e, after they
had stood watching the fast-receding frigate, and Murray had shown him
over his craft.

"I won't boast of it, and if I had to fit out a yacht, I should choose
something better," answered Murray, laughing. The whole cabin was only
eight feet long, and though it was five high in the centre, under a
raised skylight, it was scarcely more than three at the sides, which
being right aft, it decreased rapidly as the stern narrowed. There was
a fore-peak, in which the two poor negroes lay, but there was no room in
it for more people, so that the rest of the crew were obliged to live in
the after-cabin. Adair certainly did not know the discomforts to which
he was subjecting himself when he undertook to accompany Murray. Not a
particle of furniture was there in the cabin, the beams and sides were
begrimed with dirt and cockroaches, and a considerable variety of other
entomological specimens crawled in and out of every crevice in the
planks, and found their way among all the provisions, as well as into
every mess of food cooked on board.

The schooner was laden with tobacco and monkey-skins, which latter she
had taken on board at one of the ports, in exchange for some of her
tobacco, the remainder of which she was about to barter for slaves.

"Negro-head for negroes," as Paddy remarked, when Murray gave him the
account.

Several days of the voyage had passed with light winds and smooth sea,
and not unpleasantly, though but little progress had been made, when as
Adair, who had the first watch at night, was walking the deck, thinking
that all was right, he heard a roaring noise on the port quarter. He
looked astern. A long white line of curling foam came rolling up at a
rapid rate towards them.

"Lower the peak, slack away the main halyards, in with the mainsail,
brail up the foresail! Murray, Murray! on deck here; all hands on deck!
In with the jib and down with the fore-staysail!"

The sudden quick jerking of the little vessel would soon have awakened
all the watch below had his voice not done so. The sails were not
lowered a moment too soon. On flew the schooner under bare poles, the
seas roaring up on either side, and often breaking over her. Every man
had to hold on for his life; away, away she flew; every instant plunging
more and more, while the foaming seas seemed still more eager to make
her their prey. Murray, attended by Wasser, disappeared below. He soon
returned.

"Paddy," he said, touc