s to force their way on
deck, the sun had gone down, and darkness had set in. Finding that
there seemed no immediate cause for action, the lieutenant asked Hans to
come with him into the cabin, and eat something, an invitation which
Hans willingly accepted.

"Whenever we English have any fighting," said the lieutenant, "we always
like to eat I don't know if it is so with you Dutch."

"I am English on my mother's side," said Hans, "so I suppose that is why
I am hungry; but man must eat if he uses great exertion, and fighting
requires exertion."

"Have you ever seen a man killed before to-day?" inquired the
lieutenant. "I will not say it boastingly," replied Hans, "for no man
should boast; but I tell you as the truth that in fair fight--fighting
for my life, or for my goods, of which I had been robbed--I have shot
perhaps as many black men as you have now on board this ship."

"Have you, indeed?" said the lieutenant, his opinion of Hans being
thereby much enhanced; "then you have had to fight in Africa?"

"To fight!" said Hans. "Have you not heard of our battles with
Moselekatse and Dingaan, and how we defeated them? Have you never heard
of Eus, Pretorius, Retief, or Landman?"

"Never heard of one of them," was the calm reply of the lieutenant.
"Are they niggers?"

What would have been Hans' indignant reply to this remark there is no
saying, but a shout from the sailors caused the lieutenant and Hans to
rush to the hatchway, before approaching which they saw some
suspicious-looking smoke rising from the side of the ship.

"What is it?" shouted the lieutenant, as he approached his men.

"The slaves have set the ship on fire, yer honour," replied an old
sailor.

"Curse them!" said the lieutenant; "they will destroy themselves and us
too."

"The boats will swim, I think, sir," said the sailor, "and we can reach
Simon's Bay very soon. We needn't be burnt, unless yer honour thought
it a point of duty to be so. Them slaves and slave crew might make the
best of a burning ship, and perhaps the sooner we get out of the ship
the better for them, as they could then put the fire out."

"And let them re-take the slaver; eh, Roberts? What would the Admiral
say to us then, if it were found that the slavers had driven us out by a
little smoke?"

"It wouldn't do, yer honour; but the slavers, nor the slaves either,
won't stop the flames on this ship, for she's built of pine-wood, and
she'll be ablaze from stem to st