eir friends have recognised in the two half-naked
blackamoor lads the neat midshipmen who were wont to walk the deck of
Her Majesty's ship _Ranger_, in all the pride of blue cloth, gold-laced
caps, and gilt buttons. Now, except a pair of scanty drawers, a shirt
fastened round the waist with a piece of rope-yarn, and a tattered straw
hat, clothes they had none. Their feet were tolerably hard, from the
custom in which they indulged, in common with most midshipmen, of
paddling about without shoes or stockings when washing decks. They were
not however unarmed, for both of them had a brace of pistols and their
dirks stuck in belts concealed by their shirts. It was curious also to
see one of the despised negro race taking the lead as Wasser did on the
present occasion.

They landed close to the fort, when without hesitation he led the way
inland, and then after a little time they found that they were going up
hill. Up, up they went for a long distance, it seemed a mile or more,
over a well-beaten path.

It was not so dark as it had been. The light was increasing, it was
that of the rising moon. They found that they had arrived in front of
some palisades. They formed the wall to the negro city. Wasser
signified that they must get over it to see their friend, and conducted
them to the left, along the outside of the palisade. At last they got
to a spot where he showed them that they might climb over, and whispered
that there were no houses near whose inhabitants might discover them.
The moon, as I was saying, was rising, so there was no time to be lost
in reaching Jack's prison before the light might render the approach
more difficult. Cautiously they crept on under the shadow of the
houses. The inhabitants appeared to be asleep. Now and then a dog
barked, but they saw no one. At last, at the end of a street, they came
to an open space, in which stood a solitary hut. Wasser pulled up, and
said, "Dere your friend." How Alick's and Paddy's hearts longed to get
at him! Their impulse was to run across the square and to let him out,
but at that moment a sentry appeared from the other side of the hut with
a musket on his shoulder. Though they did not fear the musket, they
knew he might possibly let it off and alarm the town, so they stood
under the dark shade of a wall, deliberating what was to be done. They
watched him for some time, and ascertained that, like a clockwork
figure, he always made the same round at t