treasure had gone to the bottom, or been eaten by sharks.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.

OFF TO SIMON'S BAY--MUTINY OF THE SLAVES--THEIR REPULSE--SHIP ON FIRE--
THE BLACK DEMONS--THE ZULUS' ESCAPE--THE VESSEL SINKS.

Although the slaver had been the scene of so much misery to Hans, yet
when he knew that she was going to the Cape he begged the captain's
permission to go in her. He was anxious to get back to Natal, or at
least to let his friends know that he was alive and well. The captain
of the brig did not like to let Hans go, because from him he hoped to
discover the head-quarters of the slavers; but Hans informed him of all
he knew, and urged that he could tell no more even if with him, for he
did not know what part of the coast the slavers lived on, except that it
was not far from Delagoa Bay. After vainly endeavouring to persuade
Hans to stay with him, the captain consented to his going in the slaver,
and so Hans once more set foot on this ship, though under very different
conditions from those with which he had previously boarded her. He was
now given a hammock in the captain's cabin, and was able to roam about
the ship without hindrance. By dint of soap and much scrubbing he had
succeeded in rubbing off the composition that the slavers had painted
him with, and he therefore now looked a thorough white man.

It was not considered safe to free the slaves and allow them all to come
on deck, but a portion of them were liberated at a time, and brought up
to the fresh air; and when these had been again secured, others were
allowed to come up, so that during the twenty-four hours every slave
passed a certain portion of his time in the fresh air.

The wind being fair for the slaver, she ran rapidly with the current
that runs down the coast to the south-west, and was supposed to be about
forty miles south of Cape L'Agulhas on the day after she had parted
company with the brig. Towards the evening of this day it fell calm,
and at sunset there was not a breeze stirring. Hans was leaning over
the side of the vessel, talking to the lieutenant who commanded her,
when the sun-setting attracted their attention.

"We shall have enough wind before the morning," said the lieutenant,
"for the sun looks windy."

"Yes, that is the truth," replied Hans. "How long will it be before we
get to the Cape?"

"We could drift down there in little more than two days even if there
was no wind, for there is a current of three miles an