d he would also please to
take the trouble to recollect, that the said slaves had been twice
sent for, and twice refused. _Monsieur le Mongo_ must know, he
continued, that there was not much law on the coast of Africa; and
that, as he had Monsieur le Mongo's promissory note, or due-bill, for
the negroes, he thought this charming little _ruse_ would be the most
amiable and practical mode of enforcing it! Did his friend, _le
Mongo_, intend to honor this draft? It was properly endorsed, he would
see, in favor of the bearer; and if the _esclaves_ were quickly
forthcoming, the whole affair would pass off as agreeably and quickly
as the bubbles from a champagne glass.

By this time Ormond was so perfectly stupefied by drink, as well as
the atrocity, that he simply burst into a maudlin laugh, when I looked
at him for an explanation of the charge. _I_, surely, was not
implicated in it; yet, when I demanded the cause of the assault upon
_my_ person, in connection with the affair, Brulot replied, with a
shrug, that as I was Ormond's clerk when the note was signed, I _must_
have had a finger in the pie; and, inasmuch as I now possessed a
factory of my own, it would doubtless be delightful to aid my ancient
patron in the liquidation of a debt that I knew to be lawful.

It was altogether useless to deny my presence in the factory, or
knowledge of the transaction, which, in truth, had occurred long
before my arrival on the Rio Pongo, during the clerkship of my
predecessor. Still, I insisted on immediate release. An hour flew by
in useless parley. But the Frenchman was firm, and swore that nothing
would induce him to liberate either of us without payment of the bill.
While we were talking, a crowd of canoes was seen shoving off from
Bangalang, filled with armed men; whereupon the excited Gaul ordered
his men to quarters, and double-shotted his guns.

As the first boat came within striking distance, a ball was fired
across her bows, which not only sent back the advance, but made the
entire fleet tack ship and steer homeward in dismay. Soon after,
however, I heard the war-drum beating in Bangalang, and could see the
natives mustering in great numbers along the river banks; yet, what
could undisciplined savages effect against the skinned teeth of our
six-pounders? At sunset, however, my clerk came off, with a white
flag, and the captain allowed him to row alongside to receive our
orders in his presence. Ormond was not yet in a state t