should
survive that period, then a second week would finish them--in short,
within two weeks one and all of us were doomed to perish! Black slaves
and white masters--tyrants and victims--the innocent and the guilty,
must all succumb to the same fate--every living thing on board the
_Pandora_ must die!

This then was the meaning of the four short words that were muttered so
despondingly by the sailor. Words of dread import were they, a phrase
of fatal meaning.

I say that at first I did not clearly feel the full significance of the
information given me by Brace; but a very little reflection enabled me
to comprehend it; and I soon became as apprehensive as an of the others,
and took as earnest a part in the investigation that was going forward.

There was an investigation, and it was about this the crew of the
_Pandora_ were engaged. It was not yet clearly made out that the casks
were empty. In fact they were not--not half of them were so; and if it
had been a simple question of whether empty or full, it could have been
decided at once. More than half of them were full--full to the very
bung.

But what were they full? That was the serious question. Of
fresh-water? No. The appalling discovery that had been made was, that
the water within them was salt! in fact, water out of the sea itself,
salt as brine!

This was indeed a fearful discovery; but it was easily explained. It
was known from the beginning that these butts had been filled with
salt-water--to serve as ballast on the out voyage from England; and the
intention had been to empty them all into the African river and
substitute fresh-water instead. It appeared now that this had only been
partially done!

Various explanations were offered for the dangerous neglect. Neither
captain nor mate had superintended the duty. Both had been too busy in
bartering and carousing with King Dingo Bingo and his boon companions--
and the irresponsible hands who had been set about the work were
half-drunk while executing it--many of the casks that had been emptied
of the sea-water were found to have been only partially refilled; and it
was also discovered that more than half of the others had never been
emptied at all! Some of the crew alleged that others had told them that
these already contained fresh-water--that it would be no use bothering
about them--while the men who were named as having given this assurance
now stoutly denied it. Mutual recriminations took