by quitting the river
and placing my schooner in a creek with her broadside to the shore.
Special charge was then given to the mate and men to be alert all
night long; after which, I went on shore to protect the rear by
placing my factory in a state of defence.

But my precautions were needless. At daylight the guard brought us
news of the Dane's departure, and when I descended the river to
Bangalang, Ormond alleged that the slaver had sailed for Sierra Leone
to seek succor either from a man-of-war or the British government.

It may be supposed that I was not so "green" in Africa as to believe
this story. No vessel, equipped for a slave cargo, would dare to enter
the imperial colony. Yet the Northman had bitter cause for grief and
anger. His vessel was seriously harmed by my grape-shot; his carpenter
was slain during the action; and three of his seaman were lingering
with desperate wounds. In a few days, however, he returned to the Rio
Pongo from his airing on the Atlantic, where his wrath had probably
been somewhat cooled by the sea-breeze. His craft was anchored higher
up the river than my Spaniard, and thus our crews avoided intercourse
for the future.

But this was not the case with the captains. The Mongo's table was a
sort of neutral ground, at which we met with cold salutations but
without conversation. Ormond and the Dane, however, became exceedingly
intimate. Indeed, the mulatto appeared to exhibit a degree of
friendship for the Margaritan I had never seen him bestow on any one
else. This singularity, together with his well-known insincerity, put
me on my guard to watch his proceedings with increased caution.

Personal observation is always a safe means of self-assurance; yet I
have sometimes found it to be "a way of the world,"--not to be
altogether scorned or disregarded,--to _purchase_ the good will of
"confidential" persons. Accordingly, I made it "worth the while" of
Ormond's body-servant to sift the secret of this sudden devotion; and
in a few days the faithless slave, who spoke English remarkably well,
told me that the Dane, by dint of extra pay and the secret delivery of
all his spare provisions and the balance of his cargo, had induced the
Mongo to promise the delivery of his slaves before mine.

Now, Ormond, by a specific contract,--made and paid for before the
Dane's arrival,--owed me two hundred negroes on account of the
Esperanza's cargo. The Dane knew this perfectly, but my severe
chastisem