pporting us all. My hope was that we should be picked
up by some cruiser or passing merchant vessel, and that we might not
have long to remain on it. Still, the risk was a fearful one, but it
seemed better than venturing to the shore after we had discovered the
savage disposition of the natives. If they had murdered the seamen,
there was no reason to suppose that we should escape the same treatment.

The mate's raft, being lighter, had already got a considerable distance
ahead. Our sail, however, was larger than his; and as we had hands
enough to lower it quickly, we could venture to carry it longer in the
increasing breeze. We got out the oars also, which contributed to urge
the raft through the water. We thus, in a short time, had nearly
overtaken the mate and his companions. Few of us spoke much. We were
all too anxious for talking. Senhor Silva advised that we should alter
our course, as soon as we had got out of sight of the brig, to the
southward, hoping that we might be picked up by some vessel bound to
Loando, the nearest European settlement on the coast. One thing was
certain, that should the wind shift to the eastward we should have no
choice, but should be compelled to run back for the land.

We had placed Kate and Bella on the most secure part of the raft, with
the two boys, while we spread a piece of awning, which projected a
little way over their heads, thus affording them some shelter from the
hot rays of the sun. The water remained smooth, and was bright and
clear; and could we have forgotten that it might at any moment be tossed
into huge waves, there was little to give us a sense of danger. Jack
Handspike was at the helm, and tended the sheets while the rest of us
pulled; I kept an eye on the halliards, ready to let go should the
breeze increase too much for our sail. We had brought a telescope,
through which, every now and then, I took a glance astern to ascertain
whether the negroes had reached the brig. We were gradually getting to
a distance from her, so that our white sails would have looked almost
like specks on the ocean, unless seen through a spy-glass, and those
that remained on board we hoped the savages would not know how to use.
Presently I saw the bright flash of a gun, and, a few seconds after, the
sound came booming across the water; then, once more looking through the
glass, I caught sight of several dark objects moving above the bulwarks.
There was no doubt that the black