ed against the mud bank,
and the men holding the poles pushed with all their strength. Dick gave
a low whistle, the men jumped, and this time with as gentle a motion as
when she grounded, the launch left the bank and floated in the open
water. Two hours later the boat was brought to a rest some miles up the
river, and was pulled beneath an overhanging tree, where she lay till
morning dawned.

"We have a fine place from which to keep watch, and we'll see whether we
cannot make a catch," said Dick, as he and Jack Emmett sat down to
breakfast. "How do you like the work, Jack?"

"It's fine," was the answer. "This is what I have been waiting for.
And the best part of it all is that we are our own masters, and can
therefore enjoy all the more fun. Supposing an army came along, as
happened in your case?"

"We should lie hidden; if they found us we should fight. No more
running away for me, particularly when I have a crew like this. Hullo!
what's the report?"

One of the sailors had ascended the branches of the tree, from which
post he could keep a watch on the river, and at this moment he whistled.
Then they saw him come swarming down to drop from a height of fully
fifteen feet on to the deck of the launch. He alighted as easily as a
cat and came aft to his commander.

"Beg pardon, sir," he said, as he saluted, "but there's a boat full of
niggers a-coming down-stream, and they're armed."

Dick was up in a moment, and taking care to move with the utmost caution
he pushed the leaves aside and looked out. The report was accurate, for
coming down-stream was a large native boat, with some ten men aboard, on
whose shoulders muskets were slung. A glance showed him that some at
least were Ashantis, while the others he was not sure about.

"They must be captured," he said with decision. "We will wait till they
are quite close, and will rush out at them. If they fire, four of you
give them a volley. That will be sufficient, for we want to make a
capture."

It was an exciting moment for the men of the expedition. Not that they
had anything to fear from the men aboard the native boat. But they were
now well above Elmina, and who could say whether the enemy were not all
round them? In any case they must be near at hand, so that the attack
might very well be followed by a general onslaught on the part of the
Ashantis.

Dick busied himself with telling off the men to their stations, while he
bade Jack Emmett take