among
the crew, although their patience was severely taxed. The provisions,
consisting of grain and rice, having been boiled in the ship's coppers,
were served out at stated times in large bowls to the different messes.
As soon as the food was cooked, the seamen told off for the purpose came
along the deck with the huge bowls in their hands, one of which was
placed in the midst of each tribe, or gang, of blacks, who lost no time
in falling to, using their fingers to transfer the hot food to their
mouths, often squabbling among each other when any one was supposed to
take more than his or her share. Ned was as active as any one in
tending the poor Africans, much to the astonishment of Sayd, who could
not understand why white men should interest themselves about a set of
wretched savages, as he considered them. Ned tried to explain that, as
they had souls, it was the duty of Christian men to try and improve
their condition, and that no people had a right to enslave their
fellow-creatures; but though Sayd was intelligent enough about most
matters, he failed to understand Ned's arguments, and evidently retained
his own opinion to the last. Notwithstanding this, their friendship
continued. Ned took great pains to teach Sayd English, which he
appeared especially anxious to learn.

With the assistance of the Arab, he made inquiries among all the negroes
in the hopes of hearing something about Tom Baraka's family, but nothing
could he learn which could lead him to suppose that any one on board was
acquainted with them. Even Charley was almost as anxious as he was on
the subject, though he owned that he had little hope of success.

"You might as well try to find a needle in a bundle of hay," he
observed.

Sayd, too, assured him that so many thousands had been carried off from
their families, it would be scarcely possible to identify Baraka's wife
and child.

Happily the sea was smooth and the wind moderate, for had bad weather
come on, the sufferings of the slaves would have been greatly increased.
At length Mahe, the largest of the Seychelles group, appeared ahead,
and a pilot coming on board, the "Ione" brought up in Port Victoria.
Everywhere on shore the most beautiful tropical vegetation was seen; the
hills covered to their summits with trees, cottages and plantations on
the more level ground, while here and there bright coloured cliffs
peeped out amid the green foliage. Mahe was pronounced to be a very
pretty i