He
had already made his bargain; and although the slaves were still in the
barracoon, they were no longer his, and it mattered not to him into
whose hands they fell. He had received his full pay for them in the
rum, salt, and muskets; these had been landed and handed over, and as
soon as he could remove them beyond the reach of the cruiser, he would
be perfectly safe and at his ease.

This precaution he took as soon as the Kroomen had delivered their
report. His followers were set to work, and in a few hours every
article that had been landed from the barque was carried away from the
"factory" and hidden far off in the woods. When the work of removal was
over his majesty lit his pipe and filled his glass, and then sat him
down as coolly and unconcernedly as if there was not a cruiser on all
the African coast.

Very different, however, was the situation of the captain of the
_Pandora_. It is true, he might also have hidden part of his property.
He might have run off the slaves into the woods and there concealed them
for a time; and it was amusing to see with what energy the "king"
counselled him to his course. His majesty saw, that if this plan was
adopted, and the cruiser should appear in the river, then the barque
would be taken and the slaves left behind, and out of all this confusion
there must be some advantage to himself; there would be a chance that
the five hundred "bultos" would fall into his hands, and he would be
able to sell them a second time. This was, indeed, a rich prospect,
and, without hinting to any probable advantage to himself, the old
rascal kept urging the skipper to adopt this plan with an anxiety and
importunity that was quite ludicrous.

But the captain could not be brought to comply with the advice. He knew
the danger of trusting the five hundred slaves in the woods. Most of
them might take "leg-bail" for it, and, maybe, his "dear friend" King
Dingo Bingo might not guard them from this so very carefully! Some of
them might find their way to their own homes again, but a good many
would be likely to stray back to King Dingo's town, and it would be a
hard matter to identify goods that were so much like each other as
negroes are.

Besides, if he could even succeed in hiding the cargo, he could not hope
to hide the vessel. The cutter, if she came near the river at all,
would be certain to find the barque, and equally certain to capture her.
That done, what would become of the slaves?