, that certain hundreds of good
dollars--or their value--might not be wasted, and not from any motives
of humanity to the slave, or any desire to give him a better chance for
his life, but merely that he might last long enough to delay the
man-o'-war to the extent of picking him up, an improved plan had been
devised for use on occasions where the presence of sharks might be
expected; this plan consisting simply in _heading the black up in a
cask_! This was the plan now adopted by the people on board the barque.

CHAPTER NINE.

THE GOVERNOR'S COMMUNICATION.

At the distance which now separated us from the barque all the movements
of her crew were distinctly visible to us with the aid of our glasses--
which of course were scarcely off her for a moment--and we accordingly
witnessed the launching of the first slave overboard. The unhappy
creature was placed in a cask, and, as I have said before, headed up
therein, an aperture being cut in the two halves of the head just
sufficient to admit his neck; and the cask was then slung by a whip from
the main-yard-arm, and secured by a toggle, the withdrawal of which at
the right moment, by means of a lanyard, enabled the cask to be dropped
gently, right end up, in the water, where it floated, with its inmate a
helpless prisoner, to be picked up or not as the case might be. To
render this ruse of real service, a smart breeze should be blowing,
because under these conditions the pursuer has not only to lower a boat
to pick up the floating black, but she has also to heave-to and wait for
her boat; and however smartly the operations of lowering, picking up,
and hooking on again may be performed, they still absorb quite an
appreciable amount of time, during which the fugitive craft increases
her lead more or less according to her speed. In the present case,
however, the conditions were by no means favourable to the pursued
craft; for, since we were only moving through the water at a speed of
about three knots, it was an easy matter for us to drop a boat into the
water and send her on ahead to pick up the man, and pull alongside again
without detaining the schooner for an instant. The slaver tried the
trick four times in succession, and then, finding that it did not
answer, gave it up.

The sun was just dipping beneath the horizon in a magnificent array of
light cirrus clouds, painted by his last rays in tinctures of the most
brilliant purple and rose and gold, and the wind