success, and leaving their enraged pursuers swearing and grinning with
rage on the shore.

"A miss is as good as a mile," cried Paddy, as he seized one of the
oars; but they were not altogether out of the fire. Many of the people
collected on the shore had muskets, and began blazing away at them,
several of the shots striking the boat, and others coming uncomfortably
near; this only made them pull the faster however. While some of the
slave-dealers' people were firing, others ran along the bank, and,
launching several canoes, paddled off in pursuit. This was much worse
than their shooting. The British boat, a light gig, pulled well, but
the canoes would probably paddle faster. Nothing daunted, however, Jack
and Murray set to work to reload all the muskets and pistols, to make as
good a fight of it as they could, should they be overtaken. They could
count the canoes as they appeared darting out from among the bushes on
the banks--one, two, three, four, five, six, came out one after the
other. It was a long way down to the spot where Hemming had said he
would await their return. Before they could reach it the blacks must
have overtaken them, unless Jack and Murray could manage to pick off
some of their chief men, and so perhaps frighten them back; both said
that they would do their best to effect that object, however. Wasser
sat quiet; he could do no more for the present--not all men even _can_
sit quiet. The canoes drew nearer and nearer. However, a sailor feels
very differently on the water and on shore, for even when compelled to
run away on his own element, he can face his enemy and show fight: this
Murray and Rogers now did to some effect. The canoes had got well
within range of their muskets: the sooner, therefore, they began to
fire, the better chance they would have of stopping their pursuers. Old
Brown Bess, however, was never celebrated for carrying very straight,
and neither Jack nor Alick did much execution. At the same time, now
and then, they saw the negroes bob their heads as the bullets whistled
unpleasantly near them. Some of the people in the canoes fired in
return, but, as Dick Needham observed, they might as well have been
firing at the moon for all the harm they did.

The English boat pulled on, the canoes following. A long reach was
before them. Surely and steadily the canoes were gaining on the boat.
The greater portion of the distance to the end of the reach was got
over, and now