tain a passage to some English
settlement. Every now and then, while we were eating, I took a look at
the canoes, but the sight of them didn't spoil my appetite, nor that of
the rest of us, as far as I could judge.

"They are getting no nearer," I observed.

"Wait till they come about," said Horner; "they'll then be up with us
fast enough, and this may be the last meal we shall ever eat."

"Haul in the slack of that, you young croaker!" cried the mate, in an
angry tone. "You would like to make the others as much afraid as you
are yourself."

Horner could not say he was not afraid, for he looked it. The breeze
freshened, and the boat made good way in spite of being heavily laden,
standing up well to all the sail we could set. For another hour or more
we could see the canoes.

At last the mate, standing up, took a look at them and then cried--

"Hurrah! They have gone about, and are steering for the land."

Just as the sun set they disappeared, and we had no longer any fear of
being followed. The mate now set a regular watch;--the rest of us lay
down as we best could along the thwarts, or at the bottom of the boat,
with some of Jack's matting for pillows. We were rather crowded, to be
sure, but we were thankful to have escaped our enemies, and hoped, in
spite of its length, that we should have a prosperous voyage.

Day after day we sailed on. Mr Griffiths maintained good discipline
among us. Everything was done with as much regularity as if we were
aboard ship. He got us to spin yarns and sing songs. I thus heard more
of Jack's adventures than I ever since have been able to get out of him.
He corroborated all that Miles Soper had told me, and added much more.
Sam Coal told us how he had once been a slave in the Southern States of
America, and made his escape, and being followed, was nearly caught, and
how a kind Quaker sheltered him, at the risk of his own life, and got
him away on board a ship, where he found that he had not changed much
for the better in some respects; but then, as he said--

"Dis nigger feel dat he was a free man, and dat make up for all de
rest."

The wind was fair and the sea calm. Our chief fear was that we might
run short of water, so Mr Griffiths thought it wise to put us upon an
allowance at once. Several times flying-fish fell aboard, which we
didn't despise, although we had to eat them raw, or rather dried in the
sun. If we had had fuel we might have managed to make a f