apidly forward, the
foam hissing and bubbling round her, till she grounded on the beach. In
a moment the crew, jumping out of her, ran her up out of the reach of
the succeeding roller, which roared angrily, as if disappointed of its
prey. Jack was going to walk on, but he felt a hand laid heavily on his
shoulder, and his arms, being seized by two of the black fellows, were
bound behind him, and he found himself a prisoner on the coast of
Africa, without the slightest prospect, as far as he could see, of
making his escape from his ruffian captors.

Poor Jack was dragged along by his savage companions, the muzzle of a
pistol or the point of a long knife every now and then being shown him,
as a hint that he must keep up his spirits and move on. This was no
easy matter without stumbling, for the ground was strewed with decayed
timber, while creepers and parasitical plants of numerous species formed
traps to catch his feet. He saw, too, the grass frequently moving, as a
hideous snake or some other reptile crept away among it. Overhead were
birds of every variety, and of the richest plumage; parrots, trumpet
birds, pigeons, whydahs, green paroquets, and numberless others, which
he was in no humour just then to admire, while monkeys of all sorts
skipped about among the boughs of the lofty palms, and chattered away,
as if to inquire where the stranger had come from. In one or two
openings between the giant palms, bananas, and other lofty trees, Jack
caught sight of some blue ranges of mountains in the far distance, and
towards them, as they pushed their way through the dense underwood, his
captors seemed to be proceeding. The dreadful thought occurred to him,
that he was being carried off into the interior to be turned into a
slave, and perhaps that he should never be able to make his escape. The
jungle grew thicker and thicker, and the forest more gloomy as they
proceeded, till he could scarcely work his way along, and even the
Spaniards and blacks, with their arms at liberty, had no little
difficulty in making progress through it. At last they came to a
standstill, and a talk among themselves. Poor Jack caught the very
ominous words, "_mata el chico_," which he knew too well meant "kill the
little chap."

"He is not worth the trouble he costs us," added the ferocious Spaniard
who had spoken. "This knife of mine will settle him with a blow."

"It is a pity we did not do it in the canoe, and save ourselves
trouble