all is
right there. If you want help give me a timely hail."

And he turned and walked forward.

The navigation of the creek still continued to be exceedingly intricate
and difficult; the creek itself being winding, and the deep-water
channel very much more winding still, running now on one side of the
creek, now on the other, besides being studded here and there with
shoals, sand-banks, and tiny islets. This, whilst it made the
navigation very difficult for strangers, added greatly to the value of
the creek as a safe and snug resort for slavers; the multitudinous
twists in the channel serving to mask it most artfully, and giving it an
appearance of terminating at a point beyond which in reality a long
stretch of deep water extended.

At length we luffed sharply round a low sandy spit thickly covered with
mangroves, kept broad away again directly afterwards, and abruptly found
ourselves in the main stream of the Congo. Here the true channel was
easily discernible by the long regular run of the sea which had been
lashed up by the gale; and I had therefore nothing to do but keep the
schooner where the sea ran most regularly, and I should be certain to be
right. Smellie now gave a little much-needed attention to the party in
the forecastle, who had latterly been very noisy and clamourous in their
demonstrations of disapproval. Luckily they did not appear to possess
any fire-arms: the only fear from them, therefore, was that they would
find means to break out; and this the second lieutenant provided against
pretty effectually by placing a large wash-deck tub on the cover and
coiling down therein the end of one of the mooring hawsers which stood
on the deck near the windlass.

Having done this, he came aft to relieve me at the wheel, a relief for
which I was by no means sorry.

The party in the cabin had, shortly before this, given up their
amusement of popping at me through the closed doors of the companion,
having doubtless heard Smellie dragging along the hatch-covers and
placing them in position, and having also formed a very shrewd guess
that further mischief on their part was thus effectually frustrated.
Unfortunately, however, they had made the discovery that my head could
be seen over the companion from the fore end of the skylight, and they
had thereupon begun to pop at me from this new position. They had
grazed me twice when Smellie came aft, and he had scarcely opened his
lips to speak to me when anot