ouble is how to get out, Ben," said Percival. "Whichever way you
turn there seems to be some difficulty ahead of you."

"Yes, and that reminds me of a time when I was sailing around the coast of
Africky lookin' for slavers. Ever heard tell about it!"

"No, but you must be older than I thought, Ben, to have been alive at that
time. There have been no slavers for sixty years or more around these
parts, and you wouldn't----"

"Well, there was slavers for all that," persisted Ben. "I didn't say I was
chasin' American slavers. They is others, or was. Portuguese an' other
fellows was in the business in them days. Well, anyhow, talking about
meetin' trouble wherever you turn, this here adventure o' mine was that
sort."

"What was it, Ben? We have time to listen to it before having to start
back, I guess, or you can tell it to us while you are rowing us out to the
yacht."

"Well, we was cruisin' around the Guinea coast, and one day I went on
shore to look about and got separated from the other fellows, and all to
once got so tangled up in the jungle that I didn't know which way to go
nor nothing."

"That's interesting," said Percival.

"Then all of a sudden about forty black niggers jumped out of the jungle
and gave chase, for I didn't stop to calc'late which way I orter go when I
seed them, but just laid a course what would take me away from 'em the
quickest.

"I just put through the jungle as tight as I could jump, and suddenly come
face to face with a scrouching lion as big as a elephant, all ready to
pounce upon me, and there I was between two fires.

"You might say three, because I was on the edge of a swamp and there was a
big alligator with his mouth wide open, ready to swaller me the minute I
got into the swamp."

Percival gave Jack a knowing wink and said:

"Well, that was a dilemma. What did you do?"

"Well, I just didn't know what to do, 'cause whichever way I went there
was danger. The lion and the 'gator was in front an' the savage niggers
behind, and it was as bad to stand still as to run and no port in a
storm."

"Well?" and Dick gave Jack a wink.

"I just didn't do nothin', 'cause good luck did it for me. The niggers run
plump into the jaws of the lion or smack into the 'gator, an' in a brace
o' shakes one an' t'other was so stuffed full o' meat that they had no
appetite for me, an' I just laid a course down the river an' found my
mates in a jiffy."

"That's another steal from Baron Munchause