et every thing he might
want from him.

Lander's chief concern was now about his brother, and he much feared
that the vessel would sail without him, for there was no dependence
on the captain, so little did he care for them, or the object for
which they had visited the country. Lander took an opportunity of
begging him, in the event of his brother and the men not arriving by
the 23rd, to wait a little longer for them, asserting at the same
time, that if he went away without them, they would be assuredly
starved or sold as slaves, before he could return to them with
assistance. He might just as well have addressed himself to the
wind--"I can't help it, I shall wait no longer," was the only reply
he made, in a surly, hasty tone, which was a convincing proof that
all attempts to reason with him would be fruitless.

In the afternoon, the chief mate and three Kroomen were sent away by
his direction to sound the bar of the river, to know whether there
was sufficient depth of water for the vessel to pass over it. The
pilot, who had been dismissed so peremptorily on the preceding day,
was determined to have his revenge, and being naturally on the look
out, had observed the movements of the boat; so favourable an
opportunity was not to be lost, and accordingly watching her, he
despatched an armed canoe, and intercepted her return at the mouth of
the river. The mate of the brig and one of the Kroomen were quickly
made prisoners and conveyed to Pilot's Town, and the boat with the
remainder sent back with a message to the captain, that they would
not be given up until the pilotage should be paid. Lake must have
felt somewhat annoyed at this, but whether he did or not, he treated
it with the greatest indifference, saying that he did not care, he
would go to sea without his mate or the Kroomen either, and that he
was determined not to pay the pilotage.

On the 22nd of December, the anxiety of Lander for his brother's
safety made him extremely unhappy, and during the whole of the day he
was on the look out for him; Lake, observing the distress he was in,
told him not to trouble himself any more about him, adding, that he
was sure he was dead, and that he need not expect to see him again.
"If he had been alive," said Lake, "he would have been here by this
time, to-morrow morning I shall leave the river." Such inhuman and
unfeeling conduct from this man only tended to increase Lander's
dislike for him, and without paying him any att