a stop, burying her nose in a bank of mud which cropped up in the middle of the river. Even the men who held the poles had not been able to detect the obstruction in time, for their rods simply pierced the soft material. And now, when they attempted to push the launch off, the same thing happened. "All walk aft," said Dick. "Now, Johnnie, reverse the engines, and give her more steam. When I whistle let every man give a jump into the air." His orders were given in the lowest tones, and were carried out without confusion, for the British sailor hates fuss and flurry, and can be relied on to act well and discreetly in an emergency. All gathered aft, and as Dick whistled they jumped into the air, shaking the launch as they came to the deck again. But still she clung to her cradle of mud. "Then some of us must get overboard. What is the depth?" asked Dick. In the silence he could hear the
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